Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4744 The Mortal World
When a plague broke out in Qihuang, Zen Master Daoxin, regardless of his personal safety, delved into the area to study the pathology and successfully treated the plague. Later, he discovered a mustard cake that could not only cure scabies, but also all high fever diseases. However, they did not know that Sun Simiao had already successfully cultivated penicillin with Fang Jun, which was more advanced and more effective than mustard cake...

Yi Bao was surprised and said, "Sun Simiao is a role model for Taoism. The reason why Taoism is so famous today is largely because of Sun Simiao. It's fine for you to ignore worldly affairs, but how can you help others to gain prestige?"

The smile on Hongren's face gradually disappeared. His bright eyes stared at Yibao and he said slowly, "Buddha awakened himself and others, defeated demons and realized great wisdom. When Buddhism is about to rise, thunder shakes and lightning flashes; when the task of teaching is completed, it is like the fire is extinguished. Our Buddha is compassionate and merciful. He saves all living beings and comes according to fate. He is endowed with the virtue of light and can reach everywhere. In the past, when the Buddha's heart sprouted, people could often see the Buddha's light shining; now people are eager to be reborn in the Pure Land of Buddha... The Buddha's heart is compassionate. If there is no compassion for the people and love for the world, how can we save people to the Pure Land of Buddha? All appearances are false, Yibao, you are attached to appearances."

This Buddhist verse sounded like a loud bell in Yibao's ears, shaking his heart and making his face pale. He immediately stood up and knelt at Hongren's feet, clasping his hands together, fearfully saying, "I have fallen into the devil's way without knowing it, with karma all over my body and my Buddha nature obscured. Fortunately, thanks to my senior brother's teachings, I have come to my senses. What a sin, what a sin."

Hongren smiled again, his smile was pure and gentle, his eyes were bright and clear: "We are human beings, not Buddhas. People always have faults. It is great to correct them. Therefore, we can illuminate both emptiness and existence, and live in the realm of non-duality of truth and reality; we can sail the boat of the six perfections on the river of life and death, and drive the chariot of the three vehicles in the three realms of fire.

"

Yi Bao's face was solemn, and he clasped his hands together again: "I have learned your teachings. When I am done with my work here, I will go to Shuangfeng Mountain to pay my respects to Zen Master Daoxin and listen to his teachings."

Xuanzang was surprised. If Yibao really went and accepted the guidance of Zen Master Daoxuan, it would mean that the Fazhuang Temple in Jinhua Mountain, Dongyang would convert to "Zen Buddhism", which would further enhance the influence of "Zen Buddhism" in the south, and would be a great event for the entire Buddhist community.

Hongren clasped his hands together in return, saying, "I will make a bed for you."

Xuanzang was impatient with worldly affairs but was obsessed with Buddhism. His own views on Buddha nature were called "Consciousness-Only School" by outsiders. The core teachings of "all dharmas are consciousness-only" and "consciousness-only has no boundaries" seemed to be very different from the Zen ideas of "no written words, transmission outside the teachings" and "directly pointing to the human heart, seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha", but they were related to each other. So he sincerely asked Hongren for advice.

As Hongren was a direct disciple of the "Zen founder" Daoxuan, he was well versed in Buddhism and had unique insights. The two discussed with each other and made progress accordingly. They were very happy and immersed in the discussion for a while.

Yi Bao on the side smiled bitterly from time to time. Bodhidharma came to China to preach with only a staff and a bowl. He practiced hard, took his body as the way, had no thoughts or desires, and acted according to his nature. This is the highest realm of Buddhism. However, it was during the time of Sengcan that Buddhism was truly promoted and the Mahayana Buddhism of "directly pointing to the human heart, seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha" was known and accepted by the world.

When the first patriarch Bodhidharma brought Zen to China, people encountered it but did not believe it. When it came to the second patriarch Huike, people believed in it but did not practice it. It was not until the third patriarch that people believed in it and practiced it. Why? It was all because of Sengcan’s reform of “Zen”.

Bodhidharma went in and out of China, and most of the believers he came into contact with were aristocrats. Sengcan changed the strategy of spreading the Dharma by relying on the upper class, and changed it to converting people among the villagers and the old people, which led to a great increase in believers and a surge in the prestige of Buddhism. Whether it was the "Zen" or other Buddhist sects, they all built temples in urban areas at the beginning, but Sengcan preached in remote mountains and accepted donations and alms from believers, which made the connection between Buddhism and believers closer. Then, he changed the "Thutanga" of living in an impermanent place to publicly setting up altars to preach the Dharma...

No matter which of these changes, they are all connected to "money". Every temple and every dojo is operated through secular means. Leasing land, lending, incense... these secular things do make the reputation of Buddhism tarnished, but without these, how can we build more temples? How can we attract believers? How can we promote Buddhism?

You are noble, detached, and flawless, and you are all respected by the world as Buddhist Zen masters, but why have you never lowered your head to look at the mud under your feet? Why have you never thought about what supports your dreams and makes you so high and glorious?

His usually calm heart was disturbed. Looking at the two eminent monks discussing fiercely, Yi Bao felt a little bit of evil interest. He filled the cups in front of the two with tea and said softly, "There has been a rumor in the court that they are planning to increase taxes on Buddhism and Taoism, and will first implement it in the Jingzhao Prefecture... I wonder how you two should respond?"

"..."

The discussion ended, and the two monks looked at Yi Bao at the same time, with confused expressions.

Xuanzang was puzzled: "Although I am a foreigner and do not enter the secular world, the Buddhist temple exists on the land of the Tang Dynasty after all, and has received the Tang Dynasty's certificate of ordination, so it must naturally abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty. Since the court wants to increase taxes, then let it increase taxes. Da Ci'en Temple should cooperate."

