Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 139 Pure Land Lotus

There were numerous royal palaces and gardens in and around the two capitals. Even though the emperors did not reside there often, these gardens and palaces were maintained by a large number of palace servants. Mingde Palace in Xiyuan was one such example.

Mingde Palace is located in the west of Luoyang City, facing Shangyang Palace across the water. The emperor stayed here for a very limited time each year, and sometimes he would not come for several years, but the palace still maintained a staff of more than 1,300 people.

"In addition to daily cleaning, maintenance and other miscellaneous tasks, the palace women of Mingde Palace also engaged in farming, gardening, weaving and metallurgy. All their produce went into the imperial treasury. The palace women were busy and had little free time. Many of them admired Buddhism and formed the Lotus Society, the Maitreya Society and other sutra chanting societies."

Zhou Lang was initially reluctant to take up the post of Supervisor of the Southern Side of the Eastern Capital Garden, but after being reprimanded by Zhang Dai, he settled down to do the job. Now that he has been given this task, he is doing it very diligently: "Eight or nine out of ten of the women in Mingde Palace admire Buddhism, and more than half of them follow the Pure Land School. The rest are of mixed origins and no one knows which school they follow."

Although there are many schools of Buddhism, only a few are truly influential. When it comes to the best integration with Confucian and Taoist culture, Zen Buddhism is the foremost example. The Buddhist lineage among the three major religions today mainly refers to Zen Buddhism.

However, the Pure Land School has the greatest influence among the general public. As Zhou Lang's survey at Mingde Palace shows, the number of Pure Land followers is overwhelmingly higher. Those who are completely unaware of which school they belong to can also be categorized as Pure Land followers.

The Pure Land School's immense influence stems primarily from its emphasis on expedient methods. It does not stress scriptures or rituals; reciting the Buddha's name is considered practice.

Although the sect has related scriptures and rituals, it does not require believers to adhere to them strictly. Reciting the Buddha's name is the most important way of practicing, which is the monks reciting "Amitabha" that are often seen in later film and television works.

This method of practice is so simple and convenient that it naturally spreads quickly and widely. The more miserable the plight of the working class and the more they need spiritual comfort, the more they naturally admire the Pure Land school's practice.

The history of the Pure Land School can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when the monk Huiyuan established the Lotus Society at Donglin Temple on Mount Lu and vowed to cultivate the Samadhi of Buddha Recitation. However, it was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the monk Shandao founded the school. Although this school has a short history, it has spread rapidly due to its simple methods of practice.

Furthermore, because the Pure Land School does not emphasize scriptures and rituals, its followers are particularly fond of forming societies. The social impact of their societies includes, but is not limited to, the White Lotus Sect, the Maitreya Sect, and others.

"Am I really going to become Lotus Six?"

After learning about these things, Zhang Dai couldn't help but mutter to himself, "The lotus is indeed an extraordinary image in Buddhism, but it is especially important in the Pure Land School, and is even regarded as a concrete manifestation of Buddhism."

Whether it was the early Lotus Society or the later White Lotus Sect, both demonstrated the Pure Land School's extraordinary worship of the lotus image.

Zhang Dai didn't intend to force himself to follow this path, but the palace servants believed in it, so if he wanted to start an insurance sales business in the palace, he had to become the emperor's godfather.

"From the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era to the present, the palace women have performed Buddhist rituals including copying over a hundred volumes of scriptures, organizing thirteen Water and Land Dharma assemblies, visiting Buddhist statues twice, and commissioning eighty-six statues of various sizes..."

The personal and financial transactions of the palace servants were subject to supervision and control. If they wanted to worship Buddha, they had to invest money, which naturally required reporting to the Imperial Garden Administration. Therefore, there was no need to inquire about these matters of worshiping Buddha in detail. Zhou Lang could summarize them by flipping through the old records of the Southern Palace Administration.

"Are there so many things involved in making statues?"

