Let us know the real Buddhism and the greatness of Buddhism.
Buddhism: One of the three major religions in the world, according to legend, it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the prince of Kapilovi Kingdom (present-day Nepal) in ancient India in the 6th-5th century BC. Because his family is Sakyamuni, he was honored as Sakyamuni after becoming a monk, which means "the sage of Sakyamuni". Widely spread in many Asian countries. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was introduced to China from west to east. Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are called the three major religions in the world. Buddhism is the education of Buddha, not the religion of worshipping Buddha. Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy. Buddhism is a religion, just a popular and convenient way of saying it. In fact, it is to use the wisdom of Prajna to break the troubles of ignorance and achieve Bodhi (enlightenment). Buddhism has made an indelible contribution to the spread of world culture in history.
Simply define Buddha: the' Buddha' I want to introduce to you here is the general meaning of infinite buddhas and is broad. I try to define "Buddha" as follows:
Buddha is a personality whose reason, emotion and ability all reach the most perfect state at the same time. I repeat:' Buddha' is a personality whose reason, emotion and ability reach the most satisfactory state at the same time. In other words, the Buddha is a person with great wisdom, great compassion (or all-wisdom and all-compassion) and great strength. Please pay attention to the difference between Buddhism and other religions: Buddha is not omnipotent, and he can't free us. He can only teach us, and we still have to rely on our own efforts to get rid of it. Buddha can't let us go to heaven or condemn us to hell. It is really not an easy task to define' Buddha'.
Simply put, the Buddha is the awakened one, the awakened one.
Perhaps more clearly, it should be said that Buddha is a person who has a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles of life in the universe.
There is also a concise definition, which is generally accepted by ordinary people, that is to say, the Buddha is a person who consciously realizes him and has a complete consciousness. In other words, Buddha is a person who has realized himself and can further help others to realize himself, and this self-awareness and cognition of his own work have reached the most satisfactory state at the same time.
Originated in India
Buddhism originated in ancient India 2552 years ago. The founder of Buddhism is Sakyamuni Buddha, which is transliterated from Indian Sanskrit. Sakyamuni means kindness, Muny means silence, silence means purity, and Buddha means enlightenment. Sakyamuni Buddha is a North Indian, which is now Nepal. It is in the north of India and the south of Tibet.
According to classic records, when the Buddha died, he was 80 years and 2 months old.
Into China
Buddhism originated in India, and after it was introduced into China, it interacted and absorbed with the traditional culture of China, developed into one of the national religions in China, and became an important part of the feudal culture in China, which had a far-reaching impact on the ancient social history, philosophy, literature, art and other cultural forms in China.
According to official documents, Buddhism was introduced to China in the Han Dynasty, and it was recorded earlier in informal documents, and it was not spread until the Zhou Dynasty. Officially, the state sent envoys to the western regions to welcome them and invited them here. It was officially set in the 10th year of Yongping in the Later Han Dynasty (AD 67), and it has a history of 1900 years in China. The first two wizards were Kaya Morten and Zhu Falan. After they came to China, they were treated as state guests at the invitation of Emperor China. After they came, they had a very speculative conversation with people in the government and the public. We welcome them very much and hope that they can live in China. The two of them formally brought Buddhism, Buddha statues and classics to China for the first time, and they were accepted by the ruling and opposition parties in China. After coming to China, the country received them, just like the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now. The political system at that time was different. At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was attached to the Executive Yuan. The former Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not under the management of the Prime Minister, but directly under the jurisdiction of the Emperor. At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't call it that name, but it was called Split Temple. So you have to understand how the temples in Buddhism came from. The temple was the office of the Han government. It's not a temple, but a first-class unit under the jurisdiction of the emperor, directly supervised by the emperor. There are nine temples under the emperor's rule. The length of the temple is called Qing, and we call it Gong Qing. Crack hon temple secretary is equivalent to the foreign minister now, so crack hon temple reception. In the future, because they want to stay in China, crack hon temple can't entertain for a long time. That is, the number of temples has increased from 9 to 10. This temple is the Buddhist temple, which started from here. The original Buddhist temple was called Baima Temple, and its capital was Luoyang. Therefore, Baima Temple in Luoyang is the first Buddhist temple in China.
