Chapter 18 Three, one step to the sky

The Great Monk is here! With the shout of the ceremony officer, all the princes and nobles stood up from their seats, including their emperor. Undoubtedly, this is to show respect for a person. This person is called Fotucheng. Fotucheng was the leader of the Buddhist circle in Later Zhao, and "Great Monk" was the honorary title given to him by Emperor Shi Le of Later Zhao, which means "great teacher". The noble status of monks is the most important here. Ironically, however, Fotucheng's attainment of this status was not based on his Buddhist attainments, but on the alchemy favored by Taoism.

Fotucheng was from Kucha (pronounced as Qiuci, now Kuqa, Xinjiang) in the Western Regions, and he may also be from Tianzhu (India).He became a monk at the age of nine and was familiar with Buddhist scriptures. He stayed in Dunhuang before entering the mainland.In the fourth year of Emperor Yongjia of the Western Jin Dynasty (310 A.D.), Fotucheng went to Luoyang to preach, but caught up with the turmoil before the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty, so he had to hide in the home of a general in Shile. One day, Shi Le summoned the general. Shi Le said: As far as I know, you don't have any strange schemes or strange skills.But recently, every time you march and fight, you can predict the result.Tell me the truth, what is the reason?

The general said: It was predicted by a Samana. Sramana is a monk in Buddhism. The general also said: This monk predicted that the general would win the world. So Shi Le summoned Fo Tucheng. At this time, Fotucheng claimed to be more than a hundred years old, and he could live by breathing air without eating or drinking.It is said that there is a small hole in his stomach, which is usually plugged with cotton wool.When you want to read at night, just pull out the cotton wool, and the light emitted from the hole is enough to illuminate the whole room brightly. Hehe, this is not a monk, but a Taoist or wizard.

Shi Le didn't care about whether it was Buddha or Dao, what he cared about was what benefits this recluse could bring to him.So he asked: What is the effect of Buddhism and Taoism? Fotucheng knew very well that it was useless to talk about prajna wisdom to this uneducated Jie man. His solution was to get a basin of clear water, burn incense and chant mantras.As a result, in a blink of an eye, lotus flowers grew in the water, dazzling and shining. Everyone was amazed. In fact, this is probably a kind of magic, and many monks and Taoist priests at that time could also play it.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a alchemist named Zuo Ci conjured perch from the Wusong River from an empty copper basin in front of Cao Cao.Another time, when he poured himself a drink, all the hundreds of scholar-bureaucrats in the room felt full, and all the wine and meat from the restaurants in the market disappeared for no apparent reason.

It's a pity that Cao Cao didn't believe in evil, so he decided to kill the evildoer. Zuo Ci saw through Cao Cao's intentions, and immediately came out through the wall, and all the passers-by in the market turned into Zuo Ci's appearance, making it impossible for Cao Cao's soldiers to attack.In the end, Zuo Ci, who was hunted down, escaped into the flock of sheep and became a sheep again. Cao Cao had no choice but to say: I won't kill you, but try your spells. So an old sheep stood up like a human being and said: Why is this so! As soon as the words fell, hundreds of sheep turned into old sheep, and they all stood up like humans with their front hooves bent and said: Why is this so!Why so!

Cao Cao finally failed to kill Zuo Ci. Similarly, Shi Le failed to kill Fotucheng. It's not surprising that Shi Le suddenly became murderous. The ruler is always unwilling to let others know his details, and Fotucheng always predicts things like a god.Of course, this time too.Just as Shi Le had a flash of thought, Fotucheng fled away.What surprised Shi Le even more was that when he regretted and missed the monk, the mysteriously missing Fotucheng appeared in front of him with a smile. Shi Le asked: Why did you leave last night? Fotucheng replied: Because the general has malicious intentions.

