After Xu He returned to Hailing from Songjiang, he immediately wrote a letter to Chen Hua, asking him to help him take the post road to the capital, and reminding his uncle that Gui Zhao, the transfer envoy of the transfer department, was going to him and the Xu family. Get angry.
Xu He believed that with his uncle's sophistication, as long as he knew about this matter in advance, he would have a way to resolve it.
However, now the problem arises. The uncle went to Beijing, and he didn’t even have anyone to consult with regarding the rescue of people in Guangxiao Temple.
If the uncle is here, everything big and small in Hailing will be almost no problem, but once he leaves, it will be difficult for Xu He to save people.
There were still ten days until the last day of the month, so Xu He decided to go to Guangxiao Temple to explore the details first.
Different from those large mountain gates in famous mountains and rivers, although Guangxiao Temple occupies the northwest of Hailing City, it still looks like an ordinary small temple in the county.
But this small temple is not that simple.
Guangxiao Temple was first built in the Yixi period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It was originally called Wanshou Temple. Later, because Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, ordered the temple to set up a dojo in order to save the souls of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty, it was renamed "Guangxiao Temple for Repaying Enneance".
On this day, Xu He brought his mother Xie and Gu Hengbo to the temple to inquire about the news in the name of Buddhist worship.
After entering the door, in front of the most auspicious hall of the main hall, there is a plaque of Abbot Biyun. The calligraphy is powerful and majestic, making people look at it with awe.
Not long after entering the mountain gate, Master Yuanneng, the abbot of Guangxiao Temple, came out with Zhike.
Seeing Xu He, Master Yuanneng proclaimed the Buddha's name, clasped his hands and said, "I see Mr. Xu's spirit is empty and he is also a person who is destined to be my Buddha. Please come into the temple and offer me some wild tea!"
When Xu He heard this, he snickered in his heart. What about being spiritually empty and having a predestined relationship with Buddha? Isn't it because Wu Decao donated twenty taels of silver in the name of Xie?
Otherwise, how could this mage come out to greet him in person?
Although he was slandering in his heart, Xu He smiled and said: "I have heard for a long time that Guangxiao Temple is a famous temple in the Jianghuai River. Although the students are also from Hailing, I have never come here to worship Buddha. I am really ashamed!"
Master Yuan Neng was extremely happy when he heard this.
It is true that Guangxiao Temple is a famous temple in the Jianghuai River, but that was during the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, it was destroyed by wars. After the reconstruction of the country, although it was rebuilt by eminent monks of all dynasties, it still cannot compare with its former glory.
Otherwise, if it was a big jungle, the labor abbot would not personally come to accompany him because of the twenty taels of silver from the pilgrims.
On Xie's side, Gu Hengbo accompanied him and was led by Zhike Monk to worship Buddha.
Xu He, guided by Yuan Neng, went to the abbot's room to serve tea.
Yuan Neng's abbot's room is simple but simple. In the front study room, there is a plaque called "Brahma Yu Chonghui" hanging. There is a book case under the plaque, and some Buddhist scriptures are placed on the table.
Xu He said with a smile: "I have heard for a long time that Guangxiao Temple has many treasures, even inferior to the famous mountains and temples in Jinling. I wonder if this is true?"
Yuan Neng nodded when he heard the words and said: "To be fair to the donor, our Guangxiao Temple has two volumes of "Ru Tie" given by the emperor of the former Song Dynasty. Lu Fangweng wrote "The Stele of the Most Auspicious Hall of Guangxiao Temple in Repayment of Favor" written by Lu Fangweng for Guangxiao Temple. There is also the hand-painted "The Most Auspicious Hall of Guangxiao Temple" written by Lu Fangweng for Guangxiao Temple. "Story Pictures of the Wise Empress and Concubine" are all world-famous products!"
After finishing speaking, Yuan Neng waited for Xu He's praise with some pride.
Unexpectedly, Xu He used this incident as an introduction and turned to ask, "I wonder how many monks there are in the temple now?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Neng immediately became vigilant.
Because of the regulations of the state, each county is only allowed to have one monk temple and one Taoist temple, and no more than eight monks, nuns, and Taoist priests are allowed each.
Although this law has been abolished in recent years, it must be investigated carefully, and violators will be held accountable by the host.
