tokyo creator

Chapter 299 God of Religion

Hui Yuanchu digested it for a moment and then asked: "So, what about 仏?"

He has not forgotten that what he wanted to know from the beginning was the relationship between the Kemen and Shinto.But Guan Xu just talked about a lot, but he still only focused on Shinto itself.

"仏ah..." Guan Xu said lazily.

"The evolution of the relationship between 仏门 and Shinto can be roughly divided into... four stages.

“In the first stage, 仏 is an external god.

"Buddhist religion was introduced into this country in the early sixth century, and it lasted until the eighth century. At this time, Buddhist religion had no connection with Shinto. People regarded Buddhist religion as parallel to Shinto but only a foreign existence... In other words, Buddhist religion is an 'external god' '.

"The second stage is the integration of gods and rituals.

"Since the ninth century, the Buddhism religion has taken root in this country. After the two eras of Asuka and Hakuho, the Buddhism religion has become increasingly prosperous in various places, especially under the deliberate promotion of the imperial court, and it soon surpassed Shinto.

"Subsequently, a saying gradually emerged among the people——"

Guan Xu paused and slowed down his speech.

"——仏 is not an 'foreign god', because 'gods' and 仏 are different. 仏 is beyond reincarnation, but gods are still trapped in reincarnation, and they struggle to find relief."

"Or, to put it bluntly, 'God' is inferior to 'Bu'.

"It is not surprising that such a statement appears. Regardless of the problem that Shinto itself does not have a systematic scripture and a complete organization... In light of the foundation of Shinto, the myths of the gods of Shinto have this fatal weakness-that is, the relationship between gods and gods. There is no strict distinction between people. The ancestors of people are gods, and celebrities of later generations can also simply become gods by setting up shrines and being worshiped...and since there is no essential difference between gods and people, then gods cannot It's beyond human suffering, isn't it?
"...However, '仏' exists in a completely different dimension and is a completely different concept.

"Under the influence of this kind of thinking, people did not abandon the gods, but began to have some good intentions and began to think that the gods they believed in also needed to gain liberation through practicing the Dharma.

"Of course, gods are different from people. Therefore, many gods began to be regarded as the 'Dharma Protector Gods' of the 仏 religion - or in other words, as 'Dharma Protector Bodhisattvas', they also received other 仏 titles. For example, the Hachiman God is called It's called the 'Eight Banners Great Bodhisattva'.

“So at this stage, two very interesting phenomena occurred in Shinto.

"One is the 'Jinguji Temple'. Jinguji Temple is not a specific temple, but refers to the construction of an affiliated temple in the original Shinto shrine.

"And what is the purpose of this kind of temple... It turns out to be 'to practice Dharma for the gods originally enshrined in the shrine, so as to facilitate reading scriptures before the gods'..." Guanxu burst out laughing, "It's so ridiculous, no wonder Scholars regard the emergence of Jinguji Temple as the beginning of the history of the practice of Shinto."

But he quickly put away his fake smile and continued: "The second type is the 'god statue'.

"Of course, to be precise, it is 'the sculptures and paintings of gods that use the modeling methods of Buddhist statues to make secular decorations'.

"You have to know that in the original concept of Shinto, God does not have an image. Therefore, there is a saying that rocks and trees, etc., are used as 'yoshiro' of God, that is, things possessed by gods, to worship instead. This is the so-called 'god body'.

"But, since all 仏 have statues of 仏, and gods are protectors of the law, what is abnormal about having statues of 仏? For example, the very famous statue guarding Hachimangu in Todaiji Temple... is obviously a god, but it shows a shaved head , wearing a monk's robe and holding a tin staff.

"This is the stage when the gods and 仏 get used to each other..." Guan Xu clapped and sarcastically said, "The gods and 仏 really love each other, they love each other..."

Hui Yuanchu actually laughed out loud - because he imagined the scene of the bald people reciting the Buddhist Sutra solemnly in front of the temple while the witches danced.

