We peel back the cocoon and unveil the layers of this historical mystery layer by layer.
First look at the "Old Book of Tang • Zhichao Biography" recorded the life deeds of Tian Zhichao, the "Old Book of Tang" was compiled for the Later Jin Dynasty, written in the second year of the Later Jin Dynasty (945), the revision of the Old Book of Tang is not far from the time of the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the source of information is relatively rich, the credibility is recognized by historians, but there is no trace of Tang Taizong sealing it as the "Empty King Buddha". Without the historical record, it can be basically determined that there was no tang taizong sealing of the Buddha in history.
Daoxuan monk is the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty Buddhist Vinaya sect, he happens to be a contemporary of Tian Zhichao, both lived in the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan years, Tian Zhichao is 20 years older than the Daoxuan monk, and 37 years earlier than the Daoxuan monk, so it is certain that Tian Zhichao's deeds are within the vision of the Daoxuan monk.
Jingye Temple on the Phoenix Ridge of Zhongnan Mountain
Also, the ancestral court of the Vinaya sect created by the Daoxuan monk is in the Jingye Temple on the Phoenix Ridge of Zhongnan Mountain, about 40 kilometers away from Chang'an, this place I have the privilege of going, the mountain gate of the Jingye Temple is on the side of the 210 National Road, see the temple is covered by dense forests, do not know the "high mountains and deep waters", lest they have no strength, ask the tourists who have just come down from the temple, how long they need to climb the mountain, answer, an hour and a half, and see how physically you are, maybe longer. Who knew that I came to the front of the ancestral court hall in half an hour, and I deeply felt that my Buddha's fate was not shallow, which was a digression.
With Daoxuan's position in the Buddhist world and the geographical location of Jingye Temple, if the earth-shattering event of Tang Taizong's sealing of the "Empty King Buddha" occurred, how could Daoxuan not know? However, in the Daoxuan monk's book "Biography of the Continuing High Monk", Tian Zhichao was specially written, and tian Zhichao was evaluated: "Respecting the precepts, it is rare to be a couple; protecting the prudent and mighty yi will never be replaced." ”
The evaluation is high, but there is no record of the "Empty King Buddha". The "Biography of the Continuing High Monk" consists of thirty volumes, starting from the early days of the Liang Dynasty and ending in the nineteenth year of Tang Zhenguan (645), recording the deeds of 331 senior monks in 144 years, and summarizing the book in the 19th year of Zhenguan (645), when the Daoxuan monk was 49 years old, so in the following 20 years, this book was successively supplemented, and then became a later collection of 10 volumes of "The Biography of the Continuing High Monk", adding 160 people. At this time, Tian Zhichao had been dead for 25 years, and if there really was a major event in Which Tang Taizong's edict to seal the "Empty King Buddha" and weep at the earth, might the book not be recorded?
Back to Luang Temple
At Huiluan Temple, the abbot of Shengsheng specifically told me that there was an ancient stele in the temple, erected during the Northern Song Dynasty, which said of Tian Zhichao: "The common surname is Tian, and the legal name is Huichao." It can be seen that at that time, Tian Zhichao was still a senior monk, and there was no such thing as an empty king Buddha.
There are exact records that can be known that Tian Zhichao "became a Buddha" in the Huiluan Temple Jin Dading's 25th year "Reconstruction of the Huiluan Temple Monument" recorded: "That is, the spirit shrine of the □ son, with the holy relics of the Empty King Buddha." "As for how a generation of senior monks evolved into Buddhas more than 500 years after their death, it is really impossible to verify, I have read a variety of statements, but they are all inferences, speculations, and there is no history of faith to examine, and there is no need to investigate." From the recorded historical data, let's go after some clues.
Du Mu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Jiangnan Spring": "Four hundred and eighty temples in the southern dynasty, how many buildings are in the smoke and rain. "Extremely speaking of the prosperity of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasty (Song, Qi, Liang, Chen) during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In fact, Du Mu's description is far from reflecting the real Buddhist events in the Southern Dynasty, according to historical records, the Buddhist temples in the Southern Dynasty are at least tens of thousands, and Du Mu's 480 temples may be the situation near Jinling. The Southern Dynasty is like this, the Northern Dynasty is better than the Southern Dynasty, and the Northern Wei Dynasty's Chongfo has reached the peak of the pole, which can be seen from the now familiar grottoes, the Yungang Grottoes, the Xiangtangshan Grottoes, the Junxian Giant Buddha, the Gongyi Grottoes, the Longmen Grottoes and so on. The prosperity of Buddhism personally believes that the big level is a good thing, but Ding Zhuang shaved too many people into buddhism, and too much land occupied by Buddhist temples will inevitably bring about the problem of losing national strength.
The extremes of things must be reversed, and the excessive prosperity of Buddhism poses a threat to the imperial court, and it will be rebounded by the imperial court, as evidenced by the four legal difficulties that have occurred in history. The situation during the Southern and Northern Dynasties once again made the rulers feel uncomfortable, so in the early years of the Sui Dynasty, the imperial court temporarily issued a rectification order for the Buddhist world, stipulating that all Buddhist temples should temporarily close the mountain gates, and the monks were not allowed to enter and leave without reason. These interim measures will, of course, be opposed by some adherents, including Shamen. However, the Buddhists have always followed the principle of restraint and forbearance, and do not oppose them in official uniforms. However, Tian Zhichao was an exception, he disobeyed the ban and led a group of disciples and followers to the state capital Yamen to petition, of course, to no avail, and was repeatedly repatriated by the government.
