darknovel Chapter 60 Fellow Villager Explains the Reason
Chapter 60 Fellow Villager Explains the Reason
The next day.
Just as dawn was breaking, someone knocked urgently on the door.
"Open the door! Open the door! It's the government investigating a case! Open the door now!"
Su Tang, who hadn't slept in, opened the courtyard gate and looked at the constable before her, saying, "It's still dark. What brings you here, sir?"
Before the bailiff could even speak, a man in fine clothes with a sword at his side shoved him aside and bowed, saying:
"Miss Su, I apologize for disturbing you."
We received a report and came here to inquire with the surrounding residents.
Su Tang bowed slightly in return.
"Please ask me whatever you wish, my lord. I will answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge."
"Did you notice anything unusual last night, young lady?"
Su Tang pondered for a moment and said, "I went to bed early last night, so there was nothing unusual."
The elegantly dressed man cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I'm sorry to have troubled you, young lady. I'll take my leave now."
"Sir, please don't leave! Could you tell me what happened?"
The man in fine clothes smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing serious. It's just that a thief killed the abbot of Lingfo Temple last night."
Su Tang's pupils dilated slightly, but she didn't say anything more and just stood there blankly.
The man in fine clothes turned his back, waved his hand, and led the constables away from the mansion.
……
Inside Song Quyou's room, Wang Xuan, carrying his sword, looked at his junior brother Song Quyou, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes wide open, and smiled faintly.
"Are you feeling any better?"
Upon seeing Wang Xuan, Song Quyou stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Brother, after a night of recuperation, Junior Brother is much better."
"In the places you remember living, is there a saying that 'odd changes and even remains unchanged'?"
Song Quyou was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously said to the senior brother in front of him, "The sign indicates the quadrant."
As soon as he spoke, Song Quyou looked at Wang Xuan, wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say.
Wang Xuan smiled faintly and said softly, "What's wrong? Have you become mute since you've met someone from your hometown?"
Song Quyou chuckled faintly, somewhat incredulous, and then asked, "Brother, do you know what the foremost of the Four Great Classical Novels is?"
"What's so difficult about that? 'Jin Ping Mei'."
"When did you learn about these things, Senior Brother?"
"You already knew this before you saved yourself."
Song Quyou looked at his senior brother, who had sat down at the desk, and asked, "Senior brother, could you please explain what happened?"
"Back then, when you were kidnapped by Yang Danzi, someone notified me to go and rescue you."
Furthermore, the Crimson Sun Flowing Elixir that helped you awaken your wisdom was left behind by that person; the concealment of heavenly secrets before Danyangzi used you to obtain the elixir was also done by that person.
Song Quyou frowned slightly, and asked in confusion, "Senior brother, could you tell me why that person went to such great lengths?"
Wang Xuan pondered and shook his head, saying, "Senior brother doesn't know either. He only knows that it is because of him that we, who have awakened our innate wisdom, have been able to gather together."
"If that's the case, why are you only telling me this now, senior brother?"
"Because you didn't kneel in the Western Religion's illusion, you now have the ability to know everything."
As he spoke, Wang Xuan took out a glossy green leaf from his pocket and tossed it into Song Quyou's hand, saying, "After you infuse your Qi, you can talk to the villagers."
Looking at the misty green leaf in his hand, Song Quyou mobilized the Qi within his body and poured it into the leaf. The leaf instantly glowed and transformed into a flowing green, disappearing into his brow.
He felt a chill between his brows, and Song Quyou's consciousness soared to the highest heavens.
A moment later, the scene before my eyes changed abruptly.
He stood in a verdant valley, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, with lush green grass beneath his feet, the distant sound of a babbling brook, and an indescribable fragrance of grass and trees filling the air.
At that moment, a hand patted Song Quyou on the shoulder.
"Let's go, there are still quite a few people ahead."
Song Quyou turned around and saw that the owner of that hand was none other than his senior brother, Wang Xuan.
"Senior brother, over here..."
"This place is called 'Ruins,' a void realm opened up by that senior." Wang Xuan walked forward with his hands behind his back, the scabbard lightly tapping the emerald jade leaf at his waist, producing a crisp sound. "Anyone who awakens their innate wisdom can enter with this leaf."
Song Quyou followed behind, stepping across the green grass and through a thin mist.
In the distance, several figures could be vaguely seen, some sitting, some standing, gathered around a stone platform, playing Go and exchanging words.
"Haha! You lost, I got a perfect five in a row!"
The winners are overjoyed, while the losers slap their thighs and sigh.
……
As he approached, Song Quyou could finally see the people clearly. There was an old man in a Taoist robe, a martial artist in a tight-fitting outfit, a woman in simple white clothes, and even a familiar, handsome monk in a moon-white robe, holding a scripture and standing around the stone platform, shouting loudly.
"Huiming?"
Wang Xuan smiled faintly and said, "It was him. The Taiyin Mingxin Mirror on your body was given to you through him. He was also the one who told me that I was able to arrive in time last night."
Huiming spotted Song Quyou and Wang Xuan and beckoned, saying, "Old Wang, come and play a game. That old Taoist is a terrible chess player, utterly unacceptable."
