What does Three Holes and Four Auxiliaries mean?

Three caves: Dongxuan (upper), Dongshen (middle), Dongzhen (lower).

Four auxiliaries: Taixuan, Taiping, Taiqing, and Zhengyi penetrate the three caves and the three Tai.

The Taoist sect is in the three caves, with the three caves as the three elements, the basic beliefs and scripture systems of Taoism are all in this place, which is the fundamental sect of Taoism.

The Three Caves Zongyuan is based on the "Three Elements" as the beginning of the chaos of the universe. It is said that "one is divided into three elements, three elements change three qi, three qi changes three talents, three talents are nourished, and all things are prepared". However, "the element of the three holes, the same Dao Qi, the only Dao Qi, the application is divided into three".

This is the basic exposition of the Three Caves Zongyuan in the "Seven Signatures of the Cloud Pipe". Generally speaking, the "Dao" qi is derived into three elements, and the three elements are: the first mixed hole is too elementless; Second, the red mix is too elementless; The third is the Silent Xuantong Yuan. From the three elements to the three gases, the three gases are the beginning, the yuan, and the xuan, and then from the three gases to all things.

The process of its creation and development is that before chaos, the beginning of vitality. The vitality runs, and then the heaven and earth begin. Then all things are born from the three gases of the beginning, the yuan, and the xuan.

In the Tao Te Ching, it is said: Tao gives birth to one, life to two, two to three, and three to all things.

As the belief of the "Tao" of all things, the Sandong Zongyuan also has its more important side, that is, the Sanyuan, that is, the Three Treasures. On the first day, Baojun was born from the mixed cave too elementless; The second Lingbaojun was born from the red chaos too elementless; The third god Baojun was born from the Silent Xuantong Yuan. The Three Treasures are governed in the Three Qings, so the Three Treasures are also known as the Three Qings.

Tianbao Junzhi is in the Yuqing realm, that is, Qingwei Tian, and its qi is green; Lingbao Junzhi is in the Shangqing realm, that is, Yu Yutian, and its qi is yellow; Shenbao Junzhi is in the Taiqing Realm, that is, the Great Red Sky, and its qi is white. And the three elements are all the same way, so although the names of the three treasures are different, they are the same.

Sanbaojun, Sanqing, the full name of Taoism is Yuqing Yuan Shi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, Taiqing Daode Tianzun (Taishang Laojun). He is the supreme god of Taoism, the ancestor of the gods, and the ancestor of creation. At the same time, he is also the leader of the scriptures, and has passed down 36 scriptures in three caves for Taoism.

Taoist Three Caves Zongyuan said: Tianbaojun said the twelve scriptures and was the master of the cave truth; Ling Baojun said the twelve scriptures and was the master of the Dongxuan Sect; Shen Baojun said the twelve scriptures and was the head of the cave god. The three caves are combined into thirty-six sutras.

The three cave scriptures also have their own objects of teaching, so as to conform to the grade of learning and cultivating. People who began to study humane, began to enter the immortal level, and climbed to the realm of no tiredness, so the first teaching was to the cave god treasure scripture. Secondly, wisdom gradually wins, both into the middle realm, so the Chinese religion to the cave Xuanling Treasure Sutra.

Finally, it is ascended to the realm, and there is no lag in wisdom, so it is taught to cave the true heavenly treasure scripture. Its purpose is to lure the vulgar to cultivate immortals and preach the Tao through scripture and culture. Therefore, the compilation of the "Daozang" in later generations was based on the "three caves and four auxiliaries", and the scripture and education system with the "three caves Zongyuan" as the belief was constructed.

Three caves: Dong Zhen, Dong Xuan, and Dong Shen. The four auxiliaries are: Taixuan, Taiping, Taiqing, and Zhengyi. The twelve categories are: texts, runes, jade recipes, spiritual diagrams, scores, precepts, prestige, methods, arts, biographies, praises, and chapters.

