Taoist legends
The name of "Zhongyuan Festival" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and "Zhongyuan" is a Taoist saying. Taoist classics call the 15th day of the first month Shang Yuan, the 15th day of July Zhong Yuan and the 15th day of October Xia Yuan. He also matched "three yuan" with "three officials", saying that Tianguan was blessed by God and was born on the fifteenth day of the first month.
Taoism regards the 15th day of the seventh lunar month as the day when the local officials in the Middle Yuan Dynasty forgive sins. At that time, the local officials will check and test the performances of immortals, mortals and animals in heaven and earth, so as to be convicted and exempted from punishment. Laozi's Zhang Sentences in the Eastern Han Dynasty quoted Tao Jing: "On July 15th, the day of the Mid-Yuan Dynasty, the local officials and schools selected people to distinguish between good and evil? In its day and night, it is a classic. Ten Great Sages, Qi Yongling. The prisoner was hungry, and he was relieved at that time. "
"The Book of Practice" also said: "On the Mid-Yuan Day in July, the local officials descended, and the good and evil on earth were determined, so the Taoist priests chanted scriptures at night, and the hungry prisoners were also freed."
Therefore, on the 15th of July, Taoism will hold a "Mid-Yuan Purdue", in which three sacrifices and five fruits will be used to purdue ten ghosts and ghosts, and by the way, we will pray for good weather, peace and prosperity. The people will prepare rich sacrificial rites to worship the emperor and his ancestors.
Buddhist legends
Zhongyuan is the "Orchid Festival" of Buddhism, and its founder is said to be Xiao Yan, Liang Wudi in the Southern Dynasties. The word "Euglena basin" comes from Buddhism, and it is called "Sanskrit ULLAMBANA", which means "to save the upside down". The pain of life is like a bat hanging upside down on a tree, hanging and miserable. In Indian Buddhist ceremonies, Buddhists held a "Bonbon Meeting" in order to recommend their ancestors. In Buddhist scriptures, the Bonbon Sutra aims to cultivate filial piety and encourage Buddhist disciples. In order to save all living beings from the suffering of hanging upside down, it recites scriptures and distributes food for lonely souls and wild ghosts.
There are also many different kinds of folk festivals, which have the same meaning as the Mid-Yuan Festival, such as Mugu Festival (Hebei), Tianliao Festival (Guangdong), Fresh Fruit Festival (Buyi), Pig Grab Festival (She) and Harvest Festival (Gaoshan).
From this, we can see that such festivals and customs, whether Taoism, Buddhism or folk customs, are all carried out around the same purpose, such as offering sacrifices to ancestors, crossing the dead, celebrating the harvest, praying for good weather, making the country prosperous and the people safe. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it has been a common belief among the people that Buddhism and Taoism are integrated. Because these activities are basically scheduled for July 15th, the boundaries between them are gradually blurred, and today's custom of "Purdue in Zhongyuan" is formed.
What is the real origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Ghost Festival) originated from the story of Mu Lian saving his mother: "Those who have Mu Lian monks have great powers. His mother fell into the hungry ghost road, and the food entrance turned into flames, and the hunger was too bitter. Mulian couldn't save her mother, so she asked the Buddha for advice. In order to talk about the scriptures of the orchid basin, she taught to make an orchid basin on July 15 to save her mother. " It is said that Mulian saw his dead mother, Liu, after going through all kinds of hardships in the underworld, and found that she was tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Mulian wanted to give her vegetable rice in a bowl, but the vegetable rice was taken away by the hungry ghosts. Mulian had to ask the Buddha for help, and the Buddha was moved by Mulian's filial piety and awarded him the Orchid Sutra. According to the instructions, Mulian offered a vegetarian feast of rare fruits in an orchid basin to her mother on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The hungry mother finally got the food. In order to commemorate Mulian's filial piety, Buddhists hold a grand "Bonsai" every year, which is what we now call "Ghost Festival".
The significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival
From the legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can deeply realize that the sacrifice of the Mid-Autumn Festival has a dual significance, one is to show filial piety for remembering ancestors, and the other is to carry forward the righteous act of pushing others and being charitable. This is all from the perspective of compassion, which is very human. Therefore, while celebrating Zhongyuan, we should get rid of the ghost's point of view and look forward to mutual love.