"Master Huiming's mouth is still so sharp." Wang Xuan chuckled and took Song Quyou's wrist as they stepped forward.
Upon hearing this, the old Taoist priest flicked his whisk and glared at Huiming with annoyance: "You bald monk, I'm only giving you some leeway so you can relax here and avoid becoming obsessed with those Western heretics all day."
Monk Huiming wasn't annoyed. He rolled up the sleeves of his moon-white robe, gathered the chess pieces on the stone platform into a ball, and looked at the somewhat shocked Song Quyou, saying:
"Benefactor Song, are you surprised to see this humble monk?... Indeed, we were mortal enemies last night, yet today we are playing games together. Anyone would be surprised."
Wang Xuan said, "Junior brother, Huiming is a very brave man in our area. In order to infiltrate the Western Sect, he went to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha all by himself."
"Infiltrate the Western Religion?" Song Quyou turned to look at Wang Xuan, his eyes filled with shock.
Huiming placed the scripture in his hand on the stone platform and smiled:
"Benefactor Song, there's no need to look at me like that. I was raised by the temple masters since I was a child, and I became a monk myself because of what I saw and heard around me."
However, the Buddhism I practice is different from Western religions. Although both pursue the concept of non-birth and non-death, what I practice is to glimpse the pure nature of human beings, that is, "How unexpected that the self-nature is originally pure; how unexpected that the self-nature is originally neither born nor dies..." In short, it is Zen.
It's not like Western religions, which involve possession and reincarnation, treating all people like livestock to be herded into captivity.
"Master Huiming, could you please talk about the Western religion? I am somewhat confused about the difference between the Western religion and the Central Heaven Buddhism."
Huiming smiled and waved his hand, saying, "We've got a new member. Let's skip the game of Go today and have some tea. I'll talk to you about the Western Religion."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the stone platform transformed into clouds, which split into six mats that were laid flat on the ground, each with a steaming teacup on it.
Once everything was ready, everyone found their seats.
Wang Xuan spoke first, introducing everyone present one by one.
The old Taoist priest, known as "Xuanzhenzi," practiced at Qingyun Temple and was skilled in rituals for summoning gods and generals. The martial artist in tight-fitting clothes was named Lu Zhan; he was a soldier and could not say much. The woman in plain clothes was surnamed Lan, and her origins were mysterious. Wang Xuan only said that she cultivated in the southern border region and said nothing more.
Song Quyou bowed to the emperor.
The crowd greeted Song Quyou without any awkwardness, acting more like old friends reunited after a long separation, asking him about the details of his time in the Golden Lotus Sea the previous night.
Song Quyou answered them one by one, and the slight restraint in his heart gradually dissipated.
At this moment, Huiming picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and slowly said:
"The Buddhism of the West and the Buddhism of China originated from the same source, and their doctrines believe that everyone is a Buddha."
However, thousands of years ago, the Buddhist community in the West underwent a sudden change. Instead of promoting the idea that everyone should become a Buddha, they introduced the method of "reincarnation" which was based on accumulating merit. This sounded good, as merit was related to one's blessings in the next life and could guide people towards goodness.
But after it was released, it lost its original flavor.
Song Quyou frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Killing for merit and reward?"
"What Benefactor Song said is correct. It is indeed meritorious and virtuous to kill. Others cannot obtain this meritorious act, as most of it is taken by the Buddhist protectors."
Therefore, all that remains is the concept of wealth and virtue, leading to a situation where ordinary people revere nothing but gold and silver, buying incense and praying to Buddha in hopes of a good rebirth; while the Buddhist community uses incense offerings to rank Buddha and determine Buddha's power.
Song Quyou frowned slightly and looked at Huiming, asking, "What should poor families do?"
Huiming looked at Song Quyou and smiled faintly: "It's like sharing some of the calamities for those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, suffering and eating vegetarian food all your life, in exchange for a chance to be reborn into the animal realm or the hungry ghost realm, or perhaps to become a vessel to carry the reincarnation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva."
At this moment, Lu Zhan, a man in a short shirt standing to the side, spoke up, mocking:
"So those ordinary people, who live in poverty their whole lives, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, only deserve to be reborn as animals or hungry ghosts in the end? And the so-called Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, are they Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for one lifetime, and for lifetimes to lifetimes?"
Huiming did not answer, but simply lowered his head and took a sip of tea.
But the old Taoist Xuanzhenzi casually draped his whisk over his arm, his voice icy cold:
"Brother Lu, don't you understand? You still think this is practicing Buddhism? This is doing business. Incense money is money, and the suffering of the people is also money. Those Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Western Paradise are all shrewd accountants."
No, they're even more shrewd than accountants, only thinking about their future attainments in all their lifetimes.
Song Quyou's heart sank upon hearing this.
Xuanzhenzi switched the whisk to another hand, his tone becoming even colder:
"People scrimp and save to pay for a lamp's oil, hoping not to be reborn as animals in their next life."
Little did they know, the slots for reincarnation had already been priced—the wealthy were reborn as humans, the ordinary as animals, and those who were dirt poor didn't even qualify to be animals; they were sent directly to the realm of hungry ghosts to atone for the Buddhas' sins.
