After a religion prevails for a long time, it will inevitably produce some dross and burdens, so it is often necessary to inject new blood or reform it to make it adapt to the times and last forever, and to make its theory and missionary methods more and more perfect. For example, Buddhism was founded in India, but it has become one of the three major religions in the world today. In fact, it constantly absorbs the strengths of others and takes it for itself. Hinayana Buddhism advocates impermanence, bitterness, emptiness and selflessness, and it is a religion based on birth; After Mahayana was introduced to China, influenced by Chinese culture, it absorbed a large number of Taoist ideas of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and began to change and advocated being regular, happy, self-centered and pure. In the Tang Dynasty, the tantric Sect turned to worship the altar and went deep into the ordinary life of ordinary people seeking money and treating diseases. After the Republic of China, the west wind spread eastward, and the traditional society changed greatly. Master Taixu of Buddhism vigorously advocated the Buddhist revolution in the second year of the Republic of China, and advocated human Buddhism from the aspects of doctrine, organization and property, and got rid of the religion that Buddhism was only born again (the dead) and turned into the religion of the living. Although these changes gradually made Buddhism a non-Buddhist Buddhism, they also attracted strong opposition and struggle at that time, but they enabled Buddhism to survive. The too-empty Buddhist revolution has contributed a lot to Buddhism. The explanation is as follows:
Taixu was born in December of the 15th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (198) and became a monk at the age of sixteen. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the social changes at that time, the influx of western trends, the prevalence of Darwin's theory of evolution, and the great changes in social customs and the necessity of Buddhist reform were deeply felt. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Taixu was in frequent contact with revolutionaries. After the founding of the Republic of China, Taixu advocated the Buddhist revolution. In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), Taixu advocated at the memorial service of the Eight Fingers Toutuo in Shanghai:
"There are three suitable revolutions in Buddhism: one is organizational revolution, the other is property revolution, and the third is academic revolution. However, such an idea was vilified as a fallacy by the then Buddhist Series and regarded as devadatta who framed Sakyamuni. Wen Yun: "Taixu monk's speech: Buddhism should be revolutionized in three ways: organizational revolution, property revolution and academic revolution. ..... This newspaper press: the term of the Buddhist revolution, which was discovered soon, is also ridiculous! It would be reckless to talk openly and openly in public! However, like a monk's speech, there are three reasons why Buddhism should be revolutionized, and only the second property issue is still open to discussion. If the third article involves academic theory, devadatta, who pretends to be a new Buddha, will rise from hell! The word "organizational revolution" in the first article is not only unreasonable, but also logical and unsolvable!
Although Taixu's reform ideas were attacked by Buddhists from the very beginning, Taixu still kept his original intention, and published articles such as Private Articles, Universe Truth and Atheism in the Buddhist Monthly one after another, denying the creator and the soul theory, thinking that "there is no creator and no soul without god, and everything is done with nothing." Tai Xu regards Buddhism as an atheistic religion, and the word "inaction" is used in Taoist language. It can be seen that there is a difference between Taixu and the traditional view in the interpretation of doctrine. In the fourth year of the Republic of China (A.D. 1915), Taixu wrote "Sorting out the Sangha System", which established a Buddhist organizational structure quite similar to the western Catholic organizational model, and advocated the separation of church and state. "The teaching institutes, religious groups, religious books, religious products and religious rules are divided into different systems, and the centralized production system is implemented. He also wrote "The Theory of Man Taking the Right Method", which regards the five precepts and ten virtues of Buddhism as the moral norms of believers at home, in order to go deep into the people and improve the society. Gradually turn Buddhism out of the world into a world. In February of the 9th year of the Republic of China (192), the first issue of Haichaoyin magazine founded by Taixu was published. Haichaoyin magazine is an important publication of Buddhism, and Taixu used it to advocate his own reform ideas. He once published articles in this magazine and different publications under his real name or pseudonym. Taixu himself trained many students, and his students were also infected with Taixu's revolutionary enthusiasm. In order to achieve the goal of reforming Buddhism, he constantly struggled with the conservative monks at that time, and he did not hesitate to make extreme remarks. During the fierce reform movement at the annual meeting of Buddhist Youth under Taixu's jurisdiction, he distributed leaflets and attacked traditional monks such as Yinguang, calling Yinguang the "first demon king".
