This morning, Li Yuanlang attended the plenary meeting of the Ruozhou Municipal Party Committee’s United Front Work Leading Group.

United Front Minister Lian Yun, Municipal Party Committee Secretary-General Cheng Yong, Vice Mayor Xia Mengjiao and other city leaders, as well as heads of relevant departments attended the event.

At the meeting, Li Yuanlang made an important speech.

He said: "Today's meeting conveyed and studied the spirit of the relevant meetings of the Provincial Party Committee and informed the united front work of the first three quarters."

"Although the meeting was not long, it was rich in content and fruitful. It achieved the purpose of unifying thoughts, clarifying understanding, and promoting work."

"Since the beginning of this year, the city has conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Beijing and Provincial Party Committees, and coordinated various tasks to promote reform, development and stability. Overall, in the first three quarters, the city's economic momentum of stability and progress has been further consolidated, and deepening reforms have been vigorously advanced. Externally,

The situation of opening up has been further improved, people's livelihood protection has been further strengthened, the work of party management has been further carried out in an all-round way, good news of various establishments have been spread frequently, and the people's sense of gain has been further enhanced."

"Among them, the united front work, as an important aspect of the overall work, has long been influential and promising. The united front department highlights political leadership, deliberative democracy, unity and tolerance, builds consensus, gathers wisdom, and gathers strength to serve

It plays an important role in promoting social and economic development and optimizing the political ecological environment, and its achievements deserve full recognition."

At the end of the meeting, Vice Mayor Xia Mengjiao caught up with Li Yuanlang and said, "Secretary Li, I have something to report to you."

The Ruozhou Municipal Government has two female vice mayors, one is Cai Meiqin, deputy mayor of the Standing Committee, and the other is Xia Mengjiao.

Xia Mengjiao is in charge of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau, so the content of her report is naturally related to this.

Li Yuanlang called Xia Mengjiao into the car, and Guo Zichen and Wang Jinrui hid out as usual.

"Secretary Li, according to Master Jue'an of the Buddhist Association, a new sect called Sansheng Sect has emerged in our city. It is currently spreading among the people and developing believers. Master Zhigao said that Sansheng Sect has developed rapidly. In just one month,

There are more than 5,000 people who believe in this religion."

Li Yuanlang was stunned. According to the constitution, citizens have freedom of religious belief and different religions are allowed to exist.

The premise is that any religious group must not disrupt social order or hinder the national education system. Religious groups and religious affairs are not subject to control by foreign forces."

What he is worried about is that the cult organizations that appeared before were not about practicing martial arts, but about studying the law.

The thoughts that confuse people and the behaviors that instigate people have evolved from ordinary sects into reactionary organizations that oppose the national political system and disrupt social order.

In the end, it took the country more than 20 years and a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to ban it.

Judging from Xia Mengjiao’s feedback, Sansheng Sect is a new sect derived from Buddhism.

The purpose is that the earth is born, water is born from the earth, and people are born from water. People have three cultivations: cultivating heaven, cultivating earth, and cultivating water.

Cultivating water nourishes human nature; cultivating earth cultivates mind; cultivating heaven cultivates understanding.

To put it bluntly, people must first cultivate their character and then their conscience. Only when they cultivate their thoughts to the highest state can their cultivation be considered true.

To be honest, Li Yuanlang was filled with mist.

However, what worried him was that within one month of its spread, five thousand people believed in the little-known Sansheng Sect. It was growing so rapidly that it had to be taken seriously.

Master Jue'an, the president of the Buddhist Association, is the abbot of Baoshan Temple in Ruozhou.

Li Yuanlang took advantage of his rare free time in the afternoon and drove fifty kilometers to Baoshan Temple at the foot of Zixian Mountain with United Front Minister Lian Yun.

Due to their prior contact, when Li Yuanlang and Lian Yun's two Hongqi cars parked in the parking lot in front of the temple, Master Jue'an led a group of people from the temple to greet them.

Master Jue'an is in his seventies. He is not tall, thin, energetic, and speaks like a bell.

"Welcome Secretary Li and company commander to visit the temple for guidance."

Master Jue'an is the president of the Ruozhou Buddhist Association. He has a lot of official experience, so his words naturally have a strong political flavor.

"Master, you're welcome." Li Yuanlang said modestly: "Guidance is out of the question. The company commander and I visited everyone and communicated together."

Li Yuanlang and others were politely allowed to enter the temple.

Baoshan Temple covers an area of ​​nearly 180,000 square meters, with a construction area of ​​20,000 square meters. It has a history of more than a thousand years.

There are the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Sutra Pavilion, etc.

There are bell and drum towers, meditation hall, living room and warehouse on both sides.

There is a life-release pond in front of the temple. The whole temple is magnificent and well-proportioned.

