General enlightenment in modern times has tended to be formal and superstitious, and the meaning of enlightenment has been completely lost. The true meaning of enlightenment is now known to very few people. In fact, the opening of this matter is very important, its real meaning, is to show that we provide this Buddha statue of the significance of the place. The Buddhist ceremony of enlightenment is actually what is commonly known as the inauguration ceremony. When a new building or facility is inaugurated, the public must be received and an inauguration ceremony must be held. The most important thing is to tell the public why the facility is needed and how it will benefit the public. In Buddhism, when a statue of Buddha is enshrined, or when a new building is completed, a ceremony is also held, which is called the "opening of the light". For example, if we make offerings to Guanyin, after the statue of Guanyin has been built, we have to inaugurate it and make offerings to inaugurate it. When we inaugurate the statue, we have to explain to the public why we are making offerings to Guanyin, and what is the significance of making offerings to Guanyin. Through this statue, we develop the light of our own nature, so it's not a person who opens the light for the Buddha and Bodhisattva, it's the statue of the Buddha and Bodhisattva that opens the light for us, and that's the meaning of it here.
There are many believers in the dojo who participate in the enlightenment ceremony, which is a theater performance for the public to see. But in every detail of the performance, the meaning must be made clear, so that everyone can realize it and not become superstitious. In the enlightenment ceremony, a pen is taken to point the eyes, the pen represents wisdom and literature; a towel is taken to wipe the face, the table wipes off the dust and cleanses the dirt in the heart. Taking a mirror is to look at oneself, and can also look at others, self and other are not two, birth and Buddha are the same, all take very deep meaning. That form, some occasions can be used, some occasions do not have to be used, as long as the meaning of the offering will be clear.
The word "enlightenment" means to let the Buddha's image, and these buildings, develop the light of our own nature. It does not mean that a monk can enlighten the statues of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, because a monk is still a mortal, and if a mortal enlightens the statues of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, then the Buddha and the Bodhisattva will also become mortal. If it is true that if the light is on, then it will work, but if not, then it won't work, then why do we have to worship the Buddha and Bodhisattva, why don't we worship this Venerable Master, who is even more spiritual than the Buddha and Bodhisattva? This is the wrong conception of the world. To say that a statue of Buddha will be effective if it is enlightened and not if it is not enlightened is a superstition and a complete lack of understanding of what is actually going on. Therefore, the enlightenment ceremony is an inauguration ceremony to tell the public the significance of molding the Buddha statue, building the building, and what kind of mindset we should dedicate to the Buddha, and to explain these things clearly. These various facilities are the means, not the end, of the Buddha's education. The mastery of Buddha's education was to combine teaching and art into one. This is something that many people have thought of so far, but have not yet been able to do, whereas the Buddha's teachings were thoroughly implemented thousands of years ago, and this is the most perfect teaching.
Enlightenment is the declaration of what this Buddha and Bodhisattva represent. For example, if we make offerings to Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva represents compassion, proclaiming the Buddha's wish to save all sentient beings with great kindness and compassion. When we make offerings to the Buddha and Guanyin, we should emulate the Buddha's compassionate wish to save all beings from suffering. Therefore, when we see the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva and hear the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva, it triggers our great compassion. For all people, all things, all things, we must be great compassion, really love, care, help, this is this name, this image develops the light of our self-nature compassion, this is called enlightenment. So by the name of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, we develop the light of our own nature; by the image of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, we inspire the light of our own nature, that's what it means. If you make a mistake, then you are superstitious. If you are superstitious, then you are superstitious. Being superstitious does not solve the problem; only wisdom can solve the problem. This is something that you can't afford not to know when you study Buddhism.
As for what kind of person is qualified to enlighten the statue of Buddha, for the sutra of Buddha and Bodhisattva, the historical origin, the meaning he expresses, are able to understand, explain clearly, explain clearly for everyone, this is right. Definitely not in those forms. Each form has a deep educational significance, and it is necessary to explain it clearly, to explain it, in order not to tend to superstition, to revere and worship the Buddha and Bodhisattva as ghosts and gods, and to pray to heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to bestow blessings, which is the wrong concept, this is an abnormal idea.
Opening the light, also known as opening the light, opening the eyes, opening the eyes, opening the eyes of the offerings, is the new statue of Buddha, Buddha painting is completed to be placed in the Buddha temple, Buddha room, held for the Buddha to open the eyes of the ceremony. "Ch'an Lin Elephant ware笺-垂说门" said: "Where the new Buddha God big statue, please the master of the family, standing on the ground a few words, as a pen point potential, straight point to open his vajra eyes, this is the opening of the eyes of the Buddha, also known as the opening of the light." In Buddhism, only after the opening of the light, the Buddha statue will not be the original wood carving and stone molding, but has a religious significance of the sacred, by the Buddhists worship.
