The allusion told by the monk of the Torah: The prodigy, Ku Meng, made a bet with the Taoist priest, Song Jiang, who cut his own throat because he lost the bet. His head caught fire wherever it rolled. His seven daughters had to take turns carrying the head in their hands. The crowd poured water on his daughters in an attempt to extinguish the fire and save them. This led to the formation of the Water Festival.
Nudan told in one breath what he had heard about the origins of the Water Festival, winning a round of applause and cheers from the men, women and children on the bus. Everyone said, "Although everyone has heard their parents or elders talk about the formation of the Water Festival, and the contents are likely to be different, no one can tell it in such detail and vividly. Everyone praised Nu Than for his eloquence, and if he could go to university to further his studies, he would be a literary scholar.
Wu Yonggang said, "I have lived with the Tai family for four or five years, and have celebrated four or five Water Splashing Festivals in Tai villages, but I didn't know that the Water Splashing Festival came from this. Just now, I heard everyone talking about the history of the Water Splashing Festival, and what each person heard was probably different. Everyone here, who can give another different story?"
At this time, a yellow-robed, mantle-bearing old monk sitting on the sidelines spoke up:
"If you are interested, and you don't mind the old monk's inarticulacy, or the old monk's poor eloquence, let's wait for the old monk to contribute a different story."
Chinese monks, wearing "Velvet", that is, wearing a black monk's robes in the majority, and occasionally also wear gray or brown, never see a monk wearing yellow robes. This is because China has always regarded "yellow" as the supreme noble color, only the royal family can take. To the Qing Dynasty, yellow clothing, only the emperor after the Prince can wear, in addition to the Emperor as a result of merit "grace" special "imperial gift" of the yellow waistcoat, and even promoted to the Prince of the Emperor's own brothers are not allowed to wear, wear is a rebellious heart, the crime is not pardoned, you can The whole family to beheading. Ritual so, not to mention the monks.
Thai monks, but everyone must wear yellow robes, red robes, and most of the silk. Red and yellow, very eye-catching. Chinese Buddhism, is transmitted from India into the Mahayana Buddhism, pay attention to is not to kill, Buddhists are not only not allowed to eat meat, because silk is the silkworm pupa boiled to death after reeling silk, do a silk robe, do not know how many pupae have to die, and therefore wear silk robes are too big a sin, monks are not allowed to wear. Thailand's Buddhism is the thirteenth century from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) came in the Hinayana Buddhism, although also pay attention to do not kill, but also pay attention to the "release" to a certain festival, families have to buy many live fish to the river to put; but can eat meat, even monks can eat meat, the conditions are only one: not their own hands to kill the animal! All of them can be eaten. So Thai Buddhists can use chicken, duck, fish and meat "fasting monks", to the market to buy chickens, you can only buy killed, buy fish can only buy that has died. If the fish vendor only has live fish, he will ask you to wait for a while. If you go somewhere else for three to five minutes and come back, the fishmonger has already wrestled the live fish to death, so you can buy it and eat it. Buddhism is the state religion of Thailand and almost everyone is a Buddhist except for a few Islamists, without realizing that the fish catchers and fish sellers, are Buddhists not.
Thai monks do not make their own fire cooking, get up early in the morning, hand over the bowl, first to the villages to "fasting". Because the local people think: If you meet the monk early in the morning, you can give yourself and the whole family to bring a day of good luck, so the good men and women, especially the rich rich, most of them early in the morning in front of their own homes ready to fasting, waiting for the monks to come to the door to ask for alms. Ramadan mainly rice, but also rice cakes, but also can have pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, fish and shrimp and other meat dishes and fruits and vegetables and so on.
Only gamblers are the exception. They think that when they get up early in the morning and run into a monk, they will lose like the monk's head: bare. Therefore, most of the gamblers do not go out in the morning to avoid meeting the monk.