Shi Le asked again: Why are you here again today? Fotucheng replied: Because the general changed his mind. Shi Le laughed loudly and said, "You Taoist talk nonsense!" That's right, Fotucheng was still called "Taoist" at this time. Fotucheng gained trust after he made contributions to Shi Le.Without exception, these undertakings are said to be miraculous. For example, hearing the bell of a temple can predict the defeat of a certain enemy, and smearing sesame oil on the palm of one's hand can see the capture of the former Emperor Zhao. This makes Shi Le have to believe it.More likely, the clever Shi Le discovered that this monk could be of great help to his imperial career.

Therefore, after proclaiming himself emperor, Shi Le respected Buddha Tucheng as the "Great Monk". It now appears that Fotucheng was able to participate in military and political planning, not because he really had any "five eyes and six supernatural powers", but because he was well-informed and experienced in the world, and his disciples were well-informed, coupled with necessary and appropriate mystification. Make his advice and judgments look like magic tricks.As a result, both Shi Le and his successor Shi Hu were convinced by him and obeyed. It's a pity that no one in the world can always have smooth sailing, and the regime of the Jie people will inevitably have a rough fate.In 343 A.D., the Eastern Jin Dynasty sent troops to press against each other, and it was unfavorable to attack Qianliang.After Zhao Lian suffered a setback, people were panicked, and Shi Hu was also full of resentment and anger.He lost his temper and said: "Whoever worships Buddha and monks attracts foreign enemies, what's the use of Buddha?"

Fotucheng has his own explanation. The saying comes from reincarnation.Fotucheng said: Your Majesty was a big businessman in his previous life. He once held a puja to support sixty arhats, so he was reincarnated and came to China to be the emperor.This is what is rewarded with good, so why complain? After hearing this, Shi Hu turned his anger into joy, and knelt down to thank Fotucheng. However, Shihu still has problems. Once he asked: What is Buddhism? Fotucheng replied: No killing. Shi Hu said: I am the master of the world, how can I not kill? Fotucheng said: "Of course the one who should be killed must be killed."The key is not to have murderous intentions, let alone kill innocent people indiscriminately.As long as His Majesty is merciful, the blessings will last forever.It's not a problem to kill a few people who are full of crimes and deserve death.

Shihu is very satisfied. Actually, what Fotucheng said is very problematic.What does it mean to kill?Who else should be killed?If there are some people in this world who shouldn't be killed and others who should be killed, what's the point of advocating not to kill? However, Fotucheng will not dwell on these issues, even if he thinks it through, he will not tell us.For him, the most important thing is to win Shihu to the side of Buddhism, even if he only has the name of a disciple and has no compassion. As it turns out, this matters.Later, in view of the fact that there were too many monks, good and bad, Shi Hu issued an edict asking the relevant departments to rectify.Therefore, some people took the opportunity to propose a complete ban on Buddhism, but Shi Hu rejected it.He said that the people of Zhao State have freedom of belief.Anyone can believe in Buddhism, even Han Chinese.

With the support of the highest authorities, Fotucheng's career flourished, and the spread of Buddhism also started a prairie fire.In just a few decades after the Zhao Dynasty, as many as 893 temples were established in China, the highest number since Buddhism was introduced to China. Fotucheng succeeded. More importantly, he changed the ecological environment of Buddhism.In the past, the translation of Buddhist scriptures, the construction of temples, and the preaching of Buddhism mainly relied on the support of folk believers, coupled with the funding of country gentry, rich men, and intellectuals.Fotucheng asked the supreme ruler to put Buddhism under the protection of the state's public power and use the imperial power to obtain religious power. This is the first time in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Therefore, Fotucheng became an epoch-making figure.His historical status may only be compared to that of the Archbishop of Milan who made the Roman Emperor Theodosius kneel down to repent (please refer to the ninth volume of the History of China, "The Two Hans and Two Romes").What's more, although Fotucheng's success is unprecedented, it is not unprecedented.After him until the Qing Dynasty, monks continued to enter the court, and it even became a tradition for eminent monks to participate in state affairs.Buddhism, regarded as alchemy, has finally reached the sky in one step.

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