"Actually! What is the use of burning incense without a Buddha in everyone's heart? Wealth is not something you ask for, but a blessing that you can cultivate. Fang Menan said.

Old Man Lin said, "Master Jingkong often said with emotion: Buddhism is not a religion but education, but today, people say that we are a religion, that we are superstitious, and we have nothing to say. Because that's the overall impression of Buddhism. We can't blame others for not understanding, and we can't shift the blame to people who misunderstand. We must admit that we have done a bad job ourselves, which has caused people to misunderstand. ”

"Humph! Modern people are basically indistinguishable from temples and temples. There is a fundamental difference between the two. The temple is a place where heaven, earth, ghosts and gods were worshiped in ancient times. The emperor has a temple, and the people have a land temple, a dragon king temple and so on. And the temple was an administrative unit in ancient times. For example, Dali Temple is in charge of assessing officials. Honglu Temple is in charge of foreign affairs. Fang Monan put down the dishes and chopsticks and said. The front hall of the imperial palace is also called a temple, so the imperial court is also called a 'temple hall' and a 'temple corridor'. Fan Zhongyan, a famous writer in the Song Dynasty that we know, has a famous sentence:

If you live in a high temple, you will worry about its people; is far away from the rivers and lakes, and is worried about its king. No one would say that the temple here is a Buddhist temple! ”

"Huh! That's true. But ......" Lin Jiaxiang raised his eyebrows and asked, he looked at Old Man Lin and asked for advice!

This half-understood is really uncomfortable.

"Oh! That's right! Old Man Lin said with a smile, "The Buddhist temple in history is equivalent to the current university, and its purpose is to popularize education. There is a scripture building inside the Buddhist temple, which plays the role of a public library today. It's not just Buddhist scriptures. The classics of Confucianism and Taoism are all in the collection. Many scholars, such as Wang Yangming, Zhu Xi, Fan Zhongyan, and other great Confucians, have been studying in the monastery for a long time. In addition, the temple regularly holds lectures on Buddhism, which can be attended by local people, which plays a role in popularizing Buddhism. It is also a place for the common practice of the public. When Buddhism was invited to China by Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, it had nothing to do with religion at all, it was completely academic, and it was very important, an academic study about life in the universe. ”

"What's going on with the White Horse Temple?" Lin Jiashang asked suspiciously. "It's the first Buddhist temple!"

"Because the scriptures in the temple were brought from white horses, the imperial court named them 'White Horse Temple'. Such. The White Horse Temple in Luoyang became the first Buddhist temple in ancient times. After the Sui and Tang dynasties. The title of the temple as an official office is becoming less and less, and it has gradually evolved into a special term for Buddhist architecture. Fang Menan explained.

"Oh! I see. ”

"But, but...... There are so many images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the temple, and people also bow and worship, offer flowers and fruits, and burn incense. Aren't these similar to temples? Lin Jiaqi asked suspiciously.

Old Man Lin explained. "That's how much Buddhism has been damaged in the last 100 years. There is a great misconception about traditional Buddhism among the general public and even Buddhists. The most obvious misconception is that one is to worship Buddha statues, and the other is to donate money to the temple. Buddha statues are enshrined in the temple. It is equivalent to offering a statue of Confucius in a private school, and in ancient times, great importance was attached to the teacher's way, and the students were very respectful to the teacher, so of course, the 'great teacher' such as the Buddha and Bodhisattva should also be respectful. It's like Americans carving statues of four presidents on rock, or collecting them in wax museums. One of the purposes of the statue is to commemorate the teacher, and the other is to use the image of the teacher to remind yourself of your hard work. It's not that Buddha statues are treated as gods. As for the monastic donation, this is the localization of the begging system of the Indian Asanga in China.

In ancient times, there were two kinds of professions that were marked with unknown prices, one was a teacher and the other was a doctor. The teacher teaches the student, or the doctor sees the doctor, and the student and the patient are given as they please, giving more if they have money and less if they don't have money.

Buddhist monasteries are community colleges, and they don't have a price tag on their own. Just put a merit box, and everyone will also give it as they like, which is equivalent to raising funds from the public to run a school. Because we are not like the Indian Asan, which had the custom of bhikshus begging before the advent of Buddhism. This is different from our cultural background, and the form needs to change according to the environment. Because the money of the monastery is used for education, donating money to the monastery is equivalent to supporting education, which is a great good deed, but it is not a merit. According to the principles of Buddhism, merit comes from concentration, not from doing good deeds. In history, Emperor Wu of Liang built 480 temples, and the Bodhidharma patriarch also said that there was no merit. ”

"Oh! Taught. Everyone nodded.

"Alas! Doctors and teachers now have a clear price! Aunt Lian sighed.

