What's the difference between Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas? (From Brother Mo Qing)

First of all, it must be clear that the Taoist pick Jin Xian does not belong to reincarnation-the Taoist way of becoming immortal is not the humanism of Buddhism! If you want to know whether Taoist practice can transcend the three realms and six Taoism, you must first confirm one thing: what is immortality? Some Buddhists often say that "Tao" is what Buddhism calls "heresy", and the highest fruit of Taoism is only immortals, which cannot be separated from the cycle of life and death. This is a great fallacy! It's easy for them to say this. However, the person who said this obviously did not understand the concept of "immortality". He just confused the immortals in China with pagan practitioners in ancient India or the heavens in the concept of Brahmanism. First, immortality does not mean heresy in ancient India, which is basically certain. Although pagan monks in ancient India have a long life span and some magical powers, they are not so detached as fairy families. They still have life and death. Obviously, this is not comparable to the realm of the immortal family, and most of these pagan monks just want to be born after death-note that being born after death is to give up one's body and get the body, relying on karma, and cultivating immortality is a self-made achievement. The two are very different. For the sake of reading habits of readers in China, the ancient translators of Buddhist scriptures translated heretics into "immortals", but they didn't want to mislead a large number of fools who didn't know how to read the dead books flexibly, and confused Taoist immortals with Indian monks. I'm really sorry. Second, immortals are not equal to India's heaven. Taoism says that the five paths of reincarnation are roughly equivalent to the six paths of Buddhism: Shinto (heaven and Asura), man, beast, hungry ghost and hell. Shinto itself, as one of the five ways such as ghosts and gods, mostly has its own functions and is bound by heaven. Although they are blessed, they will be demoted if they are guilty, and their situation is the same as what Buddhists call heaven and man and Asura. The so-called fairy house, whether it is the innate respect for the fairy truth, the incarnation of the avenue, or the reality of awakening, has already reached the position of carefree travel in Zhuangzi, not limited by the outside world, not to mention karma. So, it has nothing to do with Shinto. It is common for Taoist incantations to serve Shinto, but they dare not disturb immortals. It is for this reason. Although some monks said that "the immortal family failed to die in the end", Sakyamuni never said this, which is obviously deceptive. If the immortal is bound by karma, he can't go beyond the three realms, and the fairy road is not expensive! 3. Why do many people take it for granted that immortals cannot live without the cycle of life and death? In fact, the reason lies in the image given by Taoist immortals. For example, the gathering of gods' Shinto and Luo immortals in the Yuan Dynasty scrolls made people unilaterally think that there was another human being among Taoist immortals, and Luo Shengdi was heaven, and then naturally they directly grafted the Buddhist view of Indra into the Sanqing realm of Taoism in Luo Tian. Actually, wrong! First of all, the Jade Buddha is not Indra. It is clearly written in The Jade Emperor Sutra that the Jade Emperor was originally a prince of Jingle Kingdom, because he was merciful to all beings, became a monk, and first proved the immortal way, and then proved Jin Xian (the Buddha fruit among the four sacred fruits of Buddhism). He quietly and naturally felt the Buddha Tathagata, and finally achieved the jade emperor's fruit position. If the Buddha fruit of Buddhism has already surpassed the six realms, then the Jade Emperor naturally surpassed the six realms. In fact, the Jade Emperor is not generally understood as the head of one God and the Lord of the Three Realms, but the Great Sage who manages the world according to the road operation. Most importantly, both the Jade Emperor and most Taoist immortals who are now in the stage of emperor, god, king, heaven, official, heaven and man, and even Shinto, have already surpassed reincarnation. They appear in front of people in this way in order to better attract and save all beings in the world, and their forms of expression are the same as Guanyin. Therefore, the Taoist pick Jin Xian has already fallen into reincarnation. In fact, it can be said that he has reached the fruit position of the fairy, just like an