"Eliminating karma?"
"The rhetoric of the Western religion is quite simple," Huiming continued, the sleeves of his moon-white monk's robe fluttering gently in the wind.
"When there are calamities and tribulations in the mortal world, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cannot personally experience them. So who will suffer these calamities? Naturally, it is the ordinary people who believe in them. In Western religions, this is called 'substitute karma.' The believers suffer throughout their lives to eliminate the Buddha's karma. What they accumulate is not their own merit, but the Buddha's purity."
Song Quyou sighed softly, his teacup momentarily unable to stay still.
"What about Zhongtian Buddha?" Song Quyou looked up at Huiming. "The master just said that he practices Chan Buddhism, which is different from Western Buddhism. What about the other Buddhist disciples in China..."
Huiming set down his teacup. A blade of grass clung to the cuff of his pale monk's robe, but he didn't brush it off; he simply smiled.
"The Zhongtian Buddhist sect split after the aberration of the Western religion. One faction adheres to the Buddhist heart, upholding the ancient precept that 'all sentient beings are Buddhas,' not engaging in merit-making or commercial activities, but only cultivating their own minds. Unfortunately, their incense offerings have dwindled, and their sect is deserted. The other faction..."
Huiming paused, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes, "Although the other faction did not openly set prices like the Western Church, it has learned some superficial things and gradually lost its original intentions. It is already showing signs of merging with the Western Church."
However, during the previous dynasty, Emperor Wuzong destroyed Western Buddhism, effectively breaking its connection with the Central Plains. In recent years, Western Buddhism has infiltrated again, mixing with some despicable individuals.
Song Quyou looked at Huiming and continued, "What explanation do you have for what Master did in the dungeon last night?"
Huiming was slightly taken aback, then looked at Song Quyou and smiled gently, "What Benefactor Song is referring to is the matter of this humble monk drinking the blood of the Dragon King, isn't it?"
Song Quyou remained noncommittal.
As he spoke, Huiming put down the teacup in his hand, stretched out his right hand, and a delicate golden scale appeared in his hand.
"I don't want to drink the dragon blood, but I want to drink these scales. In the Western Religion, my Buddhist power cannot be pure; it must have some impurities. These scales are the reason why I can stay conscious."
The golden scales twitched slightly in his palm, like a lurking creature slowly exhaling.
"This set of scales comes from the remains of a guardian of the Western Dragon Clan who is skilled at devouring. Every time I use Buddhist power, I transform and release it through it, using it to absorb a trace of mottled blood energy, thus concealing my true nature."
Song Quyou spoke again, "I have another question. While a gathering of fellow townsmen is certainly a joy, surely that senior couldn't have just invited a few of us to catch up?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other and laughed.
Wang Xuan, the senior brother standing to the side, chimed in, "Junior brother, we gather here not just to drink tea and play chess, but to one day ascend to immortality."
"Junior brother, you may not know, but this world is full of wonders. You can use jade leaves to enter this 'Ruins' to exchange information, or you can use jade leaves to exchange items. Of course, the most important thing is to obtain the Gold-Seeking Technique."
Song Quyou's heart stirred, and he looked at his senior brother Wang Xuan.
"A method for finding gold?"
Wang Xuan smiled faintly: "As far as I know, there are three orthodox methods. The first is the ancient cultivator's method of cultivating one's nature by sensing the heavens and earth. This method requires the cultivator to have great affinity and is difficult for ordinary people to replicate. The second is the method of seeking gold, which is also a life-cultivation method perfected by later generations. This method requires the cultivator to have great fortune and luck. By following the steps, one can become an immortal and attain the Dao. The third is the method of preserving truth, which is also the method of the ancient Buddhist sect. Everything is illusory. If one finds that little bit of truth within oneself, one's true spirit will never perish."
"If that's the case, then what is Western religion?"
Huiming set down his teacup, pointed to the surrounding world, and said, "The Nourishing Nature Method cultivates one's connection with heaven and earth; the Seeking Gold Method cultivates one's own potential for creation; the Preserving Truth Method cultivates one's own realization of true reality. But the Western teachings cultivate..."
Huiming withdrew his hand, gently clenched his five fingers, then clenched them tightly, and said fiercely, "They are not practicing any of the three methods, but the fourth method they have deduced, the method of seizing and raising."
"The method of seizing captives?"
The old Taoist priest Xuanzhenzi, who was standing to the side, placed his whisk on his lap and said:
"The so-called reincarnation and merit-based practices of Western religions, to put it bluntly, are about stealing people's incense offerings, merits, luck, lifespan, and even the opportunity for reincarnation. The whole world is their cattle and sheep to graze, and once they are fat and strong, they are slaughtered and taken to the Buddhist kingdom."
Huiming took a sip of fragrant tea and looked at Song Quyou, saying:
"What I just described is 'seizing,' which is the foundation of their eternal life. As for 'keeping,' it means keeping the masses ignorant and fooling them, making them only know how to believe in and worship Buddha, unaware that there is another realm beyond the Buddha's. Let the people of the Western Paradise, generation after generation, be treated as cattle and sheep by these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas."