Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 334 Xuanzang: Buddhism can help people live longer

Just as Wu Meiniang entered Ganlu Palace and was happily chatting with Xu Hui, Xuanzang also entered the palace at the same time.

Xuanzang, wearing a clean gray monk's robe, appeared outside the Wanchun Hall.

Wanchun Hall is on the east side of Liangyi Hall, and Ganlu Hall is on the north side of Liangyi Hall.

Xuanzang didn't know that if he had walked a quarter of an hour faster, he would have had the chance to meet Wu Meiniang.

Meet the woman who made the rest of his life difficult.

……

The eunuch Zhang Ananda stood on the steps, bowed slightly to Xuanzang, and then made a "please" gesture.

Xuanzang nodded calmly, then walked up the stairs and followed Zhang Ananda into the Wanchun Hall.

In the early years, Wanchun Hall was the place where the empress met foreign guests. Later, after the empress passed away, the emperor rarely came, and Wanchun Hall was almost abandoned.

Today, the emperor summoned Xuanzang and reopened this place.

There was also some hope that Xuanzang's Buddhist teachings could comfort the queen.

Xuanzang entered the hall and Zhang Ananda led him to the south side hall.

In the side hall, the emperor, dressed in a scarlet and yellow dragon robe, was lying on a couch.

Li Chengqian knelt at the emperor's feet, and then looked at Xuanzang who walked into the hall with curiosity.

There is not much record in history books about the meeting between the emperor and Xuanzang.

But one is an eternal emperor, and the other is an eternal monk.

The meeting between the two should have been worthy of being recorded in history, but in reality very little is left.

Also looking at Xuanzang curiously were Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, who were kneeling together on the left.

On the right are Fang Xuanling and Gao Shilian, but they are relatively calm, after all, they have both met Xuanzang.

Like Chu Suiliang, Changsun Wuji had just returned from fighting in Liaodong with the emperor.

"Amitabha!" Xuanzang stood in the hall and saluted the emperor earnestly with his hands clasped together: "Monk Xuanzang, I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

After saying this, Xuanzang knelt down calmly again and bowed his head.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but raise his brows when he saw this scene.

Xuanzang knelt down in front of the emperor.

But in an instant, Li Chengqian understood that Xuanzang was a citizen of the Tang Dynasty after all. He could not kneel when meeting Li Chengqian, but if he knelt when meeting the emperor, the Buddha would also understand because he was a citizen of the emperor.

"Master, please stand up." Li Shimin lay on the couch with a gentle expression, but his eyes were extremely sharp as he looked at Xuanzang.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xuanzang bowed slightly, then stood up calmly.

Li Shimin looked at Xuanzang, who was neither humble nor arrogant, and nodded, saying, "Master, you have worked hard on your journey. You have traveled thousands of miles to the west, risking your life to seek the Dharma. No one in the world can compare to you."

The ministers nodded in agreement. Since ancient times, there have been very few people willing to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

Only one in ten thousand can embark on the journey westward and not give up because of various difficulties.

In the end, only a few people can successfully reach the Buddha land of India and then are willing to come back.

Xuanzang folded his hands and said, "Traveling west to seek the Dharma is for a monk. This is a matter of great importance to the inheritance of the Dharma. Even if there are thousands of obstacles, I must go."

"Oh!" Li Shimin raised his eyes slightly.

What Xuanzang said is very interesting and is related to the Buddhist heritage.

Zen Buddhism flourished in recent years, but Xuanzang said that the Buddhist inheritance was in doubt, which meant that he was different from those in Zen Buddhism.

There is a difference.

Li Shimin smiled with satisfaction and said, "Master, I see that you are just an ordinary person. The journey west is long and dangerous, and the customs and languages ​​along the way are different. I really don't know how you managed to get through it."

Xuanzang raised his head slightly, then spoke seriously, "This is due to your Majesty's divine power, which reaches far and wide. People all over the world admire your majesty's benevolence, so anyone traveling from the east to the west is respected by the locals... When Xuanzang was in India, the king even asked him about the music of the King of Qin breaking the formation. This shows your majesty's prestige."

"Hahaha..." The emperor couldn't help laughing. Sincere praise is the most pleasing to the eyes. Even Li Shimin was no exception. He enjoyed Xuanzang's sincerity very much.

All the ministers in the hall laughed softly.

What Xuanzang said now sounds true.

The emperor destroyed the Eastern Turks, Tuyuhun, and Gaochang, and beat Goguryeo and Western Turks like grandsons.

