Chapter 24 Luo Zu and his "Five Parts and Six Volumes"

The founder of Luojiao, Luo Menghong, was a famous folk religious leader in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and was later honored as Luozu by his disciples.His "Five Parts and Six Volumes" Bao Juan systematically recorded his folk religious thoughts.The establishment of Luojiao and the publication of "Five Parts and Six Volumes" have epoch-making significance in the historical development of Chinese folk religion.The Luojiao studied in this paper mainly refers to the Luozu's religious thoughts contained in "Five Parts and Six Volumes". It was during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties that Chinese folk religion became a relatively independent religious ideology system and influenced the people of the lower classes in China as a whole.In the field of Chinese history, there are different views on how to call the "religion" that is different from the orthodox religion, and there is no consistent conclusion.We tend to adopt the term "folk religion".However, we base our argument not so much on the basis that it is a religious organization popular in lower civil society as distinct from the orthodox, aristocratic religions (Buddhism, Taoism) accepted and practiced by the upper classes, but rather on the basis that it is a Religious teachings and beliefs that better cater to the psychological needs of the lower classes of civil society.In other words, our so-called folk religion is not only in terms of the popular objects and scope of its spread, but more importantly, in terms of the function of its creeds and beliefs being accepted and believed by people in the lower class of civil society.

Pain from external constraints, the burden of reality, and the confusion of life will make the people of the lower class actively seek ways and means to get rid of this material and spiritual oppression.They need to find a place to live and work in their own cultural thought and belief system.Of course, Chinese folk religions that are suitable for the spiritual and psychological needs of the lower class people do not mean to break free from traditional Chinese culture and establish a brand new religious ideology system.On the contrary, its establishment depends largely on traditional culture.The problem is only how to transform and transform traditional culture according to the target of mission and what specific method to adopt.Judging from the history of the development of Chinese folk religions, most folk religions, under the premise of strongly feeling social oppression and suffering in life, have absorbed Buddhism and Taoism with great enthusiasm and established their teachings and teachings.However, due to the different ways of getting rid of oppression and suffering, Chinese folk religions follow two different paths: one is to focus on resistance and struggle against the real society, and the other is to focus on the transcendence and liberation of human spirit and life. .The various sects of Chinese folk religions represented by the White Lotus Sect followed the former path, while the Luo Sect founded by Luo Menghong, a native of Shandong, took the latter path.

Luo Menghong (also known as Luo Zu), the founder of Luojiao, took the responsibility of continuing the development of traditional Chinese Buddhism, especially the development of Buddhist Zen, to absorb the compassion of the lower class people, with earth-shattering religious insights, and in a friendly and friendly way of preaching Completed his historical mission of establishing a distinctive folk religious ideology. "Five Parts and Six Volumes" is the "treasure volume" that records Luo Zu's hard work to realize Taoism and his religious thoughts.So far, Chinese folk religion has finally found a suitable "carrier" to express its own teachings and beliefs. The ultimate purpose of Luo Zu's creation of religion and the fundamental purpose of its theory lies in transcending the limitation of life and improving the spiritual realm.Therefore, it is determined that his religious thoughts have more profound characteristics than those of any other Chinese folk religious sect.Throughout Luo Zu's thirteen years of arduous enlightenment journey, every step is an exploration of life issues, and the path he goes through is completely internal.Knowing the mind and seeing the nature, the unity of man and nature, neither birth nor death, free and easy, and eternal happiness is the end of his enlightenment.The Luo religion founded by Luo Zu attaches great importance to life issues and reflects the unique purport of its teachings.The emergence of this special purpose shows that Luo Zu's thought has a greater compatibility with the original purpose of Buddhism.The purpose of our research on Luojiao and "Five Parts and Six Volumes" should be to reveal this feature, instead of simply pointing out the so-called commonality of teachings among various sects of folk religions without specific comparative analysis.

Luojiao and its "Five Parts and Six Volumes" show the special purpose and development path of Chinese folk religion, which provides valuable experience for us to re-understand and evaluate the status and role of Chinese folk religion.As an important part of Chinese traditional culture, the religious thoughts of the upper class in China should expand their development space in multiple dimensions if they want to develop and have an impact on the wider people.And Chinese folk religion is just a form worthy of reference to cope with this development.It is not all Chinese folk religious sects that can take on this task, but those Chinese folk religious sects that do not rule by endangering the real society.The in-depth study of it has very important historical significance and reference value for the inheritance of Chinese cultural heritage and for understanding and grasping the cultural psychology and belief mentality of special believers.

