Recommendation: What is superstitious learning Buddhism?
First, Buddha.
When we enter the temple to worship Buddha, we will offer incense, flowers, lights and candles to the Buddha. Western immortals say that we worship idols and are superstitious. In fact, the Buddha is our leader, a saint who has achieved perfection, and the Great Bodhisattva is also a person who is about to become a Buddha. This is our refuge and our leader. Respect for buddhas and bodhisattvas should be shown, just as respect for parents must be polite. There is no problem when the Buddha is alive. You can pay tribute to him directly. But now that the Buddha of Sakyamuni has entered nirvana, the buddhas and bodhisattvas of other worlds are not in our world, so we have to carve their images with paper paintings, clay sculptures, wood and stones as objects of reverence.
Because this is the image of Buddha and Bodhisattva, we should worship him respectfully, not because he is paper, earth, wood and stone. If we love our country, how can we show our respect? Is it superstition to make a national flag with colored cloth and salute it respectfully when it is raised? There are also statues in Catholicism. Although there is no god in Christianity, there are crosses as objects of tribute, and some people kneel down to pray. What's the difference between this and worshipping Buddha? It is said that Buddhist worship of Buddha is idolatry, because the western gods don't understand the meaning of our worship of Buddha enough.
As for the fragrant lanterns and candles? When the Buddha was alive, these things were used to support the Buddha in India. Lights and candles mean light, and fragrant flowers mean fragrance and cleanliness. Believing in and respecting the Buddha, on the one hand, is to use these things to support the Buddha to show piety, on the other hand, to get light and purity from the Buddha. It's not that offering flowers and burning incense makes the Buddha smell incense, and lighting candles makes the Buddha see everything. Isn't this what western religions, especially Catholicism, use? This is a common religious ceremony. Buddha should be respected and pious, and Buddha should be visualized as a real Buddha. If you worship while thinking about the East or talking, it is disrespectful and loses the meaning of worshipping Buddha.
Second, etiquette.
Buddhist chanting, pagans and unbelievers often mistake it for superstition. I don't know that "repentance" is called "repentance" in Hindi, which means admitting mistakes after making mistakes, because in past lives, everyone has done all kinds of mistakes and committed all kinds of crimes, leaving behind karma that attracts suffering and hinders the liberation of monasticism. In order to alleviate and eliminate the karma that hinders suffering, one admits his mistakes in front of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other monks, thus eliminating his karma.
Buddhism has rituals and repentance methods, which are equivalent to the repentance of Yeism and are very important in religion. Repentance requires one's own confession, and the true confession in the heart is in line with the meaning of Buddhism.
Most people don't repent. What do we do? The ancients made up a confession ceremony and taught us to recite our thoughts sentence by sentence, that is, to know the meaning inside and confess our sins. In Confessions, we are taught how to worship Buddha, pray for mercy and protection from Buddha and Bodhisattva, admit our mistakes, recognize the wrongs of murder, theft, prostitution and so on, and swear to correct them. These are the rituals that our ancestors taught us to repent in the past (there are also prayers that Jesus demonstrated), but the most important thing is sincere repentance from the heart.
Some people can't even recite ready-made rituals, so they let their families lead them, and slowly they don't know how to repent, so they specially invite their families to repent for themselves. Some parents and family members died in order to eliminate the sins of their parents and family members through the kindness of Sambo, and also invited their families to attend the ascension ceremony of the deceased. However, if you don't know the original intention of Buddhism, in order to decorate the facade and folk customs, you just spend a few money to invite a few monks to confess your merits, and you either don't believe in Buddhism or you don't sincerely repent. That's the meaning of confession.
When Buddhism arrived, the meaning of confession was blurred. Those who study Buddhism don't repent, and they invite monks, big or small, to be as busy as a bee for Buddhism. They repent for this family today and do merits for that family tomorrow. Some temples take Buddhism as their only occupation every day and give up their main business. No wonder Buddhism is declining. Therefore, repentance is mainly for yourself. If you really repent, even for an hour, it is better than asking many people to do Buddhist work for a few days. If you understand this truth, you should be filial to your parents, and you will have great merit in filial piety because of the close blood relationship. Don't treat etiquette merits as a family occupation, which will not only be useless, but also increase secular slander and misunderstanding.
