Under the sky

Chapter 308 Loss of reputation

The news of Zhuge Ran's failed rebellion shocked the nine families. No one knew where he went. Rumors spread all over the place. Some said that he had died long ago, and some said that he fled to Hongguo.

When Juewen told Juekong the news, the golden-haired lion Jueji stood nearby. He had to cover his mouth to hold back his laughter to avoid losing his temper. Juekong just listened and showed no emotion at all. Jueji, who had always been loyal to Juekong, I admire this leader even more - how on earth can he hold back his smile?How strong is this?

"This is Dian Cang's family matter and has nothing to do with Shaolin." Juekong said: "The construction of the city of Luoyang, the battle at Hengshan, and the Buddha's birthday next month are the important matters of Shaolin."

Awareness of hearing and awareness of silence should be respectful.

However, when Juejian heard the news, he sighed softly. He said to Ming Wuxi on the Ciguang Pagoda: "Deputy Master Zhuge has been smart all his life, but he has no wisdom."

"Abbott, are you talking about Prajna?" Ming asked unclearly.

Prajna means wisdom in Sanskrit. In Buddhist scriptures, it refers to the wisdom that enables one to realize the Dharma.

Juejian shook his head: "Deputy Commander Zhuge has no faith. The wisdom mentioned by the poor monk is that the Vice Commander has a stubborn character and will retaliate. His words are like a knife and he will never tolerate others."

Ming unknown thought for a while: "The first seat of Juekuan? Abbot Jueguang?"

Juejian was speechless and laughed, and said: "When Abbot Juesheng was still here, he often advised them like this." When he said this, he remembered that Juesheng had also advised him to be tolerant on the outside and jealous on the inside.These are all obsessions, and I can’t help but sigh.He had always admired this senior brother, and although he also complained that he allowed Juekong to sit on the throne, Juesheng was indeed a wise and harmonious monk with a kind heart and a good monk who did not delay in practicing secular affairs.

"April will be in seven days." Juejian said, "It's time. The poor monk has discussed with the leader of Juekong. Tomorrow, the four houses will discuss it together. The matter of changing Shaolin will be decided."

■

This time the Four Houses' consensus was perhaps the most shocking since the creation of the Four Houses after the Kunlun Council. In comparison, the change of official name a few years ago was just a trivial matter.

Among the four courtyards and eight halls, in addition to Jueci and Zhengjintang abbot Liao Lin, the head of Ksitigarbha Monastery, and two lay monks who went to Luoyang to supervise the construction of the city, the three monks of Wenshu Monastery, Jueyun, Jueming and Jueguang, and the lay monk leader Jue Kong, Jueji, Juewen, four monks of the same generation, Liao Tong, Liao Zheng, Ling Ping, as well as the new abbot Liao Wuju of the Right Mind Hall were all present.

Juejian looked solemn, so he sat down and looked around at the monks. Juekong, as always, sat upright. He knew that today was a thousand-year event in Shaolin, and he was the only one in the meeting who knew what was being discussed today. His face was still unmoved.

"In the past year, major events have happened frequently in the world." Juejian spoke first: "Kunlun Palace was ambushed by barbarians, killing three of its leaders. Hengshan ordered the Cang Beggar Clan to Qingcheng Huashan, and even Shaolin sent troops to assist Hengshan. Among the nine great families, Six families were involved in the war. Recently, the former head of Qingcheng died and deputy head Dian Cang fled. Why? The poor monk thought, all these disturbances and bustling are for fame, wealth and power."

"Shaolin Temple has been established for thousands of years. More than a hundred years ago, it was just the Qingdeng Ancient Buddha, a sect that taught skills and teachings. It is not as big as the size of the temple today. Even though it is Mount Taishan and Beidou, it only cares about the affairs of this temple. Even if it has gone through The Buddha has always stood firm. In Shaolin at that time, the monks were free to follow their hearts and practice diligently. There were countless eminent monks and virtuous people in the temple, leaving countless verses and clear instructions for future generations to admire and learn from."