But after laughing, he also became thoughtful.

"Indeed, two religions that should devour each other are so harmonious..."

Guan Xu sneered and said: "This is the scary thing about 仏. Compared with physical annihilation, or defining the other party's god as a demon... isn't it more thorough to let the other party's god become one's believers and protectors? Victory?"

Hui Yuanchu could tell that although Shinto and Fu religion might be in love with each other, Guan Xu definitely didn't like Fu.

And for no reason, Hui Yuanchu himself didn’t like it either.

But before he could think about why, Guan Xu had already continued.

"The third stage is called 'local trace'.

"As I said just now, a lot of absurd things have already happened during the stage of divine Buddha training.

“Not only is God cultivating 仏, but 仏 is also inviting God.

"The Todai-ji Temple mentioned earlier protects Hachimangu Shrine. It was Todai-ji Temple who took the initiative to invite the folk patron saint Hachiman-godin to 'guard the Temple'... Although, the gods protecting and guarding the temple actually means that Shinto has fallen into a subordinate position, but it also shows that the Shinto religion is also fighting for the support of Shinto. After the establishment of Todaiji Temple to guard Hachimangu Shrine, other large temples have also established to guard Hachimangu Shrine. The relationship between Shinto and Shinto has become increasingly close.

"In short, the harmony of gods and goddesses was a trend... and corresponding theories began to be required. Therefore, in the middle of the Heian period, the theory of 'local traces' appeared.

"——'Local', a term used in Buddhist teachings, refers to the origin and original posture of things. Here, it refers to Buddha's Dharmakaya or real body. And 'Changji' refers to Buddha's incarnation or response body.

"As for the term 'local traces', it was originally said that the origin of 仏, in order to save all sentient beings, often traces its traces in all directions and appears in other forms... But in the context of inheriting the customs of gods and gods, it has become this meaning - -The Shinto gods are not external gods who admire and practice the Dharma, but are originally the 'incarnations' of the Dharma and Bodhisattva.

"So by the [-]th century in the late Heian period, the theory of 'local traces' had become very popular in this country. Each shrine set a 'local' 仏 for the gods it enshrined.

“For example, the Hachimangu Shrine in Usa has three statues of Sakyamuni as its local observatory.

“The Kasuga Shrine has Fuku Kannon as the home of Kashima God, Yakushi Tathagata as the home of Kotori God, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva as the home of Hiraoka God.

"... Huh, it's really gratifying." Guan Xu applauded expressionlessly again, "God and Buddha are one step closer to being in love with each other, and there is no distinction between you and me.

“But in fact, even though it is said to be integrated, only Shinto has essentially disappeared, isn’t it?
"Because in this statement, 仏 is the 'origin'. God, on the other hand, is just a 'sign' that appears temporarily when necessary... just like a dream that may disappear at any time."

Having said this, Guan Xu fell silent again.

He took a few puffs of cigarette, and then continued: "However, the local horoscope theory that emerged in the Heian period was still relatively crude after all. So in the Kamakura period, the 仏 side proposed some more sophisticated 神仏 blending theories ——For example, 'Two Shinto'.

"The two Shinto schools inherited the core of the local trace theory that 'the gods of Shinto are the traces of the gods and bodhisattvas', and at the same time introduced the existing huge system of the gods to reorganize the gods.

"For example, assign Izanagi and Amaterasu to the womb realm, and assign Izanami and Toyogo to the Vajra realm..."

Guan Xu paused again, as if he was emphasizing that what he was talking about was a teacher, looked into Hui Yuanchu's eyes and said slowly, "But what about the Buddha? The Buddha is the so-called 'golden fetus', with perfect sense , the physical body is non-dual'...that is to say, it is superior to both worlds."

"On the Shinto side, the so-called 'Ise Shinto' was also proposed by the Ise Shrine. Its theory can be summarized as 'taking God as the basis and taking 仏 as the trace'... Ha." Guanxu sneered, He said bluntly, "——It's like chewing other people's leftovers. To say it is lackluster is simply a compliment. Therefore, it is not surprising that it failed to achieve anything in the end.