arhat, and there is no danger of falling into reincarnation. The six teachings of Buddhism are not found in ancient Indian Buddhist classics. On the other hand, Buddhism in the Han Dynasty gave birth to six Taoist doctrines on the basis of the five Taoist doctrines, probably out of self-esteem, and boasted that the fruit of Buddhism and Taoism was higher than that of immortal Taoism and Shinto. Without thinking, later generations followed suit, and even Taoism sang along. Cause a lie to spread through the ages, it is really a lie of one person, and ten thousand people are wrong! Demons are always mentioned in later Taoist scriptures. The Jade Emperor said in the scripture, "If there is a demon, whoever can smell this incense will have a rest in the Heavenly Palace." It can be seen that the devil also exists in heaven. Tian Jingdi's mantra (or different versions): "Go to Wuyue safely, and within eight seas, the devil will bow down to protect me." Lei Zubao: "With a pure heart, I am willing to subdue all demons with one wisdom." Lingguan curse: "Nurture your divine power, General Qing, and guard the high-ranking officials all day. The train is the third and fifth largest tripterygium wilfordii, and it was ordered to worship ghosts in the third cleanup. Traveling around the world with a golden whip in hand, wearing a golden armor is full of energy. Green boots and windbreaks protect your figure, and your eyes shine. In an instant, I prayed to God for three days and I saved my life for nine days. The silver-toothed phoenix will have three thousand soldiers, and the tiger will have a million soldiers. The former guards who marched against the wind climbed mountains and mountains to catch goblins. Pray for sunshine and rain to help the world, and Yuanguang will understand things. Curing diseases and exorcising evil spirits, such as lightning, gathering epidemics and taking poison, will help ward off evil spirits. Clouds fly in vain and thunder rumbles. All the demons in the Three Realms surrendered, and all the foreigners learned to convert. I am looking forward to today's arrival, and I am very grateful to Ray Jia Wei for his support. " And so on. There are many references to demons in the Taoist scriptures. Taoism also formed the theory of six doctrines in later generations. The Jade Emperor said: "Subtle liberation is the fragrance of nature, which is rich and fragrant. All around the sky, a wonderful paradise, all the earth, all the blessings, and six sentient beings will be enlightened when they smell its fragrance." The so-called heaven, humanity, magic, hell, hungry ghosts and beasts. If heaven is heaven, all heaven and man, or those who can smell this fragrance, will be destroyed forever and become a blessing. If all people are kind, Wang Shu, or if someone can smell the fragrance, they will live a long and happy life. The degree of physical body or extinction is the way to get rid of the shell. If all demons, all demons, or anyone who can smell this fragrance, live in the heavenly palace, fight the pain and get their place. If all the roads to hell, all the evil souls, or those who can smell this fragrance, suffer from hell and get the happiness of pure land. If all the hungry ghosts, all the hungry ghosts, etc. Or anyone who can smell this fragrance, they will be full and have no hunger, thirst or trouble. If all animals know, all animals, or anyone who can smell this fragrance, get rid of the pain of animals and get wisdom and happiness. "It can be seen that the Jade Emperor Classic was written late, but it can be seen that Taoism has formed six local characteristics. In early Taoism, there was no theory of becoming a demon, but a theory of evil spirits and evil brakes, which was called a demon by later generations (evil brakes came from Buddhism). Fourth, the difference between Buddhism and Taoism: Buddhism and Taoism are two different concepts. The "immortals" in Buddhism actually refer to practitioners, mainly practitioners of various schools in India before Buddhism. Taoist "immortal" is actually the fruit position obtained after practice, which refers to immortality, immortality and so on. The true meaning of Taoist "immortal" actually corresponds to Buddhism's Buddha, Bodhisattva and Lohan. When reading the classics of Buddhism and Taoism, we should understand these two concepts, not to mention that Buddhism has a higher fruit position than Taoism. Similarly, the Taoist dragon and the Buddhist dragon are two different concepts. The dragon in Taoism is the highest level of god beast, while primitive Buddhism, especially the dragon in ancient India, is actually a snake. After Buddhism was