[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-299":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558465,2024,"Chapter 299","shao-song-chapter-299",299,"\u003Cp>All around, people knelt in a spreading wave, showing signs of expanding outward... To be fair, this feeling was somewhat mystical, giving rise to a kind of hollow satisfaction. In truth, Zhao Jiu had to exert considerable effort to pull himself out of the vortex of kneeling before it could engulf the entire altar platform. Then he turned to the side of the platform and slowly walked down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Except for a few officials with specific duties to maintain the sacrificial ceremony, most of the civil and military officials followed along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no help for it. According to some unknown person's wretched idea, not counting today, for the next two days, the civil and military officials were to accompany His Majesty Zhao, living in this altar camp to pray sincerely. Only after the three-day sacrificial ceremony was completely finished could they return with His Majesty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, fortunately, the Imperial Guard Cavalry had not returned, so the camp was presumably quite spacious. Add to that the crisp autumn weather, it could be considered a pleasant outing outside the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough idle talk. His Majesty Zhao carefully threaded his way through a group of shaven heads, striving to keep the twenty-four tassels hanging before and behind his head balanced. The shaven heads also wisely turned in unison from their rush cushions on both sides, bowing their heads in salute to maintain respect for this man who was still the most authoritative person recognized under heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, this so-called supreme ruler under heaven, Zhao Jiu, suddenly stopped before a familiar, plump, shaven head halfway through his walk. Without turning around at all, he blurted out directly: \"Fahe...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This humble monk hears the decree.\" Fahe, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, who had the bearing of a Maitreya Buddha, immediately bowed his head to the ground in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In my reading these days, I heard someone mention a Buddhist sutra with an interesting saying... I think it's called the *Sutra of the Benevolent King Protecting the Country*?\" Zhao Jiu still did not turn his head to look at Fahe beside him. This was not about putting on airs, but because his attire was truly inconvenient for turning. In fact, at this moment, the twenty-four strings before and behind his head did not sway at all. If not for his clear and unhurried voice, others might have thought a wooden puppet stood there. \"Does this sutra exist?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let Your Majesty know, it naturally does.\" Fahe quickly responded. \"This true sutra's full name is the *Sutra of the Benevolent King Protecting the Country: Perfection of Wisdom*. It has four versions, the most widely circulated being the translation by Master Bukong of the Tang Dynasty. That Tripitaka Master Bukong was one of the Three Great Masters of the Kaiyuan Era, born in the Lion Kingdom of India...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know where the Lion Kingdom is, that large island southeast of India.\" Zhao Jiu interrupted him, continuing to stand solemnly and inquire. \"I am asking you, does the Benevolent King Sutra contain a saying that the Buddha himself declared: as long as a king is a good king, a so-called benevolent king, then when the country is in danger, he will dispatch five great Vajra Bodhisattvas and five thousand great spirit kings to protect the country... Is that right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, countless people among the civil and military officials behind His Majesty Zhao snickered inwardly. Lu Haowen, the Chancellor, who was closest, also looked somewhat embarrassed, as his family had been Buddhist for generations. As for Abbot Fahe and the many other accomplished monks around him, they showed no particular reaction, because although they could imagine how His Majesty would question them next, keeping their heads down had its advantages, didn't it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the other monks could pretend to be ostriches and feign ignorance, but Fahe could not. This great monk, who had ascended to the abbacy of Shaolin Temple several years earlier than in history thanks to His Majesty Zhao's favor, dared not hesitate for a moment. He directly raised his voice in reply: \"Let Your Majesty know, although the original text is open to discussion, in any case, the general meaning is indeed so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then during the Jingkang national calamity, why did no five Bodhisattvas lead five thousand great spirit kings to come and save the world?\" Sure enough, His Majesty Zhao opened his mouth to press the question, precisely this sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fahe did not hesitate, still prostrate on the ground as he replied: \"That was because the Two Sages were absurd and perverse, employing the Six Traitors. The civil officials were frivolous and the military officers idle, the people had no means to live. They were not among the benevolent kings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These words were boldly spoken, yet they were the only doctrinal path that could serve as an explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Jiu was not finished. He continued to press: \"What about me? Am I considered a benevolent king? Or does 'benevolent king' refer only to the rulers of the sixteen kingdoms of India? Or must one take the precepts and believe in Buddhism to count? If one believes in Daoism, does that disqualify them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many of the monks with lowered heads breathed a sigh of relief, but some grew even more tense. Considering certain rumors about His Majesty, the following answer would likely not be as simple to handle as 'if you convert to our Buddha, then such and such.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let Your Majesty know.\" Fahe suddenly raised his head, staring at His Majesty's expressionless profile, and spoke solemnly and loudly from beside the altar platform. \"Your Majesty received Heaven's mandate in a time of crisis, ascended the great throne, used righteousness to punish rebellion, acted with justice against brutality. Although you have not upheld the Three Jewels or received the Five Precepts, you are undoubtedly a benevolent king!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding monks, though still prostrate, all changed color... How could this be reconciled?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then why have I not seen the five Bodhisattvas and the five thousand great spirit kings?