China Children's Magazine, Beijing, March 5 (Reporter Hao Tao) During the Spring Festival, Buddhist temples all over the country were full of incense. On the first day of the first month, believers came all the way to Mingsha Ancient Temple to grab incense. In the solemn court courtyard and elegant jungle Taoist temple, clusters of high incense wrapped in red makeup point to the sky, and the rotten incense of fireworks is dazzling; There are even behaviors such as burning paper, lighting candles, selling or tricking people into burning high-priced incense.
In this regard, Master Xue Cheng, member of the Standing Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association, said in an exclusive interview with Son of China magazine and Son of China News Network that piety and awe were replaced by quick success and superstition in the smoky and crowded crowd, and the choking fireworks not only polluted the Dojo, but also polluted and hurt people's kindness. In the Buddhist tradition, worshipping incense has rich belief connotation and good manners, which plays an important role in various rituals and practice activities such as solemn body and mind, purifying the altar, solemn atmosphere, inducing Taoist intercourse, and quickly proving Taoist fruit.
Monk Xuecheng said that with the improvement of people's material living standards, more and more people choose to spend their holidays through tourism. Famous mountains, rivers and religious shrines have become the focus of many people's sightseeing, worship and blessing. Regardless of religious belief or not, people will inexplicably arouse the memory of their ancestors and the reverence for the gods of heaven and earth in burning incense and offering sacrifices.
Master Xuecheng, a great monk, believes that worshipping incense has the connotation of praising and supporting the buddhas and converting to the Three Treasures. The Buddha once gave up his leader's brain in order to get one sentence or four sentences. "From the beginning, he never backed down. He gave alms to unspeakable people." Peeling for paper, dissecting bones for pens, pricking blood for ink, and writing scriptures accumulate like sumeru. In order to pay attention to the law, I will die, not to mention the throne, cities, settlements, palaces, gardens, everything, all kinds of asceticism, and even become a great bodhi under the tree "("Hua Yan Jing? The wish of samantabhadra "). Because of the emergence and enlightenment of the Buddha, the truth of the universe and life revealed by Buddhism and the cause of consciousness of all beings have emerged. Therefore, for more than two thousand years, Buddhist disciples have paid tribute to the Buddhas in various beautiful ways, praised the Tathagata, practiced extensively, and provided for the Tathagata. Among them are incense, flowers, lamps, water and so on. Is the most common support project. In Hua Yan Jing, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra said, "I have made Pu Xian's desire strong, and I am convinced of it. Now I know what I saw before, and I know the wonderful offerings above. The so-called Huayun, Liu Yun, Tian Yue Leyun, Tian Yue Gaiyun, Tian Yue Yiyun, Tian Yue Xiang, painting Xiang, burning Xiang, ending Xiang, etc. are all like King Sumi Mountain. Burn all kinds of lamps, crisp lamps, oil lamps, incense lamps, lamp posts such as Mount Sumi, and lamp oil such as sea water. In this way, various support tools are often supported. "All kinds of support are not for seeking wealth, fame, health and happiness, but for expressing the most sincere praise, gratitude and conversion to the Buddha with respect, deep heart and sincere heart. This kind of support is called "heart fragrance", even if it is a short fragrance or a wild flower, its fragrance will last forever; Nature, with its sincerity, blesses the soul and is peaceful and carefree.
He said that worshipping incense means abstaining from virtue and doing good according to law. When you enter the Buddhist temple, you can often see the words "no incense" engraved on the bronze incense burner. In the Buddha's sutra of abstaining from morality and fragrance, Ananda asked the Buddha: All the fragrance in the world can only go with the wind, not against the wind. Is there a fragrance that you can smell freely regardless of the wind direction? The Buddha said to Ananda, "If there are good men and good women in all counties, cities and villages, they should practice ten virtues, do not kill, steal, commit adultery, talk nonsense, have two tongues, swear, be jealous, be stupid, be filial to their parents, have three respects, be kind and virtuous, be dignified and polite, and countless Buddhist monks in the East will praise their virtues." In the four dimensions of the south, the west and the north, the upper and lower Samanas all praised their virtues:' There are good men and good women in a county, county and city, who do ten good deeds, respect the three treasures, be filial and kind, and be kind without losing etiquette.' It's called "headwind", which is not popular. According to the ten directions, it is all thanks. "That is to say, a Buddhist disciple can achieve an inner virtue and fragrance that is not affected by the external environment-"Mu Mi Sandalwood and Violet Rainbow are all fragrant, and abstinence is supreme ". Even the most precious fragrance such as sandalwood can't compare with the fragrance of Inner Ring Body.
