Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 691 Buddhist Holy Land

Three hundred miles north of Luoyang, the capital of Wei, lies a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters.

Even in the depths of winter, this region remains spring-like, imbued with a spiritual aura.

This place is called Garan, and there is a magnificent temple complex built here, known as Garan Temple, which is one of the holy sites of Buddhism.

Hundreds of years ago, a Wei emperor, in order to manage Buddhism to a certain extent, designated this sacred land for Buddhism and held a Buddhist exchange conference in the name of the government to promote learning and exchange among Buddhist sects in various regions.

Over time, the largest Buddhist gathering in the Wei Kingdom was held here, accommodating Buddhist disciples and devout men and women from all over the country, as well as other practitioners, to debate scriptures and discuss doctrines. This was known as the Buddhist Unrestricted Assembly.

Of course, in such a sacred Buddhist site, the scriptures debated are Buddhist scriptures, and the doctrines discussed are naturally Buddhist doctrines.

In recent years, various sects of Buddhism have been vying for the right to rule Buddhism, but the matter has been debated endlessly without a conclusion.

It is now the eleventh month of winter, less than a month before the opening of the Unobstructed Assembly.

Buddhists and believers from many places have arrived at the monastery and are staying in the facilities inside and outside the monastery, creating a lively atmosphere.

In the land of Garan, the wide avenues are bustling with traffic.

Monks and devotees from all over the world, as well as people on spiritual practice, travel to the temple by carriage or on foot.

Most of them were dressed in fine clothes and had an extraordinary demeanor; there were few ordinary people among them.

Even the servants around those nobles were dressed quite elegantly, so as not to diminish their masters' status.

Although the Unobstructed Assembly is meant to be unobstructed and unhindered, to foster good karma, and to allow people from all over the world to gather here to discuss Buddhism.

However, the monastery is usually a restricted area, and not just anyone can come here to worship Buddha.

Even though restrictions have been temporarily lifted here on the eve of the conference, it is still not a place that ordinary people can reach.

While this so-called Buddhist holy land is bustling and prosperous, displaying the grandeur of a golden age, countless people outside this land find it difficult to live in peace.

"The Buddha established his teachings with the intention of guiding his disciples to save all sentient beings, but ultimately he could not save the entire world..."

"The Buddhist community is still thriving in Wei, but is this truly what the Buddha wanted to see? I doubt it..."

By a mountain path, under a lush tree, Lu Zheng and his companions were resting, watching the passersby.

Hearing Lu Zheng's words, Qing Wan muttered softly, "If I were Buddha, I would definitely..."

Qingwan waved her hand, as if swatting a mosquito.

Gongyang Ming, who was standing next to him, coughed and couldn't help but say, "It's fine to think about it in your heart, but don't say it out loud and incur public wrath."

As the saying goes, even two fists can't beat four hands; these few would probably find it difficult to face the many Buddhist believers here.

Qingwan couldn't help but glance at her sideways, "Isn't your Gongyang School supposed to be all about hating evil and seeking revenge?"

Upon hearing this, Gongyang Ming said, "We still need to be mindful of this and not act rashly. Besides, the Gongyang school has long since declined, and many of its classic texts have been lost. Although I come from the Gongyang school, my main school of thought is the Confucianism that is currently prevalent in Qi..."

Gongyang Ming had previously considered reviving the family school of thought, but he had little support and it was difficult to achieve anything, so he gave up.

Now he is practicing other principles in the northern regions, and he cannot be considered a Confucian or Taoist scholar of the Gongyang School at all.

Qingwan suddenly realized, and then comforted her, "Oh, I see. That's a bit of a pity. But then again, out with the old, in with the new. Even the wisdom and principles of sages become outdated. We should study and practice new truths diligently in the future, so as not to fail the teachings of the sages and wise men..."

After Qingwan's explanation, Gongyang Ming still couldn't find anything wrong with it, so he smiled slightly and nodded in response.

Suddenly, a faint Buddhist chant drifted over, its sound melodious, solemn, and extremely penetrating.

Many people nearby looked in the direction of the sound.

But then a colorful cloud drifted in from the sky.

Above the colorful clouds, there was a group of monks dressed in bright red robes, their bodies adorned with jewels, radiating a brilliant Buddhist light.

The group of monks were chanting Buddhist scriptures in a deep voice, their expressions devout and solemn, yet they gave off a sense of ostentation.

Someone who witnessed this scene recognized the monks and couldn't help but whisper an explanation to those around them.

"He is a high-ranking monk from the Esoteric Buddhist sect in western Wei. He is probably reciting their sect's Buddhist scriptures, known as the Tripitaka..."

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan glanced at the monks swaggering across the sky, then looked back at each other.

