The Culture of Life Release: Ancient Chinese Culture of Life Release

放生文化：中国古代的放生文化

A culture of life release that goes back a long way. Sustained release of life, with requests.

----- Zhuge Changqing

    Before Buddhism was introduced to China, the Han people already had the practice of releasing animals. The book "Lie Zi - Say Fu" records that the people of the city of Handan in the state of Zhao contributed turtledoves to Zhao Jianzi on the first day of the first month, and that Zhao Jianzi would always reward the people generously before releasing the turtledoves to show that the vassal had the virtue of being good to life. During the Western Han Dynasty, the custom of releasing birds on the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year was said to be due to the fact that during the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang hid himself in a well to avoid Xiang Yu's pursuit, and after hiding, some birds flew to the well to roost. When the pursuers saw the birds at the well, they did not suspect that Liu Bang was hiding there. When Liu Bang escaped this disaster, he made it a rule to release the birds on the first day of the first month of each year to show that he would not forget the kindness that saved his life.

      After Buddhism was introduced to China, the Buddhist practice of releasing birds was mixed with the original Han Chinese practice of releasing birds. The Buddhist idea of equality of all beings made life release even more popular. Mahayana Buddhism sees all dharmas as manifestations of Buddha nature, and all dharmas have Buddha nature. The Buddhist sutra "Mahayana Lankan Sutra, Fasting from Meat" says this: "All sentient beings have been reincarnated in the cycle of birth and death since the beginning of time. They have never been parents, brothers, male and female dependents, or even friends and beloved servants, but they are easily born and do not receive bodies such as birds and animals. How can one take them and eat them? Great Wisdom, Bodhisattva Mahasattva. Seeing that all living beings are the same as oneself, and thinking that all flesh comes from a living being, how can one eat it? ...... In the place of birth, seeing that all living beings are relatives, and even thinking of them with compassion as one son, one should not eat all flesh." This sutra emphasises that human beings are only a part of all sentient beings and are equal to all other creatures. In particular, it is forbidden to burn mountains from April to September because this is the time when insects, snakes, rats, ants and other living creatures are multiplying, and if one sets fire to a mountain, one will kill countless small living creatures. In the second volume of the Brahma Sutra, "The Twentieth Precept on Not Setting Free Life", it is stated that one should not only "practice the practice of setting free life", but also tell others to do so. If you see people killing animals or livestock, you should help them and relieve their suffering.

    Buddhist monasteries and monks have set an example in releasing and protecting life. The founder of the Tiantai sect in the Sui dynasty, Zhiying, once propagated the idea of releasing life to the fishermen along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and many fishermen were influenced by him at that time, and 63 ponds were set aside for releasing life, which had a great impact on the folklore of the area. In the Sui Dynasty, the monk Pu'an "lived in seclusion but always practised charity. The monk was often a member of two communities, with many blood sacrifices. He had a lot of people in the village, and he had three pigs with him, which he was going to cook and slaughter. The people were afraid that they would not be able to kill them and demanded ten thousand dollars more. An said: 'I have seen three thousand, and I have increased the price tenfold, so I can give it to them.' The crowd was different, and they competed with each other in anger. ...... An then cut the flesh of his thigh with his knife and said: 'This is the flesh of both of them, and the pig eats dung, but you still eat it, let alone a man eats rice, which is also very expensive. When the community heard this, they were all released at once". (During the Wu Zhou period, after Wang Shouzhen, the imperial official, became a monk, he dug a pond in the western city of Chang'an and "injected water from the Yong'an Drain into it for the purpose of releasing the living creatures". (Song Gaosheng zhuan, vol. 26)

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the vegetarian system became widespread throughout the country. Vegetarianism was a strong guarantee of the implementation of the precept of no killing. The fundamental aim of vegetarianism is to cultivate in one's life a compassionate Buddha nature that respects life and loves it. A vegetarian diet has a direct contribution to the conservation of animal diversity. The internal laws of Buddhism stipulate that Buddhists are required to settle down for summer during the three months when everything is growing rapidly. During these three months Buddhists are expected to live in monasteries and avoid going outside so as not to harm living creatures. Chinese Buddhists generally live in peace from the 15th day of the 4th month to the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. Excavated documents from Dunhuang show that during the Tang and Five Dynasties period, the system of summer rest was well practised, which was very beneficial to the protection of living beings.

Under the influence of Buddhism, the concept of releasing and protecting living beings was gradually accepted by all social classes. Some of the feudal emperors who believed in Buddhism strongly advocated the release and protection of life. The Book of Wei - Shi Lao Zhi once recorded that during the reign of Yan Xing of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the retired Wei Emperor Tuo Tre Hong captured a mandarin duck during a hawk hunt, and although its mate was not captured, it sang around it and did not leave. He ordered the mandarin duck to be released. (Mingcheng Manchu Chinese Ethnic Religious Network)

放生文化，源远流长。持续放生，有求必应。

----- 诸葛长青

    在佛教传人中国之前，汉人已有放生的习俗。《列子·说符篇》记载赵国邯郸城民众在正月初一贡献斑鸠给赵简子，赵简子每每都会厚赏民众后，将斑鸠放生，以显示诸侯有好生之德。西汉时期在正月初一有放生鸟的习俗，传说这是因为楚汉战争时期，刘邦为了躲避项羽的追捕而藏到一个井中，藏好后有几只鸟飞到井边栖息。追兵看到井边有鸟就不怀疑刘邦藏在里面。刘邦躲过此难，就规定每年的正月初一放生鸟类，以示不忘救命之恩。

