Excuse me, who can provide detailed information about the Buddhist lotus, such as: how many leaves are there, how many layers are there, and how high is it?

There is no specific meaning in Confucian classics. It is the custom of China people to take multiples of 8 in sculpture creation and artistic creation, and 8 is an auspicious number. The largest lotus, with 128 petals at the bottom and 8 petals at the top, has a golden Buddha on the central lotus.

Stepping into the temple, the bodhisattva with low eyebrows and smiling faces hangs on the lotus seat; Guanyin, who helped the poor, stepped on flowers and sprinkled showers on the fire house. Good books printed by Dojo are available in the arcade corridor outside the store. On the cover, a red lotus is accompanied by a drooping lotus leaf, which is less beautiful and more cordial. On the white mourning bag, there is also a group of lotus leaves with black lines, which is the spirit of comforting family members and the dead.

■ Pure Land World-Lotus

According to the classic Zheng Da collection, lotus has four virtues: fragrance, cleanliness, softness and loveliness. In fact, many flowers are soft, clean and fragrant, but flowers have a special ecology that other plants do not have, so they bear the symbolic mission of Buddhism. Lin, an older generation of Japanese Buddhist art scholar, wrote in Decorative Patterns of Buddhist Art: "In the early days, Buddhists paid attention to lotus flowers according to the characteristics of plant fertility."

Spring, summer, autumn and winter, the four seasons rotate, flowers bloom and fall, and flowers have the vitality of withering, which is the theme that many cultures love and cherish. However, flowers in the world bloom first and then bear fruit, while lotus flowers bloom first and then bear fruit. In the Ming Dynasty, the book Qunfangpu, which recorded all kinds of plants in detail, especially emphasized the characteristics of lotus "full of flowers and fruits". Therefore, the lotus is regarded by Buddhists as reflecting the past, present and future at the same time.

The Buddha said equality, regardless of the past, present and future, the time and space, status and size of people of all things in the world, the rich and the poor are equal. The pure land of bliss has no past, present and future. Lotus, with its eternal appearance, enjoys exclusive "blessing" and becomes the flower of the pure land world.

Lu, who has studied Buddhist art for many years, explained that the western paradise is the last refuge of Xiujing believers. The classic Amitabha, the representative of pure land thought, records that if all beings get good karma, they will no longer fall into the cycle of viviparous, oviparous and wet birth, and then die in the Elysium, where Guanyin will greet them with a lotus flower, and the deceased will "incarnate" as a member of the Elysium. Depending on personal karma, blessing and the closing time of the lotus, those who have enough blessings can "clear customs" early.

The Amitabha Sutra also records that "Elysium is full of Qibaochi and Ba Ding Shui, and there is a golden sand at the bottom of the pool ... The lotus in the pool is as big as a wheel, green and yellow, red and white, delicate and fragrant."

■ Wonderful Lotus

There are different factions of Buddhism, which also gives birth to various meanings of lotus. Different from the pure land, the basic classic of Tiantai Sect of Mahayana Buddhism is called Lotus Sutra, and lotus is the magic method. Flowers represent a way to attract all beings.

The ancient Southern Buddhism scripture "Silence" also used dewdrops and lotus seeds on lotus leaves to describe a life that was not polluted by various passions. Mature lotus seeds must be stripped of their black and hard shells on the lotus leaves. This is the white lotus seeds that people eat, "just like the Buddha nature of people", Lu said. In the eyes of Buddhists, lotus houses and lotus seeds are vast and boundless, which are explored by human beings and should be regarded as initial heart and Buddha nature. The lotus room on the lotus was once known as the unique skill of the human body.

To preach Buddhism is to be a bodhisattva, to cross oneself, to cross all sentient beings, and to make everyone become a Buddha. Lotus flowers strive to bloom not only for flowering, but to expose lotus seeds. Lotus petals, just like the Buddha used many convenient methods to attract all beings, through different methods, people should show the Buddha's nature hidden in them and then become Buddha.

■ The Buddha gives birth to the lotus step by step.

Lotus is designed for the meditation and interpretation of Buddha. Buddhism is the only lotus in the hundred flowers, which is related to the considerable lotus brocade. The fragrance is far and clear, which is enough to represent strength. "All the flowers are very small, and no flower has such a pure fragrance." The eighth volume of Great Wisdom records several reasons for sitting on the lotus, except that the lotus is the largest and most prosperous of all flowers, which represents a solemn and wonderful method. Lotus is soft and plain, but it is not bad to sit on it, and it can also show its magic power. In fact, lotus has been sublimated into a flower in the sky, which is different from the flower in people. "The lotus in people is only one foot, and the lotus in the sky is like a nine-car cover, which can be squatted."

The Buddha doesn't care at all. He smiled at the flowers. Why must it be lotus? Therefore, Lu believes that "Buddhism originated in India and was also influenced by Brahmanism (early India), Hinduism and even folk thoughts before it."

