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 in the lower realms.
Taoism believes that this day is the day when local officials, Emperor Qingxu, pardon sins. To put it simply, it is the day when high-ranking officials come down to observe the people's sentiments, correct those who have been misjudged, or redress unjust cases. On this day, Taoist priests chant sutras and practices to welcome the arrival of the earthly officials and free them from evil spirits. To save the ancestors…
Corresponding to this, there is the folk custom of the ghost moon coming out and the gate of ghosts opening in the middle of July.
Folks believe that the entire seventh month is the ghost month. The gate of hell opens on the first day of the lunar month and closes on the fifteenth day of the lunar month. In this month, ghosts can come out again after the silence of spring and summer, so it is called the gate of ghosts opening. Hundreds of ghosts walk at night, and groups of ghosts run around randomly. 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:
Mulian, one of Sakyamuni's top ten disciples, wanted to repay his parents for their upbringing after receiving the Six Divine Powers. He used his Taoist eyes 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 the 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.
Mulian was helpless and cried and asked Buddha to help save his mother. The Buddha said: "Your mother's sins are so serious that you alone cannot save her. She must rely on the power of the monks from all directions. You must set up a grand ceremony on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month when all the monks have settled down to live in peace and practice. You will make Ullambana offerings and offer various kinds of food and drink 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 faults they have committed and express their repentance in the public. Then they will be pure and spontaneously happy, 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 or Happy Day. On this day, prepare various kinds of food and drink, and set up Ullambana offerings to the monks. Doing so can bring blessings and longevity to the living parents. , and can help the parents who have passed away escape the sea of suffering and gain happiness, in order to repay their 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; the Ghost Festival and the Half of July are folk sayings.
Taoists can celebrate the Ghost Festival and Buddhism can celebrate the Obon Festival, but what about the people? When there are too many things in the festival and they are too complicated, many festival methods collide on this day. Some are forgotten and abandoned, and some are confused. After a long time, after merging with each other, the festival means Pay attention to... at least among the people, there is not much difference anymore. "
After listening to the red boy on the side, he didn't say anything. Bon Festival is also a first-class festival in his world. In his world, it is the real door of hell opening and all ghosts coming 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 is different, and he has nothing to say.
"I see, Master, what are we doing today?" Lone Wolf asked curiously.
Fang Zheng said: "You will know then. Calculate the time, it will be tomorrow." Just after Fang Zheng finished speaking, the village accountant Yang Ping 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?" 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 back to carving the lotus. When Fang Zheng saw this, he shook his head helplessly. Squirrels are naturally restless, so it was really hard for him to squat 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, followed closely by the monkey. As for Red Boy, he has no interest in going down the mountain to get involved 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 asked after looking at this scene.
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 beware of evil ghosts."
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, protecting 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 didn't intend to explain clearly in a few words. Some things should be understood when they need to be understood. It's useless to say more.
The villagers have not yet placed the tributes on their offering tables. On this hot day, they were placed early and spoiled quickly.
Circles were also drawn with white lime 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 with Mengmeng there. The one, one and the other were so serious that they didn't even notice Fang Zheng's arrival.
Mengmeng held the lime basin, her big eyes flickering, 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 and looked ahead, letting 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, we will be 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, the lime basin in her hand shook, the lime collapsed, and a gust of wind blew, and all the lime flew away.
The monkey was originally curious 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 blocked the lime, but it still covered his face with lime and his hair turned 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 already 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 and understood how to worship all the ancestors. If Fang Zheng doesn't come today, he will go up the mountain to ask. Since he encountered him, he naturally wants to ask for advice.
Fang Zheng said: "Donor, this matter is easy to handle. All you need to do is point the entrance of the tomb towards the west. As the saying goes, if you drive a crane to the west, you must face the west."
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 runs the small shop. Chen Jin originally wanted to trick Fang Zheng, but due to a fire, Fang Zheng saved his family. He was extremely grateful to Fang Zheng. Later, Chen Jin's family was rebuilt. Chen Jin thought about it but didn't want to farm anymore, so he bought the small shop and sat in the small shop with two tables every day, watching everyone playing cards and chatting. ,Kill time.
But no one was playing cards in Chen Jin's small shop today because it was filled with all kinds of paper money. Ever since Fang Zheng told them that the currency in the underworld only recognized paper money, not gold ingots or anything like that, no one in the village burned those things anymore. . So all Chen Jin's family brought in were piles of yellow 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 quickly stood up 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? We still have to pay the money."
"Master Fangzheng, you are meaningless. You saved the lives of my wife and children. What does it mean to give 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 up the mountain. "Whether you want it or not, I don't want it anyway." Chen Jin immediately started to act rogue.
(End of chapter)