Although there was a new interpretation of "Dao" after the emergence of Taoism, this philosophical foundation is deeply rooted.

"Dao" is still an ethereal, uncertain, but the most tangible existence.

However, how to cultivate and how to attain the Tao has become the main characteristic of Taoism.

The way to attain the Tao and the means of cultivation are called "Shu", and the Shu is as important as the "Dao" in the Dao, if not more important than the "Dao".

Daomen is not monotheism, but a kind of monism, its monism is only reflected in the pursuit of "Tao", only by attaining the Tao can you become an immortal, and "Tao" is not an immortal.

That is to say, the gods and immortals in the Dao Gate are cultivated by people, and they are not the supreme existence different from people like foreign lands, and they are pure others who are different from people.

The immortals of the Taoist sect are made by mortals who cultivate the Tao, and the immortals are the models and ultimate goals of the Taoist priests. The essence of the Daomen immortals is the Tao, and the gods and immortals are just the embodiment of the Tao.

As long as the Taoist priest masters the knowledge of the Dao Gate and cultivates under the guidance of the Dao, he can eventually control and serve the gods, and he can also make himself eventually become a member of the gods and immortals.

The Taoist priest pursues the Tao and becomes a person who is different from ordinary people in all aspects, and if a person can learn the Tao, he will change naturally, which is the mysterious state of becoming an immortal.

Immortals are human beings, not innate gods, and provide the most realistic possibility of attaining enlightenment.

The Tao not only needs faith, but also needs to be cultivated, and it is even easier to achieve the ultimate goal of "becoming an immortal" than faith.

Of course, it has the element of faith, but it is impossible to achieve the ultimate goal of Taoism by faith alone, that is to say, faith alone is far from enough to become immortal, which is largely different from "justification by faith".

At this time, "art" seems to be more important than "Tao" as a way to "attain the Dao" and a means of cultivation.

The artificial, so the number of things is also made, and the number of movement is also. That's the way to go.

The sorcerer, the trick of change. The Tao is invisible, and the cause of art is to help people. People have spirits, and they know the Tao because of cultivation.

Therefore, only according to the "art of cultivation" can Taoist priests be expected to "learn the Tao".

There is only one "Dao", which is the only one, but the "technique" is varied, miscellaneous and varied, and these Dao techniques can be roughly divided into six categories:

1. Health preservation

Such as bathing, eating, Bigu, contemplation, internal vision, massage, guidance, qi, fetal breath, room, martial arts, etc. This is a variety of methods for Taoist individual cultivation and life-sustaining.

2. Gods and Immortals

Such as Inner Dan, Outer Dan and so on. This is the Taoist priest's direct pursuit of "harmony with the Tao" and the method of becoming immortal and immortal.

3. The Art of Nature

Such as looking at qi, stargazing, calendars, etc.

Fourth, the art of ritual of the Order

Such as precepts, norms, fasting, Jiao, charms, 箮, prayers, divination, etc., these are the various methods of Taoist group cultivation and helping the world.

5. The art of ethics

Sixth, the art of royal politics

These techniques do not need to be explained one by one, but there is a mysterious aura lurking in each one, from the inside out, from the individual to the group. Even if they do not show the mystery of reality, like the "Tao", they are still the most solid foundation for Taoist priests to pursue mystical experiences, and they are the ultimate guarantee for obtaining mystical experiences.

Under the theoretical foundation of "Dao", coupled with the eternal cultivation of "art", Taoist priests have the possibility of becoming immortals, becoming immortals, and living forever.

As for what kind of mystical state it is to become an immortal, we will understand what the ultimate goal pursued by Taoist priests is, and summarize some characteristics of mysticism in Taoism.

Through dreams and mystical experiences, we can continue to communicate with the gods and receive instructions about the practice of the Daomen, the netherworld and the fate after death, so it can be said that dreams and mystical experiences run through the beliefs and religious practices of the ascetics.

If you suddenly get sick and don't know what to do, and you don't take medicine or eat or drink, you will suddenly become worse after seven days, and you will see a lot. Since then, his complexion has been thin and thin, and his voice has been slow and slow, so it is rare to return to normal.

