Recently, with the video released by writer Wei Hui, topics related to "literary youth" and "spiritual cultivation" have begun to be widely discussed. As the "seniors" who participated in "spiritual cultivation" earlier, literary and artistic workers were also caught in the forefront. They offered sacrifices to living Buddhas, participated in releasing animals, made friends with Wang Lin, the "master of special abilities", and followed Li Yidao to practice fasting. This series of behaviors was also denounced as "ignorance". The education that people who are active on the Internet now come into contact with since childhood is to "believe in science and oppose superstition". After experiencing the farce of the "qigong fever" in the 1980s and 1990s, people are even more afraid of "spiritual practice". Many phenomena such as spirituality and practice that cannot be explained by science have been classified as "superstition" and stand opposite to "science".
"Spiritual cultivation" is certainly not an invention or creation of modern people. It is said that when the great scholar Wang Yangming of the dynasty was pacifying the rebellion of Dingning Wang Zhu Chenhao, he cultivated his energy in the army. He whistled in the middle of the night, and all the three armies were shocked. The all-round literary youth Wang Yangming can make huge noises through internal cultivation of qi, and this special function cannot be explained by modern science; as for the Confucians after Wang Yangming, they often adopted similar spiritual practice methods, and the Taizhou School even taught the students to "go in seclusion for seven days" and practice meditation.
The famous literary youth Jin Shengtan , who was later than Wang Yang, is also a spiritual practitioner. Unlike the great scholars who like to sit in seclusion, Jin Shengtan, who is good at literary creation and literary criticism, pursues direct "spiritual communication". Jin Shengtan set up a private spirit altar and personally served as the spirit master. He sent a spiritual pen to write down various "oracles" on the sand table. Legend has it that Jin Shengtan has been practicing this technique since he was a young man and has been a psychic medium for most of his life. He has profound attainments in this area. The poems and sentences published by singhua are brilliant. Literati in Jiangnan flocked to them and used the spirit pen and sand table to pursue the art of spiritual communication, and rushed to become "spirit friends". According to the verification of Mr. Chen Yinke in "The Biography of Liu Rushi", Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Jiangnan literary world, also invited Jin Shengtan to set up an altar at his home to start a spirit.
Spiritual
Perhaps people would say that the ancients did not understand science and were addicted to meditation, refining qi, spiritual communication, and spirit writing. This is understandable. However, after modern Western science was introduced, intellectuals still did not change their exploration in the spiritual world. The most famous ones, Li Shutong, a super literary youth in the Republic of China, ran to the temple to retreat when he was middle-aged and tried the " fasting " method. At the longest time, he had fasted for 17 days and felt that "untained the waves and achieved wisdom karma". Later, he was ordained and became a monk. According to the current netizens, the life trajectory of Master Hongyi Li Shutong should also be the same as Wei Hui. They are both the "new and new human beings" of the past, and they have transformed into a "spiritual mentor". However, if you mock Li Shutong for this, you will seem a little ignorant. Modern literati like to explore the spiritual world. Here are a few examples in this article, which can be seen from them that the older generation of "literary youth" pursued the diversity of spiritual practice.
Yin Shuixin (1883-1968), a literati from northern Jiangsu in the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China, was born in Yancheng and studied at the Jingshi University. He was one of the first people to come into contact with advanced Western science and technology and knowledge. After graduation, he stayed at school to teach. In the first year of Xuantong, he came to Shanghai and served as the priest of Commercial Press, China Book Company, the chief editor of Shenzhou Daily, Civil Rights Daily, News Daily and the editor of Guangxu Society. He was also a lecturer of Soochow, Hujiang University, and Jiangsu Normal University, and a member of the Central Higher Examination Commission for the past. He was well-versed in Chinese and Western learning, familiar with Western theories, and had translated more than 20 foreign documents, including "Examination of the Great British House" and "Political Views of the Chinese Revolution". He also proofreaded and published more than 120 books, including the famous "Tan Liuyang Collection" compiled by Tan Sitong, and Kang Youwei praised it very much. The middle one is Yinshuixin
Yinshuixin
Yinshuixin strongly advocated advanced science and new concepts in the West. After the Republic of China, he opposed private school education based on the Four Books and Five Classics, and personally compiled geography and history textbooks for new schools to introduce new knowledge. But at the same time, Yin Shuixin has always been obsessed with the cause of spiritual cultivation.Yin called himself "Old Man Hongdao of Naluyan Cave". This may be because of the Naluyan Cave, which yearns for the "bodhisattvas gathering" described in the "Avatamsaka Sutra", or because of his experience of the Ming Dynasty's eminent monk Hanshan Deqing, who built a hut in Naluyan Cave, practiced meditation in meditation. Yinshui Xin also built a hut in peace and practiced in peace and reciting sutras and chanting Buddha's name.