Luo Zu's life can be described as ill-fated, suffering from the hardships of life, the torment of purgatory, and the shock of the soul.In the face of social suffering, the working people of the lower classes either sigh pessimistically and accept it; or they actively resist and rise up;Luo Zu chose the latter path.The process of his enlightenment is also carried out through his exposure of the suffering in reality and his understanding of life.However, this is a road full of twists and turns, and Luo Zu has worked hard for it.During his thirteen years of hard work and enlightenment, Luo Zu spent eight years studying the Buddhist Dharma Gate, three years studying "Diamond Rites" and the remaining two years for his own theory establishment.Luo Zu's thirteen years of hard work and enlightenment mental journey, which is contained in the "Five Parts and Six Volumes" of "The Volume of Hard Work and Enlightenment", this ascetic journey is always accompanied by the word "life and death"."Fear of life and death" and "desire for life and death" were his original motives for practicing Taoism; "fear of the suffering of life and death reincarnation" was the same reason why he refused to take ginseng and ginseng again and again; There is no birth and no death" is his realization after several bitter ginseng; "going to his hometown", "getting a place to settle down", "never reincarnation", "immortality", and "being free and free" are what he first realized. Realm: "All living beings should have Buddha nature", "True nature is ready-made without cultivation", "Body is transparent and exquisite", "Human and nature are one" are the Tao fruit that he will eventually transform into.

Although the method adopted by Luojiao in the process of discussing life and death and life issues is presented in an unrealistic form, it still takes the path of appealing to the heart, thus embodying the basic characteristics of Buddhism.The process of Luo Zu's comprehension of the true nature of life is actually a process of self-reflection and subjective comprehension accompanied by his inner self.It is to seek a spiritual life of "unlimited happiness" through this kind of spiritual awareness.According to Luo Zu, it is to achieve a kind of transcendence in the highest realm of "hometown" where one lives and lives.As a folk religion, Luojiao has a deeper understanding of life issues than other folk religions, which determines that Luojiao has a unique position in Chinese folk religions.

The five classics written by Luo Zu are the five classics written by Luo Zu, namely, the first volume of "Enlightenment of Hard Work", the second volume of "Sighing the World and Inaction", and the third volume of "Key Volume of Breaking Evil and Demonstrating Demonstration" (referred to as "Bao Xie"). The fourth part of "Showing Evidence Volume" "Zheng Faith Eliminates Doubts Without Cultivation Freely Treasure Volume" (abbreviated as "Zheng Faith Elimination Volume") The fifth volume "Majestic and Immovable Mount Tai's Deep Root Results Volume" (abbreviated as "Deep Root Results Volume" because of " There are two volumes of "Key Volume of Breaking Evil and Demonstrating Evidence", so the five classics are called "Five and Six Volumes" and "Five and Six Volumes" were officially published in the fourth year of Ming Zhengde (1509). The five classics of Luojiao have been published on boards many times, which also proves that its influence is huge.

On the basis of explaining the Bianwen of Buddhist teachings, various sects of Chinese folk religions create treasure scrolls that can embody and explain their own religious teachings, and use this scripture of their own to achieve self-respect for their teachings and self-writing of their teachings. Purpose.This has epoch-making significance in the history of the development of Chinese folk religion.Luo Zu created the classics of Luojiao to make the lower class people with little or no literacy understand and understand the scriptures, so that their religious thoughts can be spread widely and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.All Chinese folk religions, including Luojiao, have achieved this by relying on the form of "precious scrolls".

In order for his teachings to be accepted by more people, Luo Zu fully considered the low level of knowledge of the lower classes and the fact that it was difficult to understand the difficult principles of Buddhism and Taoism. Then try to eliminate this contradiction in a certain way, which is the special forms he adopts such as parallelism, overlap and repetition.The teachings contained in the "Baojuan" are by no means "belonging to demons" and "extremely weird" as the feudal defenders slandered, but have certain ideological connotations and represent the cultural mentality of the lower classes. A historical bearer. "Baojuan", a new form of mission, plays a unique role in improving the cultural level of the lower class people, and providing them with spiritual comfort and peace of life.

