The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 138 Making Money

Last time, we talked about how the Northern Wei wedding delegation successfully entered Liang under Li Yi's strong performance. After that, Li Yi proposed to go to Bu'en Temple to worship Buddha. Shouyang King Xiao Yonghui sent two lieutenant generals to accompany Li Yi, in the name of protection but in fact surveillance. So how will Li Yi get rid of the surveillance? Let's read on.

The monk smiled and said, "This donor, the abbot, is giving a lecture to a distinguished guest. I'm afraid it's not convenient to see him."

Li Yi pointed to his sleeve pocket and asked, "Excuse me, Senior Brother, can you give me a favor?"

The monk waved his hands and said with a smile: "Donor, if it were normal, I could really do this, but today it is really not possible. The abbot is giving a lecture to the nobleman from Jiankang City. If you really want to see him, I am afraid you will have to wait for a while."

Li Yi asked, "May I ask if this is the Third Prince Xiao Zonggang?"

The monk was surprised and asked, "How did you guess that, benefactor?"

Xiao Zonggang was the only prince of Southern Liang whom Li Yi had ever met. He was the most distinguished person in Southern Liang that he knew. He had only said it casually but he had unexpectedly hit the mark. He looked at the two lieutenant generals, Chen Mo and Wang Xiao, who remained silent.

Li Yi raised his lips and said, "In that case, I'll trouble this master to tell him that the person the Third Prince is waiting for has arrived, and ask him whether he wants to see him or not."

The monk was confused and didn't know whether he should spread this message. He looked at the two generals of Chen Wang. The two men didn't say anything behind Li Yi, but just returned a look. The monk immediately understood, saluted and left.

Li Yi turned around and looked at the two men, Chen Wang, and asked, "How long has the Third Prince been in Shouyang?"

The two shook their heads and said nothing. Li Yi smiled and said, "I met the Third Prince once at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet. I was not very polite at that time. I didn't expect that the Third Prince still remembered it and waited for me here. He must be looking for me to settle the score."

The two of them looked at each other, and Chen Mo smiled and said, "There might be some misunderstanding here. If we meet the Third Prince later, maybe we can talk it out."

Wang Xiao agreed, "That's right. There must be some misunderstanding. Just talk it out." Li Yi raised the corner of his mouth and looked in the direction where the monk left.

After a while, the monk came back quickly, bowed to Li Yi and said, "Amitabha, I was blind and didn't know it was my junior brother who came to visit. I am so sorry. I hope my junior brother won't blame me."

Chen Wang and the others were surprised. How come Li Yi became a junior brother? Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Senior brother, you are joking. I'll trouble you to lead the way."

In this way, Li Yi came to an independent courtyard behind the temple. He entered the courtyard and stopped at the door of the main room. The monk said, "Brother Abbot, Junior Brother Xiuyuan is here."

A great monk's voice came from inside the house: "Let him in." After paying his respects, Li Yi pushed the door open and walked in, then closed it, leaving Generals Chen and Wang waiting in the yard.

This is a spacious Zen room. Its biggest feature is its luxury. The layout and decorations inside the room are very expensive. The first thing that catches your eye when you enter the room is a person-high bronze statue of Sakyamuni, painted with gold lacquer on the outside, and behind the statue is a pure copper gilded backlight!

There is a tall bronze lotus lamp on each side of the Buddha statue, and in front of it is an offering table. On the table are incense burners, Buddhist scriptures, wooden fish and other things. Even the prayer mat is made of the finest brocade.

The whole room is furnished with ginkgo wood. You should know that ginkgo trees grow slowly and are therefore extremely rare, so the price is naturally shockingly high. You can tell at a glance that the cost of this Zen room is quite staggering!

Li Yi glanced at the various jade Buddhas, gold objects and gold-bound scriptures on the shelves and shook his head helplessly. He sighed in his heart: Buddhism is a quiet place, but now it is filled with worldly air. How can one sit in meditation in peace when wearing gold and silver?

At this moment, a big monk wearing a black coarse cloth robe, a sack around his waist and a rosary in his hand walked out with a smile. He was tall and strong, and looked to be in his fifties.

Li Yi immediately bowed and said, "Amitabha, Xiuyuan greets you, Senior Brother!"

The great monk returned the greeting and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, Xiuyuan, my Dharma name is Shuyi."

Monk Shuyi patted the cloth bag on his waist and said, "We are the descendants of Budai Arhat."

