What is heaven?
The ancients had a saying to describe the six ways.
Human nature is boundless, and the immortal road is boundless; Ghost music, when life is the door; Fairy way is expensive, ghost way is expensive; Fairy road is often complacent, and ghost road is often fierce; Gao Qingli, sad and sad; I only want heaven to succeed, not human poverty; There are thousands of ghosts in the Miao family of Beiduquan, and they want to stop the number and kill them. A person sings a hole in the sky and pats Beiluotan, recites a spell to ward off evil spirits, beheads six ghost faces, the weather fluctuates, and my road is booming.
There are six ways of Buddhism, among which humanity and ghosts and gods are three. The general meaning of this sentence is to warn people that the right path is often confused, so when facing the choice on the road of life, we should carefully consider it and not choose the wrong one.
Tao! Ghost Road represents the wrong road. The wrong road starts to give people a good feeling, but it gets more and more evil, and monsters dance wildly. However, Xiandao and humanism were not easy to walk at first, giving people a very confused feeling, but the more I walk, the more I will find the weather swaying, and I will be happy.
Prosperity shows the wisdom of your choice!
Road to Hell
In the general folk tradition, it is believed that after death, if people do bad things before their death, they will go to hell after death, especially those who are extremely vicious will go to eighteen levels of hell. From ancient times to the present, there are countless stories about hell in China, the most famous of which is the sequel of Huang Liang in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, which tells the story of a Fujian native, Zeng Xiaolian, who had a dream. In his dream, he became a prime minister, but he was greedy for power and did evil. After his death, he was tortured in hell. There are wonderful descriptions of various scenes in hell in the article.
In fact, hell and ghost in Buddhism are two different kinds of existence. The name of hell appears in many Buddhist scriptures, and the most common one is "niraya or naraka" in A Da Mo Lun, which means there is no joy and happiness. However, in The New Bodhisattva, it is called "Nalaka" (Sanskrit), but there is no joy. It can be seen from the free translation that the road to hell is the most bitter realm of the six desires, because all beings here are not only without a trace of joy, but also tortured by various kinds of torture. (Hell is the most bitter of the six desires)
For example, waiting for a living hell (also called thinking about hell), in which all beings are cut, stabbed, ground and beaten, and their skin is raw and painful to death. When the body is blown by the cold wind, the wound heals and the body comes back to life, they suffer again and again until their karma is exhausted, and they can leave this painful hell. Moreover, the life span of all beings in hell is particularly long, and they really can't live when they suffer, begging for death.
According to teacher Yin Shun's statement in The Way to Becoming a Buddha, hell can be divided into four categories: 1. Eight Earthly Mansions: Eight Earthly Mansions are the most fundamental in this way, full of flames, so they are also called "Eight Earthly Mansions", similar to the "eternal fire" in Christianity. At the bottom is the fearsome A-nose hell, that is, endless hell. 2. Going to Hell: Eight Hot Hell Each Hot Hell has four gates, and each gate has four small ones, making a total of * * * 128 hell. All sentient beings coming out of the Eight Hot Hell will come here to suffer one by one, so it is called "Zeng". 3. Eight Cold Hell: In an extremely cold place, all beings often wail because of the cold, and their bodies become discolored with cold. 4. Lonely Hell: This is a lonely, inhuman life in the mountains and rivers of the earth, which can be said to be a hell on earth. A total of eight hot, eight cold, increased travel, loneliness, there are eighteen places in hell.
Hungry ghost road
The traditional idea of China people is that people will become ghosts after death. In fact, they will be reincarnated as ghosts because they were stingy and greedy in their previous lives, so they will get hungry returns. Although some ghosts can also enjoy the blessings of human beings, nine times out of ten they are hungry ghosts who can only accept bitter rewards, so they are named "hungry ghosts".
Most of the hungry ghosts mentioned in the classics are hungry for food every day, but they are hard to find. Either they turn into fire when they meet water, or their throats are thin and they can't swallow food. According to the land theory of yoga teacher, hungry ghosts will encounter three obstacles in their diet. 1. External obstacles: This kind of hungry ghost is often hungry and thirsty, so his face is dark, his face is withered, his mouth is dry, and he can only lick his mouth. Although they run around for food, the water they see has turned into pus, so they can't drink it. 2. Cataract: This hungry ghost has a throat as thin as a needle, a mouth as big as a torch, and a bulging belly like a mountain. However, even if he got the food, he couldn't swallow it because his throat was very thin. 3. Accessibility: Although there is no obstacle to the diet of such hungry ghosts, no matter what food they eat, they will burn into fire and still be hungry.
