Why did the ancients prefer to sleep in the cemetery at night rather than rest in the ancient temple?

Humans are always afraid of the unknown and darkness for no reason, which is why children all over the world are basically afraid of going to the toilet alone at night. Graveyards are also considered unlucky. After all, this is the place where the dead rest in peace, and no one can easily despise life and death. However, in ancient times, for people on the road, I am afraid that the most frightening thing is not to stay in the cemetery at night, but to rest in the ancient temple.

Perhaps this statement sounds absurd. Why does it represent a sacred Buddhist temple, but it is considered by the ancients to be a little more horrible than a cemetery? In fact, there are two reasons.

Human nature is somewhat afraid of death. Emperors of past dynasties always dreamed of immortality, looking for and refining Dan medicine. All kinds of behaviors only prove two words: fear of death. It is human nature that life and death are hard to see, and what can be done is often someone who is beyond the secular world or someone who has no hope for the rest of his life. Therefore, people who are afraid of graves are actually afraid of death.

Besides, living in a cemetery is also unlucky. What China people fear most is bad luck. Fortune tellers who want to cheat money often start by saying that you have an ominous sign and a bloody disaster. And many handed down rules, in fact, have no meaning in themselves, just to get a good luck.

It can be seen that for ancient people, living in a cemetery is already a terrible thing. In contrast, Buddhism has been integrated in China for thousands of years, while Taoism, a local religion, has been frustrated one after another. In the eyes of many people in China who don't believe in Buddhism, worshipping Buddha is also a good thing. Although these non-Buddhists don't have much respect for Buddhism, at least they can know that Buddhism should persuade people to do good and should be respected.

By contrast, it seems absurd to choose to live in a cemetery instead of a temple.

But in fact, the ancients didn't go to the temple at night for two reasons. First, this temple is not that one. In ancient times, temples were not as common as we thought. Every day, believers burned incense and monks burned incense and recited scriptures. Ordinary temples in ancient times were generally uninhabitable, just giving people a place to worship Buddha. Even the function of some temples is not to make people worship Buddha, but to pay homage to their dead ancestors.

Therefore, entering the temple is not as common as expected. The monks in the temple cordially entertained them, entered the incense room in the temple, and sandalwood fell asleep. Those who really dare to live in temples are often fearless vagrants. Since there is nowhere to go, living in a temple is the most important thing for them. For ordinary people on the road, falling asleep in the temple is also an insult to the holy land.

Secondly, when the wind is high and the night is high, it is often an excellent time for robbers and villains to appear. In ancient times, horses and chariots were never so convenient as today. A thousand miles a day is only the standard of those senior officials in those years, while ordinary passers-by can only measure the length of the world with their feet and walk to their destination step by step.

In addition to fatigue, there are unknown risks, because in the dark, bad people often kill people for profit, which is why in ancient times, when people worked overtime in cities, they were often called "beware of fire", one was to put out the fire and the other was to maintain public order.

But in the wild, the government can't control it, so at night, there are often villains in ancient temples, ready to rob merchants, and generations have exchanged their blood for the philosophy of life that they don't enter the lonely temple at night. Although the temple is a sacred place, there is nothing to care about for those wicked people who are desperate to do evil.

It is for two reasons that the ancients often preferred to live in a cemetery rather than spend the night in a temple. After all, the cemetery is just unlucky, and the temple is the real threat to life. Compared with the two, their choice is not surprising.