"There is no mud in the mud, and no one knows that white stems are buried. Life is red, green and clear, don't wait for the wind to fill the pool. " (Chen Zhisui's Ode to the Lotus) Lotus is lotus. In the poet's works, lotus not only expresses firmness and purity, but also symbolizes modesty, tranquility and self-control.
Another way of saying it: the flower language of lotus is faith. It also means firmness and purity; Innocent and unattainable love; Gentleman.
Noble, don't go with the flow, lead a totally clean life. Tianzhu (ancient India) is rich in lotus, which is green, yellow, red and white. In Buddhism, lotus refers to white lotus, which is called fentoli flower. Buddhism uses lotus as a metaphor for Buddhism, so there is a wonderful method, Lotus Sutra.
Lotus is an element in Buddhist culture, so it is often used in Buddhist works of art. Among them, the representative work of contemporary copper melting art by Mr. Zhu Bingren, the first person in China copper field, is lotus, which is freehand and realistic, with rich and diverse forms of expression and unique artistic characteristics.
When people walked into the temple, they saw a statue of Sakyamuni, wearing a shoulder-length gown and making a statement in hand, sitting on the lotus platform. According to the Buddhist scriptures, this is a gesture that Buddha Sakyamuni preached to the believers after he became a Buddha. Amitabha, known as the head of the "Three Saints of the West", is also sitting on the lotus platform, with his hands on his feet and a lotus platform in his palm, which seems to guide all beings to the pure land of the Western Buddhist country. Guanyin, who is famous for her kindness and compassion, is dressed in white, sitting on the Bai Lianhua, holding a pure bottle in one hand and clinging to a Bai Lianhua in the other, as if to show Guanyin's pure bodhisattva heart, and fully guide the believers to leave the world and reach the pure land of Buddhism where lotus flowers are in full bloom.
When people read Buddhist scriptures, they often see that the Buddhist scriptures refer to the Buddhist country as the lotus boundary, the temple as the lotus room, the monk's cassock as the lotus dress, the monk's handprint as the lotus fight, and the "rosary" used by the monk is also made of lotus seeds. Buddhist scriptures say that it is better to use lotus seeds as rosary beads than locust beads. If you pinch it again, you will be blessed a thousand times.
To sum up, lotus has formed an indissoluble bond with Buddhism and has become a symbol and sacred flower of the Buddhist country.
Why does Buddhism worship lotus so much? In short, there are two reasons:
First, it is related to the characteristics of lotus.
Lotus is a perennial aquatic plant flower. Although she is not as elegant as a peony, nor as aloof and lofty as a chrysanthemum, her characteristics of "coming out of the mud without dyeing, lingering without demon" bloom against the cool Xia Jiaoyang and win the supreme worship of Buddhism.
Buddhism believes that "six dusts" are called "six dusts" because the world is full of "six dusts". Due to the pollution and interference of "six dusts", the world is full of desire and competition, which makes it difficult to be calm and clean. This situation is incompatible with the pure land of Buddhism, which is "away from dirt". If you want to enter Buddhism, you must stay away from the world, escape into a clean and empty door, concentrate on practicing Buddhism, eliminate pollution and dry up. The special attribute of "Lotus comes out of the mud without being stained" is consistent with the desire of Buddhist believers in the world not to be polluted by the secular world and to keep clean, so that they can smoothly enter the pure land of Buddhism.
Secondly, it was influenced by the custom of worshipping lotus in ancient India.
As early as before the birth of Indian Buddhism, the scorching sun was like fire every summer. In this hot summer, it is the season when lotus flowers are in full bloom. On a summer night or in the early morning, walking in ponds and lakes where lotus flowers are in full bloom, enjoying the lotus flowers, the green water is hidden, and the fragrance of pink and lavender is pleasing to the eye. Xu Lai is a cool breeze, and the fragrance of lotus flowers emanates from evergreen trees with the wind, which makes people feel cool, as if they had been washed. The lotus pond has become a summer resort.
In the classical literature of ancient India, lotus is often compared to a beautiful girl. For example, the famous epic Ramayana said, "Siddhartha had a girl who was beautiful, but she was like a lotus root covered with mud, and her shining beauty never appeared." In addition, in classical literature, the mother of Buddha Sakyamuni is described as having lotus-like eyes.
In Indian Buddhist scriptures, the birth of Sakyamuni is also associated with the lotus flower. According to Buddhist scriptures, before the birth of Sakyamuni, there were eight auspicious signs in the palace. Hundreds of birds get together, and the flowers of the four seasons bloom together. Strangely enough, a Bai Lianhua as big as a wheel suddenly grew in the big pond in the palace, and Bai Lianhua was born when Sakyamuni was born. At the beginning of Sakyamuni's birth, thousands of golden lights flashed in the root of his tongue, and each golden light turned into a white lotus in Chiba.
