I searched for corpses in the Wuding River to extract entries

After hearing what Huiming said, Qieci sighed heavily.

However, he did not take any action because he did not want to kill the successor chosen by the old host himself.

The old abbot was compassionate throughout his life and devoted himself to the Foyin Temple.
The one he chose, Huiming, was supposed to shoulder the heavy responsibility.
If we take Huiming's life easily just because of some mistakes now,

Not only does it go against the compassionate philosophy he has always upheld, it is also disrespectful to the old host.

Qieci thought to himself that perhaps Huiming was just temporarily blinded by interests and there was still a possibility of turning back.

So he decided to give it a look.

He hoped that Huiming could stop in time and return to the right path during this period.

However, things did not develop as Qi Ci expected.

After a while, Huiming became even more outrageous and unscrupulous.

Huiming made a lot of money in the name of repairs, secretly colluded with local gentry, and mortgaged the land of Foyin Temple at a low price in exchange for gold and silver.

The tenant farmers originally made their living by renting the farmland from the Foyin Temple.
Now that their land has been mortgaged by Huiming, they have no choice but to protest.

But the monks were merciless and patrolled around the temple day and night with sticks in hand.

Meanwhile, the situation inside the temple was getting worse.

The money from incense offerings in the temple was deducted at every level, and the monks at the lower level could not even get enough food.

The lower-class monks work hard every day to clean the temples, serve Buddha statues, and explain Buddhism to believers, but they cannot even guarantee basic food and clothing.

Due to the principle of "non-interference in worldly affairs", no direct action has been taken until now.

Foyin Temple is famous for this, but in recent years,
After the idea that "sins can be transformed into merits" in the scriptures written by Yin Qi was spread, it was questioned by monks from other temples as violating orthodox Buddhism.

Those eminent monks believed that sin and merit were two completely different concepts.

Sins are mistakes committed by sentient beings, how can they be easily transformed into merits?
This goes against their understanding of orthodox Buddhism.

One of the eminent monks openly expressed his doubts about Qie’s view during a lecture: “

Buddhism emphasizes cause and effect. Sins have their own punishments. How can they be transformed into merits? "

This statement resonated with many monks.

Some radical monks reacted even more strongly. They jointly requested the Foyin Temple to destroy the "Repentance Sutra".

These monks believed that the views in the Sutra of Repentance were extremely harmful.
If it is not destroyed in time, more monks will be led astray.

After all, can a murderer become a Buddha by laying down his butcher knife?
They sent a joint letter to Foyin Temple with a tough attitude, demanding that Foyin Temple must give an explanation.

After Huiming received the letter, he was secretly delighted. He took the opportunity to put pressure on Qici to calm the storm.

After all, in the entire Foyin Temple, although he is the abbot on the surface,
But many monks also follow this leader blindly.

Huiming had always been jealous of Qieci, and now that he had such an opportunity, he naturally would not let it go.

After finding such an excuse, Huiming said to Qie with pride:
"Brother Qieci, there is a lot of commotion outside right now. Do you think this "Repentance Sutra" should be revised to avoid causing more trouble?"

His tone seemed respectful, but in fact he was forcing Qieci.

Qici looked at Huiming in silence.

He knew in his heart that Huiming just wanted to take this opportunity to suppress him.

Qici did not respond to Huiming's request, and Huiming left with a cold face.

After Huiming left, Qici continued to annotate the scriptures in the Sutra Repository.

Soon, the storm was over.

After all, there are thousands of theories about the debate on scriptures.
After the eminent monk had read Qici's text, he would not really come to the Foyin Temple to ask Qici to modify the text.

In essence, the "Sutra on Repentance of Karmas" was written for his former colleagues in the Brahman religion, and not for all sentient beings in general.

During this period, Huiming used the opinions of many eminent monks to suppress Qici.

He also took the opportunity to take control of the power within the temple.

Qieci didn't care because he had already foreseen Huiming's fate.

A few months later, an epidemic broke out in the village at the foot of the mountain.

At first, only a few people showed symptoms of fever and cough.

But within just a few days, the number of people sick increased rapidly.

In panic, the villagers began to look for the source of the epidemic.

I don't know who first mentioned that some monks once came to the village.

Some people have heard that those monks were previously Brahma priests.

Although Brahmanism has declined, people's fear and disgust towards it still exist.

The villagers began to suspect that the epidemic was caused by a "curse" brought by these Brahman priests.

However, the villagers did not know that the real cause of the epidemic was not the so-called "curse", but Huiming's.

After the relief herbs distributed by the imperial court were sent to the Foyin Temple, Huiming embezzled most of them and only sent a small amount to the villages.

Without sufficient medicinal materials, the epidemic naturally cannot be effectively controlled, which leads to the disease becoming more serious.

In the Foyin Temple, a monk also noticed that something was wrong.

Logically speaking, it should have been just a common flu, so why did it develop to this point?

The monk began to investigate secretly, trying to find out the real cause of the epidemic.

The monk began to ask around for information. He visited many people in the village and collected various clues.

He discovered that the time when the Brahman priests came to the village did not coincide with the time when the epidemic broke out.

And the so-called "curse" has no basis at all.

After some reconciliation in the temple, the novice monk finally discovered that the source of the epidemic was related to Huiming.

