Ci'en Temple is still the same as it was a few years ago, but today the entrance is particularly lively. The abbot of Ci'en Temple has already been changed. At this time, monks are lined up in several rows at the entrance, standing there respectfully, looking at the emperor's honor guard passing quickly in front of them.
The emperor's dragon chariot and the queen's phoenix chariot stopped at the door. The prince's chariot had already disappeared. Anyway, the master was not in the car. Under Li Hong's instruction, he did not drive into this street. .
The dark and thin Sixth Patriarch Huineng stood in the middle. On the left was Jia Shang, the newly promoted abbot of Ci'en Temple, and on the right was a monk as tall as an iron tower with a beard. The two of them held the dark and thin Huineng was caught in the middle, which made Li Hong feel inexplicably happy on the carriage before he could get off the carriage.
Emperor Li Zhi had already slowly stepped out of the carriage with the respect of Yang Wu and others, and as for the queen's phoenix chariot, it was almost as if it was on fire.
Wu Mei was dangling in the carriage wearing comfortable slippers. One of her high-heeled shoes had been kicked off somewhere, and the mother and son were frantically looking for her in the carriage.
The two palace ladies were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They lay on the floor of the carriage, searching anxiously and carefully.
Wu Mei stood in the carriage, wearing a high-heeled shoe on one foot and a slipper on the other. She hugged Li Hong next to her with one arm to prevent herself from losing her balance. She said angrily: "It's all the fault of you, a skinny monkey." , What kind of slippers are you wearing? It’s better now, your mother can’t even get out of the car.”
"Oh, please stop urging me. Aren't you looking for her?" Li Hong also looked around for shoes while supporting Wu Mei.
"Your father got out of the car, little bastard, let's see how I deal with you when I return to the palace..."
Li Hong was not as respectful and cautious as a palace maid. He held Wu Mei's arm, and then lifted up the hem of Wu Mei's phoenix dress with one hand. After waving it twice, he saw the heels of her shoes hanging inside the phoenix dress. No wonder it can't be found.
"I've found it, I've found it. It's hanging on your clothes. You stand holding the window..." Li Hong moved Wu Mei's arm on his shoulder to the car window, then squatted down and got into Wu Meifeng's wide clothes. She took out her shoes from her skirt.
"Mother, lift your feet. Father is getting out of the car. Hurry up." Li Hong was still under the hem of the skirt, with only one head exposed. He lifted Wu Mei's slippered feet and quickly put the shoes on Wu Mei. , then shrunk his head and crawled out from behind.
As soon as she got up and was about to get off the car with Wu Mei, Wu Mei looked at the turban on Li Hong's head, which was twisted and twisted by the hem of her phoenix dress, and said anxiously: "Li Hong, wait a minute, your turban ”
The carriage door had been opened. Lian Tie looked at the mother and son with a palpitating expression. After finally packing everything, Li Hong took the lead to get out of the carriage, then stood respectfully aside, holding Wu Mei's hand. The queen finally appeared gracefully. in front of others.
But Li Zhi, who had been married for many years, looked at the expressions of Li Hong and Wu Mei, and naturally knew that something had happened to these two people just now, otherwise why did it take so long to get off the car.
Wu Mei looked at Li Zhi's questioning eyes, forced herself to smile, and then walked hand in hand with Li Hong. The emperor and the empress stood side by side, accepting the monk's greetings.
The prince followed the two of them, and then came Dai Zhide, the Minister of Rites, and others. After some conversation at the door, they found out between Jiashang and Huineng that the iron-tower-like monk turned out to be Monk Shenxiu! This was something Li Hong didn't expect.
The three of them accompanied the emperor and the queen slowly into the temple. Li Hong followed behind and looked up. The layout of the entire Ci'en Temple had not changed. However, in the past few days, it was obvious that due to the arrival of his father, a lot of repairs and cleaning had been carried out. The entire Ci'en Temple The temple looks brand new.
He couldn't hear clearly what they were whispering. Li Hongzheng wanted to take two steps behind, but Wu Mei held his hand in an unruly manner. So, someone had to accept his fate and follow him. He knew that this was because his mother was afraid He caused trouble again.
The spacious and bright Buddhist hall is spotless. Under the rising sunlight, most of the Buddhist halls with glass windows are even brighter and more spacious.
At the respectful invitation of Huineng and others, Li Zhi and Wu Mei slowly stepped onto the temporarily built high platform, and sat down on the left and right sides, one dragon and one phoenix. Naturally, the prince sat on the futon under the emperor.
Huineng, Jiashang and Shenxiu sat down on the futon at the bottom. After bowing respectfully, they began to discuss Buddhism with the emperor and empress.
At this time, when Taoism and Buddhism were still able to compete with each other, the presence of the emperor and the empress made Buddhism feel the supreme honor. But this time, Buddhism still received the light of local Zen, namely Huineng and Shenxiu, the main promoters of Zen.
Although Huineng had not been to the north for a long time, after arriving in Chang'an at the invitation of Monk Shenxiu and the sincerity of Jiashang, he did not choose Daxingshan Temple, Da'anguo Temple and Dazhuangyan Temple, which were more popular than Ci'en Temple. Apart from this, it is not considered the most popular Ci'en Temple in Chang'an City.
Huineng and Shenxiu are Zen sects in the correct sense, but they are still different from Faru's Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to the Tang Dynasty from the Western Regions. The famous Master Xuanzang was once a royal monk and a representative figure of Buddhism.
