Outside the scope of Dao Sect’s actual control over the Western Region, lies the sphere of influence of Buddhism in the Western Region. The word “Western Region” is already somewhat misnomer.
In any case, the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism at that time ended with the victory of Taoism. Kunlun and Yujing were within the scope of the Western Region in a broad sense. There was no way they could allow others to snore next to the couch, so Taoism was bound to expel Buddhism.
The reason why many people within the Taoist sect believe that the Taoist sect failed to win the battle between Buddhism and Taoism is because the Taoist sect has not completed its full success. It has neither allowed Buddhism to become a vassal of the Taoist sect like Confucianism, nor has it been able to completely eliminate Buddhism, leaving hidden dangers.
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This is undoubtedly a high standard and strict requirement, and it can also be seen from the arrogant mentality of Taoist people. A small victory is considered a loss, but winning is not a win. Only a big victory can be considered a real victory.
But from the perspective of Buddhism, the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism at that time was undoubtedly a complete defeat for Buddhism. Buddhism in the Central Plains was destroyed, Buddhism in the Western Regions was forced to retreat again and again, Nanyang Buddhism and Fenglinzhou Buddhism also failed one after another, and eventually it became a total failure. Although
Buddhism in the Central Plains was later re-established, but in fact it was just a flower stand, like a sign with pictures of gorgeous buildings. From the front, it looked decent, but from the side or from the back, there was nothing, not even gold and jade.
Not even outside.
The failure of Buddhism led to the rise of two major factions within Buddhism.
One major faction is the capitulation faction, which advocates admitting defeat, admitting that Buddhism is inferior to Taoism, and relying on Taoism like Confucianism in exchange for an improvement in the situation.
The other major faction is the radical faction, which advocates counterattacking Taoism at all costs, resurrecting the Buddha Lord, and conducting the second Buddhism and Taoism war. This includes but is not limited to uniting with external forces such as Shamanism, the Holy Court, and Tianmen to support Nanyang Buddhism and Fenglinzhou Buddhism.
Large-scale anti-Taoist actions, as well as support for Lingshan Witch Cult, Zhiming Cult and other secret association forces, etc.
The two sects often fought each other. During the Five Dynasties period, the Taoist sect gave great support to the capitulating faction within Buddhism, or the pro-Taoist sect, so the pro-Taoist sect had the upper hand during this period.
However, with the death of the fifth-generation Grandmaster and the coming of the Sixth-generation Grandmaster, the aristocratic families that had been suppressed by the Fifth-generation Grandmaster began to rebound.
Although the Zhang family and the Li family have a long history of grievances, the aristocratic families headed by Zhang and Li have always had a consensus: they, the "Dao sect nobles", are the founders of the Tao sect, especially the Zhang family and the Li family who brought capital to invest
The original shareholder of Dao Sect considers himself the master of Dao Sect.
Those who came to power later, or the children of poor families, no matter how high their positions were, were just the "stewards" of the Taoist sect. This idea was deeply rooted in the bones, so no matter how high the position of the children of poor families, they would be killed at will, but on the contrary, the children of aristocratic families
There is always some latitude, but the most you can do is to be imprisoned for life.
However, the Fifth Generation Grand Master is an exception. This son of an ordinary person actually took the top position of the Taoist sect by forcing the heads of the three major families, and established a meritorious service second only to Xuansheng. How can this be allowed? A steward actually did this
If you become the master, isn't this going against Tiangang? What do you want to do?
As for Qi Xuansu, he is a semi-exception. Of course he is not from a noble family, but he does not have the skills of a great leader of the Five Dynasties, and he cannot talk about starting from scratch. There is no need to avoid taboos, and there is no need to put gold on his face. His first step is to rely on
Because of Qiniang's influence, she relied on nepotism to get ahead.
Nowadays, it is said that Qi Xuansu has quite a lot of grassroots experience, but this "grassroots" also depends on who he compares with. Compared with the family members, Qi Xuansu's starting point is indeed very low, but compared with the real grassroots Taoist priests, Qi Xuansu's starting point is already theirs.
