Fang Zheng smiled and said: "My teacher has told you a long time ago that in China, Buddhism and Taoism have merged and exchanged with each other's cultures over the endless years, and learned from each other's strengths and weaknesses. Only then did today's Buddhism and Taoism exist.
Their essence is to make this world more good and less evil.
According to legend, this festival first originated from Taoism, that is, the three officials paraded through the lower realms.
Taoism believes that this day is the day when the local official Qingxu pardons sins. To put it simply, it is the day when high-ranking officials come down to observe the people's sentiments, correct those misjudgements, or redress unjust cases. On this day, Taoist priests chant scriptures and practice
, welcome the arrival of the earth official, free the evil ghosts, and save the ancestors...
Corresponding to this, there is the folk custom of the ghost moon coming out and the gate of ghosts opening on the half of July.
Folks believe that the entire seventh month is the ghost month. On the first day of the month, the ghost gate opens, and on the fifteenth day, the ghost gate closes. In this month, ghosts can come out again after the silence of spring and summer, so it is called the ghost gate opens. Hundreds of ghosts walk at night, and groups of ghosts run around.
In order to avoid hurting people, people hold various activities to appease the ghosts. Similarly, on this day, their ancestors will return from the underworld, and their descendants will welcome and worship their ancestors. This is somewhat similar to the Qingming Festival.
The name of the Obon Festival comes from Buddhism. The Buddhist scripture "The Buddha Speaks of the Obon Sutra" records such a story:
Maudgalyana, one of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni, wanted to repay his parents for their upbringing after he obtained the Six Divine Powers, so he used his Tao Eye to observe and saw that his deceased mother was suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts and was so skinny that she had no human shape.
Mulian was very sad, so he filled a bowl with rice and wanted to give it to his mother to eat. However, as soon as the rice was delivered to his mother's hands, it turned into a blazing fire before it could be eaten, burning his mother's mouth, causing great pain.
Maud Lian was helpless and cried and asked the Buddha to help save his mother. The Buddha said: "Your mother's sins are so serious that you alone cannot save her. You have to rely on the power of the monks from all over the world. You must do it on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month."
On the day when the monks have settled down for the summer and have perfected their practice, they will hold a grand Ullambana offering and offer food and delicacies to the monks from all directions. Only by relying on their spiritual power can you save your mother."
So Maudgalyana followed the Buddha's instructions, and his mother really escaped from the realm of hungry ghosts.
The Buddha also said: "From now on, when all the disciples of the Buddha practice kindness and filial piety, they can do so on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, which is the day that the Buddha likes. That is, during the ninety days of the summer every year in the Buddhist system, the monks gather in one place to live peacefully.
Adhere to the precepts and clean up their conduct. On the last day, the monks practice self-discipline. That is, they ask the monks to list the mistakes they have made and repent to the public. They will be purified and self-generated joy, which is called self-discipline. And all the monks in the ten directions
The Buddha is pleased with his peaceful abode and perfected diligent practice, so it is also called the Buddha's Happy Day. On this day, prepare various kinds of food and drink, set up Ullambana offerings, and make offerings to the monks. Doing so can bring blessings and longevity to the living parents.
, and you can help your deceased parents escape the sea of suffering and gain happiness, in order to repay your parents for their upbringing."
So there is the Buddhist Obon Festival, which happens to be on July 15th, and they all advocate worshiping ancestors and promoting the culture of filial piety.
Therefore, the so-called Hungry Ghost Festival is a Taoist saying; the Bon Festival is a Buddhist saying; and the Ghost Festival, half of July, is a folk saying.
Taoists can celebrate the Ghost Festival, and Buddhism can celebrate the Bon Festival, but what about the folk? When there are too many festivals and they are too complicated, many festival methods collide on this day, and some are forgotten or abandoned, and some are forgotten.
After a long period of time and fusion, the emphasis on this festival...at least among the people, there is not much difference."
After listening to the red boy next to him, he didn't say anything. In his world, Obon Festival is also a first-class festival. In his world, it is the real door of hell that opens and all ghosts come out of the abyss.
, countless gods and Buddhas gathered together to transcend the souls of the dead, that was a big scene! But the world was different, and he had nothing to say.
"I see, Master, what are we doing today?" Lone Wolf asked curiously.
Fang Zheng said: "You will know when the time comes. Calculate the time, it will be tomorrow." Just after Fang Zheng finished speaking, Yang Ping, the accountant of the village, came up the mountain. As soon as he came in, he took Fang Zheng and started talking.
After the pile, he went down the mountain in a hurry.
"Master, what are you doing here, Master Yang?" the squirrel asked curiously.
"Tell me about Obon Festival. How is the little lotus flower I asked you to carve?" Fang Zheng asked, changing the subject.
When the squirrel heard this, he shrank his neck in embarrassment and went away to carve the lotus. Seeing this, Fang Zheng shook his head helplessly. The squirrel was naturally active, so it was really hard for him to squat there quietly and carve.
.I don’t know how many more days his temporary interest can last.
The next day, Fang Zheng went down the mountain early, and the monkey followed closely. As for Red Boy, he was not interested in going down the mountain to join in today...
After going down the mountain, Fang Zheng saw that the village had begun to be decorated. An offering table was placed at the door of every house, and a black line was drawn with black firewood behind the offering table to separate his yard from the offering table.
"Master, what are you doing?" Monkey looked at this scene and asked.
