What is the relationship between lotus and Buddhism?

Lotus is closely related to Buddhism. It can be said that "Lotus" is a symbol of "Buddha".

Walking into the Buddhist temple, you can see the image of lotus everywhere. Buddha Sakyamuni sits on the lotus throne in Daxiong Hall, with kind eyes and drooping lotus eyes. Amitabha, the head of the "Three Sages of the West", and Avalokitesvara, the compassionate bodhisattva, also sat on the lotus. Some of the other bodhisattvas hold lotus flowers, some step on them, or make lotus gestures, or throw lotus flowers (such as heavenly daughters) to the world. Temple walls, algae wells, railings, sacred tents, tables, sachets and worship mats are also carved, painted or sewn with various lotus patterns everywhere. It can be seen how close the relationship between lotus and Buddhism is.

The close relationship between lotus and Buddhism is also manifested in the metaphor of many beautiful and sacred things in Buddhism, represented by lotus. In Buddhist stories, the mother of Buddha Sakyamuni has a pair of lotus-like beautiful and clear eyes. When the Buddha was born, there were eight auspicious signs in the palace. The most important one was that Bai Lianhua suddenly grew as big as a wheel in the pool. When the Buddha was born, thousands of golden lights were emitted from the root of his tongue, and each golden light turned into a white lotus in Chiba. In every lotus flower, there is a little bodhisattva cross-legged.

There are countless Buddhist sayings that use lotus as a metaphor. Buddha is called "Lotus" or "Lotus"; Stumbling posture, that is, the posture with legs crossed, feet on opposite thighs and feet up, is called lotus sitting posture; The western paradise advocated by Buddhism is likened to the realm of pure lotus, so it is called "Lianbang"; The Buddhist scene described in Amitabha Sutra is: "There are seven treasure pools in Elysium, Ba Ding Shui ... the lotus in the pool is as big as a wheel." Therefore, it is called "the country of lotus"; Buddhist temples are called "Lotus Temple". "brake" is Sanskrit, that is, the pure land of the west, and lotus is entrusted by previous lives, so it is called "lotus brake"; People who recite Buddhism are called "lotus fetuses", that is, they live in lotus, as in their mother's womb; The Buddha's eye is called "lotus eye", and utpala is used to compare the beauty of the Buddha's eye; The lotus with eight leaves on its chest is called "Lotus Palace", that is, the lotus-like realm in its heart; Sakyamuni's hand is called "Lotus Hand"; Monks and nuns are called "Lotus Ring"; Monks and nuns are called "lotus clothes", which means purity and purity; The wonderful observation wisdom among the five intelligences is called "lotus wisdom"; Call people who are good at saying things "lotus on the tip of the tongue"; It is said that it is asceticism and joy is "returning to the house to have a lotus"; The Buddhist sutra "Lotus Sutra", referred to as "Hokkekyo", is a metaphor of lotus, symbolizing the purity and elegance of doctrine; The earliest Buddhist association in China, founded by Hui Yuan of Tuolin Temple in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is called "Lotus Society". The pure land Sect of Buddhism advocates reaching the pure land of lotus in the west through practice, so it is also called "Lotus Sect". In a word, lotus has an indissoluble bond with Buddhism, and many places are represented by lotus. It can be said that lotus is Buddha and Buddha is lotus.

Why does Buddhism admire lotus so much? There are two main reasons for this: first, Buddhism originated in India, where the climate is hot. Lotus flowers bloom in summer, bringing people cool and beautiful enjoyment. People naturally like this beautiful flower blooming in the hot summer, so in Indian literature, especially in folk literature, lotus is a symbol of beauty, kindness, holiness and tolerance. There are many such stories, which have far-reaching influence. For example, the story of Prince Lotus compares a good national flower with noble character, kindness and integrity, and abiding by the ten laws of kings (giving, observing precepts, generosity, integrity, kindness, self-control, avoiding anger, killing, tolerance and generosity) to lotus. The story of "The King of the Netherlands" tells that in order to save the people from famine, the king of the Netherlands jumped into the Ganges and became a big red fish, asking the people to cut off his meat and eat it. After his flesh was cut off, he was born again. This lasted for twelve years, and he used his own meat to feed the people of the whole country and spent twelve years of famine. The story of "Mrs. Deer Mother Lotus" says that every step taken by Mrs. Deer Mother Lotus immediately reveals a beautiful lotus flower under her feet. She gave birth to 500 boys in one breath, all handsome Hercules and heroes who defended the country. Therefore, Mrs. Deer Mother Lotus became a symbol of having more beautiful boy.

Sakyamuni founded Buddhism and advocated the abolition of the hierarchical system in ancient India and the implementation of caste equality, compassion and universal life. In order to promote Buddhism and make the broad masses understand and accept Buddhist teachings, they preach by speaking. It caters to the people's love for lotus and compares lotus to Buddha, which makes Buddhism spread rapidly and has a wide range of believers.

On the other hand, the main reason why Buddhism refers to the Buddha as lotus is that the character and characteristics of lotus are consistent with Buddhist teachings. Buddhism is a religion that focuses on seeking to get rid of the suffering of life. It regards life as an ocean of suffering and hopes that people can get rid of it. The way to get rid of it is: this shore (the bitter sea of life)-crossing (learning Buddhism)-the other shore (the pure land of bliss). That is, from the secular to the clean world, from evil to perfection, from vulgarity to Buddhism. This is the same as lotus grows in muddy water and is extraordinary, not contaminated by sludge, and finally produces extremely delicious flowers.

