National teacher help

Lu Zhongming smiled wearily and nodded slightly. When passing through the line, the officials gave way one after another to let him go behind Li Yuan.Lu Zhongming was full of vigor, took the winner's seat, and nodded to Falang and Ji Zang with a smile.

"It's been a long journey, it's been hard work." Lu Zhongming said politely.

The three monks saluted Lu Zhongming, Ji Zang said again: "There is a destiny, the national teacher."

"It's destined." Lu Zhongming said with a smile.

Li Yuan explained: "Master Ji Zang met me in the Central Plains back then, and went north just to find you."

Lu Zhongming smiled and nodded, wondering if there is such a thing?Farang laughed and said, "The national teacher came at the beginning of the year, and I wanted to invite him to Yangzhou to meet him."

"See you now, it's the same." Lu Zhongming said with a smile: "It's fate to meet you from thousands of miles away."

Lu Zhongming never mentioned the fight in Yangzhou, and Ji Zang acted as if nothing happened.Li Yuan walked in front, and Lu Zhongming and Li Shimin walked together.

"Why did Jingde come back?" Li Shimin looked worried, and said, "He came here, and my brother will see it later."

Oops, Lu Zhongming realized this problem only after being reminded, his heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at Yu Chigong, but Yu Chigong seemed to be fine, walking around in a big way, and chatting and laughing with Li Jing.

Li Shimin stretched out his finger again, and wiped away the saliva from the corner of Lu Zhongming's mouth. Lu Zhongming realized that he hadn't washed his face when he got up early in the morning, so he hurried over and wiped it with his sleeve.At that time, the main gate of Daxingshan Temple was opened wide, and the monks lined up on both sides, and three monks welcomed Li Yuan into Xingshan Temple.

Li Yuan just stood there with his arms folded and did not pay respects to the Buddha. Maitreya is enshrined in the main hall. Li Yuan asked, "This is..."

Farang explained: "Buddhism is divided into past Buddhas, present Buddhas and future Buddhas."

"The Buddha in the past is the ancient Buddha who burns the lamp." Xuanzang explained to Li Yuan: "The Buddha now is my Buddha Sakyamuni, and the Buddha in the future is the one in front of you, Maitreya, and the world also calls it Maitreya Bodhisattva. Saving sentient beings is the main thing.”

Li Yuan nodded slowly, glanced at Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, and signaled to be free, all the officials saw that Li Yuan did not worship, so they were reluctant to act, Xuanzang was holding the incense, and no one entrusted him, the scene was very embarrassing.Farang smiled knowingly: "It's okay, why not..."

Li Shimin stepped forward, smiled at Xuanzang, took the incense, and offered incense to the statue of Maitreya Buddha. Then everyone continued to walk towards the back of the hall, passed through the courtyard, and entered the Daxiong Hall. Master Vajra Wisdom, who had been silent for a long time, said here: "Your Majesty, The main hall is dedicated to the Western leader Amitabha, the Buddha Sakyamuni, and the Eastern Medicine Buddha."

"Shizun is also called 'Vairunakha Buddha', which means to illuminate the world." Xuanzang said politely: "The light shines all over the ten directions, and it is the Great Sun Tathagata."

Li Yuan nodded slowly, and Fa Lang introduced to Li Yuan: "The one next to the hall is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva."

Since Lu Zhongming came to the early Tang Dynasty, it was the first time he saw so many Buddha statues enshrined in the same hall. King Kong Zhi led everyone to see the three main Buddhas in the Daxiong Hall and the eighteen Arhats. Look down on the world with compassion.

Buddhism is indeed better than Taoism in this regard. Lu Zhongming recalled the Taoist temples he had seen in his life. The statues of the Sanqing all had a demeanor that did not eat the fireworks of the world.

Li Yuan asked about the origins of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas one by one, and Xuanzang answered them one by one calmly. Lu Zhongming knew that this trip to Daxingshan Temple during the Shangyuan Festival was probably to resolve the disaster of Buddhism and try to change Li Yuan's impression.This time, maybe Li Yuan's fundamental intention will not be shaken, but at least he can learn more about Buddhism.

When visiting the inner hall, Li Shimin offered incense one by one. Li Jiancheng observed his words and expressions and knew that with Lu Zhongming by his side, Li Yuan could not worship the Buddha in front of Lu Zhongming anyway. Moreover, Li Jiancheng was the crown prince. Taoism behind him.

When Lu Zhongming looked at the Buddhas, he accidentally met Fa Lang's eyes, and saw a gentle smile in Fa Lang's eyes.

