Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 142 Master Jianzhen of the Vinaya School
Zhang Dai and Gao Chengxin visited Changshou Temple again, and the entire temple came out to greet them. However, the abbot, Huian, and others looked increasingly haggard and uneasy.

Although the imperial court managed matters concerning monks and Taoists through the Ministry of Rites' Department of Sacrifices, the Department of Sacrifices mainly managed matters concerning the registration of monks and Taoists. The responsibility for supervising the daily operation and management of temples in the two capitals was assigned to the Commissioners of Merit and Virtue of the various streets in the two capitals, who were appointed by the eunuchs.

The current predicament faced by Changshou Temple is caused by Gao Chengxin, the merit envoy. Therefore, when the monks came out to greet him, their eyes were filled with a mixture of awe and resentment.

Gao Chengxin didn't give these monks a friendly look either. After entering the temple, he waved his hand and said, "You monks should take this as a warning and go back to focus on your meritorious deeds and studies. Only a few monks will be left here to supervise you."

Soon all the monks left, leaving only the abbot Huian and a few steward monks to escort Gao Chengxin and the others into a Buddhist hall.

After the group entered the Buddhist hall and took their seats, Hui'an, under the watchful eyes of the monks, forced himself to bow to Gao Chengxin and said, "Reporting to Supervisor Gao, the monks in the temple have been diligently practicing Buddhism recently, completing their morning and evening prayers without fail. The former abbot and others have been owing money for years, and they have been working hard to raise funds. However, the storehouses have recently been disturbed by the Henan Prefecture..."

Gao Chengxin waved his hand impatiently to interrupt the monk Huian, and then said, "Changshou Temple has been established in the capital for decades, unlike other temples and monasteries. There are many matters concerning the flow of money and silk, which I'm afraid it is not something that Zen Master Huian can resolve in a short time."

You monks, the supervisors, have only held your own views in the past, and could not know everything about temple affairs. After questioning, the former abbot and the temple head gave their confessions, and the evidence of their neglect of Buddhist duties is irrefutable. The involvement of each of you monks varies in degree; who dares to claim innocence?

Upon hearing this, the monks in the hall all looked ashamed and angry, but they all just lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to utter a word in rebuttal.

After intimidating the monks, Gao Chengxin put on a serious expression and said in a deep voice, "Changshou Temple is not an ordinary temple or monastery. Many believers come and go. This situation cannot last. We must deal with it quickly. You, the supervising monks, must especially restrain the disciples in the temple and prevent them from causing trouble outside. If any further trouble arises, things will be even more difficult to resolve!"

Upon hearing this, the monks thought there was still room for a good resolution. They all looked hopeful and nodded repeatedly, promising to restrain their followers.

Zhang Dai was well aware of Gao Chengxin's true intentions. Right now, all the monks in the temple were to be expelled. Gao Chengxin was only saying this to prevent the monks from causing a great uproar. Once everything was ready, he would carry out a surprise attack.

While these monks were certainly eloquent and cunning in their efforts to spread the Dharma and amass wealth from believers, they clearly underestimated the treacherous and wicked intentions of those in officialdom; they were simply no match for each other.

Gao Chengxin's only concern was the social influence that Changshou Temple had accumulated over many years. Now he had decided to unite with other Buddhist sects in the capital to divide up the temple. The more the monks wanted to settle things peacefully, the more they got their way.

After coaxing and appeasing these supervising monks, Gao Chengxin dismissed them, leaving only the abbot, Huian. Then, with a dark expression, he said coldly, "How foolish the Zen master is! The monks of Changshou Temple are obsessed with money and material possessions. They are unable to fulfill their duties as monks and Buddhists, yet they still dare to dream of getting things done."

Since I see that you, Zen Master, are both from Guanzhong, I may tell you now that all the monks in this temple must be exterminated! Afterwards, the temple's lineage transmission will require attracting other lineages to practice here, and those with profound understanding will receive the transmission. If you, Zen Master, are willing to help me accomplish this, you may remain here as the abbot; otherwise, you may wander outside with the other monks!

"This, this... how could this be? Things shouldn't have come to this... the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the Three Jewels of Buddhism, all the monks have been expelled, what will become of the temple?"

Upon hearing this, Monk Hui'an's expression changed drastically. He had been trying to find ways to turn the temple's situation around, but he hadn't expected that Gao Chengxin had already sentenced him to death.

"The Three Jewels of Buddhism? Where is the Dharma in this temple these days? I am only keeping the name of the temple to appease the believers in the capital; otherwise, this temple would be abolished outright!"

Although Gao Chengxin lacked innovative ideas, he was quite adept at manipulating people's hearts. He used a series of threats and inducements on the Hui'an monk: "If the Zen master is willing to accept my good intentions, that would be wonderful. If you have different interests and are unwilling to work together, then accept your fate!"

After listening to this combination of persuasion and coercion, Monk Hui'an's expression changed. After a long silence, he finally spoke up: "I wonder if the sect that the High Supervisor intends to introduce to Changshou Temple has any connection with the Nanshan sect? I was ordained by my late master Dao'an. Although I have not mastered the Buddhist rituals to promote our sect, I still wish to glorify the sect through some worldly affairs."

Upon hearing this, Gao Chengxin laughed and looked at the monk Huian in a friendly manner, saying, "It is only natural for a Zen master to have such thoughts. I wonder if there is any eminent monk of the Vinaya school who can be recommended?"