The Buddhist sutra "Hundred Fates Sutra" says that Sakyamuni is the lotus prince, and there is another touching story:
Once upon a time, there was a country on the upper reaches of the Ganges River. The king's name is Polonaise, also known as the Lotus King. The country is well governed and the people live and work in peace and contentment. One year, there was an epidemic and many people sought medical treatment. Seeing this, the king was merciful and concentrated his courtiers on running around to treat the people. The doctor said that to cure this epidemic, the only way is to cure the flesh and blood of the red fish in the northeast river of Beijing, and then turn it into a red fish and dedicate it to the treatment of the people. People have come to cut the flesh and blood of red fish to treat diseases. Strangely, the red fish was "cut and resurrected", but it could not be cut, and it lasted for twelve years until all the people in China were cured. According to Buddhist scriptures, this lotus prince is the later Buddha Sakyamuni.
In the Miscellaneous Treasure Classic, there is also a story of Mrs. Lotus: as early as in the human world, there lived a spiritual fairy named Tiboyan at the foot of the snow-capped mountain. He often pees on stones. One day, a doe came here and licked it a few times. She soon became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter named Deer Girl. Later, Tiboyan learned that the deer girl was his own, so he took it and raised it. When the deer girl grows up, there are lotus flowers on the road, so she is also called the lotus girl. King Utiyan passed by hunting and saw a seven-fold lotus flower on the ground. He asked around about the deer girl and took her back to the palace to be a princess. Deer girl got pregnant soon after she arrived at the palace, and gave birth to 500 sons at a time, all of whom were upright and handsome. When she grew up, she became 500 Hercules and became the protector of the country. The king was overjoyed and named Mrs. Deer as the second lady, who was also called Mrs. Lotus. It is the origin of the word "step by step lotus", which is now used to describe the glory of experience.
According to the color of lotus, there are five colors in Buddhist scriptures: white, blue, red, purple and yellow, which are called "Five Tianhua". White and blue are the most popular.
Bai Lianhua, transliterated in Sanskrit as Fantoli, is the largest flower with hundreds of petals, also known as "Louvre Flower". This kind of peanut grows in a pool in A Xin, a Buddhist country, which is rare in the world, so it is also called "a rare flower", and Buddha Sakyamuni called it "a good flower on earth".
Utpala, transliterated in Sanskrit as Youboluo, is named after its green color. The leaves are long and narrow, slightly rounded near the bottom, gradually pointed upward, blue and white, and look like Buddha's eyes, so they are not called "lotus eyes" in Buddhist scriptures, that is, the eyes of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
These five kinds of lotus flowers are seated by five empty Tibetan bodhisattvas. The Buddhist scriptures say:
Oriental wisdom is hidden in the void, sitting in Yudu and riding a silver ox.
The south can hide in the void, sit on the red lotus and ride the golden elephant.
In the west, what I care about is hiding in the void, sitting in the Bai Lianhua and riding on a glazed horse.
In the north, there is nothing to hide, sitting on a purple lotus and riding a lion.
Get rid of the emptiness in the center, sit in the golden lotus and hold the crystal turtle.
And lotus petals. According to Buddhist scriptures, there are three kinds of flowers: benevolence, smallpox and bodhisattva. There are only a dozen lotus petals of China people, hundreds of lotus petals of Tianhua people and thousands of lotus petals of Bodhisattva, which are the most respected thousand lotus petals in Buddhism and the symbol of lotus in Buddhism. The unique growth mode of lotus makes it leap above thousands of flowers and become a lofty life sentiment. Lotus flowers are in full bloom at the same time, and the fruit is already there. The uniqueness and close relationship between flowers and fruits reveal a profound philosophy of life for us. All the undertakings created in life will have their results waiting for us, which also implies people's deepest love and awe of lotus.
Besides, the lotus leaves the dust and lives a clean life. Although it is on a muddy land, it can be kept clean, clean and comfortable. Elaine Zhi Ming, in the face of life adversity, resolutely sticks to some richness and softness in her heart. In the hustle and bustle of the world of mortals, many people who study hard and always follow the truth endure the loneliness of struggle. A pure-hearted person is like a lotus in the mud, striving to complete its own growth, bloom and results. This time, their life will be diligent and sincere, and the future will eventually open up a scene of "red lotus".
"Four Virtues" and "Ten Virtues"
With the spread of Buddhism and the establishment and development of Pure Land Sect, the forms and contents of lotus worship are increasingly colorful. Buddhism beautifies the natural attributes of lotus by analogy with Buddhist teachings, precepts and precepts, and gradually forms a perfect worship of lotus, and summarizes the virtues of lotus into "four virtues" and "ten virtues".
