For some unknown reason, almost all people of different nationalities in the world have innate religious psychology or a religious need! That is to say, although we are closely surrounded by modern science on the surface, plastic products, chemicals, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, computers, cars, airplanes, trains, etc., have invaded almost every living space of us. , but the strange thing is that these scientific achievements have only scientificity in our appearance, while in our bones, we are still religious.
When it comes to religious psychology, all ethnic groups in the world are different, and the Chinese people's psychology is even more strange.
the ungodly believer
China has no state religion, that's a fact!
In China, in addition to local religions, many religions in the world have been introduced to China. Buddhism was introduced to China in the tenth year of Yongping, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, that is, around AD 67; ### Religion was introduced in the second year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, that is, AD It was introduced into China in 651; Christianity was introduced into China during the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty; Zoroastrianism was introduced into China in the 3rd century AD; Taoism is China's native religion, founded in the first year of Hanjin, that is, in 142 AD... But it has developed and developed. It is just that no religion can form a climate that unifies the country. Almost all of them are developing in parallel, wandering on the fringes of Chinese religious consciousness.
Why is this so? Do the Chinese have no religious needs? The religious needs of the Chinese people are very strong. No matter what religion is introduced, as long as it is introduced, some people will believe, some believers, some believe in Buddhism, some belief in Christ, and some believe in Allah. In addition, Chinese people are more of folk beliefs, mountain gods, earth, spirits, ghosts, stars in the sky, grass and trees on the ground, living good people, dead bad people... As long as it works, the Chinese believe in everything. Often just after worshipping the Bodhisattva, I immediately worship Laojun again. On the way home, I may also go to the Temple of the Earth. After returning home, I will first worship a stick of incense in front of the statues of the God of Wealth and Guan Gong, and then turn around and kneel before my ancestors. Before the spirit.
Believe in blindness, and lose yourself in blindness, this is the Chinese!
During the Qi and Liang Dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, there was a man named Zhang Rong, who left an order when he was about to die: "In his left hand he holds "The Book of Filial Piety" and "Lao Tzu", and in his right hand he holds "Sketches" and "The Lotus Sutra". As we all know, "The Book of Filial Piety" is a Confucian thing, "Lao Zi" is Taoist things, "Xiaoping" and "Fahua Jing" are Buddhist things. He wants to tell people: I believe everything.
The Chinese believe in everything and nothing, this is also a fact!
During the Song Dynasty, there was a major drought in Xinchang County for one year. This year, he took a group of people to the White Crane Temple to worship, praying for heavy rain to relieve the drought of the Li people. He knelt on the ground and prayed sincerely, but the sky was still clear and there was no wind. Yang Yuanguang was patient and prayed again very devoutly. The sky was still scorching hot, and there was not even a single cloud. When Yang Yuanguang prayed for the third time and still no movement, a burst of anger rushed to his forehead, and he yelled: "What a god you are, you have eaten up the offerings of the people in vain, and you don't even do such a thing. I want you to pay me back." what's the point? After scolding, he ordered to smash the statue and demolish the shrine. This is the typical attitude of the Chinese towards folk religions. If you are spiritual, you will believe; if you are not, you will be destroyed. Therefore, the gods of the people are all short-lived ghosts.
There is a mountain in the east of Taiyuan, Shanxi. It was called Yashan in the Tang Dynasty. Whenever there was a severe drought in this area, the locals set fire to the mountain. The raging fire and the billowing smoke rose into the air. This is very strange, fire should not be set during drought, because fire and water do not mix. But the locals have a local saying that according to legend, the mountain god of Yashan married the daughter of Hebo, the god of the Yellow River. In this way, setting fire to the mountain makes too much sense. Together with the fire, the God of the Yellow River can't watch his daughter be burned alive. The father and daughter are deeply in love, and they will bring the water of the Yellow River to save their daughter. In this way, Will the drought be lifted? While we admire the cleverness of the locals, we are also a little dumbfounded. What is this? It's like the "kidnapping" of the underworld, calling his parents and telling his parents, if you don't come, I will "tear up the ticket".
Don't think that this is just a special case. This tradition has always existed in ancient China. There is a record in "Shan Hai Jing" that "Nu Chou exposes the corpse". Nv Chou is a sorcerer. , It is probable that the female ugly was pushed to the sun by the tribe and died alive without praying for rain. People think like this: aren't wizards capable of psychic powers? You can leave it alone if you bask in the gods, but if you let the agent of the gods take care of you, you will be killed all of a sudden. It can be seen that this kind of mentality is inherent in the Chinese people.
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Some people say that because the Chinese have become very utilitarian in the agricultural economy, they should write if they are useful. But China is by no means the only agricultural economy in the world. So, are they also very utilitarian to religion? Some people say that China does not have a unified religion because China has a profound culture, and the theories of Laozi, Confucius, and other sages can provide the ultimate concern, so there is no need to believe in anything else. But ancient Greece also had very developed humanistic theories. Why did its descendants believe in the Orthodox Church?
