A temple is a temple, a temple is a temple, don t burn the wrong incense!

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-03-06

There are 480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, and how many buildings are in the smoke and rain.

What a beautiful artistic conception is really desirable, but have you ever thought about it, why does the poet say "temple" instead of "temple"?

Today, let's talk about this temple and the temple, why is it not a "gang".

One. The story begins with a dream in Liu Zhuang.

Who is Liu Zhuang, you ask?

You may be a little strange to him, but you must be familiar with his father - Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty.

That's right, this Liu Zhuang is a "second generation of emperors", the second CEO of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty.

It is said that one day in 64 AD, after Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty and the ministers finished discussing the state, they chattered.

Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty said that he had a dream, in which he saw a person covered in golden light, with an incomparably bright halo on the top of his head, and the whole person was surrounded by holy light.

In the dream, people are kind and kind, and when they look at it, they feel peaceful.

What's even more surprising is that this person can fly, flying back and forth around the main hall, and Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty is not afraid, but wants to come forward and get close.

As a result, he woke up together, and Emperor Ming of Han felt that this dream was extraordinary, so he asked the ministers to help him take a closer look.

After hearing this, the ministers began to discuss one after another, each with their own arguments.

Soon, a minister came out and said: Your Majesty, the person you dream of should be a Western god, and the Westerners call it "Buddha", which is a good omen.

After Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty heard this, he felt that he had a fate with the Buddha, so he sent someone to Tianzhu to worship the Buddha and ask for scriptures.

In 67 A.D., two Tianzhu monks returned to Luoyang with the mission, bringing Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty was overjoyed, and ordered the world to worship Buddhism and believe in religion.

Since then, Buddhism has taken root in the land of China, because the two eminent monks are white horses, known as "white horses come to the west".

In order to let the two monks live for a long time and promote Buddhism, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty ordered the construction of a monastery, which was later the famous "White Horse Temple" and the first temple in history.

As a result, the word "temple" also took on a new meaning with the introduction of Buddhism.

Two. Yes, temples existed long before Buddhism was introduced to China.

It's just that this temple is not the other temple, and the annotation of "Shuowen Jiezi": temple, pavilion also.

The Book of Han also mentions: Where the pavilion is located, it is called a temple.

That is to say, before the introduction of Buddhism, the temple generally refers to the ancient ** office space.

In ancient times, the country's senior ** was called the Three Princes and Nine Secretaries, of which the Nine Secretaries were the highest officials of the nine departments.

And the names of these nine departments, there is a temple word behind them, such as Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Di Renjie we are familiar with, is Dali Temple**.

Since the day the White Horse Temple was completed, the temple has ceased to be the exclusive term of the first institution.

Personnel have metabolism, and exchanges have become ancient and modern.

With the continuous change of dynasties, the temple also lost its original meaning and gradually became synonymous with Buddhist activities.

In modern times, those famous temples and ancient temples have become tourist attractions, such as Shaolin Temple, Lingyin Temple, etc., everywhere is surging, and the incense is prosperous.

To this day, if Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, who first built the White Horse Temple, can see it, he will definitely shout "Good!" ”。

Three. There is a saying that if you run away from a monk, you can't run away from the temple.

In fact, such a statement is not correct, because in ancient times, there was no half-dime relationship between monks and temples at all.

So the question is, what kind of place is the temple?

The appearance of the temple is earlier than the temple, in the "Shuo Wen Jie Zi", the temple people, respect the ancestors and also.

In the vernacular, it is the place where the ancestral gods are worshipped, that is, the Jongmyo Temple, such as the Taimiao Temple, which is the first function of the temple.

The ancients were very superstitious, and they would easily associate with ghosts and gods, and they were both respectful and afraid of ghosts and gods, so they repaired temples and prayed for the protection of the gods to express their piety, such as the Dragon King Temple, the Land Temple, and worshipping ghosts and gods was the second function of the temple.

Later, some people who are deeply loved and admired by the world, after their death, in order to commemorate them, people will build temples for them, so that they can enjoy the fireworks in the world and accept the worship of the world, such as Yue Fei Temple, Guandi Temple, this is the third function of the temple.

Four. Some friends want to ask, after saying so much, what is the difference between the temple and the temple?

01. The objects of worship are different

The temple is dedicated to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, mainly Buddhist gods, such as Shakyamuni Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva and so on.

The temple is relatively miscellaneous, not only ghosts and gods, but also sages and saints, and some spirits, which can be described as the three realms and five elements, everything.

To use an inappropriate analogy, if the temple is steamed vegetables, then the temple is a hodgepodge.

02. The main functions are different

As mentioned above, the temple was the name of a state institution in the beginning, and with the introduction of Buddhism, the temple gradually became a special term for Buddhist architecture.

The monastery is a place for monks to study the Dharma, and a place for pilgrims to make wishes and pray for blessings.

Compared with Buddhist temples, the function of the temple is more specific, because different temples worship different gods and people, such as the temple of the god of wealth for wealth, the temple of the dragon king for rain, and the temple of land for peace.

03. The scale of the building is different

The building scale of the temple is relatively large, because it is not only to worship the Buddha and Bodhisattva, but also the place where the monks practice, so it covers an area of dozens of acres, or even hundreds of acres.

The scale of the temple is much smaller, not only small in size, but also in simple terms.

There is a land temple at the head of the village in my hometown, which is more than two meters high, and there is only one shrine in it.

04. The content of beliefs is different

The temple is a place of Buddhist activity and believes in the teachings of karma and reincarnation.

The content of Buddhism's beliefs is relatively profound, and some teachings can even be meaningless and cannot be spoken.

Therefore, it is not easy to make a family.

The temple is enshrined, mostly for the gods in Taoism, the pursuit of immortality, the unity of heaven and man, the belief is more practical, such as dispelling diseases, exorcism, spiritualism, etc., to be "down-to-earth" more.

At the end of the article, to sum up, there is actually a big difference between the temple and the temple, simply put, the monk lives in the temple, the ghost god is in the temple, the big one is the temple, and the small one is the temple.

If you talk about it, listen to it.

If you know more, please let me know in the comment area.

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