One of the main reasons why Buddhism has been widely spread in many eastern countries is that the religious thought of Buddhism itself is consistent with the eastern culture. What I want to talk about in particular is the changes in the integration of Buddhism with China culture after it was introduced into China. In fact, due to the differences in language and culture, the teachings of Buddhism are mainly conveyed through the translation of Buddhist scriptures. In ancient times, some foreign missionaries and monks mainly engaged in the translation of Buddhist scriptures. The earliest translations of Buddhist scriptures were probably Kaya Morton and Zhu Falan of Yue State in the era of Emperor Hanming, who translated 42 chapters in Baima Temple in Luoyang. During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, An Shigao, An Xiguo and Yue supported the translation of dozens of Buddhist scriptures, with about 100 or 200 volumes. During the reign of Emperor Ling, Zhu Folang, an Indian, also preached in Luoyang. He wrote The Confusion of Mouzi, which advocated the harmony between Buddhist thought and China culture. The most famous translator of Buddhist scriptures is Kumarajiva, a monk from the Western Regions.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism gradually spread among the people, and other Indian Buddhist factions also came to China. For example, Dharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, came to China during this period. The story of Dharma's nine-year seclusion in Songshan Shaolin Temple is widely circulated in China.
By the Tang Dynasty (AD 6 18-907), Buddhism in India had developed for hundreds of years, and various schools of Buddhism appeared. In the Tang Dynasty, a great event of Buddhism in China was that Master Xuanzang, a Tang priest from The Journey to the West, who was well-known to women and children in China, went to Wan Li to learn from Indian scriptures. After he returned to China, Emperor Taizong attached great importance to it and arranged for thousands of people to participate in the translation of Buddhist scriptures by Master Xuanzang. Thanks to the promotion of Master Xuanzang, the late Indian Buddhist philosophy and Mahayana Buddhist classics have been widely spread in China.
The birth of Zen
Zen Buddhism takes Dharma as the ancestor of China (Master Dharma is the 28th ancestor of Indian Zen Buddhism, the ancestor of China), so it is also called Dharma Sect. Because the Buddhist heart is printed as the orthodox vein of Buddhism, it is also called Buddhist Sect. Dharma was active in Luoyang at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, advocating the principle of practicing Zen in two ways and four lines, and teaching his disciples with the Lengga Sutra. Hui Ke, the second ancestor, Sancan, the third ancestor, and Daoxin, the fourth ancestor, are his disciples. The disciples of Taoism, belief and Buddhism are the five ancestors, and they are the five ancestors of Zen. I went to Beijing to preach dharma, and I was famous for a while. Among them, Huineng, the sixth ancestor and disciple of Shen Xiu, was divided into Northern Sect and Southern Sect. Shen Xiu lived in yuquan temple, Jingzhou, and went to Beijing in his later years. He was a teacher of three empires, and his disciples were Matsuyama Puji and Zhong Nanshan Yifu. Huineng lives in Baolin Temple in Caoxi, Shaozhou, with many students. Huineng is the sixth ancestor. Later, it was an authentic Zen. Posthumous title, a master of Huineng, the sixth ancestor, was endowed by the emperor as a master of Buddhism. There are many disciples, such as Zen master Huai Rang in Nanyue, Zen master Xing Si in Qingyuan and Zen master Xuan Jue in Yongjia. There are more than forty enlightened people, and countless enlightened people. Later, the disciples of Yi Dao, the Zen master of Nanyue, made great contributions to Buddhism in China. He established the jungle system and standardized the Dojo. The disciples of Mazu Yi Dao Zen master Baizhang Huaihai even formulated rules and regulations, so Buddhism called it "Mazu builds a jungle and Baizhang sets rules and regulations", which has remained basically unchanged until today. It is also at this time that there are two classes in the morning and evening every day. The disciples of Baizhang Huaihai Zen Master are Huangbaili Zen Master and Yangshan Lingyou Zen Master, both of whom are great masters who still influence the Buddhist world! From the sixth ancestor, there is no longer a great position, that is to say, there are no seven ancestors, because the dharma pulse that Zen really wants to spread is not a mantle but a heart print, which has continued to this day and has never been cut off. Generations have continued the teachings of the six ancestors!