Qingwan muttered, "Those monsters seem to be from their faction, right?"

The monsters Qingwan mentioned were actually those fake bodhisattvas who pretended to be gods and ghosts in the snowfield.

Lu Zhengdao: "Yes."

Even though the group of monks were enveloped in Buddhist light, Lu Zheng still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

While in the Northern Region, Lu Zheng had already gathered a great deal of information about Buddhist sects.

Lu Zheng also conducted a detailed investigation into the sales channels of those people who made and sold magical artifacts.

A large portion of the artifacts were transported to the State of Wei and ended up in the hands of monks from certain Buddhist sects, especially certain sects.

Lu Zheng was quite certain that the monks carried many such magical artifacts; the existence of some things could not be concealed even by the aura of Buddhism.

Qingwan raised an eyebrow and said unhappily, "Are just any kind of person allowed to attend this conference? And with such a grand display, what a show of power!"

Above the colorful clouds, perhaps sensing Qingwan's ill intentions, a monk couldn't help but glance down.

Upon seeing that Lu Zheng and his companions were dressed simply and their aura was unlike that of ordinary people, the monk's eyes immediately turned gloomy and cold.

Qingwan, with her keen senses, couldn't help but glare and retaliate.

Ha, how dare they look at her like that? If this weren't a Buddhist temple in Wei, she would have definitely taken action and tried to reason with these monks.

The red-robed monk frowned upon seeing Qingwan's reaction.

To dare to show disrespect to Buddhists in the State of Wei is truly an act of utter ignorance and audacity!

He snorted coldly in his heart, and a wisp of invisible Buddhist power was quietly released.

Qingwan reacted quickly, standing up and slapping the table.

An invisible shockwave exploded in the air, the sound of which was deafening.

At the same time, Lu Zheng and the other two stood up.

Qingwan's eyes lit up. "You all saw it, right? They attacked first. Our fight back is just self-defense!"

I already disliked these hypocritical monks, and then they launched a sneak attack.

Gongyang Ming looked calmly at Lu Zheng. Although he said he would be rational, he would not hesitate to fight back. He couldn't let down the reputation of a great Confucian scholar.

The red-robed old monk at the head of the group showed a slight change in expression. He had thought that his disciple was just secretly punishing a few ordinary people, but it seemed that he had encountered someone with a background.

If this happened back in my homeland, no one would dare say anything if some civilians were exterminated.

However, nowadays in the monastery, one must be mindful of the consequences of one's actions. The old monk stopped his cloud-borne revelry, clasped his hands together, and said quietly, "May I ask where you gentlemen come from?"

The old monk didn't mention the attack, but instead inquired about the person's identity and background, deciding to treat them accordingly.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "We come from where we came, and we go to where we are going."

The old monk narrowed his eyes. These words sounded like a Zen riddle being played on him. Could it be that he had encountered a devout follower of Zen Buddhism who was trying to pull this trick on him?

Before anyone could form any guesses, Lu Zheng asked again, "Where are you all headed?"

The old monk was slightly surprised upon hearing this. Instead of asking about their origins, he asked about their destination. Wasn't that obvious?

He didn't like playing the Zen riddle game, so he smiled and said, "I've come to the monastery to pay homage to the Buddha."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "You people adorn yourselves with human skin and bones, yet you come here to worship Buddha, and stand so high up. Aren't you afraid of offending the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, or being struck by lightning?"

Lu Zheng is quite blunt when speaking to certain people.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the passersby, whether they were practitioners or powerful figures, all changed.

Many of them actually knew that certain sects of Buddhism liked to use people to make ritual implements, and that ordinary people could not simply make these implements; there were quite a few intricacies involved.

However, people don't bring these kinds of things to the forefront to criticize, because spreading them would damage the image of the entire Buddhist community.

Because, to be honest, even some more orthodox Buddhist sects will use the relics of their predecessors to refine ritual implements.

Even if some people voluntarily sacrifice themselves before their death, many times, once the question of voluntariness is opened, it also becomes a matter of being forced to do so.

After all, those magical artifacts that have been refined cannot speak to explain right and wrong.

The old monk couldn't help but frown when he heard Lu Zheng's sharp words.

Behind him, a monk was greatly displeased and angrily rebuked him: "Insolence! Where did this junior come from spouting nonsense, even talking about being struck by lightning? Even Buddha and Bodhisattvas haven't said anything, so who are you to speak out of turn? In my opinion, you are the one who is most disrespectful to Buddhism!"

Lu Zhengxin sensed something, slightly raised his head to look at the sky, and said in a cold voice, "Is that so?"

High in the sky, a golden bolt of lightning suddenly appeared.

The lightning flashed brightly, striking directly at the group of red-robed monks riding the clouds.