From the lunar calendar ① August 16 to November 15, the three months for the "Summer Festival", monks are not allowed to go out, can only sit in the temple, waiting for the door to the giver to give alms. To the November 15, "solve the summer festival" later, you can again along the door to the bowl.
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① Lunar calendar - Thai lunar calendar is different from the Chinese lunar calendar. China's lunar calendar, about a month later than the calendar, the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, about in the middle to late September of the calendar; Thailand's lunar calendar, about a month earlier than the calendar, the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, about in the middle of the seventh month of the calendar.
The Torah monks go out and wear yellow monk's robes. Monk robes even chest girdle a **** six pieces, fasting pelvis, in a bag, with a cloth belt hanging on the shoulder, hidden in the monk's robe in the right armpit; back a bag, which is a blanket, in order to prepare for sitting on the ground or morning and evening when the weather suddenly turned cold can be draped; with a red cloth umbrella, dark, no matter where you go, as long as the umbrella one, can be a mattress for the night. Some monks, still retain the habit of eating betel nut, hand-held a small bag, that is, betel nut bag, which contains, not counting beads, but betel nut.
Thai monks, only two meals a day: one at eight in the morning and one at 11:30 p.m., and not eat at noon, but can drink water.
Buddhism is the state religion of Thailand, the central government has the Ministry of Religious Affairs, by the royal family in the Taoist monks as ministers, commonly known as the "King of Monks". Adult men after the age of twenty everyone must be in the monastery once, even the king can not be an exception. Generally, before the summer festival, accompanied by parents, relatives and friends, in the drumming ceremony into the monastery to read the scriptures and practice, at least three months to live, before they can return to the custom of the marriage, or even a wife can not be married. Monks who have been a monk for a few years can also return to secularism to marry and start a family. This is why the older monks are especially respected.
With the accelerated pace of life, modern Thais, especially those in big cities, are not too concerned about the ceremony and time of "monkhood", many people only go to the temple to live for three days, a false response to the story, even if they have been out of the house, you can get a wife.
Thailand has monks but no nuns, women do not become monks. Women are not only not allowed to become a monk, but also not to touch any part of the monk's body, otherwise, the woman will be ten years bad luck, the monk will be eleven years bad luck. Therefore, no matter where you go, a monk can never sit side by side with a woman.
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Today, this fifty or sixty year old monk is going to tell you another story about the Water Festival, and we will all applaud first, and then we will all listen. Here is the story the old monk told.
The Water Splashing Festival is also known as the Songjiang Festival, or Songjiang Difficulty. Overseas Chinese from China thought that it was related to Song Jiang, a good man of Liangshan Mountain, and made up a story about Nguyen's three males who came to Vietnam to become the king of the Water Margin. In fact, that is far-fetched. Thailand's Song Jiang, and the Water Margin Liangshan Song Jiang has nothing to do with, just the name sound close. Properly speaking, it should be called Song Gan, not Song Jiang.
A long, long time ago, there was a middle-aged couple in Thailand who were well off, kind and charitable, fasting monks and Buddha, attentive and pious. But I don't know why, they were both over 40 years old, and they didn't even have a son. They every day towards twilight morning and evening twice to pray to the sun and moon God, several years as one day, never missed a time, but also still ineffective. The couple was so worried that they sighed and wondered if they had sinned in their past lives, or if they had inadvertently committed some mistake in this life.
One day, a monk came to the door. The old couple fasted the monk with the best meal in their house, and sat down again and sighed again and again. The monk asked them what was troubling them, and the two old men did not hide, and told them of their own suffering of being over forty and having no children at all. The monk closed his eyes and counted, nodded, opened his eyes and enlightened them, saying:
"You two, because of the previous life of the Buddha is not respected, said blasphemous words, the Buddha punished you in this life childless. But again, seeing that you have fasted as monks and honored the Buddha with respect and piety in this life, you are destined to have three sons in your next life. If you can continue to do good deeds, the old monk will teach you a method, and perhaps it is possible that the Buddha will be enlightened and lend you one of your three sons from your next life first."
