According to "The Book of the Tao gives God a deed", "The ancients sacrificed altars, and later generations had state altars. Remember: the altar is not in the house, but the ancient altar is in the wild. Today, under the house, it is simple. " It shows that the ancient altar was originally open-air, and later it was changed into a temple. Different forms of fasting often have altars of different sizes. In large-scale fasting activities, there are usually several altars, one of which is the main altar, called "Du altar", and the other altars are called "Fentan". For example,1the "Luotian Dayan" held in Baiyunguan, Beijing in September 1993. There are memorial tablets dedicated to 1200 gods, including Capital Altar, Imperial Altar, Deguan Altar, Sanguan Altar, Gratitude Altar, Relief Altar, Peace Altar and Qing Xuantan.
The altar of Quanzhen Sect is called "Mixed Yuan Zong Altar", and it is printed with "Taoist scriptures and teachers' treasures". The altar where the abbot lectured was called "Du Xuan Dharma Altar". The altar of the orthodox school, known as "Wanfa Zongtan", was named as "Yangping Governing Wangong" by Shi Tian and has been passed down to this day.
In the fasting ceremony, Taoist priests with certain titles and positions are collectively called deacons, that is, deacons of the altar. According to Jin Shu Zhai Bu Zhi Yi Shuo, the deacons mainly include:
Gao Gong: Ranked first among the deacons. The incumbent must be "full of morality, equipped with dignity, the return of heaven and man, and the foresight of ghosts and gods"; In the ceremony, we should "sneak into the morning, honor and declare virtue, benefit the three circles of the week, and be more polite to the officials."
Prison: second only to high arch. His duties are: first, to "always uphold the articles of association, ban classics, correct the altar position and promote Taiwan"; The second is to "judge right and wrong, calmly give simplicity, be strict and have wings, and not abuse." That is, in charge of scientific etiquette, he is the deputy of Gao Gong.
They all say that they are called "three magicians" with Gao Gong and Jian Zhai. The incumbent must be "proficient in Confucius, proficient in law, good at singing and foreman"; "Xuan altar step by step on the seat. Appear to the people, tacit understanding. "That is, the supervisor sings hymns, leads the way, and is also the deputy of high arch.
The above three positions are called "three magicians" by the orthodox school, but only "high arch" by the Quanzhen school, not "magician". However, each of them has a clear function and complements each other, and * * * plays a leading role in the ceremony. Other deacons also have their own responsibilities:
Attendant: A Taoist who is responsible for displaying, sorting out and collecting Confucian classics, and preparing for chanting, tuning and matching.
Shi Xiang: The Taoist priest in charge of cleaning incense burners and incense tables kept burning incense during the ceremony.
Lamp attendant: A Taoist who is responsible for arranging and cleaning lighting fixtures, and keeps the lighting of lamps and candles uninterrupted during the ceremony.
Zhi Qing and Zhi Zhong: Taoist priests who are responsible for fighting against Qing and loyalty. The sound of bells directly determines the rhythm of chanting and ceremonies.
In addition, according to the Taiqing Jade Book, there are four deacons in the altar:
Refiner: "I am also conscientious, both inside and outside are white." If my heart is too fragile; Virtue and health are beneficial to life, and compassion is sincerely advocated. The wonderful use of Li Kan, coincidental Yuan Gong; Improve quality and truth, and be extraordinary. "
Photographer: "I am also conscientious and have strict prestige. I preach the occult, and I'm just a few degrees away, and I'm right in front of you. The voice of gold and jade, the rhyme and beauty of answering, must be respected and forbidden to thank and pray. "
Zhengyi: "Do your duty, run through scientific instruments, purge metaphysical procedures, serve honest people and be strict with yourself."
Prison altar: "You must be strict and clean to perform your duties, stir up turbidity and clear qi, absorb evil spirits and strengthen the body, and promote the altar." When you understand the truth and reach the spirit, you fake the power of supervision. Things have to be done, lest it be late. "
Sweep said, "Do your duty, clear the cloud road and clean up the dust atmosphere."
Know the furnace: "I am also conscientious, I am the leader of the fairy office."
