1. The meaning of the Five Blessings
The term "Five Blessings" originally came from "Book of Books" and "Hong Fan". Nowadays, it has become a household expression. Almost most people know the idiom "five blessings come to the door", but few people know what five blessings "five blessings" refer to. As for the principle of the Five Blessings, very few people understand it.
What are the five blessings? : According to the "Shu Jing Hong Fan", the five blessings are: the first blessing is 'longevity', the second blessing is 'wealth and honor', the third blessing is 'wellness', the fourth blessing is 'good virtue', and the fifth blessing is 'good death'.
‘Longevity’ means longevity and long life
‘Wealth’ means abundant money and noble status.
‘Kangning’ means good health and peace of mind.
‘Good virtue’ means being kind-hearted and generous and peaceful by nature.
‘Good death’ means being able to know the date of your death in advance. At the end of his life, he suffered no misfortunes, no physical pain, no worries and worries in his heart, and passed away peacefully and comfortably.
2. It is difficult to have perfect blessings in the world
Only the five blessings can be combined to form a happy life, but it will be bad if they are separated. For example, some people live a long life but are not blessed, some are rich but have poor health, some are worried about poverty, some are rich but very worried, some are content with a poor and leisurely life, and some are content with a poor and leisurely life. Some people die in poverty but live a good life, and some people live a long and rich life but encounter misfortune and die a good death in the end. There are countless situations in life. The five blessings that come at your doorstep are perfect. The rest of the situations are just flaws and are flawed blessings.
Why are blessings incomplete?
The bad circumstances in this life are all the result of the bad deeds (bad karma) we have done in the past (including previous lives). For example, people who abused animals in the past or previous lives will be sick in this life; people who killed animals in the past will suffer the consequences of a short life in this life; people who were stingy in the past or previous lives will be poor in this life; people who were arrogant in the past or previous lives will suffer. People who were agitated and angry in the past or previous lives will be despicable in this life; people who killed humans or other animals in a cruel way in the past or previous lives will have a bad death in this life.
The person who lives long but is poor is because he was kind to animals in the past, but was stingy in giving alms; the person who is rich but short-lived is because he loves giving away money, but kills animals; the person who is ugly and rich is because he was stingy in the past Generous and generous, but prone to losing temper; people with dignified appearance and humble status are the result of being tolerant and observing discipline in their previous lives, but despising others. To sum up, the Five Blessings are defective, mainly due to incomplete deeds of good deeds and incomplete accumulation of virtue.
The five blessings are retribution, and human retribution depends on four laws: heavenly law - the rules of nature; moral law - the judgment of the human moral court; law - the mandatory requirements that cannot be violated as a human being; Yin Law - the judgment of the Lord of Hell that follows you like a shadow.
Among the five blessings, the most important is the fourth blessing - 'good virtue'. Having a kind nature, generous and peaceful virtue is the best "blessing", because virtue is the cause and root of happiness, and happiness is the result and expression of virtue. With this kind and pure "good virtue", you can give and do good at any time, and spread widely. Only by accumulating Yin virtue can we cultivate the other four blessings and make them grow continuously.
Among the five blessings, the blessing that most people value most is life span. Without life span, other blessings would not exist. The following list talks about the first blessing - "longevity"
3. The mystery of lifespan
Since ancient times, lifespan has been a very mysterious issue. Unless we are spiritual practitioners who have worked hard mentally, no one knows when the God of Death will meet us. Maybe twenty years from now or next year, maybe today or the next minute. There may be accidents such as car accidents, earthquakes, heart attacks, etc. at any time. , it’s really terrible. Because none of us know when we will die, the idiom "precarious" seems particularly appropriate when applied to us. The Buddha warned his disciples in the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters that "obedience is only within the breath", which means that if you don't breathe, you will be separated from the world. You should study hard, actively do good deeds, and practice diligently while you are still alive, so as not to be as anxious as a drowned crab when you are about to die. Being aware of the fact that "human life is impermanent" is of great benefit to us, because people who realize the impermanence of life will no longer be dissipated and greedy. Awakening to the impermanence of life is the beginning of wisdom.
Achievements in the world are not necessarily related to life and death
Wealth, knowledge, status, beauty and life and death are mostly irrelevant. Even if one is as wealthy as a prince, has worldly knowledge as profound as the ocean, has a high status as a minister, and is as beautiful as a beauty, when disaster strikes, he will still be in a hurry and die. If beauties and talented people could live a long life, then there would be no saying that "beauties have had a bad life since ancient times". So don’t be proud of your beautiful appearance.