"Today's Shaolin is one of the nine great families. Over the past hundred years since the death of King Nu, there have been more than thirty years of wars. In the old days, there was the Shaosong War, more recently there was the Solitary Cemetery War, and there was the Hengshan War. All the disciples were injured and killed, the people suffered, and thousands died. Is this the compassionate intention of our Buddha?" Juejian shook his head and turned to ask Jueyun of Wenshu Monastery: "Master Jueyun, you can practice in this temple with peace of mind. ?”

Jueyun clasped his hands together and said respectfully: "Practice is not easy, you can only work hard, one step at a time."

Juejian nodded: "Shaolin has gone through hundreds of years of turmoil and disputes between the orthodox and the secular. The poor monk thought that it was time for Shaolin to return to its true colors."

Everyone was puzzled when they heard what he said, except for Juekong, who vaguely guessed, but couldn't believe it.

"The poor monk plans to exclude Shaolin Temple from the Shaolin sect."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Jueming was still puzzled and asked, "What does abbot mean?"

Juejian said: "I have discussed this matter with the leader of Juekong. Luoyang built the city for this matter. From now on, Shaolin Temple will only have Wenshu Monastery, without the four courtyards and eight halls. Going back to a hundred years ago, the Sutra Pavilion, the Precepts Monastery, and the Arhat There are only monks in the temple, and the Shaolin sect laid its foundation in Luoyang. Since it is not a temple, it can be set up like the other eight sects. There is no need to pay taxes to the local temples. The Shaolin sect collects them as a whole. All these things are not enough for the clan. This restructuring will not succeed in three to five years, and it all depends on the planning of Juekong. From now on, the Shaolin Temple will be an ordinary temple. , recruit disciples and monks, teach classics and martial arts, and keep all the classics in the temple. If necessary, we can make separate copies and store them in Luoyang."

One of the righteous monks, Liaotong, was surprised and said: "Abbott, you absolutely must not!"

Jueyun, who has always ignored secular affairs, also frowned, and Jueming asked, "Abbott, are you going to give up on Shaolin?"

Jue Guang said: "So from now on, the Shaolin Temple will be under the command of the Shaolin Sect. Amitabha, it is only once in a thousand years that I call my son daddy."

What he said was an irony that the Shaolin sect originated from the Shaolin Temple, but the Shaolin Temple was under the jurisdiction.

Juekong said: "The Shaolin Temple still has jurisdiction over Zhengzhou, which is not under the jurisdiction of Shaolin. On the contrary, the Shaolin sect will allocate funds from the annual income to the Shaolin Temple to maintain miscellaneous branches in the temple."

Not only the orthodox monks, but also the lay monks looked at each other in disbelief. Although the debate between the orthodox and the secular had been going on for many years, they couldn't believe it when they saw such a drastic move, no, more than a drastic move, it was an earth-shaking change.Several lay monks looked at Juekong. His expression was solemn, as always. Hearing his reply, it was obviously what he expected.It turns out that the abbot had already conspired with Juekong.

"The whole Zhengzhou will be the Buddha's capital." Juejian continued: "The current Buddha's capital refers to the Buddha's capital at the foot of the mountain. If monks live in the entire Zhengzhou and take care of all the philanthropists, wouldn't it be more beneficial? A disciple of Buddhism? From now on, the Buddha will return to the Buddha, the secular will return to the secular, and it will no longer matter."

Jue Guang turned to Jue Wen and said, "Master Jue Wen, I have learned a new recipe of almond tofu. I take almonds, sweet dates, sour plums, plums, and rock sugar and dissolve them with warm water. It tastes particularly sweet and tender."