The Nanshan School is the Sifen Vinaya School, named after its founding in Zhongnan Mountain. The late Master Dao'an mentioned by the monk Huian was a great Vinaya master from Jiangnan who was summoned to Chang'an in his early years to establish the Dajianfu Temple and preside over its affairs.

Gao Chengxin originally had a candidate in mind for a Vinaya master, but seeing that Huian himself also came from the Vinaya school and seemed to have some ideas, he didn't mind listening to the other party's opinion in order to bring him into his team.

“I have a junior brother in my sect, whose Dharma name is Jianzhen. Although he has not yet achieved great fame in the two capitals, he is well-versed in Buddhist principles and has deeply inherited the teachings of our master. If the High Supervisor wishes to purify the Dharma lineage of Changshou Temple, my junior brother Jianzhen is perfectly capable of this task!”

The monk Hui'an quickly spoke up again.

Gao Chengxin didn't react much upon hearing this, but Zhang Dai's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly asked, "The Zen Master is actually from the same lineage as Master Jianzhen?" "Young Master Zhang has heard of my junior brother's name? That's wonderful. In that case, you must know that what this old monk said is true. Would you be willing to recommend him to Supervisor Gao again?"

Upon hearing Zhang Dai's words, Monk Hui'an immediately spoke up again, clearly showing his high regard for his junior brother, Monk Jianzhen.

“What Zen Master Huian said is indeed true. Master Jianzhen is truly a great monk of the Vinaya School. If Master Jianzhen were to preside over Changshou Temple, the Dharma lineage would be propagated in no time!”

Zhang Dai nodded first, then smiled and said to Gao Chengxin.

Although he did not intend to actually promote Buddhism at Changshou Temple, the greater the temple's reputation in Buddhism, the more advantageous it would be for him to use it as a front for his own purposes.

While there were many eminent monks in the Tang Dynasty, the most well-known ones, even those who did not study Buddhism, were the monk Yi Xing, who made outstanding contributions to the field of astronomy, and the Tang monk Xuanzang, who became a household name because of Journey to the West. The next one that would be the monk Jianzhen, who traveled to the East to spread Buddhism, is probably the one who is most famous.

If Changshou Temple can invite the monk Jianzhen to take charge, it will undoubtedly be very beneficial to the restoration and promotion of the temple's reputation.

Although the monk Jianzhen is not yet very famous in the two capitals, it is easy to do so. By holding more Dharma assemblies and debates, more and more believers will be able to witness the demeanor of this eminent Buddhist monk.

Gao Chengxin was also an ignorant and incompetent fellow. All he wanted was to hand over the Changshou Temple pawnshop, a business that brought in a fortune every day. He didn't care much about the future development of the Changshou Temple's lineage. Hearing Zhang Dai say the same thing, he smiled and said to the monk Huian, "Since the Zen Master strongly recommends him and Liu Lang is his guarantor, I also welcome this Zen Master Jianzhen to the temple to propagate the Dharma and cultivate himself. I wonder where this Zen Master is now?"

“My junior brother Jianzhen used to practice under our master at Jingju Temple on Mount Dasu. I am writing to inform him that he must come to the capital to enter the temple before the end of the year!”

Although the monk Hui'an was not proficient in Buddhism, he wanted to promote the lineage of his sect in his own way. He was overjoyed to hear that Gao Chengxin had agreed to his request.

He was a perceptive monk, and he quickly added, "This old monk will certainly assist the supervisor in properly handling temple affairs, preventing the monks from causing any more disturbances, and cooperating with the supervisor in reorganizing the temple!"

Gao Chengxin was very satisfied with the monk Huian's cooperative attitude, and immediately instructed, "In that case, please have the Zen Master bring me all the records of the temple's various affairs so that I can take a look."

After being turned, the monk Huian was very enthusiastic and immediately nodded in agreement. He then instructed his trusted novice monk to bring all the plans and records in the temple.

When the register arrived, Zhang Dai was also quite curious about how Changshou Temple was doing, so he and Gao Chengxin huddled together to look through it.

"These monks are truly wealthy!"

The temple's records filled more than a large basket, and the vast majority of them were ledgers related to the pawnshop. As almost the largest pawnshop in Luoyang, its capital and profits were naturally astonishing. Gao Chengxin only glanced through them for a short while before repeatedly exclaiming in amazement.

Zhang Dai was also quite curious about what kind of figure could have made Gao Chengxin so amazed, but he restrained himself from looking at it. He knew that no matter how much capital this pawnshop industry had, it would ultimately be allocated to the Sixteen Princes' Residence pig farm, and it was not something he could easily get his hands on.

However, after flipping through the books, Zhang Dai found something that interested him. He picked up a rather inconspicuous ledger and discovered that it recorded the collection and use of many materials, as well as words like "carving," "papermaking," and "ink mixing." This piqued his interest.

"What information is recorded in this ledger?"

He held up the ledger and asked the monk Huian a question.

After taking a look, the monk Huian explained to Zhang Dai, "Young Master Zhang, do you know about the peace paper that the temple distributes to believers? These peace paper are all made by the monks in the temple. From papermaking to engraving and printing, these books record the relevant matters."

"Where are those monks and nuns now?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai became even more excited. He had only thought that the peace paper from Changshou Temple was quite exquisite, but he had not realized that the temple still preserved a complete industrial chain and skilled workers.

If we could get our hands on this, what would a mere quality warehouse be?
(End of this chapter)