Because the karma of good and evil created in the previous life is different, the karma obtained in Hungry Ghost Road will be different. According to the living conditions of ghosts, they can be roughly divided into two categories: those with weeds and those without weeds. Life without weeds is poor, but with weeds, life is rich. Most of the ghosts and gods sacrificed by folk beliefs are this weed. According to the different blessings, the theory of great wisdom also calls ghosts who are often hungry and thirsty "hungry ghosts", while ghosts who have weeds and can enjoy more fun are called "evil ghosts".
Animal road
Although animals are cute or not, or they are harmful and beneficial to human beings, on the whole, their main feature is that suffering is greater than pleasure. As recorded in karma in past lives, they are not only ugly in appearance, but also because their bones, bodies, tendons, horns, skin, teeth, hair and feathers are regarded as "treasures" by human beings. Or be caught by human beings, making them thirsty and tired; There are also various kinds of torture, such as piercing nose, hooking head, flogging, being tied up, even hurting each other, and being frightened and confused in the jungle situation.
Therefore, in the six paths of reincarnation, animals and sentient beings are listed as one of the three evil paths of bitterness and sorrow; In addition, because their wisdom is not high, and even they only have nervous reactions, they can't understand Buddhism and even have no chance to practice. They can only wait for the end of their lives and transfer their interests with past karma.
In terms of species and quantity, the way of animals is the largest of the six ways, and even it is pointed out in Yisi Jing that there are 3.4 billion kinds of animals, which has already exceeded the scope of human imagination. There are many sentient beings in these categories, with great differences in appearance and posture, and different eating and living habits. According to the scope of activities, it can be divided into three categories: land travel, air travel and water travel, and according to living habits, it can be divided into day travel, night travel and day and night travel.
The animal path is sometimes called "lateral life", and if it is transliterated from Sanskrit, it is also called "tiryanc". The names of animals mean that they are often kept by people, but in fact they cover far more than that, and even extend to all kinds of incredible paradise, hell and wonders in heaven and earth. "Side by side" means that their appearance is different from that of honest and frank, and their way of walking and lifestyle is not straight. Their life span is as uneven as many kinds, from the ephemera in "Ephemera" to the long dragon in "Dragon King".
For such a complex type, Buddhist classics also record the causes of various karma respectively. In these karma, some belong to the common cause of three evil ways, such as animal nature, evil spirits and hell, and some simply belong to animal nature. For example, it is pointed out in "Argument for the Elder" that the "five livestock" will fall into the way of animals, including frequent theft, failure to pay debts, liking to kill, not listening to scriptures, and creating various karma obstacles to prevent others from solving problems.
mankind
What exactly is a person? There are many discussions about human beings in philosophy, literature, biology and even religion. Regarding the appellation of human beings in Buddhist scriptures, it is mentioned in Volume VI of On the Establishment of Aji Dharma that human beings are named after Manu Shah and Manu Sia (Sanskrit), also known as human beings, human interests, human nature, or simply human beings, and they are one of the sentient beings who want to live in the world.
According to the Buddhist scriptures, people live on four continents: Dongsheng Shenzhou, Xiniu Huozhou, Nanzhan Buzhou and Luzhou in the north. In Dragon Agama, it is recorded that the center of the world is Mount Sumi, surrounded by seven golden mountains. Beyond the seven golden mountains is the endless Aral Sea, dotted with four continents. The four continents are inhabited by different human beings, completely isolated from each other and not communicating with each other. And we, the human beings on the earth, live in Nanzhan Port, also called Jambu-Di^pa. People on four continents have their own characteristics. The narratives of the four continents are scattered in the classics such as Chang Agama, Lou Tan Jing, Shi Li Lun, He She Lun and Tian Di Jing. Every continent has its own characteristics. For example, Xi Niuhuo Island is characterized by many cows, many sheep and many pearls and jade. Dongsheng Shenzhou is characterized by vast, huge and wonderful land, and the so-called wonderful means fertile land; People who live in Luzhou in the north have no difference in color and race, nor are they sad or crying, but this is regarded as one of the eight difficulties of Buddhism, because there is only pure material enjoyment here, but there is no lofty spiritual life.