Fang Mo Nan said, "Let's talk about monks." Now monk has become a generic noun, referring to family members in general. In fact, in Buddhism, monk is a very noble title. The presiding officer of a monastery, or the speaker of a monastery, is called a monk. Speaking of Heshi, Heshi is a ritual of Buddhism, which represents the restraint of chaotic thoughts. We usually have our ten fingers open, but now we put them together, which means concentration and determination. It must be at the heart of Buddhist practice, so this ritual has a deep meaning. Just as Christians draw a cross, it also has its meaning. Every move of Buddhism has its meaning, but there is no mystery or superstition in it. ”

"Huh...... So many people go to the Buddhist temple to burn incense, and even the temple and the temple still can't tell the difference, if he doesn't even know what the meaning of the terms Buddha and Bodhisattva means, he is already there to burn incense and kowtow, saying that they are superstitious, it is not wrong to them, right? Xiong Baochun said with a smile.

"Humph! So many people go to the Buddhist temple to burn incense, not because Buddhism says that the Buddha and Bodhisattva are merciful and can save the suffering, or even that the Buddha and Bodhisattva 'respond to requests'! Do Buddhas and Bodhisattvas really respond to their needs? Lin Jiaxiang raised his eyebrows.

As soon as his words fell, Grandma Lin's slap hit him on the back of the head, "It's really all about the four disciplines, and they have all read it in the dog's stomach." ”

"It hurts!" Lin Jiaxiang rubbed his head and said coquettishly. "Grandpa......" begged for comfort.

"It hurts! I think it's light. Old Man Lin scolded with a smile.

"Hehe......" everyone laughed.

"The Buddha Shakyamuni resigned from the succession to the throne and went out to find the Dharma to save the suffering, and finally he suddenly realized: save others before saving others, save yourself first, save yourself first save your heart. Self-help is the foundation. Grandma said with a smile.

"Yay!" Fang Monan looked at his grandmother in surprise.

Grandma raised her eyebrows and said, "What I read from the book, isn't it?" ”

"Yes...... yes," Fang Monan nodded busily. People must always have faith sustenance. ”

"Let's go! It's time for you to go. Grandma got up and said, "Go early and come back early!" ”

Hulala...... A large group of people left, leaving only the grandmother to entertain the eldest uncle and the second uncle's family.

Fang Monan, of course, they went up the mountain at this time to burn incense, and there are really a lot of people who go to Ling Mountain! Still, they burned incense and prayed for peace.

In fact, the fact that the incense burns can continue to this day shows that for more modern people, the pursuit of good luck and auspiciousness is still an eternal theme. For tradition, one can completely remove the core of superstition and retain sincerity and the form of cultural etiquette.

*************

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, when I returned to my parents' home, there were no relatives on the farm to visit, and on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Monan went to Dr. Chen with a gift to pay New Year's greetings.

It's just that she unexpectedly saw Gong Xiyuan appear in the banquet, Fang Monan raised her eyebrows, and looked at Xia Jinzhile's flowering appearance, knowing how satisfied she was with this son-in-law.

How good it is to keep being like Grandma and Fang Mo Nan to praise Gong Xiyuan!

Mo Qiaoyun listened to her mother's boasting, her temples really jumped, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she looked at Grandma and Fang Monan apologetically.

For Xia Jinzhi's words, grandma will no longer rest assured, as long as the children are doing well, her words are just like flies humming!

Fang Monan pressed his thumb to his temples, lightly brushed his index finger across his forehead, and chuckled, "I don't know when you will have a happy event, have your father-in-law and mother-in-law agreed!" You must know that the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is an intractable problem. ”

"Gah!" Fang Monan's words made Xia Jinzhi's chattering mouth immediately closed, but he became honest, and his eyes always looked at Gong Xiyuan suspiciously.

Mo Qiaoyun's face froze, Gong Xiyuan shook her hand below, looked at the people present and said seriously, "There is no problem at home." ”

In Gong Xiyuan's heart, it doesn't matter if the family agrees or not, he is not a soft eater, he relies on his family for everything, and he does not have any freedom.

was even very moved by Mo Qiaoyun's maintenance in front of his so-called family.

In fact, Gong Xiyuan still has to thank the family for their interference, if it weren't for them, he would have to 'capture' Mo Qiaoyun's heart and grind!

Although she was just angry for a while, it also made him stupid for a long time, and his IQ can drop when he is in love, regardless of gender.

Although he is a little 'despicable', how can he chase his wife if he is not thick-skinned.

After receiving the assurance, the smile climbed back onto Xia Jinzhi's face.

Since then, the county has not heard Xia Jinzhi show off everywhere, it seems that she is not a mother yet, and everyone who shouts without marriage knows that if it doesn't work out, this girl's reputation will be ruined by her mother.

During the banquet, Fang Monan was like watching a play, looking at the eldest uncle and the second uncle, and trying his best to please his grandmother, while Fang Monan shook his head and smiled.

After the reunion banquet, on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Monan, Grandma and Vera, Xiong Baochun drove, a group of four, and went south to see Fang's father and them.

The road conditions are as conjecture, not very easy to walk, fortunately, there are fewer cars on the National Highway for the New Year, so-so OK.

However, the car traveled about 200 kilometers, and after walking half the way, it snowed heavily, and the snow chain did not affect the speed of the car.

But the world is white, and this road is too easy to find, especially under the national highway.

At this time, thanks to Fang Monan, a half-immortal, he will definitely not embark on the wrong road. (To be continued......)

PS: Ask for a ticket!!