This year's Buddha Bathing Festival is tomorrow. It's the same day as mother's day. Do you know the customs of Buddha Bathing Festival? Many areas have the customs of Buddha Bathing Festival, so what are the traditional customs of Buddha Bathing Festival? Let's learn about them!
The custom of Buddha Bathing Festival
1. Bathing Buddha
It is said that April 8 of the lunar calendar is the birthday of Shiying nun. On this day, monks and nuns put the bronze Buddha in the water to bathe the Buddha, while the general public vied for money, release and pray for the blessing of the Buddha. Buddhist temples held Buddhist birthday celebrations.
2. Fasting
Zhaihui, also known as chizhaihui, Shanhui. Called by monks in the temple, believers are invited to attend the meeting on April 8 of the lunar calendar to recite Buddhist scriptures and eat fast, because the participants have to pay "Hui Yin Qian" for meals. The food includes noodles, vegetables and wine. There is also a kind of black rice, the method is to soak rice with black vegetables, steamed out for black rice. This kind of food was originally offered to Buddha, and later evolved into the diet of Buddha Bathing Festival. During the Buddha Bathing Festival, people also ask for Buddha bathing water to get the protection of Buddha.
3. Release
Buddhism advocates no killing, and there is a custom of releasing life during the Buddha bath Festival. The source of release has been recorded as early as Song Dynasty. "Old stories of Wulin" says: "April 8 is the birthday of the Buddha. Each temple has its own bathing Buddha meeting. Monks and nuns compete to store bronze statues in small pots, dip them in sugar water, cover them with flower sheds, and spare money to meet each other. They go to the second rich room of the residence and water them with small structures to seek benefits. It was a day when the West Lake held a release meeting. The boat was very popular, flying like a boat in spring, bidding for turtles, fish, snails and mussels to be released. In ancient times, there was a legend of Chengmei's release, and in the folk there was a legend of hawksbill's release. The custom of releasing animals has been handed down to this day.
4. Bond
Marriage is in the form of almsgiving, praying to conclude the fate of the world. It is a very important activity for men and women. What is the meaning of "giving up beans to get married"? Because the Buddha thought that the acquaintance between people was predestined in the previous life, there is a saying that "predestined fate has come to meet for thousands of miles". Because soybeans are round, they are homophonic with each other, so they are connected with each other. Among the people, she Dou is related to each other, and temples and palaces are no exception. In the palace, green beans are cooked, and they are given to the palace maids, the wardens, and the ministers of the inner court, which are called "Chiyuan beans".
5. Seeking a son
People always want to make use of their wishes on special days to beg for their realization. Praying to Guanyin for a son on the Buddha Bathing Festival is a prominent example. There is a Guanyin Temple in Liaocheng, Shandong Province. In front of the God's case, there are many little clay dolls. They are all boys, either sitting, climbing or dancing. On April 8, many infertile women went to visit Guanyin and send their mothers to see them off. They asked for a clay doll. They put a red cord around their neck and said to tie the doll. Some even took it with water, believing that they could get pregnant and have children. In addition to offering gifts to Bixia Yuanjun, Mount Tai is also popular with children. That is to say, a stone is put on a tree and a red line is tied in order to get lucky children. "Jilin strange custom talks" says: "on April 24, a temple fair was held in Baishan, Jidi. The one who asked for his successor went to Guanyin Pavilion and stole a paper paste boy under the lotus seat. After returning home, he set up a mattress. It is said that dreams can win. '
6. Walking image
In Buddhist temples, walking statue is the most lively activity of the Buddha Bathing Festival. The so-called "walking statue" is a kind of grand celebration similar to a parade, which is limited to the main commercial streets of the city.
Its warm and joyful atmosphere is the same as the fundamental spirit of "sharing happiness with the people". Every Buddha's birthday, monks in the temple can take the opportunity to relax in the long, boring and monotonous practice life, and fully appreciate the other side of human life.
Traditional customs of bathing Buddha Festival
1. The custom of bathing Buddha festival in China
Believers will go to the temple to participate in Buddha Bathing, flower offering, fruit offering, monk offering, relic offering, acting and so on.
In some places, Buddha statues are traditionally paraded in the streets, placed on elephants, or carried in floats. The temple will be open to allow believers to enter the incense, worship Buddha statues and support monks.
In today's Chinese areas, the customs of celebrating in the world are often introduced, such as dragon dance, lion dance, hanging lanterns, and even setting off firecrackers.
2. The custom of bathing Buddha festival in Taiwan
Taiwan Buddhists generally hold celebrations and Buddha Bathing ceremonies on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. With the efforts of Buddhists, the Ministry of the interior of the Republic of China has officially included the birthday of Buddha in the national day of commemoration since 1999. The date is April 8 of the lunar calendar, and commemorative activities are held by relevant organs and organizations. As the date is close to mother's Day (the second Sunday in May), some celebrations will also be held on Mother's day.
3. The custom of bathing Buddha festival in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has large-scale celebrations in Cheung Chau, Lantau Island and Tuen Mun, such as the piaose parade. The Hong Kong Tourism Board's "traditional festival tour" also focuses on the celebration of Buddha's birthday.
In 1998, master jueguang successfully fought for Buddha's birthday as a holiday for Hong Kong to enhance the influence of Buddhist culture and traditional Chinese festivals.
Since 2007, the Golden Lotus show has held thousands of Buddha birthday cards in Hong Kong every year. Since May 2013, the first "Buddha's birthday Cultural Festival" in Hong Kong has been planned to last for a whole month, so that the public can participate in it.
4. Japanese Buddhist Bathing Festival
It is called guanfo Hui (Guanfu Hui, Qufu). It is also known as birthday meeting, Buddha life meeting, bathing Buddha meeting, Longhua meeting, flower meeting and flower sacrifice