A leisurely life that begins with the possession of a game character

Most of the content is about the introduction of magic tools, and it does not advance the plot, so you can skip it.

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Dharma instruments are also called Buddha instruments, Dao instruments, Buddhist tools, Dharma instruments or Dao tools. In a broad sense, any instrument used by practitioners or instruments with special functions can be called Dharma instruments. All solemn altars in Buddhist temples, as well as instruments used for praying, practicing Dharma, offerings, ceremonies and other Buddhist affairs, or the rosary carried by Buddhists, and even the tools used for practice such as staffs, can be called Dharma instruments.

In terms of the inner meaning, any equipment used to make offerings to the Buddhas, adorn the temple, and cultivate and verify the Dharma in order to practice the path to complete Buddhahood is a Dharma instrument.

There are many types of instruments, and the uses, shapes, and sizes of various instruments vary greatly. Therefore, many changes have occurred in different time and space. Even instruments with the same name have great differences in form, material, and production methods due to differences in time, country, region, and even religion. In religious arts and crafts, instruments are often the representative.

Buddhist instruments are usually divided into six categories, including the instruments for solemn Buddhist halls, mandalas, and temples, including: altars, Sumeru altars, banners, covers, sutra pillars, etc.

There are daily utensils for offering to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, including: lamps, flowers, incense, incense burners, clothes (left for display and right for precepts), and yatra vessels.

There are instruments used for daily activities in temples or temporary gatherings, as well as for leading people in chanting, ceremonies and various rituals. They include wooden fish, bells, drums, chimes, cloud boards, etc.

There are also some utensils that eminent monks carry with them and use in their daily lives, including: bowls, three robes, bath beans, headscarves, etc. The bracelet that Ni Yuqing brought can also be classified into this category.

In addition to their practical uses in daily life, there are also instruments that Zen masters often use to enlighten their students, such as whisks, ruyi, bamboo combs, and cushions.

Finally, there are also instruments for spiritual practice that can be collected or installed, such as: Buddhist shrines, stupas, sutra boxes, precept boxes, etc.

In addition, there are also ritual instruments frequently used by frontier sects in their practice of Dharma, including mandala, vajra bell, vajra, conch, and Homa instruments.

There are also some special ritual instruments, such as thangka, khata, food offerings, eight auspicious symbols, seven treasures, skull vessels, and gawu.

In addition to the extremely high value of Buddhist tool art, the most important thing for practitioners is, of course, to understand the inner spirit of the instrument and apply it to the practice of Buddhism to practice the perfect Buddhist path. This is the true style of the instrument.

The above is Buddhism. In Taoism, ritual instruments also have important significance and function in the religious life of Taoists and Taoist fasting and offering rituals. Some ritual instruments are even objects that accompany people throughout their lives and cannot be separated from them.

As the name suggests, ritual instruments are the utensils used by Taoists when performing rituals. However, some Taoists also often wear and use ritual instruments in their daily lives.

There are many types of Taoist instruments, with different structures and materials. According to their uses and religious meanings, there are roughly four aspects of religious intentions:

First, in rituals, instruments can communicate with spirits. The sound of instruments can reach heaven and hell, conveying the wishes and prayers of the high-level master presiding over the ritual to the spirits and the netherworld, so as to achieve the purpose of mutual communication between humans and spirits, and the resonance between heaven and man.

Secondly, the Zhengyi Taoist priests use talismans in their temples to ward off evil spirits, drive away ghosts, subdue demons, and conquer monsters in order to achieve their desire to uphold good and eliminate evil.

Thirdly, Quanzhen Taoists carry it with them or wear it, and its main purpose is basically to ward off evil spirits and demons, and it can also be used for self-defense.

Fourth, in Taoist rituals, it is used to play Taoist music or provide accompaniment to enhance the religious atmosphere and create a special atmosphere of a mysterious heaven and earth.

The most commonly used instruments in Taoist rituals are drums and bells. Drums are one of the most common and frequently used instruments in Taoist temples. There are many different styles and names of drums, such as bronze drums, wooden drums, spirit drums, etc.

The size of the drums varies. A large drum may be carried by several adults, while a small one can be held by one person. The placement and display of the drums are also different. Some are placed on wooden racks in the hall, some are hung under the purlins, and the hand drums are held in the hands of Taoists.

Because the sound of the drum is loud, rich, round and deep, with a strong resonant sound effect, Taoists believe that beating the drum in temples serves the purpose of giving orders.

When Taoists go to the temple, worship the gods, and perform morning and evening rituals, they do so by beating drums. At the hour of Yin, the abbot of the Taoist temple or the Taoist priest on duty goes to the temple and beats three drums to summon Taoists to the temple to recite the imperial sutra and perform morning rituals. At the hour of Xu, the drums are beaten to stop the Taoists from going to bed.

The second is to communicate with the gods. Whether in morning and evening classes or in chanting sutras and rituals, there must be drum accompaniment. In addition to the musical effect and the need to increase the religious atmosphere, the drum sound can directly reach the heavens and hells, informing the gods of the immortal world of the ongoing ritual activities.

The third is the awakening effect. For the disciples of the Taoist school and the common people, the sound of the drum can awaken the deaf and wake up the worldly thoughts of the common people.

The Taoist scriptures say, "Life is empty, death is empty, life and death are inseparable, the dead souls come to the altar and listen to my three beats of the Dharma drum." The religious function of the drum is determined by the size of the drum, the time and place of beating, the speed of the drum beats, and the pitch of the drum.

As the saying goes, bells and drums ring together, morning bells and evening drums. This means that bells and drums are two instruments that complement each other in temples and are almost indispensable.

The Daoist scriptures point out that the Dharma drum should be played three times, and the golden bell should be held in all directions, inviting the master to the throne to preach and save sentient beings. The bells in temples also come in different sizes.

Large bells are usually hung in bell towers. Most of them are made of copper or iron, and their weights range from hundreds of pounds to tens of thousands of pounds. Bells hung in bell towers are mainly used to issue orders.

It is recorded in the scriptures that: "The big bell is the beginning of the forest's orders. When it is struck in the morning, it breaks the long night's sleep; when it is struck in the evening, it awakens the dark streets."

This means that ringing the bell in the morning is to wake up the monks to get up early, and ringing the bell in the evening can break the dullness and gloom of the temple at dusk, stimulate the vitality and energy of the temple, and summon the Taoists to meditate and practice in the evening.

During major collective sacrificial activities, people pray for blessings and ward off disasters. The clear, loud and pleasant sound of the big bell can convey the common language of mortals to heaven and please the gods, thus achieving the common goals of humans and gods.

On the bell tower of Wudang Mountain, there is an inscription that reads: "Re-erect the ancient bell with piety, and comfort the country and the people. Strike loudly and ring loudly in the sky, and the voices of thousands of blessings will be heard in the white clouds."

In addition, in other Taoist rituals, the small copper bell shaken by high priests and magicians is also called the Emperor Bell, the Dharma Bell, the Three Pure Ones Bell, etc. There is a knot made of three intertwined copper bars on the top of the bell, which symbolizes the Three Pure Ones Bell and has infinite magical powers.

The "ding-ding-ding" sound of the copper bell cranked by a high-level master not only adds to the musical effect of the Taoist temple, but more importantly, it can exorcise demons and suppress evil.

It is said in the scriptures that if one holds the Emperor's bell in one's hand, one can throw fire ten thousand miles away and the flowing bell will strike eight times.

The Daoist Book Yuanshenqi Di Zhong says: In ancient times, dancers held cymbals when worshipping gods. Di Zhong is a smaller cymbal.