The biggest feature of our South Station is that there are countless desires, so we can create all kinds of good and evil. However, because we have the ability to think and feel ashamed, we can practice. Of course, the most important thing is that Buddhism has three characteristics: memory, Sanskrit and courage. Externally, it is for the benefit of others, not at the expense of oneself; Willpower and perseverance to endure all kinds of hardships; Bravely demonstrated the spirit of "Bodhisattva Road", which is difficult to do, unbearable and forbearing.
Of the six ways, only people can really practice bodhicitta and bodhisattva, which shows how precious it is to be born in human nature. Therefore, there is a cloud in volume 32 of Nirvana Sutra: "outstanding people are like excellent epiphyllum."
What's more, only people can practice meditation, become monks, observe precepts, practice, live and die, and become Buddhas. Therefore, although the world is full of all kinds of sufferings, through human practice, we can also turn troubles into bodhi and pain into happiness, and pure land can also be displayed in the world.
But for most people, in the face of the fact that the world population is increasing, and the global population has now exceeded 5 billion, it is inevitable to ask: "Will personal life be scarce? In fact, judging from the six sentient beings, reincarnation is really not easy. There is a story in "The Sutra of China", which shows that reincarnation is not easy. Just like a blind turtle in the vast Wang Yang, I just happened to meet a driftwood, and this driftwood must have a small hole. This kind of opportunity is rare, and the turtle's head just sticks out from the driftwood hole. This kind of opportunity is really more difficult, and it is described as a rare one in the classics.
So how can we be reborn? "According to the realistic theory. Six products of industry ",pointing out that the reason for incarnating humanity is that they created humane karma in their past lives. As for the earthly karma, in volume 37 of Zaagama: "If you do evil deeds, there will be hell, and if you are reincarnated, there will be all kinds of sufferings. If you do ten good karma, you will be born in heaven, and if you are reincarnated, you will be free from all kinds of difficulties. Therefore, "Fa Wenhua Sentence" said: "The five precepts are human beings, and the ten good deeds give birth to heaven. In the past, if you could observe the Five Commandments and stick to them all your life, you would get interesting results in the next life.
asura
Asura Taoism, which is famous for its belligerence, has no virtue because of its good luck. Some people say that it is only included in ghosts and gods, or that it is a fallen heaven and man. Buddhism in the north classified him as a good way, while Southern Buddhism classified him as an evil way.
Asura was originally one of the gods in ancient India. He was regarded as an evil god, a fierce and aggressive spirit who often fought Indra. Just as Asura's Sanskrit translation means "not heaven", his retribution is excellent, and he can live like heaven, but he has no virtue of heaven and man, and his nature is aggressive.
Asura, also known as Dionysus, has an allusion. It is said that Asura, who lived at the bottom of the sea, used to love drinking, but because they drank wine made of seawater, the wine was always salty and bitter, so they vowed never to drink it again.
People who are reincarnated to Ashura Road have no great evil deeds in their previous lives, but they are contemptuous and proud. They either look down on others or envy others for being better than themselves. The detailed article of karma classics lists ten kinds of karma, including slight evil in body, slight evil in mouth, slight evil in mind, arrogance, slow rise, slow increase, slow rise and slow rise.
Slow down evil, slow up, and return to good roots.
Due to the traction of karma, Asura can be divided into four generations: embryo, egg, wet and chemical. The person who lays eggs is in a ghost road, and he can use his strength to show his magic power in the air; The reason why viviparous was born in human nature is that he was originally in heaven, but he fell because of virtue; Wet living in the animal path, living in the water hole, swimming to the void, returning to the water at dusk; Metabolism is in the sky, and it is born.
According to the "Guanyin Bodhisattva Sutra", when the world just formed a land of mountains and seas, the naughty fairy of Guangsheng Heaven went to play on earth. One of the immortals took a bath in the sea, because the "water spirit" gave birth to a meat egg. After 8000 years, this meat egg finally gave birth to a female monster, as long as Mount Sumi, with 1000 eyes and 24 feet. The number of hands and mouth is 999, and her appearance is terrible. She is the ancestor of Asura.
