What is the origin of Wu Zetian and Buddhism What kind of Buddhism has been more widely spread

Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has prepared an article for everyone: Wu Zetian and Buddhism. Interested friends, come and take a look!
After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, Buddhism gained wider dissemination, and the legitimacy of her ascension to the throne was demonstrated through the use of Buddhist principles. Wu Zetian overturned the previous order of Taoism and Buddhism, placing Buddhism before Taoism. Therefore, Buddhism developed greatly during Wu Zetian’s reign, establishing schools and competing for excellence. The most profound influence was the birth and formation of the Southern and Northern Chan Buddhism. This is the famous Shaolin Temple, which is said to be the place where Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan Buddhism, practiced Zen. According to records in books such as the Jingde Chuandeng Lu of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei saw Master Damo come from the north of the Southern Liang Dynasty to face the wall here in the year of Taihe. It took nine years and he pioneered the Chan sect. Bodhidharma tells his followers that the primary way to practice is to have peace of mind, and the method of peace of mind is to practice seclusion, which means to be calm and firm like a wall.
Bodhidharma claims that his Zen teachings are a separate transmission from the teachings of others. Starting from Shakyamuni, poetry and images have been passed down from heart to heart without words, and he is now the 28th generation. You have no cultivation, no insight, no perception, and cannot be liberated. This is not Buddhism, and it is not the foundation of Buddhism. San Zhong found this point and started directly from cultivating the mind. Therefore, whether it is eating meals or practicing martial arts, our daily life is a kind of cultivation. Practice is indispensable in life, and in practice, life is indispensable. The so-called martial arts are also a combination of Zen and martial arts, with five types of meals and the sound of West Lake. This is a tradition and core of Shaolin Temple. When Master Damo arrived at Shaolin Temple, he brought a kapok robe. It is said that this robe is a symbol of the transmission of the Dharma lineage of Zen Buddhism. The Bodhidharma Missionary Society can be passed on to Sengcan. Sengcan preached, believed, and passed on to the Red People. By the time the Red People arrived, they had been passed down for five generations!
This is the Wuzu Temple located on Dongshan Mountain, 12 kilometers east of Huangmei County, Hubei Province. It used to be the preaching center of Master Wu Zu Hongren, then known as Dongshan Temple. Nowadays, a statue of Master Hongren is enshrined in the temple’s True Body Hall. However, the most eye-catching feature of Wuzu Temple is not here, but the side room on the east side of the real shop! When Wu Zu was alive, this was a temple where the laborers pounded rice. It was the story that happened in this laborers’ room that had a significant impact on Chinese Buddhism. In the first year of Longshuo, Master Hongren, who was 60 years old, was about to make a major decision. He instructed his disciples to write 1G books to express their Buddhist path and select the successor of the Chan sect’s Dharma lineage!
After Huineng’s great enlightenment, the Red Man secretly passed on the Kapok Robe to him. In order to ensure Huineng’s safety, he ordered his junior brothers who had returned to Shenxiu’s hometown overnight to witness the sudden loss of the Kapok Robe that his senior brother deserved. They believed that Huineng had tricked him into taking the Robe, so they teamed up to hunt down Huineng, who had been hiding among hunters who made killing his life, evading pursuit for five years! This is Nanhua Zen Temple located in Shaozhou, Guangdong. It is the most famous temple in the Lingnan region, attracting millions of visitors from all over the world every year. For over a thousand years, the true body of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng has been enshrined here!
At this time, the Southern School of Chinese Zen Buddhism, led by Shen Xiu, was teaching the practice of establishing diplomatic relations in the north, emphasizing group cohesion and known as the Northern School. From then on, the Zen School formed two schools, the Northern and Southern Schools, both of which claimed to be Zen. The influence of Southern School Zen gradually spread throughout the country due to the Cotton Robe painting passed down by Huineng. Wu Zetian had twice issued imperial edicts to respectfully request Huineng to go north, and the military assembly in Kyoto politely declined. Master Huineng passed away in the first year of the Xiantian reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, at the age of 76. His main teachings during his lifetime were compiled into books by his disciple Fahai, and this is the famous Han Jing. The most successful in the history of Buddhism is that only the words and deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha are called scriptures, and the teachings of the founder of a sect are also called scriptures. Huineng, who is unparalleled in this regard, can be seen as having a high position in the history of Chinese Buddhism and laying a theoretical foundation for the development of Zen Buddhism.
As one of the influential thinkers in Chinese history, Huineng’s intellectual wisdom still inspires us today. This is the process of deifying Buddha and Bodhisattva in the development of Mahayana Buddhism, but with Huineng, it has been restored. Buddha and Bodhisattva are not born, right? Buddha and Bodhisattva are in everyone’s heart. Ah, you have awakened, you are Buddha. Ah, you have lost yourself, you are just an ordinary old sentient being. At the same time, more importantly, the innovation of cultivation methods is suitable for the needs of the grassroots. Alas, if you immerse yourself in your life steadfastly, you will be able to see nature and become a Buddha. So this shield is called the practice method, which greatly promoted the prosperity of Zen Buddhism in the future.

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