Fang Zheng said: "There is a saying among the people that the ashes of this kind of vegetation are equivalent to the ashes at the bottom of a pot, which can prevent ghosts from entering. The gate of ghosts will be wide open tonight. Although everyone takes the opportunity to worship their ancestors, they must also be prepared to prevent evil ghosts from entering."
The monkey suddenly understood, scratched his head and said, "Master, you have talked about ghosts more than once. Are there ghosts in this world?"
Fang Zheng said: "Ghosts are in the heart, and if the body is upright, the ghosts in the heart are the ancestors, who will protect you throughout your life; if the body is crooked, the ghosts in the heart are evil ghosts, and they will walk step by step towards the abyss of evil, and there will be no recovery."
The monkey looked confused and couldn't understand...
Fang Zheng did not intend to explain clearly in a few words. Some things should be understood when they need to be understood. It is useless to say more.
The villagers have not yet placed the tributes on their offering tables. On such a hot day, they were placed early and spoiled quickly.
Circles were also drawn with white plaster at the crossroads of the village. Some were larger, some were smaller. No matter what they were, they were all concentrated at the crossroads. When the two came, Sun Qiancheng was
Drawing a circle there with Meng Meng. The two of them, one large and one small, were very serious and didn't even notice Fang Zheng's arrival.
Mengmeng held the lime basin, her big eyes flickered, and she tilted her head and said, "Dad, why are uncles and uncles drawing circles here..."
The monkey looked at Fang Zheng almost at the same time. Fang Zheng smiled slightly, looked ahead, and let him listen.
"This circle represents the tomb of the deceased ancestors. There should be an opening in the circle to represent the entrance to the tomb. At the same time, the opening should face the direction of the tomb. Tonight, when we burn paper money for grandma and the others, it will be right here.
Burn...Mengmeng, are grandpa and grandma good to you?" Sun Qiancheng said.
Mengmeng didn't know much about life and death, so she tilted her head and thought about it, then said, "It's very good for me."
"Yes, so Mengmeng is going to burn paper with her father tonight, you know? Let the grandparents see how filial their good granddaughter is." Sun Qiancheng said.
Mengmeng nodded repeatedly and said: "Okay, okay...Mengmeng is coming." The little girl jumped, and the lime basin in her hand shook, and the lime collapsed. A gust of wind blew, and all the lime flew away.
The monkey was originally out of curiosity and got closer, but this time it was better. Lime came towards him, and he was too stupid to avoid it!
At this moment, a big hand blocked the monkey's eyes and kept the lime out, but it still covered his face with lime and turned his hair white.
As soon as the noise came out, Sun Qiancheng looked up and saw Fang Zheng. He quickly got up and said with a smile: "Master Fang Zheng, how are you going down the mountain... Oops, I almost forgot. It's half July and you have to work hard again today.
"
Fangzheng put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, this is what a poor monk should do."
Sun Qiancheng said: "Master, I told you last time that our family moved here later. Except for our parents, our grandparents are not buried here. To be honest, I can't tell where they are buried."
It's clear. It's half July..." Having said this, Sun Qiancheng looked at the white circle on the ground. The reason why he chose to ask Fang Zheng was because during the Qingming Festival, Fang Zheng helped him solve the problem of ancestor worship. I understand.
How can all the ancestors be worshiped in it? Even if Fang Zheng doesn't come today, he will go up the mountain to ask. Since he has encountered it, he naturally wants to ask for advice.
Fang Zheng said: "Donor, this matter is easy to handle. You only need to point the entrance of the tomb to the west. As the saying goes, if you drive a crane to the west, you will be right."
When Sun Qiancheng heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly thanked him: "Thank you so much, Master, for your guidance. To be honest, this problem has been bothering me for a while. I didn't expect it to be so simple..."
After saying that, Sun Qiancheng hurriedly squatted down and drew another big circle, with the gap pointing to the west.
Saying goodbye to Sun Qiancheng, Fang Zheng took Monkey to the only small shop in the village. The small shop changed hands several times, and now it is Chen Jin who opened the small shop. Chen Jin originally wanted to trick Fang Zheng, but because of a fire,
Fang Zheng saved his whole family, and he was extremely grateful to Fang Zheng. Later, Chen Jin's family was rebuilt. After much thought, Chen Jin didn't want to farm anymore, so he bought the small shop and sat in the small shop every day, putting two
Set up a table and watch everyone playing cards, chatting and passing the time.
But no one was playing cards in Chen Jin's small shop today, because it was filled with all kinds of paper money. Since Fang Zheng told them that the underworld only recognized paper money, not gold ingots, etc., no one in the village burned those things anymore.
.So what Chen Jin’s family brought in were piles of yellow grass paper money, piled there.
Chen Jin was sitting at the door playing with his mobile phone. When he heard the movement, he looked up and saw that it was Fang Zheng. He stood up quickly and said with a smile: "Master Fang Zheng, you are here? What do you want? Take whatever you want, no money is required."
Fang Zheng shook his head and said: "The poor monk had no money before, so he had no choice but to take it for free. Now that the temple is full of incense, how can it be paid for free? The money still has to be paid."
"Master Fangzheng, you are meaningless. You saved the lives of my wife and children. What's the point of giving you something? You have to take this, take it as you like! If you don't take it, I... will pack it all and send it to you."
Go up, whether you want it or not, I don’t want it anyway.” Chen Jin immediately started to act rogue.