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The proper business of becoming a monk
The proper business of monks and nuns, judging from the explanation of Zun's life and the activities of establishing a religious order, should be to seek their own liberation first, and then to preach the Dharma and persuade others to educate all beings. The method that Shi Zun said to the monks first was the small multiplication of four truths and twelve karma. Shi Zun only established the group of Hinayana monks. At that time, a few monks who studied Mahayana, such as Manjusri and Maitreya, all stayed in the Hinayana monks' group. From agama, their status in the monks' group was not high, and they were not among the great disciples of the Buddha. The name of Manjushri monk did not even appear in agama. Later Mahayana monks also adhered to the precepts of becoming a monk in Hinayana. First, fix the Hinayana Road, then fix the Mahayana Road, or based on the Hinayana Road, "the inner secret bodhisattva walks, and the outer sound and smell" is the learning route set by Shi Zun. Master Taixu once said so.
Although the monks and the disciples at home * * * are self-conscious people who follow the three disciplines of the Hinayana Road, the eight right paths and the thirty-seven disciplines of the Mahayana Road and the six degrees and four shots of the Mahayana Road, * * * are all based on precepts, but the precepts that the monks keep are much stricter than those of the disciples at home, and they all have regulations on the dignified movements of walking, living, sitting and lying, which are abbreviated as the 25 precepts and the comparison of monks. In particular, absolute abstinence is the first step, which is much stricter than abstinence only at home.
Strict abstinence, especially abstinence from Sanskrit, has laid a solid foundation for learning wisdom, especially meditation, which is the main point that monks are superior to others at home in learning. All the three-riding paths are based on abstinence, wisdom and troubles, and the occurrence of Zhengding (four Zen in the color world) must be based on abstinence from lust. Therefore, it is much more difficult to be thorough and definite at home than to become a monk.
On the basis of abstinence and purity, it's the right business for a monk to diligently practice the second study of wisdom. "Chang 'ahan-Da Ben Jing" contains a Buddhist saying:
When you become a monk and cultivate a monastery, you should do two things: first, you should teach by sages, and second, you should be silent by sages.
The sage's teaching method refers to the way of giving lectures, reading and studying teaching classics, which belongs to wisdom; The sage is silent, which means that meditation is positive definite above the second meditation, which belongs to fixed learning. The Three Thousand Weiyi Scriptures states that there are three things that a family does: one is meditation, the other is chanting scriptures, and the third is persuasion. Yi Chan's two recitations and three exhortations can be described as Mahayana becoming a monk. Meditation, as the center of abstinence and wisdom, is the only way to obtain truthful wisdom. For monks, meditation is of great significance: if you achieve luxury and meditation, you will not only provide a foundation for wisdom, but also make people feel at ease physically and mentally, and taste the joy of Zen, which is much deeper and more subtle than the worldly five desires, so that they will naturally leave their desires, have a benign transformation of their physical and mental mechanisms, reduce their appetite and sleep, give up their lust, and naturally feel soft and cool. From the Taoist theory of inner alchemy, if we enter Zhengding, we will be refined into qi and gasified into spirit, and the spirit will be three-complete, but naturally we will not think about food, color and sleep. When we know that the ascetic Sanskrit of monks is not a compulsory violation of human desires, we use Zen music to replace and transform human desires, and sublimate human desires into a truly peaceful and happy "living in the present". The secret method even transforms sexual energy into intelligent energy by repairing the fire, and the so-called "turning more erotic fire into wisdom wind" is similar to the refining of Qi in Taoist inner alchemy. Compulsory abstinence, modern psychology, medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are harmful to physical and mental health.
To meditate, it is necessary to stay away from the quiet environment disturbed by noisy and vulgar affairs, and it is better to live in the mountains and rivers. Therefore, Buddhism advocates that monks live in the mountains and Lan Ruo, forming the phenomenon that "there are many famous mountains and monks in the world". There are five clouds in Mind View Sutra:
A Buddhist monk vows to give his life and never leave the mountains. If he leaves Aranro and enters the settlement in order to listen to the Dharma and support his parents, he should return to Aranro as soon as possible.
