Chapter 11: All That Pale... (Part 1)

  "Is life really like chess? Is human fate really like a game of Go?"

  "No. The affairs of the world are a matter of the heart, and human life is also a matter of the heart. If one's heart becomes like a chess piece, then everything else will fall into place."

  ……

  Clouds, cloud colors, are drifting in the vast and endless sky, the sun or the moon will occasionally apply to it all the colors except white and black, the wind will spread all these colors at a mysterious height in the sky. White and black are the original colors of clouds, white clouds have only white water vapor, while black clouds have black raindrops.

  Long Wan raised his head to gaze at the clouds, and lowered his eyebrows in contemplation. His bald head was scorched by the sunlight, producing fine beads of sweat that glistened with a shiny luster.

  A little monk, who looked no more than fifteen years old, trotted up to him with a smile and said: "Master Ming, the Great Master wants me to ask you, what is your understanding of 'being aware but not deluded', 'being upright but not crooked', and 'being pure but not tainted'?"

  Long Bao gazed at the small grass in front of him, and on the tip of that small grass, a small ant was crawling. In a moment, it crawled to the back of the leaf, and then came out again. Another ant emerged from under this blade of grass, and the two ants met on the leaf, touching each other with their antennae before walking away separately. The tender green leaves swayed gently in the breeze. Long Bao replied softly: "Not being confused is enlightenment, not being evil is righteousness, not being tainted is purity."

  "Hehe, okay, we'll respond to Master like this later," the little monk chuckled and squatted in front of Long Bao, magically producing a steamed bun and a bottle of orange-yellow tea from behind his back. He held them up in front of Long Bao's eyes and said, "Younger brother, here, something for you to eat. Master said that even when sitting in meditation, one still needs to eat. Younger brother, one can't sit in meditation on an empty stomach."

  Long Bao took a look at the steamed bun with several black marks left by Xiao He Shang's claws, and took it over. However, he didn't eat it immediately, but instead placed it in his hand to examine it carefully. Xiao He Shang leaned against Long Bao's body, twisted open the cap of the mineral water bottle, looked back at him, and said in a low voice: "Shi Di, that Shi Wei is here again. Just now, he even hit my head and said that my mother, Little Guang Tou, was really fun. He also warned me not to be your Shifu, but instead be your Shi Di. I told him before, I entered the temple earlier than you, and being your Shifu was arranged by Master. Is that right?"

  Long Bao held the steamed buns as if he was holding a heart, but this heart was filled with food to satisfy his hunger. Long Bao whispered to Little Monk: "Brother, in a few days I'll be leaving the mountain and won't be able to eat the steamed buns you bring me. You know, they're going to send me back to that place I don't want to go, where I'll get lost in worldly affairs, corrupt myself, and pollute myself."

  The little monk's face suddenly turned gloomy, and he said in a low voice: "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned Shi Wei again, it made you unhappy." He raised his head again, looking puzzled, and asked: "But, younger brother, why is it that everything I read in books and newspapers says you're such a successful person, and that you're a role model for young people to learn from? Why do you want to come here and live such a hard life? Why is it that what everyone else strives for is what you fear and try to escape?"

  Long Bao was silent for a moment, then started eating the steamed buns, and after drinking more than half a bottle of tea, he finally replied to Little Monk: "Little brother, how long have you known me?"

  The little monk replied, "Yes, it's been exactly three years today."

  The monk turned his head to look at Little Monk, who continued: "In the past three years, you have come to the temple six times. Each time, you only stayed for half a month or a month before leaving. The Second Master said that your heart is not pure and can only practice secularly. He also said that you are actually not destined to be with Buddhism."

  Yes, indeed my heart is not pure and it seems that I have no affinity with Buddhism. I remember three years ago when I met a young monk and his master...

  That was on September 24, 2007, after the kidnapping case had been successfully resolved. Long Biao brought Wenli's ashes back to her hometown and handed them over to her parents. He was extremely depressed and sat in a helicopter, ordering the pilot to fly west. At the border of Hunan and Guizhou, he saw a temple on top of a beautiful mountain peak. The temple was not big, standing at the top of the mountain, surrounded by pine trees and bamboo, with winding paths leading down to the foot of the mountain. There were several village courtyards at the foot of the mountain, and from the courtyards, there was a gravel road that extended into the distance. He suddenly had the idea to go take a look at this temple himself.

  He ordered the helicopter to land at the foot of the mountain, and then he walked step by step from the foot of the mountain along this winding mountain road towards the temple. The mountain road was steep in some sections and gentle in others, with shrubs and wild grass growing on both sides. He walked ahead, while Meng Yuan and Shi Wei followed behind him, not daring to disturb or block him, because everyone knew that he was deeply blaming himself for Wen Li's death.