Third, recite.
People who study Buddhism recite the scriptures in the morning and evening, which is called class recitation in Buddhism. Christians pray in the morning and evening and eat and drink, while Catholics recite scriptures in the morning and evening. There is nothing wrong with this kind of religious behavior, but for this matter, several people asked me: it's okay not to learn Buddhism, and once you learn Buddhism, the problem will be big. My mother spends an hour or two doing her homework in the morning and evening, as all Buddhist students do, and there is no way to promote things at home. This situation does exist among some laymen, which makes people mistakenly think that Buddhism is a leisure Buddhism for the elderly and is not suitable for ordinary people to learn.
In fact, chanting in the morning and evening is not necessarily chanting or chanting Buddha, nor is it necessarily how long it takes. You can decide the time at will according to the actual situation. It mainly means that "three changes" and "ten wishes" are also very important. Japanese Buddhism was introduced from China, such as Pure Land Sect, Tiantai Sect and Tantric Sect. They all have their own classes, which are very short and don't need much time. This is the situation of Buddhism in the Tang and Song Dynasties.
The lessons of our modern China are as follows: First, it is used in the jungle. Hundreds of people live in the jungle, and it takes a long time to gather once. In order to adapt to this special environment, the class is longer. Second, since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Buddhism tends to be mixed, so the contents of the chanting books compiled are diverse and suitable for different sects to learn. Actually, the head of household doesn't have to be like this. In the past, Mahayana pedestrians in India walked five banners six times a day. It doesn't matter if the time is shorter, but the quantity may increase. In short, learning Buddhism is not just chanting. Studying Buddhism at home must not affect homework because of the long homework.
Fourth, the custom of burning paper is not Buddhism.
In ancient China, there was a custom of burning silks and satins for ancestors to enjoy. Later, in order to save money, paper was used instead, and then money was made, ingots were made, banknotes were made, and even houses and cars were built to burn. These are all evolved from ancient customs, not all of them are from Buddhism.
Another advantage of these things is that children show a little filial piety to their parents. Eating by yourself reminds me of my parents and ancestors; Dress in your own home and think about your ancestors: it is of great significance not to forget the kindness of your parents and ancestors.
Buddhism was introduced into China, adapted to China, and easily combined with chanting and respecting Buddha. However, under the Confucian ethos of "death is a great event" and "reburial", extravagance and waste are inevitable, and the more you burn, the better. This has aroused criticism from modern people, and Buddhism is also considered to be a waste of superstition. Buddhists understand this meaning, and it is best not to burn paper and tin foil, which is not found in Buddhism. If you want to commemorate your ancestors, burn fewer symbols and don't bring them to the temple. Lest Buddhism suffer for us.
Fifth, draw lots and ask questions. Education is not Buddhism.
In some Buddhist temples, there are some behaviors such as drawing lots, asking for visas and even helping others, which cause social ridicule and are called superstitions.
In fact, pure Buddhism does not allow this kind of behavior. Whether it works or not is another matter. Those who really study Buddhism only believe in cause and effect. If you have bad karma in the past and now, you can never avoid it by seeking good fortune and avoiding evil. Good deeds will be rewarded, and evil deeds will inevitably lead to bad consequences in the future; If you want good results, you must do more valuable things. Buddhists only know how to do good deeds, take reason as the law in everything, and never use opportunistic and inferior style. None of these things have anything to do with Buddhism. Buddhist disciples really believe in Buddhism and should definitely avoid these low-level religious behaviors.
Master Hongyi, commonly known as Li Shutong, was a famous musician, art educator, calligrapher and drama activist in the Republic of China, and was one of the pioneers of China drama. After returning from studying in Japan, he worked as a teacher and an editor. Later, he became a monk and became known as Hongyi. Later, he was honored as Master Hongyi. Master Hongyi's contribution to Buddhism is mainly reflected in his research and promotion of Legalism. After becoming a monk, in order to revitalize the law, the master went deep into the law library, wrote books and put them into practice. His works "Four Divisions of the Military Capacity of the monks" and "A Brief Introduction to Nanshan's Family Law" written in his later years are both representative works of modern Buddhist law research. The column "Prajna Lecture Hall" of Phoenix Buddhism published the enlightenment of the master today.