As the New Year approaches, people from all walks of life are packing their bags and going home to celebrate the New Year. Only monks have to stick to their "jobs" and welcome the coming of the new year in the temple.

On the one hand, it is because we monks have no home and can only wander around the world as our home. On the other hand, the home of monks is the temple, and the temple is the home of the monks. Even many monks who are traveling abroad will return to the temple at this time to celebrate the New Year with the resident masters.

When the Buddha was alive, monks could only sleep under a tree for one night, and they could not sleep under a tree for three consecutive nights. At that time, there were not even monasteries, and monks really had no fixed abode and were at home all over the world. Not to mention going back to the temple to celebrate the New Year.

Later, when the two eminent monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan introduced Buddhism to China, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty arranged for the two eminent monks to stay temporarily in the "Honglu Temple", the official office in charge of foreign affairs at that time. Later, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty ordered to build a monastery for the two eminent monks and named it "White Horse Temple".

As you can imagine, there was no custom of celebrating the New Year in the temples at first. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that Buddhism completed the process of Chineseization, and the temples gradually began to pay attention to the New Year.

Especially in the Later Liang Dynasty, the monk Qizhi, who was considered to be the reincarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva, was born on the first day of the first lunar month. The Chinese New Year's Day also became the Christmas Day of the future Buddha of Buddhism.

Therefore, temples on this day are often the most crowded and lively time of the year. In the temple, there are smoke curls and bells ring; outside the temple, there is a lot of people and cars and horses. In addition to the usual smell of charcoal from burning incense candles, the air in the temple also smelled of gunpowder smoke from exploding firecrackers.

At this time, people go to the temple mainly to offer incense and pray to the Bodhisattva for blessings, health, peace and joy in the new year. In order to win the first incense stick, many people come to the temple before dawn on New Year's Eve and line up to burn the first incense. Many large temples have long queues outside the temple gates from early morning on New Year's Eve every year. It is said that a temple has a New Year's Eve The first incense stick will receive special care from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and the person who puts up the incense will surely have all their wishes come true.

People burn incense, kowtow, and listen to the Dharma in the temple. This process always takes a long time, and they must be hungry and tired. As a result, vendors around the temple set up stalls selling food at the entrance of the temple with pickets and carts. These stalls were often packed. Over time, in addition to eating, there were also trading activities of goods, agricultural tools, seeds and other items outside the temple. This was the birth of the temple fair.

Temple fairs are built on the basis of temples. The earliest temples in China were places for worshiping ancestors. From ancient documents, we know that there were temple fairs next to the ancestral temples in the Zhou Dynasty. However, temple fairs in Buddhist temples only developed after the Song Dynasty.

In the early days, temple fairs could only meet people's needs for eating, drinking, and exchanging goods. Later, as this custom continued to consolidate, temple fairs began to meet people's entertainment needs, adding juggling, dance, drama, Tours and other entertainment activities.

Therefore, burning incense in temples and visiting temple fairs during the New Year have become indispensable parts of the New Year. Not only the faithful men and women flock to it and enjoy it endlessly, but also the people without faith are also willing to join in the fun.

In addition to temple fair activities, in order to attract pilgrims, temples will also hold corresponding activities during the New Year's Day: ringing bells on New Year's Eve, "burning incense", lighting lanterns, releasing animals, etc., in addition , the New Year celebration activities such as "Laba porridge" and "writing Spring Festival couplets" years ago are also the highlight of the year in the temple.

At this time, most of the temples have been renovated. Looking from a distance, the red lanterns and bright yellow flags complement each other in the layers of carved beams and painted buildings. The trees covered with red wishing ribbons are arranged in an orderly manner. There was an auspicious and festive atmosphere in the courtyard.

Spring Festival couplets and New Year's Eve dinner are popular New Year customs in the world. In fact, most temples also have them, but the content is slightly different; the Spring Festival couplets in temples generally rarely include the words "future", "peace" and "hide". Words such as "home" and "luck and longevity" were replaced by words such as "coolness", "auspiciousness", "compassion", "freedom", and "the other shore".

The New Year's Eve dinner in the temple also has another name: - "Pu Cha", Pu Cha, Pu'er, has a universal and comprehensive meaning. Although there is only one cup of tea, it is offered to all the Buddhas in the ten directions. All the sages and saints of the lower and lower realms, like the sound of great thunder, like the great clouds and rain, all living beings in the three thousand worlds will be contaminated by the tea dew and have a happy heart. The main purpose of this activity is to bring all the masters from the whole temple together to celebrate the festival.

The procedure for making Pu Cha is usually that the monk thanks everyone for their commitment and support over the past year, summarizes the work of the year, sends New Year blessings, and expresses to all the monks and four disciples their contribution to the maintenance of the temple over the past year. He expressed his gratitude for the hard work, shared the temple's prospects for the new year with everyone, and encouraged everyone to continue to study hard.

At the end of the Pu Tea event, everyone has a dinner party. This is probably the most festive moment in the temple. Everyone in the temple gathers together happily. The table is filled with various side dishes, tea and drinks. Interspersed among them.

The monks, laypeople, old and young in the whole temple gathered together to talk about Taoist sentiments and said auspicious words to each other, enjoying themselves happily.

Dumplings, Lantern Festival, and hot pot have different customs and staple foods in different places, but they all fill everyone’s stomach and warm their hearts.

Then the masters on duty at each hall will perform their duties and take care of the pilgrims and candles. After the New Year's Eve dinner, the remaining masters will gather together to "changkezi" (chat) " "Keep up the New Year's Eve", wait until midnight, and everyone will ring the prayer bell together.

Hearing the bells clears away worries. Each bell represents everyone’s inner blessings, praying for the prosperity of the motherland, the happiness of the people, the advancement of Taoism in the new year, and the six o’clock auspiciousness.

In addition to the masters, there are also many faithful men and women who celebrate the New Year in the temple. They choose to stay away from the dust during the most lively days of the year and spend their time in the peaceful and pure environment of the temple.

There are hundreds of monks and laypeople, young and old, happily cooking, sweeping, and watching the Spring Festival Gala together in the temple, which also adds a different flavor of the New Year to the temple.

It feels like a group of travelers with the same destination. One night before arriving at the destination, they sit on the ground in the dark and windy wilderness, light a fire, and hug together to keep warm. , celebrate the road that has been completed together, and look forward to the road that has not yet been completed.

On the road to liberation, we are all pedestrians, we all still need to keep moving forward, and we all still need to hug each other for warmth at a certain point in time when we are exhausted.

For us, the Spring Festival is like the transformed city described in Buddhist scriptures. It can give us a place to rest. When we are no longer tired physically and mentally, we must continue to move forward.

While we are still in Huacheng, we might as well get involved, have a good rest, and prepare for the journey ahead.