Li Yi immediately bowed and said, "So you are the descendant of Budai Luohan. I am honored to meet you, Senior Brother Shuyi. I am so sorry. I am so sorry."

Xiao Zonggang also walked out with a smile and saluted, saying, "Li Yuefu, I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon."

Li Yi bowed and said, "Greetings, Third Prince. I wonder if I have disturbed you while you were listening to the sutra?"

Xiao Zonggang waved his hand and said, "No, no, I just happened to be talking about you with Master Shuyi, and you arrived."

Li Yi asked curiously, "I wonder if you two have said bad things about Xiu Yuan behind his back?"

Monk Shuyi laughed and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? Monks don't lie, so how could they say bad things about you?"

Xiao Zonggang smiled and said, "Li Lefu, you're overthinking. I just wanted to ask Master Shuyi how you became a lay disciple of Buddhism, and how long you have been practicing the Vajra Divine Art." After saying that, Xiao Zonggang winked at Shuyi, who nodded, chanted the Buddha's name, and used the Vajra Divine Art to punch Li Yi.

The latter put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist name, but when he heard the sound of bells, Shuyi and Li Yi faced each other with fists, and in the middle there was a clash of bright gold and purple gold. After a moment of stalemate, both of them put their fists away at the same time, and everything returned to calm.

Shuyi smiled and said, "Great! I never thought that Junior Brother, at such a young age, could be as good as me after more than thirty years of cultivation. He really has a bright future!"

Li Yi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "If Senior Brother Shuyi hadn't shown mercy, Xiuyuan wouldn't have been able to take this punch."

Xiao Zonggang interrupted and said, "Master Shuyi, don't listen to Li Yuefu's humble words. I have seen him fight with all his strength, and his body was protected by a two-meter-tall Dharma image.

After returning to Jiankang, I went to Tongde Temple to ask the national master for advice. The national master said that it was the Dharma image of Acala, the origin of Vajra Magical Skills, and more than half of the Buddhist martial arts methods came from the Dharma image of Acala, so Li Yuefu is the master of Buddhist martial arts!"

The national teacher of Southern Liang was named Chonglu, a great Buddhist master with great wisdom. He did not practice martial arts but specialized in law, and was a great master of the precepts school. The reason why Emperor Xiao Yongming of Liang's rule that monks should eat vegetarian food could be fully implemented was precisely because of the identity of this master of precepts.

After hearing what Xiao Zonggang said, Shuyi waved his hand and smiled, "Your Highness may have misunderstood what Brother Chong said. It is true that more than half of our Buddhist martial arts methods are derived from the Acala Dharmakaya, but this does not mean that those who worship the Acala Dharmakaya have mastered all the Dharmakaya methods, so the claim that a master of Buddhist martial arts is a bit exaggerated.

There are 84,000 Dharma doors in our Buddhist sect. Even the Tathagata, the Buddha, cannot comprehend all the great ways of the world. As the saying goes, if you always keep the original intention of practicing, you will have the heart of Buddha; if you always keep the heart of Buddha and constantly practice the Buddha's way, you will have more than enough to become a Buddha; if you cultivate your mind and practice, and renew yourself day by day, your virtue and deeds will increase with the years, and finally achieve perfection. "

Li Yi and Xiao Zonggang saluted to Shuyi at the same time. This Master Shuyi was different from the old monk Zhengyuan. He was a martial arts monk, that is, a monk who practiced both Buddhist martial arts and law. His current cultivation level was the realm of Zen. Although it was not an extraordinary realm, he was still considered an enlightened monk in Buddhism.

Shuyi smiled back at him, and Xiao Zonggang asked, "Master Shuyi, I'm curious, if you compete with Li Yuefu, who will win?"

Li Yi quickly said, "How can I be your opponent? Your Highness is joking."

Shuyi shook his head and smiled, "Monks do not tell lies. If we fight for our lives, I am no match for Xiuyuan. But if we compete, it will be difficult for Xiuyuan to win."

Xiao Zonggang nodded and said, "So, aren't you two on par with each other?"

Li Yi and monk Shuyi smiled at each other. Shuyi gestured for them to go to the Zen room to talk. The three of them entered the Zen room, which was also a luxurious room. It was just short of having the words "When you are poor, all you have left is money" hung in the room.

Li Yi looked around, smiled, sat down and said, "Brother Shuyi, your coarse cloth robe doesn't match this meditation room!"

Shuyi shook his head and laughed, "It was all done by my junior fellow apprentice Shuli. He said that I often give lectures for the nobles and I can't live in poverty, so he messed up the meditation room like this!