Incense in Buddhism can also be described as "five-point dharma body"-abstinence, determination, wisdom, liberation and liberation. "Six ancestors magic altar sutra? "Confessions Six" records that Master Huineng taught his disciples: "First, abstain from incense, that is, there is no evil, jealousy, greed or robbery in your heart, and you should quit incense in your name. Second, the fragrance is fixed, that is, seeing the situation of good and evil, the heart is not chaotic, and the name is fixed. Third, Xiang Hui, consciously, often observes self-nature with wisdom and does not create evil; Although I cultivate all kinds of goodness, my heart is not persistent, I respect the above, and I pity the poor and have a good reputation. Fourth, going to incense means that the heart has nothing to climb, not thinking about good and evil, being free and clear, and going to incense. Fifth, knowing the fragrance from liberation. Since the mind has not climbed up to good and evil and can't be silent, it is necessary to learn more and smell more, learn from the heart, reach Buddhism, follow the light when things meet, and know the fragrance without me until Bodhi. The truth is not easy, and the name is relieved. Good knowledge! This incense is smoked inside, don't look outside. "It is the most extraordinary' ritual sacrifice' to sacrifice the Buddha's three treasures with the fragrance of abstinence from wisdom.
Bodhisattvas and ancestors not only burned incense to the Buddha devoutly and patiently, but also became enlightened by smelling and making incense. For example, in the Shurangama Sutra, the fragrant boy was enlightened because of the impermanence of the aroma of agarwood: "When I smell the Tathagata, I will teach me to look at things, go out to the Buddha's feast, and see the monks burning in the water, and the aroma will enter my nose." I think this gas is not wood, not empty, not smoke, not fire, there is nothing to write and nothing to come. It was sold on purpose, and there was no leakage of the invention. If the Tathagata prints my name, the dust disappears, and the fragrance is wonderful and dense, I will get arhat from my own fragrance. Buddha asked Tong Yuan, as I have proved, incense is strict. ""Hua Yan Jing? In the book "Entering the Dharma", auspicious teenagers visited the elders of incense and learned from them that there are infinite methods in the process of making incense. In addition, in the practice of tantric rituals, different incense can also be used to greet God and exorcise demons, which can make practitioners gain blessings and achievements quickly.
In fact, what we generally call incense is only a part of the meaning of "incense" in Buddhism. Its comprehensive meaning is one of the five dusts (touching color, touching sound and touching incense), which is the general name of all kinds of smells. Therefore, "fragrance" is divided into good, evil, equal fragrance or pleasure, unintentional, medium fragrance and so on. That is to say, it contains all kinds of smells facing the nasal root. For Buddhist practitioners, whether it is a beautiful smell or a dirty smell, its essence is the "dust" that covers the soul, so it needs to be transcended and purified. Only by transcending the binary opposition between good and evil, beauty and ugliness, fragrance and odor, and returning to the immortal, immortal and unclean nature of Buddhism, can the true fragrance last forever.
Master Xue Cheng, a great monk, pointed out that for ordinary believers and people who have not yet established their Buddhist beliefs, even if they have no deep understanding of the essence of Buddhism or have no concept at all, they can learn from traditional culture the wind of piety and piety, cultivate the heart of respecting morality and valuing Taoism, get rid of the heart of utilitarianism, rashness and deception, and take kindness and kindness as the best support and blessing.
For monasteries, it is urgent and proper to strictly observe the Dojo, purify the teaching style, guide and educate religious believers with correct opinions and faithfulness, serve and influence the society with harmonious natural environment and moral purification, and inherit the fine traditions of Chinese Buddhism, such as patriotism, love for religion, solemn territory, happiness and friendship.