From the above facts, we can conclude: that Chinese people have strong religious feelings, but there is no religious form in history that can fully express such feelings. We are still looking for it to this day. The Chinese are very special. They are special after they have seen the sublime and great.
When China's religious consciousness cannot find a suitable form of expression, it will instead worship the real self. In the hearts of Chinese people, there is always such a voice: If there is no god outside the heart, I am holy! Chinese people worship. Therefore, in Taoist theology, hundreds of immortals are all dead people, but they are ghosts. There are no gods in China, and the big ghosts are gods.
There is another proof: many religions in the world are studying the problem of what to do after death, but only Chinese Taoism is trying to study how people can not die! In order not to die, the Chinese have almost tried their best to alchemy elixir, seek immortality medicine, practice in the room, fasten food and eat qi... Even native Chinese medicine - traditional Chinese medicine, is also a kind of health care medicine. Of course, in real life, it is impossible for people not to die. When their ancestors die, and their fathers die, people live on during death. However, the fact that generation after generation has died has not weakened the Chinese people's desire for longevity. In the absence of physical immortality, the Chinese turn to spiritual immortality. The Confucian pursuit of meritorious deeds, virtue, and speech is itself a desire for spiritual immortality.
Ancestor worship is no stranger to any Chinese. During the Qingming Festival and the Spring Festival, our parents would take us to hold various sacrificial activities, put some offerings on the ancestors’ spiritual places and cemeteries, and burn a few pieces of paper money. Burning a few incense sticks, mourning, along with the curling light smoke, accompanied by the sound of sobbing, went away in the air, all the way to the world of the soul. Nowadays, many people do not understand the true meaning of ancestor worship, and always think that ancestor worship is to express their thoughts for their loved ones. The real meaning of ancestor worship is the pursuit of long-term desire.
When our fathers lead us to worship our ancestors, it is not only to remind the next generation to remember our ancestors, but more importantly, our fathers are setting an example for us, which means: boy, look good! Today I brought you to sacrifice to my father, then in a hundred years from me, you will bring your son to sacrifice to me. In this way, although the Chinese died physically, they gained eternal life in the worship of their ancestors. They should perform filial piety during the festivals, report to their ancestors when important events happened in the family, and pray to their ancestors in case of difficulties. The lives of ancestors and children and grandchildren are closely linked. Together, this is immortality in a way.
Chinese people worship life itself! Every life is unique and sacred.
"Zuo Zhuan" text in the first year of the year, "In the tenth month of winter, the king was surrounded by palace armor. The king asked to eat a bear and died, but he couldn't listen. Ding Wei, the king was hanged, and the posthumous name was Ling, but he was not angry; The posthumous title is a representation of the continuation of the dead. When a person dies on the earth, only the posthumous title remains in the world. Therefore, after the death of Duke Cheng, he still cares about him very much. manner. There are many stories in the pre-Tang Zhiwei novels that would rather steal one's life than be a fairy or a god after death. "The Legend of the Immortals" contains: "Mr. Baishi, a disciple of Huangzhangren, up to Pengzu, who is more than two thousand years old, refuses to cultivate the way of ascending to heaven, but only takes it without death, without losing the happiness of the world. … Peng Zu asked about it. Said, why not take the medicine for ascending to heaven? The answer is, the rejuvenation in heaven is like the human world, but don’t let old age die.” The same book also states: that Ma Mingsheng did not die when he was killed. Not happy to ascend to heaven, but taking half a dose, as earth immortal, living in the world forever."
Chinese people always want to live a long life in their bones, but this desire is not because of fear of death, but because of seeking and finding the form that can make their hearts sustenance. But what exactly are the Chinese looking for?
The above-mentioned characteristics of belief in China also deeply affect people's social psychology and behavior. Although many people criticize the Chinese for being servile, in their bones, the Chinese are extremely individualistic and extremely independent, and it is difficult for them to unify their thoughts. Since the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism, the rulers wanted to unify people's thinking to Confucianism, but more than 2,000 years later, we are still advocating it, why? Just because the goal is never achieved. Anything that is repeatedly advocated will always be extremely lacking in heart. Because Chinese people have never been willing to mold themselves according to a certain unified standard (such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, faith, etc.), it is really painful, and everyone subconsciously wants to live their own lives.
At this point, Laozi understands the Chinese better than Confucius. He opposes Confucius' unified standard and advocates that people should live a "simple and simple" life. Any standard or standard is nonsense. When Confucius went to visit Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu said as soon as they met: "Confucius, the ancient sages you mentioned in your conversation have been dead for a long time. I am afraid that even the bones in the ground have rotted away. Only these words are left. It is passed down to the world. Smart people should have the ability to adapt to society. If they are born at the right time, they will drive to work; if they are not born at the right time, they will be like basil, floating in the wind and free.”