Abstract
The value embodied by "Ascending to Heaven and Being an Immortal" (Yuhua Dengxian in Chinese) implies the core gist of Daoist culture as well as its ultimate value. From the perspective of Philology, each word, "Yu", "Hua", "Deng", and "Xian" benefits us through a philosophy of life, learning skills, the pursuit of the mysteries of Daoist immortality, and the ways of life characteristics and spiritual transcendence. "To become an immortal" is becoming adept at life. "Yuhua" refers to learning transcendental skills, and "Deng" expresses the promotion of life. "Ascending to Heaven and Becoming an Immortal" integrates the goal- oriented values of Daoist Culture, learning transcendental skills, and the state of being alive into a unified whole. Namely, it is the perfect combination of an adept's supreme pursuit of value and zenith of life. By way of contrast, in Daesoon Jinrihoe, the concepts of "Daesoon" and "Perfected Unification with the Dao" not only advocate "physical and mental transformation" and "spiritual development" for Dao cohorts, but also personal cultivation and service to society, and participation in "The Creation of an Earthly Paradise." These are unified under the ideal humanistic value of "the earthly paradise of the Later World."
文化的核心主旨凝結為其價值意涵, 「羽化登仙」集中反映道教文化的終極價值訴求。從文字學視閾探究「羽」, 「化」, 「登」, 「仙」, 有助於我們透視道教神仙信仰這層神秘面紗背後的生命理念, 體知功夫與境界追求, 以及生命修為與精神超越之間特有的內在理路。其中, 「神仙」可謂玄門修士的人生信念, 「羽化」指代其煉養功夫, 「登真」表徵生命能級攀越。「羽化登仙」寓道教文化價值目標, 煉養功夫與生命境界於一體, 乃玄門修士至上價值追求與生命終極鵠的之完美集結。与之相较, 「大巡」「道通真境」, 既主张道人「身心改造」「精神开辟」, 更强调个人修道服务, 服从于「地上天国建设」, 二者统一于「后天仙境」生命价值理想之中。