The old couple was very happy to hear that their sons in the next life could actually be lent in this life, and immediately worshipped the old monk, asking him to teach them this wonderful method. The old monk said:
"You two, first fast and bathe for three days, no coitus, then take a colander of white rice, knock out in clear water seven times, and after nightfall, offer it under the big banyan tree in the mountain. After nightfall, offer it under the banyan tree in the mountain. After seven nights, you have the same room. If you have sensed the tree god, you may be able to get a male; if your prayers are not answered, you will probably have no hope of an heir in this life."
The old monk finished his speech, recited "Amitabha Buddha", and continued to travel. The old two children listen to the words of the old monk, that night after the bath that is separated from the fasting, closed door chanting, three days later, selected a colander of good rice, draw the well water, carefully rinsed seven times, until a little bit of muddy water is not there, and only then to get to the mountain under the banyan tree with incense and candles, the two mouths and prayed silently for some of the, only then go home, and each sleep well.
Seven nights in a row, the eighth night husband and wife stayed together, in order to seek an heir, revitalize the spirit, reversal, yin and yang, almost a night without sleep. The heart of the matter is to get a man for the first time.
The banyan tree god got the old two children's seven-night offerings, very touched, white to the Buddha, sent their own prodigy down to the earth, do the old two children's son.
The old couple got a son in his middle age, happy and extraordinary, three Chao full moon, invited guests and friends, named his son "solid dream".
Small solid dream is the banyan tree child prodigy down to earth, naturally smart and clever, extraordinary. When he was seven years old, he was smarter than a seventeen-year-old child. Do not need to go to school, will be born to read and write and calculate, worship Buddha, not to mention. When he was ten years old, he knew everything about the past and future on earth. When someone came to ask about good luck or bad luck, he was right on the money, not a hair out of place. So one by ten, ten by a hundred, between a few years, there is no one near and far who does not know the solid dream, they say he is a living fairy. People honored him as "pat solid dream", which means "Master Buddha". People from thousands of miles away also rushed to ask questions when they had difficult problems. In front of the door of the solid dream, simply more lively than the market, often surrounded by people, can not be squeezed into.
There was a Taoist priest named Song Jiang in the distance, who had studied Taoism since he was a child and had some magic power. Originally, people have a problem, all go to him; since the emergence of a "pat solid dream", counting much more accurate than him, people go to solid dream, gradually no one went to him, not by the cold, business is slow.
Song Jiang did not say that his skills are not good, but blame the solid dream robbed his business. One day, he went to the door to visit the solid dream, said:
"Mr. solid dream, everyone says you are smart, can know the past and the future, more than the living gods. Today, the poor Taoist has come to the door to ask for advice. I have a question here that I don't quite understand, so please answer it: Where is the human spirit in the body at each of the three times of the day, morning, noon and night? Please take a period of seven days, within seven days, if you answer it, I will cut my own throat to thank you; if you still can't answer it after seven days, it means that your 'pat-fixed dream' is false, or at least it is deceiving the world and hoodwinking the masses, please cut your own throat to thank you as well."
When he finished speaking, he did not care whether Solid Dreams listened or not, and strutted away.
Gu Meng got this problem, immediately closed the door, shut himself in the room, day and night meditation. I thought about it for six days and six nights in a row, in the room around and around and around, often whacked his head, but still can not find the right answer.
"It seems that my intelligence has dried up. I am more stupid than stupid. What face is there for a fool like me to live in the world? Instead of letting people come and take my head tomorrow, it would be more refreshing if I find a quiet place to kill myself."
When he thought of this, he left his parents and entered the mountains alone, sitting under a big banyan tree with his eyes closed, using his brain to continue to think hard and make a final effort.
After nightfall, there was no moonlight in the sky, the woods were dark, and all was silent, only the soughing sound of the breeze blowing the treetops. Solid Dream leaned against the trunk of the banyan tree, thinking: this last night, if I still can't think of an answer, tomorrow at dawn, I will kill myself.
