22/03/2026
考察现在的五台山记：拿不到“智慧符”的老婆婆
Observations of Present-Day Mount Wutai: The Old Lady Who Couldn’t Get a “Wisdom Talisman”
要说五台山的出家人，与九华山的出家人相比，似乎更注重出家的形式与制度。五台山是中国佛教出家人最多的地方之一，整座山据说有一百多间寺庙，规模非常庞大。
我们去到当地一间寺庙时，也明白寺庙僧众需要资金来维持生活和寺院运作。因此到寺庙时，我们也随喜供养一点心意，表达一点敬意。
当时有一位老婆婆想要领取所谓的“智慧符”，可能她不太了解当地的情况，但寺里的出家人直接回应：“没有！没有！这里没有什么智慧符。”语气比较直接，甚至有点像赶人的语气。这一幕让人印象很深，也让人感受到这里与我们平常接触的寺庙文化有所不同。
有些香火非常旺的寺庙，例如需要排队参拜的寺庙，大家争先恐后，好像谁都不能输一样抢着拜。就算你带供品过去，当地的僧人也未必会收。如果是供花之类的供品，往往很快就会被处理掉。反而如果想让供品放久一点，通常供水果会比较合适。😆
我们也是两手空空去拜，但如果你想随缘供养一点个人心意，也是可以的。我们师父却不是两手空空，而是用了某些密法和法器，在五爷像面前获得加持，再把加持带回来给佛教会的信众。
这些事情让人感受到一种对比——他们对普通游客与对供养香客的态度，似乎有所不同，让人印象深刻。所以后来我们一般会选择人潮比较少的寺院，多供奉一点心意，也比较清净。
五台山的寺庙规模非常大。毕竟在人口众多的国家，佛教圣地往往建得宏伟壮观。这与我们平时在本地常去、由师父主持、人与人之间比较熟悉、可以向师父请一张符、聊聊天的寺庙，形成了很大的对比。
另外，五台山属于中国重点文物保护单位，近年来已经禁止游客自行上香供奉，只有寺院的僧人才能在殿内用香供佛。这也使得整个朝圣的方式，与我们平常理解的“进庙拜拜”很不一样。
慢慢地会发现，这里既是佛教圣地，同时也是一个非常成熟的旅游圣地。至于有些人会问：是否要找一些有师父的庙加持一下，会不会比较好？因为我们的团体是由自己的师父带团，所以我们并没有特别去和当地寺院交流。基本上就是你做你的，我们拜我们的，不去打扰当地的主持与僧众。我们只是礼佛、供养，拜完就离开。
When comparing the monastics of Mount Wutai with those of Mount Jiuhua, it seems that the monastics at Mount Wutai place more emphasis on monastic form and institutional structure. Mount Wutai is one of the places in China with the largest number of Buddhist monastics, and the entire mountain is said to have more than one hundred temples, making it very large in scale.
When we visited a local temple, we understood that the monks need financial support to sustain their livelihood and maintain the temple operations. Therefore, whenever we visited a temple, we would also make a small offering as a gesture of respect.
At that time, there was an old lady who wanted to receive a so-called “Wisdom Talisman.” Perhaps she did not really understand the local situation, but the monk in the temple responded directly, saying, “No, no! There is no such wisdom talisman here.” The tone was rather direct, almost sounding like he was chasing her away. This scene left a deep impression on us and made us feel that the temple culture here was quite different from what we were used to.
Some temples with very heavy incense offerings require people to queue for worship. Everyone rushes forward, as if no one wants to lose the chance to pray first. Even if you bring offerings, the monks may not accept them. If you offer flowers or items related to prayers for wisdom, they are often removed quite quickly. If you want your offerings to remain longer, offering fruits is usually more suitable. 😆
Sometimes we also went to pray empty-handed, but if you wish to make a personal offering, you can still do so according to your own intention. Our master, however, did not go empty-handed. He used certain ta***ic methods and ritual implements in front of the statue of the Fifth Lord to receive blessings, and then brought those blessings back for the Buddhist association devotees.
These experiences created a strong sense of contrast — the way they treated ordinary tourists and those who made offerings seemed somewhat different, which left a deep impression on us. So later, we generally chose temples with fewer crowds and made more offerings there, where the environment felt quieter and more peaceful.
The temples at Mount Wutai are very large in scale. In a country with a large population, Buddhist sacred sites are often built in a very grand manner. This is very different from the temples we usually visit in our hometown, where a resident master presides, people know each other, and one can chat with the master or request a talisman. The atmosphere is very different.
In addition, Mount Wutai is a protected cultural heritage site in China. In recent years, visitors are no longer allowed to offer incense personally; only the temple monks are permitted to offer incense inside the halls. This makes the whole pilgrimage experience quite different from what we usually understand as “visiting a temple to pray.” Gradually, one realizes that this place is not only a Buddhist sacred mountain, but also a very well-developed tourist destination.
Some people may ask whether it is better to find a temple with a master to perform blessings. Since our group was led by our own master, we did not specifically interact with the local temples. Basically, we did our practice and they did theirs. We did not disturb the local monks. We simply paid respects to the Buddhas, made offerings, and then left.
