When Fang Zheng saw this, he frowned slightly, and then relaxed again as if he had figured something out.
When Xianyu and Honghaier saw the big stone incense burner, they also frowned.
Xianyu muttered: "Master, are you sure this is an incense burner and not a donkey trough?"
Fang Zheng slapped him on the forehead, glared at him and said, "Is your donkey's trough so beautiful?"
I'm not bragging about how square it is. Although this big incense burner looks simple and unpretentious, if you look closely, you can see that it is large and clumsy. The natural texture on it can vaguely outline the main hall, where the Tathagata Buddha is worshiped by thousands of Buddhas. scene! From another angle, the lotus blooms and the koi fish swim, which is really a rare treasure! The only pity is that it is made of stone... But when Fang Zheng looked carefully, he was surprised to find that it was not made of stone! It is a special kind of porcelain product made of clay! But the appearance is just like stone! In other words, the above painting was not made by nature, but was made by someone with extraordinary skill!
This is awesome. Founder has never heard of anyone being able to do this!
Xianyu didn't feel any pain after eating a burst chestnut, but still carried forward the style of refusing to die and said: "To be honest, although the incense burners I saw in Lingshan were also made of stone, they were basically round! This I’ve never seen a square one before... Master, have you been deceived into using a donkey’s trough as a top bag?”
Hong Hai'er also said: "Master, I have never seen such an incense burner. This incense burner is obviously square, but it only has three legs. It looks like a tripod!"
Hong Hai'er's words were a bit off-putting, and Fang Zheng couldn't get angry. Seeing the curious expressions on the little guys' faces, he could only explain patiently: "You don't understand this. In ancient China, The cauldron is used for cooking food and offering sacrifices. How can a cooking utensil not have a lid? Therefore, cauldrons usually have lids. Moreover, cauldrons are generally made of bronze or metal. Metal conducts heat easily and cooks food easily. "
Xianyu muttered: "I understand, the guy who gave you the cauldron took the kickback and stole the cauldron lid! Or he left it at home and didn't send it to you! Master, you can't bear this, how can you give it away? What’s the point of giving away half of the things?”
Fang Zheng was too lazy to answer him and continued: "Look again, what is the material of this incense burner?"
A group of little guys came together. The lone wolf, squirrel, and monkey all had never seen the world. Naturally, they couldn't tell what they were and they called them rocks.
Hong Hai'er was different. He had grown up among various magical objects and magic weapons since he was a child. His eyes were still vicious. After looking at them for a while, he shouted: "This is porcelain!"
Fang Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, this is indeed porcelain."
"Master, what happened to the porcelain? What's the significance of this?" Squirrel really couldn't understand. Doesn't a thing used to burn incense only need to be big enough? What materials should be used for what purpose
Fang Zheng shook his head and said: "Although Buddhism was introduced from the West, after countless years of integration, it has long since followed the local customs. Many ideas and concepts are deeply influenced by Chinese culture, abandoning the past and integrating Chinese culture into it. Huaxia , pay attention to the round sky and the square place, so the incense burners are also different for different sacrifices. As Xianyu said, there are more round incense burners in Lingshan, that’s because the Buddhas burned incense to worship not gods, but heaven! Mortals also use it to worship heaven. Round incense burners. Most of these incense burners are carved from stone or made of metal.
The square incense burner is used to worship the earth, worship the mortal world, worship all living beings, and pray for blessings on all living beings. This kind of incense burner is mostly made of earth clay, that is, ceramics. However, the truth behind this must be clear. Our large ceramic incense burner itself still follows Chinese principles.
My teacher often says that the Buddha we worship is not the Buddha flying in the sky or the Buddha sitting firmly on the mountain, but the Buddha in the hearts of all living beings, the origin of goodness in the beginning of human beings after knowing their minds and seeing their nature. Therefore, the pilgrims who come to our temples to worship Buddha are not so much worshiping Buddha as they are worshiping themselves by clarifying their minds and nature. Therefore, it is a perfect match for us to use this square incense burner.
As for the three legs of this large cauldron, they are commonly used in Buddhism. The three legs represent the three treasures of Buddhism. When placed, one in front and two in back, they are placed according to the law and are very particular. However, this is mostly seen in round incense burners and square incense burners with three legs. To be honest, I have never seen this before.
Of course, nowadays we are no longer so particular, nor are we so careful. Metal, stone carvings, and ceramics can all be used at will. At least, many temples no longer pay attention to this... "
Speaking of this, Honghai'er nodded and said: "Indeed, in the eyes of some people, this is just a kind of feudal superstition. In today's era of information explosion, of course it can be done whatever is convenient, as long as it makes sense."
Hearing this, Xianyu shook his head.
But the squirrel looked cute and said in a confused way: "If you are sincere, you will be wise. I think this is correct, right?"
Hearing this, Fang Zheng looked a little lonely in his eyes. He shook his head slightly and said, "A sincere heart leads to spiritual enlightenment. That is the mentality of worshiping the Buddha. But this one is different from that one..."
After saying that, Fang Zheng shook his head and went to the backyard, looking somewhat lonely.
The squirrel immediately followed and asked, "Master, could you explain it to me?"
Fang Zheng waved his hand and said: "The inheritance of culture is carried in rituals. When the rituals are simplified or even omitted, what is left is just an invisible empty word, which is eventually blown away by the wind and disappears in the long river of history. These values are , looks like nothing, but it carries the Chinese culture. When these are gone, the culture will be gone.
It’s like people often say that the Spring Festival has lost the flavor of the New Year. Is it really that the Spring Festival has lost the flavor of the New Year? It's your Spring Festival that has been downplayed, all the rituals have been streamlined and canceled, and all that's left is a New Year's Eve dinner. In this era of abundant food and clothing, can we eat it for the New Year’s Eve dinner, but not for normal times? The dinner had also lost its appeal, so what was left of the Spring Festival
In the past Spring Festival, it was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Firecrackers were set off according to the time. They were hung inside and outside the house and posted. People said it when they met. They turned on the lights to stay up late, set off firecrackers in the middle of the night, the whole family ate dumplings, and the children and grandchildren knelt down to thank their parents for their kindness. , the parents gave out red envelopes and were very happy. Now it has become like, you have a mobile phone, I have a mobile phone, no one is watching the Spring Festival Gala, the dumplings are eaten in advance, the firecrackers are too lazy to set off, and they go to bed early. Years passed by so unconsciously...
Ritual carries culture, but culture has to give up ritual. Is it really ritual that is abandoned in the end? "
(End of chapter)