What are the methods to become immortal through cultivation?

Cultivation is a process of transforming an ordinary person into an extraordinary immortal. According to the inherent Taoist concept of form and spirit, cultivating immortality inevitably pays equal attention to both one's own form and spirit. Therefore, the path to immortality that Taoists have long explored is along the direction of "beauty in form and spirit, harmony with the Tao". However, the path of cultivating immortality that Taoist priests have focused on throughout history varies, and the specific methods they have tried are difficult to count. In terms of the key points, there are roughly the following main explorations.

Take medicationOrigin of Medication: Medication includes two categories: obtaining elixirs of immortality in the fairyland and combining them according to prescriptions. At the beginning of the Warring States period, the alchemists who were engaged in searching for the path to immortality mainly went to places such as the Three Divine Mountains on the sea to find the elixir of immortality. Around the Western Han Dynasty, some people used artificial methods to combine the elixirs. The main raw materials used are gold and stone, and the products made are often called gold pills or gold liquids.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many alchemy books had already been passed down in society, such as the "Taiqing Jin Ye Qi Qi Jing" and the "Huangdi Jiuding Shen Dan Jing", indicating that the theory and technology of alchemy were already quite advanced at that time.

The rise and fall of alchemy require a large investment, and due to the frequent use of gold and stone as raw materials, many of the raw materials and products are toxic. Alchemists have conducted extensive experiments with their own and others' bodies, and found that its side effects are significant. Therefore, after the Tang Dynasty reached its peak in alchemy, people also discovered its drawbacks. After the Northern Song Dynasty, fewer and fewer people dared to take alchemy, and its methods declined. At the same time as alchemy, there was also alchemy, which used base metals such as lead and iron to refine "precious metals" such as medicinal gold and silver. However, the synthesized gold and silver only resembled gold and silver in appearance and certain properties, rather than real gold and silver.

The influence of Jin Dan, Huang Bai Shu ultimately led to their decline, but they were pioneers in human pursuit of artificial control of material changes and experimental chemistry research, occupying an important page in the history of human civilization. During and before the Tang Dynasty, the technique of alchemy was the most important part of the cultivation of immortality.

Refining Qi and Guiding

Immortal families have long regarded taking qi and refining qi as the basic methods of cultivating immortality. Even when taking golden pills, they often combine them with refining qi. During the Warring States period, the famous literary figure Qu Yuan wrote "Yuan You", which mentioned the method of convincing oneself. Later on, there was a great development in the Taoist practice of taking qi, including various techniques such as refining external qi, preserving thoughts, maintaining unity, and fetal rest. However, although there are many techniques, in Taoism, these methods of subduing qi are adopted as the main or auxiliary methods for cultivating immortality. Later, they were introduced to society and became physical exercises that ordinary people can exercise. That will be discussed later. Another type of method related to Qi absorption is guidance and massage, which are also introduced as immortal techniques in the field of Qi refining, such as inducing qi and blood, expelling the old and absorbing the new.

Internal Alchemy

Internal alchemy developed on the basis of taking qi. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei Boyang wrote the book "Zhouyi Cantong Qi", which combined the technique of alchemy with internal refining, but his theory had little influence at that time. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the drawbacks of consuming Golden Pills were increasingly recognized, so some people in the Taoist sect turned their attention to exploring the inherent resources of essence, qi, and spirit in the body to refine into an immortal body. This method is called internal alchemy. The reason why it is called internal alchemy is relative to the traditional Golden Elixir technique that uses external gold and stone as raw materials. Many theories and terms of Inner Alchemy are derived from the traditional Golden Alchemy, but their foundations are quite different, so they are specifically called "Inner Alchemy", while the original Golden Alchemy is called Outer Alchemy. Both types of alchemy are often referred to as Golden Pills, Great Pills, and Golden Liquid Returning Pills. Whether a alchemy book talks about internal or external alchemy depends on what materials are used in the process and techniques of alchemy (often referred to as Great Pills in alchemy books). From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, internal alchemy gradually replaced the original external alchemy and became the mainstream of cultivation techniques.

Accumulate merit

Holding various religious rituals and spells for people to accumulate merit and ultimately reach the realm of immortals. Taoism has always been skilled in performing various spells to dispel disasters and pray for blessings for the people and society. These spells have also formed rituals with strong targeting but many common characteristics. In Taoism, they are called ritual rituals, ritual standards, and ritual standards, with fasting and ritual rituals as the main forms of expression. Therefore, they are generally referred to as a combination of fasting and ritual rituals, referring to various types of rituals. These rituals are the main means of communication between humans and gods. According to Daoist beliefs, the result of their implementation is to help the people overcome difficulties, while also accumulating merit for oneself. Practicing them devoutly will eventually lead to enlightenment. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Zheng Suonan wrote in his book "Tai Chi Sacrifice and Refining Internal Methods": "To be confident and dedicated, one must accumulate strength at the beginning and eventually achieve enlightenment. He also said, "For those who can always practice this ritual and refine the inner law with a deep heart, I wish to protect them from disasters forever. I wish those who learn from immortals can quickly become immortals and eventually transcend to the ultimate path." Zheng Suonan's words about quick immortals and enlightenment mean that presiding over ceremonies to relieve people's worries also has a profound impact on practitioners themselves, ultimately enabling them to succeed in their religious ideals and enter the realm of immortals.

Don't forget your roots

To achieve great success in the human world without forgetting the roots, and even after retiring, one can become immortal or become a god after death. Those who have entered the Taoist pantheon in the sacrificial ceremonies of various dynasties, such as Guan Di, Du Tian Da Di (Zhang Xun), and Yue Fei (Yue Fei), are all goddesses of this kind. It should be pointed out that although there are various differences in the ways of cultivating immortality in Taoism, in actual cultivation activities, various methods are practiced together and coordinated with each other. At the same time, regardless of the type of cultivation secret technique one engages in, the practitioner must establish a heart, practice the Tao, accumulate virtue, constantly examine the body and mind, purify the original mind, eliminate distractions, and do good deeds in the world.

Strictly speaking, the several basic methods of cultivating immortality mentioned earlier belong to the scope of "magic", while the moral requirement of accumulating virtue through the practice of the Tao is that the two must work together in order to cultivate the Great Dao.