"In this way, Shinto was almost on the verge of being annexed. Until the Meiji era, out of political considerations, the Shinto Separation Order was promulgated, Shinto was re-enshrined as the state religion, and the folk movement also followed the trend to eliminate Buddhists... As a result, a large number of temples , instead it took the name of a shrine again and was included in Shinto.”

After speaking faster and faster, Guan Xu raised his hand to look at his watch and was very satisfied: "Okay, another standard 25 minutes."

But this time, what follows is not a break, but a question and answer session.

He looked at Hui Yuanchu and asked: "After listening, have you had any ideas - what is 仏?"

But before Hui Yuanchu could answer, Guan Xu shook the ashes of his cigarette and quickly jumped to another point absentmindedly: "Ah, by the way, I forgot to mention it before - did you realize what Shinto is? "

"I said before that Shinto and the Group are actually doing the same thing, but it's more primitive... Guess, what does 'that thing' mean?"

Hui Yuan thought for a while, and tried to answer: "...to protect human beings?"

"Although this statement is correct, it is not the essence at all." Guanxu raised the smoke ring to the sky and said slowly.

"Compared with Buddha, Shinto is actually very primitive. As Fraser said, the boundary between man and god is not clear enough, which is a typical feature of primitive witchcraft.

"However, Shinto is very special. Even though it is primitive, they are vaguely aware of the correct theory, that is - '800 million gods', and all things have animism. And on this basis, Shinto is vague Di did something very..." Guan Xu frowned and made a rare gesture, "It's amazing."

It was as if even he couldn't suppress the surprise in his heart when he thought about this.

Guan Xu said solemnly: "With generations of worship and prayer, they created a 'new cage'.

Hui Yuan was stunned when he heard it.The cage of the true spirit generally refers to "human beings" themselves.Therefore, the ascendants and those in power were created. The origin of "ability" is the revelation of human beings' inner true spirit.

But now he suddenly realized that Shintoism was different.

Although those priests who use divine magic and witches who draw the power of gods can use supernatural power, Hui Yuan can feel that they are just ordinary people.

The object they pray to, the "god", is the source of power, that is to say, it is the existence that confronts the "powerful one".

But there is some essential difference between the gods and those in power, because through contact with the souls, Huiyuan could feel the existence of these gods a little strangely.

——It’s not that it doesn’t exist, but it’s not real enough, as if it’s something——

Hui Yuanchu suddenly knew the answer.

"Yes, you guessed it, it's a 'god'." Guan Xu looked at his expression and revealed, "God is not an entity, but a kind of group memory and group cognition. In essence, gods can even be said Created by Shintoism...

"But it is this form of existence that allows gods... to carry the true spirit as its body and cage.

“On this land, the true spirit is no longer just a prisoner of one person, but a prisoner of a group.

"In the ethnic group, people are dying all the time, and people are being born all the time. But as long as one person in this ethnic group is still alive... the true spirit will still be trapped in the cage called 'god'.

"The Shinto itself is both a seal and a cylinder like an engine. It uses the functions of the true spirit and the seal to produce the magic that protects the country...

"By the way, in the view of the group, Shintoism is not entirely clear in principle what it does. The original character of Shinto, its nature as a mixture of ancestor worship, spirit worship and nature worship, although it makes it unable to compete The Guofu religion...but also made it more 'humanized' compared to other religions." Guan Xu commented with a contemptuous expression, "That's why it can become a container of the true spirit. In terms of effect , very good, very interesting.”

Then he stopped, giving Huiyuan time to digest.

Hui Yuan was indeed shocked by this information.

Shinto binds the true spirit to the ethnic group, thereby creating a "god" that protects the ethnic group.

But this way - Hui Yuanchu suddenly thought of something Guan Xu said just now.

