Lingyin Temple is the first of all temples in Zhejiang.
The yamen of Hangzhou Prefecture's Senggang Division is also located here, and the abbot concurrently holds the post of Dugang of the Senggang Division (from the ninth rank).
They were able to receive such favorable treatment from the imperial court because they were very discerning.
Zhu Yuanzhang rectified religion at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Lingyin Temple was so frightened that it donated 13,000 acres of temple land to the court. Lao Zhu was very happy. Not only did he return part of the temple land, he also summoned the abbot to Nanjing to preach Buddhism and made an exception for him.
A golden tattered cassock was worn.
The current abbot of Lingyin Temple is named Master Huitong.
When I heard that Wang Yuan, the governor of Zhejiang, was about to visit, the whole temple was in a state of panic, and the monks all changed their clothes into earthy brown.
Why is this so?
I'm afraid that the temple will be raided by Governor Wang for violating the rules!
The monks living in Lingyin Temple are all classified as "Zen monks", and they can only wear brown casual clothes. The cassocks of eminent monks must be white with a white base and decorated with cyan stripes - wearing red cassocks is against the rules, which is also what Zhu Yuanzhang said
Set rules.
Those who can preach Buddhism to the outside world are classified as "speaking monks" by the government, mainly from Huayan, Weishi, Tiantai and other sects.
"Zen monks" of the Zen sect were not allowed to gather in public to teach the Dharma, unless they obtained permission from the emperor. Even "lecturer monks" of other sects had to report to the government when they gathered together to teach the Dharma. Those who taught the Dharma without permission would be punished as monster monks.
Of course, good men and women from wealthy families can pay to listen to the Dharma one-on-one. This is not prohibited by the government, and any monk can teach it.
The attire of the lecturer monks is different. The regular clothes are white and the cassocks are light red with red stripes.
There is another type of monks with the most solemn and elegant clothing. Their regular clothes are black and their cassocks are light red with black stripes. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the legal system collapsed and the three-color monks' clothes were worn randomly. Many Zen monks and lecturer monks chose handsome monks.
clothing.
As for the teaching monks, they are also called "Yoga teaching monks" and are monks of the Yoga sect of Buddhism.
In the Ming Dynasty, only yoga monks could perform rituals, and many Taoist rituals were also incorporated. The monks invited to save the souls of the dead must be yoga monks dressed in black, and they also shouldered the responsibility of promoting positive energy to the people.
…
Lingyin Temple is located in the mountains, making it difficult for Wang Yuan to explore its secrets.
Yuan Da accompanied him with his wild sword in his arms, and was also followed by disciples such as Jiang Xin, as well as several Japanese students such as Ouchi Yoshitaka and Hougang Keiwu.
The monk Zhike was so enthusiastic that he came to the foot of the mountain to greet him and took Wang Yuan all the way up the mountain to the temple.
The abbot, Master Huitong, and the monks waited for a long time before joining their hands at the gate of the temple to pay homage to the governor.
Wang Yuan always felt that the Zhejiang officials and people misunderstood him deeply. He was simply here to visit the eminent monk, but the monks in the temple were wary, fearing that he would come to raid the temple and destroy the Buddha.
Alas, am I that unreasonable?
"The poor monk Huitong has met Governor Wang!" Master Huitong put his hands together and saluted.
Wang Yuan cupped his hands and said with a smile: "I have long heard that there is an eminent monk in Hangzhou, but I have never gone to the mountain to visit him. Today I finally got my wish."
Master Huitong said: "The governor is wrong."
Master Huitong personally accompanied Wang Yuan to visit the temple and worship many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
Unfortunately, during the Hongwu period, most of Lingyin Temple was burned down by fire. It was finally partially rebuilt during the Yongle Dynasty, and it was completely burned down again during the Xuande Dynasty. So far, only ten temples and pavilions have been restored, and it has lost its glory like the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Along the way, he paid homage to the Buddha and when he came to the Guanyin Bodhisattva, Wang Yuan suddenly stood holding incense and looked at the statue of Guanyin without saying a word for a long time.
Wang Yuan didn't speak, and the others didn't dare to speak either. They all just stood there with him.
After all, Master Huitong still couldn't master the practice. He was afraid that Wang Yuan would take the opportunity to attack and destroy the temple, so he couldn't help asking: "The governor has been standing here for a long time. I wonder if he has any epiphany?"
Wang Yuan held the letter incense and turned around to ask Huitong: "Master, the Dharma is profound. Please help us ordinary people clear up our doubts."
"Amitabha, I don't dare to speak profoundly about the Dharma," Huitong declared with his hands folded, "The governor has questions, but the poor monk knows everything he knows, and he can't tell you everything."
Wang Yuan asked: "I heard that Guanyin's body used to be male, why are they all female now?"
Master Huitong said: "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva travels around the world and incarnates into millions to save all living beings. Regardless of whether they are male or female, they are all transformed by the Bodhisattva. The world feels its compassion and sacrifices it as a loving mother. Therefore, there are many Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in the world.
Female body."
"Is that so?" Wang Yuan asked again, "I heard that Guanyin Bodhisattva has the ability to send children away."
Master Huitong said: "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has great divine power. If a woman seeks a boy and worships and makes offerings to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, she will give birth to a man of merit and wisdom; if she seeks a girl, she will give birth to a decent and well-appeared daughter."
