Ring scar is also called incense scar. Refers to the scars left by Buddhists burning incense in order to quit. His behavior is based on or derived from the idea of exchanging life for support, or is based on detachment from himself. Burn ring scar is also called' burn incense scar', and the number of burn incense scar is generally one, two, three, six, nine and twelve. Twelve o'clock is the highest "Bodhisattva Commandment" among the commandments. At home, many people wear burn scars on their wrists on the eve of Bodhisattva Ring Day. Most of the monks' scars are burned on their heads.
origin
Article 16 of the 48 light precepts in Brahma Sutra says: "If you burn your body, arms and fingers; If you don't burn your body, arms or fingers to support the Buddhas, you won't be a monk. "
Volume 6 of the Shurangama Sutra, the head of the Buddha, said, "It was a monk who decided to practice samadhi, so that he would burn Yi Deng, finger and incense on his body before the Tathagata. I say this is because people have no debt to pay immediately. "
Beijing newspaper again? The book "The Skill of the Medicine King Bodhisattva" says: "All living beings like to see bodhisattvas burn their bodies and hold their arms to support the buddhas."
From the content of these poems, burning the body has two meanings: one is to express supreme support; Second, in order to eliminate karma. As for the burning position, it is not limited to the top of the head, but also the body, arms and fingers.
Some monks have some scars left by burning incense on their heads, which is an obvious external sign of monks in Han Buddhism, so many people mistakenly believe that all monks should burn incense scars. In some movies or TV series that show stories of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the monks who appear on the screen are solemnly "burning" their scars, which will be ridiculous to anyone with a little knowledge of Buddhist history.
In fact, Buddhism does not burn scars, and there is no provision in Buddhist precepts to burn scars on the heads of educated people. Therefore, except for the monks of the Han Dynasty, monks all over the world and ethnic minorities in China can't see scars. Even China Han monks who became monks before the Song Dynasty had no scars on their heads.
The custom of burning scars is said to have originated in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, a monk named Zhide was revered by Yuan Shizu. When he preached the precepts, it was stipulated that everyone who was ordained should burn incense on his head, including three shamans and twelve monks, as a lifelong oath. Such a small invention was later spread quietly and passed down from generation to generation. Of course, this is a bad habit that is harmful to the body, and it is also a local product of Buddhist culture in Han Dynasty. From here, we can also see some characteristics of the Buddhist cultural circle in the Han Dynasty. Simply put, "popular belief" is much more powerful than the "elite culture" composed of a few thinkers (Buddhists) in the later stage of Buddhism development. Zhi De, the Yuan monk who invented the incense burning scar (commonly known as "incense burning cave"), was not a Buddhist at all, but his little invention spread widely and had a profound influence, which was incomparable to any famous monk's theory after Huineng.
Later, burning precepts was regarded as the beginning of penance in Buddhism, which gradually applied to all monks and continued to this day, becoming one of the symbols of monks in the eyes of secular people.