So Yuan Neng said cautiously: "Although our temple was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was destroyed by wars in Shaoxing. Today, the incense is not as popular as it was then. There are only eight people in the temple, including Lao Na!"
Xu He laughed as soon as he heard this. When he just opened the door and came in, he glanced and saw that there were definitely more than eight monks in the temple. This old monk was telling lies with his eyes open.
Perhaps realizing that this sentence was too flawed, Yuan Neng added a little awkwardly: "Of course, there are many monks who are waiting for orders! These people are not ordained by small temples!"
Xu He looked out from the abbot's room, just in time to see Wei Tuo behind the mountain gate hall.
I saw the Veda statue holding a pestle with one hand and the pestle resting on the ground. This means that Guangxiao Temple is a forest of descendants. You can stay alone for three days and cannot get close to it permanently.
The so-called Descendants' Jungle does not refer to the descendants of which family this temple is inherited from, but is different from the Shifang Jungle. The Descendants' Jungle is smaller in scale, and the property belongs to one monk or a line of monks, and the abbot is passed down from master to disciple.
Shifang Jungle is different. Monks who have received ordination in Buddhism and hold the ordination certificate can go to the living room to register for a period of time ranging from one to three days. If they want to stay permanently, they can apply to the temple and wait until they pass the inspection.
Since this Guangxiao Temple is a Zisun Temple, strictly speaking, monks can only leave orders for three days before leaving.
But with so many monks appearing in the temple together, it was obvious that not all of them had come to place orders in the previous three days.
In other words, Yuan Neng, a monk, just lied twice in a row, which is really...
However, Xu He didn't intend to expose his lie. He came here just to find out the rumors. The situation in the temple was secondary. He mainly wanted to find out if there was anything unusual in the temple.
Obviously, except for the lying monk, he has gained nothing so far.
Of course Yuan Neng didn't want to get entangled with Xu He on this matter, so he turned to chat with Xu Song. It turned out that this person also knew Xu He's background.
Yuan Neng smiled and said, "I have a good relationship with the abbot of Dongshan Temple. When the old man of the Xu family moved his grave, he helped Xiao Shigong negotiate with Dongshan Temple."
Xu He was quite surprised when he heard this.
The incident Yuan Neng was talking about happened five years ago. Xu Fan had been dead for many years at that time. He bought the land and moved Xu Fan's grave there.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Neng actually contributed in this matter.
With this relationship, Xu He knew that Yuan Neng was hinting to him that everyone was acquaintances, so don't talk about things with the monks in the temple.
Xu He didn't come here for this reason, so he simply smiled and said: "The great monk misunderstood. I just asked casually, what does the number of monks in the temple have to do with me, a little student?"
Yuan Neng saw that he didn't seem to be cheating, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Although the size of the temple is not as good as that of the previous Song Dynasty, there are two hundred monks' houses alone. How can it be taken care of by only eight monks?"
This is a disguised admission that he has violated the rules.
When Xu He saw this, he knew that although Master Yuan Neng was a little cunning, he was not a serious person. It seemed that there were people with ulterior motives hidden among the monks, and he probably was not very clear about it.
The two chatted for a while, and saw that Xie's side had already finished worshiping the Buddha. Xu He knew that he would not be able to find anything if he stayed, so he said goodbye.
Wan Neng asked to keep the meal, but Xu He insisted on leaving, so he no longer insisted.
When sending Xu He and others to the door, Yuan Neng was worried and pulled Xu He aside and explained: "Mr. Xu, I didn't lie to you just now. In fact, our Guangxiao Temple is now a Luzong Temple, and most of the monks in the temple are from People from all over the world come to our temple to learn the precepts, but because of the imperial court’s order, they..."
Xu He suddenly realized that he had heard about the nature of Guangxiao Temple before. Because Guangxiao Temple is the gate of Luzong, the abbot of Jiangnan Temple would come to Guangxiao Temple for a period of "research" before taking office to learn the Buddhist precepts!
This is a bit like the Buddhist academy in later generations, but this standard is higher. Only the designated abbot of a temple is qualified to study here before taking over.
Xu He cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Don't worry, great monk, Xu He is not a talkative person!"
Yuan Neng felt relieved and watched Xu He carry the two sedan chairs away before returning to the temple.
