"In fact, seeing King Zhao here, although I was a little nervous, as if my secret place had suddenly become a place with people coming and going, but I heaved a sigh of relief, because that proved that King Zhao was not a god or Buddha. He saw what happened here himself, instead of sending a horse from thousands of miles away to solve the problem."
In the monastery, Yuan Cheng Yuan Xing and Zhao Changhe sat around drinking tea. Wu Zhui stood beside Zhao Changhe and rubbed his face against his happily. Apparently, the feeling of working "on his own" made Wu Zhui very proud.
Yue Hongling was not there, as she had gone to take a hot spring bath.
The Buddha was brought out of the busy secret realm, and after coming out, he was still sitting cross-legged, which showed that he had not been resurrected before, but was activated in a special way. After being absorbed by Anmie, he was completely turned into a brick. Fortunately, there was still a faint breath on his body, proving that he was not dead, and there was a chance of resurrection in the future.
After listening to Yuan Cheng's complaints, Zhao Changhe sipped his tea and smiled: "It seems that the master himself also believes that the Buddha who can know everything in the world does not exist? Does this shake your faith?"
Yuan Cheng shook his head. "The Buddhist sect has many branches and schools, and they all have different interpretations of Buddhism. After being destroyed by the previous emperor, our branch is the only one left, and it happens to be a little different."
"Oh?" Zhao Changhe became interested: "I'd like to hear more details."
"We are talking about the enlightenment of the mind and the realization of the Buddha, which means that everyone in the world can become a Buddha." Yuan Cheng did not use Buddhist wit, but said it very simply: "What is Buddha? It is just a concept. If I have achieved what the scriptures say, I am a Buddha. If I cannot achieve it, or if I change later, then even if I am Sakyamuni himself, even if the Dharma is boundless, I am not worthy of being called a Buddha."
Zhao Changhe nodded after hearing this: "I like this kind of Buddhist sect. Is this the reason why your sect still has such a strong force left when other sects have been almost wiped out?"
Yuan Cheng sighed, "Maybe. Let's go back to the question King Zhao asked before. Does a Buddha who knows everything in the world exist? Buddha definitely exists. If there is no Buddha now, there will be one in the future, but he may not know everything in the world. There are also strong people who can know everything in the world, but he may not be a Buddha. He can be King Zhao or Lady Xia Yue. Of course, if King Zhao and Lady Xia Yue are the Buddha and Bodhisattva, it is not impossible."
Zhao Changhe laughed and said, "Your words give me a sense of political implications."
Yuan Cheng clapped his hands and laughed: "If King Zhao thinks it is, then it is."
Zhao Changhe said: "I can't become a Buddha, but I am more like a Happy Buddha. Everyone's understanding of the Pure Land is not a Pure Land."
Yuan Cheng: “…”
Whenever this kind of issue comes to matters between men and women, no matter how much they could have originally connected, they would instantly come to a standstill.
Yuan Xing beside him couldn't help but laugh: "So the Maitreya Sect is not extinct, and its incense will be passed on forever."
Yuancheng was also amused by this remark, and several old monks around him were also laughing.
Zhao Changhe also clapped his hands and laughed, thinking that this group of monks was quite interesting.
In the past, I had basically no contact with Buddhism and Taoism. I didn't have many conversations with Guichen Xuanchong and Yuxu on this matter, and I only met Yuanxing briefly. I have some prejudices against these sects in my heart - to be honest, the same goes for the Four Symbols Sect. I always thought that their beliefs were stupid. Of course, now that belief has theoretically become myself, and the Four Symbols have become a kiln, I can't curse them anymore. After all, I can't curse myself, right
Anyway, now it seems that there is no need to be prejudiced. Judging from the theories of these monks, they are much better than the Four Symbols Sect and the Blood God Sect. In fact... They have their own advantages in being able to spread so widely in both worlds.
And Yuan Cheng's words were also a veiled statement that we can listen to you. Of course, the premise is that you have to meet their definition of Buddha, but in the end, they were stuck on the issue of men and women before they even talked about it.
Apart from the sexes, Yuan Cheng and Yuan Xing really think Zhao Changhe is quite like that. In fact, sexes are not a big deal. If you are a couple, the old monks may not think it is a big deal. The key is that there are too many of them. Even the sword spirits can grow into a sea of people. If you say this is a Buddha, then it is really a happy Buddha.
Yuan Xing's joke was also to smooth things over and break the awkwardness. Once the atmosphere was good, Yuan Cheng could continue, "In any case, this time, the whole temple is grateful for the help from King Zhao."