Taixu students, such as Ning Dayun and Zhang Zongzai, described Yin Guang and Di Xian as the Great Demon; Too empty students wake up and call Yin Guang and Di Xian "pig-headed elders", and call Wang Yiting and Huang Han "maggot laymen". The use of words is extremely abusive and thrilling. We can imagine the fierce attack on traditional monks by Buddhist reformists at that time from the fact that "there are three thousand words in the leaflets" in Yinguang's letter, and Taixu disciples called Yinguang and other monks "devil" and "pig's head". This situation is easily reminiscent of the fierce debate, mutual attack and even killing between the traditional Hinayana Buddhism and the reformed Mahayana Buddhists when Hinayana changed into Mahayana. Although Mahayana won later, the teachings of Hinayana were still absorbed and preserved. Hinayana and Mahayana were opposed by contradictions and eventually unified. By the same token, although modern reformist Buddhism has won with the change of the current situation, the conservative forces, represented by Yinguang, have been absorbed and promoted by modern Buddhism for their traditional practice of dharma, especially the simple and easy-to-understand pure land dharma such as chanting Buddha. The Buddhist revolution described in detail above is mainly used to show that the reform process of a religion is arduous, but it has to be so. On the other hand, Taoism advocates that "my life lies in my absence from heaven", and that there is no need to die when I live, so I can compete with heaven and pursue eternal life by myself. According to Records of the Historian, The Book of Closing Zen, the theory of seeking immortals was popular during the Warring States Period. Since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been great reforms, such as Zhang Ling's Five Dou Mi Dao in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Kou Qianzhi's improvement of Keyi in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Wang Zhongyang's creation of Quanzhen Dao in the Jin (Song) Dynasty. None of these changes is as great as Buddhism. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, there have been no major new reforms in the past 8 years. Especially after the Republic of China, under the impact of the West, the whole social trend of thought and social form has undergone tremendous changes. Various religions, old and new, have emerged in China and the West. Taoism has not adjusted its pace to adapt to it, nor has it organized a complete mission and preached, so it cannot compete with other religions, thus gradually losing its followers and moving towards decline. The decline of Taoism is related to the lack of powerful people to lead Taoist reform; Here are a few more examples to discuss the main reasons for its decline: Taoist priest, if he is asked to perform the ceremonies, it can last for three days and three nights; However, it is difficult for him to give a lecture, and it is difficult to maintain it for half an hour. There is a serious imbalance between "learning" and "technique". The abbots of many temples in Taiwan Province today not only can't understand the Taoist scriptures, but even recite them by mistake. The abbots and believers in temples generally have the problem of low quality. Although there are many reasons for this phenomenon, Taoism and temples attach more importance to "technique" than to "Jia Yan Lu". In April 1982, Daigakuji, the tenth party of Keelung, printed and presented books, and "Printing Master's Banknotes" was the most comprehensive book to collect printed banknotes. Later, Taichung Lotus Society also published it, but did not include this letter, almost because of the mentality of being taboo for sages. Yin Guang was attacked by Taixu students more than once. In the eighteenth year of the Republic of China, Yin Shun's Chronicle of Taixu Master said, "When I printed Lao (May 29th), I reviled the great fool. It can be seen that in addition to the leaflets of the Buddhist YMCA, Da Yu, a disciple of Taixu's tonsure, also wrote an article attacking Yinguang.
"learning" is one of the main reasons.
"technique" refers to science and instrument, geomantic omen, divination and fortune telling. "Learning" refers to expounding the truth of Confucian classics. Chinese communities in Taiwan Province and Southeast Asia attach great importance to the five techniques commonly known as "mountain", "medicine", "fate", "physiognomy" and "divination". Mountain (immortal way) refers to meditation, gas refining, health preservation, medicinal bait, spiritual practice and so on. Medicine (medical treatment) refers to acupuncture, prescription, massage, dietotherapy and psychotherapy. Fate (fortune-telling) refers to the number of Chinese characters, eight characters, four pillars and so on. Facies (reconnaissance) refer to palm reading, physiognomy, physiognomy, name reading (name learning), tomb reading (yin house), house reading (yang house), geomantic mapping, etc. Divination refers to divination such as Yi Zhan, Liu Ren and Taiyi Divination. These ancient sayings of the number of tricks have their own value, and only paying too much attention to the "skills" and instruments, rather than discussing them from the philosophical point of view, can easily lead people to falsely accuse them of superstition. "Skill" must be led and introduced by "learning", so as not to be vulgar and inferior, and the deeper the skill, the higher the practice should be, so as not to take skill as evil. "Learning" refers to the philosophical essence in the Confucian classics. There are many good classics in Taoist scriptures, some of which talk about righteousness, such as Tao Te Ching, Nanhua Ching, Huangdi Yinfu Ching, Taiping Ching, Zhouyi Shentongqi, Bao Puzi, Jing Jing, Wu Zhen Pian, etc., and some of which involve folk customs such as Beidou Ching, Nandou Ching, etc. Today, Taoist techniques are too much, but the knowledge of academic theory is generally ignored, which makes it difficult to improve the quality of believers.