Almond Tofu was because Jue Wen was fond of desserts. When the words came to him, he naturally cursed him in a roundabout way. Jue Wen knew what he meant and couldn't reply. Instead, he got it out of the way and deliberately said, "Uncle, this is almond sweet soup. No." How can it be considered almond tofu if you add tofu?”

Jue Guang said with ridicule: "There are no monks in Shaolin."

Juekong said: "If Abbot Jueguang feels that it is inappropriate to use the word Shaolin, the Shaolin sect can change it to another word."

Jue Guang asked: "Is that the Duolin sect or the Shaosen sect?"

Seeing him contradicting him, Jueji was about to get angry when Juekong glanced at him, and Jueji had no choice but to suppress his anger.Juekong continued: "Don't worry about the name change."

However, after all these years, Mantou Zhizheng, who had gained courage and qualifications, was the most pragmatic. He asked: "In addition to the three thousand monks in the temple, there are tens of thousands of monks outside the temple, each holding important positions. How should we arrange them? "

Juekong said: "Stay in the original position. Replace it after you step back. The separation of the Shaolin family is not something that can happen overnight. It can be dealt with slowly."

The three monks of Wenshu Monastery are in charge of the study of scriptures, sermons, teaching, classics, etc., and have little interference in other government affairs. Except for Jue Guang, who is very articulate, even if the other two want to object, they don't know how to refute, and they have no idea how to refute. The monk's qualifications were still relatively low, so he was shocked to find out that Dao Jueguan had resigned from his post. Was it perhaps a move arranged by the abbot?

Jue Guang said coldly: "The abbot and the chief have already planned to rebuild the inner city of Luoyang. Since the abbot and the chief have the final say, what's the point of having the four houses discuss it together?"

Juejian suddenly raised his hand to signal Jueguang to be silent. Jueguang swallowed his anger and said respectfully, "What do you think, abbot?"

Juejian said: "The three poisons and seven sufferings have always been obstacles to spiritual practice. Fame, wealth and power are even less important in front of the Buddha. Shaolin Temple is a place of spiritual practice after all. It should not be contaminated with political affairs. If you are dedicated to Buddha, why bother to fight for fame and power?" The monk’s actions today are just to restore Shaolin’s true colors.”

Jue Guang couldn't hold it anymore and said: "Shaolin has put on makeup and rouge. It's true that color is not different from space, and space is not different from color. When the poor monk was tonsured, he didn't notice Shaolin's face. pink."

The golden-haired lion Jue Ji was so angry that he almost stood up and shouted: "Jue Guang, you..."

Jue Guang interjected: "Don't shake it, it will fall to the ground."

Jueji stood up, but Jueguang was unafraid, sitting on the futon without even looking at him.

Juekong said coldly: "Juekong!"

Jueji heard Kong shouting, and felt a chill in his heart. He sat down hurriedly, still staring at Jueguang.

Juejian shook his head and said: "The poor monk has reached an agreement with Chief Juekong. In the future, Shaolin's restructuring will require the help of the four courtyards and eight halls in many matters. The poor monk hopes that everyone will work together to overcome the difficulties." Then he added: "Even if Shaolin is reorganized. "Although the titles of the three disciples of Wenshu Monastery have been changed, their duties have not changed, but they have been changed back to the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion and Luohan Hall."

Jue Guang ridiculed: "Hearing what the abbot said, the poor monk felt at ease. I originally became a monk just to shave my head for free, but now I am making a lot of money."

There is a shaved monk in Shaolin Temple who shaves the heads of the monks for free. Jue Guang said that he became a monk to save the cost of shaving, which is ironic. It means that he did not become a monk for fame and fortune, and his objection was not because he lacked power.

After getting the certificate, he was still struggling: "Abbott, the world is in chaos now, the Songgao League is causing trouble, the dispute over the solitary cemetery is still unresolved, and Shaolin is involved in the Hengshan war. Why don't you just press the button and discuss it again in three years?"

Jueming, Liaowu, Liaozheng and other monks also agreed: "Why don't we discuss it again in three years?"

