Today, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, Buddha's birthday, also known as the Buddha Bathing Festival, is an important festival for Buddhists to commemorate the birthday of the leader Shakyamuni Buddha.
The inheritance of the Buddha Bathing Festival in ChinaMore than 2,000 years ago, when the Buddhist leader Shakyamuni was born, he pointed to the sky and the earth with the other, saying, "I am the only one in heaven and earth." The earth shook for it, and the nine dragons spat water and bathed in it. Therefore, one of the important contents of the celebration of the Buddha's birthday was formed: bathing the Buddha's body with perfume.■ In the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou (1027 BC), there was a record of the birth of the Buddha. During the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, the Buddha Bathing Festival was limited to temples, and spread to the people during the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties.■ During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist beliefs were extremely prosperous, and good men and women did more good alms on this day to offer the Three Jewels, so there were:The Buddha's light shines all over Chang'an, eating fasting and chanting scriptures to build temples
Lay men and women give more to seek good connections in the next life
■ During the Song Dynasty, the scale of the Chinese Buddha Bathing Festival was already very large. "April 8 is the Buddha's birthday, and each temple has its own Buddha bathing party, and the monks and nuns actually put bronze statues in small basins, soaked in sugar water, covered with flower sheds, and welcomed each other.■ Since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, on the day of the Buddha Bathing Festival, there has been a custom of eating black rice in temples and folks. Black rice is made by soaking glutinous rice in the leaves of the black tree, soaking it for a few hours, taking it out, and boiling it.■ In the Ming Dynasty, on April 8, the day of the Buddha's birth, the temple would "boil beans and sprinkle them with salt, and invite people to eat them on the road, as a connection." It is still the same as before. ”The special merit of bathing the BuddhaBathing the Buddha can achieve fifteen great merits:First, there is often a sense of shame.Second, develop pure confidence.Third, their hearts are straightforward.Fourth, be close to good friends.Fifth, there is no leakage of wisdom.Seventh, always uphold the right law.Eight can do what is said.Ninth, you should be born in the land of pure Buddha at will.Ten, if among the living, the noble surname is noble, and people respect it, and it gives birth to joy.Eleventh, born among people, naturally chant Buddha.The twelve and the demon army cannot be disturbed.The thirteenth can protect the righteous law in the last days.The fourteen and ten directions are protected by the Buddhas.Fifteen, quickly achieve the five-point Dharma body.
The "Buddha Bathing Merit Sutra" also says that the Buddha Bathing has the following merits and benefits:1. Now enjoy wealth and happiness, and prolong life without disease.
2. Whatever you want, everything you want.3. Relatives, friends and relatives are all safe.4. Say goodbye to the eight difficulties and always come out of the source of suffering.5. Do not accept the female body, and quickly become enlightened.
The meaning of bathing BuddhaThe meaning of bathing in the Buddha is to purify the three karmas of body, speech, and mind, and when bathing the Buddha statue with pure water, you should sincerely pray and chant in your heart:I am now bathing in such a pure wisdom and solemn merit gathering
The five turbid beings make them free from dirt, and wish to realize the Tathagata's pure Dharma body
Bathing in the Buddha symbolizes washing away the dirt in our hearts, purifying our souls, and revealing the Buddha nature that everyone originally has, so as to inspire our inner compassionate intelligence, inherit the wisdom of the Dharma, and let the Buddha's compassionate light shine forever on the world.Through the merits of the Buddha, it purifies the dust of afflictions, beautifies the social land, turns the five turbid and evil worlds into pure lands, and guides people's hearts to be good and bodhi.How to bathe in BuddhaThe significance of Buddha bathing is to purify the body, mouth, mind, and three karmas, so Buddha bathing can be carried out all the time, not limited to the day of Buddha Bathing Festival. When bathing the Buddha statue with pure water in hand, the heart should sincerely pray.