The Taoist books are classified into three caves and four auxiliaries, with a total of seven.

Xuan Guzi explains the classic knowledge of Taoism, learns Qimen Dunjia, and the knowledge that Qimen Dunjia must understand when getting started!

Three Caves, Four Auxiliaries and Twelve Parts are the new classification methods proposed by the Daozang in ancient times since the Tang Dynasty. The "Three Caves" and "Four Auxiliaries" respectively represent the construction and integration of the Taoist scripture and education system in different periods.

According to research, the idea of Taoism's "Three Cave Sutras" is closely related to the ancient Lingbao Sutra that came out in the last years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The emergence of the "four auxiliaries" or "seven parts" classification method in the Taoist classification system is very closely related to the "Zhengyi Jing" of the Southern Dynasty Heavenly Master. The "four auxiliaries" include the Taixuan Sutra, the Taiping Sutra, the Taiqing Sutra, and the Zhengyi Sutra, which are also collectively known as the "Four Parts".

Among them, the Taixuan Department includes the Tao Te Ching and its commentaries, as well as the writings of later Taoist philosophers; The Taiping Department is mainly composed of the Taiping Sutra; The Taiqing Department preserves all the ancient texts on alchemy, gymnastics, and other health preservation techniques; The Zhengyi Sutra is mainly composed of the scriptures of the Heavenly Master Dao. Obviously, any of the above "four auxiliaries" were originally born before the "Three Cave Sutras". In the last years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, after the ancient Lingbao Sutra first proposed the "Three Cave Scriptures", why did the "Seven Scriptures" appear?

First of all, the "Three Mu Judgment Limb Cave Sutra" based on the Lingbao Sutra, the Shangqing Sutra and the Three Emperors Sutra itself still has quite obvious regional colors in the south of the Yangtze River and has a certain exclusivity. Moreover, to a considerable extent, they have a derogatory or even exclusionary attitude towards the "Four Auxiliary" classics other than Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching". The concept of "Trinity", on which the "Three Cave Sutras" of the Ancient Lingbao Sutra is based, excludes the possibility of juxtaposition of other Taoist scriptures and the "Three Cave Sutras" from the basis of religious theology. Secondly, the integration and unification of the various Taoist schools in the Southern Dynasties period further developed, and all Taoist classics need to be further integrated and unified within Taoism, so as to establish a more complete system of scriptures and teachings. Finally, among the forces of the Taoist Order of the Southern Dynasties, the Heavenly Master Dao still has its influence that cannot be ignored.

However, the Tao of the Heavenly Master of the Southern Dynasty is not the traditional Tao of the Heavenly Master of the Han and Wei dynasties, and the Tao of the Heavenly Master at this time is closely related to the various classics represented by the "Three Cave Sutras" and the Taixuan Sutra, the Taiping Sutra and the Taiqing Sutra, especially the "Zhengyi Sutra" series of classics in the middle of the Southern Dynasty represents the new development of the Taoist scriptures and teachings of the Heavenly Masters. Internally, the Heavenly Master Dao tried to establish the revered status of its Zhengyi Jing in the Taoist scripture system by proposing the concept of the "Seven Divisions". The classification method of the three caves, four auxiliaries and twelve categories of the Daozang is a double-standard classification system that reflects both the Taoist transmission system and the actual content of the Taoist scriptures, but due to the increasing number of Taoist scriptures in later generations, the teaching system is chaotic, so the names of the three caves are not original, and each is divided into twelve categories has been duplicated, and it is not classified under the four auxiliaries, which is inconvenient in retrieval.

Three caves: Dong Zhen, Dong Xuan, and Dong Shen.

The four auxiliaries are: Taixuan, Taiping, Taiqing, and Zhengyi. Carry rolling rock.

The twelve categories are: this text, rune preparation, jade recipe, spiritual map, spectrum, precepts, prestige, methods, arguments, biographies, praises, and chapters.