Luo Zu's "Five Parts and Six Volumes" has a wide range of quotations, which can be roughly divided into five categories: 1.Buddhist classics; 2.The classics, or similar books and scriptures of ritual repentance; 3.Baojuan; 4.Works promoted by monks; 5.Taoist classics and books.However, in these quotations, Luo Zu only regards the "Mahayana Volume", "The Sutra of Enlightenment", "Diamond Sutra", and the four Buddhist scriptures as orthodox scriptures, while denying other scriptures. Based on the classics and their teachings, they established their own religious ideology.Every step of his development and his whole thoughts are related in one way or another to traditional Buddhism and secularized Buddhism.In the historical development of Chinese folk religion, Luo Zu's religious thought is the most consistent with the Buddhist principles, and it is also its most distinctive place.

There are many controversies in the academic circles about the research and evaluation of Luo Zu's religious thoughts, including whether to admit Luo Zu's "Five Parts and Six Volumes" is a work of thought, whether his remarks are sufficient to constitute a complete ideological system, etc. view.The ideological basis of this view is that only upper-level thinking, including upper-level philosophical and religious thinking, can be considered a system, while folk culture, including folk religion, is just some lower-level people who have absorbed some traditional ideas and messed them up. A vulgar culture formed by improvisation.What needs to be corrected here is that judging whether a work is ideological and whether an idea constitutes a system should not be simply qualitatively judged from the elegant and vulgar form, let alone belittle and abuse arbitrarily out of certain social and political needs (such as Qing Dynasty Huang Yulu's "Breaking Evil and Detailed Debate" should go deep into the work, see its real situation, and then make a corresponding evaluation. This is also the objective attitude and principle that should be followed in the study of any ancient culture. Of course, there are many Scholars clearly recognize the traditional relationship between Luozu thought and Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, but because they have not been able to conduct a comprehensive comparative study of each other's thoughts, the conclusion is not convincing, and there is a sense of ambiguity. The research of this article is to make a comprehensive comparison between Luo Zu's thought and Buddhism, especially Buddhist Zen thought, and try to examine the "original meaning" and "general meaning" of Buddhist thought that Luo Zu relied on. The righteousness of Luozu" and finally show the system of Luozu's religious thought. From the understanding of the impermanence of life to the exploration of the "truth" of the universe, Luo Zu's religious thoughts developed along this road.Through the interpretation of "the law of no form" and "the original face", he concretely revealed the "truth" of the universe - emptiness, thus in line with the "dependent origin and emptiness" and "the heart is the Buddha" of Buddhist Zen. There is a deep agreement. In a general sense, the purpose of Buddhist emptiness, including Hui Neng Zen, is to reveal that everything in the real society is suffering through the negation of all dharmas and conditions, so it must be broken, but this conclusion It is obtained through theoretical reasoning.And because Luo Zu's religious thought itself has greater reality, and at the same time, based on the realization of the suffering of reality, he turned to Buddhism to give a deep perspective to everything in reality. Therefore, Luo Zu's vision has always been Concentrating on reality, this determines that his theory, compared with Buddhist common sense, highlights the spirit of denying various phenomena in reality that hinder authenticity.Luo Zu clearly counted some obstacles in reality.This thought, which precisely reflects the characteristics of Luo Zu's non-phase theory, cannot be regarded as out of the so-called narrow utilitarian considerations.In the author's opinion, this reflects the spirit of religious reform that Luo Zu tried to introduce Buddhist thought to a more realistic path. Luo Zushen's view of the void without form is the unity of negation and affirmation. The realm of the void he set up is originally the dharma body of all Buddhas, which in turn exists in the human heart as a kind of nature, and the heart (nature) and Buddha are one. That is to say, it became the meaning of Luo Zu's concept of emptiness.So what is the nature of the void as the body of all Buddhas, the dharma body of all Buddhas, the assembly of all Buddhas, and the unity of the realm of all Buddhas? The answer is: "There is no duality", "no distinction", and "likeness" are what Luo Zu