Huineng, the sixth ancestor, is the promoter of Zen Buddhism, advocating purity of mind, the origin of Buddha, pointing directly at people's hearts and regarding nature as Buddha. After Huineng, Zen spread widely and reached its peak in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. Zen reached its peak in China, which had a great influence on the development of ancient culture in China.
The spirit and characteristics of Buddhism
If we compare Buddhism with other existing religions in the world, it is obvious that there are many differences between Buddhism and them. For the convenience of explanation, I have summarized it into ten points, which means that Buddhism has at least the following ten characteristics.
First, Buddha is a human being, not a god.
Looking at all religions in the world, except Buddhism, there is no religious leader who does not pretend to be superman. This god can call the wind and rain, turn stone into gold; He dominates the fate of mankind, and it manipulates the life and death of all things. Only by falling down before him, praising and eulogizing, and attributing all the success and glory to Almighty God, can mankind go to heaven only by believing in him. Those who oppose him will only fall into hell, and there is no room for defense and appeal.
The first sentence of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, when he came to the world was:' Heaven and the world are unique.' What readers should pay attention to here is that the word "I" of "I am the only one" refers not only to Sakyamuni himself, but to everyone in all mankind. The correct interpretation of this sentence should be: man is indomitable in the universe, and everyone is his own master and decides his own destiny without obeying anyone or any god beyond him.
Sakyamuni attributed his consciousness, achievements and accomplishments to people's own efforts and talents. Sakyamuni believes that a person's good fortune, success or failure, honor or disgrace all depend on his own behavior and efforts. No one can push me to heaven and no one can push me to hell. Praise and eulogy cannot be happy without suffering. Only down-to-earth practice can purify and sublimate personality and enjoy peace of mind.
Sakyamuni can't turn stones into gold like magic. He advocated that "if you want to harvest something, you must plant something first." He can't let apples grow from the lotus tree. If you want to harvest apples, you must sow the seeds of apples first. Sakyamuni just tells you how to practice, so that you can have a rich harvest in the future, but you still have to do it yourself.
Didn't Mr. Liang Qichao make such a metaphor in the article "Interest in Learning"? He said it's comfortable to bask in the sun in winter, but' although the sun is good, you should always bask in it yourself, and others can't bask in it for you.'
Sakyamuni said that over the past 49 years, he has spoken more than 300 times, which is nothing more than pointing out a "way to become a Buddha"-creating the most complete wisdom and personality by himself. But this road depends on perseverance, wisdom and perseverance. So the Buddha said,' You must do this work by yourself, because I only teach you the way to go.'
There is no shortcut to becoming a Buddha, and practice is a little effort. Plum blossoms don't disperse cold bones?'
Second, Buddha is a true equal.
When I said the Buddha was a true equal, I didn't mean nonsense. Let's first observe the social background of India at that time: as we all know, India in the era of Sakyamuni was divided into four classes: Brahman, noble, civilian and slave. As a prince, Sakyamuni saw the irrationality of social classes and resolutely set up the banner of equality, advocating the abolition of class opposition and the equality of all beings.
Please think it over. All revolutions in history are the demands of the humble and lower classes for' improvement' and the class equality of dignitaries. Absolutely no one, like Sakyamuni, is willing to' lower' his status as a prince, on an equal footing with civilians and slaves. Because of his selfless and inaction style, I say he is a real egalitarian.
At the same time, Buddhism advocates "no mercy" and "great compassion with the same body", which pushes the meaning of equality further.