"... the golden lotus in Chiba is as bright as day. There is a man sitting cross-legged in Central China, who has boundless light and is called the Brahma King. King Brahma gave birth to eight sons, and eight sons gave birth to heaven and earth ... "According to the classic records of Da Zheng Zang, the Hindu creator Brahma was born on a thousand-petal lotus, and influenced by this, Buddhist Buddhists also said six paramita on the lotus. Lin wrote in the article: "Buddhism has to adopt Brahma's lotus seat because of its secularity."

In various images such as Buddhist sculptures, we can see that the Buddha has three shapes: King Kong, Leo and Lotus. The first two were transformed from the majestic throne of the emperor, and there were informal occasions when the Buddha talked with his disciples. However, when the Buddha preaches an important classic, such as Goblet of Fire, "he must sit cross-legged on the lotus seat," said Lu, who is currently studying Buddhism in China.

"The Buddha also followed the character of the Hindu god of light and became a hero created by the Lotus Emperor." In the classic, all beings can enter the pure land and ride on the lotus with the help of "lotus transformation", and fear is also passed down from this vein. Today, believers know that according to the biography of Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha was born in northern India more than 2000 years ago. When he was born, he took seven steps in all directions, giving birth to lotus flowers step by step, and a goddess spread flowers for him.

■ Its water is clear and full of flowers.

Lotus has become an essential flower for creation, which can be explained by ecology. In the earliest Buddhist classics collected in the time of Ashoka, the "Yin Xin Jing", which refers to the beginning of the world, records: "In the mountains. There are all kinds of rivers. Hundreds of roads are scattered and smooth. Gradually. Not slow, not urgent. No waves. Its coast is not deep. It's simple and easy to handle. Its water is very clear. All the flowers are covered. The water is full ... "

The flood did not appear, the clouds disappeared, there was a cool breeze in Genesis, and the mountains and rivers were full of lotus flowers. The first life in the world originated from water. Today, botanists have said that hibiscus is one of the most flowering plants on earth. Did the ancient ancestors of mankind also master the knowledge that lotus is a "living fossil"?

In Indian culture, lotus is the rebirth of life, but beyond the meaning of faith, lotus brings together all the symbols of truth, goodness and beauty.

Jiang Xun, a professor of aesthetics, has this view on India, the birthplace of Buddhism: as a tropical country, Indian civilization is like a dense and colorful plant, showing the unique laziness and charm of tropical plants in the hot and humid air. Lu Bing, who studies Sanskrit, also read in ancient books that in Brahmanism, both men and women may be described as lotus flowers with black and white eyes and soft hands and feet. Buddhist stories from India sound very romantic.

Lin Liang Geng Yi believes that the symbolic meaning of Buddhist lotus originates from the religious thought of ancient India. In ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and even Greece, lotus symbols were widely used, and lotus patterns appeared, which influenced and changed with Buddhism. "In chronological order, the ability of creation and regeneration of Egyptian lotus appeared earlier," Lu also studied the characteristics of lotus in Egyptian culture.

■ Life is like a water lily that opens and closes.

When the lotus in China withers, the lotus seeds mature, and Shui Ze dries up, people can enjoy the delicious lotus when the lotus roots can be dug. Egypt, which does not produce lotus flowers, began its civilization on the banks of the flooded Nile. In the lakes and swamps under the river banks and river networks, water lilies floated one after another. In the eyes of today's botanists, the water lilies introduced from Africa in Taiwan Province Province are still as "good to grow and grow" as the plants that take root and sprout.

Egypt, with water lilies as its national flower, regarded the opening and closing of water lilies as incredible vitality, ruled the ancient Egyptian empire in the upper and lower reaches of the Nile, expected the immortality of life, mummified the flesh and imagined that life could be "like the opening and closing of water lilies". Therefore, water lilies are often used in funerals to pray that the dead are only temporarily closed like water lilies, and there is still hope of resurrection.

The tomb of King Dankamen of Egypt was completed in 136 1 BC and was excavated in 1922. This rare ancient tomb in Egypt is like a water lily kingdom: a lotus-shaped temple stigma; The deceased sailed in a model boat in the dark sea, and the paddle was also a half-open water lily; On the wall, a beautiful woman dressed like Cleopatra, holding a bag of half-filled water lilies, turned around and handed it to the nose of the female companion sitting behind her, which was regarded as an Egyptian sculpture with rigid and rigorous lines, because such action seemed to convey the softness and fragrance of water lilies. In particular, most water lilies are shy and half-open, which is to emphasize the ability of water lilies to open and close?

Water lilies rising from the depths of water to the surface, like the hidden vitality of the creator, suggest the origin of creation, not only many myths are related to lotus; In the kingdom of Egypt, which worships the sun, there is also a pattern of the sun god sitting on the lotus in the form of a boy.