Then, suddenly, I heard two owls in the tree "croaking" and talking.
"Wife, what are we going to eat tomorrow?"
"Old man, didn't I tell you, we can eat Solid Dream's meat in the morning."
"Isn't Solid Dream still alive?"
"He hasn't figured out the problem Song Jiang gave him, and tomorrow is the seventh day, so he has to die even if he doesn't want to!"
"It's so sad that a smart kid like Ku Meng shouldn't have to die like this!
Is that Song Jiang's puzzle really that hard? "
"
"Hey, what's so hard about it? Some people are smart for a long time and confused for a while! He was thinking about the hard part, and the more he thought about it, the harder it got. In fact, this topic is the simplest."
"So, you know the answer?"
"It's so simple, you don't even have to think about it, who wouldn't know?"
"Tell me the answer."
"Think about it, when a person gets up early in the morning, he washes his face first, and his spirit is better, isn't the genie on his face?"
"Yes, yes, yes, it is on the face. What about noon?"
"It's hot at noon, take a shower, cool and calm, isn't the genie in the heart?"
"Good, that makes sense. What about at night?"
"Before going to sleep at night, everyone has to wash their feet, and if they don't wash their feet, they are upset and can't sleep; after washing their feet, they are relaxed, so it is clear that the genie is on their feet at night. Isn't this a clear thing?"
"Hey, it's a pity that such a smart child as Solid Dreams can't even answer such a simple question, deserves to be breakfast for our old couple tomorrow."
"Don't let Gu Meng hear you, and our breakfast tomorrow will be gone!"
"Splat", a dewdrop fell right on Ku Meng's brow, waking him up from his sleep. Ah, a series of six days and six nights of hard thinking, he is too tired, to the big tree leaning, unconsciously fell asleep. When he opened his eyes, the sky was already bright. Ah, it is my last moment, I should end this short life of mine. Oh no, he suddenly remembered the conversation between the two owls in his dream. Is this his own daydream, or did Mother Banyan see that I am in trouble and specially dreamt to save me? Regardless of which reason it was, what the owls said was completely right. Good, I don't have to die, I'm saved.
Solid Dreams returned to his home and waited for Song Jiang to come to his door. Anyone in the area who knew about the bet between the two men came to Goodmoon's door early in the day to see who would win and who would lose.
Before dark in the afternoon, Song Jiang arrived as expected, and when he entered, he bowed his head and asked:
"Wise Solid Dreams, have you been able to answer the question I asked you?"
Good Dream returned the salute with his palms together and said faintly:
"For such a simple question, in fact, you don't have to wait for seven days, on that day and at that time, I could have answered you. It's just that I don't know if what you said still counts?"
"A great man's word is a promise. In front of so many folks, I still say the same thing: if you guess correctly, I'll cut my own throat to thank you; what if you can't guess, you'll cut your own throat to thank me. Now please say your answer!"
Gu Meng was not panicked and said slowly:
"The elf of man, when he wakes up in the morning to wash his face, the elf is in his face; when he takes a bath at noon, the elf is in his heart; when he washes his feet at night, the elf is in his feet. May I ask Master Song Jiang, yes or no?"
Solid dream every answer, Song Jiang's face abruptly changed, first from yellow to white, and from white to green, and finally like a dark cloud, the storm is about to come like, countenance countenance said:
"Solid dream can be called pat solid dream, Song Jiang stupid Lu than the gentleman. I said in front of the people, will never go back on my word. Now I will cut my own throat to thank Your Excellency."
Said, drew his sword to the neck, solid dream to stop, it is too late.
Song Jiang's head fell to the ground, rolled wherever where on fire, houses into ashes, fields into scorched earth; rolled to the river, the river water boiled up, a few moments to dry up; rolled to the sky, the sky more a sun, the red sun, the earth as a burning, immediately caused a great drought.
The people were plunged into an unprecedented disaster. There was nothing more that the wise Solid Dream could do.
