Beijing Fahua Temple is located in the old city, very close to the rich and powerful areas of the capital. It has always been famous for its miraculous effects. It is said that as long as you go to pray to Bodhisattva and Buddha, almost all your prayers will be fulfilled.
For example, the concubine of Zhang Shilang's family prayed to Buddha to give birth to a boy, and finally gave birth to a son after five consecutive births; another example is that Boss Li opened a factory and prayed to Buddha to bless the business, and the result was that the business was very good and he made a lot of money.
Made a lot of money.
For another example, during the imperial examination last year, a candidate who had taken the exam seven or eight times came to pray to Bodhisattva every time to bless him in high school. As a result, he really passed the high school this time, and it was really effective.
Because of the miraculous spread, the incense of Fahua Temple has always been very prosperous. There are fixed Dharma meetings every month, which are held very grandly and with great momentum. They can often attract a large number of believers, men and women, to donate money.
No, today is the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and it also falls on the weekend. Fahua Temple has chosen this day early to hold a Dharma ceremony, attracting a large number of people to come here to join in the fun.
“It’s really lively!”
Emperor Hongzhi, who was dressed in casual clothes, held this fan in his hand, followed by Liu Jin and Wang Shouren. Looking at the lively scene in front of him, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but nod.
Every weekend is the busiest time in Beijing. Stadiums, zoos, theaters, squares, commercial districts, etc. are all very lively. Even the street in front of the temple is extremely lively.
It shows that the living standards of the people in the Ming Dynasty have really improved a lot, especially the people in the capital area, whose living standards are far higher than those in other places.
The income is high and there are many entertainment programs. The most important thing is that there are still weekends and free leisure time to take the family out to play and walk around.
When the three of them arrived at the entrance of Fahua Temple, they saw many people who seemed to be having some conflict with the monk here.
"Why aren't you allowed in?"
"That's right. Why aren't you allowed in?"
"Everyone, everyone, it's not that we are not allowed to enter, but our temple is holding a religious ceremony today. If you are willing to donate more than 50 taels of silver, you can enter to participate in the religious ceremony. Of course, if you want to go in and burn incense, you must at least burn incense today.
fragrant."
"If you want to go in to pray to Buddha and ancestors, you need to spend 1,000 taels of silver to enter the main hall, 500 taels of silver to go outside the main hall, and 100 taels of silver to exit the stairs."
"Because today is during the Dharma Assembly, there are eminent monks from our temple chanting sutras and chanting Buddha's name, so it is extremely efficacious and everything you ask for can come true."
A fat monk with a group of monks guarding the door looked at the many people and shouted loudly.
Although this is a quiet place in Buddhism, you cannot speak without money. If you want to enter and participate in the Dharma assembly, you have to donate at least 50 taels of silver. Burning incense requires at least first-class incense. It only costs so much to pray to God and ask Buddha.
More right.
"50 taels of silver?"
"Why don't you go grab the money? In the past, you could get in whenever you wanted."
"That's right. There is also a first-class incense. You have to collect dozens of taels of silver for this first-class incense. Who can afford to burn it?"
"Why is it that in this beautiful and pure place of Buddhism, there are monks like you who only care about money?"
When the people nearby heard this, they immediately said dissatisfied.
"Tell me to be careful~"
Unexpectedly, when the great monk heard this, he immediately said extremely sternly: "If you slander Buddhist disciples again, believe it or not, I will ask you to arrest you immediately."
"We are not forcing you to go in. If you don't go in, there will be many people coming in. Stop chirping here and get out of here."
"I've never seen monks like you~"
"The world is really declining. Monks don't even look like monks, but they are almost like ruffians."
When the man heard this, he immediately left extremely disappointed. He originally said that the Fahua Temple was good and wanted to come in and have a look, but it turned out to be a place like this. It was okay not to go in.
Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jin, and Wang Shouren watched silently from the side. This Fahua Temple is really well-deserved. It is indeed a good way to make money. What kind of performance can you do? You have to donate at least dozens of taels of silver to get in. I pray to God and ask Buddha.
They are all divided into levels, and you have to pay thousands of taels of silver to enter the main hall.
"Mrs. Li, Mrs. Li, please come inside~"
When this happened, a noble lady came with some maids. When the monk saw this, he immediately bowed his head and ordered others to step out of the way.
There is no doubt that this is a distinguished guest here. He probably spends a lot of money here, so all the monks here know him.
"Zhang Yuanwai, you are here~ Please come inside, please come inside!"
"Master Wang, your Majesty is here, Your Majesty is here~ Please come inside, please come inside~"
The business of the Fahua Temple is still very good. Many people come to support its Dharma meetings one after another. They are all ministers of the court, wealthy businessmen, nobles and so on. You can tell by looking at their clothes.