"Does the national teacher want a stick of incense?" Ji Zang asked with a smile.

Lu Zhongming thought about it, and said with a smile: "I don't know Amitabha and Medicine Buddha, but Master Cihang, who used to be a senior in my Taoist sect, it's okay to put incense to pray for the king of Tang."

Jizang: "..."

"Come." Lu Zhongming said happily.

The monks didn't expect that Lu Zhongming would be here at this moment. He bluntly brought up the matter of the origin of Taoism and Buddhism. Laugh, no problem.

Lu Zhongming put three sticks of incense in front of Avalokitesvara, and said: "The old gentleman and Gautama Siddhartha became Buddhas, and they talked about the true meaning of the world under the two sala trees. I think the Buddha also has a relationship with my Taoism. Together by the way."

Diamond Wisdom: "..."

Ji Zang finally couldn't stand up anymore, coughed, and asked, "Who did you listen to, Mr. National Teacher?"

"I heard what Ran Deng said." Lu Zhongming said calmly: "Next time we meet, you can ask him personally."

Several people couldn't help laughing, King Kong Zhi said again: "National teacher, don't say that casually."

Lu Zhongming said: "The "Hua Hu Jing" written by the former Jin Tianshi Taoist priest to the wine king, this is one of the early Taoist scriptures, and the reasons are all there."

Lv Zhongming lit the incense, and several people knew that they would sing this song. Although they were worried that the three monks would argue about the national teacher, they also wanted to hear whether the two schools of Taoism and Buddhism could tell the right from wrong, so they didn't say anything. Broken, but looked at with a smile.Ji Zang said: "The national teacher's remarks are absurd. The teachings of Buddhism and Taoism are different, and the world is far apart. How can the old gentleman turn nonsense..."

After washing his hands in the copper basin, Lu Zhongming made a gesture of invitation with a smile, motioned to go out, and said, "Oh? If that's the case, then I will ask Master Ji Zang, what are the Buddhist teachings, and what are the Taoist teachings?"

This question seems to be non-aggressive, but in fact it accurately grasps the key points of several monks. There are many sects of Buddhism and theories are complicated. It is different from Taoism's theory of the unity of man and nature. When he was young, he learned very miscellaneous things. Later, he created the Consciousness-only School, and Vajra Wisdom was the Esoteric School.For this question alone, a few bodhisattvas had to figure out the outcome before they could answer Lu Zhongming.

However, Ji Zang seemed to have expected Lu Zhongming's treachery long ago, and while leading the way, he explained: "All phases are born from the heart, the true meaning of Buddhism, and all dharmas come to two conclusions. That's all, what does it have to do with your teaching?"

"That's it." Lu Zhongming said with a smile: "The true meaning of all phenomena in the world is called heaven, and the practice of karma and good karma is called human beings. In the final analysis, it is just the principle of the unity of heaven and man."

Everyone laughed, but it was not easy to laugh out of Frang's face, Fran didn't care, and said with a smile: "What the national teacher said is very true."

Xuanzang said: "The true meaning of Buddhism is divided into Dependent Origination, Dharma Seal, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Nirvana, Twelve Karmic Relationships, Karmic Retribution, Three Realms and Six Paths, 37 Paths, and Tantra. It is not a harmony between man and nature. It can be summed up in four words."

Li Shimin had a good impression of Xuanzang, nodded and said, "I would like to hear more about it."

"Buddhist Buddha once said: This is because that is, this is born so that is born, this is not because that is not, this is gone, so that is gone." Xuanzang said seriously: "The evolution of all things is caused by causes and conditions at the beginning. See the Dharma. All of you here, including His Majesty, the two Highnesses, and the National Teacher, all came to Daxingshan Temple by chance."

Ji Zang said with a smile: "The national teacher came here at this moment, and what needs to be corrected here is not the result of cause and condition?"

Lu Zhongming smiled and said: "Since there are results and conditions, the mages may wish to talk about what kind of impact it will have in the future when so many of us gather together, and what will happen in a few years?!"

Jizang: "..."

Lu Zhongming smiled cunningly, and replied: "Since everything in the world can be deduced from cause and effect, presumably the present cause is doomed to the future result. A few mages, how about the fate of my Tang Dynasty?"

Farang: "..."

Diamond Wisdom: "..."

Seeing King Kong Zhi's appearance, he almost couldn't bear the excitement, but he couldn't say to Li Jiancheng that you are dead and your brother is superior. It’s not impossible to change. The law of destiny is just a little kindness that everyone needs to abide by. The more kindness you plant, the wider the blessing and fate will be, and it’s for blessing.”

