Chapter 25: Serve me with incense and rest in my heart
"There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, and many towers are in the mist."
Sitting on the carriage and looking at the scenery along the way, Chen Cuo let out a long sigh and deeply felt the influence of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties, especially in Jiankang City.
This morning he left Jiankang City from Dongli Gate in the east of the city, walked north along the suburban path, turned to the west when he reached Jiangshan Mountain, crossed the Dongmen Bridge, then walked along Fuzhou Mountain and Xuanwu Lake, and finally started from the north
The gate is classified into Jiankang outer city.
Along the way, I saw no less than twenty temples, large and small!
"What a poem!" Chen Hai, who was waiting for the car beside him, immediately started to praise him.
Chen Cuo didn't take the flattery to heart, pointed to the stretch of temples halfway up the mountain in the distance, and asked the guide on the side.
"Which temple is that?"
"This is Guishan Temple. The owner of the temple is a well-known good man. He gives porridge, encourages charity, and adopts orphans." The guide is an Orion named Ma Wu. He comes from a manor in Nankang. He knows Jiankang City very well, so he was selected by Chen Hai.
Come and lead the way, "This temple was prosperous during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, with many halls and incense flourishing!"
Chen Cuo nodded in praise and said: "There are temples in the mountains and fields. There is also a big temple in the outer city. Going further south is Chaogou, right? The place where this temple lives is very expensive."
Ma Wu smiled and said: "You are wise, and if you are six or seven miles away, you can see the tidal ditch."
Chen Cuo added: "There are many mansions in Chaogou. Guishan Temple is not far from Chaogou. It should be quite popular. Let's go and have a look."
Chen Haizheng was trying to figure out what Chen Cuo was thinking. There were so many temples along the way. The monarch just inquired about them and drove forward without even thinking about visiting them. Now that he saw Guishan Temple, he wanted to take a look...
Thinking of this, Chen Hai already understood in his heart.
His Majesty wanted to choose a temple that was close to the city and had many people.
This is exactly what happened.
Chen Cuo went out to look for a temple, not really to worship Buddha, but to guard against the invasion of evil spirits and to find a Buddhist place to stay temporarily.
Although Zhou Youzi did not say it clearly, Chen Cuo guessed that Buddhist temples in this world should have great power and be able to ward off evil spirits. They would be sheltered in temples so that evil spirits could be protected when they come again.
However, there are many wild jungles in the suburbs outside the city, and there are often animals and birds. Even when looking at the majestic temple, when night falls, it is inevitable that it feels a bit like an ancient temple in the wilderness.
In view of this, Chen Cuo wanted to get closer to the city, and if Zhou Youzi returned and was closer to the city, he could learn about it as soon as possible, go there, and meet him.
After thinking about it, the carriage he was riding in arrived at the outskirts of the temple.
"We are about to get off the bus here." Ma Wu reminded outside the car, "From here to the temple, the vast land belongs to the temple."
Chen Cuo was amazed. He got out of the car and looked up. The temple was still far away, surrounded by fertile farmland. There was also a stone pavilion halfway in the countryside.
There are many farmers working on both sides of the road.
"Who are these people?"
"There are tens of tenants in the temple. Guishan Temple is said to have dozens of land. This is only part of it. There are many more outside the city." Ma Wu said, "There are not only tenants in the temple, but also many warrior monks. They often go out of the city to patrol and eliminate banditry."
.”
Chen Cuo followed Chen Fangqing's memory fragments and asked: "The temple has so much land, why do it often seek donations from aristocratic families and common people?"
"I heard it's to not forget the roots." Ma Wu was a little unsure.
Chen Cuo nodded, no longer asked, and walked along the field path with Chen Hai, Ma Wu and three or two followers.
On both sides, the years are quiet and peaceful.
In the houses in the distance, there are women working and children playing, creating a picture of men farming and women weaving.
Just as Chen Cuo was about to give a few words of praise, he suddenly felt his whole body sinking and felt a little uncomfortable. Cold sweat broke out on his head. He felt slightly dizzy and realized something was wrong.
"What's going on here?"
He was anxious. He looked up and his eyes widened. He actually saw a shining Buddha on top of the temple!
As if in response to Chen Cuo's gaze, the Buddha suddenly expanded and fell straight down, almost as if it were overwhelming the top of Mount Tai!
Chen Cuo stopped suddenly, and the invisible pressure came on him, making him take two steps back. He took a deep breath and looked again, but he couldn't find it again.
