Chapter eight hundred and fiftieth eight: Menglan Penjing
In fact, "The Buddha Speaks of the Ullambana Sutra" is not long. If you simply recite it, it will not take more than a quarter of an hour. The content is also in the form of storytelling, telling the public some truths. Although the sutra is short, it is endlessly memorable, otherwise it would not be possible.
As for turning it into a festival.
In fact, the outcome of this story is not considered good. It can be seen from the scripture, "When the mother received the bowl of rice, she blocked the bowl with her left hand and beat the food with her right hand. Before the food was eaten, it turned into charcoal and she could not eat."
These few sentences describe the bad fate of her mother who has not forgotten her bad habits and cannot eat.
In junior high school, when my mother saw the bowl of rice, due to her bad habits, she still showed her old greedy state. She was afraid that the rice would be taken away by others, so she "blocked the bowl with her left hand and fought for the food with her right hand." This kind of behavior shows that her bad habits have not been forgotten, and she is also afraid that the rice will be taken away by others.
It can be seen that the degree of greed of Mu Lian's mother has reached the extreme.
Regarding the "Buddha Speaks of Menglan Pen Sutra", there is another point worth mentioning.
The Six Paths of Reincarnation in Buddhism was inherited from the Five Paths of Reincarnation of the Shaman Clan, but it was further developed and developed to the point where it is now in great shape.
Among them, the "Buddha Speaks of Menglan Pen Sutra" completes the path of hungry ghosts and creatively proposes three reasons for falling into hungry ghosts. In Buddhism, it is also called the three obstacles.
1. External obstacles means that this hungry ghost often suffers from hunger and thirst, and his skin, flesh, and blood vessels are all withered, his hair is disheveled, his face is dark, his lips are dry and burnt, he often licks his mouth and face with his tongue, and runs away in panic.
He seeks food everywhere, and when he goes to a spring or pool, he sees that the water has turned into pus and blood, and he does not want to drink it. Such ghosts hinder his eating and drinking from outside, which is called external obstruction.
Second, internal obstruction means that this hungry ghost has a throat like a needle, a mouth like a torch, and a wide abdomen. Due to this reason, even if it is possible to eat and drink, it cannot eat. If such a ghost has internal obstruction to eating and drinking, it is called internal obstruction.
Third, there are no obstacles. It is said that there is a hungry ghost named Fierce Flame Wanderer. Although there is no obstacle to eating and drinking, everything he drinks is burned and turned into charcoal. Due to this cause and effect, he suffers great pain from hunger and thirst. This is
The name is impeccable.
According to the scriptures and the description of the three obstacles, the hungry ghosts' reports that Maudgalyana's mother felt were internally obstructed hungry ghosts. Such bad conditions are all caused by the mental conditions and are not caused by external circumstances.
Since Mulian's mother was so greedy, even if her son had the six powers (except for the story of "Meng Lan Pen Sutra"), Mulian Buddha is the most famous for his six powers, namely, the Heavenly Eyes, Heavenly Ears, and Other Minds.
Tong, Fate Tong, Wish-fulfilling Tong, All Outflows Tong, if others can get one of them, they can be proud of one party), and the four fruits of Taoism (Mogullian Buddha is a Buddha at the level of Hunyuan, a quasi-sage), they cannot explain it.
Bad luck.
Therefore, his mother felt the consequences of "the food turned into charcoal before entering her mouth, so she could not eat it"!
From this sutra, we can also see that the Buddhist concept of equality of all living beings is really written into the sutra, unlike the many ancient bad habits left by Taoism.
The Five Paths of the Wu Clan have deep racial discrimination, while Buddhism's transformation of the Six Paths removes the meaning of race and distinguishes between good and evil.
For example, the three evil realms are the hell realm, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the realm of animals. All sentient beings are born there because of their bad karma. In the context of Buddhism, the three evil realms are terrifying and confusing worlds.
The first is hell, where people who commit bad karma due to extreme anger and resentment undergo extreme physical and mental pain after death;
The second hungry ghost realm is a person who is greedy and uses any means to obtain benefits. After death, he will suffer the consequences of hunger, poverty and pain;
Finally, there is the animal realm, which is the result of ignorance caused by ungrateful and shameless behavior.
It is precisely because there are great Buddhas like Maudgalyana in Buddhism who have continuously improved the Six Paths of Reincarnation that Buddhism can break the dominance of Taoism and even counterattack.
If we want to use two words to introduce Buddhism, the best word is the word "cause and effect". All the meanings of the scriptures are centered around these two words. Where there is a cause, there is an effect. The six paths of reincarnation are
Important support under the causal system.
If no one believes that good will be rewarded with good and evil will be punished with evil, then it can be expected that without the six paths of reincarnation, most of the entire causal system will collapse.
The cause and effect does not enter the original three thousand avenues, but it exists all the time, affecting the operation of the world. It is the supreme way like the origin, time and space, and destiny.
The unity of cause and effect already exists, but it is the power of Buddhism to be truly used by humans to transform the world.
From this perspective, the path of cause and effect is actually created by man, just like the Dharma, benevolence, and tyranny proposed by hundreds of humanistic schools. This is why Buddhism is ridiculed as a side sect by Taoists.
But the final result is that this side door counterattacked the "main door". Nothing in the world has changed more than this. What you looked down on back then may one day trample on you.
After the sermon was finished, the statue of Mulian Buddha disappeared. If it weren't for the dazzling Buddha essence remaining in the sky, many people would have thought that they had just dreamed!
It was such an honor to have the Buddha preach in person. Even if he was preaching to his own grandson, his face would be shining brightly.
Maudgalyayana Buddha retreated, and the gods, bodhisattvas, and arhats that followed him also disappeared and dispersed, and the visions in the sky gradually dimmed.
After the Buddha left, the Sutra Pavilion was like a pot exploding. Everyone was discussing the contents of the "Buddha Speaks of the Menglan Pen Sutra", as if they would be sorry for the Buddha's preaching if they didn't talk about it.
A yellow-robed monk declared: "Suppose someone carries his father on his left shoulder and his mother on his right shoulder, grinds the skin to the bone, pierces the bone to the marrow, and circumambulate Mount Sumeru. After hundreds of thousands of kalpas, with blood flowing up to his ankles, he still cannot repay his parents' deep kindness.
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Another monk in red robes echoed the saying: "Suppose someone suffers from famine and sacrifices himself for his parents. His beard will be cut into pieces and broken like dust. After hundreds of thousands of kalpas, he will still be unable to repay his parents' deep kindness."
…
These monks spoke very highly of their parents' kindness to them. Wu Yi, who had returned to consciousness, listened and smiled secretly. Not long ago, these people were saying that once you enter Buddhism, your family will be like a stranger!
Wu Yi was stunned by how quickly his face changed now. If Maud Lian Buddha had not specifically preached the "Buddha Speaks of the Menglan Pen Sutra", I am afraid they would not have read this sutra at all.
This discussion was destined to just praise Buddha. Wu Yi didn't hear any strange opinions, but he couldn't blame them.
This is Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana, a figure in mythology who has survived for countless kalpas. Who dares to curse and refute him will risk his life?
After a break in the discussion of "Buddha Speaks of Menglan Pen Sutra", many people began to ask why Maud Lian Buddha came here to preach. Such a grand event is a good thing, but wouldn't it be even more important if the true meaning of Maud Lian Buddha can be invited to last forever?
good.
And when this topic came up, most people looked at Wu Yi in unison, with disdain, confusion, surprise, and more, actually jealousy.
What a slap in the face for a heretic to attract a statue of Buddha.