Editing Lü Dongbin (section)

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One of the most popular stories about Lü Dongbin is the tale of his encounter with an alchemist who claimed he could teach Lü Dongbin the secret of turning stone into gold. This story is often used to illustrate Taoist values such as contentment, the rejection of greed, and the understanding of true wealth.

In the story, Lü Dongbin meets an alchemist who boasts that he possesses the secret of transmutation of base metal into gold and offers to teach Lü this art. Interested in the implications of such a skill, Lü agrees to become the alchemist's student. He learns the process and is soon able to turn stone into gold. However, the story takes a twist when Lü Dongbin uses this power.

Instead of using the gold for personal gain, Lü Dongbin starts distributing it among the poor. The tale takes another turn when the gold reverts back to stone after a predetermined period. The people who had received the gold from Lü Dongbin and had not spent it found themselves with worthless stones again. Those who had already used the gold to improve their lives or help others, however, had invested it in a way that brought them lasting benefits beyond the temporary wealth.

This outcome reveals Lü Dongbin's true intention: to teach a lesson about greed and the impermanent nature of material wealth. He wanted to show that real value comes not from gold but from how we use the resources we have to enrich our lives and the lives of others. Lü Dongbin's act of turning stone into gold was a test of character and a demonstration of the Taoist principle that true wealth lies in virtue, not in material possessions.

Through this parable, Lü Dongbin conveys the Taoist wisdom that the pursuit of wealth for its own sake is folly, and that true alchemy is the transformation of the human soul from ignorance to enlightenment.