Regarding a case in the history of Taoism in which the abbot was burned to death by Taoist priests, it is not so much surprising as it is an incident of "wronged and debtor".
Although it sounds like this incident is a bit unethical from the rumors alone, if you go deep into the reasons for it, it will make people feel both surprised and emotional.
Baiyun Temple, one of the ancestral gardens of the Quanzhen School, is located in Beijing and has a long history and profound Taoist cultural heritage. During the Tang Dynasty, it was once called Tianchangguan, and after expansion and reconstruction, it became the largest forest in northern Taoism.
This was once the place where the story of Qiu Chuji and Genghis Khan took place, and the Taiji Palace was once very prosperous, because the road number of Qiu Chuji was Changchunzi, so it was also called Changchun Temple. Baiyun Temple is the place where the Quanzhen Patriarch preached the Tao and explained the law, and their Taoism has been passed down to this day, and then the lower courtyard was built by ** and renamed Baiyun Temple.
After Baiyun Temple was listed as a key Taoist temple, it attracted many believers and tourists, and at the same time, there were Taoist associations and Taoist colleges here, which promoted Taoist cultural exchanges.
With its unique courtyard architecture, Baiyun Temple shows the scale and momentum of Taoist culture. As for why the abbot was burned to death by a group of Taoist priests, this can be traced back to the Taoist distribution dispute.
Baiyun Temple, the birthplace of the Quanzhen School, and the Zhengyi School, which is different from this school, has its own characteristics. Zhengyi Taoist priests were allowed to marry wives and have children, lived a secular life, and had no strict restrictions on food and drink.
Their main duties are to pray for blessings and ward off evil spirits, and to perform rituals using charms. The Quanzhen School, on the other hand, usually chooses to practice in contemplation, abiding by the rules and precepts, not marrying wives, abstaining from meat and fishery, and pursuing inner peace and the practice of the Tao.
Historically, Baiyunguan has been harassed by various forces, such as spies, spies, Japanese puppeteers, and those who exert pressure with power. In addition, in order to stabilize his position, the abbot made some harsh behaviors that also made many Taoist priests dissatisfied.
Baiyun Temple incense is prosperous, after the emperors of the past dynasties to Taoism respect, even the Empress Dowager Cixi often came here, left her own imperial kitchen, Baiyun Temple Zhai banquet is famous.
An Shilin, the abbot of the Baiyun Temple of the Quanzhen School, did not have a Buddhist path to the throne, and since he was favored by the previous abbot, he began to carefully plan his "Spring and Autumn Great Cause", and the struggle on the Advantage Fair is always surging under the surface calm.
Baiyunguan was no exception, An Shilin was able to sit on the throne of the abbot in the end, and thanks to his eloquence, he was convinced that if he could serve the previous abbot well, the abbot position was just around the corner.
The old abbot had been pure for most of his life, and he was fortunate to have this sweet **, which made him feel very happy. However, the people in the Taoist temple were not impressed, and they had never seen such a logical successor as An Shilin to take over as the abbot.
Although Ahn claimed that he was following Abbot Chen's will, many people were skeptical, considering that he did not provide any evidence. After all, there are many highly qualified people in the Taoist temple, and their prestige is not inferior to that of the young An Shilin, how can the position of abbot be easily handed over?
Secondly, according to the regulations of the Taoist temple at that time, the presiding ** could not directly hold the position of abbot.
An Shilin is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and the Taoist priests have been killing people for a long time. Over the years, his behavior has made the Taoist priests deeply despised, as a Quanzhen Taoist priest, not only did he not clean himself, but he fornicated with nuns, ate unscrupulously, and secretly did things that he was tired of.
Although the Taoist priests saw it, they could not resist because An Shilin was superb and firmly controlled the power. In the outside world, the Japanese army invaded, tried to use Taoist forces to infiltrate the people culturally, and also established the general association to achieve its military aggression and political goals.
An Shilin was eager to win the position of vice president of the general association to strengthen his power, but Tian Zijiu, an opponent from the Fire God Temple in the lower courtyard, took the lead. These two greedy deer chasers compete with each other in an intricate environment of power.
Tian Zijiu was not satisfied with the status quo, he wanted to take the opportunity to kick An Shilin out. And An Shilin was also prepared and quickly took over the position of president of the Japanese puppet maintenance association. From then on, the forces of the two sides began to fight openly and secretly, and those Taoist priests who opposed An Shilin also united and launched an attack on him.
This reorganization of forces not only sparked a power struggle within Taoism, but also exacerbated the contradictions between them.
In order to gain support, An Shilin tried to buy Jiang Chaozong with a lot of money. However, as a practitioner, he does not have the financial resources to bear these gray expenses. For this reason, he privately sold the treasures in the temple and embezzled the "incense money" in the view.
In order to fill the shortfall, he refused to enter the Taoist priest, and also took the mundane work that could make money into his own hands. In the eyes of Taoist priests inside and outside the view, these behaviors are full of Confucianism.
Although the Taoist priests reasoned with him many times, they were even threatened and punished by him.
Bai Quanyi is highly skilled, and he is as good at eloquence as An Shilin, and such a talent serving as a prison is obviously a means for An Shilin to stabilize his position. The two colluded and committed many crimes against the Sharia of the jungle.
Although the repression by force temporarily suppressed the opposition of the populace, it left a deeper resentment in their hearts. A series of high-pressure policies have provoked strong resentment among the radicals.
With the surrender of Japanese militarism and the collapse of various forces, many people tried to resist An Shilin by legal means through judicial channels.
In that chaotic era, when many forces were entangled, and the judiciary chose to acquiesce between morality and money, Ahn once again used his means to quell all opposition.
However, the spirit of resistance in Chinese culture had a profound impact on Taoism, and the idea of rebellion was also prevalent among Chinese Taoists. Finally, the thirty-six Taoist priests who could not stand An Shilin's strong oppression decided to use the power within Taoism to end An Shilin's control and oppression.
In order to strengthen everyone's belief, some peachy rumors came into being. The pressure of ** made people blindly confident, and so a program called "cremation and incineration" was born.
On November 11, when the moon was dark and the wind was high, Bai Quanyi and An Shilin had just returned to Guanli from the warlord's house after performing the rituals when they were caught by a group of Taoist priests and tied to a tree.
It didn't take long for the abbot who tried to discredit the history of Baiyun Temple to be burned alive by the Taoist priests.