I was going through Practice and Emptiness in the Discourse Record of Ruru Jushi, Yan Bing (d.1212), a Chan Buddhist Layman of the Southern Song by Alan Gerard Wagner, when I came across this piece by Ruru:
Śākyamuni Buddha gave up his imperial palace and went straight to the snowy mountains.
Layman Pang took his household wealth and sank it all in the blue sea.
The Perfected Warrior did not succeed to the throne, but only concerned himself with cultivation.
Master Lü became a spirit, but was still diligent in attending audiences [with Chan masters].
The above mentioned Perfect Warrior is Zhenwu 真武, also known as the Dark Warrior 玄武 Xuanwu.
The protector of Wudang Mountain is the Dark Warrior (玄武 Xuánwǔ). The Dark Warrior is a turtle intertwined with a snake. It is one of the Si Shen (四神), four Chinese astrological figures that symbolize the cardinal directions and elements.
Flying up to heaven, the Perfect Warrior said, “非真武不足以当之” meaning “Only the Perfect Warrior will suffice”. The characters “Wu” and “Dang” were extracted from this quote (Fēi zhēnwǔ bùzú yǐ dāng zhī) , giving the mountain its name.
Both the Dark Warrior and his human form, the Perfect Warrior were used by the ancient Chinese to understand and commune with the divine. As a totemic representation of the North, and the element water, the Dark Warrior is a part of five element cosmology. The Perfect Warrior is a man who attained oneness with the Dao, representing ideal human potential.
(Above information about the Perfect Warrior is from Daoistgate
Going back to the initial piece, the last line mentioned Master Lu.
Lü is one of the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals and considered by some to be the de facto leader. (The formal leader is more likely said to be Zhongli Quan or sometimes Iron-Crutch Li.) He is also a historical figure who was mentioned in the official history book History of Song. Lü is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of the tradition of neidan, or internal alchemy. He is depicted in art as being dressed as a scholar and he often bears a sword on his back that dispels evil spirits.
*According to Venerable Hsuan Hua, Lü is one of the transformations of Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva.
Lu's name, 呂洞賓, I think, but have no clue, means "Cave Dweller"? http://ift.tt/2tFXGEy
Submitted July 12, 2017 at 03:23AM by Dillon123 http://ift.tt/2tbweuX
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