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I don’t know how many people spend their entire lives without being able to become a ninth-grade Taoist priest, and they will remain a Taoist boy until they die. Some people will only be a seventh-grade Taoist priest when they retire.
Qi Xuansu started out as a seventh-grade Taoist priest, and had never worked in a grassroots Taoist temple in a remote area. Compared with ordinary Taoist priests, Qi Xuansu was actually considered an elite. He was born in the Wanxiang Taoist Palace and entered the Tiangang Hall directly. The so-called "humble family" and "mud-legged",
That is just the view of Qi Xuansu, the son of the aristocratic family, not the view of most people. After all, even if the sons of the aristocratic family do nothing and just go about their lives, they are at least a fourth-grade Taoist priest, such as Zhang Yuyue.
Today, the poor families of the Taoist sect are no longer the poor families of the past. In the past, the poor families were those who were not as good as the gentry in farming and studying. They were able to support the scholars who were out of work, which was still much better than ordinary people. Today's poor families refer to the poor families.
Poor children.
The "Qi Xuansu" without Qiniang are actually a very embarrassing group within the Taoist sect, neither above nor below.
The reason why he is not successful is because the family he comes from does not have the ability to support his family, does not have the ability to operate, and has no hope. He can only rely on himself or luck.
No, it’s because these Taoist priests are not at the lowest level and live a comfortable life. They don’t like this or that. If they are asked to go to a low-level Taoist temple in a remote area, they still feel aggrieved. They think it’s a secret investment and that the Taoist sect has been buried.
With his extraordinary talent, he began to talk about the character of a scholar and the darkness of Taoism. Essentially, he felt that he had not sold himself for a good price, and that Taoism was a black-hearted buyer who did not know the goods and maliciously lowered the price.
What is up?
They pave the way at home and bring their own resources. For example, Taoist Sanxiu. These people are willing and able to achieve results, have big goals, cherish feathers, and will not ask themselves whether they can walk on thin ice all day long to get to the other side. Instead, they are more willing to do things and are not afraid of doing them.
Even if he did something wrong, he had the backing of his family and had enough room for trial and error. Qi Xuansu was also in this state in the later period.
What is next?
If you are truly born in poverty, even if you are assigned to a real grassroots position by a Taoist sect, it will be better than your past life. It can be regarded as "coming ashore". Not only will you not be so dissatisfied, but you will also feel satisfied.
The overall logic of the Taoist sect is: the sons of aristocratic families are responsible for taking over, passing on from generation to generation, which is the upper structure. The poor children are responsible for working diligently, which is the lower structure.
The Taoist sect does not need the so-called middle level. Because there are still some upper-level family members who will fail in the competition and be eliminated, and they will occupy some middle-level positions. We should also leave a promotion channel for the poor children at the bottom, giving hope and some hope.
, they will work harder, and the promoted poor children will also occupy some middle-level positions.
As a result, there are not many middle-level positions left.
These people who are neither good nor bad are not as good as those from aristocratic families in terms of resources and family background. In terms of hard work and competition, they are not as good as the poor people below. So they are only full of complaints.
From this point of view, Qiniang is really a blessing to Qi Xuansu. She shamelessly came forward to find Donghua and Cihang, paving the way for Qi Xuansu, treating Qi Xuansu as her son, and making others think that Qi Xuansu is the adopted son of the Yao family.
This made the Taoist family regard Qi Xuansu as half of their own family and give them relatively equal treatment. No one would share his credit. Otherwise, no matter how much merit he made, Qi Xuansu would not be able to rise so quickly.
When Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu get married, they will really become a member of the Taoist family and have nothing to do with the children of the poor family. This cannot but be said to be sad and a reality.
That's why Qi Xuansu is so grateful to Qiniang and regards Qiniang as his own mother. As the old saying goes, the treatment of a biological son is nothing more than this. In comparison, Qiniang's deduction of a little money is simply insignificant. How many people want to kneel down
There is no such thing as giving away money.