Juejian replied: "Restructuring cannot be done overnight. It can be slowed down but not stopped."

Liao Wu suddenly said loudly: "Abbott, Shaolin is not a place for one person. As Abbot Jueguang said, if the abbot and Juekong have the final say, what is the use of the four houses' joint discussion?"

He is a disciple of Jueru, and he hates lay monks the most. Although he is the most junior, he can't bear it at this time. He also said: "If my master were here and saw what happened today, he would definitely say what should this monk Lao Shizi do? He should practice cultivation." , where are there no temples in the nine great families? Shaolin is the holy land of Buddhism in the world, the refuge of Buddhism in the world, the land of four provinces, and fertile land for thousands of miles. Today, we are simply underestimating a restructuring and giving it away to the evil ways!"

Jueji shouted angrily: "Who are you talking about?"

Shitou Liaoping also scolded: "Now there is no distinction between orthodoxy and secularity, and there is no rule that non-monks are not allowed to enter the church. What's wrong with the reform?" Before the three monks of Wenshu Monastery spoke, he was a senior scholar after all, and he was still afraid of it. He was somewhat of an elder. He was a newbie in the martial arts and a peer. Seeing that his tone was not kind, he immediately started to scold him.

Martial arts: "This is the Shaolin Temple. Since Bodhidharma crossed the river with a reed, he left behind 36 unique skills. Countless eminent monks and great virtues have added them from generation to generation until 72 unique skills. There are more than 50 kinds of fists, feet, weapons and martial arts. After thousands of years, the prestige of Shaolin has been built. To become a martial arts master, during the time of the angry king, countless monks came out for the common people and fought for more than thirty years to create a place of peace and peace for the four provinces. Lay monks and lay disciples only entered the church for only fifty years, just like this for fifty years. Do you want to take away the thousand-year-old legacy created by our ancestors? Why don’t you try to occupy the magpie’s nest?”

Juekong said: "If you insist on having the four houses discuss it together, wait until Jue Ci and Liao Lin come back and vote for a resolution." Li Wu immediately fell silent. Nowadays, the eight halls of the four houses are divided equally between secular and secular, so the lay monks naturally support the reform. Finally, It is still up to the abbot to decide.Liao Wu looked at Juejian and saw that he had a serious look on his face, apparently not shaken.

As long as Jue Jian insists on restructuring, even if the four houses discuss it together, the outcome will not be changed.

Suddenly there was a long sigh, and everyone turned their heads. It was Jueyun who had been silent until now. He only heard him clasping his hands together and chanting the Buddha's name softly. Then he stood up slowly and took off his yellow cassock, leaving only his underwear and pants. He put on the cassock. Fold it neatly and slowly place it in front of you.Kneel down on your knees, put your hands on the ground and bow deeply.

"This poor monk is ninety-nine in his sixties, so he is old." Jueyun said, "Jueyun is going to retire here, and I would like to ask the abbot to fulfill his wishes."

He is not good at words and is not familiar with common things, so he can only express his dissatisfaction in this way.

Juejian sighed: "Senior brother, why bother?"

Jueyun said: "I don't want Shaolin to perish at the hands of a poor monk."

Liao Wu also got up in anger, grabbed his chest, hissed, tore off a large piece of his cassock, and threw it on the ground: "I don't want to see what happened today, even a poor monk." After that, he strode around and left.

Seeing how embarrassing the situation was, Juejian sighed, "Quan, let's adjourn the meeting. We will discuss today's matters after Juec and Liao Lin come back."

Everyone clasped their hands and sent the abbot off respectfully. After the four-court discussion was over, Juejian summoned Juekong to discuss the funeral. It was all about the restructuring of Shaolin. During this period, Jueming, Jueyun and other serious monks visited one after another, but they were all rejected by Juejian. Outside the door, Juejian said to Juekong: "The monks can't accept it for a while. Even if they meet at this time, it will be difficult to convince them." However, Juekong must appease the lay monks and not act too hastily or get carried away, causing conflicts between the orthodox and the secular.It may affect the Buddha’s birthday celebration next month.