At that time, northern Jiangsu and Shanghai were close to each other, and Yinshuixin often returned home. Yin's fellow villagers were an important figure in the famous Tongshan Society. The society mainly taught a method of meditation, called "sitting skills", which required "guarding the orifices and luck" every morning and evening. It is said that long-term practice can cure diseases and prolong life. In the early years of the Republic of China, Yin also joined the society to practice at home and abroad. In addition, Yinshuixin is like Jin Shengtan, and he maintains a high interest in spirit writing and spiritual communication. At that time, Yin Shuixin had already come to Shanghai to participate in the publishing work. Under the introduction of his fellow publishing friend Yu Fu, he went to Shengdetan to participate in the spirit writing. The founders of this Shengde Hall were not ordinary people. In the sixth year of the Republic of China, the founder of Zhonghua Book Company , and Yu Fu, the director of the printing factory. The participants were all intellectuals and literati and poets in Shanghai at that time. The "literary youth" formed the "Spiritual Society" and gathered together every week to ask the gods to write the spirit, and use this to discuss issues such as mysticism and spiritual practice. The results were written and published publicly in the journal "Spiritual Society". At that time, the literary and artistic youths of the Spirit Society were also criticized by many people. The authors of "New Youth" such as Lu Xun, Chen Daqi and others all criticized the Spirit Society; Buddhist monk Master Yin Guang even denounced the Spirit Society as a superstitious heresy of "talking nonsense... doubting misleading sentient beings."
"Spiritual Learning Cong Zhi"
Zen, chanting Buddha's name, practicing spirit writing, and sitting in meditation. The spiritual experience of literary youth Yinshuixin is rich, but compared with the later scholar of the Republic of China, it seems a bit small.
Wang Yiting (1867-1938), from Huzhou , was born in Zhoupu, Shanghai. He was a famous calligrapher and painter at sea during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. In his early years, he served as a business comprador and joined the Tongmenghui, sponsoring the Xinhai Revolution and the Second Revolution, and was a celebrity in the Shanghai business world. Putting aside his various titles such as industrialist, social activist, and Shanghai artist, Wang Yiting is also enthusiastic about charity, and can be called "the first person in charity in the Republic of China". As for his charitable activities, it is closely related to his personal spiritual life.
Wang Yiting's paintings
The first thing to be stated is that Wang Yiting is not unaware of modern science. He served as the general agent of Nissing Company in his early years and later entered the electrical appliance industry. This could definitely be regarded as a high-tech industry at that time. Einstein When the couple came to China, Wang Yiting held a banquet at home and had a great chat with Einstein during the meal.
Einstein and Wang Yiting took a photo in his residential garden. In the middle of the front row is Einstein, Wang Yiting is the second on the right, and Yu Youren is the first on the right.
