Many people with Buddhist or Taoist beliefs will go to the temple to burn incense and worship the Buddha on some festival or any special day.
There are those who seek marriage and children, and there are those who seek peace or business and wealth, etc., and worship different temples for different purposes.
Although many people use the word "temple" together, in fact, "temple" and "temple" represent two completely different concepts.
So what is a "temple" and what is a "temple"? What's the difference?
The origin of the temple. Speaking of temples, it has a very long history and is closely related to Chinese culture.
Originally, the temple was built to worship the god of the stove and the land, praying for good weather and rain, so there were land temples, grandmother temples, dragon king temples and so on.
Gradually, there were temples dedicated to ancestors, and it can be said that temples are associated with the people.
With the development of society, people also built statues of people who have made significant contributions to the country in history to build temples for people to worship and remember, and the construction of temples is related to Confucian culture, that is, to be grateful.
For example, we are familiar with the Yuewang Temple, Guan Yu Temple, Confucius Temple, etc., people have gratitude and admiration for their past achievements, so they take the initiative to build temples for them to offer them.
It is also the words that people often ridicule today: "I will offer you".
After the death of many emperors, they also have temple numbers, and let future generations sacrifice and remember after they die.
The origin of the temple. The original meaning of the word "temple" had nothing to do with Buddhism, and in ancient times it did not refer to a Buddhist temple but to an administrative body of the imperial court.
That is, the place where eunuchs and officials worked, such as "Dali Temple", which refers to the official office in charge of Xingjiao in ancient times, as well as the "Guanglu Temple" and "Taichang Temple" that we often see on TV.
The original meaning of "temple" is "service", that is, it has the meaning of attendant, waiting for the emperor's call, and in the Qin Dynasty, the official house was called "temple".
For example, the system of three princes and nine secretaries established during the Qin Dynasty is closely related to it.
"Three Princes" refers to the Taiwei, the Prime Minister and the Imperial Doctor, they have a unified official office, called "Fu", and under the Three Princes is Jiuqing, and the official office of "Jiuqing" is called "Temple", which is known as "Sanfu and Nine Temples".
In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the "Dianke" in Jiuqing was changed to "Da Honglu".
Honglu Qing is equivalent to the current *** long, but the actual power is larger than the current ***, mainly responsible for receiving foreign guests, and specially set up a "Honglu Temple" for foreign guests to live.
So how did the word "temple" change from an administrative institution to a connection with Buddhism? This starts with the Eastern Han Dynasty......
The temple is associated with Buddhism.
According to historical records, in the tenth year of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty sent Shi Te to the Western Regions to pray for Buddhism because he dreamed that a golden person was in the air.
When the ambassadors sent out arrived at the Great Moon Clan in the Western Regions, they met the eminent monks from Tianzhu, Gashmo Teng and Zhu Falan, and after understanding that they were looking for them, they kindly invited them to come to China to preach Buddhism to the people.
They used the White Horse Sutra and traveled all the way through many hardships, and finally came to Luoyang, the capital at that time, and then let them live in the Honglu Temple, which was dedicated to receiving foreign guests.
A year later, in order to make the two monks live comfortably and better preach Buddhism, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty ordered the construction of some houses outside the Yongmen Gate in the west of the city according to the style of Tianzhu.
At the same time, in order to highlight the great merit of the White Horse Sutra, these houses are called "White Horse Temple", which is specially used to promote Buddhist scriptures.
It is from this time that the temple is associated with Buddhism, and its name has "temple", which should be because it was built by the imperial court's pardon, and is associated with the official court and belongs to the official institution.
Therefore, most of the monasteries are built in the style of the imperial palace, which is particularly luxurious and generally large, which is to highlight its grandeur, so as to attract the people and make the people yearn for it.
The White Horse Temple in Luoyang thus became the first Buddhism-related temple built in China, and is therefore considered the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism, which is of great significance for the development of Buddhism.
With the development of society, "temple" has slowly evolved into a special term for Buddhist sites in China, and is rarely used as an official title.
However, due to the different dynasties, different cultural customs and different architectural styles in various places, many different names appeared in Buddhist monasteries when they spread and developed.
Our common names are: nunnery, hall, monastery, sangha garan, dojo and so on.
Among them, "hermitage" is also called "lane", which originally referred to the hermitage where the family lived, and now it refers specifically to the place where the nuns live.
However, no matter what the name of the temple is, the function is basically the same.
Although the names are different, they all have one thing in common, which is the Three Jewels Pure Land, which is for monks to practice and spread the Dharma with peace of mind.
Difference Between Temple and Temple.
The most obvious difference between the two is that the cultural roots are different, the temple was introduced to China from outside, and the temple has existed in China since ancient times.
In addition, the scale of temples is generally relatively large, and there will be people living in them, while temples are generally smaller in size and there are few people living in them.
Temples are generally associated with the official and have a relatively high status, and the buildings are protected by the state, while temples are generally associated with folk beliefs.
People go to temples to worship Buddha in order to learn or promote Buddhism, practice with peace of mind, and purify people's hearts, while people go to temples generally to worship and remember.
The temples are generally dedicated to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc., while the temples are generally dedicated to ghosts, ancestors, or martyrs who have made significant contributions, and many of them have prototypes.
Whether we go to a temple or a temple, we need to maintain a sense of awe, not contempt, and dress appropriately.
Do not touch the statues or offerings in the temple, and do not make loud noises, let alone play in them.
Epilogue. The above is the ** and difference between "temple" and "temple", after understanding, don't make a mistake next time.
Reference Sources:
1].The official **Guangming** "The Origin of the Temple".
However, in order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!
Disclaimer] The article describes the process, **all** on the Internet, this article aims to advocate positive social energy, no vulgarity and other bad guidance. If it involves copyright or character infringement issues, please contact us in time, and we will delete the content as soon as possible! If there is any doubt about the incident, it will be deleted or changed immediately after contact.