What are the twenty-four magical instruments of Taoism?
The twenty-four Taoist instruments include drums, bells, rulers, ropes, swords, choppers, seals, stoves, dragon horns, tokens, beads, wooden fish, water bowls, and clean boards. , whisk, Gui Jian, Ruyi, Dharma flag, Bagua mirror, chime, cymbals, ghost stick, master's knife, and lightning strike wood.
1. Drum. Drums are communication tools used to communicate with gods, ward off evil spirits, and to wake people up. The altar is multi-purpose, flat tambourine and other ritual implements.
2. Bell. The bells in Taoist temples are generally divided into four types: big bell, chime bell, confession bell, and emperor bell. The confession bell and the emperor's bell are used in the dojo, while the big bell and the chime bell are used for meditation.
3. Ruler. A wooden ruler about thirty-three centimeters long, two centimeters wide, and one centimeter thick.
4. Dharma rope. Also known as the method whip, commonly known as Fasuo. The rope is a long whip with a snake or dragon head engraved on it, and a hemp rope or cotton rope about one meter long is tied to it to form a dragon body and tail or a snake body and tail.
5. Magic sword. Also known as the sword, the divine sword, the divine edge, the Hui sword, the spiritual sword, the seven-star sword, the blue dragon sword, and the demon-slaying sword. The Seven-Star Sword is about 60 centimeters long and comes in two types: iron and mahogany.
6. 筶. Also called "瓓" or "jiao", they are sometimes made of bronze or wood, but they are usually made of bamboo roots cut into a half-moon shape and painted red. Their lengths vary. The more standard ones are about three centimeters long and two centimeters wide. There are fifteen levels of horizontal lines on the convex surface. It is said that the twelve levels represent the twelve hours, and the other three levels are the three realms.
7. Dharma seal. Taoism attaches great importance to the material of carvings, most of which are wood carvings, but the best wood carvings are jujube wood. Bronze seals are also used by many people. The words on the seals are almost all the titles of gods; such as "Tao, Sutra, and Master", collectively called "Three Treasures", which is the inheritance of "Three Pure Ones".
8. Hand stove. It originated from the Gui Zan used in ancient ritual ceremonies. The ritual of the altar ceremony involves Taoist priests holding incense burners to perform sacrificial rituals.
9. Dragon horn. Also known as spiritual horn, horn, etc., the materials used for manufacturing include three categories: ox horn, tin horn and aluminum horn. The body of the horn is engraved with the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper, or the words sun and moon.
10. Token. The Tiger Talisman originating from the ancient army is also called the Thunder Order and the Five Thunder Cards. This plaque is made of jujube wood, and it is better to carve the token from Lei Pi Zao wood.
11. Rosary. Ge Xianweng used rosary beads to count the holy names when reciting sutras. Later, they were often worn as protective instruments.
12. Wooden fish. Its shape is round like a fish, so it is called a wooden drum, and it is used for chanting and beating at the altar. There are two types of wooden fish: large and small. The big wooden fish is placed on the left side of the table, opposite the bell. The small wooden fish is held in the hand and struck during rituals.
13. Water bowl. Containers used to hold holy water in Taoist rituals, commonly known as water purification bowls, made of brass or bamboo.
14. Clean board. The original meaning is the edict of the Three Qing Dynasties, and it is a magic weapon used to issue orders.
15. Whisk. Also known as dust whisk, whisk, and dust tail, it is a tool or utensil with animal hair or silky linen attached to the front end of the handle.
16. Gui Jian. Also known as Chao Jian, Wat or Shouban, it is about fifty centimeters long, five centimeters wide and five millimeters thick. It is slightly curved and has a slightly narrow upper end. It is painted with lacquer.
17. Ruyi. Ruyi often has Ganoderma lucidum patterns, curling cloud patterns, heart-shaped patterns, etc. that symbolize auspiciousness. Among the statues of gods in Taoist temples, there is an image of Tianzun holding a statue in his hand.
18. Dharma flag. The flag used by Taoism is generally triangular in shape, with a yellow surface, surrounded by tooth-shaped red or white edges, and a yellow-red edge ribbon.
19. Bagua mirror. The Bagua Mirror is used more frequently in Feng Shui bureaus, and it is also one of the important magical tools of Taoism.
20. Chime. The single chime is a small chime placed on the sutra sheet. It is generally used to connect the cross boards and hit the place where "Tianzun" is recited.
21. Cymbals. Ci Yuan said: cymbal is also a Chinese musical instrument. Zhou Li used gold cymbals to stop the drums. It is also called Xiaozheng, used by the Futu clan, and came out of the Western Regions. Cymbals, that is, bronze helmets, were originally used by the Southern Barbarians in the Western Regions.
22. Ghost stick. Wooden, stick-shaped, with various talismans engraved on it.
23. Master's Sword. One is a short sword made of brass, with a blunt edge and an oval front end, with copper coins or small iron rings strung on the handle.
24. Lightning strikes wood. When a tree is struck by lightning, the split wood is called lightning-struck wood.