The preface said, "Do your duty, recite the cave chapter and sing a model of metaphysics."
Confession: "Do your duty, play Chen Qiange, and pay attention to accuracy." On the altar of Taoism, pay attention to certain rules, which is called dignity. Because the handover between God and man cannot be neglected, rules are made. The purpose is to "stop them from being lazy, check their violations, observe their activities and concealment, and observe their sincerity." If there is any mistake, correct it with everything. "
The Book of Emperor Tao and Jade contains clear altar rules and lists 35 rules, which shows that the altar is strictly disciplined.
There are necessary settings and articles on the altar, mainly including:
Donors: censers, candlesticks, vases, incense sticks, etc.
Sacrifice: such as incense, flowers, lights, water, fruits, etc.
Instruments: There are two kinds of instruments commonly used in Taoism: one is the instrument for promoting immortality, looking at ancestors and exorcising evil spirits, such as Chaojian (Gui Jian), Ruyi, Yushu, Yuxi, Sword (Fa Jian), Command Flag, Command Arrow, Token (summoning the gods to sign), Tian Peng ruler (the ruler is a mahogany ruler), Zhentan wood, etc. One is all kinds of percussion instruments, such as cymbals, clangs, cymbals, bells, drums, bells, snails, chimes and so on.
Building banner: the building is made of a treasure cover and a handle, which is used to take things. Banners have no cover and are mostly used for hanging.
Symbol Jane: that is, the yellow paper symbol.
Chapter table: namely table text.
Dharma water: clean the water of the altar.
Hand burner: that is, an incense burner with a handle, which is held by hand.
Among altar instruments, it has its unique operation and shape. Types, mainly include chanting, incense, praise table and other external skills, saving thoughts, chewing teeth, gathering spirits and other internal skills. Now choose to talk about it:
Curse: refers to the language used by gods In ancient times, "mantra" passed "wish" and generally ended with "haste is the law". Holding a spell can invite God, exorcise evil spirits, save lives, protect the body and so on.
Unique skill: the shape of fingers knotted and pinched in a certain way is called unique skill, and its process is called unique skill. Pinch tactic can control evil, and service can cure diseases. Different gods have different strategies, such as Lingguan strategy and Doom strategy.
Step: refers to stepping and fighting. According to legend, it originated in Yu Xia, so it is also called "Fish Bu". "Gang" refers to Tiangang and "Dou" refers to Beidou. Arch high on the altar and pretend to be the abbot's place, thinking that the sky is nine. According to the orientation of the stars, you can charm the sky with one step. There are many kinds of gangs, such as Sambo Gang, Twenty-eight Nights Gang, Jiaotai Gang and so on, each with its own usage.
Lamp: refers to the burning altar on the altar. Field lights and candles, a common ritual element, were originally an independent ritual body, and were later incorporated into other ceremonies. Its function is to shine in heaven, go to hell and draw out the dead. Therefore, after the death of the deceased, we must "learn from heaven and light a sign" in order to achieve "transcendence of good and evil".
Worship: the most common ritual element in Taoist altars. Commonly known as "kowtow" and "bow", both Taoists and believers should worship in front of idols inside and outside the Taoist temple, which is the primary and fundamental of humanitarian religious belief. Those who are new to human nature must learn to worship first, which is called "kowtowing". There are four ways: kowtowing, giving gifts, obedience and sincerity.
Chanting: The most common ritual element in Taoist altars refers to chanting. Learn to recite the scriptures first, and then learn to be polite. When reciting, one person recites alone and others recite together; Some recited it once, and some recited it many times. There are also many ways to do it, such as mind mantra, figurative mantra, spiritual mantra, heartfelt blessing, secret blessing, micro-blessing and so on. Through chanting, we can finally eliminate natural disasters and protect the town emperor; Poison the people, to show the people, life and death depend on each other, and it is difficult to win.
Complement: refers to the tune used to satirize the lyrics on the altar. According to legend, its melody is like the ethereal spirit of a fairy walking in the void, so it is also called "empty voice". The words filled in according to Buxuqu are called "Buxuqu". Xu Sheng has beautiful singing skills and profound artistic connotation. The great poet Du Fuzan said: "This song should have been in the sky, but it can be heard on earth."