  Along the way, Longbiao met two incense guests and several local villagers who were carrying hoes and baskets down from the mountain. Longbiao ignored them and didn't respond to their curious inquiries until he met a young monk on the stone steps below the temple. The young monk was actually born with physical disabilities, his right foot severely deformed, pigeon chest, and left eye blind. He was leaning on a wooden stick and struggling to climb the stairs. When he saw Longbiao walking over, he asked, "Uncle, are you here to burn incense?" Longbiao didn't respond, but after he walked past, the young monk looked at Longbiao's sweaty appearance and said, "Uncle, this mountain is too steep, you must be tired from walking. Come, sit on this stone and rest for a while." The young monk wiped his hand on a bluestone and showed Longbiao an extremely friendly smile.

  After walking down this long mountain road in one breath, the scenery of the wild outdoors entered his eyes, and he felt a bit better. At the same time, he was also infected by the friendliness of this little monk, and even became interested in why he had become a monk at such a young age. He really sat down next to the little monk.

  The little monk took out a pear from his pocket, wiped it back and forth on his clothes, and handed it to Longbiao, saying: "Uncle, are you thirsty? Here."

  "Go ahead and eat," Longbiao lit a cigarette, he saw Meng Yuan and the others standing still about five or six meters away from him, then looked away and said to Xiaohe, "Uncle isn't eating, you go ahead."

  The little monk was very enthusiastic, and he stuffed the dragon fruit into his uncle's hands, saying: "Uncle, there are many more at the back of our temple. You can eat them, I have some in my room too. It's just that Master doesn't let me pick them, saying they're not ripe yet, only allowing me to pick up those that have fallen on the ground."

  The dragon scale was attached to his hand, and he suddenly discovered that the little monk's right hand was also slightly deformed, with several fingers stiffly hooked together, unable to stretch out freely. He touched the little monk's bald head and said, "Little brother, how old are you?"

  Xiao He Shang said: "Thirteen, Master said I am thirteen this year."

  "Thirteen? How did you become a monk at the age of thirteen?" Long Bao saw the tonsure on the little monk's head, "Where are you from? Did your parents agree to let you become a monk?"

  As soon as he said this, the little monk immediately retracted his smile and his expression turned gloomy. After a while, he said: "I don't know where I'm from either. Master said that seven years ago, my father came to him asking him to take me in as a monk. Master didn't tell me who my parents were, but I know they didn't want me." The little monk had a primary school composition book in his hand and was flipping through it with a worried look on his face, muttering to himself: "Uncle, do you know? I'm sick, Master cured me. Master also said that I have a connection with the Buddha and told me to be at peace and worship the Buddha. Actually, I don't want to be a monk, I want to go to school like other kids, but I know if I went to school, my classmates would laugh at me. Uncle, what else can I do besides being a monk? Is that right?"

  Long Bo was deeply moved by Xiao He Shang's words. Without saying another word, he hugged Xiao He Shang and headed towards the temple.

  This was a small temple, with only five monks in total, including the young ones. There was one very old monk, two who were around fifty or sixty years old, and a thin young man in his thirties sweeping the floor. The oldest one was said to be over eighty years old. At this time, it was already late afternoon, and there were no more visitors in the temple. The three older monks were sitting on stools around the courtyard, chatting about something. Long Bo carried the little monk directly to their front and said: "This child is very pitiful, his illness can be cured, I will take him away and guarantee that he will be cured."

  A fifty-year-old monk looked at Long Biao and the crowd of people rushing in, and cautiously asked: "May I ask who you are? What do you want to do here? This is a temple, it's a protected unit of the county government. You're not from this place, if you're not here to burn incense and worship Buddha, please leave!"

  He reached out to grab the little monk from Long Bo's arms, but the little monk quickly said to him: "Master Shu, Master Shu, they are incense guests, good people, not bad people." He then whispered to Long Bo: "Uncle, put me down."

  The young monk who was sweeping the floor apparently saw that Long Po was not an ordinary person, so he put down his broom and walked over to him. He bowed his head and said: "Sir, what do you want from our temple? Has my junior brother offended you in any way? If so, please forgive him for being a child!"

  Long Bao was certain that these people were the worshipers of the wooden puppet, and they were so stubborn that even their speech was strange. He patiently explained: "This child's illness can be cured through advanced medical technology, I will take care of all the medical expenses, if you don't trust me, just send someone to go with me. The child is so pitiful, having a healthy body is the most basic requirement for being human."

  Shi Wei saw Long Bao's intention to save the child and came forward to persuade, the young man in his thirties changed his attitude immediately after knowing that Long Bao was the one who came by helicopter, but the old monk in his fifties still had deep doubts about Long Bao and refused to let him take the child away.

  Long Wan originally had a bad mood, and now he couldn't bear the anger in his chest anymore. He pointed at the Bodhisattva in the temple with his hand and said angrily: "What are these? Do you really think they are all-powerful gods? They're just wood and clay, painted with some colors to look good, and you're so scared to worship them? If it's really a god, why didn't it make this child normal? If it's really a god, why did it let this child suffer so much? You old man, you've lived for so long and became a monk, but why do you have to make this child stay with you and guard these stupid wood and clay?"

