Will it be released on March 15 of the lunar calendar or March 15 of the solar calendar?

(2007-05-05 22:44:00)

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The custom of releasing animals in China in Han Dynasty did not start from Buddhism. Liezi Fu Shuo said: "When Zheng Dan was released, it showed kindness." It can be seen that every festival has been released since ancient times. In addition, Fu Shuo said: "The guest said:' People know you want it to go, you will be arrested by competition, and there will be many dead. If you want to live, don't arrest them unless you forbid them, but if you catch them, let them go. "Jane said,' Good!' "Visible, at that time, someone has been specialized in catching birds for release. After Buddhism was introduced into China, it also strongly advocated release, and merged with the original custom of release in China, and evolved into a unique dharma meeting-release meeting. The so-called release, that is, to redeem the arrested fish, birds and other animals, and then put them into ponds and Shan Ye; Buddhism calls this ritual a release ceremony (referred to as release ceremony).

Buddhism advocates liberation, which originates from the 20th article "No liberation and salvation" among the 48 light commandments listed in Brahma Sutra. "If the Buddha is merciful, he will be liberated", "Therefore, he will always be liberated and will live forever". That is to say, Buddha should be kind-hearted in his career, because all men are my fathers, all women are my mothers, and I have been born by them all my life, so all sentient beings know that they are my parents; If you see that the world is killing animals, you should help to rescue and alleviate their suffering. There are many records about the methods of releasing people to save lives. For example, the product "Golden Light Classic" of the old man with running water said that the old man with running water saved the dying fish, shared water and food with them, and explained the Mahayana classic for them. All the fish had a profitable day after hearing the classics. The fifth volume of Za Bao Jing also said that a novice monk lived long because he saved the ants in the drifting water, and this view that release can prolong life still has great influence.

The release of Buddhism in China is closely related to the ritual of abstaining from killing and reciting Buddha. Abstinence from killing is the first of the five commandments and ten commandments of Buddhism, which Buddhists have always strictly observed. During the Qi and Liang Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, Buddhists broke meat according to the word "don't eat meat" in the fourth volume of the Shurangama Sutra Abatra. Liang Wudi once wrote a letter forbidding killing and abolished the system of offering sacrifices to ancestral temples. China's large-scale release began with "Master of the Rooftop Wise Man". When the wise man lived in Tiantai Mountain, in order to make the residents in the coastal areas stop fishing and killing animals, he gave up his clothes, persuaded everyone to buy a release pond, and then taught them the "three religions" of the races in the pond, saying "golden classics" and "golden eyes" for them to form a legal relationship, thus opening a rooftop release meeting. Later, in the second year of Gan Yuan (759), Tang Suzong issued a decree to set up 8 1 discharge ponds on Shannan Road, Jiannan Road, Jingnan Road and Zhejiang Road. In the first year of Tianxi in Song Zhenzong (10 17), the discharge pond was rebuilt. In the third year of Tianxi, Tiantai Sect invited the West Lake in Hangzhou as a release pond, and made its own "Release Tzu Chi Law", and held a release party on the Buddha's birthday on April 8 every year to celebrate the birth of the Emperor. In the third year of Tiansheng (1025), Si Zhiming's ceremony also invited the Buddha's birthday release party in Nanhu Release Pool to be established permanently, and wrote a release article to determine its etiquette. Since then, the custom of releasing animals has been completely Buddhist and has been enduring for a long time. The current release etiquette is compiled according to the general idea of "golden classics, flowing old people"

Generally speaking, according to the current release etiquette, the whole release process can be divided into three procedures: sprinkling songs, saying three conversions, and releasing vows:

(1) Before the release ceremony, an incense table was set at the release place to prepare purified poplar branches for Guanyin Buddha. At the beginning of the release ceremony, all people looked at all sentient beings with kind eyes, remembering their fall and feeling deeply sad. Rereading the three treasures has great power and can save them. The mage meditated in the clouds with a water bowl in his hand: I wholeheartedly invited ten loving bodhisattvas inspired by avalokitesvara to come to the Dojo to bless this water. This is a great feat. Sprinkle it on different kinds of people, think about their physical and mental purity, and you can smell the wonderful method. The mage sang "Xiangzan" while sprinkling clear water: "Yang Zhi sprinkles 3,000 clear water, Sorakara Ku, and prolongs life. Eliminate sin, turn red-violet into flame. There is no Guanyin Bodhisattva in the south, no Guanyin Bodhisattva in the south, and no Guanyin Bodhisattva in the south. " Then it was called "Guanyin Bodhisattva without great sorrow in South China". After the eulogy, the mage recited the great compassion mantra several times with everyone, and sprinkled clean water around the spiritual position of all beings. Then recite the Heart Sutra again and curse the death for three times, calling it "South Bodhisattva without Manna King".

(2) It is said that the three converts burned incense, and the three treasures of Buddhism were stationed in ten dharma circles. Then, the mage flies on behalf of these lands and waters, catches nets for him, repents all sentient beings who enter the death gate, and holds spells after repentance. Next, the mage teaches conversion to all sentient beings. At first, the mage said, "Buddhists, you don't know the three treasures and don't know how to convert, so there are three reincarnation. Today you are a beast. I will teach you three conversion methods today, so you should listen carefully. " Then the mage said it once and the public answered it once, so it was three times. The core contents of the "three conversion laws" are: conversion to Buddhism, conversion to law and conversion to monks. After the mage granted the "three conversion methods", he also said "twelve causes" to make all beings "know the law of birth and death and realize the law of non-birth and death"; Then, we call all sentient beings "four-hung vows" and hope that they will "make wishes according to Buddha and practice according to wishes". The oath is like this: first, meditate three times that "all beings have boundless vows, endless vows of troubles, endless vows of Buddhism and supreme vows of Buddhism", and then meditate that "all beings have their own vows, self-extinguishing troubles and self-cultivation." Then, the mage praised the auspicious name of the Tathagata for all living beings, making it "always stay away from the hardships of three roads and eight difficulties, and often clean the Buddha for the Tathagata."

(3) Before the release, the release oath mage advised all beings: "I only hope that after you are released, you will never be swallowed up by the devil or caught in the net, and you will be able to live forever. After the end of my life, I will inherit the three treasures, live with fate and practice the commandments. " He also said: "I would rather let go and Bodhi will do it. Think about it and save all beings. ..... I hope the stranger will return to his original heart, be good and be free together. It is really common to prove together. " Finally, the mage burns incense and recites Buddha, and gently releases the spirit of all beings. The public immediately read it back to Dai: "I would like to use this merit to honor my ancestors' pure land, report four good deeds and help three hardships." If you have knowledge, you will learn bodhicitta, report yourself, and live together in a land of bliss. "

As the release originated from the ancient folk customs in China and was based on Buddhist classics, it had a far-reaching impact on the folk and Buddhist circles in China, leaving many well-known poems on release. In the Song Dynasty, Lu You said: "The flesh and blood are dripping, and it is as sweet as it is, and the general's pain and resentment are hard to stretch. Put yourself in the shoes, who would cut himself with a knife? " Zhao Mengfu's poem in Yuan Dynasty: "This life is a common destiny, and dreams are full of vicissitudes. The past is unbearable, and the release pool recalls the past. " These poems are profound and thought-provoking. Generally speaking, release is very solemn because of its profound Buddhist meaning, but there are also some drawbacks in its dissemination process that are inconsistent with the original intention of release. For example, there is a phenomenon of paying more attention to empty talk than substance in the release; For example, some people specialize in catching animals, birds and fish for release. Based on this, people have always put forward some precautions, as follows: first, there is nothing fixed in releasing birds, that is, whether they walk on land or not, they should buy and release them according to their own abilities; Second, there is no fixed date for release. Although some regulations stipulate that it should be held once a month or on the Buddha's Birthday, the time should not be limited, lest someone catch a lot of creatures before this date; Third, there is no fixed place for release, that is, don't be bound by the ceremony. In case of special circumstances, you can release them everywhere, just dial the chanting number to get them, and you don't have to hold a complete ceremony.