called In the process of elaborating on this question, Luo Zu, "The Original Face", used "no...no" and "no...nothing", a form of reasoning that Buddhist Zen likes to use. That is, the heart is the Buddha, there is no two in the first place, each of them is complete, without distinction, and it is the original face of ready-made and bright that Luo Zu allows people to recognize and realize.Luo Zu repeatedly quoted "original face" in each volume of the five scriptures to refer to the true and innocent state of existence.In addition, with his own understanding, Luo Zu transformed the "true face" into "True West", "Hometown", "Ancient Hometown", "True Buddha Hall" and "Ancient Buddha Hall" which make people "safe and healthy". This method of popularization has made Luo Zu's religious thoughts more plain, thus making his teachings understandable and acceptable to more lower-level people.This move is a meaningful contribution made by Luo Zu in the process of transforming Buddhism into folk religion.Of course, Luo Zu carried out the elucidation of "my meaning" (Luo Zu's own meaning) on ​​the premise of strictly following the original meaning and general meaning of Buddhist Zen.Therefore, we say that Luo Zu better solved the problem of "transitional transformation" from Buddhism to folk religion.This is directly related to his choice of the teachings of Buddhist Zen and his attempt to explain them comprehensively.In other words, the ultimate goal of his establishment of Luojiao is to seek the true understanding of human life, rather than the ultimate goal of changing dynasties like the White Lotus Sect and other folk religions.Therefore, it is determined that when Luo Zu absorbed Buddhist thoughts, unlike other folk religions, he only chose some teachings that were beneficial to his own political struggle, and completely ignored the comprehensive grasp of systematic Buddhist thoughts.This can also be seen as a major difference between Luo Zu's thought and other folk religious thoughts. Luo Zu's theory of practice is directly based on his view of emptiness, which is "the law of no form" and "the original face".His so-called theory of practice can be summed up in a word, no practice, no certificate, free and easy.And this kind of practice theory is also inseparably related to Buddhist Zen, or it can be said to be directly derived from Buddhist Zen, especially the thoughts related to Hui Neng Chan and later Zen, and became the direct ideological data for Luo Zu's practice theory.This also makes Luozu's practice theory have a strong meaning of Southern Zen and later Zen. Of course, Luo Zu also tried to integrate Buddhist Zen thought with traditional Chinese thought.Specifically, whether in his view of emptiness or in his theory of practice, he often uses the modified traditional Chinese Buddhist concept of "samsara of life and death" to strengthen his thoughts.Luo Zu's transformation is based on the consideration of Chinese people's customary concepts, which also greatly enhances the characteristics of his own practice theory, and creates more realistic possibilities for adapting and attracting more believers. In addition, Luo Zu's practice concept is also deeply influenced by the traditional Chinese culture's idea of ​​"settling one's life and life", and strives to place the final destination of his theory here.Luo Zu's religious thought was not only influenced by this Sinicized Buddhist Zen, but also actively absorbed nutrition from Chinese traditional culture itself, and finally integrated it into his own ideological system.Through such a transformation, Luo Zu enriched the traditional Chinese thought of living and living to a certain extent, and it provided a new space for Chinese people to seek spiritual sustenance.In this sense, Luo Zu's folk religious thought not only expanded the scope of influence of Buddhism, but also expanded the scope of influence of traditional thought, and played a greater role in the hearts of the Chinese people with its uniqueness.Although the innovation of form is one of the important conditions for the development of a religion, it cannot be done without the innovation of religious content. Only when there are breakthroughs in these two aspects can the religious thoughts be further developed.The Luojiao founded by Luo Zu followed this principle precisely.On the basis of explaining Buddhist Zen thoughts in simple terms, he deliberately used this thought to develop his own religious thoughts, thus establishing a unique folk religious thought system. As a folk religious leader who intends to create his own religious thought system, Luo Zu is of course not satisfied with just explaining orthodox religious thoughts, but must make breakthroughs and innovations, so as to win more believers. And in the end, he opened up his words and practiced