  "Amithaba Buddha, Amithaba Buddha, I'm guilty, I'm guilty! Sir, the Buddha and all the gods in heaven, how can you be so disrespectful? If the Buddha were to punish us, who could bear it? Quickly go burn incense and kowtow, beg the Bodhisattva for forgiveness, Amithaba Buddha..."

  "Are there gods in this world? Are there Buddhas? Look at you, scared to death. I'm waiting for these damn gods to strike me with lightning. What kind of curse will they put on me next?! It's only you fools who believe in such nonsense! Dragonscale was clearly venting the anger and discontent that had been building up inside him for a long time. He couldn't explain everything he had experienced, and seeing this scene made him even more resentful of these so-called gods. He wanted to severely question the clay Buddhas in the temple about all his doubts. "Gods? Buddhas? What kind of ghosts?! It's only because of fear that such deceitful things exist!"

  That sixty-year-old monk had been smiling and watching Long Bao, after hearing what he said, he opened his mouth to speak: "This donor, you have your reasons for saying so, but you are also wrong. Buddha is Buddha, gods are gods, fear is fear, deception is deception, things are not things, not seen by the eyes, but thought in the heart, all depends on one's own nature."

  "Haha, was I wrong?" Long Bao glared at the old monk, "In this world, there are countless religions and gods, and countless people worshiping them. If humans never died, if there were no suffering, if there were no injustices between humans, how could so many religions and gods have emerged in thousands of years of human history? It's fear, it's the fear of humanity that created gods! All gods are just products of imagination! Haha, even the gods you worship have wars, punishing evil and promoting good. You monks are just using the ordinary people's fear of gods to swindle them out of their money and goods to support your own livelihoods!"

  "Amitabha!" The old monk's deep and resonant Buddhist chant, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, said with hands clasped together, "This donor, you are right, but still wrong. As you said, every era, every different group of people, will have their own gods. However, for them, gods are also a need, a spirit that they must have. But gods are not really gods. Just like the Buddha in this temple, it is the Buddha, yet not the Buddha. The Buddha was human, yet not human. The Buddha has life, yet the Buddha does not have life." He walked to the front of the large wooden fish, picked up the mallet and struck it once, then smiled and struck his own head with it, turned around and asked Long Bao, "The mallet is for striking the wooden fish, how many times did I strike just now?"

  Longwang didn't understand Laohe's behavior and replied: "You hit both the wooden fish and yourself."

  The old monk showed his yellow teeth and said, "No, I only hit the wooden fish, I also only hit myself. I hit the wooden fish twice, and I also hit myself twice. I even hit Buddha twice, and I hit you two more times. So how many times do you think I hit in total?"

  Long Wan was stunned, stunned by the old monk's mysterious Zen language. He walked to the front of the wooden fish, picked up the mallet and struck it once on the wooden fish, then on his own head, and again on his chest. Holding the mallet stiffly, he stood there, feeling that the tall wooden puppets in front of him were staring at him with mysterious eyes. After a long time, he finally said numbly: "I understand now, you're not hitting the wooden fish, nor are you hitting yourself, you're hitting your heart. The sound of the hit is the same wherever it hits, and when heard by the ear, it's also heard in the heart. I was wrong."

  The old monk chuckled and walked up to him, taking the wooden hammer and putting it back in the mouth of the wooden fish. He then grabbed Long Bao's hand and pinched it, before saying: "The wooden puppet is a Buddha for the pilgrims, a deity for the pilgrims. Child, the Buddha is wisdom, is enlightenment. The so-called seeking of deities and Buddhas is merely the pursuit of the pilgrims. The true meaning of the Buddha has three types of wisdom: first, all-encompassing wisdom, which means correctly understanding the nature of the universe; second, dharma wisdom, which means clearly understanding the wisdom of the universe's phenomena; third, all-knowledge wisdom, which means having a complete and perfect understanding of the truth of the universe and human life. Child, this is what the true Buddha is, not the one you see before your eyes right now."

  A bright light suddenly flashed in Long Bao's mind, wisdom? What is wisdom? My grandfather said that wisdom is the heart, everything is the heart. Now hearing this old monk say that Buddha is also the heart, I have always had my own wisdom from head to toe, so why do I still doubt that I don't have a heart? I have wisdom and therefore I have a heart. Because my wisdom has changed, my heart has changed too. And because my heart has changed, it's no longer the same as before. My heart has always been there, only I lost its original appearance!

  At this time, the old monk with a long white beard in his eighties whispered "Amitabha! Goodness! Goodness!", his eyes seemed to be half-closed, his lips moved slightly, but he could produce a clear voice that everyone present could hear: "All sentient beings have Buddha nature, all sentient beings are originally Buddhas, all sentient beings have the wisdom and virtues of Tathagata, all sentient beings are originally complete. Donor, sentient beings have appearances, all sentient beings also have the appearance of sentient beings, sentient beings enter into appearances, sentient beings also come out of appearances, what is the meaning of all sentient beings' appearances? What is awareness? What is enlightenment? Is it free or not free? Is it emotional or non-emotional? And even more so, it's not non-emotional.

