The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 184 The Secret Scripture
Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "It's not some extremely important scripture, why don't you know it?"

Monk Lingde shook his head and said, "Donor Zhao is exaggerating. This sutra is a secret teaching. People only know about the Great Wisdom Treatise, but rarely the Great Wisdom Sutra."

"Secret?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes.

"It is a secret teaching, and this sutra has long been lost in the Central Plains. Donor Zhao knows that it may be a coincidence. He may have seen it in some ancient book and mentioned a few sentences. Everyone knows it, so isn't he trying to deceive me?"

Zhao Ti said: "Since it is a sutra, how can it be said to be secret? Aren't they all Mahayana teachings for saving oneself and others?"

Monk Lingde looked at Zhao Ti and said slowly: "The Great Wisdom Sutra is not an ordinary sutra, it is a true sutra."

"True scriptures?" Zhao Ti frowned. There has always been a debate about the authenticity of Buddhist scriptures.

One theory is that if the scriptures are truly spoken by the Buddha himself and have been passed down word for word, they are called true scriptures. If not, they are all false scriptures.

One theory is that the Buddha did say these words and meant these things, which is basically correct. The ones compiled by his disciples are the true scriptures, while the ones that are fabricated under a pseudonym, or that are spoken by demons in the name of the Buddha, are false scriptures.

If we follow the second point, then there are many true scriptures in the world, and most of the Buddhist temples contain true scriptures.

Elder Lingde said, "This sutra was spoken by the Buddha himself, and every word is correct. It tells the eight Dharma-protecting gods how to practice. It is the true sutra. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna once explained this sutra, which is called the Great Wisdom Treatise."

Zhao Ti touched his chin and said, "The Eight Guardian God Kings?"

Elder Lingde said, "That's right. The eight Dharma protectors often listened to the Buddha's lectures on Mount Vulture Peak. The most profound part of the Buddha's lectures was this Great Wisdom Sutra."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "The Eight Heavenly Dragons are neither human nor inhuman. I remember that several of them were at odds with the Buddha. When the Buddha said to go east, they went west. When the Buddha said four or five, they said six or seven."

Mu Wanqing heard this in the front at this time, and couldn't help but think to herself, it turns out that His Highness is very familiar with Buddhism and even knows about the guardian god king. No wonder he asked me to read the Great Wisdom Sutra to him yesterday.

Yesterday, Zhao Ti and Mu Wanqing went out of the front hall and chatted all the way. Zhao Ti asked her about her situation. She talked about the situation in Dali City and the Kufan Temple. Later, she said that she recited the Great Wisdom Sutra every day. Zhao Ti asked her about the scripture and she recounted what she had learned.

However, Mu Wanqing did not know the entire Great Wisdom Sutra. The abbot of Kufan Temple often repeated it in the sutra meetings in the past two years, but in the end, he only covered about 30% of it, so she only remembered 30%.

But this is more than what the mountain people remember. The mountain people will not go to every performance. Some of them are dull and what they hear goes in one ear and out the other. After listening for a long time, they can only remember a few words.

When Zhao Ti was in Shaolin Temple, the Sweeping Monk enlightened Li Qiu Shui to recite this sutra in a low voice. Just now, when he saw Monk Lingde reading it again, he couldn't help but speak it out, but he didn't know that this sutra had so many interpretations.

Monk Lingde shook his head and said, "All the guardian gods have strange personalities, are mysterious, and have great powers, but their Buddhist teachings are not perfect, so they doubt Buddha. Buddha uses the true scriptures to resolve their doubts."

Zhao Ti said: "Since it is a true scripture and it has been lost in the Central Plains, where did the master get it from?"

Lingde said after a while, "I have searched through ancient scriptures and read a lot of books. I also sent monks from Xiangguo Temple to various places to inquire and investigate. I have only gained 10% or 20% of the information. So when Mr. Zhao said that the people who came with him knew some of it, I don't believe it."

Zhao Ti nodded. What Elder Lingde had just recited was indeed the opening chapter of the Great Wisdom Sutra. What he heard from the sweeping monk in the Shaolin Temple was also the beginning words of this sutra. This could be confirmed by the 30% of the scripture that Mu Wanqing told him.

He said, "Why don't you believe it? The master is obsessed with appearances. It seems that the master is not well versed in Buddhism. He actually doubts me. Since I say it exists, how can it not exist? What is the difference between the master's behavior and the God King's doubt of Buddha?"