Song Jiang has seven daughters, heard that their father killed himself and left his head to continue to do harm, rushed to. The eldest daughter used a tray to hold her father's head in her hands. The flames immediately covered her whole body. For the sake of saving her father and her fellow townspeople from being smeared, she did not throw the tray down, but held it firmly in her hands, enduring the pain. The sisters hurriedly used a copper basin to fetch water and poured it over her to minimize her pain. When the townspeople heard the news, they all also brought pots of water and poured it over her.
From then on, Song Jiang's head, by his seven daughters take turns to hold, once a year.
Every day of the rotation, the sisters held a big banquet, and all the gods and Taoists came to attend, and everyone helped to splash water together. --This has been passed down to the present day, and thus the festival of the Tai people has been formed: the Water Splashing Festival.
The story of the Thoroughbred Monk was similarly applauded and praised.
The Water Festival is also known as Songkran, which has been misrepresented by ethnic Chinese as Songkran. This was originally the new year of Thailand's old calendar, since 1940 after Thailand changed to the Gregorian calendar, the Water Festival (April 13-16) as the country's traditional holiday, two days off, and even foreign envoys are no exception. This situation is very similar to the Chinese New Year, which is celebrated in the old calendar.
In fact, the Water Festival is a traditional religious ceremony of the Hindu Brahmins: on a certain day of the year, the believers go to the river to bathe, in order to wash away all the sins of the body. People with limited mobility and the elderly, by relatives to pick water from the river to sprinkle home to wash sins. This ritual was later spread to Myanmar and Thailand, where it is held during the last three days of the year, around the middle of April on the Gregorian calendar, and in Thailand during the Thai New Year, from April 13-16 on the Gregorian calendar.
Thailand's Water Festival is a rich and colorful event that is not limited to splashing water. In the capital city of Bangkok, Royal Field Plaza, Khao Kheow Park and other places, there are song and dance performances, as well as traditional leather monkey show, puppet show. The liveliest place is the ancient city of Chiang Mai, which is not only the first country founded by the Thai people after they moved south from China, but is also the birthplace of Songkran since it is considered by the Thai people to be the original residence of Songkran. After the development of tourism in Thailand, Chiang Mai has become a key tourist area, and every year, a large number of foreign tourists come to visit the Songkran Festival, which is as lively as the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Chiang Mai has a direct train connection to Bangkok, and an airport has been established for the development of tourism.
The main activity of the festival is, of course, the splashing of water. In addition to the splashing of water, there are some other activities:
The most important activity is the pious "Buddha bathing" ceremony: after fasting and bathing, men and women, holding incense, flowers and offerings, go to the nearby temple in groups to worship and pray and listen to monks chanting sutras. The monks use peach branches to sprinkle perfume soaked with flower petals onto people's heads, and then invite the Buddha statue from its lotus throne into the courtyard to be drenched with yellow ginger water and perfume.
The next event is the "sand heap", in which people go to the river and pull out sand in silver bowls, bring it to the courtyard of the temple, gather the sand into a tower, put colorful flags and flowers on it, and finally sprinkle the sand all over the courtyard.
The "release of life" is the main form of practicing good deeds. During Songkran, people send the fish and birds they feed or buy to the river or the wild to be released.
The festival culminates in celebratory parades. The parade in Chiang Mai is the most spectacular of all. The parade in Chiang Mai is organized by the government and is led by a national band, with musicians wearing the characteristic blue rag shirts of northern Thailand, playing beautiful Thai music as they walk. The parade includes floats, giant elephants, songs and dances. One of the most notable is the "Water Festival Queen", who is dressed up in a flamboyant way and sits on a float painted with exotic animals and birds. Behind the float is a huge chariot in ancient colors, carrying a big Buddha. Behind the chariot was a team of "boxers" performing martial arts. Behind the martial arts team is a group of girls performing the "Nail Dance". This is an ethnic Thai song and dance. Spectators waiting by the roadside prepared buckets of water and poured it over the parade when it arrived. Residents who live in the neighboring buildings throw water from their balconies. The soaked parade-goers cheerfully sing their thanks to those who poured water on them. Because whoever gets splashed the most and the wettest is the most popular and the happiest.
