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

Same as the previous chapter, mostly explains the magic tools, you can skip it.

In addition to bells and drums, Taoists also set up ten instruments in Taoist rituals, including a bowl, a lamp, a sword, a mirror, a token, a wooden fish, a tablet, a ruler, a seal, and a ruyi.

In Taoist rituals, such as releasing river lanterns, offering food to the hungry ghosts, worshiping the stars, the Luotian Grand Ceremony, etc., although the procedures are different, the ritual instruments placed in the Taoist temples are roughly the same. There are ten common types, collectively known as the Taoist temple's "Ten Treasures."

The Dou is the star. Placing the Dou on the altar symbolizes the universe and the world. The Taoist scripture "Dongzhen Taishang Feixing Yujing Jiuzhen Shengxuan Shangji" explains that the Dou is "the root of yin and yang, the mysterious principle of the two images." Offering sacrifices to the Dou star can pray for peace in the world, the fertility of all things, and the endless life of society.

In Taoist rituals, lamps are one of the most commonly used instruments.

The lamp is a long-burning lamp lit with scented oil, usually placed in the center of the altar. Its function is to replace the light of the sun, moon and stars, illuminate the netherworld with divine light, and light the way for lonely ghosts and dead souls to be reborn.

The Taoist scriptures say: "The twine of phoenix candles is like a silver lamp, which can illuminate the dark and give light. Ten thousand rays of light clear the darkness, and nine colors of brilliance illuminate Fengdu. The host of the fasting ceremony will now offer the lamp to help the ghosts to ascend to heaven."

"The lamps are offered, illuminating the heavens, illuminating the dark night prison. The silver lamps light up at dawn, reaching the Ruizhu Palace. In the three realms, there are trees of fire and jade. Thousands of rays of light shine in the blue sky, and the five colors shine in Fengdu, connecting heaven and earth."

The sword was originally a weapon used by people on the battlefield in ancient times. Later, because of its sharp blade, it was pretended to be a magic weapon and used in rituals to exorcise demons.

Among Taoist instruments, swords are basically of two types. One is swords made of metal, mainly copper and iron; the other is swords made of peach wood.

The sword is made of metal with a sharp blade, about seven feet long, and has seven stars engraved on both sides. It is commonly known as the Seven-Star Sword. It is used with both yin and yang swords and is usually placed on the altar.

When a high-level magician performs a ritual, he chants incantations and waves his magic sword with both hands. The sword blade flashes with cold light, carrying lightning and divine wind. Evil spirits dare not approach, and ghosts stay away from them. Masculine energy is extended, and the gloomy energy disappears.

Wang Qinruo of the Song Dynasty wrote in the Biography of Yisheng Baode when talking about the role of the sword as a magical instrument: "There are three sword methods... If you strike a sick person, the evil spirit will be dissipated and the person will not be harmed. If the earth gods do evil, the water creatures give birth to monsters, and the land is in disaster, the country is worried, it should be dealt with by the upper sword. If there are monsters in the mountains and swamps, or flying beasts, they will terrify the people and harm the people. They should be dealt with by the middle sword. If there are demons and monsters, they will bring evil and violent things to harm people, they should be dealt with by the lower sword."

Peach wood swords are often hung at the entrance to the altar. According to folklore, peach wood can ward off evil spirits, subdue demons and suppress disasters.

"Taoist Book Yuanshenqi" states: "In ancient times, peach wood was used to remove bad luck. Houyi died from a peach stick, so later generations used it to drive away ghosts."

The mirrors used in palaces, temples and altars are round in shape. Taoists call them magic mirrors and they are hung just above the shrines in the altars.

Taoism believes that mirrors can reveal the true form of evil spirits, so that they dare not approach the altar, dare not enter the palace, and quickly stay away from the world.

When discussing the function of mirrors, Baopuzi said: "Therefore, in ancient times, Taoists who went into the mountains all carried a bright mirror that was nine inches long or more, so that old ghosts would not dare to approach them."

In ancient China, when government offices were adjudicating cases, deploying troops, or gathering men and women, they would slap a token on the desk to indicate that they had made up their minds and would take immediate action.