  Long Wanru was like a drunkard, walking to the oldest monk and bowing down, asking respectfully: "I understand, the appearance of all beings is the emotions of all beings, understanding emotions leads to enlightenment, and also ends emotions."

  The old monk smiled and said, "Awareness is not awareness, yet it is awareness. Original awareness exists, unawareness does not exist. Buddha-nature is correct knowledge. Although you have sudden enlightenment, your understanding is also wrong. Donor, your connection with the Buddha is not shallow."

  Long Wan faced the old monk's profound Zen language, feeling like an ignorant child, he couldn't understand the true meaning of these Zen languages at all, and suddenly became awkward, wooden, and didn't know how to answer, staring blankly at the old monk's deep eyes.

  Shi Wei suddenly remembered that he had discussed with Long Bao about 4 or 5 years ago, suggesting that he become a monk to break the curse. Seeing Long Bao's current state of infatuation, he was frightened and hastily pulled him forward, saying in a low voice: "Old Six, don't listen to these old monks' nonsense, what Buddha's fate, isn't it just wanting you to become a monk? You absolutely cannot become a monk!"

  Long Bao didn't react to Shi Wei's actions and words at all, but instead muttered to himself: "Buddha is wisdom, wisdom is Buddha, entering the empty gate yet still in the red dust, understanding it also means enlightenment."

  Shi Wei was furious, and said to the old monks in a rude tone: "I'm telling you, you old and young monks, what kind of heart do you have? You actually want to cheat him into becoming a monk? How can he possibly become a monk with all his worldly affairs? Reciting 'Amitabha'?"

  That old monk in his sixties rotated the Buddhist beads in his hand and said to Shi Wei, "Benefactor, having a Buddhist connection is not necessarily about becoming a monk. Becoming a monk does not necessarily mean one has a Buddhist connection either. The supreme Bodhi is originally in the heart; the connection of the heart is the Buddhist connection, no need to become a monk."

  "Hey, that's it, that's about right," Shi Wei said with a smile, as long as Longbiao didn't become a monk everything would be fine. "Chairman Long, this old monk makes sense, worshiping Buddha doesn't require becoming a monk, don't those people from Hong Kong and Guangdong do it every day to pray for wealth and safety? If you think this thing is worth worshiping, we can also set up a few Buddhas in the office meeting room, burn incense and paper every day, what do you say?"

  Long Bao didn't respond to Shi Wei's joke, but instead bowed his head respectfully and asked the two old monks: "Master, I have fallen into the mortal world for over 20 years, done many wrong things, and committed many sins. The Buddha's family often says that if you put down your butcher knife, you can become a Buddha on the spot. Is it true that as long as I want to repent, my karma will be eliminated? Can I then go seek the Buddha with a clear conscience?"

  That old monk in his eighties softly chanted a phrase "Amitabha Buddha", while the other old monk in his sixties opened his eyes and glanced at Long Bo and Shi Wei, saying: "All sentient beings have the wisdom and virtues of Tathagata, but they cannot attain it due to delusions and attachments. Donor, one good word is already a Buddha. Sentient beings cannot attain the wisdom of Tathagata because there are obstacles, and these obstacles come in two kinds: afflictive obstacles and cognitive obstacles. Delusions are the root disease of cognitive obstacles, while attachment is the root disease of afflictive obstacles. Not only can we hardly eliminate these two obstacles, but we also create them every day. Without destroying these two obstacles, one cannot attain the self-liberated Buddha nature. Repenting for karmic obstacles is just a basic principle of Buddhism, donor, you should take care of yourself, well done!"

  Long Wan felt that the old monk's words were too vague and didn't directly answer his question, so he furrowed his brow again. At this time, the oldest monk spoke up: "Ignorance, action, consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, feeling, craving, grasping, existence, birth, and death are the twelve causes of delusion that confuse people. All evil deeds arise from these, and will be eliminated by breaking free from them. Child, you always talk about your mistakes and sins, why don't you speak about the causes of this life?"

  The little monk hastily brought a stool for Long Bao to sit on, and the young monk also poured tea for everyone.

  At this moment, it is the sunset scene, clouds are drifting slowly in the sky above the temple, colorful cloud shadows are flowing in the wind, and the wind has filled the mountain with sound for the temple. The sound of the mountain is actually from the trees in the mountains expressing their singing under the sunset with the help of the wind. Long Bao's eyes were fixed on the brick seam at his feet, but he didn't realize it was a brick seam. He just vaguely recognized that there were footprints left by incense guests here, as well as marks of ants and small grass living, but the most obvious ones were the marks washed away by rainwater over the years.

  ……

  Xiao He Shang gently pulled the dragon's scales and said, "Ming Wu Shidi, you've entered meditation again? I really envy you, not being disturbed by external phenomena, saying enter meditation then entering meditation, I just can't do it, no wonder Second Master always scolds me for being stupid."