Alas, I have no choice. What is the point of placing these mundane things in a quiet Buddhist place? They are both Buddha statues, but can't we worship Buddha if they are made of clay? Why must they be cast in bronze? I have told him many times that this is a waste of money."

Xiao Zonggang waved his hands and said, "Hey, Master Shuyi, you can't blame Master Shuli. He is also thinking about the temple, and what he said is not wrong. Besides, aren't these things donated voluntarily by pilgrims and believers? The master has never asked for anything."

Monk Shuyi shook his head helplessly. Li Yi looked at Xiao Zonggang and asked, "Did your highness come to Buen Temple to listen to the sutras and worship Buddha, or for something else?"

Xiao Zonggang answered directly: "Father believes in Buddhism, so I must listen to Buddhist scriptures more and understand their meanings, so as to avoid Father quoting Buddhist scriptures and I don't know the true meaning and say the wrong thing, which will make Father unhappy. Of course, this time I came to Buen Temple not only to listen to the scriptures, but also to wait for you, Li Lefu."

Li Yi was surprised and asked, "Wait for me? Why wait for me? How did Your Highness guess that I would come here?"

Xiao Zonggang smiled and said, "To be honest with you, Li Yuefu, it was the Imperial Master who asked me to wait for you here. He wanted me to pass on something."

Li Yi was surprised. Xiao Zonggang continued, "The Imperial Master asked me to tell you that a great Dharma Master Bodhidharma will come to the East from the sea and will soon enter Liangdi. I want you to go and pay a visit to this great Dharma Master."

Li Yi didn't know who this Bodhidharma was, and looked at Shuyi with curiosity. The latter naturally explained: "Bodhidharma is a great monk, the 28th generation successor of the Buddha's mantle. If he comes, we should pay him a visit."

Li Yi asked: "Successor? The Buddha hasn't entered Nirvana yet, so what is the point of having a successor?"

Shuyi waved his hand and said, "The Buddha has been living in seclusion in Lingshan Mountain. He has not been in the world to preach for a long time. It is his disciples who go down the mountain to preach. Naturally, there must be successors to carry on the teachings."

Li Yi nodded and said, "That's right, Senior Brother Shuyi, do you know what level of cultivation this Bodhidharma is?"

Shuyi smiled and said, "Bodhidharma is already over a hundred years old. No one knows his cultivation level, but he must have entered the extraordinary realm."

Li Yi thought: Senior Brother Jueyuan and Jiyun are both in the Vajra Realm of Buddhism, and are also in the Extraordinary Realm, but apart from their extraordinary skills, they don’t seem to have anything special. I wonder what level this Bodhitara is at.

Thinking of this, Li Yi's heart suddenly began to throb. He immediately closed his eyes, crossed his legs, and meditated, concentrating his mind and listening to the voice in his heart. Li Yi asked, "Bodhisattva, are you looking for a disciple?"

The voice of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva came: "Xiuyuan, Bodhidharma has arrived in Liangdi. He will encounter some trouble in Jiankang. You have to help him out."

Li Yi was surprised and said, "Buddha, you are not joking, are you? He is a great monk who has attained the Tao and is in an extraordinary state. How can I solve a problem that he can't solve?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said: "He doesn't understand the customs of the East and speaks bluntly. I'm afraid he will offend the emperor, so you have to mediate."

Li Yi asked in confusion, "Isn't there Master Zhonglu? He is the Imperial Master of Southern Liang. Wouldn't it be better if he could come forward?"

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva said: "Alas, this matter is hard to explain in a few words. You will know when you meet Chonglu. Didn't you find the abnormality of Nanliang Buddhist Temple?"

Li Yi replied: "I found it, it's full of the stink of money!"

Avalokitesvara sighed, "This Buen Temple is pretty good. You'll know once you see more of it. There are thousands of temples built in Nanliang, but less than ten of them are devoted to the true worship of Buddha. This time, Bodhidharma came to the East for this purpose."

Li Yi thought for a while and asked: "Bodhisattva, is there something wrong with the Buddha Kingdom? Why would the Buddha's successor come to the East? And come from the sea? Is the war going badly? Are the Buddhist disciples going to cross the sea to the East?"

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva replied: "The war situation is indeed not ideal. The Shura Kingdom and the Rakshasa Kingdom are coming aggressively. They have developed a new technique to target the Vajra Divine Art called Soul Capture Technique, which has killed several Vajra."