, are all owners who are not short of money.
"Let's go in and take a look!"
Emperor Hongzhi looked ugly. This place of Buddhism has become a dirty place. Money is indispensable everywhere. If you don't have money, you won't even be able to enter this place.
Emperor Hongzhi wanted to see what kind of ghosts were going on here and what kind of rituals were being broken.
After speaking, Emperor Hongzhi took the lead and walked towards the entrance of Fahua Temple. As expected, he was stopped by the monk at the door.
Liu Jin didn't waste any time, and took out a few hundred-yuan silver notes from his pocket and threw them to him. When the monk saw it, he immediately smiled and said: "Three gentlemen, please come in, three gentlemen, please come in!"
He quickly put away the banknotes and ordered others to get out of the way.
Entering Fahua Temple, the interior is decorated with splendor. You can see decorations of gold, silver, jade, emerald, agate, etc. everywhere. You can also see various Buddha statues. There are also merits and virtues placed next to each Buddha statue.
Box and cauldron.
The merit box is used to donate money, and the big cauldron is used to burn incense. Look at the incense in this cauldron. It is no ordinary incense. Compared with ordinary incense, it is longer, larger, and more beautiful.
It is divided into many levels. The largest and longest one is as tall as a person, which looks really weird.
"Are the three donors here to pray to gods and Buddhas, or to fulfill their wishes?"
The three of them entered Fahua Temple. Before the three of them could walk around a few times, a monk in yellow clothes came over and asked with a smile on his face.
"We heard that your temple is holding a religious ceremony, so we came here to have a look."
Liu Jin stepped forward and replied.
"It turns out that the three donors came to attend the Dharma conference, which was held at the Main Hall."
"But because there are so many believers who came to attend the Dharma conference today, if you want to enter the main hall to listen to the Buddha's message, you will need to donate at least a thousand taels of sesame oil money."
"If you're outside the palace, you only need to donate a few hundred taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, the monk also led the way and explained in detail.
"Is there actually a difference?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he frowned and said.
"Of course."
"As the saying goes, the closer you are to the water, the more you get the moon. The closer you are, the more pious you will be. The Buddha can also feel it more clearly, and the more you ask for, the more likely you will be granted."
The monk nodded solemnly and said.
"That's it~"
"The three of us will listen outside the palace."
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he pretended to be suddenly enlightened and said.
"You three please~"
The monk took the three of them to the outside of the Main Hall. There was a large square here. A large number of believers had gathered in the square, and there were also a large number of maids, servants, and servants standing next to it.
Each of us has a futon on which we can kneel. Everyone looks very pious and prays carefully.
In the Main Hall, there are monks chanting sutras and chanting Buddha's name, and bursts of Sanskrit sounds are constantly coming out. Because of the steps, the scene inside cannot be seen.
As soon as the three people arrived, the monk took the three people to the merit box on the side. The meaning couldn't be simpler. Liu Jin also decisively took out a stack of banknotes from his arms. All of these monks suddenly smiled even more.
, and diligently arranged seats for the three of them and laid out the futons.
However, Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jin, and Wang Shouren had no intention of kneeling down to pray to Buddha. They just stood and looked around.
It can be seen that every part of the temple is extremely well decorated, and a lot of money has been spent. Even the bricks on the ground are not ordinary bricks, but bricks cut from marble, and there are also pavilions and pavilions.
Class, the materials used are all expensive materials.
There are many Buddha statues and various signboards telling you which direction the Avalokitesvara is, etc. Obviously, Fahua Temple is very large, with many palaces, Buddha statues, etc.
Every place has a similar layout, highlighting the feeling of asking for money.
Of course, there are many Buddhas worshiped, so naturally there are various reasons to perform rituals. Today it is Guanyin, tomorrow it is Manjushri Bodhisattva, the day after tomorrow it is Tathagata Buddha, etc.
Look at the monks in Fahua Temple. There are also a lot of them. They all have fat heads and big ears, and have rosy complexions. They don’t look like enlightened monks at all, nor do they show the quietness and inaction of monks. Their eyes are full of money.
.
Everyone kept watching, and when the Dharma conference ended, another fund-raising meeting was held. Some believers took the lead and donated money, materials, gold, silver, jade, jade, etc., which also made these monks angry again.
How can this Buddhist temple be a pure place? It is simply filthy. It smells like yellow and white things, and there is money everywhere. The three of them just went in and stood outside the temple and lost a few hundred taels of silver.
If you want to go in to pray to gods and Buddhas, you probably don’t know how much money it will cost.
It's getting more and more outrageous and out of whack.
However, there are still people who believe in this, and they seem to be very pious. This may be the reason why these monks can enjoy their success, because there are always people who believe in them.