■ Who influences who?

Strangely, some people think that the emergence of lotus seat is related to the fact that lotus has a flat lotus and it is convenient to sit up. Only from a biological point of view, Egypt does not produce lotus flowers. So, it is because of the influence of India that Egypt, which originally did not produce lotus flowers, had a rosette? Or did the creative idea of Egyptian water lilies spread to India where water lilies and lotus flowers were born, enriching people's imagination, and Indian gods began to sit on lotus flowers? Even in Egypt three thousand years ago, there were lotus flowers?

Even today, people still think that Buddhism was influenced by the religion before it. Is it possible that after Buddhism was established, it went back and influenced Hinduism and Brahmanism? In order to highlight the relationship with Buddhism, Brahmanism holds that Sakyamuni Buddha is its main god.

Lotus described in Buddhist scriptures has white, blue, red and yellow, and different colors have different meanings. For example, white stands for "deep"; Cyan is "good"; Red is "sleep". There is only one kind of white lotus in Asia, and researchers engaged in Buddhist art believe that the lotus mentioned in Buddhist scriptures is many different varieties. For example, the Seven Lotus in The Natural Metaplasia of All Life in Seven Lotus is composed of two kinds of lotus and five kinds of water lilies.

According to the description in Buddhist books, Udora, often compared to clear eyes, is inferred as a water lily with slender petals. But will the Huang Lian in Buddhist scriptures be Huang Lian, which is only produced in North America? How did you get to India and become a member of the lotus in the sky?

In order to avoid being eaten by insects, the stems of lotus flowers are covered with small thorns. Buddhist scriptures are different from water lilies, and they are also called "thorny lotus". For example, "water lilies and spiny lilies are in water and mud as if they were in an ocean of desire."

Today, Buddhists call themselves "lotus friends" and spit lotus flowers when they talk ... When they talk about lotus flowers in their faith life, they are actually water lilies and lotus flowers. For believers, it doesn't matter whether it is a water lily or a lotus flower, because these "lotus flowers in the sky can bloom as needed and make people happy. They are false, but they are all of one heart, so they are called wonderful lotus flowers", which is translated from Buddhist scriptures.

■ Although the color is fresh and beautiful, the source is not clean.

Lotus: bright; Credit; Buddha; Gentleman. Huang Yongchuan, deputy director of the History Museum, wrote succinctly in the book "Chinese Flower Arrangement Art".

After Buddhism entered Middle-earth, the lotus flower, which originally supported all beings, gradually established a symbol of purity. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were many "Furong Fu". The so-called "clear gargle in the spirit marsh, rooted in heavy soil." Although the refined and pure lotus of the scholar-officials was related to the Qingming society at that time, it also coincided with the Buddhist thought that it was not like the lotus on earth.

In the Song Dynasty, Zhou Dunyi's "Love Lotus Theory" still influenced China people. Qian Zhongshu, a scholar in the Republic of China, believes that the author's "inspiration" comes from Buddhism. Buddhism seeks to get rid of the suffering of life. Life is a sea of suffering, a sea of fire, and becoming a Buddha is the highest ideal. Lotus grows out of the sludge and produces delicious flowers and leaves, just like the process of Buddhism liberation. Sakyamuni also said in the "China-Arab Sutra" that "in this way, people will not have evil desires and look at evil. Like violet, red, Bai Lianhua. Aquatic wood is long from water, but there is no water. "

Scholars in China believe that lotus is a cool world with pure body and mind. According to the "Jian Nan Poetry Draft", when Lu You, a poet of the Song Dynasty, was 78 years old, an old friend of Zeng said to him: I am Dr. Lotus, specializing in Jinghu Lake. Now that I'm leaving, can you take care of the moonlight and dew and maintain the lotus for me? He will get a thousand pots of wine as a reward every month, and Lu You has never forgotten Dr. Lotus's dream. A few years later, Lu You was seriously ill, and he dreamed of lotus flowers again. In the dream, he really walked in the lotus. Lu's story can be said to be the unity of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.

■ Sludge is "Futian"

Compared with literati, lotus has a wider significance in Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes seeking liberation in the world and following the Bodhisattva Road of the Five Turbid Worlds. Bodhisattva regards all beings as Futian and sludge as Futian. The so-called "one for two, evil for good, dyed for the net, inseparable from both sides." Therefore, Mahayana Buddhism recognizes that "there is no such flower in the plateau, but this flower is born in the mud", and flowers and roots are actually integrated, and there is no difference between dyeing and cleaning.

In addition to practicing self-cultivation, meditation and meditation, sludge is actually exercise, irrational humiliation and sacrifice. If it is tempered by fire in hell, the sublimity and sublimation of religion can be completed, and the most tragic and magnificent flame of life can be generated. How can you become red-violet without flame?