  Long Bao suddenly came to his senses, smiled at Little Monk and said: "Little brother, this is not meditation, this is called being distracted, hehe."

  The little monk scratched his head awkwardly and said, "So you also get distracted? I thought it was just me. I wonder if Master and the ancestors also get distracted?"

  The dragon stirred its lower limbs, stood up from the meditation posture, grabbed the little monk's hand, pointed at the mountain peak in front of him and the flowing clouds in the sky, and said: "Look at this mountain and these clouds moving yet not moving. Do you think they are just like us when we sit in Zen?"

  The little monk was puzzled and said: "The mountain is not moving, only the clouds are moving. They are not human beings and will not think about problems, how can they sit in meditation?"

  "Zen is movement, and it's also stillness. Zen is trance, and it's also not trance. Meditation is meditation, sitting zen is sitting zen, trance is trance," Long Bao's forehead shone brightly in the sunlight. "The masters and ancestors sat in zen, they meditated, naturally they would also enter a trance, but sometimes their spirits roamed the four seas, sometimes they wandered within the five elements, and sometimes they even wandered through the vicissitudes of life past and present. Mountains are zen, clouds are also zen, now tell me, which one is the master, which one is the cloud?"

  "Uh-huh, I see. They're all different. Master is like the grand entrance of a temple, while our ancestors are like the temple itself." The little monk grasped Long Bao's thick hands warmly, his eyes filled with adoration as he stared at Long Bao's face and said, "I think you're like the clouds in the sky, or that mountain. Being with you makes me really happy. If Master didn't forbid me from disturbing you, I'd want to stay by your side every day."

  "Haha, I'm not worthy of being compared to you as a little brother. As long as I can become a stone or a small tree on this mountain, that's enough," Long Bao pinched the dirty hand of Xiao He Shang and laughed twice, saying: "Monks don't speak nonsense, tell me honestly, are you thinking of following me down to the mortal world again?"

  The little monk's face turned red, but he looked at Longbiao with extremely eager eyes, hoping that Longbiao would agree. Just as Longbiao was about to speak, he suddenly felt a mosquito on his neck, and after lightly brushing it away with his hand, he said: "Alright, I'll finish telling you the story from last time tonight. If you still want to go, then come with me. However, this time when I return, I will be back again in at most two months."

  "Really? Really?" Little monk jumped up and down excitedly, "That's great, that's great!"

  Long Wan fell silent, all those memories, all those past events, all that had happened were etched in his mind and could not be erased. Was it really necessary to end everything like this? Was the enlightenment gained from today's meditation just this? Could such an understanding also be called Zen?

  The direction of the temple came from Master Ming Sheng's seven evening drums, which echoed lowly in the mountains and forests. Master Ming Sheng had been imprisoned for seven years, and Long Bao knew that every time he beat the evening drum, he was extremely focused, so focused that even Master Fu would sometimes chant "Amitabha".

  Master Ming's drumming of the evening drum always scares away a few small birds perched on the branches in front of the temple gate, but those small birds fly back after circling in the sky for a while and continue to jump on the tree branches, chirping their unique sounds.

  When Long Bao returned to the temple from that secret meditation place, Shi Wei hurriedly went up with a smile all over his face and said with a pretended deep tone: "Master Ming, I pay my respects!"

  Shi Wei, nearly thirty years old, combed his hair into a small parting, with sparse whiskers growing on the edges of his lips. He wore a pair of purely decorative gold-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, giving off an air of high-end corporate management. In contrast, Long Bao's attire was completely different - he wore earth-toned monk's robes, had a shaved head, and wore cloth shoes on his feet, exuding an aura of a mountain hermit. Long Bao smiled at Shi Wei, slightly clasped his hands together in greeting, and asked, "You've arrived?"

  Shi Wei saw that Long Bao's attitude wasn't very enthusiastic, so he chuckled a few times, stretched out his hand to rub the little monk's bald head and said: "Little Master, you're really capable! You went and brought my brother back! Haha, later I'll reward you with an electronic game console!"

  The little monk's eyes suddenly lit up, but he shrank back and looked at the dragon scale and the mud Bodhisattva in the temple hall, forcing himself to say: "Thank you for your kindness, benefactor. I dare not accept it. The Buddha and my master will blame me."

  Shi Wei heard the voice and was about to speak sarcastically, "What kind of monk is this?" But Long Bao turned his head and said to him, "Let's go, I'll go cook vegetarian food for you."

  Shi Wei saw Long Bo about to enter the temple gate, and hastily pulled him back, lowering his voice: "Lao Liu, oh, Master, I have to tell you, Jing Er followed this time, and is now discussing Zen with your masters!"