After the monster, she gave birth to a male monster named Pimo. Because she has unparalleled power and can freely enter and leave the world, she also wants to marry after seeing countless beautiful women around her. The monster proposed to the godmother of Meiguan Fangqun for her son. As a result, the godmother readily agreed to the marriage, and the Asura family became increasingly prosperous. Pi Mo's daughter, with all kinds of amorous feelings, made the Emperor of China, who had hundreds of millions of wives and concubines, fall in love with her and marry her as his concubine. Unexpectedly, after the emperor broke off his engagement, he liked the new and hated the old, so the female general of Asura decided to tell her father, which triggered an unprecedented war. Now, Qin Shihuang is surrounded by Mount Sumi, where he lives. At this critical moment, Emperor Shi thought of the Buddha's saying that if there was a great disaster, the ghost soldiers could be cracked by chanting the Prajna Paramita mantra. Sure enough, with a spell, four broadsword wheels suddenly flew out of the air, almost cutting off the hands and feet of King asura. Fortunately, he hid in the lotus root and Confucius, but he was too weak to get revenge.
However, the war between Heaven and Man and Asura did not end there. Many years later, Di Shi fell in love with Luo Hou, a daughter of Luo, and ordered Tianshi to bring a dowry, threatening to lure Luo Yingnuo to get married through singing. Unexpectedly, Luo was very angry with the emperor's explanation. He not only expelled Le Shen from the palace, but also immediately sent troops to attack Heaven and Man. Just when the warriors captured the Heavenly Palace, Emperor Shi recalled the last spell, so the army was defeated and had to retreat to the lotus root to hide.
Just after Shi Di took all the girls away, Luo sent messengers to negotiate, pointing out that Shi Di, as a disciple of Buddha, should not steal. After several negotiations, the two sides finally reached several agreements. Emperor Shi admitted that he had committed the theft of the ring and was willing to return it to his daughter, and offered nectar from heaven. On the other hand, Asura dedicated his beloved daughter to the emperor, and voluntarily accepted the three conversions and five precepts to become a disciple of the Buddha. The battle is over successfully.
In the Battle of Heaven, there was a king who fought with Emperor Shi. Because his hand could hold the sun and the moon and block its light, it was called Rollo, which means "blocking the moon". He can have the power to block the sun and the moon with his hands and form an eclipse; It is because when he was born as a Brahmin, he saw a big fire burning the tower, so he put it out to make the tower not bad. Because of the blessing of saving the tower, he wished to become a great man. However, despite this desire, he still didn't believe in Buddhism and always loved to fight, so he fell into Ashura Road after his death.
Heaven-the law of nature
Although Buddhism often emphasizes that "the human body is scarce and Buddhism smells bad", it is a very good karma to be born in the world and have the opportunity to learn Buddhism. But most people still hope to live a "fairy"-like life and yearn for envy of being born in heaven. Even on earth, some people want to praise the life style of "heaven and earth".
Buddhist scriptures also say that there are actually three kinds of so-called "heaven and man". One is called "pen name Tian", which means living in the house of kings, kings and other emperors; One is "pure land and heaven", that is, practitioners who practice in the position of Arahant grosvenor can live a life like pure land and heaven; Third, all beings who are truly heavenly, that is, the so-called "Heaven and Man".
All beings in the sky are all over the three realms of desire, color and colorless. Among them, there are six desires for heaven, four Zen for eighteen days in the color world, four days in the achromatic world and twenty-eight days in the * * world.
Among the sentient beings in heaven, there are differences between men and women in the six desires of heaven, and there are also marriages, but they are not like the feelings of men and women in the world. As far as the way they satisfy their desires is concerned, the four heavenly kings and the heaven of interests are based on qi and yin and yang; As long as the fiery skyscrapers are close together, the sky will hold hands with each other and look at each other deeply, while he will look at each other briefly.
All beings in the color world got rid of their attachment to desire, but they did not get rid of the bondage of form. So, no matter where you live, or your own body is beautiful, but it still has a shape. The biggest difference between them and the sentient beings in the carnal world is that they have left their lust, leaving only pure and subtle shapes, so they have no distinction between men and women, and they take light as their language and food.
As for the colorless four days, it is beyond the existence of the material world, and it is the heaven born after death when all beings are tired of leaving the material color and become a four-color heart. In this paradise, there is naturally no distinction between men and women.
People's life in heaven is described in past and present karma. For example, their bodies are extremely clean, without dirt, full of light like glass, and their eyes are clear and bright. You can get what you want if you want, so you can always feel happy and comfortable in your mind. On weekdays, Yue Xian is celebrated as entertainment. Even eating, drinking and dressing are like magic. As long as your mind is moving, you should read it.