The people next to me were a little strange, but they didn't dare to ask more questions.
Chen Cuo frowned in thought, wiped a cold sweat on his face, and felt something in his heart.
"Daozhang Zhou once said that the evil ghost is connected with my will. It is hidden in the words and has no form. It is formed by the outline of my mind. I am afraid that my body is contaminated by the wind and evil of the evil ghost. As soon as I get close to this place, the Buddha
Traces arise by themselves, maybe they are here to suppress evil spirits, so they feel uncomfortable."
As soon as he thought about it, although his body was not feeling strong, he had no intention of leaving.
"This also shows that staying here can really ward off evil spirits!"
Chen Cuo thought and couldn't help but speed up his pace, but the more he walked, the more cold sweat became on his head.
However, when he was halfway through the stone pavilion, he heard the sound of talking and laughing from inside the pavilion. After a casual glance, he saw two Taoist priests sitting inside talking, one looked a bit younger and looked like a teenager.
, one is a young man.
"There is a Taoist priest in front of the Buddhist temple? Speaking of which, it was the Taoist priest who suggested that I come to the temple. Weird, weird!"
Chen Cuo withdrew his gaze and ignored it. He just wanted to go to the temple and suppress the evil ghost.
"Senior brother, you just said that if you want to curb the incense, you must meditate in your mind. I don't know what you mean?"
Certainly!
Listening to the words coming from the pavilion, Chen Cuo stopped for a moment, as if he had been hit by a restraining spell, stepped back, and went to the stone pavilion to look at it again.
When he looked carefully, he realized that the person speaking was the young Taoist, who actually called the young man next to him his senior brother.
The young Taoist priest smiled slightly, but said nothing. Instead, he looked towards Chen Cuo.
"Two Taoist priests..." Chen Cuogong cupped his hands and understood, stepped forward to greet them, and said: "I have met these two Taoist priests, and I just heard them talking about incense. I am very interested, can I come with you?"
He looked expectant, but in his heart he was wondering, why did Zhou Youzi's words be unclear and there were many restrictions, and the two of them were talking so straightforwardly in broad daylight?
The young Taoist laughed and said: "We are destined to meet each other. Since my brother can hear words, he is not an ordinary person. Why not sit down and discuss Tao together."
"Thank you." Chen Cuo was full of weird thoughts, thinking about what you were discussing in front of the monk's temple, but the other party was willing to say that he couldn't ask for it, not to mention the temple, it could be discussed in front of the palace!
Chen Cuo took his seat immediately.
The pavilion is not big, so after three people sit down, it becomes a bit crowded when other people come in.
Chen Hai and others could only retreat outside, especially Chen Hai, who stared at them with vigilant eyes.
Chen Cuo looked at the two of them a few more times and asked, "I heard the two of you talking about incense visualization, can you give me more details?"
"Why not? But it's best not to let the common people hear about it." The young Taoist laughed, raised his hand and rolled his sleeves towards Chen Hai and others, "I talked about this with my junior brother because I was outside the Buddhist temple.
The Buddhists are best at making Buddhas, spreading their teachings all over the world, and then shaping Buddha statues and visualizing them in their hearts to realize the incense."
"Oh?" Chen Cuo was attracted by the topic and ignored the curious boy's sleeves. He thought to himself, according to this statement, the Buddhists follow the path of incense? Is this why Master Zhou asked me to come here?
At this thought, he perked up, and combined with the spread of the "Painted Skin" article, he asked: "Creating Buddha statues and letting all living beings know it is to attract people's thoughts, so how can it be restrained and turned into one's own use?
"
The young Taoist looked bold and bold and said with a smile: "It turns out that brother only knows one of them and doesn't know the details. He is trying to deceive both of us with words so that we can get the answer."
Chen Cuo was surprised and was about to explain.
The young Taoist waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I said we were destined. Brother, I also asked, what can't you say?"
Only then did Chen Cuo feel relieved and sincerely asked for advice, secretly thinking that although this man was young, he was heroic and majestic.
The young Taoist said: "This method of condensing incense is mostly based on visualization. For example, Buddhists first make a Buddha statue, then visualize the Buddha in their heart, and shape the god in their heart. To put it bluntly, the method of incense comes from the method of the gods, and the gods
Stationed in temples and heavens, the Buddhist method of incense is to make oneself a temple, keep the Buddha in one's heart, and absorb the incense of believers to strengthen one's own god! It is to nourish oneself as a god!"
Treat yourself like a god!