We cannot think that King Yama is still sleeping and will not come to our door so quickly just because we are young. Note: The dead person in the coffin is not necessarily an old person. On the journey of life, there are many people who lie down before reaching the end. Therefore, the ancients warned us: "Don't wait until old age comes to learn Taoism. Most of the lonely graves are filled with young people." '
It is difficult to predict the time of death. Some babies are stillborn and die before they are born. Some babies die as soon as they are born due to contracting jaundice or hemophilia. Some children were crushed to death by cars when they were three or four years old; some grew up and were killed or injured in accidents when they were young adults.
People should not look down on others because of their intelligence. There are many people who die young because of their intelligence. For example: When I was in elementary school, there was a class monitor named Ouyang next door who ranked first in all his homework. He died of pneumonia when he was in the fifth grade of elementary school. In the sixth grade of primary school, another top student named Liu died of a tumor on his neck.
You cannot be arrogant even if you have wealth and status. You see, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty, the average lifespan of emperors in China was only over thirty years old. President Kennedy of the United States had status, talent, and courage, but no one would have thought that he would die so early. Elvis Presley, who started his career as a singer, owned a private jet, a theater, and bodyguards, but he died suddenly.
Being religious may not guarantee a long life. For example, there was a young man in Pingtung who believed in Christianity and was very devout. He had just graduated from college and was "called by the Lord" because of a plane crash. When I was a graduate student, there was a junior student in the Department of Business Management named Tu Yousheng who believed in Buddhism and was also the president of the Buddhist Society. Unfortunately, he went on an outing to Coral Pool and when he was wading across the river, he slipped and drowned. This was not because the Dharma was ineffective, but because he was unable to change his karma because of his incompetence in practicing Buddhism and his inability to learn Buddhism.
The purpose of citing these true stories is to illustrate that secular knowledge and skills can only solve the small problems in life, but cannot solve the big problems of life and death. Various religions are committed to seeking answers to the major issues of life and death, but the only one that can completely solve life and death is Buddhism. Although those who believe in Christianity, Catholicism, or Mormonism can ascend to heaven, they cannot escape the six realms of reincarnation. Although the teachings and principles of Buddhism are perfect, it is not enough to believe them. Only through continuous understanding and practice can we realize the eternal truth and truly solve the problem of life and death. We must not think that if we believe in Buddhism, the Lord of Hell will not come to our door so quickly, and therefore we will be careless. We should know the fact that ‘it’s hard to change a job’. Unless you have mastered Buddhism to the point where you have real skills, can live and die freely, and are really sure of the issues of life and death, you still have to work hard and never slack off.
4. Causes and Conditions of Longevity
The length of life in this life is basically determined by the practice in the previous life and is a constant. Therefore, a good fortune teller can often calculate a person's life expectancy. Lifespan, but a constant is not a fixed number. Your actions in this life can change your lifespan. Doing good deeds increases your lifespan, and doing evil deeds shortens your lifespan.
The reasons for longevity - benevolence, compassion, loyalty, filial piety, gratitude, abstaining from killing and releasing animals, stopping evil and practicing good deeds
The reasons for longevity - being calm, calm, not angry, living a regular life, regulating diet ( No overeating), adequate nutrition, no overexertion, etc.
(1) Kindness and Lifespan
The length of life has nothing to do with wealth, status, common sense, beauty, etc. But it has a lot to do with 'compassion'. As the saying goes, 'the benevolent live longer'. This is absolutely true. If you have a kind heart and are generous with others, you will definitely be rewarded. No life can exist in the world by its own strength. The existence of every life depends on the support of many other factors. Just like every point on the ball, it is all supported by other points. exist. Even a penniless vagabond still receives support from the sun, air, water, and earth. The roads he walks on are built by others. The caves, bridges, and house corners where he lives are also provided by nature and society. The simplest food and The covering cannot be produced by itself. Without nature and society, not a single cell in our body would be able to exist. If others support you, you must also support others. This is the law of heaven, the natural law of Fal. Heaven's law does not allow selfishness. People can get their own share of the offerings, but there is no reason to be selfish. A benevolent person who complies with the laws of heaven can increase his blessings and longevity, while a selfish person who violates the laws of nature can reduce his blessings and shorten his lifespan.
