Chapter 398 Zhao Duan: Eastern and Western Buddhism, fighting over Buddhism? How ridiculous!
Chapter 398 Zhao Duan: Eastern and Western Buddhism, fighting over Buddhism? How ridiculous!
Let’s get in!
“Ding—ding—”
Inside the Shenlong Temple, a deep bell sound came from this ancient temple. The sound rolled across the entire place, instantly shocking all the officials in the Guanshui Tower.
Outside the Shenlong Temple, in the square that had already been cleared of snow, a group of striking Western monks walked towards the armored guards who were blocking the scene in the cold wind.
The team included the "Five Groups of Monks" under the Western Region Dharma King, monks wearing robes of different colors: black, green, white, red and yellow. However, the most eye-catching one was the Red Sect Master.
The old monkey-like "holy monk" led the crowd, his expression solemn and dignified. Beside him, the young boy Danche followed closely with a prayer wheel in his hand.
The group walked to the side of the stands under the watchful eyes of the imperial guards and the nobles who were invited to observe the debate in the square.
Dan Che glanced around, frowned slightly, and said in a low voice:
"Master, there aren't many people."
The Red Sect Master looked straight ahead, but he was obviously disappointed, not because of the number of spectators...
After learning about the "Buddhism ban", he had already guessed that there would not be many believers watching today's debate. What really made him frown was that with fewer people, the chance of "wisdom" appearing would be much more difficult.
But now that things have come to this, he can only calm down and whisper:
"Don't look around. Do you think these people on the field are just that? There are more people from the Yu Kingdom hiding in the surrounding buildings. Today, the Queen of the Yu Kingdom is in the nearby Guanshui Tower.
Moreover, the debate is not only to make a name for ourselves, but also a competition with the Shenlong Temple, so that the monks in the Shenlong Temple can realize that the orthodox Dharma in the Western Regions is our real goal. "
In the final analysis, today's debate is a competition between Eastern and Western Buddhism.
Showing it to outsiders is secondary; fighting for the "orthodox" status is the most important thing.
“Ding—ding—”
The bells echoed low.
After the Western Regions delegation entered the square, a large group of monks also walked out of the gate of the Shenlong Temple.
Leading the group was the Abbot Xuanyin, who was wearing a brown monk's robe and a golden cassock, had a hunched figure and an old face.
This powerful man who had been hiding in the Buddhist temple and had not appeared in the world for many years appeared in front of everyone again after Xu Zhenguan overwhelmed the Shenlong Temple and withstood the three swords of the empress not long ago.
Behind Abbot Xuanyin, there were three people following.
They are:
Bian Ji in white monk's robe;
Nagarjuna, a man of great stature and hairless face;
And the female Prajna Bodhisattva with waist-length black hair, a plump and charming figure, and almost transparent pupils.
Behind the three of them were densely packed monks numbering hundreds, and at this moment, each of them looked serious and solemn.
Both sides came to the two sides of a huge circular platform that was hastily built in the square.
Almost at the same time, all the monks put their hands together and chanted: "Amitabha!"
The mixed sounds sounded like a huge bell, shaking the tiles of the buildings around the square.
The momentum is huge!
The many onlookers nearby all changed color, feeling enveloped by a sudden solemn atmosphere.
……
On the water viewing tower.
All the officials in the court looked out at the snowy square and clearly heard the loud Buddhist chanting.
Mo Chou, a maid, stood beside the empress. She had just filled a glass of water when her eyelids twitched as she saw ripples in the water in the cup on the coffee table.
Then, everyone clearly heard the loud voices of both sides greeting each other from afar.
It was probably that the Red Sect monk represented the Dharma King and had a dialogue with Xuan Yin, explaining the purpose of today's debate, in order to argue for "orthodoxy" and so on.
"What a loud noise..."
Princess Wenzhu had a strange expression on her face. Although she had been in the Western Regions for many years, this was the first time she had witnessed a debate of this scale.
"There are formations engraved around the platform. Even if no spells are cast intentionally, the sound of the debate can spread far away."
Xu Zhenguan sat in the main seat, his expression calm, and said with a smile: "Aunt, did you know that there would be such a debate later? What is the topic today?"
Princess Wenzhu shook her head: "I don't know."
After entering the city, she deliberately kept a distance from the Western Regions monks. She sat here today as the "Princess of the Yu Kingdom" and not anything else.
Xu Zhenguan personally introduced:
"Do you see that high platform? After that, both sides will send people to the platform and jointly summon the projection of the god, the World Honored One, hanging high in the sky. Both sides will debate on 'what is good deeds'. The victory or defeat will not be determined by humans, but by the Buddha...
Oh, the Buddha is the god of wisdom, and he is the best judge... This is also the reason for the fight for "orthodoxy". The party whose understanding of Buddhism is more favored by the Buddha will naturally inherit the orthodoxy of Buddhism. "
The reason why she was so familiar with it was that this was not the first time in history that a debate had taken place.
But actually witnessing it is something you have never seen before in your life.
The struggles in the religious world are no more docile than the secular imperial power. Looking through the history books, was there any sectarian struggle that did not erupt in blood and fire?
……
When I was slightly distracted, the "greeting" session in the square ended.
"Master..." Dan Che glanced at the old monk beside him, only to see the latter's big hand gently stroking the little monk's head.
The Red Sect Master stepped onto the platform, straightened his robes, and sat cross-legged. He looked across and said loudly, "Please!"
On the Shenlong Temple side, Abbot Xuanyin sat on a chair in front of the monks. Being a powerful being in the heavenly realm, according to the rules, he would not participate in this debate.
