Chapter 336: The Birth of a Buddhist Girl
The 7-day ceremony of the birth of the Buddha girl is coming soon.
After days of hard work by more than 50 monks, a long viewing platform has been built along the Arakawa River.
In order to show solemnity, a red carpet was laid on the ground extending from the gate of Weilian Ancient Temple all the way to the bank of Arakawa River, and the grass and trees on the road were also neatly trimmed.
Lanterns, candles, flamboyant red banners...the area within 500 meters around Weilian Ancient Temple is decorated in a particularly festive manner.
Some believers who often come to Weilian Ancient Temple to pray were notified early and knew that today was the birth ceremony of the Buddhist nun. They got up early and came to the viewing platform to grab a good seat.
When they arrived, some news media who had received the news had already arrived here before them.
Staff from well-known newspapers such as Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, carrying cameras, filmed the scene while explaining the history of Weilian Ancient Temple.
The Buddha's Birth Ceremony is, in the eyes of outsiders, just a very normal Buddhist festival. After all, if you really count the Buddhist festivals and ceremonies, you can find one every month.
The first day of the first lunar month is the birthday of Maitreya Buddha, the sixth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of Dingguang Buddha, the nineteenth day of the second lunar month is the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the sixteenth day of the third lunar month is the birthday of Cundi Bodhisattva, and the fourth day of the fourth lunar month is the birthday of Manjusri Bodhisattva...
Therefore, the so-called ceremony of the birth of a Buddhist girl is just seen as a novelty by outsiders, who would then say "oh" and not pay too much attention to it.
These news media came mainly for the gimmick of the birth of a Buddhist girl and the reputation of Master Padmasambhava. As for what the ceremony meant, they didn't care.
"Master Ruyi, can you accept our interview?"
Ruyi, who was responsible for maintaining order outside and representing the appearance of Weilian Ancient Temple, was surrounded as soon as he walked out of the temple gate.
Behind him, Saburo Takeda and Mitsuhide Akechi quietly retreated, leaving Ruyi alone to deal with the news media.
"Is the Buddhist girl announced by Weilian Ancient Temple this time a real Buddhist girl? Or is she just trying to attract attention?"
"Can we see the Buddha girl?"
"Is Master Liansheng in the temple right now? Can we go in and interview Master Liansheng?"
"It is said that Master Liansheng is still in high school. We would like to ask him if he is willing to have a relationship during school?"
"If he were to fall in love, what would be his criteria for choosing a partner?"
Question after question, Ruyi always maintained a decent smile, avoided talking about important questions, and did not go into detail about simple questions.
Akechi Mitsuhide and Takeda Saburo, who were observing secretly, secretly gave Ruyi a thumbs up.
Near 7 o'clock, some temple abbots led their disciples to Weilian Ancient Temple, which attracted a great deal of media attention.
Ruyi took the opportunity to retreat back into the temple and breathed a sigh of relief.
No wonder Master Liansheng hates trouble, it is indeed very annoying.
After just a short rest, Ruyi began to entertain the abbots from various temples who came from afar.
When they asked where Master Liansheng was at the moment, Ruyi simply gave a unified answer that Master Liansheng was chanting sutras.
When it was 9 o'clock and there was only one hour left before the ceremony at 10 o'clock, Pinggong Chiye came to the temple from his home to meet with the abbots of major temples to talk about Buddhism and some trivial matters.
During the conversation, they still wanted to fight for the ownership of the Buddhist girl. At least, they couldn't let her stay in Weilian Ancient Temple forever. It would be best if she could tour every temple.
Faced with these remarks, Pinggong Qianye decisively rejected them.
The Buddhist girl is from his...temple.
He transformed the Qingxuande into the Guangmingde, and then gave birth to the Buddha girl. Then, in the battle of the fusion of the two bodies on the top of Mount Fuji, the Buddhist temples did not help him once, but instead hindered him everywhere.
Now that you've confirmed that the Buddha girl is real, you want to fight for her?