Several people talked as they walked, and when they walked outside, Lu Zhongming said again: "Then I would like to ask the three masters, what is the accumulation of goodness?"

"It's for one's own happiness." Jizang said, "Doing good and evil is all in one's mind."

Lu Zhongming shook his fingers slightly, and said with a smile: "No, no, doing good is not for anything, but for the comfort of your own heart."

Speaking of Lu Zhongming walking up to the high platform, the people outside Daxingshan Temple immediately gathered around, Ji Zang, Falang and Jingangzhi looked at each other and smiled, Lu Zhongming flicked casually, and a golden light shot out, flying towards the huge bronze bell in front of Daxingshan Temple.

"when--"

The voice was loud, and Li Yuan and others knew that today was the debate of Taoism and Buddhism, but they didn't talk about it starting in such a way. The three monks wore cassocks and slowly stepped onto the stage. It is the trend of nature, conforming to nature, doing nothing and doing everything, it is the nature of human beings."

"That is to say." Ji Zang was the first to stand up and said: "There is no need to regulate it, and there is no need to persuade people to be good?"

Lu Zhongming said with a smile: "Whether it is doing good or evil, as long as you follow your nature and discern your heart, you can do it yourself. That is to say..."

Said Bi Lu Zhongming explained to everyone in the audience: "If you want to do evil, do evil, if you want to do good, do good, as long as you feel worthy of yourself."

As soon as this remark came out, everyone in the audience was in an uproar, and even Li Yuan couldn't help but frowned slightly. Lu Zhongming separated the scene between good and evil, and Jizang laughed and said: "The national teacher's words are absurd. If all living beings do evil, the day of the world's downfall is just around the corner. , if benevolence and righteousness are not respected, how can the people suffer?"

Lu Zhongming smiled and said: "Wait a minute, Master Ji Zang, I am only talking about following the nature, not doing evil for all beings, don't change the concept secretly."

Several people couldn't laugh or cry, and the whole place was silent. Under the noon sun, there were more and more people. From Daxingshan Temple to Chang'an Street, they were all full of people. Even the fence had a lot of people, looking around curiously. Taoist and Buddhist two ways of mantra work, no matter how far away you can hear them clearly.

"Yin and yang live side by side, and ordinary people live in the midst of life, so they fear death." Lu Zhongming also said: "The growth of all things is called yang. Human nature is like the nature of mountains, rivers and trees. Since it is in life, it is Yixi Yang. Let me ask you a question, why do you feel happy when you see beautiful things, and repel you when you see ugly things?"

"This is human nature." Lu Zhongming smiled slightly, pinched his fingers, and immediately the petals fell all over the sky, and then another flower appeared in his hand like a magic trick.

Lu Zhongming was wearing a bright yellow Taoist robe, with flowers blooming between his fingers, the national teacher preached, and the sky was full of hype. He really did enough ostentation and limelight. For a while, the people laughed. Hearing this, they couldn't help applauding.

"The nature of the human heart is goodness and light." Lu Zhongming said: "Treat people with harmony, kindness and generosity, which is the way. The old gentleman said, 'When the way is abolished, there is benevolence and righteousness', it is precisely because of this."

Xuanzang can't juggle, not as many tricks as Lu Zhongming, but after thinking about it, he said: "Then, I would like to ask the national teacher, after relying on the original nature, how can the suffering of all living beings be eliminated?"

Lu Zhongming groaned silently, Ji Zang glanced at everyone in the audience, then at Li Yuan, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, the sufferings of life are inherent in birth, old age, sickness, death, resentment and hatred, love and separation, and what you can't ask for." , The five aggregates are abundant, it is the eight sufferings.”

Li Yuan nodded and said: "I would like to ask all the masters, how to resolve the eight sufferings?"

Xuanzang said earnestly: "The suffering in the world comes from knowledge, impermanence and no self. What we are talking about is a false self, but a skinny experience. Practicing in prayer is precisely to make this false self disappear with the wind. , no longer bound by the skin.”

"Afflictions are all Bodhi sons." Ji Zang said with a smile: "Afflictions prompt a person to get rid of afflictions, so that he can practice and seek the Buddha, so that people can get rid of afflictions. When afflictions leave the body, all disasters will be turned into dust."

Li Yuan looked at Lu Zhongming, Lu Zhongming smiled slightly, and said to the people below: "It is an innate part to recognize and perceive suffering. If you are not sick, how can you know the value of health? If you are not separated by love, how can you look good? The blessing of staying together? Just because we know that we will die one day, we know the value of life. Therefore, existence and non-existence, difficulty and difficulty, long and short, high and low, are considered to be eternal."