      佛教传人中国后，佛教的放生活动与汉族原有的放生习俗混合在一起。佛教的众生平等思想使放生更加流行。大乘佛教将一切法都看作是佛性的显现，万法皆有佛性。佛经《大乘人楞伽经，断食肉晶》中是这样说的：“一切众生从无始来，在生死中轮回不息。靡不曾作父母兄弟男女眷属乃至朋友亲爱侍使，易生而不受鸟兽等身。云何于中取之而食?大慧，菩萨摩诃萨。观诸众生同于己身，念肉皆从有命中来，云何而食……在生处观诸众生皆是亲属，乃至慈念如一子想，是故不应食一切肉。”这段经文强调人类只是众生中的一部分，与其他所有生物都是平等的。《梵网经》卷下“第十四放火焚烧戒”，禁止“放大火烧山林旷野”，特别指出在四月至九月禁止烧山，因为这正是虫蛇鼠蚁等生灵繁殖的时期，若放火烧山，会杀死无数小生灵。《梵网经》卷下“第二十不行放生戒”提出，不仅自己要“行放生业”，而且要叫人放生。若见世人杀牲畜时，应方便救护，解其苦难。

    佛教寺院和僧人在放生和护生方面做出了表率。隋代天台宗创始人智颖曾经在江浙一带向沿海的渔民宣传放生思想，当时许多渔民受他的影响，舍扈梁63座为放生池，对这一带的民俗影响很大。隋代高僧普安“居处虽隐，每行慈救。年常二社，血祀者多，周行救赎，劝修法义，不杀生邑，其数不少。尝与龛侧村社，缚猪三头，将加烹宰，安闻往赎。社人恐不得杀，增价索钱十千。安曰：‘贫僧见有三千，已加本价十倍，可以相与。’众各不同，更相忿竞……安即引刀自割髀肉曰：‘此彼俱肉尔，猪食粪秽，尔尚啖之，况人食米，理至贵也。’社人闻见，一时同放”。(《法苑珠林》卷28)武周时期，监察御史王守贞出家为僧后，在长安西市开凿了一个池塘，“支分永安渠水注之，以为放生之所”。(《宋高僧传》卷26)

隋唐时期，素食制度在全国普遍流行。素食是落实不杀生戒的有力保证。素食的根本目的是在生活中培养人的慈悲佛性，尊重生命、爱护生命。素食对于保护动物的多样性具有直接的促进作用。佛教的内律规定，在万物生长迅速的三个月里佛教徒要结夏安居。这三个月里佛教徒要居寺修行，避免外出，以免伤害生灵。中国佛教徒的安居时间一般是从农历四月十五到七月十五。出土的敦煌文书表明，在唐五代时期的敦煌，结夏安居制度得到了较好的贯彻，这对护生非常有利。

在佛教的影响下，放生和护生的观念逐渐为社会各阶层所接受。一些信佛的封建帝王大力提倡放生和护生。《魏书·释老志》曾记载：北魏延兴年间，退位的魏显祖拓跋弘在猎鹰的过程当中，擒获了一只鸳鸯，它的伴侣虽未被擒，却绕着它悲鸣不合离去。拓跋弘就下令将那只鸳鸯放生。（明成满中国民族宗教网）

What are the acts of abstaining from killing and releasing

 戒杀与放生的行为包括哪些

 1. Do not kill a living being with your own hands.

　　2. Do not abet others to kill.

　　3. Do not help others to kill.

　　4. Abstain from eating meat.

　　5. Do not engage in trades related to killing.

　　6、Whenever there is worship, regardless of what is being worshipped, use vegetarian dishes, flowers and fruit, not animal gifts.

　　7. If you see someone killing a human being, you should discourage them or buy the animal to be slaughtered with money and release it. If this does not work, or if the person does not sell the animal, then you should have compassion for the slaughtered animal, and even better if you can recite the Buddha's name or mantra for it.

　　8. Do not abuse the animal.

　　9、Other actions that are contrary to killing.

　　10. Abstain from killing and releasing animals yourself, and advise others to do the same. 

   1、不亲手杀生。

　　2、不教唆别人杀生。

　　3、不帮助别人杀生。

　　4、戒除肉食。

　　5、不从事与杀生有关的行业。

　　6、凡有祭拜，不管拜的是什么，一律用素菜、鲜花、水果，不用牲礼。

　　7、见人杀生，应加劝阻，或用钱将临宰之动物买而放之。若劝阻无效，或他不卖，则应对被杀之动物起同情心，若能为它念佛号或往生咒更好。

　　8、不虐待动物。

　　9、其他与杀生行为相反之行为。

　　10、自己戒杀放生，也劝别人戒杀放生。 

(This article is an original article by Zhuge Changqing, and the pictures are selected from the Internet. Welcome to forward it, and please indicate the source for forwarding)

Introduction to Zhuge Changqing: Zhuge Changqing, the inheritor and promoter of traditional Chinese culture, is willing to "learn from sages, promote virtue, revitalize China and benefit the world" together with people with the same ideals in the world.

(Zhuge Changqing: zhuge8031@163.com ）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

Zhuge Changqing's Chinese Dream

Learn from sages and carry forward virtue

Revitalizing China for the benefit of the world

 （本文是诸葛长青原创文章，图片选自网络。欢迎转发，转发引用请注明出处）

诸葛长青简介：诸葛长青，中国国学传统文化传承弘扬者，愿与天下志同道合者一起“学习圣贤、弘扬善德、振兴中华、造福世界”。

（诸葛长青：zhuge8031@163.com）

Zhuge Changqing mailbox：

zhuge8031@163.com

  诸葛长青中国梦  

学习圣贤 弘扬善德

振兴中华 造福世界

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