Abbot Master Jinguang looked down from the top of the Jokhang Temple and was somewhat dumbfounded.
"What's going on? How can a single Dharma Assembly cause such a huge commotion? What did this Kongfang do? Did he offend all the nobles in Pu City? "
Temple Master Huiming sighed. "I've already sent someone to inquire. The devotees' donations for this Spring Dharma Assembly will be done in kind. They will buy seeds of equivalent value and give them to the people who came to participate.
Also, look at the banner below. It's a banner thanking the Jokhang Temple for their benevolence. Not only will the nobles of Pu City contribute, our Jokhang Temple will also donate equivalent value! "
Master Jinguang was someone who studied Buddhist scriptures diligently and did not care about worldly affairs. He could not wrap his head around all of this.
"Isn't this a forced donation? Isn't the authorities going to do something about this? "
Huiming smiled bitterly. "The authorities? I'm afraid they're the ones behind this! Without their tacit approval, how can these tens of thousands of people stand here in an orderly manner?
Senior Brother, looking at the situation today, I'm afraid it won't work if we don't contribute some money. Otherwise, if our reputation is ruined, the Jokhang Temple will have no future!
Why don't we send someone to discuss with them and see how we can reduce our contribution … "
Master Jinguang finally reacted. He was the head of a temple. Although he did not usually interfere with the temple's chores, he was naturally intelligent.
"Slow down! Since we want to improve our reputation, it doesn't matter if we contribute more or less. Why waste our breath? Since we're going to bleed, why don't we do it quickly and generously?
That's not the main point. With these tens of thousands of people standing here under the instigation of the authorities, the Jokhang Temple is destined to not be able to escape this calamity!
What I want to know now is, how did an ordinary offering of incense oil at the Spiritual Assembly end up like this? Why would the Jokhang Temple become the target of public criticism? Why would everyone want to beat them up?
Wealth can still be accumulated even if it's gone! But where can we get back our reputation if it's gone? .
Call Kongfang over. He must have played a part in today's calamity! "
Kongfang was quickly called over. In front of the upper echelons of the temple, he recounted everything that had happened in Pu City. He also felt very wronged.
"… That's it. He didn't do anything else! "This isn't the first time I've visited the city. I've done it every year. I've been here for more than ten years. Even if I accidentally offend one of them, I can't possibly offend all the influential people in Pu City, right? No matter how muddle-headed this little monk is, I am not so muddle-headed as to cause such a huge disaster for the temple!
Senior Martial Brothers and Senior Martial Uncles, please examine it carefully! "
Everyone watched him cry, and it didn't seem like he was faking it. Moreover, it was precisely because of his eloquence, smoothness, and wide connections that he was able to reach the middle position of a receptionist. How could he make such a big mistake for no reason?
Amidst his confusion, the Chief Chef suddenly asked,
"You said that you gave gifts to all the good people. Then let me ask you, where did the gifts come from?"
Kongfang was confused, "They are just normal things. I took them from Senior Brother Kongbai of the temple's treasury and explained their use. They don't need to be expensive. Even rich families might not be interested in them. Therefore, they are all Buddhist scriptures, prayer beads, incense pouches, Buddhist tablets, and so on. They are all the same as in previous years.
Master Jinguang shouted, "Call Kongbai here!"
A few of the higher-ups who knew the details had already turned pale. They could vaguely guess the reason, but they still had a glimmer of hope in their hearts.
Soon, Kongbai was brought over. Master Jinguang said in a deep voice,
"The gifts you gave to Kongfang half a month ago, which treasury did you take them from? Who did you pass them to? "
Kong Bai was also very puzzled. How did the investigation end up with him, an idle job that didn't have much to gain from?
Therefore, he said in a neither servile nor overbearing tone, "There are three treasuries in the temple. The heavenly treasury is all precious items, which I took. The underground treasury is all ordinary Buddhist items, which are managed by Martial Nephew Yuan Guang. The human treasury is all daily necessities, which are managed by the newcomer Qing Mu.
