Chapter 168 Heavenly Gate
Borneo, Fenglinzhou, and Dongposozhou each have a Pingzhang Dazhenren and a first-class spiritual official in charge. In a sense, the territory of Taoism is larger than that of the imperial court, just like the area controlled by the Western Region Daofu is larger than that of Xizhou. In name, these places are vassal states of the Central Plains imperial court, paying tribute to the Celestial Empire, and the Celestial Empire will not directly interfere in their internal affairs.
However, Fenglinzhou is an exception. The situation in this place is very complicated and extremely xenophobic. It is not a vassal state of the Celestial Empire, and it still retains the title of "Emperor".
This is also something that cannot be helped. Take Borneo as an example. There are more than a dozen small countries in one continent, and Fenglinzhou is also a continent, but there is only one country. Its strength can be imagined. Just letting the regent Guanbai surrender has already caused endless civil strife. If the emperor's title is abolished, the so-called "respecting the king and expelling Taoism" will be even crazier.
The status of Taoism in Fenglinzhou is very high, but it is not reliable.
There are two major sects in Fenglinzhou, one is the Tianmen of Fenglinzhou, and the other is the foreign Buddhism.
Speaking of Buddhism, its spread is actually far greater than that of Taoism. Whenever Buddhism arrives in a place, it integrates the local customs and culture, and thus it is divided into many branches, and the differences are very great.
For example, the Central Plains Buddhism, also known as the "Zen Sect", its first generation patriarch is a foreigner, but the second generation patriarch is an orthodox Central Plains person. His biological father is the master of the Wanxiang Academy, so the second patriarch was proficient in Confucianism and Taoism since childhood, especially in Xuanli. When the first patriarch founded the Central Plains Buddhism, the second patriarch came to the temple to ask for advice. The first patriarch saw that his learning was mixed, his preconceptions were very deep, and he was self-reliant and difficult to understand Zen, so he refused to accept him. The second patriarch sought for a long time, but still could not get in, so he immediately drew his sword and cut off his arm to make his mind clear. Seeing his sincerity, the first patriarch accepted him as a disciple and passed on the Vajra Dharma. The Second Patriarch finally inherited the First Patriarch's mantle and followed him to learn Buddhism. He understood his mind and nature through the Diamond Sutra. As the saying goes, a healthy body leads to a healthy mind, and a healthy mind leads to easy enlightenment. After the First Patriarch passed away, the Second Patriarch studied hard and delved into the profound meaning of Buddhism. He had many doubts but could not fully understand them. So the Second Patriarch left the Buddhist temple, traveled through famous mountains, visited eminent monks, great scholars, and immortals, and sought to understand the profound meaning, and gradually integrated it.
This is just a microcosm of Buddhism in China. Four hundred years after the abolition of all schools of thought and the exclusive respect for Confucianism, the Confucianism that had ruled the world for four hundred years ushered in its first loss of power. The literati were generally tired of the cumbersome style of Confucian classics, the bizarre and shallow prophecy of theology, and the clichés of the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, so they turned to find a new place to settle down, and metaphysics began to flourish.
Both the art of art and metaphysics are based on the Taoist theory of nature. Taoists work on their hearts and gain from nature. Whether it is the celestial being who is inseparable from the sect, or the supreme being and divine being who is inseparable from the essence and truth, they all work on emptiness and tranquility from the heart. From then on, the mysterious work of emptiness and tranquility can be practiced, and the realm of celestial being, supreme being, and divine being can be reached. Taoism can be transformed into immortality through the theory of longevity. Through the effort of cultivation, longevity and immortality are Taoism that follows Taoism.
That is, Taoism gradually became Taoism, one of the three religions, from Taoism, one of the hundreds of schools of thought.
The special prosperity of Laozi and Zhuangzi's metaphysics should have been a sign of the rise of Taoism, but it was surpassed by the Western Buddhism. Because metaphysics is similar to Prajna, monks at that time also talked about metaphysics. At that time, Buddhism was very powerful, and masters from the Western Regions came one after another, and the monks in the temples gradually took shape. Prajna was widely practiced, and people talked about the mystery and wonder.