The Buddhist sutra Nirvana Sutra says that Buddha has four virtues, namely, constancy, happiness, self-sufficiency and purity. The so-called Changde means that the Buddha's nature is inseparable, and there is a fixed virtue of "not moving for three generations, and not changing all laws". The so-called virtue means that the Buddha is willing to stay away from the suffering of life and death in the world and to die in the pure land of nirvana. The so-called virtue means that although the Buddha is in the world, he has long forgotten the "ecstasy" of ordinary people and gained the "true self" of "eight freedoms". The so-called pure virtue means that the Buddha is far away from the dust and dirt of the world, just like a clean big round mirror without fiber.
Buddha has four virtues, and Buddhist scriptures are also summarized as "four meanings", corresponding to "four virtues" According to "Hua Yan Jing", "Dahua Lian" has four meanings in Liang She's theory:
Just like the lotus, it does not touch mud, is more real than the dharma world, and does not pollute the world.
Er Ru Lotus, self-development, just like self-enlightenment, all beings promise to prove it and then develop themselves.
Three, like lotus flowers, are picked by bees and are more useful to all saints than truth.
Four virtues are like lotus, and there are four virtues: one fragrance, two cleanness, three softness and four loveliness. For example, the four virtues, constancy, happiness, self-sufficiency and purity. "
The Sanzang Dharma Book also gives a more detailed summary of the advantages of Lotus over Bodhisattva.
Ten tips of lotus analogy to bodhisattva:
1. Stay away from pollution. Bodhisattva practices, has wisdom, can view all realms in all Buddhism, and has no greed for love. Although he is in the stream of life and death, he is not infected by the mistake of life and death, that is, lotus leaves the water and is not infected by sludge. (Five turbidity, namely, robbery turbidity, sentient beings turbidity, trouble turbidity, seeing turbidity and life turbidity)
2. Don't be evil. Bodhisattva's practice only seeks to eliminate all evil, give birth to all good, guard purity in his mouth, and take no evil * * *. It is like a lotus flower, though it drops slightly, it does not stop.
3. Full of abstinence. Bodhisattva practices, puts all the commandments into it, and insists on not committing crimes, so that the commandments can destroy the evil of the body and mouth, and the incense can remove the gas of feces. Therefore, as the saying goes, the fragrance is fragrant, and it is widely spread. It is a metaphor for the spread of lotus flowers, and the fragrance is widely spread, and it is heard far and near.
4. The body is clean. Because of the precepts, the bodhisattva's body and mind are clean, but she can not be polluted. For example, Lotus Watson is naturally clean and pollution-free, even though she is in muddy water.
5. You look happy. Xi, he looks happy. Yi, joy also, bodhisattva heart often Zen, then face no frown, the phase is complete, see it all. For example, when the lotus is in full bloom, it makes all people feel happy and happy.
6. Soft but not astringent. Soft is smooth, not astringent is not stagnant. It is said that Bodhisattva's charity trip will return to the closed-door method.
There is no obstacle, the inside is filled with plastic, so the body is often clean, soft and not rough. Compared with the lotus, the body is soft and moist.
7. Everyone who sees it is lucky. Bodhisattva's practice achievements are wonderful, and those who see them are lucky. For example, lotus flowers and fragrant flowers are wonderful. Those who see them and those who dream are lucky.
8. There is enough seasoning. Bodhisattva's successful practice is full of wisdom and dignity, indicating that the lotus is in full bloom and the Chinese fruit is full.
9. Mature and clean. Bodhisattva prunes the circle, and the wonderful fruit matures, but Huiguang found that it can make all beings have six clean roots, which is similar to the maturity of lotus. Look at its color with your eyes, smell its fragrance with your nose, and your roots will be clean. (Six roots, namely eye root, ear root, nose root, body root and Italian root. )
10. Life has been thinking. When the Bodhisattva was born, immortals and others were protected by Yue Xian, so that they could practice good deeds and prove the bodhi fruit. For example, when the lotus was born, although there were no flowers, Mr. Wang had already thought of the lotus. (Sanskrit Bodhi, Huayan Road)
Although the content of the above metaphor is not targeted and comparable, it accurately captures the delicate and clean characteristics of lotus and the spirit of Buddha, so that lotus has been sublimated. With the spread of Buddhism, the image of lotus has become a symbol of divinity, holiness and resurrection in Asian countries. Pictures of lotus flowers can be seen everywhere in the Borobudur Buddhist altar in Java, the ancient city of Bagan in Myanmar, the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the bell tower in Sri Lanka and Fuan in China and Tibet.
Japanese people who believe in the sun god often associate lotus flowers with death and ghosts. However, China has the closest relationship with Lotus. Besides being a symbol of Buddhism, there are countless poems and songs in the field of literature, and it is also an important cash crop.
Works of Art: Zhu Xuanxian's Chinese painting The Red Sun Reflects.