Huineng and Shenxiu are the local Zen sects of the Tang Dynasty. In a true sense, they are representative figures of the local Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty. There has always been a saying that "the south can be good and the north is good".
Nanzong: Huineng. Beizong: Shenxiu. They all studied under the Fifth Patriarch Hongren.
The drowsy magic skill that he had practiced since he was a child has not been used for several years. Li Hong could still listen to some of the polite words at the beginning. But when it came to the stage of Buddhism's questions and answers, when the father asked Hui Neng to answer, Li Hong's magical power of drowsiness came into play.
Like an old monk in meditation, with his eyes closed and a sincere "precious look" on his face, he occasionally shakes his head and nods, as if he is comprehending and enjoying the most profound principles of Buddhism.
But Li Hong's appearance made Li Zhi and Wu Mei, who were in charge, twitch in their faces. They both regretted in their hearts, wondering if it was a mistake to bring the prince here.
As time went by, the morning's Buddhist teachings gradually came to an end. Li Zhi said: "I don't know why the eminent monk did not choose other temples, but chose this Ci'en Temple?"
"The young monk chose Ci'en Temple because he heard that there is a sacred Buddha in Ci'en Temple, which is said to have grown from the soil. The young monk was curious and lived here." Huineng said with his hands clasped together.
"Oh, is there such a magical thing?" Li Zhiqi asked.
"Back to Your Majesty, this matter is very miraculous. One day, the monk who was cleaning the courtyard accidentally discovered a few pebbles exposed in an open space in the courtyard. He didn't pay attention to it at first, but he didn't expect that a few days later, it would appear every day. It grew taller and revealed the head of a Buddha statue. Everyone was surprised. Could it be that the Buddha appeared? So they watched it every day, but it still grew a little bit every day." Jia Shang also said with his hands folded.
Li Zhi heard this strangely and asked Huineng, who was smiling and silent next to him: "Does the eminent monk know what is going on? Is it really true that the Dharma is manifested?"
"I don't know, little monk, but I will also go there to observe in the past few days. I haven't found anything different, but the statue is indeed growing every day."
"Your Majesty, there have been many rumors in the major temples in Chang'an in the past few days. It may be that you and the queen visited the small temple and had the Buddha's heart, so this phenomenon was caused." Jia Shang said with a smile, and the implicit flattery made Li Zhi There was another burst of surprise on his face.
Li Hong, who was dozing off so much that he was almost drooling, still didn't know what everyone was talking about. After receiving Wu Mei's signaling gaze, Lian Tie next to him dared to quietly stand behind Li Hong, poked Li Hong's waist, and whispered: "Your Highness, wake up, I've finished teaching the Dharma, remember, you You have to wake up slowly, but don't get up all at once. Your Majesty is still talking to the Queen and the three eminent monks."
Li Hong was indeed obedient and kept his body steady. Then, following Lian Tie's words, he slowly opened his eyes and carefully licked his lips with his tongue. First, he checked to see if there was any drooling, and then he slowly woke up from the daze. come over.
Still sitting there, looking at his father above who looked happy, and then at his mother who was warning with her eyes, Li Hong gave Wu Mei a sly smile that was hard to detect.
"In that case, can you lead me to check out this Buddhist vision?" Li Zhi felt itchy after hearing this. If the vision was really caused by his arrival, this would need to be recorded in history, and it would be enough to tell the world A grand event that the National People’s Congress writes about!
Huineng and Shenxiu looked at each other, and then looked at Jia Shang silently. They felt that there must be something weird here, but they didn't know what was wrong.
Although they do not believe in visions or the appearance of Buddha, this matter is a matter of Buddhism. They came here just out of curiosity and did not think that such a vision would make Buddhism's reputation surpass that of Zen.
Jia Shang looked at the two people's eyes and said with a smile: "Since Your Majesty wants to check, how about we wait until lunch is finished before going forward?"
"Okay, after lunch, I will see for myself the vision of the Buddha appearing. Is this stone Buddha appearing because of my arrival?" Li Zhi laughed heartily, and Wu Mei and everyone next to him also followed suit. .
Li Hong was the only one who looked confused and didn't know what these people were talking about. So when he saw that everyone had stood up, he also stood up, pulled Lian Tie's sleeve and asked: "What's going on? Father?" Why are you so happy?"
"Your Highness, what a great joy. Because of His Majesty's arrival, the Ci'en Temple actually caused the appearance of the Buddha, and a Buddha statue grew out of the ground. As Master Jiashang said just now, this is because His Majesty is devoted to the Buddha..."
"Damn it, do you think my father is the former Emperor Liang Wu?" Li Hong interrupted Lian Tie and said coldly.
"I don't dare, I don't have any intention. It's just..." Lian Tie was so frightened that he hurriedly apologized.
"Just what?" Li Hong asked as his father and mother slowly left the Buddhist hall and followed behind.
"It's just that what Master Jiashang said is His Majesty..." Lian Tie said aggrievedly.
"Stop, stop, stop talking, why are Buddha statues growing under the ground? If that's the case, we might as well stop farming and plant gold instead. If we are not sincere, gold can still grow underground." Li Hong said impatiently.
"Yes, if this Buddha statue really grows, you can really give it a try with your highness's gold, just in case it is really like your highness..."
"Lian Tie, you must be mentally ill. Get out of here and get to my mother's side. You're so annoyed." Li Hong didn't know if Lian Tie was really funny, or he was just trying to make himself angry with his words.
(End of chapter)