Wherever the Tang Dynasty looked, all the countries came to pay tribute and submit to it.

It sounds right to say, "Your Majesty's divine power extends far and wide."

However, when Xuanzang left Chang'an, it was the first year of Zhenguan, and it was the fourth year of Zhenguan when the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Eastern Turks.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Xuanzang had arrived in India.

So it can be said that Xuanzang can speak.

……

The emperor's laughter gradually subsided. He waved to Xuanzang and said with a smile, "Come here, please give me a seat. Master, please sit closer."

"Yes!" Xuanzang walked calmly to the emperor, bowed two feet away, and then knelt down on the cushion.

Li Shimin asked with some emotion: "Master, your journey has lasted for seventeen years, how much distance have you traveled?"

Xuanzang clasped his hands together and said seriously, "In order to seek the Dharma, Xuanzang would go to every place related to Buddhism to seek verification. This journey has covered more than 50,000 miles and has passed through more than 110 countries."

"You've traveled further than Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang." Li Shimin looked at Xuanzang, whose body was still weathered even after returning to Chang'an, and nodded. "Over a hundred countries, many of which the Tang Dynasty probably doesn't even know the names of."

"Yes!" Xuanzang nodded and said, "Twenty-eight people stopped to preach, and among them, the one who was received by the king..."

Xuanzang spoke calmly, omitting the countless difficulties and obstacles along the way.

Li Chengqian looked at Xuanzang calmly. His words were calm, but one could feel his determination and fearlessness from the bottom of his heart.

Think about it, although mythological novels contain many lies, if you think about them seriously, there are 81 difficulties. Let alone being able to keep going through them consistently, even being able to keep reading them consistently is an extremely difficult thing.

Especially in the Lion Country, the ground was covered with skeletons, the bones piled up into hills, and the trees were full of human remains... It was simply a hell on earth.

And this Lion Camel Ridge has a prototype.

One look at that kind of place will turn into a three-year nightmare.

Xuanzang's situation is not much better than the myth.

Especially since he had been traveling west for seventeen years this time, and he did not have any disciples with extraordinary powers, so he relied entirely on his own beliefs and faith.

Only he himself knows how difficult it is.

But he said nothing. …

The emperor smiled, looked at Xuanzang and asked, "Master, I have read the Crown Prince's report. You once told him that there are Buddhas in India, is that correct?"

The emperor asked a question, and the hall suddenly became completely quiet.

Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang looked at Xuanzang with solemn expressions.

Xuanzang bowed slightly, then said seriously: "It is true that there are Buddhas in India, but there are also no Buddhas in India!"

Li Chengqian's pupils dilated instantly. What kind of answer was this?

"Oh!" Li Shimin said calmly, "Master, what do you mean by that?"

"Your Majesty!" Xuanzang bowed and said, "When I was in India, I studied the Dharma with Master Jiexian, the abbot of Nalanda Monastery. Master Jiexian was revered in India as the True Dharma Treasure, a great arhat. Then there was Master Jiexian, who simply lived longer and did not possess any true supernatural powers."

It's just about living longer, it's really easy to say that.

All the ministers in the hall looked at the emperor out of the corner of their eyes.

What Xuanzang meant was not very obscure. Buddhism cannot make people immortal, but it can make people live longer and longer.

The emperor suddenly laughed, looked at Xuanzang and asked, "Master, you are wrong. Living a long life is the greatest supernatural power. Otherwise, Master Jiexian would not have become the abbot of Nalanda Monastery."

Master Jiexian was able to live a long life because he became the abbot of Nalanda Monastery.

What really makes people live longer is not Buddhism, but power.

However, it is impossible to ignore the role of Buddhism. At least only when power and Buddhism are combined can the greatest degree of longevity be achieved.

The ministers bowed their heads slightly.

The emperor was moved.

Li Chengqian, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and Chu Suiliang were the people who knew the emperor best.

They knew best what the emperor was thinking.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right." Xuanzang nodded calmly.

The emperor smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "What do you think of what the prince said to the mage?"

The ministers were slightly stunned.

In an instant, everyone's breathing became faint.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "While Master Jiexian is undoubtedly the abbot of Nalanda Monastery, and Buddhist teachings are crucial to his application, the method that unites the two is probably the true core of Nalanda Monastery. I'm afraid the master didn't bring this back."

"The method of combining the two into one." Li Shimin looked at Xuanzang and asked softly, "Master, the prince said so, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty!" Xuanzang bowed and said, "I have spent eleven years in India, reading extensively the Buddhist scriptures and inheriting all the teachings. However, I have never heard of the method of combining the two that the Crown Prince mentioned. I doubt even my teacher, Master Jiexian, has heard of it."

