Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 163 The prince disobeyed the order and asked the gods for help!
Luo Yi.

White Horse Temple.

The first ancient temple in the Ming Dynasty.

It is backed by Mang Mountain in the north and faces Luo River in the south.

The green pines and cypresses, the red walls and green tiles, create a solemn atmosphere.

The more than one hundred halls are a typical vertical axis layout of Han Buddhist temples, with the main buildings all located on the north-south center line.

The grand mountain gate, consisting of three gates, symbolizes the "Three Gates of Liberation" of "Gate of Emptiness", "Gate of No Form" and "Gate of No Wish". It was rebuilt in the 25th year of Jiajing.

There are two stone horses outside the mountain gate, facing each other on the left and right. The stone horses are six feet tall and seven feet long, wearing bridles on their heads and saddles on their bodies. They have gentle temperaments and are finely carved. It is said that they are horses carrying scriptures in the Han Dynasty.

Passing through the mountain gate, there is a stone tablet on each side. The one on the east side is "The Stele of the Ancestral Temple of White Horse Temple in Luoyang", which was written by Wencai, a high monk in the Yuan court, with elegant and beautiful calligraphy.

Going further and passing the hip-and-gable Heavenly King Hall, you will arrive at the main hall of the temple, the Great Buddha Hall. Inside the hall, Sakyamuni sits on a lotus platform with a flower in his right hand. His two disciples, Ananda and Kashyapa, stand beside him. The two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Samantabhadra, are seated in a row, with two heavenly maidens serving him.

The incense table is equipped with five kinds of offerings, bells and drums are hung high on the left and right, curtains are hung, and thin balls are arranged in a solemn and dignified manner.

Zhu Dianliang, the King of Yi in the Ming Dynasty, went to the temple to burn incense.

King Yi knelt on a cushion, holding a three-foot-long sandalwood stick in his hand, and bowed respectfully three times. The abbot of the White Horse Temple then took it and inserted it into the incense burner.

On both sides of the main hall, dozens of old monks wearing robes, with long white beards and eyebrows, and looking quite like Buddha, were beating wooden fish and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

When the servants from Prince Yi's mansion came over carrying a heavy sandalwood box, the sound of chanting became noticeably louder.

King Yi opened the sandalwood box himself, and the yellow color made the magnificent Buddha hall even brighter.

There is a fortune ahead.

The abbot's eyebrows and beard twitched obviously.

However, what moved the abbot the most was not the gold, but the thick stack of land deeds on the gold.

There are tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland in Mangshan.

Chicheng is worth ten thousand taels of gold.

They are all incense money.

"Amitabha, Your Highness Prince Yi truly has a pure heart. Every time he visits this small temple, he brings honor to the Buddha. Your Highness, this is a great deed!" the old abbot said with emotion.

Zhu Dianliang was the seventh King Yi of the Ming Dynasty. After he inherited the title of Prince in the 23rd year of Jiajing, he would come to the White Horse Temple at least once a year, and the money he contributed to incense offerings was never less than 100,000 taels of silver.

Although the White Horse Temple is rich, the only one who can be so generous is His Royal Highness Prince Yi.

In the past twenty years, the golden body of the Buddha has been sculpted over and over again. It has been freed from the clay mold and is about to become a real golden body.

Your Highness Prince Yi, your devotion to Buddha is admirable.

"Amitabha."

King Yi clasped his hands together and said respectfully, "Master, I am worried about something recently and would like to ask for a fortune."

The old abbot ordered someone to take the lottery box, shook it and said, "Your Majesty, please!"

King Yi calmed down, drew a lot from the tube and gave it to the old abbot.

The fortune says: A crane comes out from the clouds, a man walks under the moon, new joy fills your face, no need to frown.

The old abbot held the stick and frowned.

crane.

It is a symbol of longevity, good luck and happiness.

It is also a symbol of dignity.

If King Yi was old, this lot would undoubtedly be a very good lot, but Your Highness inherited the title of prince at the age of thirteen and is just thirty years old today.

The arrival of the crane means that a noble person is about to die, and who is walking under the moon?
Ghosts of the dead do not come out during the day.