Wang Yiting is a well-known Buddhist lay Buddhist. He served as the executive committee member and standing committee member of the Chinese Buddhist Association. He has been elected as the head of the world Buddhist lay Buddhist Lin Lin of Shanghai for many years. He has set up a Buddhist library, etc., and founded Shanghai Buddhist Bookstore . Wang Yiting’s Dharma name in Buddhism is “Jiuqi”, but this Dharma name is not obtained when he converted to a certain monk, but comes from an experience of writing spirits. When placing a biography for Wang Yiting, a master of the Republic of China, , wrote: "Shanghai has organized a Chinese Jisheng Association, who used the so-called Jigong Living Buddha to teach spirits on the altar, and used medicine and promoted disaster relief and other charitable undertakings. The elders (Wang Yiting) also converted to Ji Buddha in the altar, and called him Buddhist disciples. The Jisheng Association promoted the elders as president, and raised relief for disasters in the north and south every year, and always raised hundreds of thousands and millions of yuan. The elders became giants of philanthropists in Shanghai and even the whole country. Few people in Shanghai did not call on the elders."
Wang Yiting took a photo with Master Taixu. The person in the front row is Master Taixu, and Wang Yiting was behind Taixu's left hand.
The "Ji Buddha" that Wang Yiting converted to refers to Jigong . Among the many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism, Jigong is deeply loved by spiritual practitioners. According to the Wang Jianchuan , the Jisheng Association was born into a spirit writing organization in Hangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty. This type of organization established the "Jueyunxuan" in Shanghai. When the spirit writing was written, the spirit writing operator asked Jigong to give up his pen. This was the predecessor of the Jisheng Association.The various charitable relief activities of Wang Yiting and the Jisheng Association are closely related to Jigong's spirit-making work. Every time they organize disaster relief donations, Jigong issued an edict to instruct the relief tasks and the donation amount of each member, which is an oracle. No member dared to refuse, so they actively participated in donating money to rescue disasters, and the efficiency of relief was greatly improved. During the Great Kanto earthquake in Japan, Wang Yiting urgently collected 6,000 dan of white rice, more than 2,000 packs of flour, as well as urgent daily necessities such as medicines and charcoal, and quickly transported it to Japan, becoming the earliest foreign rescue ship to arrive, which the Japanese call it "Wang Bodhisattva". As a result, spiritual practice activities such as spirit writing have become the "spiritual guidance" for the charitable relief of the Jisheng Association, and the Jisheng Association has also set up spirit altars in branches in various places.
In addition to being a Buddhist layman, Wang Yiting also practiced the Quanzhen Long Sect Kung Fu of Taoism. At that time, Jingai Mountain in Huzhou was an important town in Quanzhen Dao in the Jiangnan region, and there was a set of "convenient methods" passed down by the inner alchemy master Min Yide. Although Wang Yiting was a Buddhist layman, he also entered the Taoist temple in Jingai Mountain and became the 15th generation disciple of the Longmen Sect. He took the Dharma name "Benzhen" according to the generational order of the Longmen Sect's "morality is connected with the mysterious and quiet, true and always keeps the Taiqing, and one yang comes back to the copy". Today's literary and artistic youth, in terms of artistic level, are probably far from Wang Yiting. Even in terms of spiritual world, they are probably far from that of super spiritual practitioners like Wang Yiting who are both Buddha and Taoism, and who can also ask for a god to write.
Wang Yiting's photo at the Jingaishan Helongmen Sect Hall
Compared with the Spirit Society, the Spirit Society has been criticized by intellectuals and traditional Buddhist circles in society, Wang Yiting and the Jisheng Society have much better reputation. Progressive young people have never criticized the Jisheng Association, and the National Government also relied heavily on Wang Yiting. The monks have erected monuments for him. In addition to the biography written by Master Taixu for Wang Yiting in the previous article, Master Yin Guang also wrote monuments for the Jisheng Association, hoping that the traditional Buddhist community can work together with the Jisheng Association in relief and promoting vegetarian food. Both organizations prefer the art of spiritual and spirit writing, but they encounter different treatments. I am afraid that it is because the Spiritual Society talks about ghosts and gods all day long, while the Jisheng Society focuses on the difference between relief of the people. It can be seen that the society at that time did not completely reject all kinds of supernatural phenomena. After all, charity was a matter that benefited the public, and spiritual practice was just a personal choice. There was no need to talk all day long, and the public would not regard it as a disaster. If today's "literary youth" can understand this, they may have suffered less controversy!