The fundamental purpose of Taoist rituals is to summon the gods and generals, drive away evil spirits, protect the living and bring longevity and health to the lonely souls, and let them be liberated and go to heaven.

Therefore, the token is a very important tool for the high-level master. The high-level master is doing justice for the heaven.

The Taoist scripture "Dao Fa Hui Yao" points out: "Someone asked on the altar how to transform into a god. The master (referring to the master) said: The Yuanshi ancestor divided the true energy into one breath, I am the Yuanshi, and the Yuanshi is me. This is called transforming into a god."

When the high-level master slaps the token and chants the incantation "Hurry up and obey the order", the heavenly soldiers and generals will rush to the altar and wait for orders. At this time, the ritual reaches its climax and the purpose of the Taoist temple is achieved.

Generally speaking, the tokens in palaces and temples are made of red jujube wood or maple wood. They are solid and eye-catching, and their size and specifications are the same as those of tokens used on the stage.

It’s just that the front of the token used by Taoism is engraved with “Five Thunder Commands”, and the back is engraved with “Summoning All Spirits” to highlight its religious color.

Whether in Buddhist temples or Taoist temples, wooden fish is one of the most common ritual instruments. Made of high-quality wood, it looks like a fish, with a hollow center. When struck, it makes a clear, loud, and pleasant sound.

The purpose of wooden fish is to chant scriptures while beating them. The chanting of scriptures has ups and downs and rhythms according to the pitch and speed of the wooden fish. The second is that the larger wooden fish, because of its high volume, is sometimes used to replace bells and drums to play the role of issuing orders.

"The Chapter on Dharma Instruments" in Baizhang Qinggui states: "According to legend, fish are awake all day and night, so people carve wooden figures of their own and hit them to scare them away."

From this we can see that beating the wooden fish while chanting is a warning to those who are chanting that they cannot be the slightest bit slack or lazy when they become monks and nuns, and they must be diligent and self-motivated. If they have mastered the skills, their cultivation will naturally be like a fish in water, and they will surely achieve the right result.

In ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, ministers had to attend the morning court every morning and discuss matters in the Golden Palace. Each minister who reported to the emperor held a tablet in both hands, and the side of the tablet facing away from the emperor was written with matters that should be reported to the emperor.

The Taoist altar is like a court on earth, imitating the laws of heaven and earth. The high-ranking master holds the tablet in both hands and faces the Emperor of Heaven. The religious significance of this is that the spells and incantations that reach the heaven in his mind are all written on the tablet; the will of the Emperor of Heaven is also recorded on the tablet and is followed and implemented without any omissions; holding the tablet in hand to pay homage to the saints implies that one should shield oneself and not directly offend the face of the emperor.

The Taoist scripture "Dongzhen Taishang Taixiao Langshu" records that the hu: "is made of bamboo, two feet and four inches long, three inches wide, and three inches thick, trimmed with ivory bones and added with fish whiskers. Hold it in the hand and insert a pen into the head. The king has given an order, and I am afraid you will not forget it, so I write it down so that it will not be lost. Please obey and carry it out, and record it on bamboo slips."

The ruler in the Taoist temple is made of peach wood, which is used in Taoist rituals because it can drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The length of the ruler is basically the same as the city ruler used for folk measurement, about 33 cm. However, there are special spells and talisman patterns engraved on the ruler.

The religious meaning of the ruler in the altar is also to measure. In the mind of the high-level master, the performance of the lonely ghosts in the underworld can only be measured and judged by the ruler.

Thus, the dead souls are divided into good and evil categories to be treated differently. Furthermore, it is a reminder for the world to do good and gain blessings, and abandon evil and get rid of misfortunes.

Seal is also called Dharma seal, which means mark or identification.

"The general seal is used to seal all dharmas, which cannot be changed." This means that all the dharma texts in temples that are related to heaven and earth and gods will become fixed after being stamped with the dharma seal, and cannot be changed.

In palaces, temples and altars, all large petitions, green poems, hung banners, chanted mantras, drawn talismans, etc., which Taoists offer to the gods in heaven must be stamped with the seal of the Dharma to show their seriousness.