The story of Buddhism's vegetarianism can be traced back to an emperor who loved to become a monk: Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan. He is the ancestor of the current aristocratic Lanling Xiao family, and his ancestor can be traced back to Xiao He, a founding hero of the Han Dynasty.
"Emperor Wu of Liang read the Lankavatara Sutra: 'Bodhisattvas are compassionate and merciful, and cannot bear to eat the flesh of any living being.' He was deeply moved after reading it, and his sympathy was overwhelming. So he stopped having sex with women and eating meat, and even in the end, he did not allow his own people to eat meat."
"Don't confuse vegetarianism with vegetarianism. Vegetarianism does not mean eating vegetarian food. It means 'purity of mind', and vegetarianism can help people purify their minds. As the saying goes, eating meat can make people's qi turbid, while eating vegetarian food can make people's qi clear." Li Zhi looked at Li Hong and talked freely.
This is the first time, the first time I showed my face in front of my son like this. At any other time, I would ask my son what was going on.
Jia Shang listened to Li Zhi's words and smiled, "Your Majesty likes Buddhism, this is justice."
Originally, Su Shi looked reluctant, but now he looked like a good kid. He stood up and saluted Li Zhi, saying, "Thank you for your teachings, father. I will remember it in my heart. Thank you, father."
"Sit down and prepare to go with your father to see the Buddhist vision." Li Zhi and Wu Mei looked at each other. This man had good royal etiquette in front of others and was very well-behaved.
After a boring meal, Li Hong was always held by Wu Mei's hand. If there was really something, Wu Mei would ask Lian Tie to keep a close eye on him in front of Li Hong.
After all, the other leader Dai Zhide and the censor Wang Yifang were also there. If either of them didn't notice and the two of them started arguing over something on the spot, it would really bring shame to the royal family.
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From the moment they entered Ci'en Temple until now, Dai Zhide and Li Hong seemed to have never looked at each other straight in the eye, as if they were ignoring each other's existence.
The relationship between the two is now tense, which is related to a foreign event a few days ago, that is, the Persian prince Peroz asked the Tang Dynasty for help. Because of their different opinions in private, the two had fierce quarrels several times in the Imperial College.
Therefore, no matter who sees the other now, they want to bite the other. Even Li Hong shook his head privately and said, "Is this guy possessed by Wei Zheng? Why does he only dare to be so arrogant in front of me? I have never seen him be so arrogant in front of my father. If it doesn't work, find some monks or Taoists to exorcise the evil spirit for him."
From Li Hong's words, we can imagine the relationship between him and Dai Zhide. It is also enough to imagine that Dai Zhide, after fulfilling his duties as a subject from beginning to end, and he and Li Hong are really a natural match.
Li Hong, whose hand was held by Wu Mei, naturally did not even look at Dai Zhide, and Dai Zhide, who was traveling with the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, also treated Li Hong as if he were air.
The crowd surrounded the emperor, empress, prince and his family of three and came to the courtyard. As expected, they saw the upper body of a stone statue had already emerged from the ground. It is said that the remaining part will slowly grow out over time until it is completely out of the ground.
On normal days, there are naturally many devout men and women who come here to burn incense. However, due to the royal activities recently, Ci'en Temple has temporarily refused believers to enter the temple.
The crowd was standing not far from the Buddha statue, all marveling at it. Huineng and Shenxiu also had mysterious expressions on their faces, while Jiashang was looking at the Buddha statue, smiling without saying a word, with a look of glory on his face.
Li Hong stared at it for a long time, then turned his head to look at Lian Tie who had been serving the fat man, and asked, "Is this the Buddha statue that grew out?"
"Your Highness, yes, this is the grown Buddha statue." Lian Tie replied quickly.
Wu Mei glanced at Li Hong and heard his disdainful tone. She immediately felt alarmed and warned him: "What do you want to do? Don't talk nonsense."
Huineng had been standing nearby. After hearing what Li Hong said, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Your Highness, do you think this Buddha statue is unusual?"
Li Hong had great respect for Huineng from the bottom of his heart, and he was also curious about the rumors that Huineng and Shenxiu did not have much contact.
Looking at his thin, dark face with a smile, without any trace of worldly troubles, I couldn't help but feel a little more respect for him and said, "There is nothing to worry about in the world, only mediocre people worry about themselves."
Huineng's face changed, and even Shenxiu next to him suddenly looked over here. How could a ten-year-old boy say such words full of Buddhist verses!
"Your Highness, please solve my doubts for me?" Huineng said to Li Hong respectfully.
When Wu Mei saw Huineng like this, she was also shocked! This guy was just sleeping in the Buddhist temple just now and didn't listen to a single word of Buddhist teachings.
How come he actually attracted the two eminent monks to suddenly look at him sideways? And looking at the expressions of the two eminent monks, they were solemn but also respectful, and even had a hint of request.
There is nothing to worry about in the world, only mediocre people make trouble for themselves. To put it bluntly, it means that some people have nothing to do after eating, so they get involved in ghosts, monsters, myths and superstitions. You have to compare yourself with others, to distinguish between good and evil, beauty and ugliness, right and wrong.
The reason why Li Hong said so was that he saw through the illusion of the Buddha statue. Nothing could grow out of the ground. If he dug it up, he would know there was something fishy underneath.
