Chinanews, Zhengzhou, February 20th (Reporter Li Guigang) The reporter learned from Songshan Shaolin Temple on the 20th that the "Fifth Kindness Festival" will be held in Xuchang, Henan Province, a "famous historical and cultural city in the Han and Wei Dynasties" in July this year. Douxiang" and other intangible cultural heritage activities.
Since 2016, the "Kindness Festival", which inherits the Chinese culture of filial piety and promotes new social customs, has been successfully held for four consecutive times in the thousand-year-old temple, the ancestral home of the pharmacist, and the White Rabbit Temple in Xuchang, the lower courtyard of the Shaolin Temple.
In 2016, the first "Kindness Festival" invited monks and doctors from Songshan Shaolin Pharmacy Bureau to provide free free consultations for local people; in 2017, the second "Kindness Festival" gave free wheelchairs and crutches to local disabled elderly; in 2018, the third The first "Kindness Festival" held a forum with the theme of "The Way of Kindness in the New Era"; the fourth "Kindness Festival" included activities such as charity assistance, public welfare and student assistance, respect for the elderly and children, and free dramas.
It is known that the "Fifth Kindness Festival" will hold the opening ceremony and a series of activities on July 11 (Chufu), mainly including Shaolin Kungfu performances; Zen calligraphy and painting photography exhibition; opera performances; flower art, incense ceremony, tea ceremony, hanging paintings Exhibition (the "Four Elegances" of ancient literati); free free clinic (invite Chinese physicians for on-site free clinic); kindness culture forum, etc.
In March 2021, "The Production Skills of White Rabbit Temple Pharmacist Incense" was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of Jian'an District, Xuchang City, Henan Province.
Shi Yanji, the initiator of the "Goodness Festival", the executive director of the Henan Buddhist Association, and the abbot of the White Rabbit Temple, introduced that traditional incense-making non-heritage inheritors from all over the country will be invited to "fight incense" on the spot to learn from each other and improve together .
At the same time, on the day of the opening ceremony of the "Fifth Kindness Festival", the traditional hand-made skills of Yaoshixiang will be displayed on the spot.
"This will be a 'collision' of two traditional cultures, which will definitely produce different cultural effects." Han Xiaomin, chairman of the Xuchang Folk Literature and Art Association, believes that the "Kindness Festival" is to inherit the Chinese culture of filial piety, and "Douxiang" It is the inheritance of non-heritage culture. The incense culture is an important part of the culture of the Medicine Buddha of the White Rabbit Temple. The traditional incense making technology should be spread more widely to benefit all sentient beings.
Lu Shijie, secretary-general of the Xuchang Buddhist Association, introduced that the "Kindness Festival" has been successfully held for four consecutive years, with the purpose of promoting the Chinese nation's tradition of admiration and filial piety, and passing on the concepts of equality, tolerance, compassion, and harmoniousness to the general public. It is believed that this event will definitely become an excellent brand event and a cultural business card that conveys kind thoughts and builds good relationships.
As a participant and witness of the event, Zou Xiang, the person in charge of the official website of Shaolin Temple, believes that the series of activities of the "Kindness Festival" are to spread the culture of filial piety and goodness, and it is also a concrete manifestation of the Sinicization of Buddhism. "Through the activities, let the rich traditional folk customs Culture can better serve the local economic and cultural construction, which is itself a kind of good deed and charity.” (End)