There are nine categories of home bodhisattvas: "All the three categories of home bodhisattvas live in Lan Ruo, with continuous improvement and affectionate interests. The middle and lower bodhisattvas, etc., live as they please, but they can't settle down, or live in Lan Ruo, or live in the crowd, with the interests of the fate and live in peace." He also taught Lan Ruo Bodhisattva to practice Buddhism in order to meditate deeply:
The upper root Bodhisattva lives in the open ground, the middle root Bodhisattva lives in the leaves, and the lower root Bodhisattva lives in the stone room, and often does not lie down before becoming a Buddha.
Meditation is closely related to time. Generally, a two-and-a-half-hour meditation is the easiest way to settle down. Buddhist monks and nuns must practice meditation in the night after the first night, and the Buddhist Legacy Scripture also teaches monks to recite scriptures in the middle of the night, which is of great significance from the perspective of meditation and qigong. When all is silent at night, it is the easiest to settle down. After the first night, it is the human qi that produces Yin at the anode and Yang at the cathode, which leads to lust. Sitting in meditation at that time has the function of naturally refining essence and breaking lust, which is very important for monks to abstain from Sanskrit. This is the intention to get up at 3: 3 in the Han temple to do morning classes. At present, some temples have the same schedule as their families. Except for two lessons every day, there is no time for meditation. Monks and nuns can't be happy and wise, so it is inevitable that they will be physically and mentally out of balance and depressed. Many monks and nuns in temples use less kung fu than many who practice qigong in their families. We should attach great importance to this issue, and temples should arrange agricultural meditation as reasonably as possible to ensure that monks and nuns have more than four hours to meditate every day. If you don't practice meditation, it will be difficult to keep precepts and wisdom, and various problems will naturally emerge one after another.
To meditate, we need to take the right view as the guide and cultivate the view with the right view, so we must first go deep into teaching the sea and learn Buddhism. A Buddhist monk should at least be familiar with a certain subject on the basis of understanding the basic principles of Buddhism, which is also a necessary condition for persuasion. If you are still hazy about Buddhism, and you can't even tell why you believe in Buddhism and become a monk, how can you believe it, and how can you persuade others to faint and make people manifest? In terms of teaching classics and knowing Buddhism, monks who specialize in meditation are undoubtedly superior to ordinary people at home and should learn better than ordinary people at home.
persuasion is the duty of Mahayana bodhisattva to educate all beings. The persuasion of monks is mainly the practice of giving alms, including lecturing on scriptures, writing about Buddhism, cultivating monks' talents, running Buddhist newspapers and periodicals, and guiding them with the times. This is the main way for monks to practice and give alms, and it is also the main way to repay the kindness of all beings and contribute to society. Being a monk and being at home should be mutually supportive: at home, the monks support the monks with material wealth, while the monks support the monks with spiritual wealth of Buddhism. A monk's contribution to society and its value lies not in how many industrial and agricultural products he takes out, in serving the people with medical prescriptions and skillful techniques, or in how much money he donates to social welfare undertakings, but in providing spiritual food for all living beings. Of course, if you want to give alms by law, you must study successfully and have laws to give.
In the serious business of reading and reciting, monks should also include the study of foreign classics. Buddhism is inseparable from the worldly laws, and it must be sought from the five civilizations. If you don't have modern general scientific and cultural knowledge, understand social trends of thought, and distinguish between evil and right, it is difficult to truly learn Buddhism, and it is even more difficult to spread Buddhism and protect education. According to the law, monks and nuns, journalists who are wise and strong, can study internal codes for two-thirds of the time and foreign codes for one-third of the time. History, philosophy, psychology, ethics, religion, human science, current affairs and politics, etc., are particularly important for studying and promoting Buddhism, and those who are eager to preach Buddhism are indispensable. In order to guide the family, monks should learn Buddhism at home, understand the life of their families, the problems they care about and the social ideological trend related to it, exercise their wisdom in talking about the machine, be good at solving people's spiritual, ideological and life problems, teach people the wisdom of living correctly, and become life instructors in people's minds.
