Chapter 0081: Leave Him Alone
The Buddhist's presence in Chenliu City suddenly increased.
People tend to follow the crowd. Even if they are not fanatics, ordinary people will not be able to help but imitate them after seeing the attitude of fanatics. Since they don’t know whether it is true or not, they might as well try it seriously. After all, they are just asking for blessings and it doesn’t cost any money.
More and more people gathered here, many of them cried out in excitement, those who didn't know thought someone had passed away in the palace, and this was a prayer for the souls of the dead. …
When the situation was about to get out of control, Mi Jing finally showed up, still wearing the same monk's robe, the same two strings of Buddhist beads, one large and one small, and the same shiny bald head.
But Xiao Rong inexplicably felt that Mi Jing became more handsome and more compassionate. Listening to the crying, calling, and chanting in his ears, Xiao Rong had the urge to kneel down and kowtow to him.
Blinking quickly, Xiao Rong silently stood behind Gao Xunzhi. The power of faith and atmosphere was too terrifying. He had better stay away. Although he considered himself an atheist, what if, if he stayed in this place full of Buddhist light for too long, it would turn on a switch in his brain, turning him into an unwavering Buddhist fanatic.
This is not impossible. Xiao Rong once saw a survey that asked non-religious people to stay in places like churches and temples for a long time. After a period of time, 80% of the volunteers were influenced and began to agree with religious concepts to a certain extent.
You can say this is the power of faith, or you can say this is the power of brainwashing. In short, it is best not to test the firmness of your will.
Thinking of this, Xiao Rong couldn't help but look at Gao Xunzhi in front of him. Only magic can defeat magic. Even if Gao Xunzhi stayed here for a month, it was impossible for him to be affected by any fanatical fans.
Because he was also a fanatical fan, after receiving the compensation from Nan Yong, Xiao Rong distributed some prizes to everyone. Others ate meat and drank wine, or bought some good things, but Gao Xunzhi only did one thing, which was to make a golden body for the mini version of the Taoist statue in his room.
Xiao Rong: “…”
I can't understand the thinking of this group of people.
On the first day, Mi Jing was asked to leave by other monks because not all monks could go down the mountain. Many old monks had difficulty walking, but were just as eager to see the Buddha and talk to him.
In the past, Xiao Rong learned about the status of Buddhist disciples from books. Later, he repeatedly emphasized to others that Buddhist disciples were very important. Everyone who heard him agree with this statement, but when there were more people, there was no more. Sometimes Xiao Rong would doubt himself and wonder if the books praised Mi Jing too highly.
Today he realized that it wasn't that he raised it too high, but that he didn't raise it high enough.
This is not a Buddhist, he is simply a living Buddha in people’s hearts. …
Xiao Rong was not a Buddhist, and he would never be able to understand the feeling of crying with joy in the hearts of Buddhists. In their view, Mi Jing was the kind of person who would definitely become a Buddha after meditation. He was not a Bodhisattva or an Arhat, but would only become the highest level of Buddha.
Saving tens of thousands of people and dealing with the brutal Xianbei emperor single-handedly, what a great merit it is. If even Mi Jing cannot become a Buddha, then everyone's worldview will be shattered.
However, regarding this point, Xiao Rong wanted to say...Mi Jing did not become a Buddha.
Well, this is not because he did not have enough merits, but because in the official history, he was only loyal to He Fu. Later, no matter who invited him, he would not come out. Even if those emperors would not make things difficult for him openly, it was impossible for them to recognize his role in Central Plains Buddhism.
Even without Mi Jing, there are still many monks who can come forward and preach, and Mi Jing is not irreplaceable.
If a person wants to be deified, the right time, right place, and right people are all necessary. Mi Jing locked himself in the Buddhist temple and outside the altar. From then on, he was just the eminent monk Mi Jing, a rare but far from unique eminent monk. …
There is no need to think about such long-term things at this moment. Xiao Rong is willing to help Mi Jing and let him get the status he deserves, but he also does not want Mi Jing to be the only one in power in Chenliu City. Nowadays, people come to invite Buddhist disciples every day, and the six temples are eager to let Mi Jing be their abbot. In order to make their own temples worthy of Mi Jing's arrival, they even plan to take out money to renovate the temples.
