Mr. Lou Yulie just celebrated his 80th birthday. He is a professor of the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and the honorary dean of the Institute of Religious Studies at Peking University. He has devoted his life to the study of philosophy and Buddhism. Although he lives in a corner of Beijing, he has an insight into the trend of Buddhism among celebrities such as Faye Wong and the various beliefs in the floating world. .

Mr. Lou accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Global People Magazine, and pointed out that most Buddhists are blind, and a large number of believers are not orthodox believers. Many people think that burning incense and worshiping Buddha can lead to promotion and wealth. In fact, they are wrong. Buddhism It is precisely because they see that promotion and wealth increase people's pain and troubles, and they want people to be freed from promotion and wealth and let go of everything.

Any kind of person can be a disciple of Buddhism

Global People Magazine: In today's society, on the one hand, many people feel a lack of faith, and on the other hand, there are celebrities and celebrities who are enthusiastic about Buddhism and teachers. Hot, what do you think of this phenomenon?

Lou Yulie: Faith is a pursuit of value and the driving force for people to persist in living. It is a very broad concept. In addition to religious beliefs, there are also institutional beliefs, theoretical beliefs, etc. It can be said that no one has no faith, but some people are conscious about their faith, and some are not conscious about it. Human beings are advanced life forms, a combination of material life and spiritual life. Therefore, spiritual pursuit is a kind of belief, and material pursuit is also a kind of belief. The lack of faith in China now is mainly spiritual. With the development of materials, people pay more and more attention to material needs, and the needs of spiritual life are diluted or even disappeared.

Global People Magazine: Is the current craze for Buddhism caused by people realizing the importance of spiritual beliefs, or is it for blind purposes such as utilitarianism or following the trend?

Lou Yulie: I think most of them are blind. Many people do not feel happy after their material life is satisfied. Although the material is rich, the spirit is empty, so they begin to pursue spiritual meaning, but this behavior is not necessarily conscious.

There are also quite a few people who regard religious belief as a fashion, or even to gain a say in making friends. Because he saw that everyone was talking about religion, but he didn’t know it, so he wanted to understand it so that he could have conversation materials with his friends. The current craze for Chinese studies, Buddhism and other religions are all related to people’s friendship circles.

Global People Magazine: Among people who believe in Buddhism, entertainment stars are a special group due to their high level of attention. Is there any special reason for the craze for practicing Buddhism in the entertainment industry?

Lou Yulie: Nowadays, there are mainly several groups of believers in Buddhism: stars in the entertainment industry, elites in the business world, and people in the legal field. People in the entertainment industry bring a lot of happiness to others, but they are not necessarily happy themselves, and may be very troubled. In addition, the entertainment industry is very utilitarian and has many hidden rules. No one can comfort them for their inner pain, so they have to seek a kind of sustenance and find religious beliefs.

Global People Magazine: What is your attitude towards celebrities becoming apprentices and becoming monks?

Lou Yulie: Buddhism advocates that people should not be discriminating. Any kind of person can be a Buddhist disciple, even if you are a prisoner, as long as you repent and put down your butcher knife, you will be tolerated. We should also treat celebrities who study Buddhism as ordinary people. If a celebrity wants to become a disciple, he must first put down his pretense of being a celebrity and become an ordinary person.

Being a monk is entirely a personal choice. We should understand that choosing to become a monk means choosing a greater responsibility. Because once you become a monk, you are a person who presides over Buddhism, and you must promote Buddhism, seek Bodhi, and transform all sentient beings. At the same time, it does not mean that you are not a good Buddhist if you have not chosen to become a monk. There is a saying that goes well: do worldly things with a transcendent mind. It would also be good if he regulates his life and career in full accordance with the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist scriptures.

Global People Magazine: Some celebrities copy scriptures, attend Dharma meetings, and travel abroad to visit Buddhist masters. Can this be a manifestation of their piety?

Lou Yulie: I don’t think so. These are just formal things. Of course, celebrities may express their inner piety through these behaviors, but the most fundamental thing still depends on how they regulate themselves in life and how they shoulder their social responsibilities. An artist should be aware of the impact his artistic creation has on society.