The story of the rebirth of China Lotus is also vividly played in The Romance of Gods. Li violated the laws of heaven and earth, offended himself and delayed his parents. In order to atone, he shaved his bones and returned his meat to his mother. However, with the help of the real Master Taiyi, his soul was transformed by Lotus, became immortal in hot wheels and was "reborn" as a folk worship god.

Lotus's own attributes combine various opinions. Just like the word "Hua Yan Jing" in the Mahayana classic, a lotus flower has become a solemn world. It is natural that the lotus "image" can be seen everywhere in the land of Buddhist belief.

Lotus is the object of meditation in tantric Buddhist temples, with rich rituals. Generally speaking, the lotus Guanyin worshiped by Buddhist temples has drooping eyebrows and staring at the lotus in their hands, and their inner world is round. Lotus friends believe that holding the name of lotus Guanyin can keep away from desire. Among the many incarnations of Guanyin, there is the lotus Guanyin lying in the lotus, which can help people get rid of secular suffering.

Before Buddhism came to the "East Land", lotus patterns appeared on cultural relics. For example, lotus pots and bronzes unearthed in the Zhou Dynasty all have lotus petals. Influenced by Buddhism, almost all objects, sculptures and Buddha statues in Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties were decorated with lotus patterns, thus creating a magnificent lotus pattern era. Lu, who has published a research report on Buddhist lotus patterns, said that there are many forms of lotus in China art, which is very different from the simple water lily shape in ancient Egypt.

In a cave in Yungang, Dunhuang, there is a giant lotus surrounded on all sides, and the Buddha statue stands still in front of a huge petal; Lotus petals and leaves have a special shape, so the shape is elongated and flattened to form a square, and you can always see the lotus pattern. Lotus pattern, lotus petal pattern and lotus leaf pattern on cultural relics, and even sea pomegranate pattern, passion flower pattern and grape grain "are all the combination of lotus extension and evolution or lotus pattern", Lu said.

■ White Lotus Sect came to the world, and the whole people turned over?

When Zen Buddhism blooms and bears fruit in China, the importance of lotus is not diminished, but the theme of Buddhist life is no longer gorgeous, and the design color of lotus is also reduced.

After the Song Dynasty, the interest and vitality of folk life made the religious meaning of lotus turn to folk meaning. In handicrafts, obese babies hold lotus leaves or lotus flowers and dance, which is a blessing for people to have children. There are goldfish hidden under the lotus leaf, which takes more than a year. It is also difficult to conclude that the lotus pattern circulating among the people has nothing to do with faith. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a so-called "Watson" among Buddhist immortals, holding a lotus flower and playing tricks. Every year on July 7th, the children in the market will follow suit. Did he have anything to do with your son's birth? It also interests scholars who study Buddhist art, even "China's flower arrangement originated from the Buddhist meaning of' offering flowers' in the Northern Dynasties", Huang Yongchuan wrote in the book "The Art of Flower Arrangement".

Today, even though people in China don't understand the Zen principles such as Lotus Sutra, they all know that Lotus Lantern is the key to Magnolia Day. Sending the son to the empress also allows the Kim couple to reincarnate in the lotus flower on earth. It is not difficult to imagine that a small lotus can quit school, transcend and help others practice. From the Ming Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect also took the lotus as its Christian name, shouting: "White Lotus descended to earth, and ten thousand people turned over"!

However, Buddhists appear various lotus patterns to help practice. These patterns represent the Buddha's name or are used in ceremonies. If they cling to the Buddha's name, they will lose their original intention of practicing. "There has never been anyone rushing to order a lotus in the Buddhist scriptures!" A master said that the pure land Sect believed that anyone who recited "Amitabha" could enter the pure land.

■ The fragrance and color are all empty and clean.

If you really care, botanists will also say that many Buddhist explanations of lotus have deviated from the life form of real lotus. When the lotus flower blooms, the ovule, the lotus flower, has been shaped, but it has not yet developed into fruit. This kind of insect-borne flower needs the help of matchmaker to pollinate lotus seeds, so it is not necessarily correct to say that it is full of flowers and fruits. Yang, who studies aquatic plants, said that the special shape of the lotus platform is to facilitate insects to stand and contact with pollen, but it is certainly not to stimulate people to sit on it and imagine.

As for the closure of water lilies and lotus flowers, doesn't mimosa have the same "function"? Chen Qinyuan, a graduate student at the Institute of Horticulture at National Taiwan University who studies water lilies, said that the opening and closing of plants is due to the reaction that water acts on the body smoothly after being disturbed by external weather, humidity and even human touch.

Although the lack of accurate understanding of plants may enrich people's imagination, the Diamond Sutra requires people to "hide everything" and not be obsessed with delusions and phenomena.

Let go of the lotus, just as only boats can dock!