In the discourse system of some people, when they talk about practicing Buddhism and Taoism, they distort it into the final choice of those who have lost all hope and encountered major setbacks in life, and have no choice but to escape from reality; let alone Prince Gautama Siddhartha of ancient India. Abandoning the throne and cultivating Sakyamuni Tathagata, the founder of Chinese humanities Yellow Emperor accomplished Taoism and soared on a dragon in front of all the officials. As for whether one can become a monk to become a monk, it is not necessary. It is just a different method selected by different cultivation methods. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was a unique Xiao Jing. He was rich and powerful, but he had ambitions outside the country. He regarded this huge palace as a place for spiritual training and a place to escape from the world. This relative of the emperor devoted his life to worshiping Buddha. What anecdotes did he experience that shocked the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty at that time?
Among the great-great-grandsons of Emperor Wu of Southern Liang, there was Xiao Jing, the fifth son of Liang WangXiao Kui.
Xiao Jing's father Xiao Kui is kind, filial and kind by nature. As the king of Xiliang , he was quite capable. In the palace, he was very frugal in food and clothing, and he was also very good at managing officials. When the people are in difficult circumstances, he will shed tears of sorrow for them.
In 582 AD, the second year of the founding of the Sui Dynasty , Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian prepared a generous betrothal gift and accepted Xiao Kui's daughter as the Princess of Jin. After Jin Wang Yang Guang ascended the throne, he became Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty . Princess Xiao of Jin became the queen, and Queen Xiao's younger brother Xiao Jing became Emperor Sui Yang's brother-in-law.
Xiao Jing grew up in a wealthy royal family. Before the destruction of Xiliang, his title was Linhai King, a true descendant of the emperor. From Nanliang to Sui and Tang , the entire Xiao family at that time believed in Buddhism.
Speaking of nobles seeking the Tao, it has been around since ancient times and is not a rare thing. From the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, among the first fifty-six people to be enlightened, fifty-one of them were princes from wealthy families. Sakyamuni Buddha returned to his country to preach, and 500 noble disciples followed him to practice Taoism. Princess Miaoshan, the daughter of King Miaozhuang, became Guanyin Bodhisattva . Bodhidharma was the prince of the King of Southern India in India before coming to China. Achieving bodhicitta and using the sword of wisdom to cut off worldly connections is the universal aspiration, which naturally includes nobles. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were many aristocratic seekers.
During the great cause of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Xiao Jing often recited Buddhist scriptures alone, and built the "Multi-Treasure Pagoda" according to the scriptures, which was made of sandalwood . The tower is more than three feet high, with the "Duobao Statue" made of thick wood at the top.
One day a few years later, Xiao Jing's nephew Xiao Quan woke up in the morning and suddenly saw a sandalwood tower cover among the grass in the front yard, with a brass Buddha statue underneath. Taking a closer look, the production style of the bronze statue is completely different from that of China. The appearance of the Buddha statue looks very much like a person from the Western Regions. Its eyes are made of silver, and the eyes are bright, smooth and lifelike.
Xiao Quan hurriedly ran to tell his uncle. Xiao Jing was surprised and happy when she saw the Buddha statue, so she took the tower cover home. He tried to place the sandalwood pagoda cover on the pagoda, and it fit perfectly, just like it was specially made for his Duobao pagoda.
Although the color of the wood on the tower cover and the tower body is slightly different, this difference makes the whole tower look more beautiful. Xiao Jing placed the brass Buddha statue in the pagoda. The size was actually very proportional, as if it had been cast deliberately. These perfect coincidences are amazing. Xiao Jing was very happy, thinking that it must be her sincerity, and she unexpectedly got the pagoda cover and the Buddha statue.
What is even more peculiar is that there are more than a hundred relics stored in the box of the brass Buddha statue. Xiao Jing has a daughter who is born into a wealthy family and is truly a daughter of the royal family. Xiao Nu's ambitions are different. She comes from a wealthy family and has ambitions outside the country.
The glory of the palace, the status of a royal relative, these things that ordinary people could not achieve, Xiao Nu gave up easily. In the eyes of the secular world, becoming a monk seems to be an escape from real sufferings for people who are desperate, such as emotional frustration, financial difficulties, poor families, failure in exams, etc. However, these Xiao girls did not have it, but she was willing to become a nun.
Xiao Jing's daughter once doubted what a monk from the Western Regions said: "The relics are so hard that they cannot be broken even with a hammer."So she quietly took out thirty relics, placed them on a stone, and struck them with an axe, but the relics disappeared. She thought they had fallen to the ground, so she searched for them on the ground, but she only found three or four, and the rest disappeared before her eyes. She panicked and told Xiao Jing about the incident in fear.
Xiao Jing looked inside the "Duobao Pagoda" and found that there were not many relics. From then on, he insisted on reciting the scriptures once a day until his death.
In 638 AD, the twelfth year of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan, Xiao Jing became seriously ill. Empress Xiao and her younger brother and nephew came to visit him. Xiao Jing asked them to burn incense, chant sutras, and say goodbye to their families in such an atmosphere. Then, he left only his younger brother Xiao Yu and his daughter who was a monk, and asked them to continue burning incense and chanting sutras.
After a while, Xiao Jing said to his daughter who was a monk: "I'm leaving. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is here to greet me. It's in the east courtyard. You can go and greet the Bodhisattva now."
His daughter came to the place Xiao Jing said, but she didn't come back. Xiao Jing was bedridden and did not leave the house. He said: "This yard is not clean and the Bodhisattva refuses to come. I should go there in person so that you can take care of yourself." After saying this, he said goodbye to his younger brother Xiao Yu and others, then stood up and faced the west, knelt on the ground, clasped his hands, and died soon after.
Xiao Jing left a last note before she died: Put his body alone in the car and bury him in the clothes he was wearing. The woman should not be buried, and remember not to sacrifice meat to . Just dig a pit and bury the coffin. His family arranged the funeral arrangements in accordance with the will.
At that time, all the officials and dignitaries in the Tang Dynasty were shocked. The imperial court granted Xiao Jing the posthumous title of "Kang Gong", also known as Lanling Kang Gong. Xiao Jing's heart was pure and his devotion to Buddhism remained consistent. Everyone praised him for his thorough understanding. I have never been tired of searching for the Tao throughout my life. Even before I died, my intention to worship the Buddha remained unchanged. I felt that the Bodhisattva descended to earth and greeted me personally.
Reference:
Volume 48 of "Book of Zhou"
[Tang Dynasty] Tang Lin: "The Book of the Underworld"
#headlines creation challenge#
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-