The most praiseworthy ones are Kumarajiva's coming to the East, Faxian's going to the West, Daoan's leadership, and Kumarajiva's great translation. The ten philosophers and four saints under his tutelage were all first-rate scholars who studied Laozi and Zhuangzi at that time. At that time, the world in the north was in turmoil. Huiyuan, a disciple of Daoan, lived in seclusion in Kuanglu, studied Prajna and Abhidharma, and advocated Amitabha Pure Land. At that time, many famous scholars gathered and became the important center of Buddhism in Jiangnan. Later, Zhenti translated the Consciousness-Only Theory, and Kumarajiva and Faxian translated the Ten Recitations, Five Divisions, Four Divisions and other Vinaya.
As a result, metaphysics and Buddhism influenced each other, and Buddhist scholars talked about metaphysics and metaphysics scholars discussed Buddhism, which became a trend at that time. Speaking of their confluence, it was indeed a major trend of development at that time. After that, metaphysics and Buddhism gradually merged and were replaced by Buddhism. This is the predecessor of the "Zen Sect" of Chinese Buddhism.
Therefore, Chinese Buddhism actually pioneered the integration of the three religions, and has many similarities and connections with Taoism and Confucianism. The Cihang lineage that exists within Taoism is Chinese Buddhism.
Later, Buddhism and Taoism fought against each other, and Taoism and Confucianism joined forces to destroy Buddhism in the Central Plains. A large number of Buddhist monks either became Taoists or Confucianists. Anyway, the unification of the three religions was the general trend, and many principles were the same, without much difference. It was just a matter of changing clothes, and they came and went freely. As early as the Lin Lingsu era, there was a precedent of surrender by Buddhism in the Central Plains. Now that Taoism is powerful and cannot defeat it, and there are precedents and retreats, Buddhism in the Central Plains will naturally not fight to the end, which is also the reason why Buddhism in the Central Plains collapsed at the first touch.
The Buddhism that is now competing with Taoism actually refers to Buddhism in the Western Regions.
If Buddhism in the Central Plains absorbed the strengths of Confucianism and Taoism, and changed from Hinayana to Mahayana, it always carries a sense of immortality and poetry. Then Buddhism in the Western Regions absorbed the strengths of Shamanism, and its characteristics are cruelty. Various human skin and human bone instruments emerge in an endless stream, filled with a very strong wild and bloody atmosphere.
There is also Buddhism in Borneo, which is influenced by witchcraft. Buddhism in Bosuozhou is influenced by Boroism. They both worship Buddha, but their teachings are completely different.
The same is naturally true for the Buddhism in Fenglinzhou. Influenced by the local sects of Fenglinzhou, the Buddhism in Fenglinzhou is similar but not similar to the Buddhism in the Middle Earth. Looking back to the origin, the Buddhism in Fenglinzhou and the Buddhism in the Middle Earth are in the same line. It can be found in the Buddhist scriptures The interpretation and inheritance of precepts are quite different. For example, Buddhist disciples in Middle-earth must eat vegetarian food and become a monk, but Buddhist disciples in Fenglinzhou can eat meat and start a family. Moreover, the Buddhist forces in Fenglinzhou have not experienced repeated attempts to "exterminate the Buddha." The suppression is extremely powerful, just like a vassal town, and the monk soldiers must not be underestimated.
They are quite hostile to the Taoist sect, but they are afraid of the Taoist sect's strength and are submissive on the surface.
Then there is Tianmen, the local sect in Fenglinzhou. In the earliest days, Tianmen had no official name. It was not until Buddhism was introduced to Fenglinzhou that it gradually spread in Fenglinzhou at that time. In order to compete with Buddhism, the term Tianmen came into being. It was distinguished by the inherent Tianmen of Fenglinzhou. Buddhism from outside the territory.
Tianmen is also known as the Shinto Gate of Heaven or Shintoism, which comes from the Book of Changes in the Central Plains: "The grand view is above, and the sun is down, and the Zhongzheng is used to view the world. View, wash but not recommend, there is Fu Yongruo, and it will transform when viewed below. Also. The divine way of observing the sky, but the four seasons are not the same, the sage teaches the divine way, and the world obeys."