However, the news eventually spread, and those lay disciples who stayed in the Shaolin Temple were all happy and excited. Although there are no more rules now that monks cannot enter the hall, and these lay monks have long since returned to secular life, Shaolin Temple is still Shaolin Temple after all. No matter how grand it is, it is still a temple, and it is located on a mountain, and it is not as prosperous as Luoyang.It's strange to say that when I was a lay monk, I lived with righteous monks all the time. After I returned to lay life, I felt a little embarrassed when I saw these monks. It was like the status difference between the donor and the master. Now that I can leave the Shaolin Temple and move to Luoyang, I feel a little embarrassed. is a good thing.

The righteous monks all looked solemn.

Jueyun resigned from the post of leader, and Juejian did not offer condolences or permission. Jueming, who did not touch a leaf, just sighed. Tongue-pulling Bodhisattva was not such a good-tempered person. Juejian could not see him, so he simply gave up and ignored the Buddha's birthday. The birth has always been presided over by Wenshu Monastery and assisted by Ksitigarbha Monastery. Jueguang has left it alone. Although he is not satisfied with the certification, he still has to take care of it. Otherwise, when tens of thousands of believers come to the Buddhist capital, they will have nothing.The lay disciples of Ksitigarbha Monastery had the largest number, but most of them followed Jue Ci and Liao Lin to Luoyang to supervise the new affairs. The rest were all diligent and organized, and got everything done that Wenshu Monastery should do.

On the third day of April, Juejian went to Ciguang Pagoda again.

"Everything is ready." Juejian told Ming unknownly, "We are just waiting for the Buddha's birthday."

"Uncles, do you want to see me?" Ming asked unknownly.

Juejian shook his head: "I haven't seen them."

So far, most of the measures taken by Jue Jian were based on unspecified preparations for the Ming Dynasty, including the construction of Luoyang City first, the transfer of Abbot Jue Ci and Liao Lin, and the reduction of the number of lay monks in Shaolin Temple. He expected that the orthodox monks would definitely oppose it, and would eventually use the four On the grounds that the number of people in the eight halls of the hospital was not complete, Shaolin delayed the restructuring in order to have time to convince himself.

"Has the abbot made up his mind?" Ming asked unknownly, "The monks will return to the monks, and the secular people will return to the secular world. Perhaps Shaolin's restructuring is a way to resolve the dispute between the orthodox and the secular once and for all."

"This method cannot be solved once and for all." Juejian said: "You still can't see clearly the ugliness of the world."

Ming unknown respectfully said: "Please give me some advice from the abbot."

"In the beginning, Shaolin was in charge of Zhengzhou, and lay monks were in charge of the four provinces, and they paid tribute to Shaolin every year. In the first ten years, these lay disciples would be respectful to Shaolin, because this is the origin of lay disciples." Juejian said: "Then They will find that there is no reason to support Shaolin Temple, and they will start to despise Shaolin, and even punish Shaolin. If Shaolin has the classics exclusively, they will force Shaolin to hand over the classics. If Shaolin shares the classics, they will feel that Shaolin has no other use. , the disciples who come to Shaolin Temple to learn skills, not only learn skills from Shaolin sect, but also have a background and social connections. Shaolin has no other purpose except to promote Buddhism. What is the purpose of such a temple?"

"The so-called Buddhist capital at that time, gathering Buddhist disciples from all over the world, was just a joke. They would not spend so much money to support many useless Buddhist disciples. The Buddhist capital and lay disciples would eventually be at odds with each other because of this. Successive Shaolin abbots still had to fight against lay disciples. The disciples go around and around, even wagging their tails and begging for mercy."

