Chapter 248 Yu Jia's Wish
Longzhou, like Shuzhou, is a border state, located directly west of Daning.
It borders Yuanzhou to the north, Lingzhou to the south, Anzhou to the south, and then Shuzhou.
Judging from its geographical location and climatic conditions, Longzhou should not be very wealthy.
And this is indeed the case. If there is a GDP ranking among the 36 prefectures of Daning, Longzhou will definitely be ranked last. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a remote and poor place.
However, it is such an extremely poor prefecture that is the only remaining pure land for Buddhism in Daning.
Contrary to Daning's overall religious policy of "valuing Taoism over Buddhism", the people of Longzhou were more inclined to believe in Buddhism, and most of the warriors who practiced also followed the Buddhist path.
As for the reason , it is said that "Taoism cultivates this life, while Buddhism cultivates the next life".
Perhaps the poorer a person is, the more he can only place all his good hopes on the next life.
The carriage drove out of Longzhou City and traveled along the bumpy official road for more than ten miles. In less than half an hour, it arrived at the "Jerusalem" of Daning Buddhism - Lingkai Mountain.
The Folian Temple is hidden on Lingkai Mountain. Neat and flat stone steps rise from the foot of the mountain and lead directly to the temple gate.
Wow, I guess there isn’t such a high-end staircase in the Longzhou government office.
It is true that no matter how hard life is, children should not suffer, and no matter how poor, monks should not be poor . Wei Changtian muttered to himself, and climbed the stairs with Qin Zhengqiu and You Jia, and soon saw a magnificent and solemn temple.
Mingling among the endless stream of pilgrims, I walked to the temple gate. The three doorways, one large and two small, symbolizing "wisdom", "compassion" and "convenience", were all painted bright red, and there was a couplet engraved on both sides.
Above: The great way is selfless, but it can empty all appearances. Why would one seek elsewhere the South China Sea?
Next: If we can help those who are lost and confused, and if our compassion can continue in this world, this place will be the Western Paradise.
Well, I really didn’t understand it, but I felt that the last sentence was quite unlucky.
So do I really have no affinity with Buddhism?
Wei Changtian shook his head without thinking too much, stepped over the threshold, and casually grabbed a little monk who was sweeping the floor.
"Young Master, is Abbot Huian in the temple?"
"ah?"
The little monk was stunned, holding the broom in one hand and saluting with the other.
"Amitabha, the abbot is indeed in the temple now, but I wonder what the donors can do for you?"
"I have something important to discuss with him."
Strictly speaking, he had no conflicts with the Folian Temple, so Wei Changtian's tone was quite polite: "Please lead the way, little master."
"this."
After a moment of hesitation, the young monk asked in a low voice, "Dear donors, could you allow me to go and report this first?"
"Of course, young master, you just need to tell Abbot Hui'an that we are here for Jing Yuan."
"Pure circle?"
The little monk was stunned.
Since the character first starts with "Jing", he should be his uncle.
But there is no uncle called Jingyuan in the temple? He looked at Wei Changtian with some doubts. Seeing that the latter did not intend to explain, the little monk could only respond with "I know" and turned away.
Wei Changtian then shifted his gaze away and casually glanced at the surrounding situation.
The place where they are now is the Mountain Gate Hall, where the "Two Generals Heng and Ha" are enshrined.
Compared with the Buddha statues enshrined in the Hall of Heavenly Kings and the Main Hall at the back, the two generals Heng and Ha are undoubtedly very unpresentable.
However, there are still dozens of ragged men and women kneeling in front of the temple, holding incense sticks and kowtowing repeatedly.
Unlike many temples in the past that did not allow tourists to bring in incense sticks privately, in ancient times, not only was there no such "capitalized" rule, but incense sticks would even be placed in front of the incense burner, allowing pilgrims to take them directly.
To put it bluntly, it is provided free of charge.
However, although there is an opportunity to worship Buddha for free, in reality no pilgrim will come empty-handed. After burning incense, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, they will basically put some money into the merit box.
Even though they might go hungry for several days.
For example, now.
"Mom, we haven't had a full meal for several days."
A little boy in a patched cotton jacket gently pulled the corner of a woman's clothes and begged in a low voice: "I, I want to eat steamed buns."
"Let's use these copper coins to buy steamed buns, okay?"
"Dang~"
Although the little boy's plea was very pitiful, the woman, who was also dressed in rags, was not moved and still threw the few copper coins in her hand into the merit box in front of the Buddha statue.
"Please, two Vajras, bless us, an orphan and a widow."
"We just need to have a full meal a day. Please bless us, please bless us."
“.”
The devout prayer was not loud, but Wei Changtian and the other two had already reached the fifth level of "sharp hearing and sharp eyes", so they could vaguely hear it.
Using the money for food to offer to the Buddha, just to have enough food for oneself Wei Changtian complained about the magic of this scene in his heart, but Qin Zhengqiu didn't care about it at all.
Only Youjia hesitated for a moment, then shook out a small piece of silver from his sleeve, about two or three cents.
She obviously knew that if she gave too much, the mother and child would not be able to be protected, so she chose this amount that was neither too much nor too little.
“Swish!”
A silver light flashed, and the broken silver fell into the bamboo basket used by the woman to hold incense. After shaking a few times, it rolled along the gap to the bottom of the bamboo basket.
Noticing this scene, Wei Changtian turned his head and glanced at You Jia.
The latter did not explain anything, but hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Can I also go and burn incense?"
“.”
"Ask me what I want to do, and go if you want to."
Wei Changtian was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile, but he felt a little strange in his heart.
Youjia follows the Taoist path, so why does she have to worship the Buddhist Vajra?
Although there is no rule against "worshipping gods whenever you see them", belief should be very exclusive. Wei Changtian couldn't figure it out, and didn't ask. He just watched You Jia walk to the two generals with angry eyes, took three long incense sticks, lit them, and then knelt on the golden silk cushion and worshiped three times seriously.
You Jia didn't say anything, so Wei Changtian didn't know what she was asking for. He had already turned his gaze to the little monk who was walking back from a distance.
But if he could hear Yujia's inner voice, his expression probably wouldn't be as calm as it is now.
"I know that I have committed serious sins, and I do not ask for a good ending in this life or the next."
"But if the two Vajras have spirits, please bless Master Wei with peace and happiness in this life, the next life, and for all generations to come."
“.”
The incense of Buddha is faint, and in the distance the sounds of wooden fish and chanting are intertwined.
The pagoda containing the Buddha's bones and relics is shaded by the incense sticks and flowers, and the smoke from the incense is filled with solemnity and sacredness.
She repeated the devout prayer over and over in her heart. Yu Jia knelt for a long time for the last bow, but when she looked up again, she found that Qin Zhengqiu was the only one left there.
Wei Changtian didn't know when he had already walked far away behind the little monk.
ps: I would like to ask for your opinions here. Almost every character in this book has a complete storyline, but if all of them are written out, it may squeeze Wei Changtian's appearance frequency. So do you think it is better to write the supporting characters' stories in full or in a condensed way?
(End of this chapter)
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