Aspirations

Chapter 188

"Where do you come from and where are you going?" Master Shanlai turned around and pointed at Xia Xiang, "Your Majesty, the great fortune of the Great Xia is long and prosperous, and the country will never be broken or established. If there are tribulations, there are loyal ministers and good generals, and there will be auspiciousness. The poor monk is fortunate to be with you." Xia Xiang got acquainted with each other and was enlightened by Xia Xiang, so I went west, I wish your majesty all blessings!"

The emperor heard something was wrong, and his face was shocked: "Master, is he going to abandon me? What did I do wrong that Master despised me so much?"

"It's not the emperor's fault, it's the fate of the poor monk." Master Shanlai recited the Buddha's name loudly, "Amitabha Buddha, those who come well come well go, and those who go well come well. Tathagata. Those who have nothing to come from will not be born. Those who have nothing to go will not perish. The emperor is in the midst of spring and autumn, and he should show his grand plans, work hard to rule, and create a prosperous world for thousands of years. A sage will be born in the Great Summer, with a black crown and a dragon. Its clothes, the sun and the moon restore light, govern all things, sing praises in the world, receive its blessings in the shadows, and go to the poor monk!"

While speaking, Master Shanlai crossed his legs, sat down in lotus position, clasped his hands together, and chanted the Buddha's mantra loudly. The first four chants were loud, and the latter chants gradually became quieter. After the seventh chants, there was no sound at all.

At this time, the emperor knew that Master Shanlai had passed away, and he immediately felt sad: "The ancients said that the unicorn appeared as a sage, and the master was the national teacher of the Great Xia, but he passed away. Could it be that my virtue is at a disadvantage and the fate of the Great Xia will decline?"

The emperor cried bitterly and fell to the ground, unable to help himself: "Master, how do you let me deal with myself? Once the master leaves, I will have no support from now on, and I will be alone in the world, at a loss..."

Xia Xiang also didn't expect Master Shanlai to sit and die, and he was extremely sad. Although sitting, standing and dying is a symbol of the advanced level of Buddhism, but watching the master go west in front of his eyes, he couldn't restrain the sadness in his heart. , throwing himself down in front of the master, weeping bitterly: "Master, before my disciples have time to ask you about the Dharma, you will go westward. Disciple's blessings are poor, and you have no chance to become the master's introductory disciple..."

As soon as the emperor knelt down, everyone knelt down one after another. Suddenly, there was a burst of mourning on the dragon boat, and even the Hutuo River wailed, as if they were seeing off Master Shanlai.

King Jing, King Xing, King Qing, King Yun and King Jian also bowed down to Master Shanlai.Except for Ye Muping, all the officials on the ship, no matter whether they were civil or military or their official positions, all fell to their knees.

The emperor was in great grief and burst into tears. Jing Wang and Xing Wang stepped forward to help the emperor and persuaded the emperor not to be too sad. It was a happy event for the master to go west, but the emperor could not restrain his sadness. When he looked up, he saw Xia Xiang bowed to the ground, and his face was full of anger He said calmly, "Xia Xiang, come here."

Xia Xiang hurried forward a few steps and was about to kneel down when the emperor waved his hand and said, "You don't need to be too polite, just tell me, what did you say to the master just now, to let the master leave me?"

Seeing the emperor's grief and anger, Xia Xiang was heartbroken that the emperor had not recovered from his illness and was more sad, but also panicked in his heart. He thought for a while and said: "Your minister and Master Shanlai said in the Shurangama Sutra: Knowing and seeing Knowing is the foundation of ignorance. Knowing and seeing without seeing is Nirvana. The master didn't understand it. He asked me how to answer it, but I didn't know. Later, when I was talking, I got a hint from the master, and suddenly I changed the sentence structure a little. , becomes: Knowing and seeing is established, knowing is the root of ignorance. Knowing and seeing nothing, seeing this is Nirvana... The master is enlightened at the moment."

"Just a word?" The emperor didn't believe it, his eyes were majestic and indifferent, "Master, will you sit down because of your words? Xia Xiang, how dare you deceive the king? If you don't tell the truth again, I will punish you severely." lazy."

A trace of doubt flashed in Xingwang's eyes, the emperor suddenly got angry at Xia Xiang, is he really dissatisfied with Xia Xiang or is he going to knock the mountain to shake the tiger?He took a sneak peek, and met King Jing's eyes.King Jing's face was calm, and he couldn't tell whether it was happiness or worry, which made him feel more uneasy and suspicious.

Cui Xiang stood beside Hou Pingpan, and asked in a low voice: "Hou Xianggong, why does the emperor attach so much importance to Master Shanlai? It is a good thing for the master to sit down and leave."

Hou Pingpan grinned: "The emperor has always listened to Ye Muping's words. Ye Muping said that if the emperor wants to find the whereabouts of the demon girl, he must have Master Shanlai. Now that Master Shanlai has suddenly gone west, the emperor's idea has come to nothing. How can he not be angry at Xia Xiang? Xia Xiang is going to be unlucky."

