Chapter 50 More important than prayer is the spirit of prayer

Compared with the prosperity of temples and Taoist temples in recent years, compared with more than ten years ago, there is a world of difference.It is also a kind of spiritual enjoyment to travel to places with temples and feel the power of faith and the tranquility of nature. In 2005, I went to Mount Wutai, saw the performance of many people, and had some insights into spiritual pursuit. I saw that there is a kind of effect of people worshiping and kneeling.As soon as they entered the territory of Mount Wutai County, they began to kneel down and worship all the way to the mountain.This spirit of exploration and piety may not be seen in any other country and nation today.However, I found that these people bow down to everything, even the bed where Chairman Mao lived, the bed where Jiang Qing lived, and even the bed where Lin Biao lived.It is superstition to kneel down and worship whatever you see.Superstition, contrary to the original intention of belief, has become the source of pain.You superstitiously believe that you will get rich after burning incense and worshiping the God of Wealth, but if you fail to get rich, you will be disappointed and feel cheated.But when did the God of Wealth, a clay bodhisattva you bowed to before, promise you?It doesn't say a word, and you feel cheated because you have the wrong orientation for it.This is the result of superstition.But the reason for the superstition, in the final analysis, is that they did not "relax".When traveling in the mountains, they should leave their work temporarily to gain leisure or the joy of spiritual awakening, but they did not give up.Busy in making a fortune in the city, but busy looking for an idol to bless him to make a fortune in the mountains, such a person will never be able to enjoy the spirit.

In a society without true beliefs, it is easy to have superstitions. Just like weeds will grow if there are no crops in the field, beliefs also need to be guided. If there is no correct direction, one will go astray.Prayer has a physical form, but even more important than the form is the spirit of prayer.Only through the spirit of prayer can we come into contact with the great Spirit of the Creator. In Mount Wutai, apart from those who worship on their knees, there is another kind of people who don't look "serious".They don't bow down, or bow down just for fun.They themselves have broken the superstition, believing that the social system is becoming more and more perfect, giving people more and more opportunities to get rich, and that their own quality of life can be controlled by themselves, as long as you work hard, you can get rich.When these people go to temples, the most they can do is to donate money to gain happiness.Why do people feel happy when they donate money to temples?Because in our traditional thinking, donating money to temples has the meaning of supporting Bodhisattvas.They presumably feel that happiness can also be obtained through this meaningful way of spending money.

The most notable thing is that many people now seek advice from eminent monks with the confusion of urban life.Many white-collar workers and intellectuals, with high economic income and cultural level, often go to the eminent monks of temples, almost treating them as psychiatrists.