Later, the Taoist sect became so powerful that in order to distinguish it from the Taoist sect and avoid being misunderstood as a branch of the Taoist sect, the Shinto sect was simply removed, and it became the Tianmen.
In the earliest days, Tianmen was no match for Buddhism and became a vassal of Buddhism. The gods in Tianmen also became the protectors of Buddhism. Until the rise of Confucianism.
Taoism changed from Taoism to Taoism because of metaphysics, and Confucianism changed from Confucianism to Confucianism because of Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism emphasizes Tianli, making Tianli the supreme god of Confucianism. The emperor in the world is the spokesperson of Tianli in the world. He is the son of the emperor and the father of all peoples. Zhang Yuelu once criticized Neo-Confucianism at the conference of the three religions. But we have to admit that Neo-Confucianism was supported by the emperor, which was indeed a powerful weapon against Buddhism. Not only did the Neo-Confucian sage become one of the four sages of Confucianism, but it also pushed Confucianism to the top of the three religions.
After Neo-Confucianism was spread to Fenglinzhou, Tianmen combined with Neo-Confucianism, emphasizing respecting the emperor and being loyal to the king, making Tianmen independent from the control of Buddhism. This is the origin of today's "Zunwang". Later, the regent Guan Bai tried to ignore the emperor, which was naturally against the concept of loyalty to the emperor. Therefore, no matter whether the Taoist sect entered Fenglin Island or not, there were many people who opposed the regent Guan Bai, ranging from high officials to down-and-out warriors.
Later, Tianmen absorbed the teachings of the Holy Court and began to advocate Fenglinzhou as the center of the world, gradually becoming the state religion of Fenglinzhou. Emperor Fenglinzhou was not only the monarch supported by the lords from all over the world, but also the leader of Tianmen.
This is similar to how Emperor Daxuan became the supreme master of the Taoist sect, except that the Taoist sect had an additional great leader, and power was not concentrated in one person.
Because of this, Daomen's entry into Fenglinzhou naturally aroused strong resistance from Tianmen, but Tianmen's strength was far inferior to that of Daomen. After the defeat, at the request of Daomen, Tianmen announced the separation of politics and religion, and the Emperor of Fenglinzhou issued an edict declaring that he was a human being. Instead of God, Tianmen’s status as a state religion was abolished.
However, people who believe in Tianmen still account for the majority. Daomen's move will naturally arouse public outrage. Tianmen's experience of becoming a vassal of Buddhism makes them feel that Tianmen will become a vassal of Daomen again. Those who oppose Daomen and those who oppose the regent Guan Bai form a The trend of confluence, so the "fighting way" also comes from this.
In recent years, the so-called "respecting the king and fighting the Tao" has emerged one after another. Tianmen, like Buddhism and Shamanism in the Western Regions, has become a serious problem for Taoism, which has prevented Taoism from actually controlling Fenglin Continent.
In fact, the Taoist Sect has only one starting point in Fenglin Continent, and that is Regent Guan Bai and his family. Now that the Regent Guanbai is fighting among themselves, the Taoist Sect did not intervene quickly and missed the best time to calm down the situation, which was really a mistake.
It’s not that the big shots in the Taoist sect didn’t see this, it was just that they were too weak to do what they wanted. The Yusan family is constantly fighting among themselves for the position of regent Guan Bai, how can the Taoist sect be better? The three lines of Taoism are also fighting among themselves for the position of Grand Master. How can they have the energy to manage Fenglinzhou, which is thousands of miles away.
Having said that, perhaps it was the vassals in Fenglin Continent who saw the internal fighting among the Taoist sects, and then raised the banner of "Respect the King and Fight the Taoist" after forbearing for many years, intending to drive the Taoist sect out of Fenglin Continent while the Taoist sect was too busy to take care of itself.
The Taoist sect itself will not give up on Fenglinzhou easily. This newspaper is proof that it is already blowing the news in advance.
If Qi Xuansu's prediction is correct, it won't be long before the Taoist sect will mobilize elite troops from various Taoist governments to put down the rebellion.