Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 291 Tao Hongjing

The reason why Ren Yuan dared to take the risk of revealing his identity to Tao Hongjing was because he was the famous founder of the Maoshan Taoist priests and the future head of the Shangqing Sect. On the contrary, few people mentioned his history of practicing Buddhism.

So Ren Yuan thought he could give it a try, and it turned out he made the right bet.

After the two rearranged their seats, Tao Hongjing served him tea and asked respectfully, "Master, how are you doing?"

"Senior brother has ascended to heaven." Ren Yuan then sadly recounted the experience of Sun Youyue guarding the Peach Blossom Spring and eventually sacrificing his life heroically.

"Master, I am an unfilial disciple! I was not able to live and die with you." Upon hearing this, Tao Hongjing burst into tears, beat his chest and stamped his feet, as if he had lost his parents.

"Wow, Daozu, please open your eyes. Our Dao sect is in such a miserable state..."

After crying for a while, he wiped away his tears and said to Ren Yuan: "Master Uncle is also willing to sacrifice himself to save the Dao Sect. No wonder Master chose you as the successor."

"Me as the sect leader? Actually, there is no one else to choose." Ren Yuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. "At that time, there were only me and my senior sister by my senior brother's side. For some reason, my senior sister couldn't practice the sect's skills, so I had to take over the sect leader jade talisman first."

"And I have also agreed with Senior Brother that when a suitable candidate is found, the position of the head of Shangqing Sect will be passed to him." Ren Yuan glanced at Tao Hongjing and said half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"For example, you, my nephew, are an excellent candidate."

"I am neither a monk nor a Taoist now, how can I take over the leadership of our sect?" Tao Hongjing waved his hands and said modestly: "Master, please continue to be the leader. If you really don't want to be the leader, please find someone else. Anyway, I will fully support you and continue the incense of our sect."

“I don’t know when we can rebuild the Shangqing Sect openly without having to do it in secret.” Ren Yuan sighed.

"That day will come. I believe Junior Master will be able to see it." Tao Hongjing said.

"In other words, there is no hope in the short term?" Ren Yuan could naturally understand Tao Hongjing's high emotional intelligence statement.

"That's right." Tao Hongjing nodded and said, "It takes time for the ice to freeze three feet thick, and it takes time for the ice to melt three feet thick. The Buddhist religion is very powerful, and there is no sign of decline in the short term."

After a pause, he encouraged Ren Yuan again, "But they are too overbearing and don't give others a chance to survive. As the saying goes, when you are too strong, you will be humiliated. Sooner or later, you will pay the price."

Ren Yuanxin said, "Okay, I was the one who made empty promises to the disciples of the Taoist sect before, and now my nephew is making empty promises to me again." He waved his hand and asked again:

"Oh. Let's not talk about this for now. How did you get into this state?"

"Alas, there is nothing to hide from my uncle." Tao Hongjing said with a wry smile:
"The emperor and I have known each other since we were young. Later, when the emperor conquered Qi and established Liang, I also became famous. Whenever the country had a good or bad war, the emperor would always consult. In addition, I was good at propaganda, so I even got the reputation of 'Prime Minister in the Mountains'."

As he said this, he couldn't help but boast: "Uncle Master may not know that I was the one who gave the country the name Daliang."

"I've heard of it." Ren Yuan nodded.

"It's a pity that I forgot that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, and a man is afraid of being famous like a pig is afraid of being fat." Tao Hongjing sighed and said with a gloomy face, "Ten years ago, the emperor gave up Taoism and followed Buddhism. As one of the most famous Taoist masters, I naturally became the focus of the Buddhist sect. At that time, they gave me two choices - either follow the emperor and give up Taoism and follow Buddhism; or follow Master Lu to meet the Taoist ancestor."

"After much thought, I feel that there are already many martyrs, and I am not a big deal." He said calmly, "But there are not many people who are willing to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens to continue the incense of our sect. I decided to be one of them."

"So I followed the teachings of the Taoist master - be as kind as water and be in the place where people hate you. I resolutely took the Five Buddhist Precepts with the Emperor and infiltrated the enemy!"

“But those who have taken the Five Precepts seem to be lay Buddhists. They should be like the emperor and don’t need to shave their heads, right?” Ren Yuan asked in confusion.

"That's true. I didn't shave my head at first, but I was already rejected by the Taoist sects all over the world, and the Buddhist sect was not happy either, so I just went all the way. There is no benefit in being hesitant and half-hearted." Tao Hongjing touched his bald head and said:

"It's not like one can't return to secular life after leaving Buddhism, so I took the full precepts again and became the abbot of Guangzhai Temple."

"The three hundred novice monks in Guangzhai Temple are all in this situation. With just one word from me, they can become Taoists overnight!" He added shamelessly, "If I still had hair, I wouldn't be able to leave so many seeds."

"Teacher's nephew is really capable of doing things that others cannot." Ren Yuan couldn't help but admire him.

"Master, rest assured. My heart will always belong to the Taoist Patriarch and our Shangqing Sect." Tao Hongjing said as he turned the incense burner on the table three times. The statue of Amitabha Buddha in the abbot's room slowly moved into the wall and was replaced by the statue of the Three Pure Ones.

"The Buddhists thought that by destroying all the Taoist temples, they could destroy our Taoist lineage. Little did they know that the Three Pure Ones had already taken root in the hearts of our Taoist disciples." After offering incense to the Three Pure Ones, Tao Hongjing turned around and asked Ren Yuandao:
"Uncle Master, do you believe my sincerity?"

"I believe you." Ren Yuan nodded, and then asked, "Excuse me, nephew, why did the emperor abandon Taoism and follow Buddhism, and why did he change his mind so suddenly, leaving no way out for me, the Taoists?"

"This matter involves a lot of things. Uncle Master has asked the right person." Tao Hongjing smiled mysteriously and said, "But there are some things I can't explain in detail. Uncle Master can only explain it vaguely."

"I understand." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "I'll tell you as much as I can."

~~
"Uncle Master, do you know about the Sun En and Lu Xun uprising a hundred years ago?" Tao Hongjing asked.

"I have heard something about it." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "It seems that my sect led the people to rebel against the imperial court in a riot."

"Yes. This uprising lasted a very long time and affected a wide range of people, which directly led to the demise of the Jin Dynasty. Therefore, later on, all dynasties were very wary of our Taoism. Not only did they impose various strict restrictions, but they also intended to support the Buddhist sect to compete with us. As a result, the Buddhist sect gradually grew stronger. In the past hundred years, it has flourished and has deep roots. Its strength has far surpassed that of our Taoism."

"When the emperor started his rebellion against Qi, Buddhism helped him a lot. After the founding of the country, he urgently needed the power of Buddhism to win over the hearts of the people. Naturally, the status of Buddhism rose steadily." Tao Hongjing continued:
"But at that time, the emperor only valued Buddhism over Taoism, and had no intention of destroying our Taoism. Instead, he secretly supported us in various ways to prevent Buddhism from dominating alone."

"That's normal. Isn't it the emperor's favorite to have checks and balances?" Ren Yuan continued, "That's why I find it strange. If you do this now, isn't the emperor afraid that the Buddhist sect will become too powerful?"

"There's nothing we can do about it." Tao Hongjing said with a wry smile, "Plans can't keep up with changes."

(End of this chapter)