"I don't like the monks because you have two shortcomings. One is that you don't give birth. The former monks were good at living but still practiced asceticism and took it as their duty to save all sentient beings.
Not only cultivate oneself, but also help the weak.
Nowadays, in addition to Buddhism, monasteries, offerings, and sects, how many monks still remember the original intention of preaching Buddhism to people?
Just say that the writings you wrote make me dizzy after reading them. How can the common people have the opportunity to study them? In addition, you can't practice it personally. It's no wonder that some people want to let the monks return to secular life. At least it will be of some use, or let the court pay more taxes, right?
What's more, you disrespect your parents and don't love your brothers and sisters. How can you end the relationship? As Confucianism puts it, the body, hair, and skin should be received from your parents. In addition, you should be friendly to your brothers and sisters, and treat your wife and children well. This is filial piety and humanity.
What? After shaving your hair, you really feel like you have lost all three thousand troubles. Have you forgotten where you came from and who raised you? Cutting off love and nature, only serving gods and Buddhas, deceiving yourself and others, this is the great selfishness of this world.
also.
If everyone in the world is like this, if the family is no longer a home, the country is no longer a country, the political system is always corrupted, and everyone is sitting on nothing, then how can it be repaid?"
Looking at the emperor talking eloquently, Xuanzang listened carefully without much agitation or shame. He was obviously a pure and determined person.
He just didn't know why the emperor said these "heartfelt words" to him. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to discuss the merits with an eminent monk like Huizhen?
But as the saying goes in Buddhism, if you say something bad about me, it is my fault. If you slap me on the left cheek, I will offer you the right cheek, and you will chop it off with a knife... Then I have no choice but to report in front of Buddha and meet him in the next life.
, there is no doubt that you are my disciple, and it won’t be too late for me to teach you how to put down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha immediately.
But under the emperor's gaze, he had to think twice before saying something.
Although the method of spiritual victory is useful, it cannot solve the emperor's misunderstanding of Buddhism.
"Your Majesty, since the young monk entered Buddhism, he has strictly followed the precepts, not harming his life, not eating meat and fish, and only devoted himself to the Buddha. He prayed in front of the Buddha for the blessings of the world who have been tortured in the world of mortals, and he is willing to use his body to replace it.
Parents, brothers, and the retribution of the little monk, the causes of the past life are the results today. All the dharma of dependent origin are impermanent and cannot be obtained. This is not selfish. Dependent origination and cessation are like dreams and illusions.
Only when a monk cuts off his worldly ties and eliminates their retribution can he escape from the world and observe the reality."
Li Po blinked a few times, but he didn't quite understand. But he knew that religion couldn't be explained by Zichou Yinmao, and they could often confuse even the most obvious facts.
Because what they respect is not objective facts, but illusory things like gods and Buddhas.
For example, if you see someone killing another person, no matter what the reason is, well, except for adulterers and adulterers, everyone else must be killed according to the law. Murder must be paid with life. But when the monks see it, they may say karma, and the murderer may not necessarily
Those who are guilty and die may not be unjust.
Even if the identity of the two people is clear, one is the strongman who blocked the road, and the other is the innocent victim, the monks still have the same saying. They had grudges in the past life, and they will be repaid today. Cause and effect are entangled, and they will last forever. Why bother? How can you talk to these monks?
Be reasonable.
You said that people are not engaged in production and have no love or sex.
But Buddha cut off his flesh to feed eagles, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who will go to hell if I don’t go to hell? It doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes. People just talk to themselves and think that it is a feat performed by the real Buddha.
It is much more shameless than the emperor revising the annals of history.
This is religion. It is unrealistic to truly refute them, because no one has ever seen gods or Buddhas. You may not believe in them, but you cannot say they don’t exist. Therefore, they are invincible first, unless you can find gods.
There are traces of the Buddha, but if you do that, people will win.
It is an obvious paradox. Only by proving its existence can we prove its non-existence. Between existence and non-existence, it returns to religion itself. How can you play with it?
Therefore, it is not feasible to attack religion at the philosophical or scientific level. It is not as effective as a large-scale plague or war...
…………
"I heard that the monks from Tianzhu don't have so many strict rules and precepts. Tubo and the Western Regions are all close to Tianzhu, and some Tianzhu monks went to teach the Dharma.
The monks are strong in martial arts, do not abstain from killing animals, have sex with women, and can raise wives and children. How come they have to accept all kinds of precepts when they arrive in the Central Plains?"
Li Po cleverly changed the focus of the topic and brought out Tianzhu to see how Xuanzang would answer.
This question was also difficult to answer. Xuanzang was silent for a moment before saying: "The young monk only traveled in the Central Plains, but has never been to Tianzhu. Therefore, the young monk can only answer half of your Majesty's questions."
Li Po laughed and said, "Oh, this is interesting, you might as well tell it and listen to it."
Xuanzang said: "From the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin Dynasty, various schools appeared one after another, and until the Han Dynasty, Confucianism was respected and all schools were unified. Your Majesty, do you think the Confucians today are still the Confucians of the Qin Dynasty?"
Li Po immediately understood what he wanted to say and said with a smile: "Stones from other mountains can be used to attack jade. Only by taking advantage of the strengths of other schools can we last a long time. Does the monk want to say that the same is true for Buddhism?"
Xuanzang looked at the emperor with bright eyes. This was really different from debating Zen principles with those monks. The emperor had not read any scriptures at first glance, and there was no Zen philosophy mixed in his words.