As for who is the Buddha, let's put it aside for now. There is no point in discussing it. If we discuss it, we will lean towards the Maitreya religion...
Zhao Changhe said, "I also want to thank Master Yuanxing again. The map was the matchmaker between me and Hongling, and even between me and Sanniang... The significance of it is far beyond what the master could have imagined back then." Yuanxing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Monks can be matchmakers, but they never want to be matchmakers for one to many. Forget it.
Zhao Changhe continued, "In fact, helping you is also helping myself. The other party is obviously here to sow discord between you and me. I know this guy Anmie. He wants chaos in the world and does not want a unified Shenzhou. This point has been very obvious before, and you..."
After a pause, Yuan Cheng said tactfully, "Don't worry, King Zhao. We firmly support the unification of China and work hard for the stability of the people."
Zhao Changhe felt that this was a bit modern, and wanted to help them express it differently... But after thinking about it, it seemed to be just that, so he said: "You are upholding the faith and guiding people to be good, and the court is happy to see it. But there are a few issues here that need to be explained to you clearly."
It's good to say that the court is happy with this tone... The monks all breathed a sigh of relief. You know, the so-called order to destroy Buddhism is still hanging over their heads and has not been cancelled at all. If Zhao Changhe says that you are not legal at all, the Buddhist sect will really have no way to fight against the court at this time, and will have to retreat into the underground miserably. Over time, no one dares to say whether it will become a Maitreya sect again.
If Zhao Changhe can set the tone like this, it basically means that the order to destroy Buddhism has been cancelled, and everything else can be discussed.
Yuan Cheng said, "Please speak, King Zhao."
Zhao Changhe said: "First, you are impatient and easy to be taken advantage of. That kind of impatience and argumentativeness is the will of the devil. I practice magic skills and have a say in this. I have to 'slow down' to avoid being controlled by the blood evil will. How about Buddhism?"
The monks chanted the Buddha's name in a low voice: "Amitabha..."
Who says this person has no connection with Buddha? The meaning is clearly that they are close.
Zhao Changhe continued, "Once this intention is used, it will be the root of this difficulty. The power of faith absorbed by this Buddha contains a lot of disputes and chaos, which leads to the overflow of anger, which is contrary to the original intention of the angry Vajra. The angry Vajra is to subdue demons and protect the way, for the injustice in the world, not for interests or prejudices. Disputes. At the same time, it also makes Jingxiang, which has finally stabilized, a source of chaos again, causing trouble for me..."
Yuan Cheng said: "We know we are wrong."
Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment, watching the old monk with white eyebrows and beard bow his head and admit his mistake. He didn't want to scold him anymore, but just said: "Second, if Buddhism is to continue to spread, some rules must be established."
"Please speak, King Zhao."
"I don't know where you got the idea of tax exemption for Buddhist property and exemption from military service for monks. Maybe it was a custom from the previous dynasty, or maybe you also need such support to develop, but I'm saying this, no. You can build a temple to preach, but the tax and service must be the same. Otherwise, there will be land annexation and population loss, and sooner or later there will be a big conflict. Now that your temple is so big and you have a lot of land, you should pay me the taxes for the fourth quarter first, and also pay the military service you avoided, which can be converted into money and food."
The monks in the room looked at each other with bitter expressions.
If it was normal, they could still argue, but now the situation was stronger than people, and there was obviously a demon secretly targeting their family. Buddha was almost killed, and it was King Zhao who saved him. Not to mention the kindness, just the follow-up also required Zhao Changhe's continued help, so everyone had no capital to argue, and they could only hold their worries in their stomachs.
It feels good to evade taxes, but when the time comes to pay taxes, I may have to sell my land to pay. Fortunately, I didn’t include late payment fees, otherwise I may have to dismantle the temple beams and Buddha statues and sell them…
Zhao Changhe sighed and whispered, "Corvée is against my worldview. I felt uncomfortable when I saw it in Bashu. Apart from the required military service, I will try to make it disappear forever or replace it. But the premise is that we must have a stable country and a peaceful and prosperous environment. If you have a kind heart, you should lend a helping hand to me and fight both internal and external difficulties together."
The monks stood up and bowed, chanting the Buddha's name in a low voice: "Amitabha... Who says that the King of Zhao is not a Buddha? This is the Buddha."
Zhao Changhe was about to add a few words when he suddenly felt something in his heart. He turned around and saw Yue Hongling leaning against the door, staring at him steadily, with beautiful eyes full of appreciation and complexity, and he didn't know how long he had been staring at her.
(End of this chapter)