The eighth day of the first month is the family banquet of the elders and children of the five surnamed families, early in the morning, all the clansmen have arrived, the male guests have seen Zhuo Taijun in the backyard of the Houfu, after saluting, they went to the front yard hall to sit down and eat the banquet, leaving only Wu Yong and Zhu Zi two teenagers.

Zhuo Taijun is on today's birthday, and he is happy to see that all the clansmen are here, and he sees that there are no distant relatives today, all of them are the sons and nephews of his own clan, and they are often dressed up in plain clothes and are courteous.

Among them, there is a single couch, with a pillow backrest and foot pedals, and he is crooked on the couch. Before and after the couch, there are small stools of one color, surrounded by hairpin phoenix, chuan phoenix, jade phoenix, treasure phoenix, Ren Hui and so on.

The male guests left, and the female guests were also treated by the Deng family and the Zhuo family in the backyard living room, leaving only a group of juniors to talk in front of them.

Zhuo Taijun leaned on the couch and asked about the interesting things at the birthday banquet on these two days. Ren Hui and Zhu Zi are the youngest, and they are talking the whole time, and the others make up a few words from time to time.

The lively scene between the two mansions is indeed relishable, but the topic is always inseparable from Wu Yong, not only the male guests are talking about Wu Yong, but even the female guests are also talking about Wu Yong.

Zhuo Taijun listened, and pointed at Wu Yong with a smile: "I just mentioned it casually that day, I didn't expect you to have such a big face and invite so many guests." Wu Yong also smiled: "It's all in the face of the five surnamed families and grandmothers, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people, the kid just happened to be there." Before he could say anything, he heard a maid running in from the back door and shouting: "Mrs. Tai, it's not good, a group of monks are bullying the door!" When everyone heard this, they were taken aback, and Zhuo Taijun sat up and hurriedly asked what was going on.

The maidservant couldn't say why, so anxious that everyone pinched a cold sweat for her. At this moment, Deng pushed the door in, and when she heard everyone's inquiry, she glared at the servant girl angrily,

"At a young age, my legs and feet are quite neat, but my ears are not good, people are celebrating my birthday, and when it comes to your mouth, it is a bully, fortunately I came, otherwise there would be a misunderstanding." After speaking, she smiled and said to Zhuo Taijun: "It is a visitor from the Western Regions of Luoyang White Horse Temple, among which there are two eminent monks, just to congratulate my aunt on her birthday, and they also brought gifts." Zhuo Taijun thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Since it is a distinguished guest from afar, you go and invite people to the backyard." As she spoke, she commanded to the left and right, "Come, follow me to change your clothes." Although the Buddha nowadays is generally considered by the world to be a god outside the state and should not be worshipped by Zhuhua, many people still admire the spirit of those eminent monks who come thousands of miles to preach in Han land.

Zhuo Taijun is one of them, although she does not believe in Buddhism, she respects the monks and often goes to the White Horse Temple to give some money.

After a while, Zhu Yuan led the four of them to the backyard hospitality. Wu Yong followed a group of sisters who were particularly curious, and looked out from the inside, three of the four were foreigners with wide foreheads and blue eyes, two of them were elderly monks, one was a young man wrapped in a turban, and the most surprising thing for Wu Yong was that the last visitor was a Han monk.

This is the first time he has seen a Han monk since he was reborn in this era. Zhu Yuan invited the four of them to sit down, and ordered the maidservant to serve tea, and then asked with a smile: "I don't know how to call a few distinguished guests?" The Han monk was the first to speak: "The little monk is strict with the Buddha, and he is from Linhuai Kaocheng." So saying, he introduced the other three,

"This is An Xuan, a merchant of rest, and these two are holy monks, they are An Shigao of the country of rest, and Zhilou Jiayu of the country of Yueshi." Everyone saluted each other, Zhu Yuan accompanied them to talk, and Zhuo Taijun was late.

Zhu Yuan made another introduction, and then Yan Buddha handed over the gift, and opened it on the spot, saying: "I heard that Zhuo Taijun was on his birthday, and the abbot specially asked me to offer this gift and show respect." The four of them prepared a one-foot-tall jade Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue holds a sutra book in his left hand and a Buddhist bead in his right hand, and the scriptures and Buddhist beads are also made of jade. Chunxiang took it and asked Zhuo Taijun to take a look.

Zhuo Taijun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Put it away, since it is a gift from a great monk, you should not be taken lightly, when you burn incense and clean your hands, it is better to treasure it in the high pavilion." Seeing this, An Shigao folded his hands and said: "Amitabha, it's just a mundane thing, laymen don't have to take it so seriously, rather than treasure it in the high pavilion, it is better to put it in front of it and appreciate it with everyone." Zhi Lou Jiayu also folded his hands and said: "Lay people often go to the White Horse Temple to give alms, and they are also related to my Buddha. This jade Buddha has the effect of calming the mind and concentrating the mind, and the layman can place him in a resting place and observe it often. ”

"What the monk said is very true!" Zhuo Taijun was as good as a stream, and then instructed Chunxiang to place the Jade Buddha on the desk in the inner room.

At this time, Yan Buddha said again: "Today, I will wait for the arrival, and there is one more thing, please ask Zhuo Taijun to agree." Zhuo Taijun was stunned for a moment, and asked with some doubts: "What's the matter?" Yan Buddha said: "I want to see the Son of Heaven and read Wu Yong." Zhuo Taijun smiled and said, "What should I do!" He's in the house now, and I'll let him come out to meet you. As he spoke, he shouted inside, "Come out, the holy monks want to see you." Wu Yong asked the sisters around him to help tidy up their clothes, and then walked in front of everyone unhurriedly, and bowed his hands and said, "The kid has seen a few holy monks, but I don't know what to do with me?" Yan Buddha folded his hands and said: "Amitabha, Wu Shi's reading of the "Legend of the White Snake" has brought a catastrophe to my White Horse Temple. Wu Yong was stunned for a moment, and asked with some doubts: "What does the holy monk mean by this?" ”

"Wu Shi can know that not long ago, a group of people surrounded the White Horse Temple, asked us to hand over Bai Suzhen, and threatened that we and other monks are all bad people, and we are all harassed by it, and many novices have been severely beaten by the people for this."

"This is not the kid's intention!" Wu Yong Khan said. Yan Buddha said in a correct tone: "I waited for me to come today, not for arguments, but for Wu Shi to read more for me when I write a book in the future." ”

"Well said! Say! In the future, the boy will only preach a positive image of Buddhism. Wu Yong hurriedly assured that he didn't want to be remembered by this group of monks.

If these people accidentally mentioned him in the classics to slander Buddhism, it is estimated that he Wu Yong will be infamous for 10,000 years in the future.

At this time, An Shigao interjected: "Lay people don't have to be like this, only saying good, not evil, is not the Buddha's original intention." Lay people don't have to compliment me so much on Buddhism, just do good and evil rewards. As he spoke, another servant girl came to report: "Mrs., three more visitors from the Western Regions have visited." Zhuo Taijun was a little puzzled, what happened today, so many foreigners visited, but she still ordered: "Please invite them in." After a while, the maidservant girl led two men and one woman in, and Wu Yong found that two of them were still acquaintances.

As soon as the three of them came in, they handed over the congratulatory gifts, and saluted Zhuo Taijun at the head of the head: "The Holy Maiden Celine of the Fire Zoroastrian Sect pays a visit to Zhuo Taijun, and wishes your old man a hundred years old and his children and grandchildren a healthy life." ”

"Excuse me! Please be seated. Zhuo Taijun smiled, made the person accept the gift, and then instructed the maid to bring tea.

Celine got up, but didn't sit down, but slowly walked up to Wu Yong and said, "Xiao Langjun, don't come unharmed." Wu Yong didn't expect her to come over to say hello, so she chuckled and saluted: "I haven't seen her for a few days, but Her Royal Highness the Holy Maiden is getting thinner and thinner." Zhuo Taijun was stunned for a moment and asked, "Do you know each other?" Wu Yong explained with a smile: "Some time ago, Yuan Shu of the Marquis Mansion of Anguo Pavilion entertained guests at the orchid wine shop in Luoyang Jin City, and Sun Er had the honor to meet this holy lady once. Zhuo Taijun glanced at Celine, did not stop, and looked at the other two.

At this time, Darab also walked up to An Shigao and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Please also ask the holy monk to save me from the fire and water of the people of the rest country." An Shigao helped him up, recited a Buddha horn and said: "The old monk is already a monk, and the mundane things in the world have nothing to do with me, and I hope that the layman will find someone else." "It turns out that An Shigao's original name is Qing, the word Shigao, with the word line, before becoming a monk is the crown prince of the rest of the country, since childhood believe in Buddhism, when he will ascend the throne, he became a monk, and gave way to his uncle, it can be said that Darab is the descendant of An Shigao.

On the other side, Javid also talked to Zhi Loujia. Zhuo Taijun obviously felt that the atmosphere in the living room was a little weird, and he didn't want to make trouble on the big day, so he glanced at Zhu Yuan.

Zhu Yuan suddenly understood, and said to everyone with a smile: "You have come from afar, we should be hospitable, and you should be invited to the table." Everyone did not refuse, Zhu Yuan considered their special status, so he arranged them to a room alone, and because Wu Yong had an intersection with them, he asked Wu Yong to accompany the guests.

Originally, Wu Yong was worried that there would be taboos when there were senior monks at the table, but after asking, he learned that Buddhists nowadays eat meat and vegetables.

In fact, how did he know that vegetarianism began with the implementation of Emperor Wu of Liang during the Northern and Southern Dynasties in later generations. According to legend, Emperor Wu of Liang read the "Lenga Sutra", Jingyun \"Bodhisattva is merciful and compassionate, and can't bear to eat the flesh of living beings\", he was very moved when he read it, and he vowed to eat vegetarian food.

He was the great protector of Buddhism, and he promoted the "vegetarian diet" with the respect of the emperor, so he soon influenced the entire Sangha.

This movement was very successful, not only accepted by Buddhist disciples who were ordained, but also accepted by lay believers, forming a characteristic of Chinese Buddhism - vegetarianism, which continued until Wu Yong's crossing, and domestic Buddhism was a vegetarian rule.

In other countries and regions, although Buddhism is prevalent, no one has promoted a vegetarian movement, and still maintains the Buddha's early teachings that you can eat three pure meat or five pure meat.

Buddhism advocates non-killing, but it is generally permissible to eat the three pure meats. Samsanjing is a Buddhist term for the meat of animals that believers have not seen, heard, or suspected of killing for themselves.

There is also the saying of the five pure meats, which are the above three plus natural death, as well as the meat that was killed by other birds and beasts.

Even later, the Nine Pure Flesh evolved, and added: the sixth is not to kill for oneself, the seventh is dry, the eighth is unexpected, and the ninth has been killed.

The so-called three pure meat should meet three conditions: first, not seeing the killing, that is, not killing the animal in order to eat meat for oneself or seeing the tragic appearance of killing the animal; second, deaf killing, i.e., not hearing with your own ears the sound of the animal being killed or from a credible source that it was killed for oneself; Third, don't kill for yourself, that is, don't kill for what you want to eat.

For example, if you go to the market and see a vendor killing chickens or fish, or if the seller tells you that it is freshly slaughtered meat, this does not meet the above conditions. For example, when visiting the homes of relatives and friends, they specially kill chickens and ducks for hospitality, that is, let sentient beings be killed for themselves, which is not the three pure meats.

People who are not completely vegetarian can eat this meat temporarily, or go to the street to buy ready-made meat from slaughtered livestock and poultry.

Wu Yong doesn't know these now, and he was a little stunned when he saw that the three monks and great virtues were not taboo, but he was soon relieved, even under the rules and precepts of the Qing Dynasty in later generations, many monks eating meat and drinking wine can be seen everywhere, not to mention the existence of monks who marry wives and have children, as if they regard monks as a profession.