Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 379 The Eastward Transmission of Buddhism
"There are quite a few more Buddhist temples in the Western Regions..."

Before settling in Xinxia and experiencing the potential changes firsthand...

As is customary, He Bo toured the area surrounding the Central Plains.

He first went to the Lingnan region.

There, the Nanyue Kingdom was already quite happy because the Queen Dowager had been persuaded, and thus voluntarily returned to the Han Dynasty.

This peaceful unification pleased the Han emperor and his officials greatly, and their governance of Nanyue was quite compassionate.

In general,

Apart from a few deceased kings of Nanyue who were not happy, most of the living were delighted.

after that,

He Bo then arrived in the Western Regions.

He slowly traveled upstream from Haomen River, passing through the salt marshes, and arrived at the kingdoms of the Western Regions.

Having stood here for two hundred years, and with the arrival of the mighty Han army, Jiaonan had displayed its power to the fullest.

Therefore,
Today, the Western Regions have taken on many characteristics from the Central Plains.

Those Hu people who used to dress casually now take the right-fastening of their robes for granted, and consider speaking Chinese and using things from the Central Plains as a fashion.

If a nobleman of a country does not wear jade or has many silk clothes, it can only be said that he is out of touch with the times, and no one would want to associate with him.

And such a change,

Originally, it was supposed to start from the west.

After all, the merchants and envoys of the Xia Kingdom came from the west, and their influence had been spreading northward through the Yellow River and then turning eastward.

To the east of the Western Regions, although there was previously a state called Jiaonan, the passage was cut off, preventing the gentlemen of the Central Plains from opening their arms and giving this land, which had already been opened up and penetrated by their ancestors during the Warring States period, a heartfelt embrace.

The influence of a nation

How can it be compared to the Xia Dynasty, whose territory spanned thousands of miles and whose population exceeded ten million?

However, after the Han Dynasty made its imposing entrance here, the "Sinicization" of the eastern part of the Western Regions accelerated, and it was almost surpassing that of the west.

The Xia Kingdom did not seem to have much of a reaction to this.

They simply continued their trade and sent envoys as usual, and then, unwittingly, brought some novelties to the East through the Western Regions.

Buddhism, which was flourishing in the Xia Kingdom, was among the first to be introduced.

After being forcibly instilled with the aesthetics of the Chinese, Buddhist temples that no longer had rounded domes and arched stones, but instead had flying eaves and brackets, were slowly built in countries such as Wusun and Dayuan, coexisting with the Tubo temples that were built long ago under the influence of the Central Plains and the underworld.

He Bo, who was strolling over, couldn't help but sigh when he saw this.

He chose a newly built Buddhist temple and went inside, where he discovered a young monk from the Xia Kingdom.

His appearance was gentle, with clear features. Although his face was darker than that of the Central Plains, it was not as dark as that of the Sindhu barbarians.

It is obvious that this is a typical Xinxia person.

After Buddhism became popular

Some descendants of the Xia people gradually joined in, shaved their heads, and accepted the new laws established after Buddhism integrated with the customs of the Xia people.

However, these people are still few and far between, and those who can travel abroad to this place are even rarer.

Curious, he stepped forward and asked, "Have these monks come here to spread the Buddha's scriptures to the people of the Western Regions?"

Seeing that He Bo was dressed like a gentleman from the Central Plains, the monk stood up, put his hands together in a gesture of respect, and replied calmly, "I am merely passing through the Western Regions. What I wish to go to is the Great Han Kingdom of the Central Plains."

Why go to the Han Dynasty?

He Bo said to him, "I see you are dressed very simply and have no attendants with you. Aren't you afraid of encountering danger on the way, traveling such a long distance?"

“I heard that the Queen of Wusun, Princess Xijun, who married into the Han Dynasty, misses the customs and culture of her homeland. Her husband, Junxumi, then ordered that many things related to the Chinese be arranged for her.”

"Although the Buddhist temples of the Xia Kingdom were not distributed in the Central Plains, they could still be considered part of the Xia Kingdom."

"You can enjoy very comfortable treatment in Wusun!"