They should play a correct guiding role through their words, deeds and artistic works.

The spread of religion cannot be separated from art

Global People Magazine: Faye Wong is a relatively devout Buddhist in behavior, but the scandals in her life have overwhelmed her belief in Buddhism one side. Faye Wong has been married twice, and now there are scandal rumors. Many people think that since she believes in Buddhism, she shouldn't be like this. What do you think?

Lou Yulie: The Buddhist concept of being pure and abstinent does not mean abstinence. The so-called purity of mind means to control desires within an appropriate range and not to pursue excessive things. When we say a person is greedy, it means he is excessive. If a person needs to eat well and wear well, it is not greedy. If it exceeds this need, it is greedy.

For Faye Wong, it mainly depends on her starting point and how she handles it. It cannot be said that people who believe in Buddhism must not pursue desires. It depends on how Faye Wong's several relationships came about and how they were resolved. If she got married and broke up reasonably, I can't blame her. If you get married because you are greedy for money or sex, there may be a problem.

People Magazine: Faye Wong recorded the song "Heart Sutra". "Heart Sutra" is also a Buddhist classic. Does this behavior have positive meaning?

Lou Yulie: Celebrities use these behaviors to spread religious ideas and let more people understand Buddhism. This should have positive meaning and the objective effect may be good. But this also depends on whether they are sincere in doing so. If their subjective starting point is not to promote Buddhism, but to gain fame and show off themselves, then it will be harmful to themselves.

Global People Magazine: Will such behavior turn religion into entertainment?

Lou Yulie: The spread of religion is inseparable from art. For example, there are many Bianwen in the Dunhuang Grottoes. In many cases, Bianwen is similar to our current storytellers, which use storytelling to spread Buddhism. Singing, dancing, painting, and architecture can also be used as a means to spread Buddhism. This is why Mr. Cai Yuanpei proposed replacing religion with aesthetic education. Many art forms, including singing, can also play a role in purifying and guiding people's hearts. This mainly depends on the way he sings, whether it purifies the soul or disturbs the soul. If rock music is used to sing Buddhist scriptures, it will definitely not work, it will be funny.

It is an evil belief that the more incense you burn, the more merit you will gain.

Global People Magazine: Does belief in Buddhism require a certain amount of knowledge and cultivation as the basis?

Lou Yulie: There are different levels of learning Buddhism. For ordinary people, it is very simple, just don't do bad things. Buddhist scriptures say: Do no evil, practice good deeds, and purify your mind. This is Buddhism. It means not to do bad things, to do good things, and to be able to purify your own mind. This is Buddhism. Isn't it simple? Ordinary people understand it. Sometimes illiterate people understand Buddhism better. Literate people instead ponder this and that, and their understandings are specious.

Global People Magazine: Buddhism often talks about karma. Is this a negative thought?

Lou Yulie: Many things are negative when viewed from a negative perspective, and positive when viewed from a positive perspective. When it comes to cause and effect, looking at it negatively, I have planted the cause and there is no way to change it, so I have to suffer the result. But since the cause was created by me, then if I can change the cause, doesn’t that change the effect?

Many people regard the Buddhist thought of cause and effect as a kind of fatalism. wrong! That is Brahmanism. The very positive significance of Buddhism is that it does not talk about past and present lives, but transcends reincarnation. So how do we look at the issue of retribution? Past, present and future are relative. Our life consists of the past 10 years, the present 10 years, the next 10 years, last year, this year, next year, yesterday, today and tomorrow. For example, the end I have ended up in is the result of my pursuit of fame and fortune in the past 10 years. If I had worked steadily in the past 10 years, wouldn’t the future have changed?

Global People Magazine: As a spiritual belief, how does Buddhism help people solve problems in real life?

Lou Yulie: In traditional Chinese culture, spiritual beliefs and real life are closely integrated. This has its advantages, that is, Chinese religion does not engage in mysterious things, but requires people to hone themselves in real life. But on the other hand, people always hope to change real life through faith. This makes faith highly utilitarian and practical. This is a big problem in Chinese beliefs, especially religious beliefs.

