Chapter 128: The Great Buddha Temple Announces the Law
Fang Guoshou fought with the monks and refuted all the monks debating scriptures in the Great Buddha Temple, and then refuted all the monks debating scriptures in Gaochang City.
That night, Shang Bo and his party received the highest courtesy from the Great Buddha Temple.
The Great Buddha Temple gave away the best monk's room, offered meals and fruits, and greeted them with greetings, which made even Shang Bo feel that these monks were too flattering.
The next day came the day when Fang Guoshou was giving lectures. The Great Buddha Temple set up a high platform in front of the Buddhist temple. This was the place where Master Xuanzang gave lectures in Gaochang City.
Now Shang Bo finally understood how pious everyone in Gaochang City was to Buddhism.
The square was crowded with monks from various monasteries. In addition to the monks, the people of Gaochang also surrounded the square.
If he were an ordinary player, he would probably tremble when he saw such a scene, but Fang Guoshou's job is to be a professor, isn't it just giving lectures? Fang Guoshou has not participated in any academic conference, so this person is nothing.
Fang Guoshou's face remained normal as he climbed onto the high platform for lectures. The monks from all over the Great Buddha Temple praised him. This layman Fang really had a profound Buddha nature and did not panic at all in the face of so many believers. It is said that Master Xuanzang was so calm when he gave lectures.
Regarding the content of today’s lecture, Fang Guoshou and many netizens discussed and designed it overnight.
After learning that the mission had imprisoned the Great Buddha Temple and Fang Guoshou was debating the Buddhist scriptures, Cui Tao decisively realized that this was a rare opportunity.
Gaochang worshiped Buddhism, and even Li Xiuzhang, the governor of Xizhou, who was a scholar, was assimilated, which shows the profound influence of Buddhism in Gaochang City.
Historical records record that there were a thousand Buddha statues and three thousand monks in Gaochang. These recorded figures are not an exaggeration at all.
Since Gaochang worships Buddhism so much, it would be inappropriate to use strong measures to suppress Leiyin Temple.
Not only Gaochang, many cities in Anxi also advocate Buddhism. Now is the era when Buddhists are most active in preaching.
During the Tianbao period, monk Jianzhen traveled east to Fusang and is now spreading Buddhism in the island country.
A few years later, the Nepali monk Padmasambhava would also enter Tubo. In the end, Buddhism defeated Bon and became the state religion believed by all the people of Tubo.
In addition, Buddhists are also actively preaching in Central Asia and South Asia. This era can be said to be an era of great expansion of Buddhism.
According to the results of discussions between Cui Tao and several players who are familiar with religion, it is not realistic to suppress Buddhism in Longyou Dao. Longyou Dao itself has mixed beliefs. Even if Buddhism is suppressed, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and Zheng Hei Da Da are still there.
The green religion is becoming more and more prosperous.
Instead of suppressing Buddhism, it is better to transform Buddhism.
This time Fang Guoshou's lecture was the best opportunity. Cui Tao and Fang Guoshou, plus several players who knew something about religion, wrote the outline of this lecture overnight.
Sitting on the high platform, Fang Guoshou looked around. He looked solemn and looked like an eminent monk.
Then Fang Guoshou began to teach.
As soon as the sermon began, many monks listened with rapt attention.
Fang Guoshou's lectures were humorous and lively. Cui Tao attended his lectures and then enrolled in his graduate program.
But Cui Tao didn't expect that the well-known professor who was personable on the podium was actually a big troll in private.
By that time, Cui Tao had already entered the school and had no choice but to graduate.
When Fang Guoshou was giving lectures, he was not as aggressive as when he was debating scriptures. He quoted from other sources and spoke very simple and simple truths. Not only the monks who listened to the lectures, but also the common people could understand what he said.
The theme of Fang Guoshou's lecture this time also fell on "accumulating virtue and doing good".
Buddhism in the mid-Tang Dynasty was also a period when Buddhism in the Central Plains flourished and developed. The Sixth Patriarch of Zen had just passed away for more than ten years, and the northern and southern Zen sects were developing each other in fierce confrontations.
The Consciousness-Wei Sect, Faxing Sect, and Vinaya Sect are also at the peak of their respective development.
But this time Fang Guoshou lectured in public, he did not talk about the empty philosophical issues that various sects like to discuss, but directly started from the point of "doing good deeds and accumulating virtue".
Fang Guoshou first started with the story of Buddha sacrificing his life to feed tigers, interspersed with a series of familiar Buddhist stories, and finally combined the two things of spiritual practice and doing good deeds.
Doing good deeds is the foundation of spiritual practice. There is no need to observe precepts and practice. You only need to wholeheartedly help others and do good deeds. Then you can enter the Western World after death.
Fang Guoshou expressed his views at the end.
Many monks took a breath. Although the story of Buddha sacrificing himself to feed tigers is widely circulated in various religious scriptures, in the past everyone focused on the sacrifice.
Fang Guoshou connected these scriptures and stories together and came to such a conclusion.
Want to refute?
But there seems to be nothing to refute?
Wasn't it bad enough to be sprayed by Fang Guoshou yesterday?
Besides, each sect also has its part in persuading believers to do good deeds. Fang Guoshou just mentioned the importance of doing good deeds as the top priority in spiritual practice. It seems that he doesn’t have to refute it, right?
Then Fang Guoshou began to quantify the standards for doing good deeds, and the people of Gaochang were even more fascinated by it.
Fang Guoshou's lectures are simple and vivid, starting from Buddhist stories and small things around him, so that even the lowest common people can understand them.
Unlike the complicated rituals of other temples, doing good deeds is simple!
Even according to Fang Guoshou, sometimes it is not even necessary to do good deeds, as long as you have good thoughts in your heart, it is practice.
This is much simpler than the enlightenment taught by Zen Buddhism and the Dharma described by Consciousness-Only Sect!
By the time Fang Guoshou finished his sermon, it had already turned from morning to evening.
Cool!
If he hadn't strengthened his body in the game, Fang Guoshou would have fainted long ago!
But the body in the game has strengthened its strength and endurance. Fang Guoshou talked about it for a whole day, but his mouth was just dry.
This was the lecture with the largest number of people and the most active audience in his career!
The monks from the Great Buddha Temple rushed to the high platform and carried Fang Guoshou off the high platform with the same etiquette they used to treat Master Xuanzang.
Then monks from other temples also picked up Fang Guoshou and carried him around the square.
The Manichaean monk who was originally planning to debate the scriptures with Fang Guoshou no longer had the courage to go on stage to debate the scriptures, so he covered his face and left quietly before the lecture ended.
Shang Bo and the surrounding players looked at each other, and this time the plan was successful.
Sure enough, that night, Li Xiuzhang, the Xizhou governor and Tianshan army's attack envoy, invited everyone to the governor's mansion. Li Xiuzhang, holding the bronze seal of the governor's mansion and the troop deployment order of the Tianshan army, expressed his surrender to King Jianning, the representative of Shangbo.
Shang Bo immediately reported the news to King Jianning in Shazhou City.
Li Yan was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately sent a team of players to Gaochang, and the entire server was responsible for taking over Gaochang City and the Tianshan Army stationed in Gaochang.
The mission continued to stay in Gaochang and waited until the working group arrived in Gaochang before leaving to continue its trip north to visit the Uighurs.