  "Master Juekong, who are you? Is it the 'Jue' or the 'Kong' that is you?" Jing'er didn't look at Long Bao as he walked in. She sat on a grass cushion in front of the Buddha statue, her slender body motionless, her hands naturally placed on her legs. Across from her sat Master Fu and Shizu. Jing'er continued, "If you say 'Master' is empty, 'Juekong' is also empty, and even if you say you yourself are empty, then why do you still want to give yourself a Dharma name? Why do you still need this temple?"

  That old monk with the Dharma name of Juekong, who was over eighty years old, was Longpo's master. He smiled but did not speak, instead shifting his gaze to Longpo's great master. The great master had the Dharma name of Jingde and was an old monk in his sixties; it was under him that Longpo had been accepted as a disciple. Master Jingde's fingers moved ceaselessly over his rosary as he murmured "Amitabha" in a low voice, then replied slowly: "He is Master Juekong, the Master Juekong in our eyes - this is not empty; yet he is not Master Juekong, he is himself. Master Juekong is also empty. Female benefactor, what we call Dharma names and temples are merely for the benefit of cultivation, for spreading the teachings, and for upholding precepts."

  The young girl smiled lightly, her crisp and tender voice retorting: "Outwardly separated, inwardly unmoved, not taking things to heart, like a still pond. Actually, my question was just to test the two masters' Zen skills, my words were just to see if the two masters would be affected by my ordinary person's sarcastic remarks. It seems that Master Jingde is still far from reaching the 'stillness' realm in his Zen practice. The three flavors of Buddhism are not something you can attain just by talking about it. On the other hand, Master Juekong can stop and observe, his mind untroubled, unlike Master Jingde who couldn't calm down, and had to keep counting his prayer beads nonstop. This young woman is impressed."

  Jingde hastily chanted "Amitabha Buddha", and at this time, Master Juekong nodded slightly to Longbo. Longbo understood, and after making a gesture of respect to the two old monks, he also sat down cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

  Jing'er today made it clear that she was going to challenge the monks, including Long Bo, and was worried that Long Bo would become too obsessed with Buddhist teachings and really go out of the house. She smiled sweetly, staring at Long Bo, but her tone was directed at the old monks: "The Buddha's teachings are not complicated, they are about seeing one's nature, so nature is the Buddha's teachings, but nature is completely innate, isn't the Buddha's teachings also innate? If the Buddha's teachings are innate, then everyone can go and understand them, and everyone can understand them, why do the Buddha's teachings have contradictions and unexplainable loopholes everywhere? The Buddha said that all things have a Buddhist nature, all things are born and die without end, and compete with each other, since the beginning of this world, countless species have become extinct, so how does the Buddha explain this? Is this also what the Buddha meant by "nature"? One nature cannot encompass the universe and all living things, all beings have their own natures, why did the Buddha only preach to humans? The Buddha said that all living beings are equal, but why do only humans worship the Buddha?

  Before they could react, Jing'er said: "I know that different species have different wisdom and nature, so the Buddha is also different. The Buddha of humans and animals are different. Master, isn't this the reason?"

  Master Jue Kong nodded slightly, while Master Jing De continued to turn his prayer beads. Long Bao was pondering Jing Er's words. Jing Er had devoted herself to studying Buddhist teachings over the past few years for today's sake. She analyzed Buddhism from a philosophical perspective, rather than viewing it from her own position like Long Bao did.

  "People have doubts about wisdom, are confused about their own nature, and seek answers from the Buddha. The Buddha is wisdom, with different levels of attainment. The Buddha's teachings are boundless, and the highest state of enlightenment is also the highest wisdom, which is great wisdom and awareness. This great wisdom and awareness encompasses all things in the infinite universe, and I acknowledge this.

  She continued to question them: "I ask you again, when Shakyamuni went out into the world through the four gates, he saw the four sights of human suffering and renounced his family to attain enlightenment, achieving great wisdom. This means that at that time, the Buddha's wisdom could only be obtained from the things he was aware of and knew.

  Now, over two thousand years have passed, and the things that can be known and perceived have undergone tremendous changes. Shakyamuni must not have foreseen this. Doesn't it follow that his wisdom also did not attain the highest level?"

  Master Juekong's long whiskers moved without wind, and the dragon scale didn't react. But Master Jingde suddenly chanted loudly "Amitabha Buddha", which made Shi Wei secretly laugh: This old monk only knows Amitabha Buddha besides Amitabha Buddha, damn it.

  "Alright, let's say the Buddha's teachings are infinite and boundless, the objects of perception have no boundaries, and the wisdom that perceives them also has no boundaries. This infinite and boundless wisdom is our inherent nature, which cannot be fully comprehended or attained. The Buddha also said that the knower, the known, and the act of knowing are not two separate things, but one. Our innate wisdom and its objects are also not two, but one. This wisdom is embedded in the nature of all phenomena. However, when I look at it from different angles, this wisdom seems to be nothing more than a comforting self-consolation that brings peace of mind. The Buddha spoke of saving sentient beings, but it seems to me that he was actually talking about saving himself. He sat in meditation with Buddhist scriptures, reminiscing about past events, reciting the sufferings of life and death, and finding solace in the empty logic of impermanence, selflessness, nirvana, and karmic retribution. It's all just a way to comfort oneself, while thinking one has attained true understanding. Take Master Ming Niao for example..."