Memory: a "memory", referred to as "memory". It is required to close one's eyes or slightly close one's eyes and think about the real appearance and activity state of a certain thing or god, so as to concentrate one's thoughts, eliminate other thoughts and enter the realm of the transition between man and god. According to Taoism, fasting is meaningless if Jane doesn't know how to think and can't communicate with man and God's world. The object of thinking is very wide, including thinking about astronomical phenomena (sun, moon, stars, clouds, etc. ), scenery (gas, fire), human body (five internal organs, abdomen), spirit truth (inside the god but outside the god), etc. , mostly taught by mentoring.
Knock on the teeth: that is, the upper teeth knock on the lower teeth to gather spirits to exorcise evil spirits. Generally speaking, it can be divided into four types: Ming ancient days (left knocking), striking Tianqing (right knocking) and Ming ancient methods (four thousand four hundred * * * eight-year-old knocking teeth). Knock on the Young Tianmen on the left to respond to the lamb of God, knock on the right to surrender and drive away, and drum to communicate with God, so as to use it when playing the court (see The Imperial Jade Letter).
Entering the table: refers to the ceremony of Taoist priests playing the table text (blue word table) in the heaven, also known as "going to the table". Its procedure is to open an altar, invite saints and worship the table. Its usage depends on the position of God. It is called "upper table" for the highest Taoist god and "upper sparse" for the general gods. Finally, the inscription was incinerated, which was called "melting the inscription", in order to send it to heaven to sacrifice to the gods, and the saints came to the altar to pray for longevity.
Refining: that is, using symbols to transform ghosts and gods, so as to cross over. Refining refers to refining the soul of the dead with real water and fire; Degree refers to the way of repairing Zhai and pulling out ghosts. Its function is to "serve strangers (charm) and restore their spirits." And ghosts and gods get it; It can also be measured "(see" Shangqing Lingbao Dafa Fire and Water Boutique ").
Giving food: a ritual element of Daoyi, also called "welcoming food" or "liberation", commonly known as "flame mouth", that is, fasting and crossing ghosts and gods. Taoism did not eat in the early days, and it took shape in the early Liu and Song Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, and it had considerable influence and scale in the Tang Dynasty. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, rice was served in the thatched cottage, which was called "welcome dish". Until liberation, some temples still kept this practice. When giving alms, we should use the method of "sacrificial training", that is, we should try our best to keep our thoughts alive, use God to make them ascend to heaven as soon as possible and drive away ghosts.
Scattered flowers: a common ritual element in the composition of altar ceremonies. Through the imaginary fairy drive, the altar was transformed into a Yao altar where immortals lived, and they thought they were immortals in the altar, so scattering flowers was one of the ritual contents of praising immortals and transforming the altar. Different from Buddhism, Taoism's "scattered flowers" are not scattered on the spot, but chanting, so there are many kinds of scattered flowers, mostly five words, seven words, songs and so on.
Resolve grievances and settle the knot: the so-called grievances mainly refer to all kinds of interpersonal grievances in the world, which have caused the involvement of yin litigation, the suffering of people and ghosts, and the retribution of the world. It is believed that scientific instruments and runes should be used to resolve grievances and settle the knot, so as to achieve immortality of the evil spirits and peace in the world.
Flower bed shutter door: flower bed refers to turning the altar into a fairyland and a fairy world of Yao altar; The shutter man is like a king on the earth listening to politics in the face of the court, and the shutter man listens to high performance. This kind of ceremony is mostly completed by changing symbols, praising and remembering. And there is a "inverted brake" in the rhyme.
Initiate the teacher, thank the teacher: that is, salute the third teacher. The three realms refer to the academic circles of degree, nationality and classics. Each avenue has its own ancestral altar. At the beginning of the opening ceremony, Gao Gonggong started the third division on the altar of teachers. Please bless him and call him a teacher. When you go down to the altar, in order to remember the teacher's kindness, you should thank the third division. This is called Xie Shien.
The above ritual elements constitute a fast, big and small scene.