Xishuangbanna belief

Belief: Hinayana Buddhism is a religion believed by Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Gengma, Mengding, Shuangjiang, Menglian and Jinggu. Basically, every village has a Buddhist temple. Buddhism in Xishuangbanna is divided into two schools: Fangba School and Sun Fang School. The former has strict precepts, such as being a vegetarian, not killing, and not allowed to enter the village.

Most Buddhist temples are built on the hills outside the village. The latter has a wide range of disciplines. Although they don't kill animals, they can eat meat. The Buddhist temple is closer to the village. There is a strict hierarchy with Buddhist monks, and the hierarchy of temples is basically consistent with the administrative areas at that time. Monks are divided into seven teaching orders according to the length of time they have entered the temple and the amount of Buddhist knowledge they have mastered: the first order, the second order (divided into giant Buddha and second Buddha), the third order, the fourth order, Samadhi, the fifth order, Sang Caraza and the sixth order.

Level 7 is the highest-ranking monk. In history, only the immediate family members of the respected leaders who are proficient in Buddhist scriptures can serve as monks. Monks can't be secularized after being promoted to bars. In the organizational system of Buddhist temples, there is also a bridge between Buddhist temples and village communities-Bo Zhang, who is a secular monk and his wife is still alive, and is responsible for uploading, publishing and exchanging views with both sides. The main Buddhist sects in Dehong area (including Gengma and Mengding areas) are Baizhuang, Gengrun, Duolie, Zuodi, Dai Le and Duole. It has a far-reaching influence on the politics, economy, culture and art of Buddhist Dai society. Buddhism was introduced into Dai areas in the 6th-8th century. Prior to this, Dai ancestors believed in polytheism, that is, primitive religion.

Due to the widespread spread of Buddhism, Buddhist temples are very common in Dai areas. It seems natural for children to be sent to temples to become monks, especially in Xishuangbanna, where almost all boys will become monks at the age of 8- 10. They study classics and literacy there, and usually return to China after 1-5 years. The spread of Buddhism has also brought civilization in writing, astronomy, calendar and architecture to Dai society. After Buddhism was introduced, hundreds of Dai narrative poems appeared. There are 84,000 Tibetan Scriptures in Dai language, most of which are carved on the leaves of Bayeux, which is called Bayeux. Some of them are works developed and supplemented by Dai monks and customs according to Buddhist meanings. There are materials about the geography, history, language and literature of the Dai people, which are valuable cultural heritage of the Dai people.

Dai Buddhist temples are exquisite and magnificent. The sculptures and murals in the temple not only have the artistic style of South Asia, but also show the influence of Central Plains culture.

They are excellent products of Dai plastic arts. Pagodas have various styles, including King Kong throne, dense eaves, pavilions, admiralty and so on. Pagodas are also divided into single towers, twin towers and group towers. Most of the towers are surrounded by a big tower in the middle. For example, the Mengmancheng Tower in Yingjiang has more than 40 small towers, just like all the stars holding the moon, soaring into the sky. Monks in Duolie, Zuodi and Baizhuang have four teaching levels: the first level is Shang, the second level is male, and the third level is several or four elders.

Runpai has eight teaching levels: the first summoner Shang, the second summoner door, the third summoner hall, the fourth summoner Sang, the sixth summoner Huma, the seventh summoner and the eighth summoner Ajmni. The Buddhist scriptures of Hinayana Buddhism are usually called the Bayeux Sutra. In addition to Buddhist scriptures, rhythm and theory, Buddhist scriptures also include production and life, literature and art, astronomical calendar, medical arithmetic, legal reasoning and so on. There is still a strong primitive religion in Dai areas. The main sacrificial objects are Zhai God, Meng God, Kitchen God, ancestors, mountains, trees, water and fire. Or individual sacrifices or collective sacrifices hosted by religious professionals.

Another source: the Dai people believe in Hinayana Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism is a branch of Buddhism, that is, Southern Buddhism, which was introduced into Dai areas in China through Myanmar and Thailand. It has a history of over 65,438+000 years. Later, in order to distinguish it from the Mahayana Sect, it was customary to use Mahayana as the name of the southern Sect, which gradually became the special name of the Sect and no longer contained derogatory meanings. According to legend, the earliest Hinayana Buddhism sect once listened to Buddha Sakyamuni's lecture and handed it down in person. They believe that if people don't practice well before they die, they will go to hell to suffer. Kindness, kindness and virtuous, virtuous and virtuous. Hinayana Buddhism has almost become the national religion of the Dai people. In the Dai area, every village has a temple. When you go to the temple to worship Buddha, you must do what you want.

Hinayana Buddhism advocates becoming a monk. Dai men in Xishuangbanna have lived in monasteries separated from their families since childhood. They believe that only educated and knowledgeable monks will be respected by society. Yan Bai Yanling, who has never been a monk, is an ignorant and uncivilized fool. The monks of different schools of Hinayana Buddhism are divided into different grades according to their age and cultivation, and the grades determine their position in the temple.

Those who enter the temple for the first time are called monks, and monks are divided into different sizes. In Dai language, they are called Pai Yi (big monk) and Panan (little monk). Before entering the temple, you need to go through preparatory training and understand the temple rules before entering the temple. At that time, the boy's adoptive father (loyal to Buddha, knowledgeable and respected) will wear colorful clothes and colorful hats, and under the escort of relatives and neighbors, carry or ride a horse to the Buddhist temple. Onlookers will throw rice flowers at the teenagers who enter the temple. After entering the main hall, the boy knelt down and accepted the oath ceremony presided over by the temple. Then, his adoptive father took off his colorful coat and hat and put on a cassock. He became a formal young monk. After that, I lived in a temple for a long time, studied Dai language and Buddhist scriptures with the Buddha, went out to beg alms and did some chores in the temple. Later, with the growth of age, the mastery of Buddhist scriptures and teachings can be upgraded to Parong, Du (Buddha, big or small), Ba and so on. Monks promoted to Hu Ba are no longer secular, so not many people want to be promoted unless there are special circumstances.

Generally, when you get to the Buddha, you will become secular and get married. Dai people say there are pagodas in front of Buddhist temples, so it seems that the history of pagodas is longer than that of Buddhist temples, but there are more Buddhist temples than pagodas. It is an important place for Buddhist temples to receive education. Dai people believe in Buddhism, so every village has a Buddhist temple. Pagodas are used to worship Buddha's teeth, bones and hairs, also called Buddhist relics. Generally, pagodas are built next to the central Buddhist temple, and some pagodas are built independently at heights far away from the Buddhist temple. Because it is dedicated to the relics, the stupa architecture is more exquisite. Manfeilong Bamboo House is located in the back of Manfeilong Village, Damenglong, Jinghong County, Xishuangbanna. It is said that it was built because of the footprints left by Buddha Sakyamuni.

Its structure is novel and beautiful, with the characteristics of Dai architecture. Because it looks like mushrooms after rain, it is named. This tower was built in 565 (AD 1204). The height of the main tower is 16.29 meters, and there are eight small towers around the main tower, each of which is 5.02 meters high. These towers are all gourd-shaped, white, and the top of the tower is decorated with a weather vane, which will jingle when the wind blows. There is a square niche under each pagoda seat, with a built-in stone statue. There is a man's footprint on the rock under the South Tower niche. There is a well in front of the footprint, which is said to be a relic left by the Buddha. This tower is famous all over the world. It is the treasure of Dai ancient buildings and the best in the Natta version.