Chapter 242 Jiangnan Buddhism Can't Hold On Anymore

Baoguang Temple in Shezhou is just a small temple.

Compared with Wenshu Monastery in Wutai Mountain, it is far inferior, not to mention compared with Daxiangguo Temple in Tokyo.

Among the famous mountains and rivers in Kyushu, there are four great Bodhisattva temples: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in Putuo Mountain, Manjusri Bodhisattva in Wutai Mountain, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Emei Mountain, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in Jiuhua Mountain.

Baoguang Temple is a branch of Jiuhua Buddhism.

Now the Song Dynasty official Zhao Ji worships Taoism, and under the instigation of Lin Lingsu, he calls himself "Emperor of Taoism" and builds palaces and temples regardless of the country's lack of financial resources.

In order to develop the "Shenxiao Sect", Zhao Ji ordered all states and counties to build Taoist temples called "Shenxiao Palaces", and even placed the Taoist priests in the temples on the same status as local officials at all levels.

The Taoists took advantage of their power to plunder, and the Shenxiao Palaces in various places also annexed large amounts of land. It was simply a disaster that spread throughout all the prefectures of the Song Dynasty.

When Zong Ze was the Tongpan of Dengzhou, he used this malpractice to reduce the scale of the construction of Shenxiao Palace. This was taken advantage of by Cao Jie, who used Lin Lingsu to dismiss him from his post and flee to the mountains.

The Shenxiao Palace has also been built in Shezhou. There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. If Taoism prospers, Buddhism will have a hard time.

Deng Yuanjue and Lu Zhishen fought a fierce battle in front of the mountain gate, with flying sand and rocks and thundering lightning, which soon attracted the elders of the temple.

Seeing that Cao Jie and his companions all had extraordinary demeanor, Lu Zhishen looked like a diamond descending from the earth, and he politely welcomed them into the temple.

There are bursts of bird song outside the Zen room and the smell of incense curling up inside the room.

The elder, whose Dharma name was Yuan Chen, invited Cao Jie and Zhi Shen to drink tea in the meditation room, and then asked, "I see that Master Zhi Shen has a body of diamond, and is as good as Yuan Jue. May I ask which mountain the master practices in?"

"I originally practiced with Elder Zhizhen in Mount Wutai, and later left the mountain. Now I am serving as an elder in Baozhu Temple in Qingzhou."

Monks do not tell lies, but Lu Zhishen did not lie.

It’s just that he is a part-time elder, and his main job is to rebel.

Immediately, Elder Yuan Chen exclaimed “Oh my!” and said happily, “So you are a disciple of Living Buddha Zhizhen. I am so sorry for your disrespect!”

Elder Zhizhen of Mount Wutai is not an ordinary monk. In Buddhism, he is a living Buddha of the time who knows things about the past and the future.

His status is equivalent to that of the abbot of Tiantai Temple in Jiuhua Mountain.

When he heard what Lu Zhishen said, he was naturally extremely surprised.

"Master, may I ask which branch of Buddhist fundamental law you are practicing?"

You are asking too much!
Lu Zhishen felt a little unhappy, but he had to earn his reputation in the martial world, so he suppressed his thoughts and forced a smile, saying, "I followed Elder Zhizhen to practice the Buddhist method of angry diamond, and now I have entered the realm of the sixth level of daily travel."

"..."

Elder Yuan Chen actually stood up and bowed again, saying, "Amitabha, Senior Brother, I am sorry for being so rude."

Lu Zhishen was not used to these things, so he returned the greeting and said, "Although this brother from the Cao family has not been ordained, he is also a lay disciple of our Buddhist sect. His strength has reached the threshold of the fifth level of Sun Tour, and he practices the inheritance of the Treasure Moon Light King Buddha."

Suddenly, Elder Yuan Chen was stunned again: "Amitabha, I am a low-level monk and I don't know the master. I hope you won't blame me."

Cao Jie smiled and said, "Elder, there is no need to be so polite. We have already caused trouble to your temple by settling in it."

