Wulei Mountain, a Taoist Holy Site
After its founding by Zhang Daoling in the Eastern Han dynasty, Chinese Taoism developed over more than 500 years and reached a peak during the Tang dynasty. Because Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan declared that "Laozi is my ancestor," he vigorously supported Taoism, and Taoist temples sprang up everywhere. It was at this time that Wulei Mountain in Cili acquired its Taoist buildings. According to the Tongzhi-era "Cili County Gazetteer"...
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
After Chinese Daoism was founded by Zhang Daoling in the Eastern Han dynasty, it went through more than 500 years of development and reached a peak during the Tang dynasty. Because Tang Gaozu Li Yuan declared that "the Old Lord is my ancestor," he vigorously supported Daoism, and Daoist temples sprang up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain. It was also at this time that Daoist temple buildings appeared at Wulei Mountain in Cili. According to the Tongzhi edition of the Cili County Gazetteer from the Qing dynasty: "Li Jing, Duke of Wei of the Tang dynasty, claimed to be a descendant of the Li clan of the teaching ancestor and founded a Daoist temple at Dawei Mountain in Cili County." Dawei Mountain was later renamed "Wulei Mountain" because "thunder swept its hall, and bells and drums sounded by themselves."
After the Tang dynasty, there are few records of Wulei Mountain's development over several hundred years. By the Yuan dynasty, Zhang Dui, a Hanlin compiler from Cili County, returned in seclusion to this mountain and rebuilt palace buildings such as the Zhenwu Temple. Only then did Wulei Mountain become widely famous and become a "scenic spot of Jingnan." Why was Zhang Dui able to rebuild and revive the Wulei Mountain Daoist temple? The reason is actually very simple. Genghis Khan, the "Proud Son of Heaven" of the Yuan dynasty, greatly worshipped Daoism. The great master of the Quanzhen Daoist school, Qiu Chuji, at the advanced age of 70, traveled thousands of miles to the desert to meet Genghis Khan, explained Daoist arts to him, and urged him to "take loving the people and respecting the people as the foundation, and purity of heart and few desires as the essential." Genghis Khan granted him a tiger-head tablet and ordered him to oversee Daoism throughout the realm. With the emperor's decree, Qiu Chuji and his disciples immediately vigorously expanded the religion, and thereafter the development of Daoism across the country entered a period of great prosperity. Against this background, it is not surprising that the Daoist temple at Wulei Mountain was able to flourish.
At the time when the azaleas were in full bloom, I followed the narrow mountain ridge path and strolled toward the high summit of Wulei Mountain. The magnificent temples and palaces were right before my eyes, and visitors were coming and going in an endless stream. I had seen many such palaces and temples in scenic areas, and here I only felt they were somewhat largely similar, and they did not arouse much interest in me. But on the way to the summit, I saw an old Daoist in a long blue robe with a white beard, elegant and free, sitting cross-legged motionless on a large rock at the edge of a ten-thousand-fathom cliff. His image was like a "living Bodhisattva," and it immediately aroused my curiosity. Opposite the old Daoist sat a woman in a red windbreaker, about 30 years old, pretty and uncommon in appearance.
I walked up and stopped a few steps away from the two. At this moment I heard the woman in red say: "Master, what are you doing sitting at the edge of this cliff? If you accidentally fall, what then?"
"No harm! No harm!" the old Daoist laughed heartily: "I am practicing sitting meditation. Even if I sit for several days, I will not fall off the cliff."
"How long have you been sitting here?" the woman asked again.
"I began sitting the afternoon before yesterday, not yet two full days and nights!" replied the old Daoist.
"Oh my, you have already sat for two days, truly extraordinary." The woman said again: "Master, are you the abbot of this temple?"
"No, I am a wandering Daoist from all directions, and have only been here a few days."
After the old Daoist said this, his eyes seemed open yet not open, and he still devoted himself solely to sitting in meditation.
The woman in red seemed unable to bear disturbing him, and stood up and walked forward. I also left the old Daoist and continued strolling toward the summit. As I walked, I thought: this old Daoist had practiced sitting meditation for two days, and by the look of him showed no trace of fatigue, which showed his skill was indeed extraordinary. It is said that great Daoists in ancient times could fly to heaven and enter earth, and those who could walk on bears could stay submerged in water for days and nights; in the scorching summer, they could shut themselves in a room like a steamer without eating or drinking; in the severe winter cold, they could sit bare-bodied in an ice cave for several nights without freezing. Such skills are recorded in many Daoist classics, but seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Today, having seen this old Daoist sitting in meditation at the cliff edge, I thought this Daoist skill should indeed live up to its reputation!
Stepping onto the golden summit of Wulei Mountain, I saw very many people burning incense and setting off firecrackers. Asking several pilgrims, I learned that the purpose of their coming to this mountain, besides worshipping the gods and praying for blessings, was actually specifically to "seek the Dao."
Then I thought of a story told by Zhuangzi in the chapter "Heaven's Revolutions." When Confucius was 51, he still had not obtained the Dao. He went to seek an audience with Lao Dan, and Lao Dan asked him how he sought the Dao. Confucius replied: "I sought the Dao from systems and regulations and names and numbers, and after seeking for five years I still had not obtained the Dao. Later I sought the Dao from the transformations of yin and yang, and for twelve years I still had not obtained the Dao." Lao Dan replied: "Yes. If the Dao could be offered, then no one would fail to offer it to others." The meaning is that if the Dao could be offered, told, or given, people would long ago all have obtained it. The Dao cannot be summoned, nor can it be sought. Because the Dao is not a kind of entity. Laozi said: "When the highest type of man hears of the Dao, he diligently practices it; when the average man hears of the Dao, he seems to keep it and seems to lose it; when the lowest type of man hears of the Dao, he laughs greatly at it. If it were not laughed at, it would not be worthy to be the Dao (Chapter 41)." The general meaning of these words is: when the highest type of man hears the Dao, he strives to practice it and realize it; when the average man hears the Dao, he is only half-believing and half-doubting; when the lowest type of man hears the Dao, he laughs heartily. If it were not laughed at, it would not be worthy to be the Dao.
Laozi's and later Daoists' explanations of the Dao all seem somewhat mysterious, because all Daoists did not very concretely seek what the realm of the Dao is, but only described how one could attain the realm of the Dao. Attaining the realm of the Dao does not require people to build anything; rather, it requires breaking the bonds of people's own fixed intentions, calculating minds, and attachment to self, and escaping the confinement of noble and base, rich and poor, success and failure. Only then is it possible to attain the realm of the Dao.
"The Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao." Since the Dao cannot be sought outside oneself, then of course it can only be realized through oneself.