-This is the 394th original article of self-driving geography-
Not long ago, the WHO released an annual statistical report, mentioning that the average life expectancy of Chinese has reached 77 years old, which reminds me of the health and wellness trend that has emerged over the years, and also found that people are gradually moving from the model of dietary health care to the mode of physical and mental health.
Even leisure tourism has added elements of Zen culture and become a popular trend, so what exactly is "Zen"? How did Zen culture come about, and where to find it?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" >What is meditation? </h1>
At the same time as the rapid development of society, the pressure brought by modern life is also increasing, people are struggling to find ways to reduce stress, and finally found that the way of health care can effectively balance stress.
What people want to achieve through health care is that the physical and mental state can achieve balance and relaxation, and then conclude that this is an atmosphere creation activity that requires a combination of natural ecology, cultural environment and living environment, and its essence is to reduce pain and increase pleasure.
Zen atmosphere, photography @Jose Mizrahi
Under this demand, Zen Buddhism has been naturally introduced, which not only has a long-standing religious culture, but also the natural ecology and living environment complement each other, most of the Zen temples are located in famous mountains and rivers, and its emphasis on spiritual cultivation such as "no mind and no phase" is in line with the current people's needs for health.
Zen, in the Buddhist language, has the meaning of eliminating distractions and enlightening wisdom, which is undoubtedly a term that belongs to the spiritual level, and meditation and health care is to purify the body and mind through the ritual of meditation and cultivate a good state of mind.
Zen atmosphere, photography @Faye Cornish
This health care model has actually been popular in the West for a long time, and american schools, medical institutions, etc. are widely used, and later, this wind has also blown to China.
In recent years, domestic health care bases with the theme of meditation and health care have sprung up one after another, such as: meditation towns, meditation resorts, and meditation classes.
The market reflects people's needs, and people's needs also affect the market, and the rise of meditation and health care just happens to meet this law, and the Zen Buddhism behind the former is our next protagonist.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="55" > Buddhist Zen Buddhism, Ten Buddhas and Nine Zens</h1>
Although Zen Buddhism originated in Buddhism, it did not appear in ancient India.
The emergence of the former in China reflects the inclusiveness of a traditional culture of our country, and also reflects the strength of our traditional culture from the side.
Schematic map of the Buddhist Chinese route, cartography @ "Chinese Self-driving Geography"
Because of this, the monks who had been provided for in ancient India without worrying about food and drink came to China only to find that if they did not do it, they would starve to death. (The "Biography of the Three Tibetan Masters of the Great Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty" records that "the king Qin Chongshe more than 100 yi as his offerings, and the 200 households of Yi enter japonica rice crisp milk for hundreds of stones", so it is said that the monks of ancient India at that time did not worry about eating and drinking)
Under the influence of cultural trends and practical difficulties, Buddhist culture began to combine with Chinese culture, monks took the initiative to learn Confucianism, Taoism and other cultures, and finally Buddhism produced a flower, which is a synthesis of Confucianism and other wisdom of Zen Buddhism, in modern language to express words: Zen Buddhism is Buddhism with Chinese cultural characteristics.
Buddha statue, photography @Arun Prakash
And zen Buddhism this army after the sudden rise, the speed of development as rapid as lightning, to play an appropriate metaphor, it is like Ma Yun's Taobao, at first people did not know this thing, but after knowing it, people have been inseparable from it, which also led to a phenomenon - ten Buddhas and nine Zen.
Where is the specific performance? I say one word: mantra, a word that comes from Zen Buddhism and is a word we are bound to hear.
If this is not enough proof, then take a look at the location of the Zen temples, most of them are in the feng shui treasure land of feng shui, not only by the mountains and water, quiet and picturesque, but also gather wind and gas, carry qi and hold qi, so that it is enough to peep at the leopard in the tube, which can be seen!
Location map of Zen-related temples, cartography @ "China Self-driving Geography"
Later, Zen Buddhism developed perfectly and spread to Korea and Japan, and under the impetus of Japan, Zen Buddhism went overseas and to the West.
But in any case, the roots of Zen Buddhism have always been in China, and Chinese pay attention to the roots of falling leaves, and Zen monks have become the norm to seek their roots and ask for ancestors.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="56" > to find roots and ask ancestors, the path of meditation</h1>
In the fifth and sixth centuries AD, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Guangzhou Guangxiao Temple welcomed a foreigner, and when the sweeping monk at the door asked, he did not hesitate to say his name Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma crossing the river with a reed
After that, he went all the way north, hoping to find a disciple who would inherit his mantle, but the mainstream of Buddhism in the Northern Dynasty at that time was not the Mahayana Buddhism he practiced, and after finding no results, he settled in the Shaolin Temple on Songshan Mountain and faced the wall in Shaolin for nine years.
