Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The earliest origin can be traced back to the Northern Qi Dynasty.

It was initially called "Jianguo Temple".

However, after the temple was built

It has always been plagued by disasters and hardships.

After the Tang Dynasty rebuilt it,

It was then renamed Daxiangguo Temple.

However, this temple still suffered many misfortunes.

It has been rebuilt multiple times.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty,

After another fire,

Emperor Taizu of Song ordered its reconstruction.

After that,

Emperor Taizong of Song then ordered its expansion.

This temple can be said to have received great favor from the two founding emperors of the Song Dynasty.

Xiangguo Temple after expansion

It covers an area of ​​over 500 acres.

The halls and pavilions were solemn and magnificent, the monks' quarters were lined up one after another, and the courtyard was full of flowers.

It was praised as "so magnificent that even the clouds and rosy hues paled in comparison".

The Song Dynasty had two founding emperors.

Since you value Xiangguo Temple so much,

Then their descendants

Naturally, they dared not be negligent.

Chapter 1512 The Monk Who Had Worldly Desires

In the event of a major national event

Such as the emperor's birthday prayers and visits to relatives,

Or perhaps it was the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination.

Most of them are held in this temple.

It is precisely because of this that Daxiangguo Temple is known as a royal temple.

As for Lu Zhishen,

strictly speaking,

This cannot be considered as becoming a monk at the Daxiangguo Temple.

He only manages a vegetable garden for the temple.

You should know that this is the area below the Great Xiangguo Temple,

However, it has sixty-four Chan and Vinaya monasteries.

There are tens of thousands of monks alone.

This Great Xiangguo Temple was not only famous during the Song Dynasty,

Even overseas,

It is also quite famous.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song,

Prince Manjushri of India became a monk.

He came to the Song Dynasty and lived in Xiangguo Temple for many years.

By the time of Emperor Shenzong,

There was Choi Sa-hoon from Goryeo,

They brought several painters from Goryeo all the way to Daxiangguo Temple.

The purpose was to copy the murals in the temple and bring them back to Goryeo.

Around the same time, there was also a Japanese monk named Naruto.

People came to the Great Song Dynasty because of its reputation.

Studying Buddhism at Daxiangguo Temple.

By the time of Emperor Huizong of Song,

The ambitious and power-hungry Emperor Huizong of Song was a devout follower of Taoism.

He also bestowed upon himself a host of Taoist titles.

This guy had a brain fart,

They even presented the plaque of "Daxiangguo Temple" to the envoy from Goryeo.

Zhao Yuan and his companions followed the directions of the passersby.

Soon they arrived at the gate of the Great Xiangguo Temple.

At the entrance of the temple,

There is a dock on the Bian River.

The Great Xiangguo Temple occupies a vast area.

Countless tourists and pilgrims come and go.

This naturally led to the formation of a market here.

Commerce was already quite developed in the Northern Song Dynasty at this time.

The commodity and entertainment industries are thriving.

As long as you have money in your pocket,

You can buy whatever you want here.

What services do you want?

What services are available?

Because this market was right at the entrance of the temple.

Seeing how profitable the market is,

The monks in the temple naturally wanted to get involved as well.

Many monks even openly violate Buddhist precepts.

They directly opened a pig roasting yard.

Doing that pork business,

One of the monks in this temple was named Huiming.

It even became famous throughout Kaifeng.

A renowned chef specializing in meat dishes!

The abbot of the Great Xiangguo Temple

Seeing that things were continuing like this,

The temple's rules and regulations will likely be completely broken.

The monks in the temple

They will all fall back into the mortal world.

They then petitioned the imperial court to prohibit trading in front of the Daxiangguo Temple.

However, Emperor Huizong of Song was a believer in Taoism.

Therefore, he didn't take the matter of delaying the monks' practice to heart.

Moreover, this market can generate a large amount of tax revenue.

However, perhaps they couldn't refuse the request of the royal temple.

In the end, Zhao Ji only gave a token gesture.

He ordered the Xiangguo Temple to hold a temple fair, "Xiangguo Temple Ten Thousand People's Trade," five times a month.

The abbot of the Great Xiangguo Temple, seeing that the emperor's decree had been issued,

Although I was dissatisfied, I had no choice but to comply.

Originally, there should only be five days of trading per month.

The remaining days would allow the monks to devote themselves to their spiritual practice.

But as the saying goes,

A thought of worldly desires stirred.

Those monks who made money,

How can one then calm down and worship Buddha again?

Many monks no longer wished to be solitary monks.

After they had a means of making a living,

They gradually returned to secular life.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, seeing things continue like this,

It seems most of the monks in the temple will have to leave.

But if we didn't have these disciples who were willing to enter the secular world...

What do these eminent monks eat and drink?

We can't just starve.

Chapter 1513 An Accidental Encounter

The host ultimately had no choice but to compromise.

This led to some monks who were unwilling to practice Buddhism contributing to the temple.

These monks had the backing of the Great Xiangguo Temple.

It's also much more convenient to do business.

It is important to know that in the criminal law of the Northern Song Dynasty,

Monks and nuns have always received a reduced punishment for committing crimes.

The imperial court openly priced a monk's ordination certificate at several hundred strings of cash.

Ordinary people can't just become monks or nuns whenever they want.

When Lu Zhishen first became a monk...

This was largely because Master Zhao had purchased a five-colored ordination certificate well in advance.

Only by becoming a monk can one avoid the guilt of killing someone.

Now, one can both stay in the temple and continue their secular life.

Although some money and provisions had to be paid to the temple regularly.

However, most monks are still unwilling to give up their ordination certificates.