The Water Splashing Festival is not only prevalent in Myanmar and Thailand, but is also popular in many Southeast Asian countries.
But the form of splashing water varies from place to place. Thai people in addition to the elderly symbolically sprinkled a little perfume, in the peer group, is the end of a large pot of small pots of water to chase each other with impunity pouring each other; in India, people spray each other with red-colored water, in Cambodia, but also to each other the entire submerged in the water.
On the origin of the Water Festival, there are many different legends, of course, all with mythological colors.
Some places say: once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who was robbed by a demon king, and the princess cleverly killed the demon king and escaped back. But she was covered with the devil's blood, so people poured water on her to wash her body. It was passed down, and from then on there was the Water Splashing Festival.
It is said in some places that when the universe was just being formed, the emperor and the god Brahmaputra competed in a contest to project a calendar number, agreeing to bet their heads on it. It was ruled by Guru Jawaharlalmi that Brahma's projection was wrong, so the emperor cut off his head. Unexpectedly, his head was like a blazing fire; when it was placed on the ground, the earth immediately withered and scorched; when it was placed in the sea, the ocean immediately dried up. People had no choice but to keep pouring water on it. The festival was organized as the Water Splashing Festival.
Some places say that in April of a certain year, the weather was extremely hot, and people died of heatstroke. It so happened that Zheng He, a three-pronged eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, traveled to the West, passing through Burma, and sprinkled water on the people suffering from heatstroke, and the heatstroke sufferers were cured. That day was April 15, so every year on this day, people splash water on each other to get rid of disasters and bring good fortune. From then on, the Water Splashing Festival was formed.
The story could have gone on and on. Because there are so many different legends about the Water Splashing Festival from all over the world. But then the carriage stopped. In front of the mudslide collapse, one side is a high mountain, the other side is an abyss, rocks, mud blocked the road, more than a dozen workers, is using carts to clean up, the carriage can not pull through, had to let all the people get off the car, the luggage is also moved down, unloaded the horse, the special wagon dismantled, and then use the horse as a kind of pack over, and then assembled again.
All the people on the wagon participated in the labor, including the women. Only the monk, who according to custom did not participate in any labor, got off the bus, but took a piece of blanket cushion, sat cross-legged, twirling Buddha beads in his hand, and closed his eyes and recited the sutra, as if to ask Buddha to bless the passage of this dangerous journey.
Waiting until the wagon was reassembled on the side of the mudslide, everyone was tired, and the time was already noon. The driver of the wagon brought fresh water from the river to drink the horses and took out grass to feed the animals. Everyone also took advantage of this time to hit the ground running.
This noon meal, eat anything. Wu Yonggang ate canned food; most people ate cakes and cakes; there are also Thai people's unique "bamboo tube rice". This is made from a piece of moso bamboo, a small opening is made in the section, rice and water are poured into it, and then the opening is sealed and put on the fire to be grilled directly. When the rice is cooked, it is sealed and canned, so it doesn't rot for a long time and tastes like bamboo. When you eat, use a knife to break the bamboo tube in half and eat it with your hands, which is especially suitable for going out and eating.
Everyone carries dry food, only the monk of the mantle does not carry. He is a practitioner who eats the four directions, according to the Thai "fasting monk" habit, as long as there are other people to eat, there is no worry that there is no he ate.
Sure enough, before everyone ate, in addition to Wu Yonggang, have taken out of their own dry food bag to give him something. Before long, there was a pile in front of him.
Don't look at his age, but he ate more than anyone else. This is because, according to the Thai monk's rule of "no lunch", this is his last meal of the day, and if he wants to eat again, he will have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Men and horses ate and drank enough, each returned to the original position, continue on the road.