Eventually, he compiled what he had learned into a complete Buddhist system, which was the original Zen Buddhism, and Bodhidharma became the ancestor of Zen Buddhism, and for this reason, the Songshan Shaolin Temple was called the Ancestral Garden of Zen Buddhism.
The world's first ancestral court of the Shaolin Temple, photography @VIP reader Xi
Later, Dharma Zushi took in an apprentice, commonly known as Shen Guang, Dharma name Huike, who had read a lot of books and read Confucian classics, and then cut off his left arm and received Dharma's mantle, which is also the reason why the Shaolin disciples exposed their left arm.
Anhui Yuexi Sikong Mountain is the seat of the Zen Erzu Temple and the dojo of the Zen Erzu Temple, which is less than 100 kilometers away from the Erzu Temple, located in Qianshan City, Anqing City.
Similar to this situation is the Four Ancestors and Five Ancestors Temple in Huanggang, Hubei Province, which are only about 16 kilometers in a straight line.
Gozuji Temple, Photography @ Reader Backpack Go
However, when it came to liuzu temple, it directly crossed Jiangxi and guangdong, and the reason for this was because during the six ancestral period, Zen Buddhism was divided into two sects, north and south.
The Northern Sect was dominated by Shenxiu, while the Southern Sect was the Six Ancestors Huineng, yes, the Huineng who wrote "There is nothing in the original, where to stir up dust".
Huineng was originally a commoner who sold firewood in Guangdong for a living, but after inheriting the mantle of the Five Patriarchs, he returned to Guangdong and promoted the popularization of Buddhism.
Rokuzuji Temple, Photography @VIP Reader Guohua
From the traditional Buddhist way of practice to "pointing directly to the human heart, seeing nature to become a Buddha", that is, everyone can become a Buddha, which is why Zen Buddhism has ushered in unprecedented development and completed the process of zen buddhism's complete sinicization.
And the surprising thing is that the Six Ancestors Huineng, who can't read, are all superfluous because of Zen to the extreme, and all the language and writing are superfluous.
A zen little story about wisdom tells this one thing:
Once, when Zen Master Huineng was spending the night at someone else's house, he heard someone chanting the sutra, so he leaned over and listened carefully, and the more he listened, the more he felt that it was not right, so he got up and walked over to the person who was chanting the sutra and asked, "Do you understand the meaning of the sutras?" The man shook his head and replied, "Some of them are really hard to understand." Zen Master Huineng gave him the answer: "When we grow old in the soot of false fame and reputation, full of gray hair, what do we want?" When the ashes of life will be extinguished and the heartbeat and breathing will stop, what is our last hope? Where are we when the body in the grave decays into a corpse, the dust returns to dust, the earth returns to the earth, and life becomes an unconscious void? ”
For a moment, the sky was clear, and the man suddenly opened up in chaos, and seemed to vaguely see the dawn of life. He continued to ask Master Huineng about the explanation of the words in the Sutra, and Master Huineng smiled and replied, "I can't read, so you can just ask me what I mean." ”
The man was immediately astonished: "Master, you don't even know the words, how can you understand the meaning?" How can we understand Buddhism? Zen Master Huineng laughed and said, "The mysterious principles of the Buddhas have nothing to do with words. Words are only tools, and understanding depends on the mind, on understanding, not on words. When riding a horse, you don't necessarily need a rein, it's for beginners, once you get started, you can get rid of the reins and go where you want to go. ”
The Nanhua Zen Temple in Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, is Huineng's dojo, where he stayed for 37 years, and there are thousands of people who have heard the Dharma, scattered north and south of the great river, on both sides of the Yellow River.
Shaoguan Nanhua Zen Temple, photography @VIP reader Nobita
Later, the five sects of Yunmen, Linji, Huiyang, Caodong and Dharmayan were formed, which were known as the Five Sects of Nanzong, of which the ancestral court of the Yangzong Sect was located in the Qiyin Zen Temple of Mingyue Mountain in Yichun, Jiangxi.
Yangshan Qi Hidden Zen Temple, photography @VIP reader Ling Hai Hu Jingxian
The Caodong Sect spread overseas, influencing Korea, Japan and other countries, and now the Cao Dong Sect has become the main school of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
Now, let's connect the ancestral courts of the six ancestors of Zen Buddhism into a line in order, and we will find that Zen Buddhism has been going south and eventually spreading overseas.
Schematic map of the path of meditation, cartography @ "China Self-driving Geography"
We might as well call this line the path of meditation.
A phenomenon in society can often reflect the meaning behind it, Zen Buddhism has been forgotten by the Chinese people for too long, we may as well start anything again, plan a spiritual covenant, why not be happy?
Source: China Self-Driving Geography