leonardwarren Chapter 592 The Great Golden Buddha Temple
Chapter 592 The Great Golden Buddha Temple
Chapter 592 The Great Golden Buddha Temple
In the northern part of the impoverished mountainous region, there stands a massive snow-capped mountain.
Beneath the snow-capped mountains lies a city, where most of the houses are built with golden tiles and white walls.
From afar, the city gleamed with golden light, magnificent and splendid.
This city is known as the holy city by the people of this region.
Not far from the mountains to the north of the holy city, there is an even more magnificent palace complex.
Among them stands a golden Buddha statue over a hundred feet tall.
The entire Buddha statue is covered with thick gold leaf, which shines brightly in the sunlight, with a hazy golden glow, as if the Buddha's light is shining everywhere, making it a magnificent sight.
The golden Buddha statue, with its lowered brows and downcast eyes, faces the direction of the holy city, seemingly looking down upon all living beings.
The temple where the Buddha statue is located is the largest temple in the holy city, and it houses three Bodhisattvas who are revered and worshipped by thousands of people in the city.
Outside the temple, the mountain path is rugged.
A gaunt boy dressed in a tattered sheepskin coat slowly climbed the mountain, carrying a heavy bag of grain on his thin shoulders.
Behind the boy, an elderly woman leaned on a cane and carried a basket covered with a red cloth, following closely behind.
The boy was panting heavily, walking and resting intermittently.
He wiped the sweat from his dark cheeks, looked up at the temple on the mountain, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Tu was somewhat confused as to why they, who couldn't even feed themselves, would offer food to their master and provide for the bodhisattvas in the temple.
Many people told him that, including his grandmother and his deceased parents.
People like them are considered lowly because they committed sins in their past lives and are here to atone for them. Only by atoning for their sins and enduring all the suffering can they be reborn into a good family and live a good life in the next life.
Their fate in this life is already sealed; they are destined for a lowly life.
Tu turned around and saw his grandmother still struggling up the mountain behind him. He couldn't help but say, "Grandma, let me go by myself. Your legs aren't very strong..."
The elderly woman shook her head upon hearing this, saying, "No, I must go. Not going would be a great disrespect to Buddha and Bodhisattva..."
The Great Buddha Temple is only fully open to the public during the harvest season.
Even the lowest slaves could offer enough tribute to go to the temple to worship and cleanse themselves of their sins.
Tu opened his chapped lips. He knew that his grandmother was a devout Buddhist and insisted on going up the mountain to worship every year.
Tu knew that her grandmother's greatest wish was to meet the living bodhisattva in the temple and completely wash away their sins.
However, despite all these attempts, they still failed to meet the most revered living Buddha.
I don't quite understand how great their sins are that they need a Bodhisattva to wash them away and that they need to suffer for a lifetime.
Are these people really guilty?
An idea that had never been before inexplicably took root and sprouted in the young boy's heart.
The picture then turned to the gleaming golden Buddha. It is said that there are three living bodhisattvas in the temple: the Great Compassionate One, the Great Merciful One, and the Great Virtuous One. Why not bestow compassion upon them?
Tu's gaze was unfocused, but he quickly regained his composure, then, carrying the heavy load of grain, he slowly made his way towards the temple.
Tu walked around, stopping and starting, and spent time waiting for his grandmother.
The two finally arrived at the magnificent gates of the temple.
At the main gate, a burly monk dressed in splendid and clean robes stood guard.
Two large, vicious dogs with thick fur were also squatting on either side of the gate, watching intently and patrolling the people coming and going.
Some noblemen in fine clothes came and went through the main gate.
Tu Wei kept his head down, only able to secretly observe the monks, nobles, and gentlemen out of the corner of his eye.
Given their status, they couldn't enter through the main temple gate; they had to go through a smaller side gate.
Tu and her grandmother went to the side gate.
The picture shows the monks who were guarding the gate being given a heavy bag of grain.
The monk's eyes remained fixed, offering no response. Beside him, an old woman offered a basket, lifting the red cloth to reveal several jars of ghee inside.
Oil, which is very precious to poor families, is not worth much money.
The old woman then shakily reached into her bosom and took out a cloth bag.
The cloth bag was opened layer by layer, revealing two pieces of gold foil as thin as cicada wings.
Legend has it that the golden Buddha statue in the temple was made from goldware offered by thousands of people. The goldware was made into foil and then pasted on layer by layer.
Every year, people offer gold leaf to build the Buddha statue, hoping for peace and safety.
These two pieces of gold leaf were painstakingly saved up by the old woman through frugality.
When the monk saw the old woman take out this item, his eyes flickered slightly. He then took the item and put the person inside.
The monk didn't utter a single word from beginning to end. He recognized these two lowly people somewhat. Everyone in the temple knew the rules, so there was no need to say anything more to such lowly people.
The old woman repeatedly bowed and thanked them, then beckoned her grandson into the temple.
The temple was very large and elaborately decorated.
Every time I come to Shaoniantu, I feel that this place is somewhat different.
Because of their status, they cannot go anywhere within the temple.
If they see noblemen paying homage in those palaces, they can only kneel and worship outside, and cannot share the hall with the noblemen.
As for the things in the temple, people like them shouldn't even touch them.
The old woman walked with difficulty, trying to find traces of the living Buddha in various Buddhist temples.
Seeing his grandmother struggling to walk, Tu couldn't help but whisper, "Grandma, why don't you rest for a bit? I'll go check on her..."
The old woman felt that her legs were really weak, because she had climbed a long mountain road and her legs were aching.
The old woman said, "Alright, alright, go and pray to Buddha and Bodhisattva first, but don't go to places you shouldn't go."
Tu nodded and said, "I know."
Tu helped the woman to a corner to rest, and then walked briskly to a nearby palace.
Whenever he passed a palace, Tu would carefully examine it, and if he saw anyone inside, he would kneel outside and kowtow in respect.
After passing several halls, the picture came to a quiet Buddhist temple.
Inside the main hall, there was no one, only the flickering of Buddhist lamps and the dazzling golden Buddha statues in various poses.
The young man swallowed hard and mustered his courage to enter the main hall.
Inside the main hall, there were also clean prayer cushions.
Not daring to kneel on the prayer cushions, yet wanting to show his piety, he walked up to the Buddha statue and knelt and kowtowed.
"Dong dong dong..."
Tu kowtowed repeatedly, making a dull thud.
He felt that by being so close to these Buddha statues and bowing so deeply, perhaps these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would sense his piety and lessen his sins.
Tu propped himself up and stood up, feeling a little dizzy, partly from bumping his head and partly from hunger.
He rarely gets a full meal, and after carrying the grain for such a long distance today, he is already starving.
Tu couldn't help but reach into his pocket, wanting to take out some dry rations he had close to him and take a bite.
Suddenly, he sniffed, and a pleasant fragrance entered his nasal cavity.
Looking up, one can see the fresh fruits and exquisite pastries offered on the altar.
(End of this chapter)