In desperation, he led the crowd to Yangzhou to ask for a statement from the face of the king, and was indifferently reprimanded again. Although nothing was done, and the temporary ban of the imperial court was soon lifted, Tian Zhichao personally became "famous" because of this, and at this time, after being learned by the political enemies of the Great Sui Dynasty, he would naturally not take advantage of it and be regarded as a powerful evidence of the tyranny of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Sure enough, in the first year of Wu De (618), Tian Zhichao, who was not particularly prominent among the high monks, was specially invited by Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to participate in the National Day ceremony, Tian Zhichao led more than 20 disciples to Chang'an to participate in the founding ceremony, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan was treated with courtesy and received with super specifications, and the history books said that Gao Zu "treated him like an immortal, led to the Taiguan Hall, and talked very happily." "This is not to mention, Shangshu Zuo's servant and Wei Guo Gong Pei Shu opened the first middle residence for him to stay." This is probably the political basis for future generations of People to "build Buddhas" for Tian Zhichao; Tian Zhichao has a huge number of followers in the Mianshan area, and he personally shaved more than 2,000 people into Shamen as the mass basis for the "Buddha-making" activities. Now that everything is ready, it only owes the East Wind, and it is almost a public opinion base.
Empty King Buddha
In the 14th year of Zhenguan (640), Tang Taizong went to The Yunfeng Monastery in Mianshan to pay homage to the Buddha, and he remembered the senior monk Tian Zhichao, and asked the senior monk Fang Zhi who followed him that the generation of senior monks had passed away, and Emperor Taizong said sadly: "Empty hope Buddha." "This matter is recorded in the canonical history, and it can be believed. It is on the nameplate of the "Empty King Lingying Platform" of Yunfeng Temple. It is because Ofizong's phrase "Empty Hope Buddha" was used by posterity as the theoretical basis for Tang Taizong's edict "Empty King Buddha". So why was it that the "Empty King Buddha" was not publicly circulated until the Jin Dading period? The living records of the emperors of the dynasty record his words and deeds, and there is no omission.
When the emperor said that he had not said a certain sentence, he found out once he checked that wantonly "correcting the zhao" would have the consequences of exterminating the clan, not to mention making up the holy will. Therefore, there will be no rumors of Tang Taizong sealing the Buddha in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was also the legitimate successor of the Central Plains regime, and the records of the actions, words and deeds of the emperors of the previous dynasties were strictly in accordance with the official records, and it was more difficult to correct the Zhao of the previous dynasties. Jin, the most barbaric and backward and brutal regime in the history of the world, after invading Bieliang, snatched away everything that could be snatched, and burned away a fire that could not be snatched, and since then, the royal archives have been seriously lacking, which has provided space for some people with various purposes (not necessarily bad) to play, so that the activity of making Buddhism out of thin air can be realized.
Pilu Cave
This reminds me of another public case in the Buddhist world, there is a grotto in Shiyang Town, Anyue County, Sichuan Province, called Pilu Cave, which is the main tantric place and statue area of Sichuan Buddhist Tantra during the Northern Song Dynasty, and there is a well-preserved statue of Liu Benzun, the fifth generation of Tantric ancestor Liu Benzun, whose "Ten Refining Diagrams" is a precious historical material for the study of Chinese Buddhist tantra, in addition to the Dazu stone carvings, this is the only place, so it is precious. Everyone is familiar with the Dazu stone carvings in Chongqing, his founder is the sichuan tantric Buddhism inheritor Zhao Zhifeng monk, and the stone carvings of Pilu Cave are the rehearsal field for Zhao Zhifeng to create the Dazu stone carvings, or the Pilu Cave stone carvings are the prelude to the Dazu stone carvings.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Zhifeng, a 16-year-old young monk, traveled for three years to the dojo mimu (Xindu County), where Liu Benzun preached, and after returning, he claimed to have received the "true transmission" of Liu Benzun and claimed that his master Liu Benzun had the title of "Tang Yoga Master Chief". However, there is no official record of Liu Benzun's honorific title, which is suspected to be Zhao Zhifeng's private sealing of Liu Benzun in order to elevate the status of master.
Then he chose baoding mountain to preach and create a statue, "the momentum is grand, sensational and public." The "Ten Refining Diagrams" of Liu Benzun in Pilu Cave should have been carved and carved during these 3 years of travels, it can be said that zhao zhifeng was born nearly 250 years after the death of Liu Benzun, and if according to Zhao Zhifeng,Liu Benzun who passed on the tantric mantle to him, it seems that Liu Benzun has the art of returning the soul by deception, which is obviously impossible. It's just that Zhao Zhifeng wants to take advantage of Liu Benzun's reputation to create momentum in a short period of time, gather believers, and raise donations to complete his great cause. He succeeded, potential tantric believers quickly gathered around Zhao Zhifeng, the source of good money came, the BaodingShan Dazu stone carving was started, and after 70 years of unremitting efforts, he left us a "world cultural heritage" that can be boasted before the world.
Zhao Zhifeng obviously lied about the inheritance of the mantle, and the honorific title of the master was obviously "promoted privately", but those who seemed to be unimportant in front of the "Dazu Stone Carving", what was important was that after he passed on the mantle, what did he do with it? He revitalized the Tantra of Chinese Buddhism, which has been lost for many years, and presided over the excavation of the Dazu Grottoes, leaving us with a precious essence of sculpture art, and giving us another world cultural heritage, for which he alone has made great contributions and will forever be recorded in the annals of history! Similarly, the case of the "Empty King Buddha" is also suitable for this inference, and the truth is not important.
Text Figure Li Ran