The high monk of the Tantric school was startled, but quickly reacted. With a wave of his red sleeve, golden Buddhist light surged forth, engulfing the power of the thunder.

What's going on...? The high monk clearly sensed that this sudden thunder contained Buddhist and Taoist energy, and was also mixed with the power of this world.

In other words, someone used the power of heaven and earth in the sacred land of Garan to summon a bolt of heavenly lightning.

He couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng and the others, his face showing surprise and doubt.

He hadn't sensed any signs that these people were going to make a move.

Not only him, but Gongyang Ming and Qing Wan also shifted their gazes slightly, glancing at Lu Zheng, suspecting that Lu Zheng was behind it.

Lu Zheng remained calm. This bolt of lightning was indeed related to him, but he wasn't the one who had attacked...

Qingwan blinked. Whoever did it was obviously helping them build momentum!

Qingwan couldn't help but say, "Tsk tsk, what's this? Karma's coming to pass, isn't it? Heaven is watching what people do! You people..."

The old monk regained his composure, uttered a Buddhist chant, and interrupted Qingwan's words.

"This is a sacred Buddhist site, and we will not tolerate you using the Buddha's name to cast spells and stir up trouble!"

In this situation, he would never admit that he was truly struck by lightning, as that would not only be a slap in his own face, but also a slap in the face to the entire Buddhist community.

The old monk was filled with doubt and unease. He had previously heard some news that the imperial court intended to establish Mahayana Buddhism as the orthodox school of Buddhism and to regulate the various sects of Buddhism.

And as soon as their esoteric sect arrived here, someone dared to confront them so directly, and there was even a sudden thunderbolt. Could it be that they were going to target their sect?

With this thought in mind, the old monk immediately became vigilant and wary, not wanting to get entangled with anyone anymore, lest he really be unable to get away later, but on the surface he couldn't lose face.

He then said sternly, "Killing is forbidden here. This humble monk is going to the Garan Temple to worship Buddha. Your disrespect will surely bring you karmic retribution in the future!"

Having said that, the old monk waved his sleeve, and the colorful clouds carrying the group of people flew away swiftly.

Qingwan was stunned for a moment. She thought the other party was going to fight. Why did they just leave after making a threat?

Gongyang Ming stroked his chin and whispered, "They've probably misunderstood something."

Gongyang Ming paused, then asked Lu Zheng in a low voice, "Did you do it?"

Lu Zheng shook his head slightly, "It's not me, it's Heaven."

Gongyang Ming smacked his lips, vaguely understanding the meaning, but still somewhat uncertain.

Just then, a group of Wei warriors arrived riding on clouds.

These are patrolling guards in the land of Garan. They saw the strange phenomenon of thunder and came over quickly to check the situation.

When the leader saw Lu Zheng and his group of four, he was startled and, disregarding the lightning strike, quickly led his team to land in front of them.

The captain of the guards walked up to Lu Zheng and said softly, "I am a personal guard of His Highness the Crown Prince, and I have been temporarily assigned to patrol this area..."

"His Highness received news of your arrival earlier and has been waiting for you at the Garan Temple for several days. His Highness was worried that something might have happened to you on the way..."

As they spoke, the guard captain also showed his identification.

Lu Zheng's eyes flashed. Yuan Tao had actually transferred all the guards from his own residence to this place? It seemed he was truly concerned about the major Buddhist sects and worried that something unexpected might happen and he might lose control of the situation.

Lu Zheng then said, "The snowstorm was quite severe this year. We helped some people along the way, which delayed us and caused you some worry."

At any other time of year, they would have arrived here long ago.

Upon hearing this, the captain of the guard said, "I see. You gentlemen are truly virtuous. Would you be willing to come with me to see His Highness?"

Originally, Lu Zheng and his group planned to enjoy the scenery of Garan along the way, but judging from the captain's appearance, Yuan Tao was probably getting impatient after receiving the news.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Okay."

With a thought, Gongyang Ming, who was standing nearby, caused a gust of wind to blow, and everyone disappeared from the spot in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, they arrived at the foot of a large mountain.

The mountains are shrouded in mist and clouds, a place full of spiritual energy.

Hidden in the mountains are clusters of magnificent temples, gleaming and bathed in the light of Buddha.

Garan Temple, one of the ten major Buddhist temples in the Wei Kingdom, is located on this spiritually significant mountain.

This place is usually a quiet place, and not many people are qualified to live here for a long time.

Most of them were monks supported by the imperial court or powerful and devout believers who practiced meditation in the temple.

Because of the upcoming grand assembly, crowds are thronging the mountains and valleys, with countless pilgrims and worshippers arriving from all directions. (End of Chapter)