Noun Explanation:
Yin Talisman: Throughout history, the concept of 'Yin Talisman' has appeared frequently, yet there has never been a clear definition. In the Daoist Yin Talisman school, it is believed that any form presented by methods that simulate the natural laws of life and death between heaven and earth in a certain way, and utilize their power, can be called a 'talisman'. The so-called 'Yin Talisman' refers to the meaning of 'conforming secretly'.
Life and Death: This is a manifestation of worldly laws. Taking the human hand as an example, if there were only life without death, the human hand would not have fingers but would become a large fleshy palm. Precisely because there is the power of 'death' within, the cells that should be born are born, and those that should die are eliminated, allowing five fingers to grow on the hand. Behind this lies a special law that generally causes a human hand to grow only five fingers; this is the underlying power. Tracing this further back, it is caused by genes. Then why are human genes structured this way, and what is the deeper power? Tracing it continuously leads to the power of nature.
Since ancient times, both in China and abroad, there have been sayings about talismanic spells. In the West, these are more manifested as witchcraft, alchemy, or magic. Ultimately, they converge into one, and essentially, the differences are not significant. Although influenced by history and culture, leading to their own variations, they all possess the characteristics of unified Yin Talisman rules.
For instance, in Christianity, although Christianity strongly opposes things like talismans, in fact, in Western Christianity, the cross was originally not a Christian thing but was later absorbed into Christianity. The cross represents the suffering of Jesus, thereby achieving a sacred intention, which can be used to eliminate and absolve sins. Jesus becomes the bearer of human sins, and all sins can be borne by Jesus. This is a type of talisman. No matter how complex the historical changes of Christianity are, in fact, the cross belongs to the runes of Christianity. Through devout faith, power can be transformed out of it, but this transformation is not a stable output. Therefore, in Christianity, it is said that everything is bestowed by God, and one should be grateful for what one already possesses. Whether there will be more bestowals is God's matter; you just need to do your own duties well. A simple symbol is not enough to entrust sufficient regulatory ability, so intelligence must ultimately be endowed. Therefore, the cross itself is closely linked with Jesus, and Jesus and the cross are always together, jointly forming a divine symbol. Thus, Christianity also has its own reasons for power. So, it is not so much the power of the cross and Jesus, but rather that God revealed to the masses this form to achieve the purpose of eliminating sins and receiving blessings.
In Christianity, there is another manifestation of talismans in the construction of Christian churches. Many church constructions must conform to special talismanic characteristics, which can also be called Feng Shui characteristics. That is, the position of the Jesus cross happens to be at a certain angle or within a special architectural range. For example, in the double-circle church system, the overlapping part in the middle is where the Jesus cross can be placed. More sophisticated requirements also demand special light entering from specific angles to coordinate with the interior of the church. These characteristics, coincidentally, are surprisingly similar to the shapes of runes commonly found in some talismans. This will be discussed in detail later when talking about Western Feng Shui and talismans, so it is not discussed in detail here.
A typical example is Buddhism. Buddhism has certain similarities with Christianity. Original Buddhism did not require setting up images and opposed idol worship. However, in fact, most of the modern propaganda of Buddhism mainly focuses on worshipping Buddha, with the Pure Land sect being the most widespread. The behavior of worshipping Buddha and worshipping gods is basically consistent; it is similarly a way of relying on faith. However, Buddhism concentrates this power of faith through a method of one Buddha replacing ten thousand gods. In Buddhism itself, this is called 'mind power' (Nianli). Through mind power, it is possible to drive changes in objective reality, especially after the mind power of the masses is gathered. There is a problem in gathering the mind power of the masses: the thoughts and ideas of sentient beings are mixed and impure, with various conflicts among them. To make this mind power reach a state of coordination, it must be conducted through a method of教化 (education/cultivation) to establish public and consistent concepts among the masses. Only then can this power be pure, and then generate a 'dedication' (Huixiang). When this power reaches an extreme, it can produce the power to purify the soul and guide it to the Pure Land. In Buddhism, this common belief must be built on three points: first, actively doing good deeds; second, being humble and non-contentious; third, wholeheartedly seeking Buddha. This faith also conforms to the public moral norms of the masses, and the improvement of mental cultivation can also strengthen the cohesion of this power. At the same time, it must be pointed out that in present-day Buddhism, in order to compete for incense and believers, various other deities are absorbed everywhere and called their own protective deities, using all means to gather incense and believers. This is actually an interference with the gathering of collective minds in Buddhism. Most practicing monks in the present day are not as good as the high monks of the past, and many Buddhist temples are also in a chaotic state, which is inseparable from this.
The talismans of Buddhism are mainly of several types:
1. Faith-based talismans: That is, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc., through chanting sutras and mantras, can to some extent change reality by leveraging the power of faith. However, this power is not strong enough, so some people chant sutras, release life, and recite mantras for a long time without any effect. This problem is generally attributed to 'karma'. If karma is heavy, it is difficult to transform. This is the view from Buddhism. Moreover, in Buddhist thought, supernatural powers cannot defeat karma. The power of karma is described as very great, and it is believed that karma flows in the Alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness) and manifests when conditions meet. If one interferes with any point, regardless of the behavior, more karma will be generated, like a large net, the more entangled, the less clear. Therefore, it is better to practice asceticism and leave the world. Or if one temporarily lacks the conditions for full practice, one should continuously cultivate goodness and accumulate merit. The process of practice mainly involves chanting sutras and worshipping gods to achieve resonance in the energy field, thereby producing self-purification and coordination.
2. Seed-syllable talismans: This is mainly circulated in the Vajrayana (Esoteric) school. Seed syllables
represent the Sanskrit characters of the true words spoken by Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other deities. Most of them first involve visualizing the void to form Sanskrit, forming Sanskrit to transform into the main deity. This has similar concepts in some Daoist schools, similar to the concept of 'vacuum forming wondrous existence'. This seed syllable, transformed into the main deity, possesses power. This power can be used to cast spells and chant sutras. Seed syllables inherit Indian thoughts, including concepts such as earth, fire, water, wind, and emptiness. Practicing seed syllables is a relatively large Dharma gate, with profound and complex content.
3. Talismans of the fusion of Buddhism and Daoism: This is mainly found in folk religious systems, and there are also some in formal Daoist or Buddhist schools. It belongs to a system produced by marginal hybridization. A typical example is the Lushan lineage, which is a combination of shamanism, medicine, Daoism, and Buddhism. The faith is very complex, and the talisman system within is complicated. One lineage, such as the Pu'an talisman school, is a typical example. The talismans within use Buddha, Pu'an, or Guanyin as the command to cast talismans. More so, in some handwritten manuscripts often seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties, one can see many talismans in religious teachings that combine Buddhist beliefs, interspersed among various talismans.
4. Mudra talismans: In Daoism, this is called 'Jue' (hand seal), or hand seal. In Buddhist schools, it is called 'Mudra', with Vajrayana being the most proficient.
5. Other talismans: Such as Mandalas in Vajrayana.
The talismans of Buddhism are relatively chaotic. From the perspective of original Buddhism, talismans are opposed. However, in fact, in practical religious practice, talismans are very prevalent in Buddhism. It is not as most people understand, that Buddhism does not use talismans. But if we investigate its original meaning, some Buddhist scriptures explicitly state that orthodox Buddhist practitioners should not use talismans. However, this is not what we need to explore. The above description may not be complete. Welcome to supplement.