his teachings.Luo Zu constructed his folk religious thought system specifically through his theory of "vacuum hometown", "promise of ancestors", "permanent reincarnation", cosmology and ontology.It formed the own characteristics of Luo Zu's religious thoughts.It should be emphasized that this idea reflecting the characteristics of Luo Zu is not a separate meaning from the Buddhist Zen thought that Luo Zu already relied on. On the contrary, it is still based on the already established It is based on the Buddhist Zen thought that has been integrated into its own thought system.Since the characterization of this issue involves the characterization of Luozu's entire religious thought system, it is very important to explain these thoughts truly and comprehensively. Luo Zu's "vacuum" is a formless void, and its nature is that there is no duality and no division.Therefore, the gist of Luozu's "vacuum" lies in its non-objectivity.Because Luo Zu defined the concept of "hometown" in the sense of "original face", so the concept of "hometown" gained its real meaning in "natural nature", "self-nature", and "unique harmony".Luo Zu also described the "hometown" as a blissful state where there is no reincarnation, freedom, willfulness, and endless happiness.Luo Zu's thoughts on "vacuum hometown" are full of Zen color against objectification and externalization.Any point of view to understand the "vacuum hometown" as a "beyond shore" with a different realm is contrary to the original purpose of Luo Zu's thought.It is even more impossible to draw such a conclusion that there are two contradictory parts in Luozu's religious thought system, one is the void thought that denies externalization, and the other is the vacuum homeland thought that affirms externalization.Don't jump to conclusions based on subjective imagination without analysis just because Luo Zu confuses the concept of "hometown" with concepts such as "the West", "heaven" and "Buddhist country". Academic research on Luozu's religious thoughts is more accustomed to "vacuum hometown, no birth mother (no birth parents)" connected to discuss.This may be related to the fact that the "eight-character mantra" was generally believed in by the folk religions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as a whole.This article argues that not only is the term "Wuji Old Mother" not seen in "Five Parts and Six Volumes", but even the term "no biological parents" is not the highest category that Luo Zu positively uses in "Five Parts and Six Volumes".In other words, "no biological parents" is not an integral part of Luo Zu's religious thought system.But the problem now is that Luo Zu used the concept of "Promise of Promise".In what sense can understanding and grasping Luo Zu's thought of "The Promise of the Promise" correctly reflect the reality of Luo Zu's thought?We believe that this is the crux of the matter.The purpose of Luo Zu's description of "Wuji Holy Patriarch" and its incarnation is to emphasize the wonderful function of "Wuji Holy Patriarch" as the manifestation of Buddha's "dharma body" and "true heart".That is to say, as Luo Zu himself said, "Save the original face." The reason why we propose Luo Zu's "Wuji Holy Patriarch" (Wuji Holy Mother) does not mean that he is the supreme personified person who transformed the world, ruled all things, and dominated all living beings. The gods are also based on the "Wuji Holy Patriarch" (Wuji Madonna) in the sense of "true face" to obtain the original meaning of Zen without distinction and harmony.If we want to further explain and dialectize this issue, we believe that we must contact Luo Zu's cosmology and ontology. Luozu's religious thought, which is quite characteristic of Buddhist Zen, has its own regulations on cosmology and ontology, thus forming its own characteristics.Luo Zu's theory of "there was no heaven and earth, but there was immovable void first", actually involves the ontology of the universe. He believes that "nature" first exists and covers all things and the human body. In "Five Parts and Six Volumes", different Concepts and different ways are more concentrated expression.Specifically, Luo Zu defined "true body", "Western Pure Land", "nature", "my body", "I", "ancient Buddha", "this light" (the West, Buddhaland), "original face" ", "Ready-made", "Tao", "Yi Qi", "Tai Chi", "One" and "self" are regarded as the pre-existing noumenal existence.These concepts, in Luo Zu's view, represent the concept of the same degree.Only in this way can we grasp the reality of Luo Zu's thought more correctly and consistently.Luo Zu's concepts that are different in expression but actually refer to meanings are governed by the general principle of "pre-existing noumenon". "Noumenon" is used to represent the existence of "nature" in Luozu's view, while "nature" refers to the