The plump and beautiful Prajna Bodhisattva glanced at the other two people, smiled with a complicated expression, and sat down on the empty chair to the right of Xuan Yin.
As one of the three Bodhisattvas in Buddhism, Prajna and Xuanyin have always been at odds with each other. This time, Xuanyin had personally ordered Prajna not to participate.
Everyone's eyes fell between Bian Ji and Nagarjuna Bodhisattva.
However, in the end, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, who was highly expected and was supposed to be the second most important person in Shenlong Temple, snorted, turned around and sat down on the left side of Xuanyin.
First, Tianhai was defeated, and then the lakeside was shrouded in smoke... After Nagarjuna returned to the capital this time, his power was severely reduced by the furious Xuanyin.
Therefore, the one who represented Shenlong Temple in the battle today finally fell on Bian Ji, the man Xuan Yin relied on the most and who was extremely good at eloquence.
Bian Ji walked up to the platform step by step and also sat down cross-legged.
As he sat down, suddenly, without any warning, dark clouds gathered in the sky above the square, and the prayer wheel in the hands of the young monk Danche suddenly began to spin wildly on its own.
Meanwhile, over at the Shenlong Temple, the unfathomable old monk Xuanyin had, at some point, spread out his palm and gently tossed a Buddhist symbol of the word "卍" into the sky.
"boom!"
There was a roar almost like thunder, and circles of ripple-like Buddha light suddenly spread in the sky, accompanied by the sound of hundreds of monks chanting Buddhist scriptures in the square.
Amid the sound of scriptures being chanted, an astonishing scene appeared!
I saw a big hole cracked in the clouds in the sky, and in the hole, there was a towering, huge and blurred Buddha head, overlooking the earth, bathing in the Buddha's light, and looking towards the debate platform!
"World Honored One!"
The nobles who were watching around the square, as well as the court officials and scholars in the nearby buildings were all excited and dazzled.
Be in awe of witnessing the advent of one of the most powerful gods in the world, Lord Buddha!
Not only them, this time, even outside the blockade of the Imperial Guards, mortals in nearly half of the capital city caught a glimpse of the golden light in the sky.
The believers who lived closer to the Shenlong Temple looked at the Buddha appearing in the distance in their home courtyards and fell to their knees.
Recite: Amitabha.
"Your Majesty...it's about to begin." Mo Chou took a deep breath and handed the tea bowl to the empress.
Upstairs, all the officials, including Xu Zhenguan, were staring intently at the debate, imagining the ensuing verbal sparring between the two sides.
However, just as the debate was about to begin, suddenly, a discordant voice came from somewhere, breaking the solemn atmosphere.
"Haha, looks like I arrived just in time!"
All of a sudden, people looked in the direction of the sound in astonishment, and saw a figure appear on the roof of a two-story building near the square at some point!
Zhao Duan was wearing loose clothes, with his hair tied casually behind his head, and holding a flag in his hand that was hastily and crudely made in some shop.
Standing against the wind, smiling disdainfully.
In the astonished eyes of the people, Zhao Duan threw the flagpole in his hand forward with all his strength! He leaped into the air.
Then, like a dragonfly skimming the water, the man leaped out dozens of feet, stepped on the flagpole with both feet to gain leverage, and leaped towards the towering debate platform!
"boom!"
The flagpole under his feet was like a long spear, using the force to make a sharp sound of breaking through the air, wrapped in a strong wind, and stabbed fiercely in the center of the platform!
"Crash..."
The flag wrapped around the flagpole flutters in the wind, with two big words "Challenge" flying in a flamboyant manner!
Then, Zhao Duan landed on the stage in front of everyone's stunned eyes. He glanced at the Red Sect Master and the White-robed Bian Ji who were sitting cross-legged in meditation with his hands behind his back, and sneered:
"Eastern and Western Buddhism? Debating Buddhist sutras? What a bunch of blockheads. They have clearly taken the wrong path, yet they dare to argue about the orthodoxy of Buddhism. It's ridiculous!!"
quiet!
The originally solemn and tense debate scene seemed to be paused. The monks in the square, as well as the nobles and surrounding guards who were watching, all looked shocked.
In the distance, on the water viewing tower.
All the officials in the court were collectively stunned, and then they exploded with a buzzing sound.
"Lord Zhao? How did he...how did he get on the stage?!" an unknown official exclaimed.
"This kid... is crazy..." Ma Yan's forehead was covered with cold sweat.
"Zhao Chenshi...what's going on? Lord Yuan?"
Xue Shence was also stunned for a moment. He turned his head to look at the man in blue clothes beside him, but saw that the Censor, who was usually calm in the face of emergencies, also had a slightly dull expression.
However, Zhao Duan's old rival, Prime Minister Li Yanfu, after being stunned, suddenly turned his head and looked at the empress in front of him.
Then, the other officials also came to their senses and looked at the empress.
Speculations arise in my mind:
Could it be that this was arranged by His Majesty? It must have been arranged by His Majesty, right?
"Zhao...how could he..." Mochou was dumbfounded and almost dropped the teapot in her hand.
Princess Wenzhu was the calmest. After a moment of shock, she blurted out:
"Is he the Zhao Duan?"
As she spoke, she looked at the figure standing on the high platform in the distance. Suddenly, she felt that the figure looked familiar, but she clearly had never seen this person before.
When she turned her head to look at her niece beside her, she saw Xu Zhenguan sitting woodenly in the chair, with faint blue veins slightly bulging on his forehead.
Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes reflected Zhao Duan's figure, and she gritted her teeth:
"What are you doing again?"
(End of this chapter)