  Jing'er aimed the spearhead at Long Bao, but she didn't look at him. "At that time, he requested to become a monk, but you didn't agree and only accepted him as a nominal disciple. For three years, he spent several months each year coming here, putting aside all his worldly affairs, and meditating in a state of semi-monk, semi-layman. What was he actually doing? And what was the point of this? To put it bluntly, wasn't it just to avoid the mundane world, seek mental clarity, find an excuse for himself, and even think that he was pursuing wisdom?"

  Jing'er stood up, took the wooden hammer, walked to the front of the three, and said: "All things and all phenomena are categorized into one hundred types. Sitting, standing, walking, and thinking are called the conditioned dharma. The Buddha said 'all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, like dew and lightning, should be viewed as such'. All appearances are false, all material things are illusory, and the Buddha also said to remember not to indulge in fantasies, not to cling to them. Well, now this little woman is being presumptuous in front of you three masters!"

  Jing'er swung the wooden hammer without hesitation and hit a blow on Long Bao's head, saying: "This bald head contains all the phenomena from ancient times to the present, these phenomena are all empty, so I am also hitting emptiness!"

  Shi Wei stared blankly at Long Bao's bald head being knocked repeatedly by Jing Er, while Long Bao looked foolishly at Jing Er. Jing Er walked up to Master Jing De and also knocked his bald head once, saying in a serious tone: "Knocking is not knocking, not knocking is knocking, it is I who knocks, yet it is not I who knocks, now it exists, now it does not exist, everything exists, everything does not exist."

  Jing'er walked up to Master Juekong again and slapped the bald head of the over 80-year-old master, saying: "The four great elements are empty, the five aggregates do not exist. The heavens are vast, the body is all eyes. Obtaining sound, obtaining conditions, obtaining wisdom, no questions asked, asking without answering, answering without being asked. Master Juekong, the sound on your head and that of Masters Jingyuan and Mingwu are different. I think the ranks of your Buddhas are also different. Tomorrow, you'll have to endure a few more slaps."

  Then she walked to the incense table in front of the Buddha statue, reached out and grabbed a handful of ash from the incense burner, letting the ash fall from her fingers as she muttered to herself: "Nirvana's four virtues, permanence, joy, self, purity, are eternal and unchanging, unborn and undying, without beginning or end. All sentient beings suffer due to ignorance, and because of suffering they create karma, and because of karma they receive bitter fruit, and because of the bitter fruit they become even more troubled. Thus they continue to create karma, continue to receive bitter fruit, forever falling into the cycle of delusion - ignorance - trouble - karma - bitter fruit - trouble - karma - bitter fruit... In this endless cycle. Nirvana says purity is to forever leave behind delusion, cut off trouble, and the root of this trouble is the worldly affairs and people of this mundane world...

  Jing'er turned around and walked to Longbiao's side, knelt down beside his knees, placed the wooden mallet in his hand, and stroked his face with trembling hands. Tears flowed uncontrollably as she spoke softly: "For twenty-five years, you've been through everything, and everything has been through you. You cherished others, and they cherished you. You've seen all sorts of things in this world, done everything, experienced everything. You've cried, laughed, rejoiced, mourned, and raged. You've felt helpless, pursued, hated, but also loved. You've endured countless hardships and injustices. Why, why now that everything is over, do you want to abandon everything and truly retreat into the void? Is this twenty-five years of life only worth one answer? Longbiao, tell me, why?"

  Yes, that's why I would come up with such an answer. My loved ones have left me and disappeared from their lives, my enemies have also left me and gone to where they should go, but my friends and brothers are still loving me, my lover is still thinking of me and loving me, and the huge group is still waiting for me to manage it. Why do I want to throw everything away and seek spiritual answers in these meditations? Am I trying to prove something or am I escaping from something? Am I pursuing or am I fearing? I pursue, perhaps I'm just pursuing a way to alleviate my own troubles? I fear, am I afraid of life or afraid of death? Or am I purely afraid of survival? Afraid of the problems in survival?

  Jing'er must have discovered her own decision to settle all matters after returning this time through her usual conversations with herself, and from then on, she would seek enlightenment and ask for the Tao in these deep mountains and forests alone. How could she have guessed my thoughts?

  ……

  Long Bao's eyes revealed an extremely complex expression, Jing Er's trembling hands tightly grasped Long Bao's hand, and she said in a choked voice: "I know, actually you're still worried about the curse, in your heart you're still thinking of finding an answer to break the curse from Buddhism, you think the curse is actually cursing your emotions, cursing you can only be a lone star in the sky, in your eyes, the curse is reincarnation, to escape reincarnation, one must cut off the root of reincarnation, cut off your love, your emotions, cut off everything you care about. But Long, Buddhism is great compassion and mercy, not heartlessness, compassionate wisdom is the ultimate good and emotion..."

