For the elderly, having money to spend is a kind of happiness;
Reuniting with family is a kind of happiness;
Recalling the romance of first love is a kind of happiness ...
On December 19, 2018, more than 200 uncles and aunts found several other more practical blessings at the 2019 annual prayer meeting of Longshan Zen Temple Miaoyuan Senior Care Center in Tuanfeng County, Hubei Province. of "happiness".
It is reported that this annual meeting will last until December 25, when about 1,000 uncles and aunts with good wishes will participate. ?
Worshiping the Buddha and burning incense: Piety is a blessing
In order to give themselves a good sign in 2019 and a new and beautiful beginning, the uncles and aunts first came to the Mahavira Hall to collectively worship the Buddha and burn incense. .
Methods and steps of burning incense
1. Light the incense.
2. Hold the incense stick between the middle and index fingers of both hands, and hold the end of the incense with your thumb. ?
3. Place the incense head on your chest, facing the statue of Bodhisattva.
4. Raise incense and raise eyebrows.
5. Let go as in the third action.
6. Start inserting with your left hand.
Place the first incense in the center and recite silently: "Offer to the three treasures of the ten directions and three generations."
Put the second incense to the right side. ”
Place the third incense stick on the left side and silently recite: “Provide offerings to all sentient beings in the ten dharma realms.”
The meaning of holding incense in obeisance to the Buddha
1. Expression. Those who offer incense have the meaning of offering pious offerings to the Three Jewels;
2. It means conveying sincerity to the void Dharma Realm, and being inspired by the blessings of the Three Jewels in the ten directions;
3. It means burning oneself, selfless dedication, and universal incense. Ten directions.
Its fundamental meaning is to express respect, gratitude and memory for the Buddha and Bodhisattva - tangible incense is a way to capture the heart, and inner purity and piety are more important than formal incense, so it is called "Heart fragrant".
Eat fast to eliminate disasters: Health is blessing
If the elderly want to stay healthy, in addition to regular exercise, the most important thing is to have healthy eating habits. Chinese people have always liked feasts with a strong sense of ritual, especially during festivals. They must be sumptuous to appear classy. However, if you eat like this for a long time, your health will definitely suffer.
Therefore, in order to have a healthier body in 2019, the uncles and aunts specially experienced an authentic fasting feast.
As a "vegetarian" advocate, I also experienced it for two days. To be honest, the taste is really good: the "fish-shaped bean gluten" tastes very "chewy", even the authentic Hubei name The dish - lotus root soup also appeared at the fasting banquet, but the soup was very clear, but also very delicious, no less than the popular Hubei lotus root soup...
And the traditional The banquet is different. At the beginning of the fasting banquet, the guests need to wait until the masters have finished reciting the "Offering Mantra" before the guests can start eating.
The significance of reciting the Offering Mantra before meals
The "Offering Mantra" must be recited in the temple hall, morning meal and lunch meal. This is to help the public raise their mindfulness and receive food with intention. . There is a paragraph in it: "When eating, you should wish all living beings; the joy of Zen is to eat, and the joy of Dharma will be filled." It mainly reminds the monks who eat in the hall not to be overly greedy for delicious food, but should always live in the joy and freedom of Dharma. In tranquility, feed on the Dharma.
When it comes to vegetarianism, some people may also hear about "vegetarian". So what is the difference between the two?
Not eating after noon
The key to fasting is not eating after noon. Here we should pay attention to the meaning of noon. A day can be divided into six parts. There are three o'clock in the day and three o'clock in the dark day. That is, the Dan hours, noon hours and dusk hours of the day, and the eve, middle night and late night of darkness. After noon, it should be almost two o'clock in the afternoon in modern time. Some people think that noon should be exactly twelve o'clock, which makes sense.
Historical origins
Buddhism in Han Dynasty began to require vegetarianism from Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, so the meals eaten in temples were called vegetarian meals. This refers to the breakfast porridge and lunch we usually eat, which of course are vegetarian. It is a Buddhist ritual for monks to eat breakfast and lunch, which is called fasting at two o'clock. There is also a set of rituals for Linzhai in Ershi, which we can still see in temples today.
For ordinary people, this may be what they mean by eating vegetarian food.
Dancing and clapping for a while are also very happy
In the afternoon, the uncles and aunts did not feel tired at all, because they listened carefully to the relevant information of Longshan Zen Temple Miaoyuan Nursing Center with gratitude The leaders delivered passionate, sincere and humorous speeches. At the same time, *** also looks forward to the wonderful planning of the senior care center in the next five years.
A section of "Happy Clapping Exercise" not only allowed the uncles and aunts in the audience to do the most affordable warm-up exercise, but also understood the principle of "starting to maintain health from the little things in life" in practice.
A happy and beautiful old life is, of course, indispensable for vitality and enthusiasm. The dance "Flower Butterfly" carefully prepared by the volunteers of Longshan Temple Miaoyuan Elderly Care Center ignited the passion of the uncles and aunts present: their beautiful dance postures burst out with "youth-like" vitality, and also inspired all the uncles and aunts present. Dynamic and vital.
What is happiness?
"Can find the warmth of home,
can find the joy of old age,
can continue to maintain youthful vitality,
can smile more and more The happier...
This is the happiness we want most! "
Dear uncles and aunts, do you think so?