Monk Lingde said angrily: "How can you compare me like this, Mr. Zhao? How can I be compared to a god king, and how can you be compared to a Buddha?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Everyone in the world is a Buddha. Compassion comes from the heart. A kind heart is Bodhi. All things contain Zen. Everything is empty. All thoughts become Zen. All appearances are nothing. You say that the master is attached to appearances, but you still don't admit it."

Monk Lingde said: "The Great Wisdom Sutra is the true scripture that Buddha used to enlighten the gods. How can everyone know it? Don't learn from the devil's sophistry to say that nothing exists, that the false is true, and that the false is true."

Zhao Ti shook his head upon hearing this: "Master, you don't believe it?"

Monk Lingde said, "Donor Zhao's words are unfounded, who can believe them?"

Zhao Ti looked at Jiumozhi and said, "Master Xuanzhi, please recite a few lines of the Great Wisdom Sutra for Master Lingde."

Jiumozhi looked a little worried when he heard this, because this sutra was not passed down by his own sect. When Zhao Ti asked about it in Shaolin Temple, he said that it came from a certain place because he knew about it because some small esoteric Buddhist temples in the southwest were circulating this sutra.

But the monks in those places didn't know the whole book and kept it secret. What he remembered from what he had heard before were only the first three or five sentences.

But he remembered that when he first entered the meditation room, Monk Lingde did not recite from the beginning, so he would not question it. He clasped his hands and said, "Since Master Lingde said that this sutra is a secret, I will not say too much. I will just tell you the first few sentences."

Then he said the few sentences he knew. Monk Lingde changed color and said, "Xuanzhi, you are indeed a foreign monk. How can there be a monk in the Central Plains who knows this sutra? Do you dare to continue what I just said?"

Jiumozhi had no idea what was coming next, so he laughed and said, "The Dharma is not easily passed on, so how can you read the Sutra in vain?"

Lingde was annoyed and said, "As a monk, how can you say such things?"

Zhao Ti asked, "Master, are you angry out of shame?"

Lingde said: "The foreign monk knows a few words that are not worth mentioning, who else knows?"

Zhao Ti looked at Mu Wanqing and said, "Miss Mu, please continue Master's words."

Mu Wanqing remembered what Zhao Ti said in the car, and immediately continued. Lingde was stunned, and after a long while he said, "Where did this girl know about this sutra?"

Mu Wanqing said, "There is a temple where I live, called Kufan Temple, where the abbot holds sutra lectures."

Lingde's face changed when he heard this: "Kufan Temple? The girl lives near Kufan Temple?"

Mu Wanqing nodded: "It's not far over there. I often go to the temple to listen to scriptures and worship Buddha." Zhao Ti looked at Lingde's expression. The sweeping monk knew this sutra, and Lingde also knew it. He didn't believe that the two of them didn't know him.

He suspected that Lingde had learned the Great Wisdom Sutra from the Sweeping Monk. Since the sutra was lost in the Central Plains, could it be that the Sweeping Monk had been to Dali in Tibet? Or even to the Kufan Temple?
But why did Lingde care so much about this scripture? Was it just a simple so-called true scripture? Even if it was a true scripture, it didn't seem to be a rare thing. Could there be some other explanation?
At this time, Lingde's expression gradually recovered. He raised his hands and stopped talking about the sutra. He said, "Amitabha, what do you want from me today, Mr. Zhao?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "It's nothing, but a few days ago when I went to the Prince of Chu's mansion, my aunt chatted with me and mentioned Xiangguo Temple. She said that Master Lingde is my aunt's relative and has a very high seniority."

Lingde's face changed again when he heard this, and he said hurriedly: "I am not from the Jiao family..."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes and said, "Master, how do you know which Jiao family my second aunt came from?"

Monk Lingde was stunned for a moment, and immediately explained: "Isn't there only one wealthy family, the Jiao family, in the capital?"

Zhao Ti raised the corner of his mouth. The old fox had revealed his true colors. Judging from the current appearance, he must be from the Jiao family.

I just don’t know who the other person is from the Jiao family, whether the Sweeping Monk is also from the Jiao family, or whether he has a close relationship with the Jiao family. But why did both of them become monks?
Lingde looked at Zhao Ti's expression and couldn't help but look a little green: "I want to meditate on Zen, so I won't keep you, Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Ti nodded and winked at Jiumozhi, who immediately stood up and slashed at him with a flaming knife.