  Is Jing Er's words correct? Is the object of the curse attacking everything, and is she now obsessed with Zen in a way that is also a curse, attacking herself in a new way? She has always said verbally that there is no divine spirit, but deep down in her subconscious mind, she firmly believes that divine spirits exist, and even wants to communicate with them through the Buddhist teachings of compassion, wanting to understand why the curse would single out the Long family. Indeed, the curse is like a cycle, continuing on her own family, and she just wants to end this cycle. But can love, all these emotions, really be severed like that?

  Long Bao was deeply shaken! Since learning of Wen Li's death, he had been blaming himself for not listening to Jing Er and Jiao Si Wei's warnings. He regretted his stubborn insistence on executing the plan that exposed their tracks, which led to Wen Li's death due to the delay in paying the ransom. He remembered that after the ship carrying Wen Li's body and Ouyang was discovered by the rescue team and tracked down to its hiding place, he used surveillance and various clues to finally uncover the mastermind behind the kidnapping. In a fit of rage, he launched a crazy revenge, forcing the kidnappers to reveal their criminal history before killing some of them, crippling others for life, and sending the rest to prison. After doing all this, faced with the many tragic lives he had caused, he began to regret it, especially when he learned that Ouyang was actually a pawn arranged by the kidnappers, and the boy she gave birth to was not his own. He was even more remorseful, directing all his anger at Jing Er, who was forced to leave him again. However, Jing Er's departure left him completely heartbroken.

  He felt that his emotions had been cursed with endless variables throughout his life, but these variables never turned in a good direction, always bringing him endless troubles and heartbreaking sorrow. Thus, when he met the two monks by chance, it was only natural for him to seek solace from Buddha.

  ……

  Her eyes, brimming with tears, gazed at him intently, as if pleading: "Birth, aging, illness, death, resentment and hatred, seeking but not obtaining, love and separation - these are the sufferings spoken of in Buddhist teachings. The Buddha said that the worldly life is inherently suffering, and human existence is a collection of all sorts of hardships. But, Dragon, birth, aging, illness, and death are natural laws, aren't they? Resentment and hatred, love and separation, seeking but not obtaining, the five aggregates of suffering - aren't these all caused by ourselves?"

  Longwang's heart was beating rapidly, and he said with great difficulty: "The 84,000 troubles are nothing but the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. Human life is just a boundless sea of suffering, and the root of this suffering lies in my own self-consciousness. If I eliminate these sufferings, I will also be free from curses, and the world will become much more peaceful. I was born with the appearance of all living beings, and I have experienced the sufferings of all living beings. Only by asking Chan can I attain purification of my self. You know, I am very dirty, I have made too many mistakes!"

  "No, you're just trying to use Zen to turn everything you fear upside down and then find theoretical excuses for what you've done. You're covering up your own flaws and mistakes! You're not facing the truth at all!" Jing'er grasped Longbiao's hand and shook it hard twice. "I know you're suffering, I know you're under unimaginable mental pressure. You want to use the illusion of Nirvana to dissolve your pain, you want to use idealistic Zen meditation to seek new spiritual meaning. You're wrong, Long, you're wrong! You think everything is just a dream or an illusion, but you don't even know what true 'Prajna wisdom' is!"

  The purpose of worldly and otherworldly meditation is to seek the wisdom of prajna. The goal is to focus one's mind without distraction, thereby realizing that all phenomena are as they truly are. Prajna-paramita refers to this wisdom of prajna, which is the knowledge and insight gained when one realizes the true nature of reality. This is also known as Buddha-knowledge, Buddha-vision, correct knowledge, and correct vision. Longchenpa believes that by regarding all conditioned phenomena as illusory and dreamlike, he can gain insight into their true nature from within this perspective.

  "Alas, venerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with great compassion and no attachments, how can the wisdom of prajna be separated from daily life? Can it be isolated from the connections between all things and matters? Can it be isolated from social relationships between people? Chan says it is empty, but in reality, it is not empty; rather, it is a personal desire to make it empty. Prajna does not require you to distance yourself from daily life, but rather to understand the profound and clear principles of universal salvation from the world you live in. To be a true Bodhisattva, you must not be unclear about prajna; otherwise, won't you become a clay Bodhisattva in this temple?"

  "Amitabha! Well said, extremely good!" Master Juekong suddenly let out a Buddhist chant like the morning bell and evening drum of this ancient temple. He surprisingly joined his palms together in front of Jing'er and praised, "This female donor has analyzed the Buddhist principles of a layperson, yet she has already grasped the true essence of Buddhism! Amitabha!"

  Jing'er's infinite gentle gaze was fixed on Long Bao, and Long Bao was bathed in the tender feelings that she had poured her entire heart and soul into. His hands, his feet, his heart, his internal organs, every inch of his body, even every single pore felt the sincere emotions conveyed by Jing'er. He couldn't help but let out a deep sigh from the depths of his soul!