What is the significance of taking a bath? What is the significance of taking a bath?

Lead: What is the meaning of taking a bath? I think everyone is familiar with it. Generally speaking, it means to take a bath. But when bathing is associated with religious ceremonies, it has different meanings. Today, let's take a look at the meaning of the word "bathing" in the yellow calendar. In fact, in religious activities, bathing is not just a category of cleaning the body.

Gregorian terminology: What does bathing mean?

Bathing is to clean the body when praying or wishing.

Taoist fast bath

Taoism pays special attention to the practice of personal physical and mental cleanliness before participating in religious activities, and believes that fasting and strictness are the bridge connecting gods and saints. Almost all Taoist classics have this admonition: fasting and bathing are the only way to open the scriptures.

Take a bath and wash yourself.

Believers should bathe themselves before coming to the temple to participate in religious activities. "Bathing Body and Mind Sutra" says: "Those who are clean in the bath are open-minded, and those who are clean outside the bath are clean." Taoist bathing requires people to wash away the dirt on their bodies, that is, to wash themselves; It also requires people to wash away the dirt in their hearts, that is, wash their hearts. The dirt on the body is easy to wash off, but how to wash the dirt on the mind? "Chang Jing Qing Jing" says: "I can always express my desires, calm my heart, clear my heart and understand my meaning." We get rid of all kinds of bad desires in our hearts, which is to wash our hearts. After the cultivation of sincere desire, my mind is bright and bright, and Shen Yuan hides it inside, and my body and mind are calm. In this way, when we participate in religious activities, we can communicate with God, so as to eliminate disasters, pray for blessings and be responsive. Bathing is sometimes called "fragrant soup bath", that is, "five spices" are added to the bath water, and they all have their own special functions. "Bathing Body and Mind Sutra" says: "Anyone who uses five spices, once using Angelica dahurica, can go to the three corpses; Both kinds of peach skin can ward off evil spirits; The cypress leaves of the three can drop the true fairy; The four are Lingling, which can gather spiritual saints; Five woody plants can eliminate pollution and call for truth. " This passage clearly illustrates the function of five spices. Taking a bath with five spices can play a magical role in eliminating evil spirits, three corpses, bad breath and awakening the true spirit. Spiced spices can be bought in Chinese medicine shops. If believers have the conditions to bathe in fragrant soup at home, they will naturally win.

Fasting and bathing is a self-purification procedure for believers to participate in religious activities in the palace. It seems simple, but in fact it is important, and it is not easy to do it well. Whether fasting and bathing are sincere or not is related to communication with the gods and whether they can sense the revelation of the gods, so we should pay special attention to it. In addition, married couples should stop having sex the day before attending religious activities, wear clean clothes, and drinkers should give up drinking.

Do not eat meat

The so-called vegetarian fast means not eating anything fishy in the diet before taking part in religious activities. Meat refers to plants such as radish, garlic, onion (fire onion), Brassica (rape) and coriander (Hu Cai). It is also called "Five Xin". Don't eat these things, because eating them raw will make people angry, eating them cooked will encourage people's desires, and these things have a pungent taste, which will make people's anger turbid, so as not to offend the gods, so don't eat them. Fishy refers to the meat and blood of all animals, including milk fat and eggs. Don't eat fishy food, because "the road is kind, and God will live a good life". Don't eat fishy food to encourage their sympathy. In addition, many animals have spirituality, such as turtles and snakes, to become the image of Xuanwu in the north. Carp and eel know the truth of fighting, the advantages of cattle, the justice of dogs, the order of geese, and fasting can be harmonious and responsive. Lent is an act of showing respect to ghosts and gods, which includes: not eating meat and wine, taking a bath, wearing clean clothes, interrupting sexual intercourse and so on. These sacrificial fasts are all external forms of fasting, and more importantly, "fasting with the heart", which requires people to remain pure and abstinent. Taoism teaches thousands of dharmas, and cultivating the mind is the best.

Taoism is particularly strict with Taoist fasting practice. There are two schools of Taoism, the orthodox school and the quanzhen school. Although Zhengyi can eat meat and fishy things when not holding religious activities, there is a "four no-eating" rule. When holding religious activities, the requirements of righteousness and Quanzhen fasting are the same. Quanzhen Taoist priests, especially those who were banned by the three altars, fasted more strictly. If you fast all the year round, many people can't do it, especially those who practice at home, sometimes it's inconvenient or because of physical needs. Therefore, the founder opened a convenient method, that is, strictly fasting before and during religious activities, or fasting on certain special days, which also has incredible merits and can be rewarded. For example, "Sanyuanzhai", that is, the 15th day of the first month, the 15th day of July and the 15th day of October in the lunar calendar, is a fast day in Shangyuan, the Central Plains and Xia Yuan. These three auspicious days are the Christmas days of the heavenly officials, the local officials and the water officials respectively, and they are good opportunities to pray, forgive sins and relieve Eritrea. Another example is "Geng Shen Zhai" and "Jia Zi Zhai", which are the fasting day of Geng Shen and Jia Zi Day of "Sixty Flowers". These two days are the days when the kitchen god said that people are guilty and blessed, and fighting is really dripping. Another example is "fasting at the core monument of life", that is, fasting is held on a person's birthday, because when a person is born, that is, the day when his mother suffers, he will practice fasting to express his gratitude, so that his parents can practice fasting and prolong their life. The top ten fasting days are: the first day, the eighth day, the 14th day, the 15th day, the 18th day, the 23rd day, the 24th day, the 28th day, the 29th day and the 30th day of each month (the 27th day is taken when the month is small). Eight fasting days: beginning of spring Day, Equinox, Lixia Day, Summer solstice, beginning of autumn Day, Equinox, Lidong Day and Winter solstice. Four-day fast: the first day of the first month, the first day of April, the first day of July and the first day of October. In addition, Christmas is also Lent Day. There are many other Lent festivals, so I won't list them one by one. These fasting days are to understand grievances, drive away sins, pray for blessings, avoid disasters, save lives and prolong life.

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