This is only the situation inside Chenliu. I guess there are monks outside who have also set off, but the summer retreat has just ended, so they can't get here for a while.
Faced with these invitations, Xiao Rong remained silent. In the end, whether Mi Jing went or not had nothing to do with him, but what Xiao Rong was thinking in his heart was, no, Mi Jing couldn't go.
This was his idea before he saw how powerful Mi Jing's appeal was. Now that he has seen it, it is even more impossible for him to let Mi Jing go out and start his own business. That's right, it is impossible for Mi Jing, a monk, to change his career to become a warlord, but what if he chats with others and then suddenly realizes that the King of Zhenbei is not worthy of loyalty? How much benefit Mi Jing can bring to them now, how much harm can he bring to them after he turns against them.
Even worse, "the King of Zhenbei abandoned by the Buddha", he didn't dare to think about how many days he would be sick if this reputation spread. ...
Xiao Rong pondered for a long time, and at the next meeting, he proposed to build a Buddhist temple.
Moreover, this Buddhist temple is quite large in scale, and its various specifications are modeled after those of other national temples such as Da Ci'en Temple, Da Bao'en Temple, and Daxiangguo Temple.
The large scale means that many people are needed to help maintain it. It was built by Xiao Rong, which means it was built by the King of Zhenbei, which means it was built by the Zhenbei Army. When there were not enough monks in the early stage, some soldiers were assigned to help. Later, when it gradually got on track, these soldiers did not have to withdraw and could continue to serve as guards there.
Generally speaking, Buddhist temples are self-sufficient. They grow crops and vegetables and let novice monks do the cleaning. No matter what aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are all kinds of monks to share the burden. It can be said that a temple is equivalent to a large courtyard with a high gate and is almost unaffected by the outside world.
Xiao Rong suggested that some good land could be allocated to the abbots and elders of the temples, and the people could cultivate the land for them. The people would be willing to make contributions to the Buddha, and the elders would be able to spare some time to study the Buddhist scriptures more attentively.
This proposal seemed like a good thing in the short term, because the land that Xiao Rong was going to donate was much more than what the temple could grow on its own. But over time, the monks would stop farming and would become extremely dependent on gifts from the outside, with their living resources controlled by others. This was not a good sign. Firstly, it would give rise to greed, and secondly, the monks would be shackled.
Without Yu Shaoxie and Qu Yunmie, there are only four people left here. Zhao Yaozu is not counted. He is just here to help the Buddhists and has no chance to attend such a meeting for the time being.
Song Suo and Gao Xunzhi remained silent. They were both smart and understood what Xiao Rong meant immediately. Their eyes turned to the Buddhist disciple opposite them.
Mi Jing listened to Xiao Rong's words and laughed: "Monks should not be too involved with the secular world."
Xiao Rong also laughed: "This Buddhist temple is going to be built near the future royal palace. It's in a busy city. Once you open the door, you'll be in the world of mortals. It's hard not to be involved."
Mi Jing: "If the door is closed tightly, there will be no involvement."
Xiao Rong: "No matter how tight a door is, it will eventually fall into disrepair. Instead of waiting for the doors and windows to fall apart and you can't fix them yourself, why not tell your neighbors in advance? There is a saying that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. What do you think, Buddhist?"
Gao Xunzhi looked at the two of them silently without saying anything for a long time.
Song Shuo blinked, and he had a strong desire to join in. …
But he didn't have time to do so, because Mi Jing sighed and said abruptly: "Okay, then let's do as Mr. Xiao says."
Xiao Rong had already thought of countless possible scenarios, and even thought of a dozen or so golden sentences for quarrels. When he suddenly heard Mi Jing agree, he was even more surprised than Gao Xunzhi and the others: "You agree?"
Mi Jing tilted his head towards Xiao Rong, "How can I say yes or no? I am not the one who makes the decisions for the Buddhist sect. Besides, Master Xiao is willing to build a temple for the Buddhist sect, which is a great merit. How can I be qualified to agree or disagree?"
Xiao Rong: "...This temple was built for you."
It's such an obvious thing, isn't it possible that Sen Wan could have built it for himself? He eats meat for three meals a day, so he can't live the life of a monk!
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