existence of "emptiness", and "emptiness" refers to the existence of "no form but reality". . Therefore, the discussion of Luo Zu's cosmology and ontology is actually transformed into a question of re-understanding his view of emptiness and the law of formlessness.Our conclusion is: Luozu's cosmology and ontology are based on his view of emptiness, emphasizing that all things are changed by one mind. As the existence of "pre-existing noumenon", its nature is that it is harmonious, non-dual and non-divided.It exists in all things as a body, and it is used by the movement of all things.That is to say, there is no break between the body and the use.The root is the body, the body is the nature, the nature is emptiness, the emptiness is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind.The original mind (nature) is too empty to be connected, and there is nothing in the original face. It is not a metaphysical being of other things, so it cannot be understood as the original being that generates all things.It is the characteristic of Luozu's cosmology and ontology to oppose objectification, externalization and metaphysics of noumenon.Related to this, this is also the view on Luo Zu's so-called "vacuum hometown" and "the ancestor of the infinite".They are not the existence of something high above, let alone the Supreme Personality of Godhead.They communicate with the "empty nature" in the sense of the Buddha's body, the true heart, and the true face. "Knowing yourself", "returning to the false and returning to the truth", "seeing the nature with clarity", and "freedom and freedom" are the final footholds of Luozu's religious thoughts.Luo Zu's cosmology and ontology are an integral part of his religious thought system, and it is finally established on the basis of Huineng Zen, which sublates traditional Chinese philosophy and undergoes double transformation of traditional Buddhism and traditional Chinese Taoism. up. "Eternal reincarnation" is also an important concept in Luo Zu's religious thought system.Luo Zu advocated the theory of four births and six realms, reincarnation of life and death, and hell in Buddhism from the perspective of existence and destruction.In Luo Zu's view, the most effective way to preach to ordinary people who do not have much education is to adopt the common sense they are familiar with and the most acceptable method.Accordingly, Luo Zu highlighted and strengthened the thoughts of heaven, hell, and reincarnation of life and death in the Buddhist tradition that have penetrated into the Chinese folk, and through the description of the horror of hell and the suffering of reincarnation of life and death, to make people believe that only by believing in religion and following the Tao can one get rid of evil and become good In order to jump out of the sea of ​​suffering of the four births and six realms, the samsara of life and death, escape from the torment of hell, and finally realize the true nature of the emptiness that is immortal, the vacuum hometown. The establishment of Luo Zu's religious thought system not only relies on the absorption of Buddhist Zen, but also relies on the promotion of distinctive thoughts, and also relies on the criticism of many miscellaneous methods and supernatural powers and other folk religious thoughts.In other words, these three aspects constitute the complete system of Luozu's religious thoughts. Negative negation and criticism are based on positive theories.Luo Zu's criticism of all the objects included in the criticism is consistent with his theory of no form and no cultivation and no evidence. "All appearances are false" is a sharp knife that Luo Zu throws at the object of criticism, and many miscellaneous laws and other folk religions must accept its dissection. In Luo Zu's view, it includes the method of cultivating immortals "from the god of yang and the god of yin" and the mysterious method of "fixing the moment", as well as such things as sitting meditation, sitting pure, hitting seven, meditation, four meditations, chanting scriptures, and holding chanting. Mantras, listening to sounds, thinking about Buddha, fasting and taking precepts, supernatural powers, Hinayana and other cults and miscellaneous methods, all the thoughts preached are seeking the Dharma outside the mind, which is useless, and will inevitably fall into depravity in the end, and cannot be liberated. In "Five Parts and Six Volumes", Luo Zu launched a concentrated criticism of the three folk religions, Xuangu Sect, Maitreya Sect and White Lotus Sect.Here we focus on Luo Zu's criticism of the White Lotus Sect, and learn about his attitude towards other Chinese folk religions.The criticism of the White Lotus Sect, the largest sect of Chinese folk religion, is an integral part of Luozu's religious thought.And because there are many