Where can such a good thing exist?
Moreover, Qing Xingdeng, who is as troublesome as himself, would not agree to these things.
If she has nothing to do on a daily basis, she might visit other temples.
"Why does Master Liansheng have to be so tough? After all, the Buddhist girl belongs to the entire Buddhist community."
In response, Pinggong Qianye said calmly: "Before the Buddhist girl belonged to the entire Buddhist sect, she first belonged to the Weilian Ancient Temple. This is an unquestionable and unchangeable fact." "What Master Liansheng said is that the Buddhist girl came from the Weilian Ancient Temple. This is a fact that no one can question."
Zen Master Zhishan quickly spoke up to smooth things over, which eased the situation a lot.
As 10 o'clock approached, the sound of bells and drums began to sound.
Thousands of people have gathered on the banks of the Arakawa River, most of them are monks from various temples, a small number are nearby residents, there are also some news media and representatives of Shintoism and Onmyoji, and even the demon specialist has sent people to watch the ceremony.
In the main hall of Weilian Ancient Temple, Pinggong Qianye, wearing a cassock, holding a Dharma bowl in one hand and turning a rosary with one hand, stood in front of the statue of Vairocana Buddha.
He is the guide for Qingxuande to become a Buddhist girl, and he will be the one walking in front later, leading Qingxuande across the red carpet to the ceremony site on the banks of the Arakawa River.
This form is actually very shabby and cannot be compared with those big temples at all.
If it is a large temple like Toji Temple and Sensoji Temple, 108 monks can be easily gathered. Led by the abbot, the monks will hold various ritual instruments and walk around the temple several times, chanting sutras and praying, and then it is the turn of the female monks to appear.
There were too few monks in the Weilian Ancient Temple to form a complete team, so they simply let Pinggong Qianye lead the Buddhist girl to the world alone, skipping many tedious procedures.
Inside the Dharma bowl, the Seventh Sinner Lord, who sensed the movement outside, interrupted his Buddhist practice and spoke softly, "Even the former great monster Qingxuandeng has joined the Buddhist sect and become a Buddhist woman. The world is really impermanent."
"If you are willing to join Buddhism, I can also save you." Pinggong Qianye's voice was transmitted into the Dharma bowl.
"I am burdened with the sins of all living beings. Is Master Liansheng really confident that he can completely redeem me?"
"You are also one of the sentient beings."
“Isn’t Master Liansheng also one of the sentient beings? If a Buddha cannot save himself, how can he save others?”
"You can also choose to save yourself."
The Seventh Sinner smiled and said, "If one day Master Liansheng can really cross the sea of suffering and reach the other shore, I will naturally be willing to be saved by Master Liansheng."
"it is good."
A simple chat and an agreement were made.
“To cross the sea of suffering and reach the other side is such an elusive goal.”
Qing Xingdeng's voice came from the side hall. When Pinggong Qianye looked up, Qing Xingdeng's figure had already appeared in his sight.
She was wearing a light golden long skirt with red silk threads outlining blooming lotus flowers on the hem, and a vermilion dot between her eyebrows, like a shining sun.
Her hair was no longer the bright red it had been before, but now as white as snow. In both hands, she held a bright lamp with scriptures and five Buddhas painted on all four sides.
Every time she took a step forward, a lotus flower bloomed at her feet.
Lotus flowers bloom at every step, swaying gracefully, this moment is the most realistic portrayal.
“The other shore is always there.”
As Qing Xingdeng moved forward step by step, Gong Qianye gradually withdrew his thoughts.
"Where is the other shore?"
“In the hearts of all sentient beings.”
“Is this statement too idealistic?”
“This is not idealistic.”
Pinggong Qianye shook his head and said seriously: "From the mind, all kinds of dharmas arise, and from the dharmas, all kinds of minds arise."
People always tend to misunderstand Buddhist theories as idealism, which is actually a wrong perception.
Buddhist theory, to be more precise, is a kind of philosophical thought.
(End of this chapter)
