Rise From the Humble

Although Cihang and Guanyin Bodhisattva appear to be identical in appearance, from the perspective of Taoism, Cihang and Guanyin Bodhisattva are fundamentally two completely different people.

Give a simple example.

gender.

For Taoism, Taoist Cihang is a Taoist Jurchen deity, who was originally a woman before becoming an immortal through Taoism.

According to the "Tongjian of Immortals of the Past Dynasties", there is a Jurchen Monarch in the Chaoyin Cave of Luojiayan in Putuo. According to legend, he practiced Taoism here during the reign of King Shang. He had acquired the magical Samadhi and vowed to save men and women in the world. She often used elixirs and nectar to relieve the people. People in Nanhai called her Cihang Master.

It is recorded in the ancient scripture "Lingbao Sutra" that Taoist Cihang was originally the youngest daughter of King Chui of the Zen Li world. She was still unable to speak even when she was four years old. King Chui found her very strange and did not like her, so he abandoned her in the south. Among the floating mountains of Akong. There is no food in the mountains, and he is young and cannot pick or hunt, but he can swallow the essence of the sun and the moon.

According to records in ancient books, it can be seen that Taoist Cihang was originally a woman. This is different from Buddhism. In the popular Buddhist view, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was originally a boy and later transformed into a girl.

There is another obvious difference.

time.

Taoism is a religion native to China, with a documented history of more than 4,000 years. According to the "Tongjian of the Immortals of the Past Dynasties", Cihang had already practiced Taoism and became an immortal during the reign of King Shang. In addition, "The Romance of the Gods" records that during the period of King Zhou of Shang, Cihang was one of the twelve golden immortals under the sect of Yuanshi Tianzun. ,Ranked third.

It can be seen from this that Cihang Zhenren already existed in Chinese history at the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty at the latest, and Buddhism first emerged in the Han Dynasty, about 400-500 BC, and was introduced to China around During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guanyin Bodhisattva first appeared in history only during the Han Dynasty.

There are also differences in the appearance of the two. The statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva enshrined in the temple will have a Buddhist symbol of "swastika" on its chest, while the statue of Taoist Cihang enshrined in the Taoist temple will not. .

Hearing the young eunuch talk about Cihang Zhenren and thinking about the religious beliefs of Buddhism and Taoism, Zhu Pingan roughly guessed the reason why Emperor Jiajing was in a bad mood.

really.

What the little eunuch said the next second also confirmed Zhu Ping'an's guess.

"Coincidentally, June 19th is also the day when Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva became enlightened. Yesterday, the Holy Sage sent Jin Yiwei to go to the people to collect folk customs to see how the people celebrated the day of the Enlightenment of Lord Cihang, and to see how the incense of Lord Cihang was. It's okay. But these ignorant people among the people, "Amitabha in every house, Guanyin in every household", most of them are praying to Guanyin Bodhisattva, and few are praying to Lord Cihang. The incense in the temple is in full swing, but the Taoist temple The incense is not satisfactory."

The little eunuch came close to Zhu Pingan and said in Zhu Pingan's ear, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, an unhappy expression on his face, and his voice full of complaints.

"You are talking about these ignorant people. How sad they make the Holy Spirit. For them, the Holy Spirit practices Taoism day and night, fasts and prays for blessings. He prays to God to eliminate and mitigate natural disasters, and prays for the peace and prosperity of the country. It is not all because of these ignorant people. , How many sleepless nights has the Holy One spent praying for blessings? You think they are good, receiving blessings from the Holy Holy Qilai, but they all worship Guanyin like a white-eyed wolf!"

The little eunuch felt very sorry for Emperor Jiajing. When he mentioned that the people worshiped Guanyin instead of Lord Cihang, he wanted to spit on them.

"So, it is because of this matter that the Holy Emperor is in a very bad mood. The adults such as Yan Shoufu and Xu Ge Lao who were sent to Yongshou Palace this morning, as well as the adults who stayed in Wuyi Palace, are all working hard because of this matter. I'm busy writing." The little eunuch then got back to the topic, "So, it was for Master Zhu's benefit that I didn't pass the message to Master Zhu just now."

"Ping'an thanks my father-in-law again." Zhu Ping'an cupped his hands and thanked him. After understanding the cause and effect, he already had an idea in his mind.

It seems that the only way to gain an audience with Emperor Jiajing is to

After thanking the young eunuch, Zhu Pingan returned to Wuyi Hall. At this time, three officials in Wuyi Hall had completed their masterpieces and were standing next to another official who was writing vigorously. While exchanging their masterpieces, they were waiting for the official to finish the work. After the masterpiece is written, it can be handed over to the eunuch who is the director of Wuyi Palace, and will be forwarded to Yongshou Palace.

Generally speaking, Sizhi's chamberlains would collect four or five works and then submit them to Yongshou Palace for royal viewing.

If you write an article and the chamberlain delivers one, and if he writes an article and the chamberlain has to deliver another, then the chamberlain will break his legs.

"Please, colleagues, please wait for me a moment for tea, allow me to polish a few more touches, and then we can all send you off to the royal viewing together." The official who was busy writing on the seat raised his head and apologized to the people waiting aside. said three colleagues and friends.

"It doesn't matter, it won't be too late. Brother Zhang, just feel free to write."

"Haha, I'll just have a chat, Brother Zhang will just write slowly."

"Hahaha, I'm finally a little faster than Brother Zhang today. If Brother Zhang feels guilty, you can treat us to a drink someday."

The three officials on the side smiled and said with relief that they had been writing for a whole day and there was no shortage of tea time.

The official named Zhang responded with a natural smile, then lowered his head and concentrated on writing.

He spent a day working hard to write this article, and the writing and conception are among his rare masterpieces in recent years. It is just short of an ending, but you need to think carefully about it, and you must not continue it and ruin this excellent work in vain.

Zhu Ping'an heard their conversation, his eyes lit up, and when he passed by them, he smiled and greeted them with his hands.

The three standing officials nodded in response. They all had higher official positions than Zhu Pingan, and their seniority in Wuyi Palace was much older than that of Zhu Pingan. There was nothing wrong with returning the favor.

"Didn't Mr. Zhu go to inspect Taicang on orders? Why did he come to Wuyi Palace all the time?" asked an official.

"Oh, Xiaguan just came from Taicang." Zhu Ping'an replied, "I just went to the Qintian Prison to ask for a good day to change the Kumen."

"Um"

Several officials nodded and said nothing more. The official just asked casually. As for Zhu Pingan's inspection of Taicang, it has nothing to do with them. If they insist that it does, it is only Taicang. Before the inspection, the inspection team was reduced to only Zhu Ping'an. This was just an increase in their after-dinner jokes.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Pingan handed over his hand again, and then returned to his office.

The other two officials in the room were still busy writing. When they saw Zhu Ping'an arriving, they just raised their heads and glanced, then lowered their heads and started writing furiously.

After entering the room, Zhu Pingan sat down, laid out pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and began to grind ink.