introduced into China, the dragons in Buddhism began to China, and we in China changed the dragons in Buddhism into dragons in China. In short, many concepts of Buddhism and Taoism, although written in the same language, actually have completely different meanings. This is something we must make clear, and we must not listen to other people's suggestions, lest we make mistakes. Immortals in Buddhism refer to people who practice asceticism outside religion, including Brahmanism, Jainism and other practitioners. These practitioners are not necessarily characterized by longevity. On the contrary, most of them are known for their asceticism and erudition. As for dragons, I will not mention them. Guo Moruo's positioning of "Phoenix" as a story of Phoenix is actually a big joke. To tell the truth, according to this translation logic, we can call the turkey a phoenix bird. As for the status of Taoist immortals, it depends on Taiping Jing. Generally speaking, the status classification of Taoist immortals is beyond the scope of Taiping Jing. The realm and status of Taoist immortals are divided into realms, such as Taiqing Nine Immortals, Shangqing Nine Truths and Jade Qing Nine Saints. There are official positions, such as Tai Shang Huang, Emperor Jun, Wang Shen, Wang Xian, Shinto and so on; Some are divided into spiritual aspects, such as ghosts, people, gods and immortals; There are many ways to practice, such as bridal chamber, Huang Ting, exorcism and so on. For example, Buddhism and the essence of China, Buddhism and the sky in China, Buddhism and the immortals in China, Buddhism and the Tao in China, Buddhism and the dragon in China are not the same meaning. However, many Buddhists are confused, thus belittling China culture, which is a great pity. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that monks do not avoid Taoism and monks do not avoid monks. Buddhism was introduced into Middle China, and a large number of Central Plains cultural elements, including Taoist cultural elements, were incorporated. Therefore, it is an indisputable fact that in China, not only Buddhism and Taoism, but also Confucian culture is collectively called Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which are mutually integrated and develop together. As a famous Buddhist temple and ancestral home of Zen Buddhism, Shaolin Temple's famous "three religions in one" is a good proof. It shows that at least at that time, mutual respect and integration between Buddhism and Taoism was a fact that even Buddhism could readily accept and flaunt. The so-called "Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are interlinked, and the three religions are never the same. "There is no difference between Buddhism and Taoism. You can praise "Amitabha" to the pure land of western bliss, and I think "Taiyi saves the suffering Buddha" can also go to the Changle World in the East. In western words, all roads lead to Rome. There is no dispute between monks and monks, but they respect each other and communicate with each other. It's just that some people who don't know what the real Buddhism is are fighting for it out of their own opinions or interests. Since ancient times, China has been in a leading position in the development of Taoism and Buddhism, including Hongdao's List of Gods and The Journey to the West who is a Buddhist. After all, the profound China culture has always been diverse and rich. Only in the Qing Dynasty, because the royal family believed in Tibetan Buddhism, they were afraid that the Han people would meet Taoism and resist the Manchu Dynasty, and vigorously suppressed Taoism with Chinese culture as the core, which led to the decline of Taoism in modern times. Buddhists should remember such a historical fact. There are many reasons for the decline of Buddhism in India, the birthplace of Buddhism. One of the important reasons is the open-door view, which gives Hinduism a good opportunity to develop followers. Buddhism thrives in China precisely because of the inclusiveness of China culture. Therefore, after Buddhism was introduced into China and gradually matured, there was a harmonious situation in which monks did not avoid Taoism and monks did not avoid monks. The road of the universe is immortal, and Taoism and Buddhism are also exploring and exhausting the truth of the universe. With the extension of the road of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the rejuvenation and prosperity of Taoism and its culture is the general trend. It is the aspiration of the people that Taoism and Buddhism blend and respect each other and work together for a harmonious world and great harmony of mankind.