Wang Yuan asked again: "In that case, are all the male and female babies in the world given by Guanyin Bodhisattva?"
Master Huitong said: "It should be so."
Wang Yuantu asked: "What if there is a family whose baby girl was given by Guanyin Bodhisattva, but her parents drowned her in order to get a boy? Will the Bodhisattva be angry because of this?"
Buddhism believes that anger is the root of all evil, and it is naturally impossible for Guanyin Bodhisattva to be angry. But drowning infants violates the laws of heaven and human relations, so Guanyin Bodhisattva should be angry, otherwise it will not be in line with the image of great mercy and compassion.
As expected, Master Huitong’s Dharma is profound, and he said, “Guanyin also has an angry aspect.”
Wang Yuan asked: "What does Guanyin look like when she is angry?"
Master Huitong said: "Amoti Guanyin has two kinds of appearances. One kind of appearance is riding a lion, carrying a stick and glaring with anger, supporting justice and punishing evil."
Wang Yuan suddenly threw the incense in his hand in front of the Avalokitesvara and walked away.
Everyone was shocked, this was a great disrespect to Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Master Huitong hurriedly chased after him and asked, "Governor, why is this happening?"
Wang Yuan said with excitement: "There are countless drowned babies in several provinces south of the Yangtze River, especially in Zhejiang. What kind of willow Guanyin should I worship? If you want to worship, then worship the Angry Eyes Guanyin!"
"This..." Master Huitong didn't know how to answer the question.
Wang Yuan said to Yuan Da next to him: "I ordered the monks and gangs in all prefectures to demolish all the Guanyin in the famous ancient temples in Zhejiang. They were all replaced with the image of Guanyin sending children. This sending Guanyin holds a baby girl in one hand and a stick in the other, glaring angrily.
Look at all living beings!”
Master Huitong quickly admonished: "Governor-General, please don't blaspheme the Buddha like this."
Wang Yuan asked back: "Master, wouldn't Guanyin Bodhisattva be angry after seeing the evil custom of drowning babies in Zhejiang?"
Master Huitong fell silent immediately.
Wang Yuan suddenly took out a small booklet from his arms: "Master, this is a Buddhist scripture that I accidentally discovered. It was already in a state of ruin, so I specially asked someone to make a new copy."
Master Huitong took the pamphlet, opened it and glanced at it for a few times, then looked strange and said nothing.
The Buddhist scripture that Wang Yuan "accidentally picked up" is called "The Sutra of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Transforming into a Woman".
The content of the scripture is very simple. Avalokitesvara does not care about the appearance of men and women. However, due to the popular practice of infanticide in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Guanyin Bodhisattva has shown the female body to others in order to let the world cherish women. If there is a house where infanticide is committed, no matter how it is worshiped and chanted,
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva will no longer bless this family. Unless they continue to practice good deeds and stop drowning babies, the Bodhisattva will only gain forgiveness after three generations.
"Master, do you think this scripture is fake?" Wang Yuan asked.
Master Huitong said: "It still needs to be verified."
Wang Yuan looked around and murmured to himself: "I wonder if the monks in Lingyin Temple can often go home to visit their parents, and can they often go home to worship their ancestors?"
Master Huitong was shocked, as if he saw Lingyin Temple going through a legal disaster.
Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that monks and Taoists must also abide by etiquette, and "filial piety" is the first rule that monks must abide by. If the parents are still alive at home, the monks and Taoists will ignore them; or if the ancestral graves are still there, the monks and Taoists will not worship them.
Worship the ancestors... Haha, I will be punished with a hundred rods and ordered to return to secular life!
According to this Ming law, Wang Yuan could reasonably and legally force more than half of the monks in Lingyin Temple to return to secular life.
Master Huitong suddenly picked up the "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva's Transformation into a Female Sutra" again, read it over and said to Wang Yuan: "Governor Wang, perhaps because of its age, there are quite a few omissions in this sutra. The poor monk had the courage to polish it up and complete it."
"Haha, with the help of Master, I will be able to restore this sutra to its original appearance!" Wang Yuan was very happy.
This broken sutra book was compiled by himself. It is not very professional to begin with. It would be better if it was polished by a virtuous and eminent monk.
Master Huitong asked again: "That statue of Guanyin with angry eyes?"
Wang Yuan said in a strong tone: "In the famous ancient temples in Zhejiang, the Guanyin statues must be demolished and rebuilt within a time limit. I will replace them all with the angry-looking Guanyin statues!"
Master Huitong sighed: "This is of great merit. As the monk of Hangzhou Prefecture, the poor monk should urge the major temples in Hangzhou Prefecture to obey the governor's orders."
Wang Yuan bowed to Master Huitong and said, "On behalf of thousands of baby girls in Zhejiang, I would like to express my gratitude to Master Huitong for his kindness."
When Master Huitong received this great gift, he felt incomprehensible and said in a ashamed tone: "It doesn't have to be like this. The poor monk should worship the governor. The governor is so compassionate that he puts monks like us to shame."
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Please also ask the Master to complete the sutra as soon as possible. I will print it and send it to the whole province. At that time, we will send people to randomly check. If there is a monk who cannot recite the "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Transformation Sutra", his official certificate will be withdrawn immediately.
Those who do not return to secular life will be arrested and exiled to the army!"
"Governor Wang is really... Amitabha!" Master Huitong couldn't laugh or cry.