One of the important tenets of Buddhism is to love giving widely. Be merciful to all beings. The so-called compassion refers to the hope and help others get rid of suffering and get happiness. Kindness is to hope others are happy, and kindness is to help others be happy; Compassion is to hope that others will relieve their pain, and compassion is to help others relieve their pain. Buddhism requires compassion for all living people, whether good or evil, whether human or animal. We should forgive all kinds of evil deeds, help them with compassion, influence them to be good, become good people and bear good results. But it is forbidden to go with the flow, stay in a dirty world without being polluted by it, and keep yourself clean and pure. The best way to express this idea is lotus.

Lotus peanuts are in the mud, just like living in a world of mud and dust. It is natural to get along with filth and be disturbed by many evil and filthy things. Buddhism calls these evil forces "demons". Buddhism requires people not to be disturbed and influenced by the evil and filth in the world (that is, demons). Lotus "emerges from the mud without dyeing" and produces beautiful flowers, which is indeed the best symbol. Therefore, lotus plumule and Buddha nature are often compared in Buddhist scriptures. "On Great Wisdom Explain the First Lotus" says: "Lotus, for example, comes from sludge. Although its color is fresh and good, its source is unclean. " "From Chapter 42" says: "I am a Samana, and I am in a troubled world. I want to be like a lotus without being polluted. " So the Brahma King who saved the world was born sitting on the golden lotus in Chiba. Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva all sit on the lotus, or hold the lotus in their hands, indicating that the Buddha came from the world, pure and flawless.

It is not easy for people to reach the realm of dust and pollution, which requires high consciousness and determination, practice and self-discipline, development of Buddha nature and elimination of demon nature. If the Buddha's nature is enhanced, it can resist the interference of the devil, and it can also turn the devil into a Buddha, and it can relieve the pain of birth, illness and death. This sounds mysterious and religious, but it is actually just a higher level of ideological realm. Everything is understood, naturally everything is open, and greed, intimidation, anxiety, infatuation and anger are gone. Mentally, they naturally got rid of suffering and became relaxed and happy. Therefore, the lotus in Buddhism represents a realm of wisdom, which is called "enlightenment". "Boundless Life Track" said: "It is the work of the Bodhisattva (Guanyin Bodhisattva) that is thinking. Among all sentient beings, there is a lotus that has this consciousness, and the world is clean and free from troubles. " In the sixth volume of the tripitaka, there is a cloud called Kouchao: "The heart of an ordinary man is like a lotus, and the heart of a sage is like a lotus ... Ask:' Why are the hearts of all beings like a lotus?' A: The Secret Collection says that the Lotus Department itself has the principle of purity bodhicitta and purity. Although this principle flows in the dead mud of the six realms of life, it is called Lotus Department. "Shu 12" says:' Just look at the lotus flowers, not the residual flowers?' This is also intentional, such as the lotus in the mud, although it is born with evil, but the lotus body is clean and wonderful, and it does not touch the dirt. Ordinary people become this, although all kinds of three poisons are inexhaustible, this lotus is deeper than samadhi, and the fruit is born in it, which is the light of equality and wisdom of the Tathagata. "

Buddhism has a saying that "flowers bloom to see Buddha's nature", in which flowers refer to lotus, that is, the wisdom and realm of lotus. When people have a lotus state of mind, Buddha nature appears.

Among the various sects of Buddhism, Pure Land Sect has a closer relationship with Lotus. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, after reading the Maitreya Sutra, the monk Daoan yearned for the pure land of Maitreya, so he recited the Buddha in front of the Maitreya statue and vowed not to die in the afterlife. Dao An's thought influenced Hui Yuan, his high-legged disciple. Hui Yuan inherited and promoted Master's core ideas, and became more enthusiastic about the worship of western paradise. The only difference is that the pure land of Maitreya, which he yearned for, has become the pure land of Amitabha. In the sixth year of Taiyuan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 38 1 year), Hui Yuan entered Lushan Mountain, built Tolin Temple, and advocated tanning suburbs? Huang Zhi dysentery K? Why don't you worry about me? ㄊ⒖?: Saddle? Bao Yun? Proud of beer? Bao Yun? Noon? Luan Tanrong rein? Muscle v fight? Frequency tracking? What's the matter with you? Bright forgive bean tiller thirst? Squat? What's the point? It's just a sign of Lizi. Is it just a protest? Just? Why don't you consider the tanning angle? Bananas? What happened? The mirror is hung; Are you a craftsman? If you are poor, do you owe me? What paragraph is it? Ankle? 3. What's the problem? Proud? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Proud? Hey? Promise? Why not mechanical? An umbrella?

Because of the close relationship between lotus and Buddhist workers, lotus is often used as a metaphor for Buddha in China's poems. Uncle Tan Hao H?

Li Bai: "The heart is like violet in the world."

Meng Jiao: "The Tao proves the purple heart."

Bai Juyi: "Like Bai Lianhua, there is no water in the water."

Meng Haoran: "Look at the lotus net, Fang? Locust arrest copy! ?

Quan Deyu: "I wonder if the empty door is clean, and the lotus can't reach the autumn pond."

Zhao Qian: "Laughter is vain and complacent, and the troubles in the world are all floating clouds."

Zhang Wentao: "Did Pu Tianqing grow up? ㄗ ㄗ ㄗ ㄗ ㄗ! ?

Shi Jing 'an: "You can spread thousands of Buddhist precepts and set up nine lotus stands." "Don't sing catkins so that I can see the Buddha in the lotus." "Lotus leaves the water and has the heart of meditation, and the leaves are windward and Sanskrit. What's the matter with you? Remote? Cylindrical condyle? プ plutonium ∧ small! ?

Qi Baishi: "The sound of wooden fish in Banqiao is unfair. If the material has arrived, the lotus will be smart. " "Ink scattered traces? Hey? Hey? ā! ?

From "Positive Eyes"

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