I don’t seem to have read much, because I saw him twice and didn’t use any allusions.
It's just that the emperor's intelligence is obvious at a glance. His speech is clear and coherent, and he always hides mysteries. It can even be said that he can know the whole picture at a glance. According to Buddhist sayings, this is a person of heavenly wisdom. In two words, he has the root of wisdom.
"It has been hundreds of years since the eminent monks from Tianzhu traveled eastward to preach Buddhism. During this time, customs and customs have inevitably changed and all things have been incorporated.
Just like the ancient Confucians, Confucius was a teacher of Laozi, and he had moral theories, and he also talked about benevolence, justice and etiquette, which he passed down to later generations. He also abided by the law, supplemented by industry and commerce, valued power and strategy, and believed in trust and courage.
Your Majesty once said something about inheriting the unique learning for the saints, which is exactly the key point. Everyone in the world said that all the schools of thought were extinct by the Han Dynasty, except for Confucius and Mencius. This statement is wrong. In the opinion of the young monk, it is nothing more than the return of all schools.
One, just keep the good and get rid of the bad.
We in Buddhism also teach that all Dharmas are integrated and integrated into one. How is this different from Confucianism? Your Majesty does not like Buddhist things. I am afraid that you have not been close to great virtues before and may have misunderstandings in Buddhism."
A clever argument, but very profound, and what he said is absolutely right. The philosophy of the Central Plains is about being inclusive of all things, so it has the appearance of an inner sage and an outer king.
Later on, this system became increasingly conservative, showing itself to be stubborn and exclusive. However, because the core is still there, it is still able to accommodate all kinds of groups, but it is just not as open as before.
Under the guidance of such a system, both Buddhism and Taoism exist, and magic is used simultaneously, which is enough to ensure the continuation of the ethnic group and civilization.
Although Xuanzang was young, he came from a family of officials. He traveled for many years after entering Buddhism. He was familiar with both Confucianism and Buddhism. He had a very deep understanding of the Confucian sect, and there was no doubt about his attainments in Buddhism.
The eminent monks in the Central Plains are so strange and fundamentally different from those outside. This is what Xuanzang said about changing customs.
It is said that oranges are oranges when they grow in the south, and they are oranges when they grow in the north of Huaihe River. The leaves are similar, but the taste is different. So why? The water and soil are different.
…………
The two talked for a while, which seemed lively, but in fact Li Po never said anything in depth. He was not interested in Buddhism. No matter how good Xuanzang said, it was like playing the piano to a cow.
Li Po was not moved at all. Hearing some Buddhist scriptures about clouds and mountains surrounded by mist, he secretly called out bad luck.
However, his general understanding of religion is unparalleled by people in this world, which also prevents him from being deceived.
In his opinion, Confucianism advocates governing the world, Buddhism emphasizes joining the world, and Taoism emphasizes transcending the world. Even if there are some fusions with each other, they are still distinct. The emperor does not need to distinguish at all, and naturally chooses the more active Confucianism.
Chinese people come to rule the country.
Those emperors who believed in Buddhism, the more pious they were, the more foolish their actions were. There is no need to argue with this truth, it is obvious.
Unknowingly, he brought the topic back to Tianzhu.
Xuanzang said: "The young monk traveled around and realized that India's Buddhist teachings are profound and profound. Unfortunately, many of them have been lost due to wars. Furthermore, only one or two eminent monks from India can reach the Central Plains, and what they preach is sparse..."
Having said this, he glanced at the emperor, showing some trepidation. A young man would be embarrassed to ask for help, no matter if he was a monk or someone else. If the person he was asking for was an emperor, he would be even more unsure.
"The young monk heard that there are more than a hundred volumes of scriptures stored in the Guanwen Hall in Luoyang, all of which were recorded by eminent monks of all ages. I wonder if your majesty will allow the young monk to have a look at them?"
In Li Po's mind, there was a monk riding a white horse, followed by a monkey's head, a pig, and a big beard. The picture was so clear that it was inevitable.
There is no doubt that the protagonist of Journey to the West is the monkey, and the others are supporting characters, but the main theme is unmistakable. It must have come from the time when Buddhism was flourishing. The whole story is full of gods and Buddhas causing mischief, and the Tathagata is the biggest boss among them.
When young people watch Journey to the West, they will admire the monkey's cleverness and boldness. When older people watch it, the monkey looks like a clown. However, The Romance of the Gods is a Taoist production, and the monks appear in it a few times, which is quite interesting.
Sneaky.
Of course, that was not what Li Po was thinking about. Whether Journey to the West would appear again was none of his business. The Tang Dynasty had already touched the edge of Tianzhu in the distance.
It's hard to say on land, but Tianzhu is an important node on the sea. Someone had to be sent to explore the way. Monk Xuanzang, who was famous for his fortune, came to visit, so he naturally became the first choice.
It was a trivial matter for Xuanzang to go to Guanwen Hall to read scriptures, and he immediately agreed.
This matter still needs to be prepared, and it needs some people who can draw maps and are familiar with the world to accompany them. This matter will also have to wait until Tubo and Goguryeo are dealt with before proceeding.
Xuanzang knew almost nothing about what Li Po was thinking about. He just got a promise from the emperor that he could accompany him back to Chang'an, which made him very happy...
In fact, the monks ran into the muzzle of the gun, and they did attract Li Po's attention to Buddhism. As soon as the country regained some strength, the monks appeared, which made Li Po feel as disgusted as eating a fly...