Master Jue'an introduced that there are more than 1,500 monks and laymen in Baoshan Temple.

Among the several temples in Ruozhou, Baoshan Temple is second to none in terms of reputation and scale. It is also famous in Minzhong Province and is one of the famous tourist attractions in Ruozhou.

It was in the afternoon, it was winter in December, and there were few tourists.

Li Yuanlang, accompanied by Master Jue'an and others, visited all the way to the backyard.

In front of you is a row of gray buildings. The largest double door is guarded by two monks, one on the left and the other on the right.

"Here is..." Li Yuanlang pointed.

Jue'an took a step forward, bowed and said, "This is the place where my master lives. He is over a hundred years old. He practices meditation every day and rarely receives guests."

The implication is that I don’t want to disturb you.

Li Yuanlang nodded and was about to leave.

However, there was a coughing sound coming from inside. Jue'an heard it and quickly walked a few steps and pushed the door open.

After a while, he came back and said respectfully to Li Yuanlang: "Secretary Li, my master wants to see you, please go in alone."

Invite me?

Li Yuanlang was a little surprised. He had never met this hundred-year-old master. What was he doing?

In order to dispel any doubts, Li Yuanlang walked to the door accompanied by Master Jue'an.

At the instruction of Master Jue'an, Li Yuanlang knocked on the door gently. As the word "Please come in" came from inside, Li Yuanlang opened the door and came in.

The room is spacious, and what comes into view is a figure wearing a gray Buddhist robe, sitting cross-legged on a futon.

"Donor Li, you are fine."

After saying this greeting, the person on the futon slowly turned around.

With white eyebrows and white beard, he has an air of immortality.

Li Yuanlang watched intently, and suddenly exclaimed, "Are you Master Zhiqian?"

"Haha." Zhiqian nodded slightly, "It's been exactly ten years since we said goodbye to Xiwu."

"Yes." Li Yuanlang said hurriedly: "Master Zhiqian was ninety years old at the time, and is now a centenarian. I see that you are in good health, and you are worthy of being an eminent monk."

Zhiqian said politely: "Donor Li, your words are serious. I am far from sufficient to cultivate my mind in Buddhism. There is a big gap between me and my predecessors. Donor Li, please sit down."

He motioned for Li Yuanlang to sit on the chair opposite him.

There was a tea bowl placed next to it, and Master Zhiqian said: "This is the black tea roasted by our own temple. It is not noble. But with the orderly craftsmanship and the kindheartedness of Buddhism, the quality of the tea is guaranteed."

"Thank you." Li Yuanlang picked up the tea bowl and blew on it, and a refreshing fragrance hit his nostrils.

He took a sip and nodded in praise: "It is indeed good tea."

Seeing Li Yuanlang put down the tea bowl, Master Zhiqian said bluntly: "Donor Li is here to investigate the matter of Sansheng Sect. I am a master of tricks, so I can tell you my feelings."

"Listen to your teachings."

Master Zhiqian did not beat around the bush, but went straight to the point.

"Every sect in the world, no matter which sect, must be based on the word 'heart'. The heart I am talking about is a public heart. If people do not have selfish motives, they will not have selfish desires."

"The reason why people believe in sects that have been passed down for thousands or even thousands of years is that the founder's purpose is to have no selfish motives."

"However, in recent years, some temples have gone against their original intentions, become materialistic, and deviated from the original intentions of Buddhism. They have commercialized the temples and turned them into a place of money-making that smells like copper."

"I'm off topic." Master Zhiqian sighed helplessly and continued: "The Three Lives Sect seeks to cultivate heaven, earth, and water, but abandons the most important cultivator, which needs the attention of Donor Li."

"Cultivating people is the most important aspect of all old-fashioned sects. Only when a person abandons all selfish desires in his heart can he cultivate the sect's mentality."

"Donor Li, you are not the same person you were ten years ago. Compared with then, your character has undergone a qualitative change."

"Over the years, I have always paid attention to you. Everything you do is based on the essence of kindness. The reason why you have achieved what you have today is because you have given up many personal desires."

"Good people will be rewarded, and evil people will be punished by God. Good luck may not necessarily come to you, but it may be enjoyed by your next generation or even several generations."

"It's the same with divine punishment. Evil people will be punished, and their fate or the next generation will definitely have retribution. This old saying passed down for thousands of years is absolutely accurate."

The reason why Li Yuanlang likes to chat with Master Zhiqian is that he rarely speaks the Buddhist Heart Sutra in a Buddhist tone.

Everything is put into vernacular that ordinary people can understand, and the true meaning is expressed.

With just a few words, Li Yuanlang suddenly became enlightened and already had a plan in mind.

Having said all that needed to be said, Li Yuanlang saw that Master Zhiqian was gasping for breath and quickly stood up to leave.
Chapter completed!