"It is called a Buddhist capital, but not everyone worships the Buddha and has no compassion or kindness. The residents may still suffer from hunger and cold. In the end, they will govern with power, monitor the people, and even hate each other. Great governance is just a slogan. This Buddhist capital has the same characteristics as under the rule of previous dynasties. What's the difference? Just saying the name of a Buddhist capital sounds like a bluff and has no connotation at all."

"Is it possible that after expelling the lay monks, there will be no internal strife in Shaolin?" Ming asked unknownly: "With power and fame, wealth and profit are the bait, just like fish seeing the hook but not seeing the harm, they come up one after another."

"Before there were lay monks, Shaolin also had four provinces." Juejian said: "It's not that monks and lay people cannot coexist, but the monks are respected and the lay people help manage it, rather than taking over the place and bringing shame to this thousand-year-old temple."

Ming Wuxiang thought for a while and said: "Disciple understands."

Juejian asked: "You were the one who suggested using demons to destroy demons, but now you are urging mediocre monks to do it?"

Ming said vaguely: "Just go all the way and never look back."

Juejian said: "The poor monk has made up his mind." He then asked: "Now that this matter is over, do you want to stay in Shaolin?"

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "Disciple still has a lot of practice to go, and there are still many things that we don't understand about the principles of this world."

Juejian said: "You are smart and kind, resourceful but not harmful to others. Shaolin is in urgent need of talents to rebuild."

Unknown, he bowed his hands to the ground and said, "Cultivation depends on the individual. No one can help me. Please forgive me, abbot."

Juejian sighed without forcing it.

■

Kunlun, April 91th, [-]

Jue Guang's neglect of the Buddha's birthday finally forced him to summon him, and with him was Pian Ye Bu Zhan Jue Ming. As for Jue Yun, the head of Wenshu Monastery, he was already disheartened and was waiting for his old age.

"Abbott! Please think twice!" These are the only words Jueming can persuade: "Shaolin cannot be without Buddha."

Jue Guang said: "It's a pity that the abbot can only be the second person."

Jue felt strange and asked: "What second person?"

Jue Guang said: "There have been kings who have subjugated their country in all dynasties. The only monk who has subjugated their country is Liang Wu. The abbot can only be the second person, so it is a pity." He continued: "But among the monks who abdicated, the abbot is still the first."

"Isn't Lewu here?" Juejian asked.

Jue Guang said: "He is practicing the discipline of anger and it is inconvenient to see the abbot."

Juejian nodded and said, "Follow me. The poor monk has something to say."

He led the two of them to the Ciguang Pagoda and went up to the top floor where they were worshiped by the abbots of the past dynasties.

"Xiang'er! Come down." Juejian shouted.

Ming Wuji jumped down from the ceiling, saluted and said respectfully: "Ming Wuji has met the two Grand Masters."

It is unknown whether Ming had served in Wenshu Monastery. Both Jueguang and Jueming recognized him and were surprised to see him.

Jue Guang looked up at the ceiling and said, "The poor monk knows that you have always been superior to others, but he doesn't know that you are really superior to others."

Ming unknown respectfully said: "It's just a temporary shelter."

Jueming asked, "What are you doing hiding here?"

Ming unknown looked towards Juejian.

Juejian said: "Xiang'er is hiding here to help us."

Jue Guang and Jue Ming were even more puzzled.

Juejian said: "The poor monk did not communicate with you beforehand. Firstly, he wanted to see if you were wholeheartedly devoted to the Buddha. Secondly, he was afraid that you would reveal your flaws and arouse suspicion."

Jue Guang realized something was wrong and asked, "What do you mean?"

Juejian walked to the stairs. Although there was no one guarding the Ciguang Pagoda, he was still on guard. After confirming that no one was around, he answered Jueguang's question.

"The eighth day of April is Buddha's birthday." Juejian said slowly, but his tone was firm:
"Kill Juekong and destroy the lay monks."

(End of this chapter)