[1] Enchantment

There is a very famous river in India, the Ganges, where legend has it that Buddhism arose.

Therefore, in many Buddhist scriptures, the word "Ganges" is mentioned, and when it is necessary to describe things with "many", such a phrase will appear: the number of sands in the Ganges. The gist of it is: like the sand in the Ganges, the number (of course, too many to count).

And the word often connected with "Ganges sand number" is "world", that is, "Ganges sand number world".

When I think of the "world of the sand of the Ganges" in my mind, I can't help but sigh how much "world" exists between heaven and earth!

Perhaps one of the reasons why Buddhism is great is probably the macro and micro theories it constructs.

Two thousand five or six hundred years ago, the knowledge of Buddhism contained such lofty insights and realms, which really made me sigh when I studied later.

Anyone who has come into contact with a little bit of Buddhism, such as "Juehai Cihang", will know the famous saying "one flower and one world, one leaf and one Bodhi", but in fact, its real connotation is only to say: there are countless Bodhi in countless worlds, and all things with life and aura can attain Bodhi (naturally including the life that we humans do not yet know).

Attaining Bodhi,

It's easy to say, but it's hard to do.

The great sage is in front, and the recal is behind,

Most people are just talking about it.

Because of this feeling, there is the opening sentence in "The Legend of the Three Sons of the Classic of Mountains and Seas":

"Throughout the ages, the world has been said to be the world, and the upper and lower four directions have been called the boundary, and the two are combined into one, which is for the world.

Legend has it that there are countless worlds inside and outside the wilderness, such as: wet world, oviparous world, viviparous world, and metabiotic world;

Another example: the world of immortals, the world of gods, the world of demons, and the world of human race;

Or for example: the world of flowers, plants, trees and stones, the world of rice and millet and wheat, the world of Shinong industry and commerce, the world of qin, chess, calligraphy and painting...... All of these are endless, depending on the cause.

And the world is big and small, real and virtual, and there is a combination.

The big ones are like Sumeru Kunlun, the small ones are like rice grains and dust, the real ones are like mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, the virtual ones are like wind and clouds, thunder and lightning, the intermediates are like water and fire, and the combined ones are like water **melting.

The real mystery contained in it is mysterious and mysterious, wonderful and wonderful, unless a sage-like figure cannot be exhaustive. ”

And from this comes another word: enchantment!

Since there is a world of Ganges sand in the void, then every world and every world must have a boundary, and the boundary between the worlds is called "enchantment", as if people now use what one-dimensional two-dimensional or three-dimensional space four-dimensional space to talk about things, but I personally feel that "enchantment" has a more classical Chinese cultural atmosphere, and the meaning contained is more profound and comprehensive. For example, when it comes to dimensions, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional things are easy to interpret, but when it comes to four-dimensional, five-dimensional, six-dimensional, or even more "dimensions", it is not clear.

In terms of "enchantment", there is no such obstacle in setting up.

Enchantments are also real.

Some are tangible and visible at a glance, such as the wall and gate of the house, the fence of the garden, and the border of the country. Wall gates, fences, and border guards are barriers.

Some are invisible, although invisible, but predictable, such as the range of bows and crossbows, the denial of nuclear weapons, and all the boundaries that these weapons can control can be called predictable enchantments.

There is also an invisible barrier, which cannot be predicted, but can be sensed (a bit mysterious), for example, if a coiled snake is a hundred meters away, it will not be aware of it, and if it enters its induction belt, it will immediately attack, so the snake's induction belt is its enchantment. Another example: there is also an enchantment between people, that is, the so-called safe distance, as if it is within one meter (perhaps incorrect), once a stranger exceeds this safe distance, there will be an immediate reaction.

There are many types of enchantments, there are small enchantments in the big enchantments, and there are smaller enchantments in the small enchantments, for example, there are various provinces and cities in the country, and there are towns and towns in each province, and it is not possible to speak clearly and thoroughly in a few words.

And some enchantments will have some kind of internal connection, such as water and ice, although they are two different material worlds that manifest themselves and have enchantments with each other, but they can merge with each other. The same is true in the world of books and paintings.

Some enchantments have no intrinsic connection, such as water and fire, which can only restrain each other and cannot be integrated into each other's enchantments.

What is especially mysterious is that when a person walks on the street, he (she) will feel inexplicable, some people feel hateful at a glance, some people feel cute at a glance, and some people want to contact him (her) at a glance.

In short, enchantments are real, but we may not have the insight and knowledge to explain them.

There are countless Ganges sand worlds in the void, and there are also Ganges sand numbers in the enchantment, this - the ancients did not deceive me.

[II] Netherworld

Chinese mythology is complex and can be roughly divided into three types:

1. The myth of mountains and seas (ancient mythology), based on the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", supplemented by the classic records of the hundreds of schools of thought, records are the real people and true stories of the ancient ancestors with historical basis, but they are old and belong to the mythological category.

2. Taoist mythology, which is mainly based on the gods and goddesses created by Taoism, supplemented by historical figures, serves the purpose of Taoism, and there are many absurdities in this kind of mythology. For example: The Jade Emperor, what is the legend Zhang Youren, when Jiang Ziya was a god, he actually casually replied that he became the master of the Heavenly Palace, ruling the gods of heaven and earth, which really made the big teeth laugh off. By what merit can he rule over the heavens and the earth and immortals? To be able to become a righteous god and an immortal is a person who has merit in the world.