Third, lack of religious organizations, poor missionary work, and no sense of identity
Today's world religions, such as Christianity and Catholicism in the West, and even Buddhism and emerging religions in Taiwan Province, mostly meet regularly (or often), with religious organizations and missionary methods. On the other hand, Taoists are scattered. At ordinary times, everyone worships their gods, and there is no regular gathering. The temples are not related to each other, and no one preaches. Those who worship Mazu consider themselves Mazu believers; Those who worship Guan Yu are Guan Yu believers; I have no idea about Taoist gods, have no sense of identity with Taoism, and don't even think I am a Taoist; Some even deliberately climb Buddhism, making Taoist temples abboted by monks, which has become a strange phenomenon of non-Buddhism and non-Taoism. Therefore, although there are many temples with flourishing incense in Taiwan Province, they can't play their due role because of their own ways and lack of sense of identity.
Fourth, there is a lack of preachers
The abbots and Taoist priests of the palace temples have devoted their lives to scientific instruments and skills, and few of them can explain the scriptures, and there are no regular and public lectures. There are many wireless TV stations in Taiwan Province, six or seven of which regularly broadcast Buddhist lecture programs, and even many TV stations broadcast Buddhist programs all day. Buddhism has its own dedicated TV station to preach. In addition to TV stations, expanded radio stations also have Buddhist lectures. In contrast, there are almost no Taoist lectures on TV or radio. How can you win believers by preaching like this? In terms of training talents, although there is a small-scale Muzha Taoist College, it has never trained talents who can lecture and preach. A religion that lacks the initiative to preach to the people has lost a lot in the starting point. Failure to train and attach importance to those who speak the classics will lead to the rapid loss of Taoism among the younger generation of believers. You can imagine the consequences of old work without new branches.
5. The practice of Dharma is too scattered and unorganized
In all religions in the world, believers are often divided into "holy" and "worldly". Ordinary people are "Fan", and only after practicing the Dharma in a specific religion can they become "Fan" and become "Saint". "Practice" plays an important role in religious activities. As far as Taoism is concerned, those who are enlightened are sacred, and those who are not enlightened are all. Ordinary people are ordinary, and immortals are sacred. Ordinary people, without practice; Being a "god" after death and a "fairy" after accumulating goodness and practicing are all "saints". From being a saint, we must take practice (cultivation) as a bridge. Taoism has a long history, so there are many factions and different cultivation methods. It is a heavy symbol, and it is important to keep thinking on the upper surface. The outer Dan is yellow and white, and the inner Dan is refined, and the harmony between men and women is emphasized in the room; In addition, there are different methods to worship, summon and send, medicinal bait, avoid valley, eat gas, keep one, quietism and so on. In today's utilitarian society, it is necessary for someone to simplify the practice order and induce it in sequence. If there is no one to collect and sort out the numerous methods of Taoism, it will be difficult for beginners to start and attract believers.
six, excessive tolerance, loss of self
inclusiveness, originally a virtue, should also be one of the conditions for success; Because Taoism is broad and inclusive, although there are religious disputes in Middle-earth, there will be no religious wars. As a result of the dispute, it is gradually moving towards integration. However, excessive tolerance has turned advantages into disadvantages and lost its own characteristics, which has become the main cause of failure. Since the Song Dynasty, a large number of Buddhists have been mixed into Taoism for a long time, resulting in the fact that today's people can't distinguish Buddhism from Taoism, thinking that worshipping Buddhism is believing. This situation is not only true in Taiwan Province, but also in overseas Chinese communities. At the beginning of March this year, the author went to Singapore for a meeting. Taoist leader Li Zhiwang told the author that some Taoist temples in Singapore even set Indian gods and Muslim gods in the temples to worship. However, this seemingly religious integration and the existence of the nation not only failed to gain recognition, but also attracted protests from Hindus and Muslims, believing that their gods had been desecrated. This example shows that excessive tolerance is not only useless, but also harmful. Tolerance is not a bad thing, but it must be selective, and we can't just start with tolerance, but we must start with philosophical principles, scientific instruments, missionary methods and other aspects, and use tolerance to absorb each other's strengths as our own, so that we can benefit. The tolerance of Taoism promotes the integration of Buddhism and Taoism, but excessive tolerance also makes Taoism lose itself. For example, due to the advocacy of novels such as The Journey to the West and Romance of the Gods in the late Ming Dynasty, Taoism absorbed Guanyin, Ingot Buddha, Manjusri and other gods as its own gods, which were under the jurisdiction of the Jade Emperor. However, due to the high status given, this practice has caused the consequences of not distinguishing Buddhism from Taoism. In contrast, although Buddhism also absorbs Taoist gods, for example, Guan Gong's rank in Taoism is Emperor, but Buddhism regards him as a god who has been transformed by wisdom, and his rank is only the protector of Buddhism, so his status is low. Taoism puts the deities of Buddhism at a higher level, while Buddhism puts the deities of Taoism at a lower level, which, by contrast, leads to the misleading of Buddhism in the Tao.