The surrounding architectural style is quite bizarre. Although the exterior is surrounded by Taoist temple walls and decorations, most of the palaces inside are in the style of Buddhist spire temples.
As for the objects worshiped in each hall, it is even more magical. Whether it is Guanyin Bodhisattva, Tathagata Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, Taishang Laojun, Taiyi Tianzun, Haotian God, they all have their own halls, and some halls even enshrine women at the same time.
Wa, Guanyin and Lishan Mother, Emperor Lidu and King Ksitigarbha.
The fat man is sitting in the outermost Maitreya Buddha Hall, reciting Buddhist sutras silently. The most interesting thing is that he is actually wearing a bright yellow cassock. Apart from not shaving his hair, he looks somewhat similar to Maitreya, the Buddha from the East who is enshrined in front of him.
.
When he saw me coming, he even performed a Namaste in a pretentious manner and said slowly: "Donor, please wait for a moment, and he will come to receive me after the poor monk finishes reading this scripture."
Although I really wanted to kick him up, I thought that this might be where the other party's master was, so I resisted the urge to complain. After he finished reciting in a pretentious manner, he took off his cassock and turned back to receive me.
"Is this your school? What do you believe in? Why do you worship all kinds of gods in Buddhism and Taoism?" I couldn't help but ask.
The fat man shook his head and said, "No, my master is an authentic member of the Taoist sect, but he has a very close relationship with the abbot and Taoist priests here, so I borrowed their precious land."
"Both the abbot and the Taoist priest, what kind of place is this place? How come the two paths of Buddhism and Taoism exist so closely together at the same time?" The more I listened, the more curious I became. This question has been lingering in my mind for a long time since I entered the door, and it is still lingering in my mind now.
Regardless of whether it was a bit disrespectful or not, I asked directly.
The fat man said with some disdain: "You don't care so much, it's just a matter of use. Now, whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, compared with the ancient times, thousands of people come to offer incense, and even the emperor comes to offer incense in person. And now there are many esoteric teachings
All the sects have been lost, and the remaining people can only help and communicate with each other, otherwise this industry will only slowly decline."
What he said does make some sense. Today is a scientific society, and most people have long since disbelieved in the so-called theories of ghosts and gods. When there is a disease, the first reaction is to go to the hospital, and if it is serious, call the police.
It has to be said that with the development of science and technology, many fields of occultism in the past have indeed been eroded little by little, because modern scientific and technological means can be used to do better and more conveniently.
There are always areas where people like us need to take action, so this industry is still surviving to this day. Thinking of this, I asked: "Is this Tao Zen Temple the place you said was built by the cooperation between Buddhism and Taoism?
?”
"Haha, it's interesting to talk about the historical situation here. This place was a geomantic treasure land in the late Northern Song Dynasty. However, due to years of wars, this place happened to be located at the junction of Song and Jin Dynasties, so even though everyone knew it was a treasure land, there were not many people there.
Dare to take advantage of it."
The fat man paused and said in a mysterious tone: "At this time, two masters came. One was from Quanzhen and the other was from Shaolin. They were both mainstream Buddhist and Taoist sects in the world at that time. However, their talents were too high and they attracted
The senior brothers and even the masters and uncles were jealous, so they were all transferred outside the master's gate to open up a new dojo under the pretext."
"So the two of them met here, ended up having the same problem, and they coincided with each other to build this temple together?" I asked.
"No, no, no, in fact, they didn't accept the other's at first, thinking that their own family was the orthodox one, so they fought openly and secretly for several years, and finally each occupied half of the land, built a temple and a Taoist temple, and their disciples and grandchildren
They are also at odds with each other, and they have to fight each other from time to time. Not to mention, because there are competitors around them, both families have made rapid progress and gradually gained a reputation in this area, whether it is Song, Jin or even Yuandu.
Three points of respect.”
"Then why are they cooperating again now?" I felt like a compliment, but unfortunately this fat man talked like a cross talk, always likes to leave baggage.
"Don't worry, just listen to me. At that time, the war was in chaos. Even if they were all prestigious people, in the end they were still monks. They had no actual power or soldiers, but they occupied a high reputation and resources. Therefore, each of them was a monk.
All the forces on the road wanted to get a piece of the pie. They gradually discovered that the other side was no longer dangerous, because neither side could completely defeat the other. On the contrary, the turbulent situation made people restless every night, for fear of offending any big shot.
The temple will be destroyed and people will die."
The fat man was finally willing to continue talking:
"Therefore, they turned from their original struggle to cooperation, and worked together to establish themselves in this troubled world. Even the walls between Buddhist temples and Taoist temples were gradually dismantled. Later, no matter in the Yuan, Ming, Qing, or even the Republic of China, there were military strategists here.
It was a must-contested place, and the relationship between the two families established here became closer and closer. Until after liberation, the demons and demons were eradicated, both families had their homes confiscated, and the original temples were almost gone. It was not until the country rebuilt its traditional traditions in recent years.
Cultural heritage, because the descendants of these two families couldn't tell where their original territory was, and as a result, they built Taoist temples and Buddhist temples together in a confused way."
"I see, the karma and fate between these people is really wonderful." I couldn't help but sigh, "You just said that the two ancestors here are masters. Do they have any special deeds or magic weapons left behind?"
The fat man said proudly: "Of course, the peach wood sword I gave you was handed down from the generation of Guangyang Zhenren, the founder of this Taoist temple."
"The peach wood sword passed down from the Song Dynasty to the present? It is very valuable." I was also a little surprised. Although I once doubted whether the fat man had exaggerated the sword, but if it is really what it is,
After all, with such a long history, it is not surprising that this sword is so wonderful.
"Of course, brother, would I lie to you? How about it, exchanging Buddhist scriptures for this sword is very cost-effective, right?" The fat man's face looked at me for traveling more, as if he really suffered a loss and sold it to me in a bloodletting sale.
Same.
"If that's the case, then it can be regarded as a relic of the ancestor of this place, right? How could such a valuable thing be handed over to you?" I asked suspiciously, "Didn't you mean your master and the abbot here?
Is it just an old acquaintance? Is the relationship so close that you can even give away such a treasure to the temple?"
A drop of sweat ran across the fat man's cheek, and he said nonchalantly: "Hey, brother, you are really smart. I can't hide anything from you. To be honest, I didn't tell a lie just now. This is indeed what Guangyang Master said, but this peach wood
There are ninety-nine and eighty-one swords in total, this one was given to my master by the current Taoist priest, and my master gave it to me for self-defense."