When Junior Brother Kongfang came to take the Buddhist items, he should have taken them from the underground treasury. However, Martial Nephew Yuan Guang was sick that day and was not on duty, so Qing Mu took them. After I checked that there was no mistake, I passed them to Junior Brother Kongfang. Is there a problem? "
Master Jinguang did not say a word. He looked at Temple Chief Huiming, who then looked at the Chief Chef. Several higher-ups of the Jokhang Temple understood that the instigator of this matter was Qing Mu!
Qing Mu was a traveling monk who worked in the Jokhang Temple, which was very common in the Buddhist circle. However, what was unusual was that Qing Mu was a cultivator among the monks, who had a lot of magical abilities.
Cultivation was not a secret among the monks, but the Jokhang Temple was not a temple for cultivation. It was just an ordinary Buddhist temple that made a living. However, a capable monk like Qing Mu was still welcome, and he was even given a leisurely job of being in charge of the treasury.
Qing Mu was very grateful for taking them in, and he also said that he could make some Buddhist items for them and give them to others, which would be of great use!
However, the higher-ups of the Jokhang Temple refused after careful consideration. After all, they had Buddhist roots and knew that they could not kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. If they really gave away such Buddhist items, it might not be a fortune, but a disaster!
However, they did not expect Qing Mu to be so bold as to make a decision without permission …
Although Pu City was not a big city and did not have that many powerful cultivators, there were a few occasionally. The Spring Dharma Assembly incident must have been caused by the nobles of Pu City who had discovered something fishy. They had mobilized so many people to teach the Jokhang Temple a lesson!
However, they could not explain it!
After a long time, Temple Chief Huiming sighed. "Senior Brother, I'll go prepare the money. Let's just give them whatever they want!"
Master Jinguang shook his head and sighed. "Regardless of whether you cultivate or not, you always want to take care of both sides. In the end, you end up with a bad outcome!
Huiming, when it comes to money, don't be calculative. Be tolerant and don't neglect the essentials!
I'll go look for Qing Mu now. Our Jokhang Temple is too small to accommodate a true Buddha like him … "
The higher-ups of the Jokhang Temple were silent. There was no way to investigate this matter, especially when it came to cultivators among the monks. They would rather suffer a great loss than push Qing Mu out to take the blame. Who knew if Qing Mu would be replaced by Black Wood or White Wood?
They were only losing money now, but if they offended cultivators, they might lose their lives!
Therefore, they could only let him leave.
The Jokhang Temple was located a few kilometers east of Pu City on Luoxia Slope. There were few tall mountains around Pu City, and Luoxia Slope was considered a relatively high terrain in the surrounding environment. In front of the temple were large terraced fields, suitable for crowds to gather. Behind the temple were ravines and dense forests. Under the restrictions of the government, no one was allowed to enter for fear of danger. Of course, this was only for three days. If one was willing to come in and seek death during this period, no one would care.
The liveliness was in front of the temple. Tens of thousands of people gathered, according to their household registration, to receive spring seeds and money. It was a very complicated process. In fact, it was very unscientific for such a good deed to be done in one place and at one time. However, since the power behind it had other motives, it was a different matter.
There was a small corner door behind the temple. It was also the path where the young novice monks would dump their daily garbage. A middle-aged monk walked out without looking back.
This was a dishonorable departure. To him, he was unwilling to leave after causing so much trouble for the temple that had taken him in. However, cultivators considered problems differently from ordinary mortals.
Losing money was never a big deal to cultivators!
The big deal was the Daoist power behind the nobles in Pu City!
The battle of Daoist orthodoxy was above everything else! Even if they were all rogue cultivators, they were not in the mainstream, they were outsiders who had nothing to do but worry about.
This was a concept that they had unknowingly formed during their cultivation, learning techniques, and the accumulation of knowledge over time. It was a subtle influence that existed in the Daoist cultivation process.
The things on the surface were insignificant. To cultivators, the collision between them was inevitable. From the moment the Daoists mobilized mortal forces to deal with the Jokhang Temple, this was destined.
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