"So the 'thing' you said that Shinto and the group are doing is..." He raised his head from the throne and looked at the shadows of the two huge mountains suspended in the void.

Inaea, Barbero.

Although it feels a bit unbelievable, from a logical point of view, the answer can only be that one.

"... Imprisoning gods?" Hui Yuanchu murmured to himself.

"Yes, Shinto imprisons the gods." Guanxu rarely answered him, then looked at him and finally returned to the original question, "So, what about 仏?

"But he is rescuing the gods.

“仏 believes that gods are inherently 仏. 仏 believes that gods can and must be liberated.

"仏 believes that the world can be divided into two realms: spiritual and material... However, 仏 himself is above these two realms, that is, from outside the world.

"...So, what exactly is 仏?"

We circled back from "What is Shinto" and finally returned to the original question of "What is 仏?"But now, Hui Yuanchu knew what Guan Xu's answer was.

Hui Yuanchu looked up at Guanxu and replied seriously: "——It's light."

Guan Xu took a deep breath and repeated, "Yes, it's light."

is the messenger.

is light.

He came into this world to awaken all the other lights that were lost in this world.

Together with them, return to the Kingdom of Light.

Then, the two of them fell silent together in tacit agreement.

"I said this, you should understand, right? About our current situation, right? After thousands of years of accumulation, the power of 仏 has become so powerful within the Shinto religion." Finally, Guanxu said.

Hui Yuanchu nodded and had almost sorted out his thoughts. He raised his head and took over Guan Xu's words: "I understand... What you mean is that you no longer believe anyone in Shinto."

But Guan Xu nodded simply and said: "Yes, that's it. So, you, who are from the group, have become the only person I can trust."

"Whether it is the Crusaders or the Totomen, they are actually just different names for the same group of enemies. Judging from the series of actions at Hachimangu Shrine, they have been planning for a long time, just to win the Shenzhi Festival in one fell swoop.

"Saio is the only shrine maiden of Toyokuni Lord, in other words, it is also the only 'entrance' to Toyokuni Lord.

“They…wanted to send light in.

"Because 'Light' is the most desired thing for the King of Powers, and it is also a poison that is completely irresistible.

"This time, it's the other way around." Guan Xu calmly said the final conclusion, "Normally, the land gods and witches share the damage to the land. But this time, I'm afraid the Crusaders want to do the opposite. It is to carry out a land-level sabotage attack by harming the land god."

Hui Yuanchu immediately understood the seriousness of it.

Then, he realized that Guanxu had just called the Lord Feng Guo the "King of Powers".

In the process of interpreting the divine system just now, Guan Xu actually only went up to Guochang Lizun, and happened to not mention the following Fengguo Lord...

So, at this time, Hui Yuanchu naturally asked: "Lord Fengguo, which one does he correspond to in the system of Holy Spirit Religion?"

Guan Xu tapped the pipe rhythmically in his hand for a moment, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "At that time, Sophia spilled her spirituality into the sea of ​​chaos out of curiosity and compassion.

“So the first King of Powers, the ‘Creator’, ‘Adabador of Flesh and Blood’ responded to Sophia’s call and was born.

"Adabador imprisoned Sophia out of his desire for light. But he still felt that the world was desolate and lonely.

“Then he began to try to create, just as Sophia created him from chaos.

"Adhabadot failed. His creation had no spirit, so it was neither alive nor able to stand. It was just a ball of clay like the original him.

“So, Sophia gently breathed in again and distributed some of her remaining spirit to this creation.

“This time, the creation finally came to life and stood up.

"Adrabado was very happy, so he said - 'I am the Father and God of this world, and there is no other god besides me.'

"Sophia reprimanded him: 'You are wrong, Aldabado, above you, there is the Father of Light'.

"But the newborn spoke at this time and said: 'Mother, that is your father and God, but not my father and God.'

"-'There is no other god but my Father.'

"This is...the second King of Powers, the 'Tree of Injustice', 'Eros of Love'.

(End of this chapter)