Ci'en Temple is still the same as it was a few years ago, except that the entrance is particularly lively today. The abbot of Ci'en Temple has been changed a long time ago, and at this moment, monks are lined up in several rows at the entrance, standing there respectfully, looking at the emperor's procession passing quickly before them.
The emperor's dragon chariot and the empress's phoenix chariot stopped at the door. The prince's carriage had long gone away. Anyway, the owner was not in the carriage, so at Li Hong's instruction, they did not drive into this street.
The dark and thin Sixth Patriarch Huineng stood in the middle. On his left was the newly appointed abbot of Ci'en Temple, Jiashang. On his right was a monk with a beard and a figure as tall as an iron tower. The two of them sandwiched the dark and thin Huineng in the middle, which gave Li Hong, who had not yet had time to get off the carriage, an inexplicable sense of joy.
Emperor Li Zhi had already slowly stepped down from the carriage under the respect of Yang Wu and others, and as for the Queen's phoenix sedan, it seemed as if it was on fire at the moment.
Wu Mei was wandering around in the carriage in her comfortable slippers. One of her high heels had been kicked somewhere, and the mother and son were frantically looking for it in the carriage.
The two palace maids were so frightened that they turned pale and lay on the floor of the carriage, searching anxiously and carefully.
Wu Mei stood in the carriage, one foot in high heels and the other in slippers, with one hand around Li Hong beside her, trying not to lose her balance. She said angrily, "It's all your fault, you naughty monkey. Why are you wearing slippers? Now, your mother can't even get out of the carriage."
"Oh, don't rush me. Aren't I looking for the shoes right now?" Li Hong was also supporting Wu Mei while looking around for the shoes.
"Your father has gotten off the carriage, little bastard, wait and see how I'll deal with you when I get back to the palace..."
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Li Hong was not as respectful and cautious as the palace maid. He held Wu Mei's arm, then lifted the hem of Wu Mei's phoenix dress with one hand. After waving it twice, he saw that the heel of her shoe was caught inside the phoenix dress. No wonder she couldn't find it.
"Found it, found it, it's hanging on your clothes. Please stand by the window..." Li Hong moved Wu Mei's arm that was on his shoulder to the car window, then squatted down and got into the wide skirt of Wu Mei's dress to take out the shoes.
"Mother, lift your feet. Father is getting off the carriage. Hurry up." Li Hong was still inside her skirt with only his head exposed. He lifted Wu Mei's slipper-covered feet and quickly put the shoes on her. Then he retracted his head and crawled out from behind.
Just as he stood up to get out of the car with Wu Mei, Wu Mei looked at the crown on Li Hong's head that was twisted by the hem of her phoenix dress and said anxiously, "Li Hong, wait a minute, your crown."
The door of the carriage had been opened. Lian Tie looked at the mother and son with a frightened face. Finally, everything was tidied up. Li Hong got off the carriage first, then stood respectfully aside, holding Wu Mei's hand. The queen finally appeared in front of people in a graceful and elegant manner.
But Li Zhi, who had been married to Li Hong for many years, knew from the expressions of Li Hong and Wu Mei that something must have happened to these two people, otherwise why would they take so long to get out of the car.
Wu Mei looked at Li Zhi's inquiring eyes, forced a smile, then walked up to him hand in hand with Li Hong. The emperor and the empress stood side by side to accept the monk's greeting.
The prince followed the two men, followed by the Minister of Rites Dai Zhide and others. After a conversation at the door, Jiashang and Huineng, the iron tower-like monk, turned out to be Monk Shenxiu! This was something Li Hong had never expected.
The three of them accompanied the emperor and the empress slowly into the temple. Li Hong followed behind and looked up. The layout of the entire Ci'en Temple had not changed, but obviously because of his father's arrival, a lot of repairs and cleaning had been carried out in the past few days, and the entire Ci'en Temple looked brand new.
Unable to hear clearly what they were whispering about, Li Hong was about to take two steps behind, but Wu Mei held his hand against etiquette. So, he had no choice but to follow behind them resignedly. He knew that this was because his mother was afraid that he would cause trouble again.
The spacious and bright Buddhist hall is spotless. Under the shining of the rising sun, most of the windows in the Buddhist hall are replaced with glass, making it even brighter and more spacious.
At the invitation of Huineng and others, Li Zhi and Wu Mei slowly stepped onto the temporary high platform. A dragon and a phoenix sat down on the left and right, and the prince naturally sat on the cushion below the emperor.
Huineng, Jiashang and Shenxiu sat down on the cushion at the bottom, bowed respectfully, and then began to discuss Buddhism with the emperor and empress.
At this time, when Taoism and Buddhism were still able to compete with each other, the emperor and empress's visit made Buddhism feel extremely honored. And this time, Buddhism also benefited from the local Zen Buddhism, that is, Huineng and Shenxiu, the main promoters of Zen Buddhism.
Although Huineng had not been to the north for a long time, after arriving in Chang'an at the invitation of Monk Shenxiu and the sincerity of Jiashang, he did not choose Daxingshan Temple, Da'anguo Temple, and Dazhuangyan Temple, which were more popular than Ci'en Temple, but chose Ci'en Temple, which was not the most popular temple in Chang'an City.
Huineng and Shenxiu were Zen Buddhists in the correct sense, which was different from Faru's Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to the Tang Dynasty from the Western Regions. The famous Master Xuanzang was once a monk in the royal family and a representative figure of Buddhism.