Why did Elder Yuan Chen's attitude change several times?
This is because the true teachings of Buddhism are the fundamental method of conceiving a spirit. If Lu Zhishen does not know how to conceive a spirit, he would just be an ordinary martial monk.

But after practicing the Wrathful Vajra Method, one can reach the realm of day travel.

This is not ordinary. If one can create a baby in the future, he will be a living Buddha in this world and can become the ancestor of a lineage.

The daily tour is a threshold and a bottleneck that many practitioners cannot cross in their lifetime, like Yuan Chen.

Lu Zhishen already had the potential to become a true master. As for Cao Jie, the lay disciple, he was even more amazing. One look at his appearance revealed that he was only in his early twenties. To be so young and yet to have such practice was simply a genius.

But what he didn't know was that Cao Jie not only practiced the fundamental Buddhist methods, but also the Taoist dual cultivation method and the Tiangang method in the Xuannv Heavenly Book.

After some greetings and in the name of communication, Elder Yuan Chen was able to clearly see the two's divine power and was completely convinced.

Some words were spoken openly.

"My two brothers, you don't know! Nowadays, Buddhism is declining in Jiangnan, and there are few believers. I don't know when this poor monk's Baoguang Temple will disappear."

Cao Jie's eyes lit up. It was good that you were in trouble, so he asked, "We are from the north and don't know what's going on in the south. Elder, why don't you tell us in detail? We in the northern Buddhist sect may be able to provide some help."

But what is the real situation?

Not to mention the Buddhist community in the north, all Buddhist communities in the world can hardly protect themselves in front of Lin Lingsu.

Elder Yuan Chen was desperate and tried every possible means: "Alas! Take the south of the Yangtze River for example. The Jiuhua lineage has a long history, but it is sandwiched between Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi and Sanmao Mountain in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, making it difficult to save all living beings. Now that the imperial court is promoting the Shenxiao Sect, it is even more difficult for Buddhism..."

It will not be more difficult. In the future, Lin Lingsu will destroy Buddhism. That will be a catastrophe for Buddhism.

Elder Yuan Chen did not dare to say more after talking about the Shenxiao Sect. Instead, he sighed again, "In recent years, the Manichaeism has been prevalent in Jiangnan, bewitching people. My Buddhist disciples can no longer leave Shezhou. In fact, it is possible that... in less than two years, I will lead my disciples back to Jiuhua..."

If Buddhism wants to develop, it needs to recruit more believers.

However, the upper class was monopolized by Taoism, and the lower class was bewitched by Manichaeism.

The soil for Buddhism to survive in Jiangnan has disappeared.

How could the Jiuhua Buddhist sect not be anxious?

But there was no point in being anxious. The imperial court could not be relied upon and was being suppressed. The lower classes could not defeat Fang La's Manichaeism, so they could only retreat back to Jiuhua Mountain and wait for the opportunity.

In the future, Fang La called himself "Saint Duke", established the Yongle reign, established an official system, and soon occupied eight states and twenty-five counties south of the Yangtze River.

These eight prefectures are Shezhou, Muzhou, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Changzhou, Huzhou, Xuanzhou and Runzhou.

Chizhou, next to Shezhou, is not on the list.

Because of what?
Because there is a Jiuhua Mountain in Chizhou where Buddhism is flourishing, Manichaeism could not be introduced for a while and could not cause chaos.

After listening to Elder Yuan Chen's chattering, Cao Jie was overjoyed.

The Jiangnan Buddhist sect can win over our own camp!

First, he visualized the “King of Treasure Moon Light” and was naturally close to Buddhism.

Secondly, the imperial court’s suppression of Buddhism will continue for many years, and the pig teammates are very powerful.

Finally, the development of Manichaeism seriously threatened the survival of Buddhism.

The combination of these irreconcilable contradictions was enough for Cao Jie to win over the Jiuhua Buddhist sect.

As for why "Baoguang Tathagata" Deng Yuanjue would work for Fang La in the future, it was obviously a deal between Buddhism and Manichaeism.

Since everyone can trade with Fang La, why can't I?
Plant the flag in Jiangnan!

Cao Jie has another chance of making three points!

(End of this chapter)