Zhang Dai was slightly taken aback when he heard the number. It wasn't surprising that Pure Land Buddhists worshipped Buddha. Although the doctrine said that one could go to the Western Paradise by deeply attaining the Samadhi of Buddha Recitation, perhaps by doing more, one could skip the queue and go even faster.

However, the variety and proportion of these Buddhist rituals seem a bit exaggerated. Copying scriptures and holding religious ceremonies are more routine activities with relatively low costs, while visiting Buddha statues is only held on specific days such as Buddha's Birthday and Ullambana Festival each year, so the small number of such rituals is understandable.

However, from site selection to labor, the cost of building the statue would be several hundred or even a thousand strings of cash. In just a few years, from the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era to the present, it has been built more than eighty times, which is a bit exaggerated.

"I do not know the reason for this matter, but I asked the head of the Lotus Society in the garden. He replied that the Pure Land Patriarch Master Shandao was particularly fond of making statues. The Longmen Great Vairocana statue and the group of Buddha statues were all made by him. Therefore, the Emperor built the Great Fengxian Temple as the ancestral temple of the Pure Land in Luoyang."

However, after Master Shandao passed away, the Pure Land lineage did not flourish. Dafengxian Temple was seized by the Esoteric School, and in the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era, the Yi River flooded and destroyed the temple, which was then punished by the Buddha…”

Zhang Dai visited the Longmen Grottoes many times, and he admired the Vairocana Buddha statue, which is said to be modeled after Empress Wu Zetian, for a long time. He was unaware of its deep connection to the Pure Land School. So, does this mean that the Pure Land believers in Luoyang intend to continue carving grottoes and creating statues in order to receive Buddhist blessings and destroy the Esoteric Buddhism that has taken over their ancestral temple?
However, it must be said that the Pure Land school of Buddhism is indeed difficult to gain the favor of rulers, mainly because there is nothing to favor. Therefore, Chan Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, and other schools all have large, officially built temples as places for propagating the Dharma, but the Pure Land school does not, and can only live off various temples.

Zhang Dai couldn't comment on the enthusiasm of the Pure Land believers. However, if he could help the Pure Land sect secure a stable Dharma assembly in Luoyang, it would undoubtedly greatly satisfy the wishes of these believers, making his work much more efficient.

According to Zhou Lang's observation, Mingde Palace also had a considerable number of Buddhist societies such as the Lotus Society. If Zhang Dai helped the Pure Land School build a Dharma assembly, wouldn't these societies be ready-made insurance promotion meetings?
Zhang Dai had initially been somewhat unsure how to integrate the various elements of his plan, but now it seemed that Pure Land Buddhism was the perfect, natural vehicle. Firstly, it had a large following; secondly, it was widely disseminated; and thirdly, there were no other Buddhist practices that would divert the believers' money.

The third point is the most important. The palace servants already lived within the limited area of ​​the palace. They had the ability to spend, but not many choices. If they also believed in the Pure Land School, their only option was to have statues made in stages.

Zhang Dai didn't need to make any changes to his doctrines or add anything; he only needed to change the method of pooling funds to create statues to creating statues in installments, and then the insurance model would be basically complete.

Of course, this would certainly harm the interests of those leaders of the Lotus Society, since they would keep money and silk after raising funds. However, they could also receive commissions from the phased statue making.
Even the largest lotus society can't rake in money to build statues every year; the frequency is relatively low. But if it were changed to a periodic system, with each palace servant paying a premium annually, they would receive a commission for each premium collected—a steady and sustainable income!

Now, it is also necessary to use religious elements to focus these believers on the fact that they can accumulate donations each year and thus create a unique Buddhist grotto statue in their lifetime.

However, as this model matures, future promotional efforts can focus on providing food, clothing, and medical care for these individuals throughout their lives.

Although the process may be tortuous, as long as a satisfactory result is achieved, that is good.