Buddhism is profound and there are many methods, so not all monks can learn as well as they can in their lives. According to the present situation of monasteries, a monk can't study and do things without division of labor, and he can focus on it: he is good at meditation, or he is committed to explaining righteousness, or he lives in the jungle, manages and builds temples, or he is engaged in Buddhist education and cultural undertakings. No matter what kind of work you do, and which aspect you focus on, you should not miss the serious work of Yi Chan, a monk, and you should not miss your own study. If the business is busy, you should also practice Zen that can be practiced in the busy time, such as Zen Zen, Tiantai Sect's Samadhi, Pure Land Sect's chanting Buddhism and so on. Wisdom is the foundation, external service is the end, wisdom is not cultivated, wisdom is not gained, and troubles are not overcome. Even if you do something, it is easy to become a magic industry. If you can't understand the corresponding concept of revision and study, it will be easy to gain Jaken, make mistakes in Buddhism, and make mistakes by yourself, which will lead to sin; To live in the jungle without cultivating wisdom is inevitable, and it is difficult for us to be honest and upright, which is deeply popular. If you don't do the right thing, you don't cultivate wisdom, you don't have wisdom and morality, you can't be nourished by the law, you are restless in body and mind, and you are even more discriminated against by people in society, which insults the Buddhism. It is better not to become a monk.
In modern times, it has been advocated that monks should practice the purpose of Mahayana to benefit all living beings, leave the temple and engage in education, culture, social welfare and other work. No matter from the perspective of Confucian classics or national laws, this is against the intention of becoming a monk. Of course, Mahayana Buddhists should engage in education, culture, medical care and other undertakings in the spirit of Bodhisattva, so as to benefit all beings, but these undertakings should be run by family members, not by non-monks. If it is better to be at home for this kind of career, why become a monk?
due to the need of traditional folk beliefs and the decline of Buddhism, a kind of monk who should go to and do sutra and confession has appeared in Buddhism in recent times, which is called "sutra and confession" and "should go to school". According to the teaching law, confession is an important method of self-practice. In order to pursue happiness for the deceased, relatives of the deceased can give alms to the monks with the property of the deceased, or recite the names of Buddha and Bodhisattva in return. The Buddha did nothing for people to do sutra and Dojo. Although Mahayana and Mahayana have the methods of confession and yoga, they think it is convenient to make people benefit, but they must be done on the basis of their own achievements in learning. Wisdom and compassion are the foundation, and ritual singing is the end. If there is wisdom and compassion, it is useful and does not need many ceremonial events. According to the theories of various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, it is necessary to prove the bodhisattva's position above the first place to cross over the dead, and this is feasible. Tibetan monks are extremely cautious about this. Even if you can't spend your life, you can spend your soul. It's better to have reason!
In a word, it is not necessary to go through the flames, but it is not a monk's business, and it is not something that a yogi should do. After the confession, I should go to the school to take this as my Ministry, not to practice, to drum and sing praises every day, and to concentrate on money and trade, which is like a sorcerer's wish, drowning the true purpose of Buddhism on earth in the cymbals of the dead, which is detrimental to the reputation of Buddhism and the due rights of monks At present, there are some temples where Buddhism never fails, and some young monks abstain from practicing Buddhism and have not yet learned Buddhism, but they are keen on singing and caring for the good, and they run to big temples with good income through confession, which has aroused criticism from the public and worries of people with insight in teaching. It's a sad thing to become a monk instead of trying to be a mentor and focus on money. It's better to start a small business. Temples should be conscious of this, make reasonable arrangements, put Buddhist scriptures in a secondary position, and ensure that monks and nuns do not miss their proper jobs.
