Zhongyuan Festival: The unique charm of Taoist Zhaijiao, the Zhongyuan Festival, originated from Taoism and began to prevail during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. According to the "Tao Jing", July 15 is the day of the Middle Yuan, and the local officials come to the world to assess the good and evil in the world.
Therefore, on this day, Taoists will purify their hearts and bodies, build altars and make offerings, offer all kinds of flowers and fruits, rare and exotic objects to the Taoist saints, "eat and drink", preach Taoist scriptures, pray for blessings and avoid disasters, and pray to the gods with books and chapters.
This ritual of setting up an altar and offering prayers is called "Jiao". The origin of the "three officials" in Taoism is also related to the Taoist "three officials". The "three officials" refer to the heavenly officials, the earth officials, and the water officials.
One said that the heavenly official is Tang Yao, the local official is Yu Shun, and the water official is Dayu. Another theory is that Shangyuan Yipin blessed Tianguan, Emperor Ziwei; Zhongyuan Erpin forgives sins and heavenly officials, and the Emperor of Qingxu; Xia Yuan Sanpin Relief Water Official, Dongyin Emperor.
Taoism is based on. The fifteenth day of each month in January, July and October is divided into Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Xiayuan; Shangyuan is the day of blessing of heavenly officials, Zhongyuan is the day of forgiveness of sins of local officials, and Xiayuan is the day of relief of water officials.
Therefore, the Midyear Festival is a special festival for the lonely souls and wild ghosts of Pudu on this day. Overall, the Midyear Festival is an important festival of Taoism, full of mystery and unique charm.
In the Tang Dynasty, the mid-year festival was very popular. The poet Li Shangyin depicted the scene of Taoist sacrifice in "Zhongyuan Works". Legend has it that Shangqing is the residence of Taishang Daojun (also known as Lingbao Tianzun).
In the Tang Dynasty, the atmosphere of respecting Taoism was very strong, and even Tang Xuanzong ordered Chongyuan scholars to recite the Tao Te Ching and the Nanhua Zhenjing. According to records, the Zhongyuan Festival is the day when the local officials of Zhongyuan take the school examination, and it is the "day of forgiveness" of the local officials.
The poems of the Tang Dynasty poets Wang Jian and Ling Guchu are also excellent works describing the Zhongyuan Festival. In the late Tang Dynasty, Cui Zhiyuan wrote a number of Sanyuan Zhai poems for Gao Yu, the core of which was to pray for the help of Sanqing and defeat the Huangchao peasant army as soon as possible.
The gods of the Sanqing Heavenly Realm are revealed, and the Yuan Shi Lingbao is morally honored. The three sect leaders were in high numbers, and the Yujing celebration was unprecedented. Zhongyuan Dharma is praised, and Chang'an celebrates the secular sacrifice. Chenghuang guards the safety of the people, and Taoist believers respect him.
The gods of the city god source Zhou Li, and the water Yong evolves into heaven and earth. Emperor Wu Chiwu built the city at the beginning, and Murong Yanzhen began to sacrifice. Tang Li Yuan respected the Tao and supported, and Xuanzong admired Xuanzhou learning.
During the reign of Xuanzong, the development of Taoism reached a climax, and his two princesses, Princess Wan'an and Princess Xinchang, as well as Yang Guifei, were made female Taoists. The Taoist beliefs advocated by Xuanzong have had a profound impact on various places, and many state capitals have established Taoist officials and Taoist temples, and counties have also worshiped city gods.
Many well-known poets, such as Zhang Shuo, Zhang Jiuling, Han Yu, Du Mu, Li Shangyin, etc., have written articles on worshipping the city god, and these works are still recited by the world today.
The 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is not only the mid-year festival of Taoism, but also an important festival of Buddhism. This festival is known as "Buddha Day", "Buddha Joy Day", "Monk Self-Worship Day", also known as "Obon", or "Obon", "Bon Festival", "Bon Festival", "Bon Festival".
The origin of this festival has a Buddhist story about Shakyamuni's ** Mulian who saw his dead mother suffering in hell, so he asked the Buddha for help. The Buddha told Mulian that his mother's sin was so serious that it would take the power of the monks of the Ten Directions to save her.
Following the instructions of the Buddha, Muren prepared various delicacies and five fruits for his deceased mother, and placed them in a bon to make offerings to the monks of the ten directions. After doing so, Muren's mother was relieved of her pain.
Since then, Buddhists have begun to hold Obon festivals to commemorate the story of Muren's salvation of his mother and to transcend the soul of the dead. Chinese Buddhists have been popular with this fashion since the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
During this period, Buddhism was very popular, and there were even emperors who advocated Buddhism, such as Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty, who sacrificed himself three times in Tongtai Temple, which caused a sharp increase in the number of monks. During this period, the power of the monks was widely used in all spheres of social life, including sacrificial activities.
According to the Southern Song Dynasty Tiantai Sect Shamen Zhipan's "Buddha's Chronicles", Emperor Wu of Liang personally set up Bon Zhai in Tongtai Temple, and entered the temple on July 15 every year to send pots to support the Buddhas, so that the Bon Festival became a Buddhist festival, and gradually developed into a traditional festival of the Han nation.
The basic ethos of Obon is filial piety, which is consistent with the Confucian idea of prudence and longevity, and is also in line with Taoist standards. Preparations for the religious activities of the Obon Festival usually begin on July 14, including attaching a plaque of "Obon Festival" on the mountain gate, preparing the necessary utensils for the next day, setting up the Obon altar, and setting up the five-element table.
The climax of the Orchid Bon Festival is eating, which is one of the most attractive contents.
Among the dietary taboos of the monks, only porridge is eaten as the staple food, and coarse tea and light rice are eaten every day, and only on the day of Obon, you can enjoy a variety of exquisite and delicious vegetarian food.
On this day, the temple provides many utensils for the monks who participate in Obon to eat. Whether it is a monk of the monastery or a foreign monk, they will be treated equally, and there is no distinction between host and guest.
At the beginning of the meal, the monks find their own seats and sit down, and the monks distribute the offerings, followed by the offerings and vegetarian dishes. Before moving the chopsticks, the monks would recite the Offering Mantra with their palms together, and then enjoy the meal to the sound of the abbot saying "the people are eating".
Since Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty, the Bon Festival has been prevalent.
After 90 days of "knotting", finally on July 15, monks, nuns and monasteries began to dismantle, and this day is known as the "Day of the Circle of the Year of the Dharma".
After the dissolution, Zen monks and nuns can choose to walk or return to karma according to their own convenience. For monks and nuns, the transition from restricting freedom to unfettered is undoubtedly something to celebrate, so the "knot" and "untie" gradually became the most solemn days of Buddhist festivals in the Song Dynasty.
Especially in Zen Buddhism, because of the "dissolution" and "knotting" has become the grandest festival, it has naturally become the most important day of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty.