Chapter 18: The Birth of the Four Buddhas

The empire established by the Luo Dan Po Dynasty was located in the southwest of the Xurui Dynasty, and when Zhou Tian became the new emperor of the Xu Rui Dynasty, the Luo Dan Po Dynasty, which had established the largest empire in the southern continent, had declined, the country was not unified, and the people could not be united.

The strength of the Radan Po empire was achieved by relying on the strength of Buddhism.

The people who had suffered from foreign invasion and floods for many years gradually became devout Buddhists after encountering Buddhism, which taught people how to get rid of the troubles and sufferings that arise from greed, hatred, and ignorance.

An empire on the western continent has invaded again, and the Radan Po dynasty has made a lot of hype that they are waging war to get the people here to abandon their Buddhist faith and convert to pagan religions, and we want to use war to protect Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Rodan Po Dynasty led an army composed of a large number of Buddhists, and after more than ten years of bloody battles, defeated the invincible Western Empire and established a strong and unified Radan Po Dynasty.

In the following decades, Buddhism ushered in an unprecedented era of development, the country is ten miles of one temple and one hundred miles of one temple, the emergence of hundreds of eminent monks, Buddhism's teachings continue to enrich and develop.

When Zhou Tian sent a delegation of the Xurui Dynasty to the Luo Dan Po Dynasty to seek Buddhism, the Luo Dan Po Dynasty had been divided, and Buddhism, which was once flourishing, was suppressed by the foreign way, most of the temples were abandoned, a large number of monks returned to the laity or converted to the foreign way, and the dynasty had long ceased to rely on Buddhism to govern the country.

Since the Luo Danpo Dynasty has now received millions of gold and silver, more than 100 boxes of jewels sent by the Xurui Dynasty, and also wants to take this opportunity to make friends with the Xurui Dynasty, the dynasty has done its best to invite several of the most influential monks scattered throughout the country to the capital to meet with Zhang He, the head of the palace who is the highest official of the Xurui Dynasty's mission.

Among these high monks, the most believers are Amgan, followed by Shi Servant, Gaya, and Mo Shi.

Zhang Heshi inherited the Taoist master medicine master Fan Feng Daochang, practiced medicine for ten years, and had a year of association with the Zen master of Misao in Evil Mei Mountain, and then maintained close contacts with the Zen master for many years, and has a deep and unique understanding of Buddhist teachings.

Zhang Hesheng has a leopard-shaped body, long eyes and a broad nose, and has only worn a thin Taoist robe for many years, and today he wore a monk's robe to meet the four famous monks of the Luo Danpo Dynasty, and there were two translators who were proficient in the two Chinese languages he brought, a total of six people.

Mo Shi asked: Mr. Zhang is wearing monk's clothes, is he a Buddhist?

Zhang He replied: I read Buddhist scriptures every day, do good deeds, and have not officially been ordained in a monastery, can I be considered a Buddhist?

Mo Shi answered: The Buddha said that all appearances, that is, right and wrong, Buddhists are not Buddhists, is a Buddhist, Mr. Zhang has a Buddha in his heart, all evil is not done, all good is pursued, and the poor monk's question is very wrong, oh ah!

Gaya: "Mr. Zhang, I heard that your dynasty, the largest empire in the entire continent, has greatly promoted Buddhism for many years, and the prosperity of Buddhism has far surpassed that of our dynasty, why did you come all the way to our court to seek Buddha?

I worship the Buddha by the thousands, and the rich worship the Buddha mostly to pray for the Buddha to bless the rich and prosperous, and the poor worship the Buddha mostly to bless them from the many sufferings in the world, which seems to go against the Buddhist principle that I know that the "Buddha" is an enlightened person and that believing in the Buddha is to move towards "enlightenment." Although there are enlightened Buddhas in our dynasty, but for many years, there are still only blessed Buddhas in the hearts of all living beings, and I beg several masters to come to our court to untie the shackles of the blessed Buddhas on behalf of the Xurui Dynasty.

Gaya answer: Mr. Zhang knows very well the nature of the Buddha, wealth and suffering are all illusory, fate gathers and self-generates, fate scatters and dies, why force it, if you see that everything is empty, you can naturally be blessed as such. The poor monk is willing to go to your court, promote Buddhism, and save sentient beings from the sea of suffering.

Mr. Zhang bowed deeply to Gaye, and his gaze turned to the silent servant.

The servant said: "Mr. Zhang, the poor monk is powerless to untie the shackles of your blessed Buddha to sentient beings, because the blessed Buddha is your high heavenly god, and the Buddha I know and believe in is only an enlightened mortal who is not attached to everything, and the four are empty, the Buddha is not in the sky, nor in the temple, I am willing to go to your court, help sentient beings in the ordinary world, find the true Buddha, learn to be the true Buddha.

Mr. Zhang nodded uncontrollably, and his expectant gaze finally fell on the first senior monk Amugan.

Amugan was small in stature and had a dark complexion, and looked about the same as a black man.

When Amugan saw Zhang He looking at him, he directly said in the words of the Xurui Dynasty: "Mr. Zhang, I would like to go to your court to talk about the Dharma."

Zhang He said: How can the master be my words?

Amugan said: Ten years ago, I learned from you in the cauldron of a caravan that was stranded.

Zhang He said: "Four masters! Our dynasty has a vast territory, and according to different ethnic groups and living customs, I have divided our dynasty into four regions, namely, the west, the south, the central plains in the north, and the grasslands and forests in the north. The western part is the closest and has close contacts with your dynasty; the central plains in the north is where the capital is located; the terrain of ethnic and religious factions in the south is extremely complex, and it is difficult to educate; the grasslands and forests in the north are far away, and the nomadic nomadic hunters there are fierce and warlike, and it is the most difficult to educate, but it is very important to our dynasty and is the biggest hidden danger to the peace and stability of the Xurui dynasty. Ask the four masters to choose an area of their own!

Amogan said: I will go to the northern steppe forest.

The second servant said, "The poor monk goes to the south."

Gaya said: The poor monk went to the northern Central Plains.

Mo Shi said: The poor monk went to the west.

Zhang He said: This is exactly what I want! We will go straight from your court to our court, and Mo Shi will stay in the west, and Shi Shidi will stay in the south, and then I will go to the northern Central Plains with Gaya and Amugan, and finally, Amugan will go to the northern grasslands and forests.

The servant said, "Mr. Zhang, the poor monk asked to go to the south alone."

Amugan said, "Mr. Zhang, I ask to go alone to the northern steppe forests, and I am going to take another trade route—through several of your neighboring countries to the north, directly to your northwest, and then all the way east to the northern steppe forests.

Zhang He nodded and said: "In accordance with the master's wishes, I have brought guides and translators to the four masters, they have been appointed officials by our court, and they will continue to serve several masters in the next few years; I have also prepared mules and horses to carry food, escorts to accompany me, and customs documents; I have here four gold medals for warrants given by the emperor, and I have recognized them by the senior officials of the yamen of the state capital, and this is the last help I can provide to the four masters.

Mo Shi and Gaye took the royal gold medal handed over by Zhang He, and Shi Fudi and Atuomu shook their heads and did not accept the gold medal.