My God, I am the emperor, the lord of mankind.

Chapter 209 Become a Buddha?

But at this time, the Liang State was still trapped in the terrifying whirlpool of internal strife between its predecessors and wealthy families in various parts of Southern Qi. Although Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan completed the feat of changing dynasties, the power of the wealthy families that threatened the imperial power of Southern Qi at all times was still deeply rooted.

He was extremely resistant to Emperor Wu of Liang's desire to plunder the wealth of the southern wealthy families so that he could strengthen his imperial power and regain the Central Plains.

When conventional methods were no longer effective, Emperor Wu of Liang tried to use religious sects to fight against the powerful forces of feudal princes and noble families in various places.

So he cooperated with Buddhist temples in various places to amass money in the name of rebuilding the golden body of Buddha, and he did not hesitate to sell himself to temples many times.

The construction of this Buddha head began when Emperor Wu of Liang sacrificed his life in Tongtai Temple for the second time and began to recruit skilled craftsmen from all over the world to start casting.

And in the first year of Taiqing - auspiciousness appeared repeatedly across the country.

The Buddha's head, which was supposed to take three years to complete, was suddenly completed overnight.

When the craftsmen woke up the next day and were about to continue construction, they saw this huge Buddha head statue placed in front of them in the workshop. The workmanship was so exquisite that the craftsmen in the workshop said that this could not be carved by ordinary people. of.

It must have been done by gods, so he presented it to Emperor Wu of Liang as an auspicious sign.

Xiao Yan was overjoyed to see the exquisite Buddha head and the auspiciousness in his body, so he cited the Lankavatara Sutra and ordered all the monks in the country not to eat meat and vegetables, but to eat vegetarian food. This tradition has been preserved to this day and has become a common link between Han Buddhism and foreign countries. A big difference.

This Buddha head was also the first to be placed in Dongtai Temple.

Later, Hou Jing, the surrendered general of the Northern Wei Dynasty, rebelled and the rebels captured Jinling. Emperor Wu of Liang starved to death in Taicheng.

Tong Thai Temple was also destroyed during the war.

Buddha statues collapsed, palaces were burned, monks died or fled, and the grand occasion was no longer the same as before.

But this Buddha head may have been blessed by God, and it survived the war unscathed.

Later, when Hou Jing's rebellion was suppressed and the monks from Wanfo Temple came to bury the monks' orphans, they found this Buddha head from the ruins that was not damaged at all in the war, except for some dust, but was still shining brightly.

If the monk found the treasure, he would move it back to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple and shape it into a golden body, which has been passed down to this day...

"A senior brother said that it is because of the blessing of this Buddha's head that our Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple is as glorious as it is today?"

The young novice leading the way said with a smile.

The speaker has no intention, the listener has intention.

The young man whose face could not be seen clearly seemed to be very interested when he heard this. He finally took a deep look at the eye-catching huge Buddha head placed directly opposite the mountain gate and asked.

"Why do you say that——"

The little novice monk said while giving directions.

"Have you ever heard of the song "Jiangnan Chun" by Du Mu in the Tang Dynasty——"

"480 Temple in the Southern Dynasties, how many towers are there in the mist and rain——"

Before Zhu Houcong could speak, he sang to himself, his brows full of longing for that era when Buddhism's status was infinitely high.

"Although our Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple had a long history at that time, it was just an ordinary temple among the 480 temples... We would have to wait until the Sui and Tang Dynasties to truly be glorious, but the foundation of our establishment was still at the same time we got this Buddha head. Chen Chao——"

Just as the young novice was talking vigorously, a cold voice came from behind.

"Idiot, you are just talking nonsense with Xiang Ke -"

Zhu Houcong followed the sound and went out.

I saw a strange monk appearing among the ancient temples.

The skin is like snow, there are no eyebrows, thin lips, and the eyebrows are filled with evil spirits.

Wearing a Baina robe and holding an old cane, he walked towards a few people.

"Who are you? How can you enter the inner courtyard without my permission..."

He glanced at Zhu Houcong and Wang Zuo. When he saw Wang Zuo, he was obviously a little surprised. It was obviously his energy and blood that shocked him.

"Uncle Yuan Hui, the Patriarch invited them here -" the novice monk said in a low voice.

Upon hearing that it was the most virtuous and respected monk in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, the monk in front of him, who was called Yuan Hui, relaxed and lost his previous vigilance.

Then he scolded the little novice monk.

"Since you are the guest of the Patriarch, how can you pick out some irrelevant stories and tell them nonsense——"

The little novice felt aggrieved and thought, I didn't make this up. Everyone has been saying this for decades.

But who is the uncle? He could only answer dejectedly.

"Yes--"

"The story is interesting. It's not made up out of thin air. It sounds good to entertain and relieve boredom. Why is this eminent monk so serious?"

After hearing the words of the young man in front of him, Monk Yuanhui returned his attention to Zhu Houcong. He didn't take it seriously at first, but the second glance made him break out in a cold sweat.

I froze in place, unable to return to my senses for a long time.

He realized that he had passed the Four Zen and Eight Concentrations, opened the door to wisdom, had a perfect spiritual consciousness, and had an amazing memory.

Not to mention a human face, even a maple leaf blown down by the autumn wind ten years ago, I can clearly remember the patterns on it.

But why can't I remember the face of the young man in front of me at all?
Obviously, he has been staring at the face of the person in front of him.

But the brain seems to be out of control. No matter how much I recall, I can never remember the face of the person in front of me.

Is this the legendary "great sound, sound, and elephant are invisible"?

What kind of skill and cultivation is this, unheard of, unheard of.

"Master Yuanhui? Master Yuanhui?"

It wasn't until the young man in front of him who couldn't see his face clearly kept asking questions that Yuan Hui woke up from a dream.

If it were not known that the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple was protected by formations, no evil spirit, no matter how powerful it was, would be able to enter without alerting the Patriarch.

Yuan Hui might really think that the Zhu Houcong in front of her was some kind of extremely terrifying demon in human form.

"What the layman said is absolutely true. I'm the one who caught the impression. Since it was the ancestor who invited me, I still have a mission to do, so I won't bother you--"

Fang Hui forced herself to calm down, put down these words, then raised her feet and left in a hurry.

Only the little novice monk who looked confused was left behind.

day!That's not what you said when you lectured me just now.

Your principles?Your persistence?Where are your commandments?
Just abide by the moody, rigid and strict settings you had in the temple in the past!

But seeing the man's back retreating so quickly, his steps hurried, as if fleeing, the little novice monk next to him was slightly startled for some reason, and laughed.

"He is also a wonderful person!"

After saying that, he turned around and said to the little novice monk.

"You continue to tell the story..."

This time Zhu Houcong and the young novice walked side by side, feeling the profound simplicity of the surrounding Buddhist temples, and said.

The young novice took a deep breath of the rich sandalwood scent produced by burning incense candles in the bamboo forest all year round, and spoke slowly.

"To talk about the rise of Wanfo Temple, we must also talk about Chen Baxian, Emperor Chen Wu who established the Chen Kingdom through the abdication of Xiao Fangzhi, the last emperor of the Southern Liang Dynasty, through his efforts to quell Hou Jing's rebellion..."

It is said that since getting the huge Buddha head, monks in Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple have often achieved enlightenment under the Buddha statue and become a Buddha in public.

Some even suddenly realized the truth while explaining the Nirvana Sutra with pilgrims. Their whole body turned into the color of colored glaze, their teeth turned into jade, their blood condensed into amber, their internal organs became five colors, and their skin became as clear and transparent as the finest colored glaze. Exudes faint Buddha light.

(End of this chapter)