Seeing Hou Pingpan's schadenfreude smile, Cui Xiang couldn't help but secretly shook his head, thought for a while, then sighed secretly, echoing Hou Pingpan with a smile: "Xia Xiang is also to blame, no wonder others, who made him pretend to be profound, must Talk to the master about mysteries."

Hou Pingpan smiled triumphantly: "Do you think Xia Xiang can pass the test this time?"

"I'm afraid I can't." Cui Xiang looked around, "I'm afraid Xia Xiang will be the second Han Yu..."

"A letter from the court to the nine heavens, and eight thousand Chaoyang roads in the evening. If you want to eliminate evils for the sage, you are willing to spend the decay and cherish the dying years..." Hou Pingpan nodded. Da Nei almost lost his head when he offended the Emperor Xianzong. Xia Xiang suffered today's disaster, and he did it on his own, haha."

Naturally, Xia Xiang couldn't hear what Hou Pingpan and Cui Xiang said to him. The emperor was furious, and he had to deal with it with all his might.

"Back to the emperor, everything I said is true. If there is even a little bit of lies, I would like to follow the master." Xia Xiang said firmly, "Please ask the emperor to judge!"

The emperor smiled coldly: "So, I have wronged you?"

"I dare not." Xia Xiang replied respectfully, "When I was talking with Master Shanlai, Zhenren Ye and Mr. Jin Jia were also there."

"Tell Master Ye and Mr. Jin Jia." The emperor ordered.

As soon as Ye Muping and Jin Jia came over, the emperor asked urgently: "Mr. Ye Zhenren, Mr. Jin Jia, what did Xia Xiang tell the master just now? You two must tell the truth to me."

Ye Muping said in a clear voice: "Knowledge and seeing are established, knowing is ignorance. Knowing and seeing nothing, seeing this is Nirvana... "Tao Te Ching" says: Dao can be Tao, extraordinary Tao. Name can be named, extraordinary name. The beginning of the unknown world It is known as the mother of all things. Therefore, there is always no desire to observe its beauty. There is always desire to observe its beauty. The two come from the same name but have different names, and they are the same as Xuan. Zun's words are also very beneficial."

Jin Jia also said: "Mr. Xia Lang and the master are indeed just talking about the "Lengyan Sutra". Mr. Xia Lang's words awakened the dreamer. The master broke the barrier of knowledge and vision. You are not only innocent, but also have immeasurable merit."

"So, I want Xia Xiang to enlighten me?" The emperor was still angry, and suddenly slapped the armrest, "Xia Xiang, I am very sad because of Master Shan, and this matter happened again because of you. If you can't enlighten me, I still won't forgive you."

The emperor's words were almost shameless, but as the emperor, no one dared to say anything wrong with him, everyone was silent, and no one stood up for Xia Xiang.

Xia Xiang knew that he had no way out, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "How dare I enlighten the emperor, but I do have some words to tell the emperor. There is a saying in "Yi Guan": the divine way of observing the sky, and the four seasons are not the same. Intuit, the sage teaches with the divine way, and the world is convinced. Although I awakened Master Shanlai with a single word, why didn’t Master Shanlai teach with the divine way and convinced the ministers? It also made the minister suddenly realize something. "

"What do you understand?" The emperor's anger remained undiminished.

"A sage has something to say, if you hear the Tao in the morning, you can die in the evening. Master Shanlai is an extraordinary man who died after hearing the Tao. Naturally, ordinary people like us cannot compare with him." Xia Xiang quietly glanced at Xing Wang, and saw Xing Wang He was also listening intently, couldn't help but secretly smiled, and continued, "Master Shanlai said that he had obtained two hexagrams, and told the minister to tell the emperor after he went west. I thought that Master Shanlai was just a joke, and I didn't want the master to have the west. I mean to go."

"What hexagram?" The emperor didn't expect Xia Xiang to change the subject, but he had a second hand.

"Back to the emperor, the first hexagram that the master said is: the king is not the king, and the minister is not the minister. The beginning is difficult and dangerous, and the end is calm. The song said, the black rabbit walked into the Qinglong cave, and the desire can't be exhausted. Only the tree outside , 20 years of descendants knot."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.Especially Xing Wang was extremely shocked, with an expression of disbelief on his face, his eyes shot at Xia Xiang like a knife.

King Jing, King Qing, King Yun, and King Jian also had surprised and puzzled expressions on their faces, while Hou Pingpan's eyes were as deep as water and as cold as ice.

The emperor looked indifferent, and asked casually: "Master Shanlai really said this? Have Ye Zhenren and Mr. Jin Jia heard it?"

Ye Muping replied: "Going back to the emperor, the poor have never heard of it."

"The minister has never heard of it." Jin Jia chuckled.

Everyone was startled, Xia Xiang talked nonsense, and tried to deceive the king again.

Unexpectedly, without waiting for everyone to rejoice, Jin Jia immediately said, "When I and Ye Zhenren passed by, Xia Xiang and Master Shanlai had talked for a long time. What the two of them said before, I and Ye Zhenren don't know."

"Exactly." Ye Muping also echoed.

The emperor's face paled slightly: "Xia Xiang, what is the meaning of this hexagram?"