The other party said, "Being revered and worshipped in a Buddhist country is not my pursuit."

"This humble monk merely yearns for the Central Plains, wishing to seek the true Dharma in the human realm there."

"Huh?" He Bo was completely bewildered. What did it mean to go to the "Great Han of the East to seek the true scriptures"?

This is a bit of a reversal of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches!

Seeing his surprise, the monk gently explained:
It is said that he was originally the son of a farmer in the Xia Kingdom. After his parents passed away, he often went to a nearby temple to sweep and clean the courtyard in order to make a living.

When he grew up, he was taught by the monks in the temple and chose to be ordained as a monk.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will drift along with the tide and spend his life in that small temple.

But three years ago, a group of Taoist priests carrying nine-section staffs suddenly appeared near his hometown and began to spread the ideas of the Way of Peace.

Because the Taoist priests of the Taiping Dao were generally skilled in medicine and often used specially made talismanic water to treat the poor for free, they quickly gained the support of the surrounding villagers.

Anyway, it's all the same who you believe.

The most important thing is that it's useful!
This greatly displeased the monks in the small temple.

Although under the urging of successive Xia kings, the monks dared not be like the Brahmins who did not engage in production and relied solely on chanting scriptures for sustenance; instead, they mostly cultivated fields near the temples themselves...

However, the amount of land a temple can own is limited. Often, if monks want to live more comfortably, they still need to beg for alms from the surrounding villagers to earn some extra money for incense offerings.

Now that the villagers have all gone to worship Taoism, the monks' alms bowls have naturally become less full.

then,

The old monks then went to the door and began to debate with the group of Taoist priests.

The young novice monk was taken by his master and listened to several performances, eventually developing a bit of curiosity.

"Those Taoists said that the Central Plains do not value ghosts and gods, but emphasize self-reliance and hard work, which is why the Chinese are peaceful and prosperous."

"However, the monks in the temple often taught us privately: 'Those who do not respect the Buddha will face karmic consequences.'"

"After hearing this, I wondered to myself: Why is the Central Plains so special?"

Moreover, after mentioning the Central Plains, the Taoist priest brought up the events of the Xia Kingdom and questioned the old monks:
"Many former kings suppressed Buddhism; should they also suffer the consequences?"

The monks immediately broke out in a cold sweat, clasped their hands together, and dared not speak.

these years,

The current Xia emperor's leniency towards Buddhism has caused these monks to forget something important.

Especially since this place is remote and impoverished, and the villagers are mostly ignorant, they have great reverence for the Buddha, which makes the monks even more arrogant.

Today, Taiping Dao, who was holding a nine-section staff, dressed in yellow, and looked quite capable, was given a rude awakening, and he lowered his bald head.

The young novice monk standing nearby became even more curious upon seeing this.

"I pondered for a long time without finding any results, so I felt that the East must have its own sacredness, which might be even more enlightening and wise than the Buddha's teachings. Thus, I had the desire to seek the Dharma in the East."

Upon hearing this, He Bo laughed and said, "To have such thoughts, it seems you are not very devout to the Buddha!"

The monk said sincerely, "When I became a monk, I had not thought about what I would do in the future."

“If the temple is willing to accept me, I will accept its precepts and become its disciple.”

"After reading more scriptures, I gained my own insights, but I also had more doubts."

"Now I travel thousands of miles, following both the Dharma and my own heart."

"If Buddha or Bodhisattvas want to blame me..."

The monk paused, put his hands together, and whispered, "Namo Amitabha Buddha."

When he looked up again, he said to He Bo, "The scriptures say that sinners can be saved by reciting this Buddha's name once they have a sudden enlightenment."

“I am not a sinner. If I recite this a few more times, the Buddha will forgive me.”

He Bo burst into laughter, pointed at the monk, and said, "You're not being honest!"

Then he sighed and said, "You are a descendant of the Chinese people, yet you became a follower of Buddha, and now you want to go to the Central Plains..."

"I hope you can learn more wisdom there and make the future of Buddhism better!"

The monk thanked him for the blessing and soon set off eastward.

(End of this chapter)