Lu Xiujing was a Taoist master during the Liu Song Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He reformed the old Tianshi Dao and led the Southern Tianshi Dao; sorted out and taught the Shangqing Sect Daoist Scriptures, and was revered as the seventh generation of Daoist Shangqing Sect masters; perfected and systematized the Taoist Lingbao Science Instrument, carried forward the Lingbao Daojing; established the "Three Caves" system of the Daoist Scriptures, and so on. Therefore, Lu Xiujing is an extremely important and great figure in the history of Taoism and has made a key contribution to the development of Taoism in China.
It was in the Southern and Northern Dynasties that the Buddhist and Taoist religions broke the situation of mutual peace and quiet, and the struggle gradually became white-hot. As an iconic figure of Taoism, the Three Caves Master Lu Xiujing was also pushed to the cusp of the storm and was criticized by various anti-Taoists. The Northern Dynasty mathematician Zhen Luan, who entered the Buddha's path, wrote the Treatise on Laughter and criticized Taoism. It says that Lu Xiujing "mud on the loess, anti-hanging head." Such obscenity..." It depicts Lu Xiujing holding a Taoist ritual. Although Zhen Luan could not understand the significance of this ritual, what he said was about the truth, and the more violent reaction was the Buddhist monks.
The Biography of the Continuing High Monk records the story of the monk Shi Tanxian and Lu Xiujing fighting. The story goes something like this: The Taoist monk Lu Xiujing painstakingly devised various tedious Taoist rituals, with the aim of gaining the respect of the king. However, contrary to his wishes, Emperor Wu of Liang devoted himself to worshiping the Buddha. In a fit of rage, Lu Xiujing led his disciples to defect to the enemy state of Northern Qi. Seeing that Lu Xiujing had moved the emperor in Northern Qi, the monk Shi Tanxian, who "did not know who", came to a contest with him to determine the merits of the Buddhist Path. The content of the test is nothing more than the display of divine powers, and since it is recorded in Buddhist biographies, the result is, of course, the failure of the Taoist side.
Chillingly, the whole incident was a complete forgery. Lu Xiujing was a Daoist priest of the Southern Dynasty Liu Song Dynasty, and Xian died five years after Liu Song deposed emperor Yuan Hui, decades away from the establishment of Liang and Northern Qi. Obviously, Lu Xiujing could not be resurrected and reborn, and it was impossible for him to rebel against the country, let alone fight with the monks. Obviously, this is a story forged by later monks in order to denigrate the image of Gao Dao.
This also shows the influence of Lu Xiujing, and it is precisely because his influence is large enough that it attracts the firepower of the Buddha Gate. No matter what his opponents thought, Lu Xiujing was a peak that could not be bypassed. So in the pen of other monks, Lu Xiujing's image was transformed and he became a good friend who could be deeply befriended. The Buddha's Path intersected, and the story of "Three Laughs of Tiger Creek" was widely circulated.
It is said that Hui Yuan, the ancestor of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism, practiced at the Lushan Donglin Temple, and swore that "the shadow does not leave the house, the traces are not vulgar, and the guests are not sent to the Huxi Bridge." "Huiyuan has always strictly abided by this rule, and everyone is used to it. Until one day, when the Taoist monk Lu Jingxiu and the great poet Tao Yuanming came to visit, the three of them talked to each other without the slightest tiredness. When the farewell was still unfinished, Hui Yuan unconsciously sent the two guests across the Huxi Bridge. At this time, the roar of the tiger in the mountain rose and fell, and Hui Yuan was shocked to realize that he had broken his oath. The three looked at each other and laughed, saying goodbye. Later, people built the "Three Laughing Pavilions" at the place where they broke up, and the couplets on the pavilion pillars read: "The bridge crosses the Tiger Creek, the three religions and three streams, the three people and three laughing words; the lotus opens the monk's house, one flower and one world, and one leaf is the same." ”
This story has no sword and light sword shadow, only confidants meet, the mood is very beautiful, and the aftertaste is long. Unfortunately it is still forged. Because Hui Yuan is 72 years old, Lu Xiujing is 72 years old. When Lu Xiujing was 10 years old, Hui Yuan had already passed away. It is impossible for a monk to talk to each other and three people to talk happily.
As can be seen from the above story, a person's image will change with the times. As a high-ranking Person in the Daomen, Lu Xiujing was naturally set as a goal. In the era of fierce struggle between Buddhism and Taoism, Lu Xiujing was a traitor who fought for power and profit in the eyes of monks; in the era when Buddhism and Taoism were integrated, Lu Xiujing was also a friendly Daoist master. This is how very different attitudes arise.
Modern people should be able to understand these stories: the same person, different periods, we may not see them differently. What's behind it? All understood.