First, mystical experiences generally occur suddenly, not in the person's agenda, such as suddenly getting sick, and seeing it in the process of getting sick. It is not that what the experiencer wants to happen, and everything is as they wish, but that in the whole process of mystical experience, the experiencer is in a passive state, completely grasped by the object of experience, and the sensation and consciousness of the experiencer are occupied by this supreme object.

In the case of the monk, they may not have expected that they would enter another realm by getting sick, he was completely ignorant, and the mundane world was temporarily replaced by the mysterious world he experienced. Here, the active action of the experiencer is ineffective, and he feels that his will suddenly stops, as if he is being seized by a higher power.

However, this is not to say that the mystical experience experienced by the experiencer is completely caused by alien reasons, and this is certainly inseparable from the experiencer's long-lasting cultivation, and the role of "art" is reflected here.

There is no "technique", just a hollow waiting, looking forward to one day to become an immortal, which is simply a fool's dream. Because "passive" is only relative to the experiential process of the experiencer.

Second, mystical experiences are purely personal, completely private experiences that do not concern any other individual. This kind of mystical experience actually implies that it is the practitioner's personal experience, and others cannot understand the mystical feeling after "seeing" through the experience of "seeing when he is sick", and of course he cannot deny or reject it, but there is only tolerance, openness, and compassionate understanding.

The mystical state, when fully developed, is usually, and has the right to be, the experience of absolute authority over the individual who experiences it. And there is no authority in these states that obliges those who stand outside them to receive their revelation without judgment.

In other words, others cannot deny the ascetic's "sighting", and he certainly cannot force others to admit his own "sighting".

Third, mystical experience is a state that cannot be obtained by daily experience and rational reasoning, so it is a vital and significant experience.

The mystical state has the "nature of understanding", which is the state of clear understanding that cannot be fathomed by the intellect that is advancing step by step. These states are insight, revelation...... Full of meaning and importance.

The mystical experience of being a monk brought about a great change in his mind and body," and he received important instructions on the beliefs and practices of the Tao from his communion with the gods.

For the cultivator himself, the experience of immortality and receiving the ribbon is not an ethereal and illusory experience, but a religious practice and spiritual life that can be encountered, sought and verified.

Of course, there is no specific description of what the ascetic "sees" when he "gets sick", but it cannot be denied that his dreams and mystical experiences are his way of communing with God, nor can it be denied that this is the way for him to acquire the correct way to practice.

Some cultivators recorded when they were successful in alchemy: begging for the immortal true ribbon, all the income obtained over the years are buried, and although the eighteen-year Feihua has no variegation, the brilliance is peculiar, and he wants to try to make it yellow and white, so as to test whether it is successful. It's the feeling of begging at night. Suddenly, someone came. Hazy as in the clouds of smoke, he said: You don't need to try, and you can't try...... So he didn't try.

Here, it is clear that receiving the instructions of the immortals is not just an illusory mystical experience, but a way to acquire knowledge, except that this knowledge has more authority and certainty in the experiencer than in the non-experiencer.

In addition, in the Taoist system of immortals, mysticism has an additional characteristic that may not be found in other religions, and that is the change of the experiencer's body after the mystical experience.

When the form and the spirit are combined, it is a person or a thing, and if the form and the spirit are separated, the spirit is a ghost. If it is not separated from the non-union, it is taken by the law, it is also separated and united, the immortal Tao is based, the form and the god are the supreme goals pursued by the Taoists, the natural lifespan of human beings is limited, and the immortality in the physical body obtained by cultivating the Tao is excellent.

To attain enlightenment and become an immortal, transcend the limitations of life, so changes in the body are crucial in the cultivation process.

When the cultivator and some other Taoist priests experience the mystical experience, the form and the god are separated, and the god is responsible for communicating with the immortal, and after the mystical experience is over, the form and the god are united.

However, to become an immortal is not to go to another immortal world, but to separate and unite in life and practice, to cultivate oneself and merit society.

It's just that in the process of mystical experience, the body still plays a role that is temporarily weakened or even disappeared, "with immortal encounters rather than with eyes, and officials stop and immortals want to act".

In the mystical experience, the cultivator does not use his eyes or body to communicate and conform with the immortals, but to make friends with the gods or spirits.

Only by closing the eyes of the flesh and opening the eyes of the soul can we remove the limitations and obstacles of the body, completely place ourselves in a pure relationship with the immortals, and feel the guidance and influence of the Great Dao.