Taoist Master, wishing for a sacrifice-based system

On the day Qingyun Temple changed its plaque, Abbot Jueyuan of Daci'en Temple was drinking tea in the reception room.

Pu'er.

Twenty-year-old material.

The cup was custom-made in Jingdezhen and bears the emblem of the Da Ci'en Temple.

Jueyuan is 63 years old this year. He has been a monk for 40 years and has been in charge of the Da Ci'en Temple for 15 years.

Under his leadership, Da Ci'en Temple transformed from a medium-sized local temple into the number one in Yunzhou and among the top five in the province.

Annual income from incense and donation boxes alone exceeds 30 million.

Including cultural and creative products, vegetarian restaurants, meditation courses, and sutra writing classes, the total revenue is close to 100 million.

This is a business.

Of course, Jueyuan never uses the word "business".

He would say, "To spread the Dharma and benefit all beings, and to cultivate good karma."

Today, while he was drinking tea, the guest monk Faming came in.

The guest monk is a role in a temple responsible for reception and external liaison, similar to a public relations manager in a company.

Faming's expression was not very pleasant.

"Abbot, the data for this month is out."

Jueyuan put down his teacup: "Speak."

"The number of worshippers decreased by 28% year-on-year. Revenue from donation boxes decreased by 31%. Enrollment in scripture copying classes decreased by nearly half."

"What about vegetarian restaurants?"

"It has also decreased. The table turnover rate has dropped from 3.2 to 2.1."

Jueyuan's expression did not change much.

He picked up the teacup, then put it down again.

"reason?"

Faming was silent for a second.

"Qingyun Temple".

When those two words were uttered, the air in the reception room subtly shifted.

Jueyuan did not respond.

Faming continued, "In the past month, the popularity of Qingyun Temple has continued to rise. Online discussions about 'wish fulfillment' are almost entirely directed at Qingyun Temple, and many worshippers who originally came to Da Ci'en Temple to offer incense, especially young people, have started to turn to Qingyun Temple."

"A dilapidated Taoist temple," Jueyuan finally spoke, his tone indifferent, "and a young Taoist priest in his early twenties."

"Yes."

"Start a live stream."

"Yes."

Make a wish.

"Yes. Coincidence or not—all three wishes came true. It's been widely circulated online."

Jueyuan picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

lay down.

What do you think?

Faming thought for a moment and chose a relatively cautious wording: "This disciple thinks... it might be a marketing tactic. That Taoist priest has cultivated a very good online persona, and with a few coincidences, it's been amplified."

"You think it's a coincidence?"

"...most likely."

Jueyuan glanced at him.

Faming's gaze flickered.

In fact, he himself was not sure.

But in front of the abbot, he was hesitant to say, "I think that Taoist temple might actually have something special about it."

Jueyuan did not ask any further questions.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window is the courtyard of the Great Ci'en Temple. The eaves are upturned, the beams are carved and painted, and the ground is paved with granite imported from Myanmar.

At the foot of the distant mountains, if your eyesight is good enough, you can see a small Taoist temple with a newly replaced plaque.

"Send two people to go and take a look," Jueyuan said.

"Yes."

"Don't wear monk's robes. Wear casual clothes. Let's see what he's up to."

Faming nodded.

the next day.

Two young men dressed in plain clothes appeared at the entrance of Qingyun Temple.

One was wearing glasses, and the other was wearing a baseball cap.

They looked like two ordinary tourists.

In reality, they were two young monks from the Great Ci'en Temple—Fajing and Faqing.

They walked around the Taoist temple.

Took a few photos.

I chatted with Qin Du for a few minutes. As usual, Qin Du responded nonchalantly, without any guard up.

Forty minutes later, the two returned to the Great Ci'en Temple.

Faming was waiting in the reception room.

"How is it?"

Fajing pushed up his glasses: "It's... a very small Taoist temple. There's a young Taoist priest and a woman who seems to be helping with cleaning."

"Do you have any ritual implements or statues of deities?"

"No. Nothing at all. The incense burner is rusty, the donation box is new but it's the cheapest kind, the statues were just repainted but the workmanship isn't very good, and the left eye of the middle statue is higher than the right eye."

Faming frowned.

"What about the live stream room?"

Fa Qing chimed in: "I watched it. It was just a live stream on a mobile phone, the picture quality was so-so, the Taoist priest was talking in front of the camera, replying to comments, and occasionally greeting people who came to make wishes. There was nothing fancy about it."

"That so-called 'efficacious' effect—"

"I don't know," Fajing said honestly. "There's no mechanism on the surface. But there's no magic either. It's just... an ordinary young man who started a live stream."

Faming remained silent for a while.

"Alright. I'll go report to the abbot."

-

That afternoon.

Reporters from Yunzhou TV's "People's Livelihood Online" program visited Da Ci'en Temple.

This is a daily local news program that ranks among the top three in viewership in Yunzhou.

It was originally a scheduled, routine interview—Da Ci En Temple accepts an interview with local media once a quarter to discuss its Buddhist activities, charitable projects, and the like.

This is a routine public relations effort.

But today's reporter asked one more question.

"Master Jueyuan, there's been a lot of online discussion lately about Qingyun Temple at the foot of the mountain. Some people say that wishes made there are very effective. As a neighboring religious site, what's your opinion?"

The camera was pointed at Jueyuan.

Jueyuan sat on the meditation chair, his face kind and his hands resting on his knees.

The standard pose for a "high-ranking monk being interviewed".

He was silent for two seconds.

Then she smiled slightly.

"This humble monk does not comment on his fellow practitioners."

He paused for a moment.

"but--"

When he uttered the word "but," there was a subtle shift in his tone.

It wasn't an aggressive shift, but rather a shift that said, "Let me speak the truth."

"It's never good to encourage people to engage in feudal superstition."

"Faith should be rational and educational, not the kind that—"

He carefully considered his choice of words.

"It shouldn't be the kind of approach that exploits people's wishful thinking to attract attention."

"Whether it's a temple or a Taoist monastery, its essence should be to teach people to be good, not to satisfy people's greed."

After he finished speaking, he added another sentence.

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. It's not directed at anyone in particular."

Very appropriate.

Very mild.

Every word was like a stone wrapped in cotton—it didn't hurt when it hit you, but you could feel its weight.

The interview was broadcast that same evening.

After the broadcast—

It's trending on local news again.

The title was edited to be very suggestive.

Abbot of Da Ci'en Temple responds to controversy surrounding Qingyun Temple: Guiding the public into feudal superstition is never good.

Jueyuan's statement, "I don't comment on my peers," quickly became a trending topic online.

Because everyone can hear it—

The "but" after "I don't comment on my peers" is what he really meant.

-

It happened on the very night the television broadcast took place.

Su Nian sent the video link of the news to Qin Du.

Qin Du's expression didn't change much after reading it.

"You're not angry?" Su Nian asked, somewhat surprised.

"Why are you angry?" Qin Du put his phone aside. "What he said isn't entirely wrong."

"Where is it not entirely wrong?"

The statement "Faith should teach people to be good" is not wrong in itself.

Su Nian stared at him for two seconds.

"So he said you were promoting feudal superstition?"

Qin Du thought for a moment.

"I don't charge for the first incense stick, but he charges 888 for the first incense stick."

Who is more superstitious?

Su Nian was stunned for a moment.

Then I couldn't help but laugh.