Water Margin people

Chapter 1424 New Buddhism

"Your Majesty, I have only traveled down the mountain in the past two years, and I have only been to Hangzhou and Suzhou. I am not very famous, and I am just an unknown monk in the Buddhist community. I don't know why Your Majesty chose me!"

Dao Ji looked at Sun Lei and asked.

"It's not that you don't have a good reputation in Buddhism, it's that you are very bad. Nowadays, the trend is that people are judged by their clothes and Buddhas by their gold. I guess many people think that your dress is a disgrace to Buddhism."

Sun Lei looked at Monk Dao Ji without any hesitation. He had seen many monks and temples.

The Buddha statues in the big temples are covered with gold, and the monks are dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, giving the temple an appearance of bliss and prosperity.

Although the small temple has clay statues and the monks wear coarse linen clothes, everything is clean and tidy.

There are almost no monks as ragged and slovenly as Monk Dao Ji. In the eyes of monks, this is a disgrace to Buddhism and is considered a scum of Buddhism.

"This... please forgive me, Your Majesty. When I go to a temple to stay, I am often chased away. Although I have a certificate of ordination, they always think I am a fake monk."

Dao Ji also said helplessly.

"Isn't this just being attached to appearances? How can a monk judge people by their appearance?"

Lu Zhishen was a little confused.

"Master, weren't you also rejected when you placed an order before?"

Wu Song looked at Lu Zhishen and asked, Lu Zhishen had mentioned this when they were drinking.

Lu Zhishen quickly gave Wu Song a look, telling him not to sabotage him, saying that he was too reckless in the past and that was why he was always misunderstood.

"Buddhism says there is no color, no form, no anger, and no madness, but nowadays Buddhist monks only do superficial work. There are very few monks as pure as Master Dao Ji. This is also what I like. In my opinion, Master Dao Ji is the correct expression of Buddhist compassion, so I chose the master."

Sun Lei said.

"Is that so?"

Dao Ji bowed and nodded to show that he understood, and also expressed his willingness to follow Sun Lei's instructions.

"Do I have to dress like this too?"

Lu Zhishen looked at Dao Ji's tattered clothes. Although he was not bound by any rules, he could not accept such slovenliness.

"Master Lu, these are just appearances. There is no difference between these rags and silk!"

Dao Ji smiled and said that he never had any thoughts about the fact that he wore tattered clothes. In his eyes, clothes were just clothes.

Sun Lei smiled and did not respond. He had a vision in his mind. He would not wear tattered clothes. Enjoyment is human nature. Religion requires practice, so one must restrain all kinds of desires and live a hard life to temper one's mind.

Dao Ji was indeed an accomplished monk, he spoke eloquently about Buddhism, and everyone nodded in agreement.

However, there is a big difference between Dao Ji's Buddhism and the Buddhist scriptures. Dao Ji's Buddhism is simpler and closer to ordinary life. Its principles are easy to understand and it does not have the obscure feeling of Buddhism at all.

Unconsciously, everyone in the camp gathered around, wanting to listen to the sermon of the great monk in front of them.

Only Sun Lei yawned as he listened. He really had no interest in Buddhism, so he took on the responsibility of taking care of the children, holding the younger ones in his arms while letting the older ones play on the carpet.

"How did a nice bonfire party turn into a water and land dojo?"

Sun Lei was teasing his son and daughter, and was speechless when he looked at the people gathered around the fire listening to Dao Ji's lecture.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, Li Shishi patted Sun Lei on the shoulder and appeared behind Sun Lei.

"Huh? Why are you here?"

Sun Lei looked at Li Shishi in surprise. The women were all listening to the Buddhist teachings. "I don't believe in Buddhism!"

Li Shishi took the child, kissed him and said that when she was most helpless, she prayed to Buddha for protection, but Buddha did not appear at all. From that time on, she no longer believed in Buddha.

The lecture did not end until midnight, and everyone returned to their tents to rest.

"Your Majesty has wisdom, why don't you have much interest in Buddhism? If Your Majesty studies Buddhism, you will definitely be able to attain enlightenment!"

Dao Ji looked at Sun Lei admiring the moon and asked. He could tell from their conversation that Sun Lei was very intelligent, but when he was preaching, Sun Lei was playing with the children and had no interest at all.

"Master Daoji, I don't quite understand this wisdom, but I'm really not interested in Buddha. Sakyamuni is just a prince of a small country. His way is his way, and I have my own way!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that he indeed lacked interest in Buddhism, and a big reason for this was the influence of the greedy Buddhism of later generations. At that time, Buddhism had become a business, with money in its eyes only, and most people were just reciting cyber scriptures and beating electronic wooden fish. If you fool me, I will fool you.

"Your Majesty, Buddhism actually wants to lead people to be good, and the essence of its teachings is good!"

Monk Dao Ji explained that there were indeed many bad people in Buddhism, but the Buddha's original intention was good, it was just that some believers had impure hearts.

"Master Daoji, you have been traveling in Jiangnan. Do you know the situation of Indian Buddhism?"

Sun Lei looked at Dao Ji and asked.

"I don't know!"

Dao Ji shook his head and said that he always roamed around the bottom of society and had no idea about what was happening in the outside world.

"The Buddhist sect in India is about to be destroyed. This is not the suppression-style destruction of Buddhism in the Central Plains, but a complete destruction. Under the attack of Brahmanism and the Arabs, Buddhism will definitely be destroyed."

Sun Lei smiled and said that Buddhism in India is only on its last legs and will probably be completely destroyed in a few decades.

"Religious wars?"

Dao Ji finally showed a look of fear on his face. If the imperial power to destroy Buddhism was a calamity, then religious wars were destruction. He was well aware of the cruelty of religious wars.

Dao Ji couldn't help feeling sad. Buddhism originated in India, but he didn't expect that Indian Buddhism was about to perish.

Dao Ji did not doubt Sun Lei's words because there was no need for the emperor to lie to him.

"Don't be sad here. The problems of Buddhism are not just what I told you this day. You should know it very well. What I want is not just for you to make Buddhism get rid of its extravagance and return to its simplicity, but for you to improve Buddhism."

"After Huineng, Chinese Buddhism has completely separated from Indian Buddhism and has become a separate sect. The idea of ​​Zen Buddhism, which does not rely on words and can achieve Buddhahood through seeing one's nature, is good, but Buddhism is still not harmonious enough. I want you to unify the various sects of Buddhism and create a new Buddhism!"

"In fact, you are not only proficient in Buddhist teachings, but also understand Confucianism and Taoism!"

Sun Lei looked at Dao Ji and said that although Dao Ji was a disciple of Buddhism, his style of doing things was incompatible with Buddhism. He was more like an outlier in Buddhism, a combination of the teachings of various schools.

"This... is a little... too difficult..."

Dao Ji looked at Sun Lei and said that even the Sixth Patriarch Huineng had to flee south when facing Shenxiu. In fact, the struggles among Buddhist sects are very fierce.

"It's not difficult. Just do it with my support. If you can't handle it, leave it to Master Lu! I guarantee that Master Lu will make it right!"

Sun Lei smiled and said that with the combined efforts of Dao Ji and Lu Zhishen, one a scholar and the other a warrior, they would have no problem settling the Buddhist issue.

"And my family?"

Lu Zhishen asked curiously, he thought he had nothing to do.

"Let Daoji do the talking, and you do the physical work! Aren't monks divided into civil monks and martial monks?"

Sun Lei said with a smile.