theories about the relationship between Luojiao and Bailianjiao in the academic circle, but in the author's view, this issue involves the determination of the nature of Luozu's religious thought and the evaluation of its ideological value. Luojiao and Bailianjiao belong to two completely different folk religious thought systems, this is our conclusion.Specifically, Luojiao is an elaboration of the original purpose of orthodox Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism.The goal it wants to achieve is to return to the meaning of traditional Buddhism, but this return takes the form of popularization and folkization in Luozu.Related to this, it has a unified theoretical fulcrum - the mind and the Buddha are inseparable, that is, the mind is the Buddha, and the mind can see the nature.Luo Zu’s views on emptiness, spiritual practice, cosmology, ontology, and criticisms of other folk religions and supernatural powers are all based on this theoretical fulcrum.The essence of this theoretical fulcrum lies in its non-objectification and non-boundaryization.All clinging to the reality of breaking away from and drifting away from the other side of the original mind and nature will be refuted and denied by Luo Zu.The religious thought system constructed by Luo Zu is an organic whole.On the other hand, the White Lotus Sect does not pay attention to the original purpose of orthodox Buddhism.At the same time, it does not regard the restoration of Buddhist traditions as its mission.This attitude inevitably determines that when the White Lotus Sect constructs its religious thought, more consideration is not to seek a unified theoretical fulcrum that can govern its ideological system, but to integrate the Amitabha belief with different belief systems, The belief of Maitreya's next life, the beliefs of two sects and three realms, are all integrated into one's own beliefs.The reason why Luojiao and Bailianjiao have differences in the above-mentioned issues is that there are obvious differences in the end of the missions of the two religions.As a folk religion, Luojiao has a deeper understanding of life issues than other folk religions, which determines that Luojiao has a unique position in folk religions.On the other hand, the focus of the White Lotus Sect’s theory has been far away from the original purpose of Buddhism. The emptiness of Mahayana Buddhism, the purpose of non-reality and reality, and the middle way of non-existence and non-existence have disappeared in the teachings of the White Lotus Sect. , its teachings and beliefs reflect the characteristics of strong objectification, boundary and mystification.Only because of this, it has completely transformed into a criticism of the real society, taking the extreme path of denying society.Since the ultimate purpose of its teachings is to overthrow the ruling class and make itself a new ruler, there is no need for speculative reasoning in its teachings, and there is no need to appeal to inner consciousness for the feeling of suffering. , the authenticity of life can also be obtained without any comprehension.Through the above analysis and comparison, we have sufficient reasons to re-judge and understand the relationship between Luojiao and Bailianjiao.That is to say, the current academia’s identification of the relationship between the two religions should be corrected so as to restore the true colors of the two religions. Then, does the religious thought system established by Luo Zu without violating the "original meaning" of Buddhist Zen have its own characteristics?The answer is of course yes.Because the reason why each religion is different from each other is that they have their own different characteristics, and it is only natural that Luojiao, which has a certain innovative significance in the history of Chinese religions, has its own characteristics.Revealing and analyzing this characteristic is an important link in the study of Luozu's religious thoughts.Luo Zu's religious thoughts have three characteristics: one is its universality, the other is its transitional nature, and the third is its folk nature.Of course, these qualities are not independent and unrelated to each other in Luozu's religious thought system, on the contrary, they are interrelated and mutually inclusive. In the process of constructing his religious thought system, Luo Zu always paid attention to absorbing ideological nutrition from all aspects.Among them, there are all affirmations and some affirmations; there are comprehensive negations and some reservations; there are forms for reference and content sublation;In short, Luo Zu used all possible forms to achieve his purpose of establishing a religious ideology system. Since it is accommodating, it shows that it is not a purposeless mixture and an unprincipled affirmation or negation. In