Fangzheng smiled. "I've long told you that in China, Buddhism and Daoism have fused and interacted with each other over countless years. They learned from each other's strengths and made up for each other's weaknesses, resulting in today's Buddhism and Daoism. The essence of both is to make the world more kind and less evil.
"Legend has it that this festival first began with Daoism, when the Three Officials toured the lower realm.
Daoism believes that this day is the day when the Earth Officials, Emperor Qingxu, pardon their sins. To put it simply, it's the day when the high officials come down to understand the people's feelings and correct misjudgments or redress unjust cases. On this day, Daoists chant scriptures to welcome the arrival of the Earth Officials and release the evil spirits. Release the ancestors …
Corresponding to this is the folk custom of the Ghost Moon appearing in the middle of the seventh month and the opening of the Gates of Hell.
The people believe that the entire seventh month is the Ghost Moon. The Gates of Hell open on the first day, and the Gates of Hell close on the fifteenth day. This month, after the silence of spring and summer, ghosts can come out again, so it's called the opening of the Gates of Hell. The ghosts walk at night, and the ghosts run amok. To avoid hurting people, the people hold all sorts of activities to appease the ghosts. Similarly, on this day, their ancestors will return from the underworld. The descendants will welcome them and worship them. This is somewhat similar to the Qingming Festival.
The name of the Yulanpen Festival comes from Buddhism. The Buddhist scripture, Yulanpen Sutra, recorded a story:
One of Gautama Buddha's ten great disciples, Mulian, after obtaining the six magical powers, wanted to repay his parents for raising him, so he used his Eye of Dao to observe the situation. He saw that his deceased mother was suffering in the Hungry Ghost Realm, she was so skinny that she did not even look human. Mu Lian was very sad, so he scooped rice in a bowl and wanted to give it to his mother. However, when the rice was delivered to his mother, it turned into flames before it entered her mouth. It burned her mouth and left her in excruciating pain.
Helpless, Mu Lian cried and begged Buddha to save his mother. Buddha said, "Your mother's sins are grave. You can't save her alone. You need to rely on the Dao powers of the monks from all directions. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when all the monks live in peace and cultivate in peace, you need to set up a grand Yulanpen Festival and offer food to the monks from all directions. Only by relying on their Dao powers can you save your mother."
Therefore, he followed the Buddha's instructions and his mother really broke away from the Hungry Ghost Realm.
The Buddha also said, "From now on, when Buddhist disciples practice compassion and filial piety, they can do so on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Self-Indulgence, which is also the Day of Buddha's Pleasure. That is to say, during the ninety days of each summer, the monks will gather in one place, adhere to the precepts, and be pure in their conduct. On the last day, when the monks practice self-indulgence, they will ask the monks to list out the mistakes they have made, and repent in front of the masses. Also, the Buddhas of the ten directions rejoiced in this peaceful and perfect day of cultivation. Therefore, it is also called the Day of Joy of the Buddha or the Day of Joy. On this day, prepare all kinds of food and drink, widely set up the Yue Lan Feast to offer to the monks. By doing so, not only can we bring good fortune and longevity to our living parents, we can also help our deceased parents escape from the sea of bitterness and obtain happiness, in order to repay our parents for their kindness in raising us. "
Thus, the Buddhist Yulanpen Festival came into being. Coincidentally, all three festivals were held on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and they all advocated the worship of ancestors and the promotion of filial piety.
"Therefore, the so-called Hungry Ghost Festival is a Daoist term. The Yulanpen Festival is a Buddhist term, while the Ghost Festival and the middle of the seventh month are common terms.
Daoists can celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival, and Buddhists celebrate the Yulanpen Festival, but what about the common people? "When there are too many and complicated things involved in a festival, many methods of the festival will clash on this day. Some will be forgotten and abandoned, while others will be thrown into chaos. After a long period of time, they will fuse together. At least among the common people, there isn't much difference in the common people."
By the side, Red Boy did not say a word when he heard that. The Yulanpen Festival was a huge festival in his world. In his world, it was the true opening of the gates to hell. Thousands of ghosts would come out of the abyss, and countless gods and Buddhas would gather together to release the souls of the dead. That was a huge scene! However, the world was different, so he had nothing to say.
"I see. Master, what do we do on this day?" asked Lone Wolf out of curiosity.
"You will know when the time comes. Based on the time, it should be tomorrow." Just as Fangzheng said that, the village's accountant, Yang Ping, came up the mountain. The moment he entered, he pulled Fangzheng to the side for a chat. After saying a bunch of things, he rushed down the mountain.
"Master, why is Patron Yang here?" asked Squirrel out of curiosity.
"He's talking about tomorrow's Yulanpen Festival. How's the tiny lotus flower I got you to carve?" Fangzheng changed the topic.
When Squirrel heard that, he shrunk his neck in embarrassment and obediently went to carve the lotus flower. When Fangzheng saw this, he shook his head in exasperation. Squirrel was active by nature, so it was indeed difficult for him to sit there quietly to carve. He didn't know how long this sudden interest of his would last.
The next day, Fangzheng went down the mountain early in the morning with Monkey following closely behind. As for Red Boy, he had no interest in going down the mountain today.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, Fangzheng saw that the village had already begun setting up. Every household had an offering table by their door. Behind the offering table was a black line drawn with black ash, separating the yard from the offering table.