(2) Loyalty, filial piety and longevity
Loyalty and filial piety are to protect the root of life and ensure the smooth passage of life. Our life is composed of material and spiritual parts. Material comes from heaven and earth, and spirit comes from gods. The gods of heaven and earth are embodied in the place where each of us is born, grows, and lives. Therefore, a country or a nation cannot do anything that harms the earth. Things that harm all mankind; individuals cannot do things that harm the interests of the country and the nation. Hometown is the source of our life energy, and our ancestors and parents are the channels through which life energy is transmitted. Therefore, loyalty and filial piety are to protect our life root and life channel. If loyalty and filial piety are not enough, the energy of life will be insufficient; if we are completely unfaithful and unfilial, we will become a branch without roots, and we can only live by the remaining energy in the branch. Unfilial piety means cutting off one’s own lifeblood, while being unfaithful means cutting off the lifeblood of everyone else. Therefore, the crime of disloyalty is far greater than the crime of unfilial piety. This is the reason why people have mostly chosen to be loyal since ancient times when loyalty and filial piety cannot be both; while treason and betrayal are punished. The punishment is often the most severe. When people do not take action, the God of Protection will also take action. Traitors rarely end well.
(3) Gratitude and Lifespan
There are about four categories of people in this world: 1. Where there is no grace, there is still grace. 2. Where there is grace, there is grace. 3. Where there is no grace, there is no grace. 4. Where there is favor, there is still no favor.
In other words:
1. Where there is no need to be grateful, everyone knows that there is something to be grateful for, and be grateful and repay the kindness. Such people will not die in any place where they deserve to die, but will live in any place where they cannot live. This kind of person who can appreciate kindness, be grateful, and repay kindness is the first-class person and a cultivator.
He can still see God in a place where no one can see God. He can still be peaceful and blessed in a place where no one can be safe and blessed.
2. People who know where they should be grateful are ordinary people, but they are already very few. It's the second class. Such people will live where they can live, and they will not die where they cannot die.
3． Where there should be no gratitude, there is no appreciation and no sense of gratitude. Such people will definitely not live in a place where they should not live, and they will definitely die in a place where they deserve to live. There can be no miracles or miracles. This is the third class of people.
4. People who don’t know how to be grateful when they should be grateful are inferior, like beasts and beasts, worse than a dog. Such people will not live where they should live, and they will die where they should not die.
(4) Giving up killing and releasing animals and lifespan
Giving up killing and releasing animals increases lifespan, and vice versa. This is determined by the principle of behavioral reaction force.
The definition of killing:
1. Killing life: killing living things, causing living animals and plants to lose their precious lives.
2. Taking away people’s vitality: depriving others of the opportunities or jobs they rely on to make a living.
3. Cut off the path of life: make people or animals have no way to go and fall into death, such as blocking ant nests. Or the bargaining in buying and selling makes people lose all their money and cannot support their families.
4. To force a person to a dead end: either through words or physical actions, causing the person to be stimulated or seriously injured and unable to survive.
5. Stealing other people’s business; when buying and selling, use any means, fighting or robbing, to make other people’s business fall into your own hands.
6. Embezzling relief funds: Serving public duties, stealing public funds for relief efforts, causing those who are waiting for relief to lose relief.
(5) Stop evil, do good and live a long life
Goodness generates yang, evil generates yin. If there is more yang, life will naturally be longer.
Be sure to remember: If blessings are not used up, people will not die early.
Fu, Lu, Shou and your children are all agricultural products. You have to work hard to cultivate your own heart with blood, tears and sweat, and work hard to irrigate, fertilize, deworm and weed before they can be cultivated and grown.
Never do anything that will harm your fortune or longevity.
Don’t be a ruthless person, and don’t do anything ruthless or righteous, lest you be forced into a desperate situation.
Everyone will inevitably make mistakes, but you must not let your temporary confusion forever become a heavy burden and burden that you cannot get rid of in your life. When everything becomes new, we are reborn and resurrected.
Everyone will inevitably have to ask for forgiveness. If you help others, you will also help yourself, because God always decides how to forgive us based on how we forgive others.
If you let the other person live a long life, you will also live a long life. If you want to live a long life, you must not do short-lived things.