When the light is turned on, the statue is first set in place, sutras and mantras are recited, the bodhisattva is invited to take his seat, and then a senior monk is invited to turn on the light and speak for the statue. The Black Valley Light Discourse says: "The opening of the eyes, the original Buddha's craftsman carving open the eyes, is the matter of opening the eyes; the second monks recite the Buddha's eye truth, recite the Great Day truth, then the achievement of the Buddha all the virtues, which is called the opening of the eyes also." So it is performing a saying ceremony for the statue of Buddha. When opening the light, due to the different merits of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, the main Dharma practitioner said the law is also different, and the main Dharma practitioner will often mention for the statue of the opening of the "six passes", namely, the eye passes, ear passes, nose passes, tongue passes, body passes, and the mind passes, which is to let the statue of the Buddha with six kinds of magical powers: that is to say, pointing the eye eye, the true sight of nothing can be seen; pointing the ear ear ear pass, the wonderful smell of the ten directions; pointing the nose nose pass, the universal smell of the Dharma worlds. Nose Tong, smell the fragrance of the Dharma realm; Tongue Tong, speak the infinite Dharma; body body Tong, divided into dust and sand; Yi Yi Tong, can identify the three worlds of the group of opportunities. The opening ceremony is generally the main lawmaker first pick up a new towel in front of the statue of Buddha to do a rubbing of the statue of the action, say a verse, praise the virtues of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva; followed by a mirror to the front of the statue of the Buddha, say a few words of the temple, the statue of Buddha to complete the cause; and then the main lawmaker pick up the vermilion pen, and then say another verse, will be the vermilion pen in the direction of the eye of the Buddha to make a "point! "movement, shouted "open", the whole ceremony is completed.
Large-scale temples new Buddha statue placement is more grand, generally to hold the opening of the light will be held, which is also a common ritual activities. Among the many religious ceremonies, geographical differences, their respective legal rituals are not the same, but in general, must not violate the provisions of the classics.
The rituals of the opening ceremony were first seen in the Northern Song Dynasty in the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo (980), North India, Utsenkan State Dharma Master Shi Guo in Kaifeng Taiping Xingguo Temple Translation of the Scriptures translated out of the "Buddha said that all the Rudraksha an image of the Samadhi Ritual Sutra". The sutra points out that after the completion of the carving of the statue of Buddha, it is necessary to hold the activity of celebrating and praising the statue of Buddha. First, an auspicious date and a boundary resort are chosen; second, offerings such as umbrellas, streamers, incense, fruits, and lamps are set up here; then a jataka, who is dressed in a dignified and lawful manner, enters the hall to set up the image and contemplates with his disciples the all-perfect appearance of the Buddha. Then, with their palms together, they bowed in reverence to the Holy Spirit and made offerings of pure incense and flowers in front of the Buddha. With a settled mind and free from doubt, recite the mantra three times, inviting all Buddhas to dwell here and to receive this offering of incense, flowers, lamps, fruits, food and drink. Again, place the statue of the Buddha sitting in the west and facing the east, and cover it with a yellow cloth. Ajahn Chahn Chah made a visualization of the Buddha as a gathering of fire, with the true body of the Buddha perfected in all its forms, and then placed the three words "Om" and "Un" on the body of the Buddha. "Om is placed on the top of the body, A is placed on the mouth, and Un is placed on the heart. If the statue is of gold, stone or copper, it should be coated with perfumed oil, cleaned with grass and brushes, and then praised with songs, dances and music, while the monks recite the true words of perfumed praise. And then with full of perfume and five treasures and five medicinal flowers and fruits of the vase bath statue, and then make the monks chant gatha, and make kabuki music. In the case of a painted image, the image should be illuminated in a mirror, and then the image should be bathed in the aforementioned five kinds of pure water applied to the mirror. Then the image is bathed in the mirror, and the following words are chanted: "Clothes on", "Ears on", "Hair in a bun", "Nails on", "Moustache on", "Offerings of Incense", "Solemnity", and so on, and then the image is placed in the mandala according to the rituals of the initiation, and the true words of the principal deity are chanted for three times. After all the offerings have been made, the eye-opening master uses a brush to make a point of the eyes, which is to open the eyes of the statue of the Buddha, and then recites the eye-opening mantra two times. At this point, the statue of Buddha has been opened to the light. After reciting the eye-opening mantra, the donor's disciples enter the mandala and recite the mantra of protecting the Buddha, the mantra of increasing longevity, and the mantra of restraining calamities and increasing benefits, so that all sentient beings will be blessed with good fortune. At this point, Ajahn Chah taught the giver to make karmic ties, to give benefits to increase blessings, and to give gold, silver, wealth, etc. as he wished. Then the bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, yupas, and yubasis also give their possessions to make their blessings even more complete. All the offerings within the mandala must go to the Ajahn Chah, and no one else is allowed to enjoy them. When this set of rituals is completed, the altar can be closed. This is the practice of Tantric Buddhism, which is different from that of Chinese Buddhism.
Any ritual in Buddhism has a certain significance, and the opening of the light is no exception. According to Buddhism, we all beings are polluted by the dust of ignorance since the beginning of time and are unable to see the truth of all dharmas, so we need to develop our inner wisdom. Zen Master Shen Xiu of the Tang Dynasty said, "The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind is like a mirror; always brush it diligently, do not stir up the dust." Therefore, in the opening ceremony, the person who exercises the main law picks up a towel to the statue of the Buddha as a dust brushing action, which is expressed to brush away the dust on the heart of all beings; with a mirror, it means that the dust is removed and cleaned to reveal that the heart is clear and see the nature of all dharmas, and really see the true face of all dharmas; with the cinnabar pen pointing to the eyes of the Buddha because the eyes represent the wisdom, so pointing to open the eyes of the Buddha to develop the wisdom of the living beings within. If sentient beings do not have wisdom, and have delusional separations of all dharmas, it is as if their eyes are diseased, and when they see an empty flower, they still cling to it as real, so they need to remove the eye disease and discover the original wisdom of prajna.
Some people have also argued that this ceremony is from Taoism and folklore, Buddhism in the process of spreading the influence of the original Chinese culture, will be aided into, which is also one of the prominent manifestations of the Chineseization of Buddhism it.
This is also one of the prominent manifestations of the Chineseization of Buddhism.