Provide for Master personally
According to the Buddha's precepts, you should abandon all private property and become a beggar, "poor monk", food and clothing with only the minimum necessities, and beg from the laity or be provided by the laity. Don't catch money (hands don't touch money), don't save money, and have no possessions, which is an important commandment for monks and nuns. It has its special significance: having no property, money and the burden of working is the most fundamental and unique condition for becoming a monk to practice at home, and it also shows the critical attitude of Buddhism towards worldly property and money. Until now, the monks in Southern Buddhism still follow the Buddha's legacy, do not catch money, do not store property, and do not do common things. Believers only provide food and clothing and other necessities permitted by the monks' precepts, not money. This should be one of the important reasons for Southern Buddhism's enduring.
After Buddhism entered China, due to the specific cultural conditions, monks completely followed the Buddhist system and begged for food without money, so it was difficult to be accepted by the society. Therefore, it was changed long ago, and according to the provision that Bodhisattva precepts do not accept the support of all beings, monks and nuns accept more money and property from believers, which has long been a tradition, recognized by monks and customs and considered reasonable. However, this tradition does not conform to the Buddhist system, and it has many drawbacks: it has caused a disparity between the rich and the poor in the economic "harmony and equality" and equality without class, which has led to the pollution of monks who are not well-minded, and even caused some people to shave their heads in order to make a living, collect money and become officials today, which can be described as a corrosive agent that erodes the body of monks. The Buddha has long pointed out that Buddhism can't be destroyed by the supernatural, but it can only be destroyed by the monks and disciples of later generations. It is the fame that corrupts the monk and makes him a "lion bug". There are five Buddhist sayings in Volume One agama:
Being supported by others is very heavy and difficult, which makes people do nothing. Therefore, those who benefit from cultivation will break into human skin, break into skin, break into meat, break into meat, break into bone, and break into marrow.
It is called "sore" in the classics, that is, a malignant tumor (cancer). It is said in "The Words of Jia Yuyan are Extinct":
For example, a ship in the sea sinks because of greed, so does Buddhism and Dharma, and it is extinct because of profit.
The "Kadang Bhikkhu said that when the scriptures are changed" predicts that "in the future, many monks will be greedy and confused, which will destroy the Dharma", but "if there are monks who keep the precepts, the Dharma will last for a long time". The key to adhering to the precepts is to adhere to the precepts of not catching money and not storing property. Even if we can't completely avoid holding money in form, like the Buddha and today's Southern Buddhism, which causes a lot of inconvenience, we should follow the spirit of not holding money in accordance with the precepts, don't enjoy more faithfulness, and spend money other than what we need for life, study and practice on promoting Buddhism and benefiting students. If the magic arrow raised by Zhongli is greedy for money, even if it is rich in the world, it is also a "poor monk" who destroys his dharma and wisdom, and is really poor. As a monk, it is a very sad thing. Instead of being such a monk, it is better to be honest in farming and business and study Buddhism at home. Cao Xi retired in the Ming Dynasty. The Zen Master's Turtle Guide is well said:
Fame and wealth are not as good as grass-clad savages.
In today's Foguangshan religious order, although monks and nuns don't hold money in form, they don't accept the support of believers privately, and the "single money" given by the temple is also very small. This is a fundamental positive reform of the negative Buddhist tradition in China, which is of great significance and can be used for reference by monasteries around the country.
As a believer, it is our duty to provide for the monk's treasure. However, from the perspective of protecting the monk's treasure, such as providing for the law, we should not make our own provision a corrosive agent to destroy the family just from the commercial psychology of accumulating blessings for ourselves or eliminating sin. According to the Buddhist system, when you enter a temple, you should support all the monks, not just your own master, but you can donate money to monks for fasting, or to temple construction, Buddhism, charity, culture and education. Personal support for Master should not be too much.
there is no amitabha in the south!