pappabearbooks Chapter 446 Yellow Sect and Red Sect
Chapter 446 Yellow Sect and Red Sect
Under Liu Jingfeng's arrangement, Lin Ran was sent to Sera Village at the foot of Sera Monastery.
The villagers here seemed very enthusiastic. They learned that Lin Ran went to the mountain to pray for blessings. They also received money from Liu Jingfeng and arranged a temporary residence for him.
Early the next morning, after eating a simple vegetarian meal, Lin Ran set off on foot.
The mountain where Sera Monastery is located is about 500 meters high.
The steps have not yet been built, but due to the large number of visitors, a mountain path has been created.
In the previous life, Sera Temple had become one of the three major temples.
Now the scale is not big, but the qualifications and reputation are already out there.
There are at least a thousand temples in Tibetan areas.
600 years ago, Tsongkhapa came to Tibet from Qinghai and practiced in Sera Uzi Mountain.
After his death, his disciples built a temple on the mountain and founded Sera Temple.
Sera means "wild rose" in Tibetan. Once upon a time, Sera Uzi Mountain was covered with roses.
Nowadays, there are rugged rocks, high distances and vastness. Not only are there few roses, but there are also few grasses.
Every year, Sera Monastery spreads Buddhism and saves all sentient beings, which has a particularly profound impact on the villages at the foot of the mountain!
Even someone like Lin Ran, who has not studied Buddhist culture deeply, can appreciate the profound history of the temple.
Even if you don’t understand Buddhism, you can still participate in debating scriptures with Buddha when you come to Sera Monastery.
In Lin Ran's impression, Sera Temple is a temple that is extremely tolerant to the outside world. Now he knows why.
When I came to the temple gate again, I was stopped by a young novice monk.
"Donor, it's not the opening season yet, please go back." The little novice monk said seriously, blocking the entrance of the temple.
"Little master, I'm here to see Master Tenzin Ouzhu." Lin Ran returned the greeting, hoping to be accommodated.
The little novice monk looked puzzled and asked: "What are you doing with the abbot? He has just come back. It is not convenient to receive guests now, so he still asks the donor to go back."
At this moment, a young monk came over and asked, "Nephew Nammu, after you have finished cleaning the front yard, please go to the kitchen to help."
The young novice returned the salute and silently recited the six-character motto.
Om, ma, ne, bah, me, hum.
Lin Ran was suddenly a little surprised. He clearly remembered that Tenzin Ouzhu was reciting Amitabha.
He thought that this temple had gradually accepted the Central Plains culture.
In fact, he also knew that Sera Monastery was a temple of the Gelug Sect, the Yellow Sect.
It was built in the 17th year of Yongle, but it also suffered some blows during the period and has only been developed again in recent years.
"Uncle Gesang, there is a tourist who wants to visit the living Buddha, and I am trying to persuade him to leave." The young novice monk pointed at Lin Ran.
Hearing this, Kelsang looked towards the door of the temple.
When he saw it was Lin Ran, his face was filled with smiles.
"Donor Lin, you are fine."
With Gesang's invitation, there is no problem entering Sera Monastery.
While leading the way, Gesang said to Lin Ran: "A few days ago, the Living Buddha returned to the temple and was a little tired. Today is the day for scripture debate. If Brother Lin is interested, you can listen for a while. If you are not interested, Please remain quiet."
"Okay!" Lin Ran nodded and agreed.
Last time I was rushing to rescue people, but I didn't pay attention to the situation inside the temple.
Only now have I noticed that although the Sera Monastery is not big, it is no less grand than a large temple.
The entire temple is built halfway up the mountain and is built against the mountain.
The buildings in the temple are well-proportioned.
Starting from the entrance, there are Zhacang and monk's residence respectively, and behind it is the Lazhang palace of the famous living Buddha.
After passing through the palace, the Buddhist hall and sutra hall appeared.
Gesang said: "The Living Buddha is debating sutras with others in the Buddha Hall. Outsiders are not allowed to enter. However, Donor Lin has a predestined relationship with this temple, so I will take you in now."
Lin Ran nodded silently, remembering that in his time, debating scriptures was a public activity, and anyone who was interested in Buddhist scriptures could attend.
It is still an internal activity of Tibetan Buddhism.
Stepping into the Buddhist temple, a giant gilded Buddha statue comes into view!
Rumor has it that during the Qing Dynasty, the Living Buddha went to the capital to visit Emperor Qianlong. When he returned, Qianlong gave the monks Buddhist scriptures, statues, ritual instruments, monk robes, soap, and hundreds of gold and silver utensils.
In Sera Temple, there are also eighteen Arhat statues carved from white sandalwood.
In the hall of the Buddhist temple, there are two groups of monks sitting on both sides. Their costumes are slightly different.
Although they all wore yellow coats with red shirts underneath, typical Tibetan monk attire.
It’s just that the person on my side, Tenzin Odup, was wearing a yellow hat and a red waistcoat.
The other side wears a red cockscomb hat.
There is no doubt that this is a debate between the Yellow Sect and the Red Sect!
The Debate Conference originated from the birthplace of Buddhism and was introduced to China during the Tubo period.
Initially, it was a debate conference between Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. Later, it was continued as a tradition and became a must for studying scriptures.
In Lin Ran's impression, Sera Monastery is extremely good at debating scriptures, which is a required course for almost every monk.
There is a saying that if you have not witnessed a scripture debate in Sera Monastery, you are in Tibet for nothing.
But some people think that even if they watch it, it is in vain.
Because the debate in Sera Monastery covers a wide range of topics, except for Buddhists, it is simply incomprehensible.
In fact, Lin Ran also listened to it once and felt that the charm of sutra debate was not just in the identification and analysis of Buddhist teachings, but also in the collision of ideas.
At Kelsang's invitation, Lin Ran took a seat on the futon behind Tenzin Odup.
Tenzin Ozu smiled slightly and agreed, and the other monks had no objections.
The debate was only briefly interrupted, and then the eminent monk of the Red Sect said: "It turns out that there are still lay disciples in your temple. Although we are slightly smaller in number, we are still confident when it comes to Buddhism."
"Master Mila, please give me the question." Tenzin Ouzhu raised his hand, indicating that the other party should give the question first.
Just like in the previous life, the atmosphere of the debate was like an ancient imperial examination, giving people a sense of tension.
On the side, an old monk rang the bell and announced that the debate had officially begun.
Contrary to the impression of ordinary people that the monks were extremely calm, all the monks participating in the debate were in high spirits and eager to try.
Just like the scholars taking the imperial examination, they expressed their opinions in the examination room.
I originally thought that the topic of the debate was about the origin of gods and Buddhas, and who is the true inheritance.
However, after hearing the content of their debate clearly, Lin Ran felt that he was superficial.
The issue they were debating today was whether sect rules or morality were more important when enforcing sect rules.
Such issues were often discussed in later generations and were called the ultimate problems of philosophy.
Buddha said, one flower, one world.
For debates on Buddhist scriptures, if the superficial appearance of Buddhist scriptures is always present, it will often be divorced from reality.
Therefore, the annual Bible Debate Conference will give practical propositions.
Although Lin Ran didn't understand much Tibetan, he listened with great interest as Kelsang was translating.