Nowadays, many people believe for themselves. They burn incense, kowtow, and worship Buddha in order to get better blessings. They hope that Buddha can bless them with promotion, wealth, and longevity. Many officials go to burn incense, thinking that if they burn incense, they can be promoted to a higher level next year. Some people think that the more incense is burned, the more merits will be gained and the greater the rewards will be. This is not true belief, but evil belief. It is not that belief in Buddhism will lead to promotion and wealth. Buddhism just sees that promotion and wealth increase people's pain and troubles, and requires people to be freed from promotion and wealth and abandon and let go of everything.

Global People Magazine: So what should be the purpose of believing in Buddhism and doing good deeds?

Lou Yulie: A core concept of Buddhism is dependent origination. The theory of dependent origination can be summarized in four sentences: this is born because of that, this is why that is destroyed, this is why that is, this is why that is not, this is why that is not. Buddhism does not believe that the world was created by Buddha, nor by any god, but by the gathering of various causes and conditions. Therefore, we cannot rely on one savior, but must rely on everyone’s awareness and wisdom. There is a problem in thinking of Buddha as the savior.

If the Buddha is the savior, he should also be the savior who opens up your wisdom. In the end, you can rely on your own wisdom to liberate yourself. If you wait for the Buddha to save you and don't work hard yourself, that is Brahmanism, not Buddhism. Our subjective desire to believe in Buddhism and do good deeds is not to seek anything, but because after you do good deeds, the atmosphere of the entire society will be changed, the entire society will be purified, everyone will benefit, and you will also benefit from it.

Buddhism enables people to let go and devote themselves

Global People Magazine: What is the correct view of religion? How do you understand Buddhism in general?

Lou Yulie: Any religious belief must solve a problem, that is, understanding the origin, value and meaning of life. Buddhism allows people to let go and make sacrifices. In particular, Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes compassion and does not seek happiness for oneself, but hopes that all living beings will be freed from suffering. During his lifetime, the old monk Jinghui used two sentences to explain Mahayana Buddhism’s enlightenment of life and dedication to life. This is in line with the language of the times. In Buddhist terms, it is the dual destiny of compassion and wisdom. Compassion is compassion, wisdom is wisdom, and luck works together. Life is rare, we must cherish the value of life and be compassionate, we must not only be aware of life, but also dedicate it to life. These two are inseparable. Only by concentrating on life can we dedicate our lives, and only by consecrating our lives can we be more aware of life.

Global People Magazine: At a macro level, are there any ways to help people establish a correct religious outlook?

Lou Yulie: To avoid blind belief, the most fundamental thing is to start with basic education. Basic education should have religious content, or religious knowledge. In primary school, students can be taught that there is a culture called religion, which is a kind of belief, and that students can understand that religion has various forms. With such a foundation, they will not go astray when they come into contact with religion in the future.

Correct knowledge of various religions should also be spread throughout society. Ordinary believers are not exposed to these ideas. They see what others do and just follow them. For example, releasing wild animals is now popular. This was originally a good thing, but it has gone astray, destroying the ecological balance, destroying lives, and some people are even comparing the number of released wild animals. This kind of thinking needs to be corrected. We can even let go of the concept of releasing animals for the time being and mention protecting students more, because protecting students is more fundamental.

Global People Magazine: On a personal level, how can Buddhist believers better cultivate themselves?

Lou Yulie: The key is to purify your heart. All troubles come from the impurity of the human heart. The human heart has this pursuit, that pursuit, this hatred, that hatred, this love, that love, so this problem or that problem arises. Lao Tzu said, enjoy your food, enjoy your clothes, live comfortably, and be happy with your customs. Whatever you give me to eat tastes good to me, whatever clothes you give me to wear I feel good to look at, just do as the Romans do, and that's fine. "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" adds another sentence at the end: Don't admire each other, that is, don't compare. Comparison is a serious problem among modern people. When one is superior to another, one admires the other, and the mind becomes restless. If you enjoy your food, dress beautifully, live comfortably, enjoy your customs, and don't admire others, you will see whether you will be happy or not.