"There is no need to abandon suffering. Cultivating the Tao does not allow you to finally abandon suffering. It is because everything has a beginning and an end, and life and death go hand in hand, and life is endless. Everything has meaning." Lu Zhongming said sincerely: "No one will suffer forever, and no one can live forever. Everything is going well, always accompanied by each other, so that we understand the truth that blessings and misfortunes depend on them, and misfortunes and blessings depend on them."

Jizang said: "Then ask the national teacher. The previous national teacher said that human nature is oriented toward goodness and beauty, but here he also said that one should suffer and suffer. Why?"

Lu Zhongming calmly replied: "At the beginning of a person, it was like being in the long desert night. I practiced all my life just to germinate from suffering and find light. Where there is light, there is shadow. Just like you hold a lamp to illuminate the night, no matter what Wherever the lamp is placed, there will always be a dark shadow. This is the suffering and the darkness of the human heart. The cycle of yin and yang is endless. Peel it off and achieve the state of desirelessness?"

"Practice." Lu Zhongming said: "It's human practice. Greed, anger, love, ignorance, joy, anger, sorrow, and joy are all innate natures. If any point is abandoned, is a person still a person? To practice Buddhism, one must become a monk. To become a monk You have to let go of the world of mortals, you can't get married, you can't get married, and you abstain from lust and nature, what's the point?"

Ji Zang: "The words of the national teacher are obviously contradictory. Don't Taoists also say that they are pure-hearted and ascetic?"

Lu Zhongming said with a smile: "Purity of heart and few desires means conforming to nature. Laozi said that non-dispute is the meaning of contention with all things and returning to heaven and earth. It does not mean that people will be cut off from their children and grandchildren."

Jizang: "..."

Lu Zhongming said to Li Yuan again: "Imagine that if everyone became a monk and practiced Buddhism, after a few hundred years, there would be no people in the world, and all living beings would become Buddhas. It would be interesting to leave the empty land of the Central Plains."

Immediately, this remark made people laugh, Ji Zang frowned slightly, looked left and right, and made a gesture towards Fa Lang, gesturing for him to go up, and Fa Lang laughed, as if he thought Lu Zhongming was very interesting.

"National teacher's advice." Farang said with a gentle smile, "But to practice Buddhism, you don't have to become a monk."

Lu Zhongming smiled slightly, knowing that the real master had finally appeared. Don't worry about Xuanzang's failure to become a Buddha.

"I would like to listen with all my ears." Lu Zhongming said politely.

Falang said again: "Cultivating Buddhism is because all living beings have Buddha nature. According to the words of the national teacher, it can also be regarded as the 'Tao', which will always exist in everyone's heart."

"To pray to the Buddha, you don't have to become a monk, but follow your own wishes." Falang said to everyone: "If you practice on the surface, if you seek liberation and longevity, Buddhism will not pass you by. Only by making your own great vows, Through the process of practice, making this wish towards Dzogchen is the merit.”

"For example, when you pay homage to Puxian Bodhisattva, everyone in the world will be blessed by Puxian, and you will get twice the result with half the effort. In fact, Puxian Bodhisattva will not make your wish come true just because you come to offer three sticks of incense." Farang said with a smile: " Practicing Buddhism and studying Buddhism is not something that can be achieved immediately.”

Several people laughed again, Lu Zhongming smiled and looked at Falang quietly.

Fran held the flower in his left hand, and picked up a petal with the fingers of his right hand, and the petal flew away with the wind.

"Worshiping Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Avalokitesvara... and even visiting Buddha." Farang said: "They are all proofs that people are dedicated to Buddha. If you need wisdom, you will move towards the Buddha-nature in your heart. You need the courage to know and do. So I came to pay homage to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, who is in charge of principles and actions, to strengthen the desire in my heart, and through this process, make myself think carefully, clear the fog of the world, and finally take the step you want to take."

"When I was in Yangzhou, many literati candidates came to look for me." Falang said kindly: "Ask me, 'Master, worshiping Manjushri, can I get a high school in the imperial examination?'"

Hearing what Farang said was interesting, the audience burst into laughter.

Farang said: "Does the national teacher think it can?"

"No." Lu Zhongming said: "Even if you pay homage to Wenqu stars, you can't make people go to high school, not to mention that there are so many candidates in the world, and there is only one gold list. Everyone comes to worship, who will be the number one?"

The audience roared with laughter, and Li Shimin also laughed so hard that he shook his head helplessly.