And new love.

It seems to represent vitality.

"Your Majesty, it is a good sign."

The old abbot gradually relaxed his frown, smiled, and said slowly: "No one can escape the three disasters and five calamities. Since Your Majesty inherited the throne, everything has gone smoothly. Now that danger and difficulties are facing you, Your Majesty only needs to know when to stop and not act rashly, and you will get a good result."

"Three disasters and five calamities?" King Yi was a little frightened, but when he heard 'know when to stop and don't act rashly', he could avoid danger, so he heaved a sigh of relief.

But as soon as he exhaled, he was called back by King Yi. He came to ask the Buddha about the good or bad luck of going to the capital.

If "entering Beijing" is considered as action, then what is "not taking rash actions"?

Going to Beijing is a reckless move.

Not going to the capital is tantamount to disobeying the imperial order.

"Master, I have been ordered to go north to the capital. Please tell me, Buddha, what I should do?" King Yi revealed his purpose.

Buddha, should you let him come to the capital or not?

Whether it was auspicious or unlucky, the King of Yi was almost dying of anxiety.

"The Buddha's intention is unknowable." The old abbot shook his head.

The fortune in the lottery is very vague, perhaps because it involves the heavenly family, the Buddha did it that way on purpose.

Good or bad luck, that's all the interpretation can give. The rest can only be experienced by His Majesty Prince Yi.

As a devout believer of Buddha, King Yi felt somewhat resentful at the Buddha's ambiguity at such a critical moment.

Zen is the most annoying thing.

Seeing King Yi's face change, the old abbot sighed. If it was someone else, White Horse Temple would not care whether they were satisfied or not after interpreting the fortune. But this was King Yi from the vassal state of Luoyi, and White Horse Temple had no choice but to care.

"If Your Majesty has time, you may walk around the halls in my temple and worship. Perhaps the Buddha will give you another decree." The old abbot put the lot in his hand back into the lot box and suggested.

The most powerful thing about Buddhism is that it is ambiguous, but people’s hearts will follow their own hearts to give answers.

It's like tossing a coin. The moment the coin is tossed, the heart gives the answer. The heads or tails are actually not that important.

Let King Yi walk around the palaces and worship, so that he can give the most genuine feedback from his heart.

"Thank you, Master." King Yi nodded.

The old abbot did not lead King Yi to find his inner self, but let the young monk do it.

Behind the Great Buddha Hall is the Main Hall where the Three Buddhas are enshrined, with the Eighteen Arhats on both sides.

Unfortunately, the Three Buddhas did not give King Yi a clear indication that behind the Main Hall is the Hall of Reception, where the solemn and majestic Buddha of Reception is smiling, and further behind is the Vairocana Pavilion.

The Pilu Pavilion is located on the Qingliang Terrace, which is made of blue bricks. It is nearly two zhang and three chi high, about three zhang long and about one zhang wide.

Inside is a statue of Sakyamuni's pure Dharmakaya Vairocana Buddha, with Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas standing beside him.

There is a stone tablet on the back wall of the pavilion, engraved with the "Sutra in Forty-two Chapters".

The pavilion and the surrounding buildings form a small courtyard with a pond in the middle.

If it is summer, the lotus flowers will bloom, which will be a beautiful sight.

In this early winter, the weather is cold and there is no warmth in the sun. Looking from below the stage, the whole courtyard seems to be in the air. When the wind blows, the coldness arises.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

The melodious bell rang.

The sound of the bell seemed to be mixed with the tones of monks chanting and worshiping Buddha, but it did not sound noisy to the ears.

King Yi's confused thoughts were also sorted out at this time, like the clouds and fog were cleared away.

The Prince Yi's Palace has done too many illegal things. As a prince, he is absolutely not allowed to enter the capital. Otherwise, the censors and censors alone would be enough to drown him with their scolding. What's more, no palace in the Ming Dynasty could explain the smuggling of silk and other items to the West.

The bell rings.

King Yi left the White Horse Temple.

It's day and night.

King Yi suddenly fell seriously ill and was unable to set off, so he refused to go to the capital.

(End of this chapter)