But there is nothing to worry about in the world, only mediocre people make trouble for themselves. However, it has the same effect as the verse of enlightenment of the mind and realization of the nature, which was widely circulated in the previous life of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. Naturally, Shenxiu and Huineng were surprised, because their verses were realized through their own hard practice.
But I didn't expect that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, at only ten years old, could see things so clearly.
Wu Mei also looked at Li Hong nervously. Li Zhi noticed something unusual on this side, and turned around with Jia Shang, watching Huineng and Shenxiu asking Li Hong for advice.
"There is no Bodhi tree, nor is there a mirror stand. There is nothing originally, so where can dust gather? How is your Bodhi Gāthā doing now?" Li Hong said in a shocking manner.
"How did Your Highness know this?" Huineng and Shenxiu were so surprised that they didn't know what to do. This was a new verse they had recently realized, and they had never told it to anyone before they perfected it.
"It's not difficult. I listened to you talking about Buddhism in the Buddhist temple today. I think this is the essence of your Buddhist teachings. Li Hong admires you." Li Hong said calmly.
"Your Highness, please accept my greeting." After Huineng said this, he and Shenxiu looked at Li Hong devoutly, clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, and bowed.
"I dare not, Master Huineng and Master Shenxiu would never allow that. The previous generation plants the trees, and the next generation enjoys the shade. This is the result of your painstaking efforts. I just heard your verses from your Buddhist teachings." Li Hong said seriously.
Wu Mei, however, had a look of disbelief on her face. With the way you sleep, when have you ever listened to someone talking about Buddhism? But no matter what, she couldn't suppress the shock in her heart, because she and Li Zhi had listened for a whole morning and didn't understand the meaning. Could it be that her and His Majesty's understanding was really not as good as this villain?
After Huineng and Shenxiu paid their respects to Li Hong, they also said to him sincerely: "Since Your Highness is extremely intelligent and has a deep affinity with Buddhism, could you reveal the mystery of this Buddha statue to us?"
Li Hong frowned. He originally didn't want to expose this underworld trick. After all, this thing didn't have much impact, and it would also add points to the sincerity of his father and mother in worshiping Buddha.
Huineng looked at Li Hong's frowning and hesitation, and naturally knew what the royal family was thinking. This was why he had been traveling around the Lingnan area in the south and rarely came to the north.
First, he did not want the Zen Buddhism to split because of his dispute with Shenxiu. Another reason is that he wanted to stay away from the royal family and the court. "The ability in the south and the beauty in the north" is his concern.
"Your Highness, as the saying goes: The origin of the worldly heart is inseparable from the world. Leaving the world to find the truth is like searching for the heart." Huineng was like reading the fantasy novels that Li Hong read in his previous life. As he spoke, he made a big move, which was accompanied by bloody storm, step-by-step pressure, and philosophical traces, leaving Li Hong with no way to escape.
Li Zhi, Wu Mei, and even Jia Shang, who looked like a Buddha, were all shocked. Huineng's words did not regard Li Hong as just a prince, nor as a little boy. Instead, they came from his heart and regarded Li Hong as a great monk who was at the same level as him in terms of enlightenment.
At this moment, Li Hong really wanted to say: "Amitabha Buddha." He would be so angry that Huineng, who forced him to expose Jia Shang's tricks, would die.
But he knew in his heart that as long as he dared to recite it, Wu Mei would dare to punish him. But who is Li Hong? He is the kind of person who won't release the eagle until he sees the rabbit. You think you can force him with just two words from you? That's wishful thinking.
Becoming a Buddha, becoming a Taoist, becoming a demon, or becoming a god, Li Hong can all walk the fine line. At this time, he also pretended to be serious and said: "What the world sees is my foolish opinion. The original heart is not wrong, and the wrong will come naturally."
The implication is that you should bring out some real material and stop using Buddhism to pressure people all the time.
Huineng smiled. His dark and thin face suddenly blossomed into a gentle, non-confrontational smile, like thousands of flowers blooming and thousands of Buddhas paying homage to each other.
"I have a kapok cassock, a treasure of Zen Buddhism. If Your Highness the Crown Prince is willing to help me solve my doubts, I would like to give the cassock to Your Highness the Crown Prince." Huineng looked at Li Hong and said.
As soon as this was said, Shenxiu hurriedly stopped him and said, "No."
Li Zhi and Wu Mei's eyes lit up. They knew what the thing represented, and the kapok robe was a legacy. For Wu Mei, who had always loved Buddhism, this was more exciting than anything else.
Li Zhi's heart was naturally pounding as he wished Hong'er could get the kapok robe bestowed by Huineng and present it to his mother. In this court and throughout the world, Hong'er's reputation for kindness and filial piety will spread throughout the world.
And today's encounter will be recorded in history forever and become a beautiful story.
Li Hong nodded cautiously: "Thank you very much, Master." His words were full of confidence, as if the Buddha statue in front of him was just an easy thing for him.
Turning around, Li Hong looked at Jia Shang and said calmly, "Abbot Jia Shang, do you know the origin of this Buddha statue?"
Jia Shang thought for a moment and said carefully, "Your Highness, I really don't know."
"Has anyone been staying at Ci'en Temple recently?"
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