Chapter 10 Buddhism is fateful

The meditation hall of Jietai Temple is brightly lit tonight, and the monks of all sizes in the temple rush to this meditation hall one after another after eating their evening fasts, as if the temple is going to hold some kind of congress, which makes everyone panic. www.biquge.info In fact, there is no meeting to be held tonight, but because a woman came to the temple today.

Ziyun is still a fifteen-year-old girl, although she is a daughter, she is never afraid to meet the living, and since these monks want to inquire about their own stories, then tell them about it.

Although Ziyun is a hard-working child, she has never felt inferior, she was lost with her mother back then, and she was not sold by her parents, what is there to be inferior? Besides, she has already made up her mind that when she has saved enough in the future, she must go to Luoyang to find her parents, but unfortunately she has not saved enough money now, otherwise she will not be deceived by the money clerk.

"Thank you for taking me in, my name is Ziyun, I was originally from Luoyang, but because I was lost with my mother when I was four years old, I was brought to this Yangzhou territory by a trafficker, and then the trafficker sold me to a song house in Changle Fang, the owner of the song house, that is, my second mother, she paid to buy me and let me be a maid in the song building, just like that, I have lived in Jiangdu County for eleven years......"

Ziyun is a strong girl, but when she talks about her experience, she still reveals a little sadness and helplessness. In fact, in her heart, she really didn't want to talk too much about her life experience to others, because after all, the gefang is a place of dust and willows, a place for men to find fun, no matter how high a woman's status is in the Tang Dynasty, but being adopted by a courtesan is not a glorious thing after all.

Fortunately, these listeners in front of them are all monks who have lived in the mountains for a long time, although they can't say that they are high-ranking monks, but after all, they are also cultivators, and they are full of sighs and sympathies for the various encounters that Ziyun said, as for what Changle Fang she came from, few people know what place it is.

"Changle Fang? Where's Changle Fang? ”

Master Huiming heard Ziyun say that he lived in Changle Fang, so he asked her, because after all, this girl was not from this temple, and staying in the temple was not a long-term solution. Since she has lived in Yangzhou for more than ten years, she must have her own residence, or some relatives and friends, if this girl does not agree to her marriage, her relatives and friends will naturally make decisions for her, so that she will not cause any trouble to the temple.

"Changle Fang is in the west of Jiangdu County, not far from the West Gate......" Ziyun heard them ask where he lived, presumably because he was unwilling to take him in, and after inquiring clearly, he would send him back to the city.

Master Huifa, who happened to be sitting next to him, knew the location of Changle Fang, he used to hang around in the city, secretly drinking wine and eating meat, and when he heard Ziyun's introduction, he hurriedly came over to echo:

"Oh, not far from Simon? Is it on the south side of Yongye Fang, only one street away from Yongye Fang? ”

"Well, there it is!" Ziyun nodded.

"Second uncle, have you been there?" Zhiqing saw that his uncle was so familiar with it, so he hurriedly came to tease him.

"Go, go, don't talk nonsense, how could I go to that kind of place! Just because Cao County Ling lives in Yongye Fang, I went to Cao County Ling's house to do Dharma and passed by there! "Master Hui Fa is busy arguing.

"What's wrong with that place? Why can't you go? The little monk next to him also came to ask him.

"You stupid boy, you don't understand, it's a place for men to have fun, and monks can't go! There are more than a dozen Gelou brothels on the whole street of Changle Fang, which is the most prosperous place in Jiangdu County. ”

"Uncle Shi, you said it in such detail, you must have been there, it turns out that you are a flower monk!" The smart little monk shouted on the side.

"Little brat, you know what, don't talk nonsense! Before your uncle and I became monks, we also became relatives, and I only came to this temple to take refuge because of a lawsuit, and it has been more than ten years since I got rid of it, and I don't have that mind for a long time, but you boys, if you become a monk for the rest of your life, it will be a big loss......"

"Hey, Huifa, what are you talking about! Don't talk nonsense and mess with their Buddha nature! Zen Master Huiming hurriedly drank beside him again.

Ziyun listened to the conversation between their master and apprentice, and frowned and wondered: "What kind of monks are these, why are they not in shape at all?" Where is there a monk? In fact, she just doesn't understand the current situation of the Jietai Temple.

Jietai Temple has been operating bleakly in recent years, and the monks recruited in the mountains are also halfway to the "two knives", there are few who really want to be monks, good men, if there is no special reason, who will be willing to shave their hair to eat fasting and chanting Buddha?

However, the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty with the largest proportion of monks in the population, according to the statistics of later generations, at the peak of the development of Buddhism, the number of monks and nuns in the Tang Dynasty reached as many as 2 million, and the population at that time was only more than 60 million, with an average of one monk in every 30 people.

The status of monks in the Tang Dynasty was much higher than that of ordinary people, as long as there was a degree, they were not only exempted from taxes and servitude, but also not subject to legal constraints, and at the same time, the government had a special agency to manage the major monasteries, and the corresponding financial subsidies would be allocated every year, which was very similar to many public institutions today.

Because of this, many people are willing to shave their hair and become monks, even men with families and rooms, some of them spend some money to donate a place in the government to buy a degree. Coupled with the Tang Dynasty government's strong promotion of Buddhism, major monasteries expanded their estates, recruited slaves, and vigorously expanded their power.

Objectively speaking, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty is inseparable from the education of Buddhism to the people, and the development of Buddhism is also inseparable from the support of this dynasty. When Wu Zetian was in power, he worshipped Master Shenxiu of Beizong as the national teacher, consulted him on the strategy of governing the country, and named Xue Huaiyi, the host of the White Horse Temple, as the general of the left, and let him lead the imperial army. It can be seen that the status of monks has reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty.

Although the ideas of Buddhism are not acceptable to everyone, after all, it has brought faith to this people, and people can be content with poverty and contentment in the midst of hard work, believing that if they accumulate virtue and do good deeds in life, they will be free from suffering in the next life. When everyone yearns for peace and opposes slaughter, the arrival of a prosperous era is also a historical inevitability.

However, at a time when the major temples in the country were thriving, the Jietai Ancient Temple, as the predecessor of the temple, was dragging its peers back. Maybe it's the remoteness, maybe it's the poor management, in short, no one cares.

……

"Miss Ziyun, you said that you live in Changle Fang, why did you marry Master Qian from Liujia Village? Who is the Lord for you? Master Hui Ming continued to inquire.

Ziyun was still a little reluctant to see them ask about this, but since he wanted to take refuge here, he had to explain it to them.

"Since Ziyun was sold to Yangzhou, she has been following Wu Erniang of 'Qinchun Building', and she raised me. At first, she asked me to be a maid for the dancers in the song house, and when I was ten years old, she taught me singing and dancing instruments, and wanted me to be a singer in the store, I didn't plan to stay in Yangzhou, I had to go back to my hometown to find my parents, so I didn't want to perform songs and dances for those guests.

My second mother saw that I only ate idle food all day and didn't work, so she forced me to dance for those men, I didn't want to live or die, she planned to marry me off, who knew that the old man from Liujia Village saw me in our shop, so he ......"

Ziyun lowered her head again as she spoke, her eyes flashed with a hint of grievance, and her voice choked, after all, she was still a child, and she had experienced so much suffering at a young age, how could she not make people feel distressed.

When Zhiqing heard this, he had already complained for this sister in his heart, but he didn't expect that there are people in the world who are as miserable as himself, all of whom are children who are not loved by their parents.

Zen Master Huiming listened to Ziyun's words, and also sighed again and again: "Alas, what a poor child! Well, since the girl is in trouble and meets my apprentice on the way to escape, it means that you have a relationship with my Buddhism, and since you have a relationship with my Buddhism......"

"Master, you won't take her as an apprentice too, will you?" Zhiqing hurriedly asked beside him.

The reason why Zhiqing asked this is because this Huiming Zen Master has a habit, every time before accepting disciples, he will say "You have a relationship with my Buddhism", and when I heard him say this today, I immediately came to the conditioned reflex.

"What? I don't want to be a monk! I don't want to be a monk! Ziyun listened to Zhiqing's words, and his heart was also anxious, how can there be such a rule, if you take refuge here, you have to shave your head and become a monk?

This Huifa Master also coaxed beside him: "Girl, don't be afraid! We won't let you be a monk, if you do, let you be a nun! Ha ha! ”

"I don't want to be a nun, I'm not a nun, I don't want to cut my hair!"

When all the masters saw that this little girl was interesting, they all laughed, and Zen Master Huiming reprimanded Zhiqing:

"Who said I was going to take her as an apprentice! I see that this girl is innocent by nature, there is an aura between her eyebrows, she must also be a child of a rich family, but she is only temporarily in trouble, and she came to our temple with Zhiqing, isn't it fate with our temple?

Since there is fate, how can we ignore it, plus she still has some pain on her feet, I'm afraid she won't be able to go down the mountain for a while, so it's better to let her stay in our monastery, and after the injury is healed, it's not too late to go down the mountain! Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think? ”

"Agreed!" The great monks agreed in unison.