fact, Luo Zu had a clear stand and attitude, and he resolutely criticized those thoughts of other Buddhist schools that violated the original purpose of Buddhist Zen.The most typical example is his criticism of Maitreya Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism.Because Luo Zu went through his own personal journey of enlightenment, he deeply felt that this kind of thought of being attached to one place is impossible to lead people out of the maze and get free and free. On the contrary, this is a way of eternal reincarnation. dead end. From the standpoint of Buddhism, Luo Zu has always centered on Buddhism and Buddhism to understand the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.In this integration, it is different from the practice of Buddhism and the practice of Neo-Confucianism. Instead, it insists on centering on Buddhism and on the basis of Buddhism and Buddhism to carry out the work of integrating the three religions.Therefore, the integration characteristics reflected in Luozu's religious thoughts have special value and significance in the historical process of the development of the relationship between the three religions in China.It has found a new development space for the "Zhengfayanzang" of Buddhism. Luo Zu's religious thought is based on Buddhist Zen, and reveals the essence of this thought in every aspect.However, Luozu's religious thoughts cannot be completely included in the development system of orthodox Buddhism.In fact, it is a new type of religious ideology between orthodox Buddhism and folk religion, which determines that Luozu's religious thought has certain transitional characteristics.The so-called transitional nature refers to the particularity formed by the gradual transformation of a system of thought from one system to another.Its function is to build a bridge between the two thoughts. This also determines that it should not only retain the thoughts of the previous period, but also develop the thoughts of another period on this basis.Since the development of Chinese Buddhist Zen is carried out from both internal and external aspects, specifically, one is the integration of internal thoughts of Buddhist Zen, and the other is the penetration of Buddhist Zen into other fields of thought, so its development process is non-uniform. trend.The transitional nature of Luo Zu’s religious thoughts we discussed, of course, refers to the situation presented by the penetration of Buddhist Zen into other thought fields.Therefore, this transition is not only reflected in time, but also in space.And Luo Zu's religious thoughts also reflect the special relationship with Buddhist Zen in both time and space. It was a major breakthrough in form that made Zen Buddhism, which had always been popular among the upper class, possible to be popular and spread in the lower class.It is worth noting that Luo Zu basically established his teachings strictly theoretically. With the courage of a religious thinker, he carried out comprehensive reforms on Buddhist Zen and its traditional Chinese thoughts, and successfully Utilizing the form of folk literature - Baojuan and the way of reasoning suitable for the lower class people, "transplanted" Buddhism into a new field - folk religion.It is through this new type of religion that Buddhism expands its existence and influence.To achieve all these goals, an intermediary and bridge problem must be solved, so that a natural transition between the two fields can be realized.Of course, the development of Buddhism in the direction of folk religion is only one of the many forms it seeks to exist and develop, not the only way out.The development history of Chinese Buddhism also proves this point.However, Chinese folk religion must continue to develop in the direction of the folk by virtue of the bridge that has been built, because its vitality is only in the folk. The third characteristic of Luozu's religious thought lies in its folk character.实际上，罗祖在处理儒道佛三教关系中而形成的圆融性特点，以及在对佛教禅学所实施的通俗化、世俗化的过程中而形成的过渡性特点，都已经包含和预示了其思想的旨归及其发展的最终趋势，即在它的民间性。罗祖创教的初衷和终的，都是根据下层民众的的普遍习俗和信仰的文化传统去构建他的宗教思想体系的。他所运用的概念，所宣扬的内容，所采取的形式，无一不是为了实现这一点而服务。就其宗教思想内容而言，主要在以下两个方面体现了民间性特点。第一，对家乡观念的重视和对家族团圆的追求。罗祖一方面把中国传统的宗法思想和家乡观念深深地嵌入到了其宗教教义和信仰之中，从而使得前者具有了宗教意味；另一方面将其宗教教义和信仰建立在中国传统的宗法思想和家乡观念之上，从而使得前者具有了民间意味。二者的有机组合，形成了罗祖宗教思想的独特性。罗祖宗教思想民间性特质，表现在第二个方面的内容，是对地狱和生死轮回思想的强化。罗祖充分利用下层社会广大平民群众笃信与中国传统迷信思想已相结合的佛教思想的习俗和宗教情感，来自显其教，自重其教，此举为拓展中国民间宗教的地盘确实起到了积极作用。佛教的轮回报应思想正是借助了民间宗教一途而得到进一步的发展，而民间宗教又通过佛教轮回报应思想的宣传增强了其教义的民间性特色。 综上所述，在中国民间宗教的历史发展过程中，能较好处理流行于中国上层社会的正统佛教思想和传播于中国下层社会的佛教思想，与中国民间宗教思想的融合、转化的关系问题，并通过这一融合和转化建立起既不违佛教本旨，又具自身特色的民间宗教思想体系，当推由罗祖开创的罗教。我们说，罗祖宗教思想所体现出的圆通性、过渡性、民间性这三大特质，充分显示出其在中国民间宗教思想发展史上的独特地位。无论就其深契佛禅之缘起性空的无相之法，即心即佛的本来面目，明心见性的无修无证，任性逍遥的纵横自在诸论，还是就其富有特色的真空家乡，无极圣祖，宇宙观和本体论，永断轮回诸见，都不是以后中国民间宗教任何一教一派所能与之比肩的。换句话说，罗祖宗教思想体系所体现出来的那种完整性、一致性以及理论性，远远高出于罗祖以后的所有中国民间宗教各宗各派。