At present, Zhang Dai has neither the qualifications nor the resources to extensively win over the more powerful and influential social groups in the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, even if he did win them over, it might not be useful, as those who have vested interests are always a group that is reluctant to change the status quo.

He has now made a name for himself along the Yellow River through disaster relief, and another through selling insurance in the Luoyang palace. Even though these two ventures seem somewhat weak and abrupt now, they have laid a foundation for his personnel, which he can use to build upon in the future.

Zhang Dai was rather fortunate that his scope of activities and room for maneuver were relatively large, allowing him to plan and strategize many things from seemingly insignificant angles.

He also knew someone whose situation was far more tragic than his own. This person had been imprisoned in the deep palace since childhood and had only managed to do evil by befriending the eunuchs, maids, and actors around him. In the end, he made a comeback and ushered in a glorious life.

Therefore, as long as you have lofty goals, you will never be afraid of twists and turns on the road. Worrying about gains and losses, or being concerned about trivialities and difficulties, only shows that your expectations and demands on yourself are not high enough. As long as you stay on the right path and overcome the difficulties, the abundant positive feedback will be overwhelming!

After giving himself a pep talk, Zhang Dai began his first night of self-cultivation. When he woke up the next morning, he was indeed refreshed. Under An Xiaochen's guidance, he practiced martial arts and physical skills all morning, and then went back to his study to learn the techniques of regulated verse from Zhao Dongxi, who had come to tutor him that day.

In the afternoon, he went out again to visit Consort Wu Hui's brother, who was also his maternal uncle, Wu Zhong, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, at Guande Lane.

Wu Zhong was slightly older than Consort Hui. He was quite pleased to hear of Zhang Dai's visit and personally stood outside the main hall to greet him. When Zhang Dai came forward to pay his respects, Wu Zhong warmly helped him up and said with a smile, "I have heard much about Liu Lang's reputation. Your elder sister's talent is truly astonishing. My family also has a renowned scholar of poetry in this generation. He is currently serving as an official in Jiangnan. If he is able to enter the court next year, you two generations of poets can sit together and exchange ideas!"

He was referring to Wu Pingyi, a renowned figure during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, who was also the grandfather of Wu Yuanheng, a famous prime minister of the mid-Tang Dynasty, and one of the few decent members of the Wu family.

“I have long wanted to visit you, Uncle, but I was afraid you were too busy to bother you. Today I have come to ask you some questions.”

After exchanging pleasantries with Wu Zhong, Zhang Dai brought up his purpose, hoping that Wu Zhong could recommend a talented individual to serve as a judge under Yuwen Rong.

However, Wu Zhong's face darkened immediately upon hearing this, and his gaze toward Zhang Dai became serious: "Consort Hui lives in the Forbidden City and enjoys the Emperor's favor. With such a superior situation, what more could she ask for?"
Your young disciple comes from a prestigious family and possesses considerable talent; he has no worries about passing the imperial examinations. Why then should he scheme for a better future and disturb Consort Hui with external affairs? My chambers are quiet and secluded; I do not accept favored guests. If your disciple wishes to come to discuss matters of the heart and art, I welcome him. But if he intends to use his power to interfere with me, then leave immediately!

Zhang Dai was also dumbfounded by his reaction. I was just asking politely, why did I make you react like that? Aren't you the most favored person in this palace? If it weren't for nepotism, how would you be the secretary and vice-director?
Being cautious and self-disciplined is certainly good, especially in a sensitive situation like the Wu family's. However, Wu Zhong's reaction is far too cautious. Judging from this posture, he'd probably have to cover up even the slightest thing, smell it, and consider whether to let it out. Living like this must be exhausting.

He finally understood why Consort Wu looked down on her brothers. Even when they rose to power, she'd still nag them, telling them not to fly too fast or too high, making even the most innocent things seem suspicious. Judging by this situation, his aunt couldn't rely on anyone but him!
(End of this chapter)