"So how can it be painful to worship one's own beliefs?" Bai Shan said: "I heard that the monks of Huguo Temple rent their Buddhist fields to the common people for farming, and they do not farm the land themselves. But they are monks and do not have to pay taxes.
That is to say, every drink and peck they drink is an offering from believers, so that their own food, clothing and clothing can reduce their suffering. Those things are not for them, but for the Bodhisattvas behind them."
The emperor was stunned for a while and said: "Aren't they the incarnations of Bodhisattvas in this world?"
"Then there are too many incarnations. Isn't it certain?" Bai Shan asked: "Your Majesty can't tell whether they are incarnations. Then there are so many stupid people in the world, how can they tell the difference? If they are not incarnations,
, how does Your Majesty know that they are following the Bodhisattva's decree?"
The emperor came back to his senses and looked at the two of them suspiciously, "You don't like Buddha, but do you prefer Tao?"
Bai Shan and Man Bao shook their heads together.
Man Bao said: "Although I read Taoist scriptures quite a lot, I don't stop reading Buddhist scriptures."
It was even more impossible for Bai Shan to admit it, otherwise it would become a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism. This was not his original intention. He said: "Your Majesty, whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, they are the same as Confucianism, Legalism, and Mohism. They are just trying to govern the world.
, it is just a kind of understanding of what makes people human. Ordinary people can make a statement according to the same family. For example, Confucius Jijiu, although he has read the words of hundreds of schools of thought, he admires Confucianism more; another example is the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, although all schools of thought have learned it.
, but he believes more in Legalism; while our husband is more inclined to Taoism."
"But Your Majesty is different. You are the leader of the people, and the people in the world will only follow your belief. You believe in Buddhism, so the Buddhist temples are prosperous and the Huguo Temple has become the largest temple in the world. This is not what it should be."
The emperor said angrily: "In the end, I didn't even have my own preferences anymore?"
Bai Shan knew that he would not do anything to him, so he said bluntly: "Who makes you the emperor and still want to be an eternal wise king? If you want to gain something, you must give something."
The emperor frowned.
Man Bao looked puzzled, "What's so difficult about this? Anyway, there are not really gods and Buddhas in this world. If someone tells me that if I want to be the first doctor in the ages, I can't worship the Supreme Lord with great fanfare. I
You must not worship without knowing it. Your Majesty, if you really like the Bodhisattva, you can worship him quietly in your room."
Everyone:......
The emperor asked angrily: "How do you know there are no gods and Buddhas in the world?"
Man Bao asked: "Even if there are, what can gods and Buddhas do for us?"
She said: "The suffering in this world has never stopped. The road must be walked one step at a time. Gods and Buddhas cannot move forward for us, so what difference does it make whether we have it or not? As long as we don't forget the aspirations of our ancestors, we can
Can."
Man Bao has seen the history books of that world from the encyclopedia. The development of history never relies on theology, but depends on the development of people bit by bit.
Either it develops in the form of war or other forms of competition. Anyway, I have never seen a miracle.
Bai Shan has read most of the books that Man Bao brought out of the space. He used to regard those books as strange stories, but the more he read, the more he thought about them.
Sometimes he couldn't help but ask Man Bao quietly, "Why does the book Uncle Zhou brought tell us not to believe in ghosts and gods?"
Man Bao was confused, and Bai Shan found out the reason himself, "Is it because there are few ghosts and gods in the world, or is it because ghosts and gods can't actually affect mortals?"
"That's right," Bai Shan justified himself and said: "If ghosts and gods can affect our world, how come the King of Yizhou is still safe and sound after harming so many people? We have to file a complaint to expose him before he can be brought to justice."
Moreover, since he has grown up, apart from Uncle Zhou, he has never seen another ghost.
Moreover, Uncle Zhou is such a powerful ghost. Apart from being able to talk to Man Bao, he seems to have no influence on any third person. Not to mention him, even the rest of the old Zhou family cannot see or feel him.
Therefore, Bai Shan was confident in speaking at this time. He hoped that the emperor would not show his likes and dislikes and not pursue Buddhism.
The emperor was not very happy, so he turned to the prince and said, "Have you heard that as a king, you should not have your own likes and dislikes? If you have nothing to do, go hunting less. I heard someone said that you still want the southern country to donate elephants to you?"
The prince was so unlucky that he turned to look at Bai Shan and Zhou Man before saying, "I heard that the southern barbarians' elephant soldiers are very powerful, so I wanted to see how powerful the elephants are and how they compare to a thousand-mile horse." The emperor snorted.
He said: "It costs a lot to bring an elephant from the southern barbarians to the capital. How can a prince do such an extravagant thing? He is not allowed to send anyone there."
When Zhao Guogong and others saw it, they immediately started talking, "Aren't we talking about disaster relief?"
The emperor no longer wanted to go to Huguo Temple, and lost his temper directly: "Let the magistrates of Chang'an County and Wannian County do it, let the treasury, forget it, let it come from the private treasury, just treat it as
Pray for the little emperor’s grandson.”
He is a little depressed now and doesn't want to see those ministers again for the time being.
Zhao Guogong and Pi Guogong breathed a sigh of relief, and then expressed their willingness to follow His Majesty, and directly promised nine hundred shi of food to pray for the little emperor's grandson. Naturally, they had to choose an auspicious number.
Seeing that the topic was dropped, the prince secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then secretly glared at Bai Shan and Zhou Man. Why should we talk about Buddhism and Taoism in a good life?
Man Bao and Bai Shan looked aside and felt that the two princes were really rich.
The emperor felt the same way, so he exhaled and became happy again.
After eating and drinking, the Crown Princess had already returned to the house with the child in her arms. The Crown Prince sent his uncle and father-in-law's family out, and then came back to see his father off.
The emperor did not move, but asked the fifth prince to lead Mingda Changyu to escort the queen back to Taiji Hall first.
Man Bao and Bai Shan, who were also left behind, were standing in the corner with their little heads lowered, as if they had done something big wrong.
The emperor sat at his desk and wrote and drew. After he finished writing a picture for his newborn grandson, he looked up at the two of them and felt that they had done enough. He put down his pen and said, "Come forward."
The two of them stepped forward together.
The emperor asked: "Do you know what is wrong?"
Man Bao clasped his fingers and said: "I know, we shouldn't bring up these things at this time. Today is to give the little emperor grandson a bath, which is a spoiler of fun."
The emperor nodded slightly.
Bai Shan added: "We should not deny your majesty face. Even if we give remonstrance, we should talk about it privately afterwards, and we should not talk about your majesty in front of everyone."
The emperor nodded slightly, satisfied, and felt that he had gained enough face. He turned to the prince who had returned from seeing off the people, "I heard that there were two people missing from your palace last night?"
The smile on the prince's face paused, then he lowered his head and reported: "Yes, there are two chamberlains missing."
He explained: "On the night when the Crown Princess launched the attack, Zhou Man's needle bag was tampered with."
The expression on the emperor's face also faded and he asked: "Have you found the mastermind behind it?"
"No."
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "Leave this matter to Yin Li to investigate. Jingzhao Mansion is better at investigating cases than you."