Huineng and Shenxiu are the native Zen Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty. In a true sense, they are the representative figures of the native Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty. There has always been a saying that "Neng in the South and Xiu in the North".
Southern School: Huineng. Northern School: Shenxiu. Both were taught by the Fifth Patriarch Hongren.
The sleepiness skill that he had practiced since childhood had not been used for several years. Li Hong could still understand some of the polite words at the beginning. But when it came to the question-and-answer session of the Buddhist sect, when his father asked questions and Huineng answered, Li Hong's sleepiness skill came into play.
Just like an old monk in meditation, with his eyes closed and a sincere look on his face, he occasionally shakes and nods his head, as if he is understanding and enjoying the Buddhist truth.
But Li Hong's appearance made Li Zhi and Wu Mei, who were at the top, twitch their faces. They both felt a little regretful in their hearts, wondering if it was a mistake to bring the prince here.
As time went by, the morning's Buddhist teachings gradually came to an end. Li Zhi asked, "I wonder why the monk did not choose other temples, but chose this Ci'en Temple?"
"I chose Ci'en Temple because I heard that there is a god or Buddha there, who is said to have grown out of the soil. I was curious and decided to live here." Huineng said with his hands clasped together.
"Oh, there is such a magical thing?" Li Zhi asked curiously.
"Your Majesty, this is a very magical story. One day, a monk who was cleaning the courtyard accidentally found a small round stone exposed in an open space in the courtyard. No one paid much attention to it at first, but after a few days, it grew taller every day and the head of a Buddha statue was exposed. Everyone was amazed. Could it be a manifestation of the Buddha? So they observed it every day, but it still grew a little bit every day." Jia Shang also said with his hands folded.
Li Zhi was surprised to hear this and asked Huineng, who was smiling but saying nothing, "Exalted Monk, do you know what is going on? Is this really a manifestation of the Buddha's teachings?"
"I don't know. I have been there to observe these days and have not found anything unusual. It's just that the statue is indeed growing bigger every day."
"Your Majesty, there have been many rumors in the major temples in Chang'an in recent days. It is probably because you and the Queen visited our small temple and your Buddhist heart caused this strange phenomenon." Jia Shang said with a smile. The implicit flattery made Li Zhi's face suddenly show surprise again.
Li Hong, who was dozing off and almost drooling, still had no idea what everyone was talking about. Lian Tie, who was standing beside him, felt Wu Mei's signal and then dared to quietly lean back to Li Hong, poked him in the waist, and whispered, "Your Highness, wake up. The Buddhist teachings are over. Remember, you have to wake up slowly, don't get up all at once. His Majesty, the Queen, and the three monks are still talking."
Li Hong was indeed obedient. He kept his body still, then slowly opened his eyes as Lian Tie spoke. He carefully licked his lips, first checking to see if he was drooling, and then he slowly woke up from his stupor.
Still sitting there, looking up at his father who looked very happy, then looking at his mother who was giving him a warning with her eyes, Li Hong gave Wu Mei an imperceptible sly smile.
"In that case, could you take me to check out this Buddhist phenomenon?" Li Zhi felt itchy after hearing what he said. If it was really because of his arrival that the phenomenon was triggered, it would need to be recorded in history books and would be a major event worthy of being written about to the world!
Huineng and Shenxiu looked at each other, then looked at Jiashang silently. They felt that there must be something strange here, but they didn't know what was wrong.
Although they did not believe in any visions or the Buddha's apparitions, this was a Buddhist matter and they came here only out of curiosity. They had not thought that such a vision would make Buddhism's reputation surpass that of Zen Buddhism.
Jia Shang looked at the two people and said with a smile: "Since Your Majesty wants to check it out, why not wait until after lunch before going?"
"Okay, after lunch, I will go and see for myself the miracle of the Buddha's appearance. I want to know whether this stone Buddha appeared because of my arrival." Li Zhi laughed heartily, and Wu Mei and everyone beside him also echoed him.
Only Li Hong was confused, not knowing what these people were talking about. Seeing that everyone else had stood up, he stood up as well, pulled Lian Tie's sleeve and asked, "What's going on? Why is father so happy?"
"Your Highness, this is a great joyous event. Because of your Majesty's arrival, the Buddha appeared in Ci'en Temple, and a Buddha statue grew out of the ground. Master Jiashang just said that this is because your Majesty is devoted to Buddhism..."
"Fuck you, you think my father is the Emperor Wu of Liang from the previous dynasty, right?" Li Hong interrupted Lian Tie and said coldly.
"I dare not. I have no such intention, but..." Lian Tie was so scared that he quickly apologized.
"Just what?" Li Hong watched his father and mother slowly leave the Buddhist temple and asked behind them.
"But what Master Jiashang said was that it was Your Majesty..." Lian Tie said aggrievedly.
"Stop, stop, stop talking. What about Buddha statues growing underground? If that's the case, why don't we just stop farming and grow gold instead? Who knows, if we are sincere, gold may actually grow underground." Li Hong said impatiently.
"Yes, if this Buddha statue really grew out of the ground, Your Highness, you can give it a try. If it is really like Your Highness..."
"Lian Tie, are you mentally ill? Go away and go to my mother. She's so annoying." Li Hong didn't know whether Lian Tie was really crazy or was deliberately using his words to annoy him.
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