What is a token? Introduction to Token

What is a Token? Introduction to tokens

Token, or "thunder order", "five thunder order", "five thunder card", "thunder order card", "five thunder order card", "five thunder order card", for the Taoist priests summoned the thunder department officials will be used in the magic weapon. Taoist priests perform the thunder method to pray for rain, stop the wind and pray for snow, drive away gods and ghosts, sweep away evil spirits, carry out charms to cure illnesses, or apply for a seal, all must use this token to order and command the officials of the Ministry of Thunder to act for him. (" Dao Fa Hui Yuan " Volume 57 " on the token ") " Taoist sources " that is: " token is the book of holy orders, edicts, to * * * God will come quickly.

Since the Yuan Dynasty, the token that is more rounded below the long shape of the card system. The upper part to take the arc shape, symbolizing the heavenly realm, the so-called "heavenly circle"; the lower part of the square to symbolize the earthly realm, the so-called "place". According to the Yuan dynasty Taoist magic integration - "Taoism will be the yuan", the token is mostly wooden, mainly jujube, pomegranate or cypress wood, the front of the vermilion inscription "five thunder order" four words. (On Token) In addition to the Dao Fa Hui Yuan, the Qing Wei Yuan Shi Da Fa, which was written during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, also preserved different types of tokens, some of which were written on the back with the words "ordering the thunder". Today, the tokens seen in Taiwan, the front side is still engraved with the words "Five Thunder", and the head of the card has another Taoist god - the Three Ching's name, while the back side is either engraved with the words "Summoning All Spirits", or a specific official's name and image, and on both sides of the card there are the names of the twenty-eight starry nights.

The practice of Taoist priests using tokens to summon the generals of the Ministry of Lei originated from the concept of mobilizing an army with a military talisman, i.e., the Zhou Ritual's "Tooth Jang to start the army" or the Han Dynasty's tradition of using a "Bronze Tiger's Talisman" to send out an army. (Dao Shu Aid Shen Qi) However, the shape and function of the tokens seen today are more similar to the long "talismans" that were used in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties to mobilize troops and convey holy orders. When the master holds the token, it means that he has the power to mobilize the generals of the Thunder Ministry. When he gives an order, he first imagines that he has become a messenger of the five thunderbolts, and that he is surrounded by the four deities of the Green Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Xuanwu, etc., and then he silently gives the order to summon the generals.

The token is widely used in Taiwanese Taoist rituals. When Taoist priests in Taiwan give orders to officials and generals, they often hold a token and write the word "order" in the air. However, the two major Taoist traditions in Taiwan - the Northern Taoist Temple and the Southern Taoist Temple - do not use tokens on the same occasions. Generally speaking, the Northern Taoist Temple of the Two Doors uses tokens to ward off evil spirits and purify the realm, such as the "Closing the Mountain and Prohibiting the Water" ceremony at the beginning of the festival, the "Suppressing the Water and Prohibiting the Altar" ceremony in the middle of the festival, and the "Suppressing the Runes and Thanking the Altar" ceremony in the latter part of the festival. In the southern part of the country, the Lingbao Taoist Temple is mostly used to summon gods and generals, and tokens are often used to summon officials and generals in the rituals of "publishing", "lodging", "Chaoke", "worshiping the table on the platform", and "jiaojiao", etc. In addition to this, tokens are also used for the purpose of calming the gods and generals. In addition, the token also has the effect of calming down the ghosts. In the southern Lingbao Taoist Temple, the section of "Collecting and banning the demons" in the ritual of "Hangqi", at the end of the ritual, the token is used to seal and suppress the ghosts on the door.