Reply #26: Other - Jesus was a mystic, like Iron Crutch Li

[bananas]

http://www.east-asian-history.net/textbooks/PM-China/ch7_main.htm

Li Tieguai's name literally means Iron Crutch Li. He is *typically depicted* as a cripple, with one leg bent and deformed. He walks with an iron crutch, and always carries a bottle gourd (hulu), an important symbol in Chinese culture that can stand for the universe in its primordial state (the Daoist dao), and, by extension, longevity. According to his legend, Li pursued the Daoist lifestyle by living as a hermit in a cave. There, he learned the mysteries of Daoism from none other than Laozi. Soon, Li was able to take leave of his body by sending his spirit out of it (recall my doubts at the start of this chapter about there being a major de facto difference between the flesh vs. spirit dualism of western thought and the idea of different types of qi in Daoism). One day, Li took leave of his body to go on a long trip and instructed a disciple to look after the inanimate body until he returned. To make a long story short, thinking Li would not return, the disciple cremated the body. When Li's spirit returned, he had to inhabit whatever body was available in the area, which happened to be that of a recently-deceased cripple. Having inherited such a body, Li was able to use it for medical experimentation, finding various ways to cure his own afflictions. Li is known, among other things, for discovering a plaster made from the skin of dogs to cure boils.


http://www.dragon-gate.com/resources/articles/display.asp?id=113

The Immortal on a Crutch

A popular figure on his own, Li Tieguai is also known as 'Iron Crutch Li' or 'Medicine Man'. His appearance was unkempt with scruffy hair and a dirty face. As one of his legs was crippled, he had to use a crutch to get about, hence the nickname.

However Li was not always like this. He was originally smart with pleasant facial features and a strong body. He studied Taoism and had a young disciple. One day he prepared to set his soul out of his body to travel Huashan Mountain. Li told his disciple that in case his soul did not come back after 7 days, his body should then be cremated.

On the 6th day, the disciple received news that his mother in another village was very ill. He could not wait to go home, and so cremated his master's body before the stipulated day. When Li's soul came back on the 7th day, it could not find his body. He wandered into a nearby forest and found a dead body. Elated to have a 'host' for his soul, Li immediately attached himself to the body. When he came back to life, he realized that the body was of a beggar, ugly and crippled in one leg. His teacher, Lao Zi (purportedly author of 'Tao Te Ching', the 'textbook' of Taoism) then advised Li that outer appearances had no effect on the cultivation of Taoism. Li hence forgave his negligent disciple and cured his mother. He also gave him a pill that would help his becoming an immortal in two centuries time.

Li eventually became an immortal and would often wander on earth to save mortals. A 'documented' example goes as follow - Once, Li approached a night watchman named Chao Tu. Li walked into a fiery furnace and asked the latter to follow him. Chao Tu however was afraid and refused. Li then brought Chao Tu to a river and told him to step on a floating leaf, which he said was a boat that would carry him across the river safely. Chao Tu again refused to do such a thing, afraid that his weight would bring him to the bottom of the river. Li remarked that Chao Tu had yet to leave behind his worldly burdens to become an immortal. He then stepped on the leaf himself and disappeared in the twinkling of an eye.

As his 'forte' was healing people, he is always depicted holding a gourd, said to contain magical medicine which could heal all sorts of illnesses.