\" Zhao Jiu naturally pressed on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty, the five Bodhisattvas have long since reincarnated to assist Your Majesty, and the five thousand great spirit kings have already gathered beneath Your Majesty's dragon banner.\" Fahe answered boldly without stopping, still without the slightest hesitation. \"The five commanders of the Imperial Guard Army—Han, Yue, Li, Zhang, and Wu—are precisely the five great Vajra Bodhisattvas reincarnated! The two hundred thousand Imperial Guard troops, five thousand of their generals and officers, are precisely the five thousand great spirit kings reincarnated...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Majesty Zhao's position made his expression invisible, but judging by the swaying of the twenty-four tassels before and behind him, two hundred and eighty-eight white jade beads all shaking together, he was undoubtedly laughing... Whether he had anticipated this answer or not was unclear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this did not stop the surrounding monks from looking at Fahe with expressions of either jealousy or disgust, nor did it stop the civil and military officials behind His Majesty Zhao from looking solemnly at this abbot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was deliberate flattery or a moment of desperation, this monk had so nimbly grasped His Majesty's intent and then spoken these words without changing his expression. That alone made him a figure to be reckoned with, far from the simple 'Junior Disciple Fahai' who had been ridiculed during the White Snake incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty!\" Just as those around were staring at Fahe, Abbot Fahe seemed to have made some kind of resolution. He continued, his chin fat trembling, and spoke words that were earth-shattering. \"It is not only the five great Vajra Bodhisattvas and the five thousand great spirit kings who are present. Even Manjushri Bodhisattva has descended to the mortal world, vowing to revive Song and destroy Jin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Manjushri Bodhisattva is the embodiment of great wisdom, isn't he?\" His Majesty Zhao seemed to be lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then it must be Zong Zhongwu.\" His Majesty Zhao sighed with emotion. \"If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have thought of it... If not for Zong Zhongwu wielding great wisdom, great foresight, and great perseverance to gather the bandit soldiers and rebellious people amidst defeat, holding the Eastern Capital for the country, everything south of the Huai River would have been beyond saving. Who else could be the Manjushri Bodhisattva sent by the Buddha? And there is Chancellor Wang, who must be the reincarnation of the great vow Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, come to assist me. Tell me, is Chancellor Wang in Luoyang not like Ksitigarbha, enduring calmly and unmoving? If not for his calm endurance there, the battle at Yaoshan would have been lost without a fight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fahe finally began to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To speak of it, the status of the Four Great Bodhisattvas in Han Buddhism is second only to the Buddha himself. To cooperate with His Majesty, he had recklessly brought out a 'great wisdom,' intending to attribute it to His Majesty himself. Who would have thought it would directly turn into two chancellors who had died for their principles, and moreover, one had become two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, chancellors who died for their country were, after all, martyrs. Compared to living Bodhisattvas, they were certainly easier to accept. But if this were the case, a very simple logic emerged: if chancellors were Bodhisattvas, then what was His Majesty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, not only Fahe, but the surrounding monks, including the chief ministers and civil and military officials behind him, were all somewhat dumbfounded. It must be known that by the Song Dynasty, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism had effectively merged on an ideological and cultural level. Not to mention someone like Lu Haowen, whose family had been vegetarian for generations, any learned Confucian scholar could readily cite Buddhist allusions... Or rather, Buddhism had long since permeated daily life and traditional culture. How could they not understand the absurdity of this exchange?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was, the questioner was the reigning Son of Heaven, the answerer was the current abbot of the ancestral temple of the Chan School, the location was the site of a grand state sacrificial ceremony, surrounded by all civil and military officials and all influential Buddhist figures from the Central Plains... How did it seem somewhat formal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly, one dared to ask, and one dared to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, fortunately, His Majesty Zhao did not pursue the matter of his own identity. Instead, he continued to sigh: \"Calculated this way, in the war between Song and Jin, the Song soldiers who died in battle can all be reborn in the Pure Land?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is natural!\" Abbot Fahe replied earnestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the Jin soldiers, who wage an unrighteous war, will suffer endlessly in the eighteen levels of hell?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What Your Majesty says is very true!\" Abbot Fahe spoke with conviction, as if he had given up all pretense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiu wanted to nod heavily, but felt the weight on his head. So he turned around seriously, then, looking down from on high, pointed at Fahe before him and declared loudly to those around: \"This Abbot Fahe will in the future attain the correct fruition of an Arhat! And the Buddhist community of the Great Song needs a hundred Abbots Fahe! It also needs a hundred Shaolin Temples!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said this, His Majesty Zhao finally turned around and slowly entered the altar camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, an Imperial Guard attendant came to inform Abbot Fahe that His Majesty had decreed that that evening, within the altar camp, he would summon all the abbots and temple masters who had labored in formation... and requested that Abbot Fahe take the lead and lead the assembly in attendance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: One hundred and twenty alliances reached, thanks to the bear classmate who loves to eat and be lazy!\u003C\u002Fp>",1955,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","455f3318ac8e9045b636b61a0c8c14ae4f1f877c339f1d0dba83bcb273cb6eda","shao-song-chapter-300","shao-song-chapter-298",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]