Lü Dongbin
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Lǚ Dòngbīn (呂洞賓) (spelled Lu Tung-Pin in Wade-Giles) is a deity/Immortal revered by many in the Chinese culture sphere, especially by Daoists/Taoists. Lǚ Dòngbīn is the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals and hence considered by some to be the de facto leader. (The formal leader is said to be Zhongli Quan or sometimes Iron-Crutch Li.) He is also a historical figure and is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of the tradition of Neidan, or Internal alchemy.
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[edit] Names
His name is Lü Yán, with Yán (巖 or 岩 or 喦) being the given name. Dòngbīn is his courtesy name. He is called Master Pure-Yang (純陽子 Chunyang Zi), and is also called Lü the Progenitor (呂祖 lü zŭ) by some Daoist, especially those of the Quanzhen School. He was born in Jingzhao Prefecture (京兆府 Jīngzhào Fŭ) around 796 C.E. during the Tang Dynasty. He is depicted in art as being dressed as a scholar and he often bears a sword on his back that dispels evil spirits.
[edit] Birth and early life
When he was born, a fragrance allegedly filled the room. His birthday is said to be on the fourteenth day of the fourth month of the Chinese Calendar. He has been very intelligent since childhood and had many academic achievements. However, according to one story, still unmarried by the age of 20, Lü twice took the top-level civil service exam to become an government official, but did not succeed.
[edit] Yellow Millet Dream
The legend has it that one night when Lü Yan was in Chang'an or Handan (邯鄲 Hándān), he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking in a hotel. He dreamed that he took the imperial exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice minister (侍郎). He then married the daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again and again, and finally became the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street in the dream, he woke up.
Although in the dream, eighteen years had passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhongli Quan in order to make him realize that one should not put too much importance on transient glory and success. As a result, Lü went with Zhongli to discover and cultivate the Dao/Tao. This dream is known as "Dream of the Yellow Millet" (黃粱夢 Húang Líang Mèng) and is described in a writing compiled by Ma Zhiyuan (馬致遠 Mă Zhìyǔan) in Yuan Dynasty.
In volume 82 of Song's Li Fang (李昉 Lǐ Fǎng)'s Extensive Records of Taiping (《太平廣記》), an earlier version of the story, Lü Dongbin was replaced by Student Lu (盧生 Lu Sheng), and Zhongli Quan by Elder Lü (呂翁 Lǚ wēng).
The exact age of Lü Yan when this incident occurred varies in the tellings, from 20 years of age to 40.
[edit] Character
Lü Dongbin is usually portrayed as a scholarly, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom/enlightenment and to learn the Tao. However, he is often portrayed as having some character "flaws", not an uncommon theme for the colorful Taoist immortals, all of whom in general have various eccentricities:
- He is said to be a ladies man, even after (or only after) becoming an immortal - and for this reason he is generally not invoked by people with romantic problems. This may also relate to some of the Taoist sexual arts.
- He is portrayed as having bouts of drunkenness, which was not uncommon among the often fun-loving Eight Immortals. This also parallels several Taoist artists renown for their love of drinking.
- One story relates that early on after becoming immortal, he had a strong temper as a "young" Immortal, even deforming a riverbank in a bout of anger.
Lü Dongbin was once taught by his teacher Zhongli Quan an alchemy method that could turn ordinary stones to some kind of gold, which could be used as currency in ancient China. But this kind of gold will usually turn back to stone in about five hundred years. Lü didn't use this method because he felt it could be unfair to the person who gets the gold five hundred years later. This is usually seen as illustrating his understanding of the Tao and his ethics. Zhongli Quan is supposed to have expressed admiration for his student to come to such a conclusion.
[edit] Zhongli Quan
Lü's teacher Zhongli Quan became an immortal and was about to fly to heaven, while saying to Lü that if he kept practicing the Tao he would also be able to fly to heaven himself some day. Lü Dongbin replied to his teacher that he'll fly to heaven only after he enlightens all the sentient beings on earth (another story says all his relatives). According to the book "The Eight Immortals Achieving the Tao (《八仙得道摶》)," in his previous incarnation, Lü Dongbin was a Taoist master and the teacher of Zhongli Quan.
[edit] Stories and legends
Since the Northern Song Dynasty, there have been many stories and legends that are connected to Lü Dongbin. The stories were usually about Lü helping others to learn the Tao. According to the official History of the Song Dynasty (《宋史》), Lü was seen several times visiting the house of Chen Tuan (陳摶), who was believed to be the first person to present to the public the Taijitu.
The kindness of Lü Dongbin is demonstrated in the Chinese proverb "dog bites Lü Dongbin" (狗咬呂洞賓 gŏu yăo Lǚ Dòngbīn), which means an inability to recognize goodness and repay kindness with vice. Some say that the original proverb should actually be "苟杳呂洞賓，不識好人心," stemming from a story about the friendship between Gou Miao (苟杳) and Lü Dongbin, who both did for the other great favors, each of which seemed like a disservice initially, signifying the importance of having faith in one's friends.
According to Richard Wilhelm, Lü was the founder of the School of the Golden Elixir of Life (Jin Dan Jiao), and originator of the material presented in the book "Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi" (《太一金華宗旨》), or The Secret of the Golden Flower.
Lü is also a very productive poet. His works were collected in the "Quan Tang Shi" (《全唐詩》 Complete Tang Dynasty Poetry ).
According to the Taoist book "History of the Immortals" (《歷代神仙通鑒》), Lü is the reincarnation of the ancient Sage-King "Huang-Tan-Shi" (皇覃氏).
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