In the long history, in the alternating history of the rise and fall of Buddhism, and at the critical moment of Buddhism's life and death, the two people who have to be said are Master Jiexian and Master Xuanzang. They are the last light of the Dharma in the birthplace of Buddhism, before it is about to fade away, and the relationship between master and disciple is not only worth remembering, but also worth remembering in the Buddhist community. Because they did their best to introduce Buddhism to the Tang Dynasty, to China, and then to Japan, to South Korea and North Korea at this most critical juncture. In turn, it will affect the values and patterns of East Asia as a whole. History cannot be assumed, if it were not for them, I really dare not imagine what this Buddhism would be like in the Tang Dynasty in China......

Of course, Wang Xuance, the political envoy, should also be remembered by history. After calculating, they are only halfway through the journey of this mission, and what will happen next, follow the itinerary they have agreed and continue to go down......

According to this original plan, after bidding farewell to this Liroja and Vidina, they went through the mountains and rivers along the way, stopping and stopping, and after two months, they arrived in this country in the northwestern part of North India---- the country of Uchang.

Because of its location in the north, the climate of this Wuchang country is naturally similar to the environment of Datang, and it also shows obvious four distinct seasons. After calculating the time when they arrived in Wuchang this time, it was March of the third year of Xianqing of the Tang Dynasty (678 AD). Of course, at this time, the climate here is still like the Tang Dynasty, with willows and willows, birds and flowers, and a full of spring.

"When I was with Master Xuanzang, I often heard him tell the history of the rise and fall of Buddhism, this Wuchang country used to be a big country of Buddhism, with more than 1,400 Buddhist temples and more than 18,000 monks, but unfortunately, when Master Xuanzang arrived, it was already depressed, not only the temple was deserted, but the monks were reduced a lot, and I don't know what it would be like if we came this time?" Wang Xuance said to them with a little worry......

"Big brother, Buddhism in this Wuchang country, I feel that the general situation is similar to what we saw in these five India this time, or worse. 5. Buddhism in other countries of India used to flourish, but now it is withering, which is only a shadow of a decade or two, and the difference is really big enough. As Master Xuanzang said, at that time, he saw that it was already barren, not to mention what we see now. Chen Maocai also said with his words.

"Yes, no matter what, after all, it was once a sacred place of the Buddha, and it should be worth taking a good look at...... It's just a trip to the mountains and rivers. Zhou Zeng still said so presumptuously.

Since they entered this Wuchang country, they have found that as Master Xuanzang said in "The Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty": a radius of more than 5,000 miles, mountains and valleys are connected, rivers and lakes are connected, and although crops are also grown, the land is not as fertile as those countries on the banks of the Xujia River; However, it is rich in grapes. When they came, although they could not see ripe grapes, this orchard and many hard-working people showed the difference of this country......

Along with the vineyards and lush trees, there are many tulips dotted with them, and the breeze blows gently and makes people feel refreshed. With the beautiful environment, the group walked forward. I saw this Chen Maocai constantly looking at the Tang Dynasty Western Regions on horseback.

Suddenly, I saw him say loudly: "Ah, this country is so strange. This sentence immediately aroused everyone's curiosity.

"Tell me, what's strange" Zhou Zeng twisted his neck and asked casually.

"Look at it, Master Xuanzang, in this section of the Wuchang Kingdom, why do you evaluate the people here like this: the people are cowardly by nature, the world advocates deceit, and they are eager to learn and not study hard, although some people study Buddhism, but they take mantras as their business, although they love the scriptures very much, but they do not pay attention to righteousness, although they abide by the precepts, they are clean and dust-free, but they are particularly good at chanting mantras." Chen Maocai said to them in deep surprise.

This narration made Wang Xuance also very strange, looking at the people working in the fields, they didn't look like this cowardly person, but after thinking about it, he said: "From this discourse, it seems that I can read some things more or less, I feel that what Master Xuanzang said is reasonable, but I haven't made it clear for the time being." ”

"Big brother, tell me, what does this mean" Zhou Zeng said casually......

"Regardless of the religion, the fundamental purpose of its origin is to teach people to be good. In these five Indian lands, this is true of Buddhism, and so is Brahmanism; In our land of China, Confucianism is like this, and Taoism is also like this. Fundamentally, this is just a kind of faith, a kind of sustenance. This kind of belief and sustenance is not only a kind of spiritual comfort for people, but also a kind of relief to maintain the order of existence. In our Tang Dynasty, there are also many people who do not learn and do not know, and those who are not skilled every day also pursue this superficial article, but do not understand the true meaning of Confucianism; There are also many people who wear the cloak of Taoism, under the guise of gods, and abduct and deceive the people every day, but they don't know the essence of this quiet and inaction. Coupled with the understanding and cognition of Brahmanism over the years, needless to say, you should also feel that it is also constantly changing and developing. From the very beginning of our entry into these five Indias, we suddenly felt that this Brahmanism is quite a cruel religion, but after some understanding, we knew that this was not the case, it was just because this Aronashun and Almita went astray and let them go astray. According to Master Xuanzang's statement, although the people of this Wuchang country believe in Buddhism, they are good at this mantra recitation. Therefore, my first impression is that the people here must have gone astray and deviated from this path of learning Buddhism, and because they did not understand the doctrine, they had strayed into the evil path...... Wang Xuance calmly analyzed them.

In fact, his words not only spoke his own heart, but also the voice of everyone. Whatever religion it is, it's just a belief. Of course, we must uphold this kind of belief, treat it seriously, treat it rigorously, and never go astray and go down the wrong path. If you do this, you are not only irresponsible to yourself, but also irresponsible to society, to the country, and to the people around you......

Sure enough, although the people here are all working hard in this field, when walking between the market towns and shuttling through the crowded tribal villages, they do find many monks who draw talismans and recite mantras as a profession.

I saw it in this small town. A monk in his forties, although he looks delicate, kind and kind. But there is such a stall on both sides of this street, and this stall is exactly the same as the fortune telling on the streets of the Tang Dynasty. Of course, in order to solicit business, a flag festival with talismans and mantras is very conspicuous, and many people around him are eagerly looking forward to the auspiciousness and magic he bestows...... And this is not just an isolated case, but a universal phenomenon......

The editor said: Wuchang country, a large Buddhist country in North India, unfortunately has withered for a long time......

(End of chapter)