Farang said gently: "Exactly. My answer is that since you come to offer incense to Manjushri Bodhisattva, it proves that you have discerned your original mind. You want to be more intelligent, you want to pass the exam, and you want to study. Reading, the heart is opened, and the wisdom is opened."

"As parents, come to worship Manjusri." Farang said again: "May your children's spiritual wisdom be enlightened. I also say the same thing. After worshiping Buddha and offering incense, go back and enlighten your children. With the power of vows in your heart, the Buddha nature will always follow you."

"The twelve Bodhisattvas each hold one thing, that's all." Falang said again: "Even if the Jizo Bodhisattva of Jiuhua Mountain has great power of vows in his life, after making a vow to the Bodhisattva of the Bodhisattva, he will actively act and prove his original heart. .”

"You are suffering in the world because you are looking for great compassion and peace of mind, meditate quietly in front of him, soothe the pain in your heart, and smile at adversity." Farang said with a smile: "In the final analysis, Buddha nature is your original heart. Everyone has a Buddha in their hearts, so the national teacher... don't need to ask what is the use of worshiping Buddha and cultivating Buddha. Buddha is just a guide. Birth, old age, sickness and death."

Lu Zhongming was speechless for a while, and Fa Lang went to the court again, and the audience said gently: "As for the pain and darkness in people's hearts, they can be dispelled in practice. The body is a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror stand. Always wipe it away. Let there be no dust."

"Taoism says that both yin and yang are transformed from 'one', but for Buddhism, 'I' is this 'one'."

Speaking of Farang's palms on his chest, the surroundings gradually darkened, and everyone was moved in an instant, and there were many discussions.

"Where there is light, there must be shadow. Since ancient times, light and shadow are born together, just like life and death go hand in hand."

Fran's voice echoed in the darkening sky.

"However, it is not difficult to dispel the darkness without leaving any shadows."

Speaking of Falang's body outline gradually became blurred, and finally turned into a spirit body. The person next to him looked like an illusory outline of a human being, but Lu Zhongming could see it clearly—holding a wisdom sword, driving a lion, and pedaling. Seven Treasures Golden Lotus.

"Light a heart lamp to illuminate the world with yourself, so as to dispel the long night and the darkness."

"Where there is wisdom, there is no chaos."

As the voice fell, a soft light appeared within Falang's body, shining in all directions to the west. For a while, the people of Chang'an shouted in amazement and worshiped on the spot.

All the abnormalities disappeared in an instant, and Falang folded his hands towards Lu Zhongming and stepped back.

Lu Zhongming chuckled, knowing that if he continued, he would be irrational, so he had to keep silent. After a moment of silence, Li Yuan said again: "I heard that there is a saying of 'reincarnation' in Buddhism, but I have never asked you masters. After death, what is the way back? For the rest of my life, where will I devote myself?"

This is obviously what everyone cares about the most. Having said so much, from the emperor to the common people, no one is not afraid of death, and no one does not want to know what will happen after death.King Kong Zhiwei pondered for a while, and replied: "Your Majesty, this is the 'Six Paths of Reincarnation' that I, the Buddha, told the world."

"The six realms are the way of heaven, the way of the human world, the way of Asura, the way of animals, and the way of hell. They are also divided into three realms, namely the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of formlessness. It is called the 'three realms and six realms'." Holding a Buddhist bead, King Kong Zhi explained. : "With good and evil karma as the cause, if you do good in this life, it will be attributed to good karma, and if you have done evil in this life, it will be attributed to evil karma."

"If you accumulate good deeds in this life, you will enjoy blessings in the next life. If you accumulate good deeds, you will enter the heavenly realm." Vajra Wisdom said: "If you do too much evil, you will fall into the hell realm."

Lu Zhongming saw that Li Yuan seemed to understand but didn't understand, so he took the initiative to explain to King Kong Zhi: "What he means is that doing good deeds is like saving money. If you save a lot, you can spend it in good places. After spending it, you can only be a beggar. Keep saving money in your next life.”

There was a burst of laughter all around.

"You..." King Kong Zhi became angry immediately, and looked at Lu Zhongming.

Lu Zhongming looked at Manjusri and Puxian because of the past face of the two religions, but he didn't know Vajra Wisdom. It's okay if Li Yuan didn't ask, but when he asked about the six reincarnations, it was all loopholes, and Lu Zhongming was too embarrassed to refute it.

"Speaking of this." Yu Chigong walked up to the high platform, and said solemnly: "Someone also has something that I never understood, and I want to ask Master Vajra Wisdom."

"Say." King Kong Zhi said coldly.