"Master, what's this for?" asked Monkey when he saw this scene.
Fangzheng said, "There's a saying among the people that this ash is equivalent to the ash at the bottom of a pot. It can prevent ghosts from entering. Tonight, the Gates of Hell will be open. Although everyone is taking the opportunity to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, they also have to guard against evil ghosts entering."
Monkey was enlightened as he scratched his head. "Master, this is not the first time you mentioned ghosts. Do ghosts exist in this world?"
Fangzheng said, "If the ghost is in the heart, the body will be upright. The ghost in the heart will be the ancestor, protecting them for life. If the body is crooked, the ghost in the heart will be the evil ghost. Step by step, they will walk towards the abyss of evil and be doomed to eternal damnation."
Monkey wore a puzzled look. He did not understand …
Fangzheng did not plan on explaining everything in a few words. Certain things needed to be understood when the time came. There was no point in explaining further.
The villagers' offering tables had yet to be placed with tributes. On such a hot day, placing them early would quickly spoil them.
At the crossroads of the village, there were circles drawn with white ash. Some were bigger, others smaller. Regardless of the type, they were all gathered at the crossroads. When the duo arrived, Sun Qiancheng was drawing a circle with Mengmeng. The adult and child duo were very serious and did not notice Fangzheng's arrival.
Mengmeng held a basin of ash as her eyes shimmered. She cocked her head and said, "Daddy, why are the uncles drawing circles here?"
Monkey looked at Fangzheng almost at the same time. Fangzheng smiled and looked ahead, indicating for Monkey to listen.
"This circle represents the grave of our deceased ancestors. The circle needs to leave an opening, representing the entrance to the tomb. At the same time, the opening needs to face the direction of the tomb. Tonight, when we burn joss paper money for Grandma and the rest, we will burn it here. Mengmeng, are Grandpa and Grandma good to you? "Sun Qiancheng asked.
Mengmeng did not know much about life and death. She cocked her head and thought for a moment before saying, "They are very good to me."
"That's right. That's why Mengmeng will be burning joss paper money with Daddy tonight. Do you know? It will also let Grandpa and Grandma see how filial their granddaughter is, "Sun Qiancheng said.
Mengmeng nodded immediately. "Alright, alright. Mengmeng will be coming." The little girl jumped as the basin of ash in her hand trembled, causing the ash to splatter. A gust of wind blew, sending the ash flying.
Monkey had come closer out of curiosity to begin with. Great, now that the ash was flying at him, he did not dodge in a silly manner!
At that moment, a huge hand blocked Monkey's eyes, blocking the ash outside. However, his face was covered in ash, causing his fur to turn white.
The commotion made Sun Qiancheng look up. When he saw Fangzheng, he hurriedly got up and said with a smile, "Venerable Fangzheng, why did you come down the mountain? Aiyah, I nearly forgot. It's the middle of the seventh month. You will be working hard again today."
Fangzheng pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. This is what This Penniless Monk should do."
Sun Qiancheng said, "Venerable One, I told you the last time. Our family moved here later. Apart from our parents, Grandpa and Grandma are not buried here. To be honest, I have no idea where they are buried. It's almost the middle of the seventh month. "With that said, Sun Qiancheng looked at the white circle on the ground. The reason why he chose to ask Fangzheng was because Fangzheng had helped him resolve the problem of paying respects to his ancestors during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival. He had learned how to pay respects to all the ancestors. Even if Fangzheng had not come today, he would have gone up the mountain to ask. Since he had encountered Fangzheng, he naturally had to seek his advice.
Fangzheng said, "Patron, this is easy. All you need to do is point the tomb's entrance west. As the saying goes, 'Ride a crane to the west.' Facing the west is definitely the right choice. "
Sun Qiancheng's eyes lit up when he heard that. He hurriedly thanked him. "Thank you for your advice, Venerable One. To be honest, this problem has been troubling me for quite some time. I never expected it to be so simple. "
With that said, Sun Qiancheng hurriedly squatted down and drew another huge circle, aiming the opening west.
After bidding Sun Qiancheng farewell, Fangzheng brought Monkey to the only store in the village. The store had changed hands a few times, and the one who ran it was now Chen Jin. Back then, Chen Jin had wanted to scam Fangzheng, but because of the fire, Fangzheng had saved his entire family. He was extremely grateful to Fangzheng. Later, Chen Jin's family was rebuilt. After some thought, Chen Jin decided that he did not want to farm anymore. Therefore, he bought the store and sat in the store every day. He placed two tables and watched everyone play cards and chat to pass the time.
However, there was no one playing cards in Chen Jin's store today. This was because it was filled with all sorts of paper money. Ever since Fangzheng told them that the currency in the netherworld only recognized paper money and not gold ingots, no one in the village burned those things. Therefore, Chen Jin's family only bought yellow paper money. They were piled up in stacks.
Chen Jin was sitting by the door playing with his cell phone. When he heard the commotion, he looked up and saw Fangzheng. He hurriedly got up and smiled. "Venerable Fangzheng, you are here? What do you want? Just take it. It's free. "
Fangzheng shook his head. "This Penniless Monk had no money in the past, so this Penniless Monk had no choice but to take it for free. Now that the monastery receives so much incense offerings, how can it be taken for free? The money still needs to be paid. "
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