Monk Lingde was furious when he saw this: "You're coming again?"

He stretched out his hands forward, and saw that the flaming blade seemed to hit something soft and tough, causing slight air waves to rise.

Jiumozhi's martial arts skills were more advanced than last year. After three consecutive slashes, he used the Formless Robbery Finger, which made a continuous hissing sound and made the invisible barrier in front of the old monk ripple like the surface of water.

Zhao Ti said: "Master, your Infinite Vajra Protecting World Wall is too similar to the three-foot-high Qi Wall of the old monk who sweeps the floor in the Sutra Library of Shaolin Temple. Did you lie to me last time? I'm afraid you recognize that monk and your martial arts skills are related to him."

Monk Lingde shouted, "How powerful." Then he dodged to the side as he did last time, and the chair under him was smashed to pieces by Jiumozhi.

Jiumozhi stopped and stood aside. Zhao Ti continued, "Master, please tell us the identity of the sweeping monk."

The old monk Lingde said angrily: "Send the guests away, send the guests away."

The little monk wiped his nose outside the door, turned around quietly, and ran away without a trace.

The old monk Lingde was so angry that he was shaking all over: "I don't know what the sweeping monk is. If you don't leave, then I will leave."

As he spoke, he walked out the door. His steps were no slower than the little monk's, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "What a great move from the Thirty-Six Stratagems, the last one..."

He took a sip of tea. The purpose of this trip had been achieved. Lingde was from the Jiao family. As for the Sweeping Monk, he might also be from the Jiao family, but this possibility was not high. Perhaps he had a close relationship with the Jiao family, or even a member of the royal family.

As for why both of them became monks, it is a question. But if the Sweeping Monk is a member of the royal family, judging from his age, there is indeed a reason. If it can be confirmed which member of the Jiao family Lingde is, the identity of the Sweeping Monk can be inferred. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he thought of this.

Seeing that there was no one else in the hall, Mu Wanqing stood up carefully and walked to the painting in front.

Ah Zhu followed and asked curiously, "Miss Mu, do you recognize the Buddha and Bodhisattva in the painting?"

Mu Wanqing nodded and said, "This painting depicts the scene of the Eight Divine Kings listening to the Buddha's lecture. There are statues of the Eight Divine Kings in the Kufan Temple, and their images are not much different from those in this painting."

Ah Zhu nodded and said, "I don't recognize him. I only recognize the Buddha."

Mu Wanqing said, "There is actually someone I don't recognize, the girl in black standing next to the Buddha, but I don't know who she is."

In addition to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and the Eight Gods in the painting, there is a girl with two buns, a pointed chin, and very delicate looks, dressed in black, standing next to the Buddha. What is special is that the girl's eyes are dark and deep without a trace of white.

Zhao Ti stood up and walked over to look and said, "This is the daughter of the Dragon King Shakya, the Dragon Girl."

Ah Zhu said, "Your Highness, does this dragon girl have anything to say?"

Zhao Ti thought for a moment and said, "When the dragon girl was eight years old, she was very intelligent and could uphold the profound secrets taught by the Buddhas. She developed the Bodhi mind in an instant and never regressed."

Ah Zhu asked: "What does this mean?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "At the Lotus Sutra Assembly on Vulture Peak, after the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra, the Dragon Girl presented the Buddha with a precious pearl worth three thousand worlds. She immediately transformed into a male body, flew into the sky on a cloud to the Pure Land in the south, sat on the precious lotus platform, attained enlightenment, possessed the thirty-two marks and eighty virtues, and preached the wonderful Dharma to all sentient beings in the ten directions."

Ah Zhu and Mu Wanqing were both stunned. They didn't understand, but Jiumozhi knew everything. He clasped his hands and said, "Namo Mahavirajna Buddha, Mr. Zhao is very knowledgeable..."

Zhao Ti smiled, led everyone out of the meditation room, then walked around the front and left Daxiangguo Temple.

After returning home, Yang Jian was waiting for him and he greeted him.

Zhao Ti asked, "Yang Duzhi, is there something wrong with your majesty?"

Yang Jian said, "Your Majesty, I have been summoned by His Majesty to discuss important matters."

Zhao Ti nodded, then changed his clothes, asked Tong Guan to drive to the palace.

(End of this chapter)