Under this structure, the Fifth Generation Grand Master, as a descendant of a poor family, was able to break through the siege and directly reach the position of the Grand Master, and also ride on the heads of the three major aristocratic families. It is conceivable what kind of person this is.
Such a fierce man.
There are saints born in five hundred years, and the great masters of the Five Dynasties are the saints of Taoism.
Therefore, Qi Xuansu was ashamed of himself, and Zhang Yuelu respected him very much.
It is inevitable that the three major families will counterattack against the five-generation master.
As a result, there was a trend within Taoism to completely deny the Five Dynasties Grand Master, which made it impossible for many policies during the Five Dynasties Grand Master period to be continued normally, including supporting the pro-Taoist sects within Buddhism. This made the radical faction within Buddhism begin to rise.
If it hadn't been for the later "rebellion" of the Sixth Generation Grandmaster, the Third Master would have realized that defeating the Fifth Generation Grandmaster would greatly shake the foundation of the Taoist sect, so they had to pinch their noses and admit it, otherwise what would be the Taoist sect today?
There are several generations of great masters, so it’s hard to say.
However, it is too late. The radical climate within Buddhism has become difficult to suppress. Therefore, since the Sixth Generation of Great Masters, various actions have been taken by Buddhism. In addition to the secret association forces, wars in the Western Regions and Phoenix Wars have also broken out.
The Linzhou War. Although the Taoist sect in Fenglinzhou was dominated by the Tianmen, the Fenglinzhou Buddhist Sect was also involved. The two families had a close relationship with the practice of gods and Buddhas.
The autumn wind of the Western Regions swept through the desert and Gobi, passed over the snow-capped mountains and plateaus, and finally rolled up the fallen leaves and echoed in Nalanda Temple.
Nalanda.
This is the end point of "The Records of the Western Regions of Da Qi". It is also the place where thousands of monks come to pay homage. It houses tens of millions of Buddhist scriptures and is the true ancestral home of Buddhism.
A young monk with his bare chest walked into the hall.
There are thousands of golden lamps here, arranged in layers, spreading along the surrounding walls to the very high dome, but there is no light at the dome, only darkness.
There is a golden Buddha in the middle of the hall, with its golden body shining brightly under the bright lights.
Four old monks were sitting on the futon in front of the Buddha. Judging from their clothes, their status was quite high. The old monks all had their eyes lowered, looking drowsy.
The young monk bowed to the four old monks, delivered a letter to the leading old monk, and then stepped aside.
The leader of the old monk opened his eyes, read the letter in his hand, and said: "The time for the Taoist general election has been set, no later than next year's Shangyuan Festival."
Another old monk asked: "Who do we support?"
The leading old monk said: "We don't support any of us, because no matter who comes to power, the situation will not improve significantly. What we want is uncertainty. Only the uncertainty of the great leader will drain most of the energy of the Taoist sect."
It is involved internally, not externally. If the position is decided early, the Taoist sect's attention will be directed elsewhere."
"We must ensure that the Qingwei faction and the Donghua faction are evenly matched, and neither side has a clear advantage."
"The more balanced the two sides are, the better. The more balanced the situation, the more unwilling the losing party will be and the greater the possibility of not recognizing the election results. As long as one party does not recognize the election results, then only the last resort is left, that is,
Use force to solve problems."
"We need civil strife within the Taoist sect, and we need bloodshed among the three Taoists."
"Only when the Taoist sect is in chaos can we have a chance to take advantage of the situation."
"Now that Pei Xuanzhi clearly has the advantage, this is not allowed. We must support Li Wugou through external forces to ensure that both parties return to the same level."
"The Western Region is the territory of Quanzhen Taoism, and it is also where Pei Xuanzhi's greatest achievement lies. Fenglinzhou is where Li Wugou's greatest achievement lies."
"So, we must ensure that Fenglinzhou is not in chaos through Fenglinzhou Buddhism. At the same time, the Western Region must be in chaos. Only by going back and forth can we achieve balance."
"Try to restore and maintain the second update, but it is not recommended to wait."