Introduction of pilgrimage custom in Qinghai Lake

Pilgrimage custom in Qinghai Lake-Turning to the sea

Turning to the sea is a pilgrimage for Buddhist believers to circle the lake clockwise, kowtowing, worshipping and chanting while marching.

As a part of the folk beliefs of all ethnic groups around Qinghai Lake, Zhuanhai has a long history of inheritance. According to records, there are records of turning to the sea in the works of Tibetan king Song Zan Gambu and Master Lian Peanut, telling many benefits of turning to the sea. It is said in the book that Qinghai Lake is a sacred lake, and the Dragon King is the incarnation of Bodhisattva, so it is beneficial and harmless to people and the natural environment to worship the Dragon King. It is recorded in the book that all Tibetan Buddhists, including Nyima, Sharjah and Gru, can turn to the sea to pray for disaster relief. The monk Songba recorded a series of activities such as following vases, offering sacrifices to the sea, kowtowing and crossing the sea on foot. It is said that turning to the sea can relieve the troubles caused by troubles; Trouble brought by industry and trouble brought by students. That is, the three kinds of troubles mentioned in Buddhist scriptures can also relieve three kinds of sufferings, namely, bitterness, bad bitterness and bitterness. People who are suffering are suffering because of the arrival of suffering; Bad and bitter people suffer from the pleasure of leaving; Those who practice hard are all suffering from the impermanence of various laws. The meaning of diverting attention. There are three pains in the sexual world, two pains in the sexual world and two pains in the colorless world. For this reason, going to the sea can relieve diseases, make people less sick and get rid of suffering. In short, turning to the sea can pin all hopes, relieve all diseases and pains, ensure the peace of the four seasons, and help the grassland to prosper, peace and harmony.

The origin of turning to the sea has not been verified, but it has been recorded in the works of Tibetan king Songzan Gambu, which has a history of more than 1000 years.

It is said that the year of the sheep turns to the lake, the year of the horse turns to the mountains, and the year of the monkey turns to the forest. This is the will left by the Buddha. Qinghai Lake, together with Yongcuo in Mabian, Yongcuo in Yang Zhuo and Namco, is collectively referred to as the four sacred lakes by Tibetan people and Tibetan Buddhists, among which Qinghai Lake is a sacred place for body, language and mind. The Tibetan people who have lived by the lake in Qinghai for generations believe that in the 60-year Water Sheep Year, as long as they kowtow around the lake devoutly, it is equivalent to reading the "six-character mantra" of1.800 million yuan, and they can gain endless merits and profound knowledge and get rid of bad habits and pains.

When turning to the sea, a young and old family often set off armed to the teeth, or people with strong body at home wear cowhide protective clothing, hand pads and other armed equipment to choose auspicious days. First of all, there will be a ceremony of simmering mulberry, worshiping Buddha and chanting scriptures in the nearby temples, Aobao and Mountain Gods. Then, either recite the scriptures or turn Mani by hand, read the "six-character mantra", kowtow and start to turn clockwise to the sea.

There are three traditional ways to kowtow to the sea, namely, bowing, kowtowing and lotus kowtowing. Kneeling and kowtowing is a way of kneeling and kowtowing, so you don't have to lie down. This way of kowtowing is relatively simple, and the time to turn to the sea is relatively short. Kowtow with your fingers, starting from your forehead, then prostrate yourself, straighten your arms and legs as far as possible, and get up and kowtow from your fingertips. This kowtow method is the most common, and it usually takes about three months to complete the sea. Lotus kowtow is facing Qinghai Lake, get up and take a step, and then kowtow to the lake. It usually takes half a year to turn to the sea in the form of lotus kowtow.

On the way, you should hang prayer flags where you meet Hoya, Aobao and Mountain God, throw the "Wind Horse" clockwise and worship the Mountain God three times around it. There are seven temples around Qinghai Lake, and each temple has to perform a series of sacrificial ceremonies, such as braising mulberry, offering incense, offering hada, kowtowing and chanting. When you pass through several sea platforms, you should choose a sea platform to worship the sea. When you worship the sea, you should throw vases and sacrifices into the lake. The vase is full of Tibetan medicine, five-color grain, tea, ghee and fruits made of more than 40 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines. Some pious people put their gold and silver jewelry in the vase. When monks turn to the sea to offer sacrifices to the sea, although the scale is smaller than the formal sea sacrifice, the situation is exactly the same. They have to worship the altar city, play the trumpet and recite the scriptures. Go to the starting point of the temple, the mountain god Aobao, and hold a worship ceremony, which is a complete end of the sea. Especially in the Tibetan calendar, there is an endless stream of people who turn to the lake to worship every year.

On the 380-kilometer-long shoreline of Qinghai Lake, believers camped out in the wind with a pious heart, kowtowed step by step and measured The Way with their bodies. On the way, you should worship mountain gods, temples, the sea and so on many times. Although more and more people turn to the sea, the way of turning to the sea has evolved into walking, riding and riding. The traditional way of turning to the sea, especially the scene of the shower head turning to the sea, is rare.

Turning to the sea is an important manifestation of Buddhist believers' worship of nature. In the extremely difficult process of turning to the sea, it tests their perseverance and endurance, and also tests their piety. It is a strong belief that supports them to complete this difficult period of The Way. In their view, this is a kind of glory and a kind of noble goodness. At the same time, it has the greatest openness, compatibility and mass, regardless of nationality, region, men, women and children, as long as it can walk healthily and with a pious heart. ...

Pilgrims face the holy land, put their hands together, lift them to the blue sky, kneel down in three steps, crawl to the ground, measure the earth with their bodies, mumble, and melt into an ocean of prayer.

If happiness is a simple belief, then no one is happier than them.

If happiness is envied by people, then they are surrounded by happiness.

If they have to go through many hardships to have happiness, then they already have happiness.

The project of transferring to the sea has been announced as the fourth batch of intangible cultural heritage in Qinghai Province, and it is proposed to declare the national intangible cultural heritage.