Hongren lowered his head and drank tea. His temple was in the south. Since the tax increase was first implemented in Jingzhao Prefecture, he would not easily express his opinion no matter what he thought in his heart. This was Guanzhong, Chang'an, and the sphere of influence of Xuanzang. "Zen Buddhism" must be respected.

We must not let Xuanzang misunderstand that "Zen" has the intention to spread the teachings in the north...

Although Yi Bao was not the abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, he was deeply trusted by Xuanzang. Ever since he came to Beijing to participate in the translation of scriptures, he was entrusted by Xuanzang to take over the affairs of the temple. He smiled bitterly and said, "Da Ci'en Temple is not bad, because it was built by the order of the late emperor when the current emperor was still the crown prince to pray for the blessing of Empress Wende. All expenses come from the royal treasury, and there is plenty of money. But other temples may not be treated like Da Ci'en Temple. In addition to preaching, the monks in the temple have to cultivate the fields and run shops. Even if there are pilgrims donating, there is not much left. If the court increases taxes, I am afraid it will be difficult to make a living, let alone promote Buddhism?"

Xuanzang didn't care about worldly things, but he was not ignorant of them. When he heard this, his face remained unchanged and his tone was light: "When Buddhism first came to China, the preaching monks wore patchwork clothes and reed sandals, and they only relied on a bowl and a stick. However, they were compassionate and saved all living beings, so that Buddhism spread throughout the world and people all converted to Buddhism. However, the situation today is a hundred or a thousand times worse than before, and the promotion of Buddhism is difficult. I have to cross mountains and rivers to rush to India to seek the true scriptures... Today's Buddhism has long been tainted by money and silk, and it is no longer the hard-working and dedicated to Buddhism in the past."

Although he was high and mighty, hailed as the greatest in Buddhism and revered by the world, he was not unaware of the people's praise and criticism of Buddhism. He annexed land, leased and lent money, and even colluded with officials and monks to make huge profits... It is indeed necessary to spread Buddhism, but when money taints the purity of Buddhism, it should be abandoned.

He looked at Yi Bao with a pair of clear eyes and said slowly: "The true meaning of Buddha lies in compassion. The world loves me, respects me and believes in me, which is also due to compassion. Buddha uses the true Dharma to guide the world, which is compassion. If you give up compassion, how can you be a Buddha? True water has no fragrance and is as pure as the Dharma. However, there are also three thousand worlds and hundreds of thousands of lives in a drop of water. Therefore, it is difficult for Buddhism to remain pure forever. It is inevitable that there will be people who rely on Buddhism and are selfish. This is the way of heaven and cannot be disobeyed. However, everything has a limit. Once it is excessive, it will become a demonic obstacle. The pure land of Buddhism must be swept from time to time and not stained with dust."

Money is everything in the secular world, but one should never overdo it at any time, otherwise Buddhism will become a place for greed and money-making, and will inevitably be despised by the world. Without pure and free rules, how can one spread Buddhism and save all living beings?
Seeing Yibao's face showing shame and his heart touched, Xuanzang said gently: "The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty controls the whole world, turns the golden wheel, governs the four seas, sits on the throne, reigns over all nations, speaks the law of heaven, and speaks the law. Although the Buddha is high up in the thirty-third heaven overlooking the world, the Dharma must also be operated in the world, and should abide by the rules of the world."

Yi Bao was sweating profusely, and was extremely terrified: "It is because my cultivation is not good enough, my Buddhist heart is not stable, and I was confused by worldly desires. I almost fell into the devil's way and was doomed to eternal damnation, causing the Buddhist sect to suffer a devastating disaster."

The Buddha transcends the three realms and the five elements, but Buddhist disciples are still in the world and have to accept the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty laws.

That is, under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, one must abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

The emperors in the world hold supreme power and have the final say on life and death. The reason why Buddhism has suffered devastating disasters many times in the past is that it has lost control of its own power and thus threatened the imperial power.

If the Buddhists relied on their believers all over the world to resist the imperial court's tax increase policy, it would inevitably anger the court. The emperor would think that his power was threatened. In addition, the Taoists would fan the flames and add fuel to the fire. If the tragedy of "destroying Buddhism" happened again... Just thinking about the consequences is horrifying.

Hongren smiled and said, "The Buddha's glory shines on the six heavens, and the cloud of the Dharma covers the ten directions of the world. To the west, it crosses the Quicksand and expands to the territory of India; to the east, it reaches the sea and extends to the Akshobhya Buddhaland. The prestige and teachings are boundless, and the chariots and documents are connected to the sky with a roof. The Buddha has experienced many kalpas, and the small kalpa lasts for 16.8 million years... Why bother to argue about the length of a day?"

Yi Bao folded his hands and said, "Later, we will send a message to all temples in Jingzhao Prefecture to cooperate with the imperial court's order. Then the Discipline Hall will review the accounts within three years. If there are greedy people who make money or commit crimes, they will be severely punished. This will purify Buddhism, eliminate the resentment of believers towards Buddhism, and restore the compassion of Buddhism."

Xuanzang lowered his eyebrows and eyes, clasped his hands together and said: "Buddha is merciful, this is how it should be."

He also knew how corrupt, greedy and mean the Buddhist community was at that time. However, the ice is three feet thick and it didn't freeze overnight. Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism had been tortured and was once in darkness until the Sui and Tang Dynasties unified the country. In the process of its decline and prosperity, it inevitably attracted many speculators. How could it be easy to eliminate them all at once now?

But he didn't care much about it. The waxing and waning of the moon and the ebb and flow of the tide are just the way of nature. Good times will come after bad times and good times will decline after good times. This is also normal.

It’s good to have Buddha in your heart.