Buddhism had only one social' function' in the late Qing Dynasty, which was not weakened or mutated, but greatly strengthened. This is recommended for death and super life. Recommending death and super life has become the' patent' of Buddhism and Taoism. Taoism is commonly known as' Dojo', Buddhism is called' Jing', and the patriarchal clan system asks the Buddha to ask for Tao. Repentance of Buddhist Scriptures was condemned by eminent monks. Why do many people who call themselves Buddhists enjoy it? This can only be explained by social needs.
In the late Qing Dynasty, social resources were exhausted. Why does patriarchal clan system have to spend huge sums of money on it? First of all, in the late Qing Dynasty, due to the funeral ceremony organized by the patriarchal clan system, a sense of "doomsday" could not be ruled out. They personally experienced the irreversible decline of the patriarchal clan system, which is the so-called' the world is getting worse'; I personally experienced that compared with the past ostentation and extravagance, the inner space capsule was gradually empty. Under the circumstances that the people in the whole society are poor and the people are poor, the income of exploiting people is limited. From the narrow vision of the agricultural society they are used to, it is very risky to invest surplus capital in industry and commerce. However, under the coercion of the government and the dumping of foreign businessmen, it is really difficult for national industry and commerce to develop. Therefore, in order to maintain their family business, they have to count on the blessing of their ancestors. Secondly, the ostentation and extravagance of funeral apparatus is also related to China's traditional outlook on appearance.
Many farmers and civilians have to put down their debts even if they are not rich to cope with the pressure of public opinion in their neighbors. The extended family shows filial piety and wins social respect; On the other hand, it can also show that the facade of the family has not fallen, and the loan will not be rejected in the future. Thirdly, it is also a kind of psychological compensation to take care of children before death without service. They often have the idea that this is the last time to honor the deceased, so they will spend more money. Needless to say, some Buddhists, out of filial piety, specially invite monks to make confessions, believing that after making confessions, the deceased can cross over. Finally, the ceremony itself contains reasonable content to appease the sadness of the relatives of the deceased, which should not be completely denied, but should be replaced by a more reasonable and economical way.
Although the prevalence of "super-life recommending death" also reflected the needs of the society at that time, there were some reasonable factors, but Buddhism in some areas was too weak, which was the main source of income, and almost all of them died of "death" religion regardless of social criticism. As a result, monks and nuns were ridiculed by the society at that time as' lazy people in the court, moths in the rice' and' wives are easy to beat and monks are easy to bully'. After Chu Ni, Wudi (now Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou) holds that it is unlucky not to become a monk in the first month. Obviously, the formation of this custom has something to do with monks and nuns specializing in' classics' after the Ming Dynasty, because China people are taboo about' death'. Isn't it a pity that China Buddhism, which was full of vitality in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, was reduced to this point?