Chen Cuo chewed on these words and gradually came to a clear understanding, but it was not the details after all, and he had to ask again.
But the two Taoist priests suddenly stood up.
"Two Taoist priests, what are you..." Chen Cuo stood up and thought about what to say. Do you want to leave?
"I suddenly remembered that I still have some unfinished business. Brother, we are destined to meet again!" As the young Taoist priest spoke, he and the young Taoist priest turned around and left. They were quite fast, and in the blink of an eye they were far away in the fields.
"Why do everyone in the Taoist sect run so fast? Is it standard to shrink to the ground?"
While Chen Cuo was thinking, a Buddha's call came from behind him.
Chen Hai walked quickly to announce that the Zhike monk from Guishan Temple was here.
Chen Cuo turned around and greeted.
The guest monk looked upright, looked calm, put his hands together, smiled in return, and then led the way.
"What is the name of this monk who knows the guest?" Chen Cuo had just remembered the two Taoists and had not asked in detail. Now it was a bit inconvenient to speak, so he took the time to ask Ma Wu.
"Even a mean person doesn't know, and monks who know guest generally don't need to remember their names clearly."
Chen Cuo thought of something again and asked about his conversation with the two Taoists.
Ma Wu and Chen Hai both said: "I was waiting outside the pavilion, but I couldn't hear clearly. There was always the sound of wind lingering around my ears."
Chen Cuo was enlightened and knew what methods the two Taoists used.
"They showed up here, saying they were discussing Taoism, but they revealed some details about Buddhism, so they may not have any agenda. I'm afraid it's a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, and I might just happen to be there."
He is somewhat self-aware and does not take himself too seriously.
As he thought about it, the invisible pressure became stronger and stronger. When he arrived at the main entrance of the temple, Chen Cuo took a deep breath and asked Chen Hai to take out the greeting card. He also decided to donate silver and made a request to visit the temple.
Only then did Zhike Monk know Chen Cuo's identity. Seeing how generous he was in taking action, he was immediately delighted and spoke with great respect, leading Chen Cuo to introduce him.
The temple is just as Ma Wu said, with several main halls in front and behind, all of which are majestic and majestic. The Buddha statues in the halls are solemn. According to the explanation of the guest monk, the golden body contains all the internal organs, which can exorcise and subjugate demons.
Chen Cuo felt relieved after hearing this.
In his previous life, he occasionally traveled, saw some beautiful mountains and rivers, and visited many temples and Taoist temples. The scale and layout of Guishan Temple were enough to shock the hearts of the Southern Dynasties, but it only earned Chen Cuo's admiring gaze.
The monk Zhike looked on, secretly surprised, and concluded that this monarch could not express his emotions or anger, so he respected him more and more. He noticed that when Chen Cuo passed by the golden body of Buddha and Arhat, he would stop and look solemn, with a serious expression, and he couldn't help but feel good about him.
Come.
Little did he know that as Chen Cuo passed by Jin, the invisible pressure on his body would increase even more, making it difficult to even walk.
After touring for a while, when they arrived outside the Vajra Hall, Chen Cuo saw that the time was right and said that he felt something after the tour and wanted to stay for a few days.
The monk who knew the guest immediately showed joy on his face. Naturally, he would not refuse such an honored guest and immediately went to report to the superior in the temple.
Chen Cuo asked him to go quickly, then found a place to sit down and took a few long breaths.
Chen Hai had long noticed Chen Cuo's strange behavior and stepped forward to ask if he wanted to return home to recuperate.
Chen Cuo shook his head and just waited.
As a result, after waiting for a long time, Zhike Monk did not come back, and Chen Cuo became even more uncomfortable.
"But it's so unbearable to stay for a long time. If I really have to stay for a few days, I'm afraid someone will die!"
He was quite conflicted in his heart. The more uncomfortable he felt, the harder it was for evil spirits to come. However, his body was a little unbearable, so he could only think of some ways to relieve it. First, he asked Chen Hai to get water to drink, and then he found a ventilated place.
Nothing is getting better.
Chen Cuo was also a little anxious.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to me, and I thought of the nameless vomiting method.
"Try it first, it may not work. If it doesn't work, try the visualization method again. You should think about the Buddha statue or something in your mind."
As the thought fell, Chen Cuo's breathing rhythm suddenly changed.
Buzz!
In the Vajra Hall ahead, the Dharma Protector Vajras standing on the left and right sides of the door suddenly trembled slightly and chirped.
However, because it was too slight and fleeting, it was not noticed by anyone in front of the door.