Li Chengqian lowered his head calmly. Xuanzang's so-called longevity was just a way to attract the emperor's attention.

I don’t know how many people in Taoism and Buddhism have used similar methods.

However, there is no need to worry about old means, as long as they work. But now the emperor is obviously tempted.

Maybe we just treat it as a toy, a vague hope, but it is already a start.

"...If there is, it is in the 526 boxes of 657 original Buddhist scriptures that I brought back to China this time. I just need to translate them one by one, and I will be able to find the method of combining the two as the prince mentioned." Xuanzang put his hands together with an indifferent expression.

The emperor turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, what do you say?"

"Father!" Li Chengqian bowed to the emperor, then looked at Xuanzang and said, "Why not let the master translate first? If he gains something, it can be used. If not, then Father should follow the example of Emperor Wu who produced the Ferghana horse."

"Huh!" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

When Zhang Qian was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, he brought back news of the Ferghana horses. Later, Emperor Wu of Han sent an envoy with a thousand gold coins and a golden horse to exchange for them.

Due to the conflict between the two sides, the exchange of horses failed and the envoy was killed.

Emperor Wu was furious and ordered General Li Guangli to lead troops to attack. Finally, he conquered the capital of Dayuan, killed the King Wugua of Dayuan, and established another king. From then on, Dayuan submitted to the Han Dynasty.

The position of the King of Dayuan was where the Western Turkestan is today, and that area is now under the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

In the past, Emperor Wu of Han invaded Dayuan for the sake of the Ferghana horses.

Today, Li Chengqian suggested that the emperor invade India to obtain the longevity secrets of India.

Li Shimin was a very capable person, how could he not understand the meaning of Li Chengqian's words?

They don't care about the method of longevity. What they need is an excuse to invade India.

And now, Xuanzang delivered this complete excuse to the emperor.

"The matter of longevity is not only of interest to the Emperor, but also to this son." Li Cheng suddenly bowed shyly and said, "If the Emperor can live a long life, this son can also benefit from it."

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help laughing, slapping his thigh and saying, "The master is a wonderful person, and the prince is also a wonderful person!"

Among all the ministers, only Fang Xuanling understood the meaning of Li Chengqian's words.

If the emperor and the prince can live a long life, then the prince will naturally not be in a hurry to ascend the throne, and naturally there will be no messy things.

The emperor obviously understood what Li Chengqian meant, so he laughed out loud with relief.

Xuanzang was still kneeling on the ground calmly, and the expression on his face had not changed much since the beginning.

I don’t know whether he understood Li Chengqian’s implicit meaning.

……

After a moment, Li Shimin withdrew the news, turned to look at Xuanzang and asked, "Master, I once ordered you to compile a record of your journey to the West. It has been seventeen years since you went there and back. Can you really remember all the places you have visited, such as how far they are from Chang'an, what are the local products, and what is the climate like?"

"I've tried my best to recall everything over the past year, and I can remember most of it." Xuanzang paused and said seriously, "But I haven't started translating many of the Buddhist scriptures I brought back to Chang'an. I'm afraid it's difficult to allocate time and manage them..."

"No, you should write Journey to the West first. That's what we agreed on." The emperor interrupted Xuanzang and said, "As for the rest, don't worry about it. Once you finish writing Journey to the West, I'll send someone to help you. As for Journey to the West, I think it should be called Great Tang Records on the Western Regions."

"Yes!" Xuanzang bowed seriously.

Li Shimin's eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked, "Master, I think you have rich experience and a sincere character. Please return to secular life and serve me."

Everyone in the hall looked at the emperor in surprise.

Xuanzang was a great Buddhist monk, but the emperor asked him to return to secular life.

But soon, the ministers realized that the emperor was just testing them.

Xuanzang calmly clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty, I seek the Dharma and do not concern myself with government affairs. If I return to secular life, not only will I be useless in government, but all I have learned will become corrupted."

Corruption. Li Chengqian looked at Xuanzang in surprise. Can the word corruption be used here?
"Okay." Li Shimin looked at the serious Xuanzang and said, "I will arrange for the Zongzheng Temple to coordinate with the Hongfu Temple to assist you in compiling the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. After that, we will compile the Buddhist scriptures and see if there are any methods that can help people achieve Buddhahood in the Buddhist scriptures you brought with you."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)