"A king is not a king, and a minister is not a minister. The beginning is difficult, and the end is determined... Obviously, it means that today in the court, treacherous ministers are running rampant, and the emperor lives deep in the palace. , Some people are ambitious and disobedient." Xia Xiang said forcefully that the current situation of the Great Xia's imperial power is weak and the king's power is rampant. He ignored the questioning, dissatisfied or hostile eyes of the people around him, and continued, "You are not a king. , ministers are not ministers. The beginning is difficult and dangerous, and the end is determined. It can be seen that although there are some difficulties and dangers at the beginning, in the end, it can be turned into auspiciousness and auspiciousness."

"Xia Xiang, don't talk nonsense." Xing Wang didn't want Xia Xiang to continue talking, so he said sharply, "You are so courageous, you dare to be presumptuous in front of the emperor! You still don't back down!"

Hou Pingpan, on the other hand, persuaded with a pleasant face: "Master Xia, don't talk nonsense in front of the emperor. The wind in the summer is clear and the moon is bright. How can there be such a thing as a monarch or a minister or a minister? As an official of the imperial court, how can you listen to the monastics who play mysteries?" language?"

"The emperor didn't accuse the lower officials, but Xing Wang and Hou Xianggong have one red face and the other white face, rushing in front of the emperor. I don't know if it is the emperor's intention or Xing Wang and Hou Xianggong made their own decisions?" Xia Xiang said indifferently, " The next official is to respond to the emperor's question, Xingwang and Hou Xianggong have an extravagant affair, who is the king and who is the minister?"

One sentence made Xingwang and Hou Pingpan speechless, Xingwang was okay, he smiled lightly, pretending to be magnanimous and didn't care about Xia Xiang, Hou Pingpan's amiable face suddenly turned livid, and he snorted coldly: "What an arrogant and conceited magistrate of Zhending!"

"Let him continue." The emperor spoke, his voice was calm but powerful, "Third brother, Mr. Hou, you don't need to be as knowledgeable as Xia Xiang."

Xingwang and Hou Pingpan stepped aside.

"Song said, the black rabbit walked into the Qinglong's lair, and there is nothing to say. There is only a tree outside, where children and grandchildren will be married in 20 years." Xia Xiang responded calmly to the understanding eyes of Xingwang and Hou Pingpan, and continued. Said, "These few words are quite meaningful. What does it mean that the black rabbit walks into the Qinglong Cave? The north belongs to water, water is black, the east belongs to wood, and wood is green. Could it be that the black rabbit in the north wants to walk into the east?" But it may also be another meaning. The black rabbit was originally a blue dragon, but because of involuntary control, he had to transform into a docile black rabbit, waiting for the opportunity. I dared to ask the emperor a word, the emperor is going to Xingzhou, But going to the east of Xingzhou?"

The emperor's face changed slightly: "Exactly."

Ye Muping smiled and nodded again and again, Jin Jia was puzzled and asked in a low voice, "Why is Old Ye laughing?"

Ye Muping whispered: "Xia Xianzun first enlightened Master Shanlai, and will soon enlighten the emperor."

"Mr. Xia Lang really has such a great ability?" Jin Jia didn't quite believe it.

Ye Muping chuckled: "The two hexagrams Xia Xianzun said were really left by Master Shanlai?"

"How does this old man know?" Jin Jia shook his head, "What I just said to the emperor is the truth."

But Ye Muping smiled knowingly: "Although Xia Xianzun and Master Shanlai had talked for a long time when the two of us passed by, but according to my poor guess, Master Shanlai didn't say anything about the hexagram to Xia Xianzun."

"Ah?" Jin Jia was taken aback, "Mr. Xia Lang is deceiving the emperor?"

"Mr. Jin Jia is joking. Xia Xianzun is persuading the emperor, and he is trying to talk things out. How can he say that he is deceiving the emperor? The one who really deceives the emperor is someone else."

Jin Jia shook his head and sighed: "Compared to you, this old man is still a lot worse."

"Where is the difference?"

"On the skin."

"..." Ye Muping shook his head and smiled, and said no more.

"I can't say that I want to be exhausted... It means that the black rabbit went to the Qinglong lair, good or bad is uncertain. But there is another harvest - only the tree outside, 20 years of offspring - this should be the emperor's words His blood." Xia Xiang knew that the opportunity would never come again, so he plucked up his courage and spoke out boldly.

The emperor suddenly stood up with a look of astonishment: "Xia Xiang, what do you mean by that?"

"Only on the tree outside, in 20 years, descendants will be born... Although the emperor has no children, but among the people, he has already taken root and has descendants." Although Xia Xiang knew that this remark would definitely arouse countless people's discussions And guess, but still said it in one breath.

King Xing, King Jing, King Qing, King Yun, and King Jian were all stunned on the spot.King Jing and the others were okay, but they maintained enough restraint while being stunned, but King Xing suddenly had a seizure, stepped forward, grabbed Xia Xiang by the collar, and roared, "Xia Xiang, how dare you Nonsense, this king will definitely behead you!"

(End of this chapter)