3. Folk mythology, based on real historical figures, serves the people of Yan and Huang.

This part of the myth is the most valuable, and it is also the backbone and spirit of our nation and should be pious.

The sages said: "The major events of the country, only Rong and ritual", in which the part of "ritual" should refer to those historical real figures in folk mythology, although the ancestors in the mythology of mountains and seas also have a large part.

These three types of myths, no matter how they are said, will involve a place to go, that is, the destination of ordinary people after death - the netherworld!

But who is the leader in the Netherworld?

Since ancient times, there have been many opinions and ambiguities, which is probably related to the fact that Chinese mythology is too complicated.

According to history, at first it should be the Yellow Emperor's subordinate god Houtu, in charge of the underworld, and at the same time in charge of the mountain and sea realm, that is, the land and mountain gods everywhere.

Then the situation in the netherworld is a little chaotic, and the historical time point should be about before the Han Dynasty or the Han Dynasty (no information), there are Emperor Xudu said, there are five ghost emperors said (there are ten in total), and Taiyi saves the suffering Tianzun said.

After the Sui and Tang dynasties, there were ten palace kings such as Jizo Bodhisattva, Jade Emperor, Yama Heavenly Son, and various judges, ghost kings, and ghost envoys.

In the Ming Dynasty, another copy of "Jade Calendar Treasures" appeared (there is a suspicion of fake borrowing from the dynasty, it is estimated that it should be in the Republic of China), which improved the system of the netherworld.

Although the system of the Netherworld is perfect, who is the real leader in the Netherworld?

Houtu, Zongbu God, Taiyi Saving Suffering Tianzun, Emperor Xudu, Jizo Bodhisattva, Jade Emperor, Yama Emperor?

It really makes the scalp of future generations explode, and I don't know who is the real leader of the netherworld!

Therefore, in "The Legend of the Three Sons of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", I made a combing of the leaders of the underworld.

Houtu and Taiyi's Salvation Tianzun have already achieved meritorious deeds, and they can be regarded as what we now call honorary chairmen, retreating into the background, and not easily participating in the affairs of the netherworld.

The Jade Emperor already has the Heavenly Court, and he can also take a back seat as the honorary chairman, and when it is necessary to make a move, he can also directly participate in the affairs of the Netherworld, which is a state of half-seclusion and half-retirement.

Emperor Xudu has almost no historical time period records, and his descendants are also far-fetched, so he can be regarded as the executive director of the Netherworld, in charge of the limited affairs of the Five Emperors of the Five Directions and the Netherworld, and is notoriously under the jurisdiction of the two high-level Confucianists and Daoists. And the Son of Heaven of Yama is a foreign product, and he can be in charge of the Ten Halls of Wojiao, and he is under the jurisdiction of Buddhism in reputation.

Of course, there is also a direct boss above the Emperor Xudu and the Heavenly Son of Yama - the Great Sect Master of the Netherworld!

Who will be the leader of the Netherworld, between the Jizo Bodhisattva and the Great God of Zongpo?

The Bodhisattva of the Netherworld has been passed down to the present day, and it is an indisputable fact that it is the status of the Great Master of the Netherworld, symbolizing the highest Tao and Dharma of the Netherworld.

And before the Tang Dynasty, who was the Great Sect Master of the Netherworld?

In my opinion, it should be the great god of Zongbu Hou Yi, and it is recorded in a book: Yi died, sealed Zongbu God, and led ten thousand ghosts.

Hou Yi's merits are definitely higher than those of Tubo and Shen Tu Yu Lei, this is a true fact, and the time period of his deeds is only a few hundred years behind Hou Tu, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the Great Sect Master of the Netherworld.

However, how did the great god Zongbu lose the position of the great sect leader of the Netherworld, and how did the Jizo Bodhisattva take over?

When combing through the legendary underworld in my country, I have made a logical interpretation in "The Legend of the Three Sons of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", and I should be honored if readers are willing to read it.

By the way, I would like to remind you: The time background of this novel is from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to the Song Renzong period, if you take history as the axis, there may be abruptness, please Haihan.

As the saying goes, "the benevolent see the benevolent, the wise see the wise", this is just a small personal point of view, I hope this small point of view can help people who like this knowledge.

Writing so far, I suddenly remembered that in the "Notes on Reading Wei Caotang" that I had read in my early years, Ji Xiaolan once said a passage, the original text is not very clear, and the general meaning is like this: "In ancient times, there was rule by inaction; in the Middle Ages, if you could not govern by inaction, it would be supplemented by moral rule, if you could not govern by morality, it would be supplemented by the rule of law; if both morality and law could not be governed, it would be supplemented by ghost and god. ”

Ghosts and spirits are secretive, unpredictable, and omnipresent, as the so-called "in the dark room, the eyes of the gods are like electricity", in order to deter those unscrupulous people who trample on morality and law.

When those unscrupulous people think that no one knows about it, in fact, there are already a pair of bright eyes staring at it.

Therefore, we must not think that saying "ghosts and gods" is superstition, but in fact it is just a convenient way for saints to establish a religion to deter bad people and persuade people to do good.