Generally speaking, there are two types of people who can dress up in weird ways but remain calm in a crowd. One kind loves to show off and has a typical psychology of seeking differences. This kind of people often have an almost pathological self-confidence and always feel that
, I am better than others in everything, I am the mentor of the times and the leader of the trend.
There is another kind of person who is a moral person. This kind of person has reached a level of detachment in thinking. To them, other people's opinions are not important. I just do what I think is right.
There are many such people in Maoshan, even in the Buddhist and Taoist circles. Some very capable people often dress like beggars, not because they have no money, nor because of how pitiful they are.
I don't spend money on clothes just because I don't think it's necessary. In the past, some masters often lived in poverty, but donated a lot of money for incense to the poor. This is quite common in the sect.
I generally respect this kind of people, just like my ancestor of the Jin family who became a god. As for others, it is hard to judge or evaluate them casually. However, I always feel that the people here are...
The first two are mostly the ones.
Generally speaking, there are so many people who are very strange. Generally speaking, they can be divided into three types. One is biased towards monks, the other is biased towards Taoists, and the third is biased towards wizards. Each one of them is really weird.
There are all kinds of people, some of them are monks, they hold magical instruments in their hands, Buddha beads are hung on their bodies, and there are some signs similar to the small flames of Tai Chi and Bagua between their eyebrows.
Some Taoist priests also carry things like dusty wooden rulers. Of course, there are also grandiose ones carrying mahogany swords on their backs. As for hairstyles, they are all kinds of weird. Those who can wear hats are considered good.
As for the third type, it's a bit scary. The face, body and head are all decorated with everything. I also saw a skull hanging on the chest and a red rope with three skulls strung on it.
It can be seen at a glance that the skulls are all real. I guess it is because of the recent Dharma conference that the policy has been relaxed. Otherwise, this kind of human-like but not normal dress can only be seen in haunted houses.
However, even though they were dressed in a special way, there were a few people inside who had some real abilities. You could tell by looking at their movements. I estimated that there were probably many people here like me who came to attend the meeting.
Speaking of this, some people may complain and say, you are talking nonsense. There are endless disputes between Buddhism and Taoism. How can there be people dressed as monks coming to participate in such an important ceremony? People who think this way cannot be wrong, but,
To be honest, if you say this, I can only say that you lack understanding of the special situation of the Maoshan sect.
The Maoshan sect is a branch of the Tianshi Tao of Longhu Mountain. It belongs to the lineage of Taoist priests of the Zhengyi sect. Its derivation and development can be roughly counted from the time of Sanmao Zhenjun. In fact, Sanmao Zhenjun practiced in Maoshan.
Among the three brothers, the main god worshiped by Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace is the eldest brother among the three, that is, our ancestor Mao Ying.
According to legend, these three great gods made money to save the world, punished evil and promoted good, and were highly respected by the people. Most of the local Taoism was taught by these three people. When they ascended to become gods in the daytime, the rest
The Taoist disciples formed a separate sect and recruited the Taoist disciples from this branch centered on Maoshan to establish the Maoshan sect that we often mention.
When talking about this, some people think that Maoshan Sect was founded by Zhenjun Sanmao. In fact, this is a misunderstanding, just like many people think that Taoism was founded by Mr. Laozi, confusing the concepts.
The establishment of the Maoshan Sect was a step-by-step process that took many twists and turns before it finally took shape. In this process, various evolutions were indeed centered on Maoshan, and various Taoist masters who played an important role in promoting them also
I was seeking passage in Maoshan, but among everyone, there was one person who had to be mentioned.
This person's name is Tao Hongjing. People who are familiar with the history of that period know that he is a capable person. Just like Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng during the Li and Tang Dynasties, they were both gods-like existences. The rulers at that time were also
He was highly respected. At that time, every time he encountered some major event, the emperor would write a letter to the other party to ask for countermeasures. Because of this, Tao Hongjing was also known as the "Prime Minister of the Mountains".
But such a mountain prime minister did not live a satisfactory life. It is said that the reason why the Maoshan Sect has the characteristics of the communion of Buddhism and Taoism started from the period of Tao Hongjing.
Tao Hongjing himself studied the Taoism of Maoshan, and he was considered a good player in terms of skills. Logically speaking, such a master-level figure should keep himself clean, but it was him who cut off his hair in his later years.
The monk.
Why did this happen? In fact, we have to start with the historical conditions at the time. As I said just now, Tao Hongjing himself was very trusted by the emperor. Who was this emperor? Emperor Wu of Liang.
What did Emperor Wu of Liang do? Anyone who is familiar with history knows it. Those who are not familiar with history and read this book carefully at that time also know it. If you can't remember it, I can give you a reminder. Do you still remember it? Bodhi
What about Bodhidharma crossing the river with a reed? Why did Bodhidharma cross the river? Because he was driven away. Who drove him away? It was Emperor Wu of Liang.
Emperor Wu of Liang expelled Bodhidharma because he disagreed with the views of Zen Buddhism. He himself was a loyal Buddhist believer and firmly believed that as long as he built temples, supported monks, and found people to copy scriptures and spread the teachings, he would be able to achieve success.
The religious concept of eternal merit and great freedom.
Under the guidance of such religious thoughts, Emperor Wu of Liang gave up his early Taoist thoughts and turned to Buddhism. Not only did he believe in it himself, but he also asked his ministers to follow suit.
that period,
It was the prosperous age of Buddhism and the most difficult time for Taoism. As a representative of the Maoshan Sect, Tao Hongjing had to consider how to preserve the Maoshan Taoist sect under such historical conditions, and his final choice was
Yes, we are familiar with both Buddhism and Taoism.
In fact, he was not the only one who practiced both Buddhism and Taoism. At that time, many people supported a concept called "the convergence of three religions." The so-called three religions refer to Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The fusion of Buddhism and Taoism
Inspired by the concept of Taoism in Maoshan, there are naturally more Buddhist elements in Maoshan's Taoism, especially in the magic of catching ghosts and subduing demons, and Buddhist magic weapons often appear.