The novice monk found that there was solid evidence that Huiming had embezzled the disaster relief medicine.

He was very angry and decided to report Huiming's crimes to Qieci.

However, the monk's actions were discovered by Huiming's men.

When the monk was about to look for Qi, a group of warrior monks appeared in front of him.

The monks attacked the novice monk without mercy, and the novice monk had no chance to resist.

He never understood until his death why Huiming treated him so cruelly.

All of this was secretly seen by Qi Ci.

He knew that the time had come to resolve the matter.

The Sutra Repository of Foyin Temple has always been a quiet place.

On this day, Qieci invited Huiming to the Sutra Repository under the pretext of discussing scriptures.

Qi Ci was wearing a plain monk's robe, waiting for Huiming's arrival.

Not long after, Huiming came hurriedly with a seemingly respectful smile on his face.
His eyes flickered slightly, revealing a subtle vigilance.

After all, he had just beaten the monk to death yesterday, and today he received an invitation from Qi Ci, so it was hard for him not to be alert.

When Huiming sat down, Qieci suddenly pointed to the spider web in the corner and said, "Brother, do you know why spider silk always weaves webs at the corners of the eaves?"

Huiming raised his eyes and smiled: "There are many mosquitoes and flies under the eaves. They are easy to catch because of the smell of incense."

Qieci shook his head and said, "I think the spider is afraid of the coldness of the ground, and it is greedy for the warmth of the high places, but also loves the fishy world, and finally it has eight legs hanging in the air."

Although Huiming was a mercenary, he was also well versed in the scriptures.

If not, he would not have been chosen by the former abbot: "Brother, you studied the Shurangama Sutra, how could you have forgotten 'the mad mind will cease suddenly, and cessation is Bodhi'?"

"When Bodhidharma crossed the river, he needed a reed. If he had complained that the reed was stuck in the mud..." He had not finished his words when a gust of wind suddenly blew in from the open window, messing up the scriptures.

Qieci said, "What a wind! Unfortunately, it blew the scriptures upside down and soiled the words 'One should not dwell on anything' in the Diamond Sutra."

After saying this, he picked up a weight to hold down the pages of the book.

At this point, Huiming also knew why Qie came to him: "Han Shan picked up the fallen leaves and still wanted to borrow three parts of the bamboo broom from the common wood."

"Brother, look at this golden Buddha statue. If there is no copper to sustain the golden statue, who will illuminate the appearance of all living beings?"

As soon as these words came out, it seemed as if Huiming was not acting out of personal gain.
It was only out of consideration for the piety of the Foyin Temple that he amassed so much wealth.

Qieci shook his head: "Even if you borrow this bamboo broom and sweep the Buddha statue to make it sparkle with golden light, you can't sweep away all the crying ants in the cracks between the bricks!"

Huiming did not bother to argue with Qieci on this topic and went straight to the point: "Brother, when Mazu Daoyi built the monastery, wasn't it just like tearing down thatched huts and replacing them with golden tiles?"

Mazu's building of monasteries refers to the fact that Zen Master Mazu Daoyi built many Zen temples, which changed the situation where monks had to beg for alms everywhere and had no fixed place to live.

After hearing this, Qieci knew that Huiming was hopeless: "I'm afraid the golden tiles will collapse the thatched hut and become a convenient door for insects and ants!"

Huiming no longer pretended, his face darkened, and he said:

"Brother, don't think of yourself as a great monk and criticize me at will."

"Your great principles simply don't work in this real world."

After saying that, he turned around and ignored Qi Ci.

Looking at Huiming's departing back, Qie let out a long sigh.

On the second day, Qieci gave a lecture in the temple.

Many monks gathered in the square inside the temple early in the morning.

Qieci walked up to the podium and said:
"My dear believers, today I am here to tell you that all living beings are suffering."

"The Buddha said: 'All sentient beings who have not yet been liberated have uncertain natures and consciousnesses. They have bad habits that lead to karma, and good habits that lead to results.'"

……

"Take illusion as reality, and be lost in confusion. It's like chasing gold in a dream, and sighing when waking up."

The monks listened quietly, some frowned slightly, and some looked reluctant.

Qieci's words were also constantly striking their hearts at this moment.

Soon, the lecture ended, and Huiming walked away with a cold face after listening to a few words.

As for the other monks, some did not take it seriously, while others were deeply touched.

A monk who had participated in the persecution of tenant farmers listened to Qici's teachings.

After listening to the sermon, I thought of the epidemic down the mountain and felt guilty.

He knew very well that he was also responsible for all this suffering.

Late at night, the temple was silent except for the occasional chirping of insects.

The monk came to Qieci's meditation room alone.

He knelt down with a plop: "Master Qici, I have sinned. I hope you can show me the way to liberation."

He pressed his forehead to the ground, not daring to raise it.

Qi Ci heard the sound and slowly opened the door.

He looked at the monk kneeling on the ground, with no blame in his eyes, only compassion.

Qieci did not say anything, but turned back into the house, took out a copy of the "Repentance Sutra" and handed it to the monk.

"Take this sutra and read the seventh volume carefully."

The monk took the manuscript and raised his head, his eyes full of confusion: "Master, this..."

Qieci nodded slightly: "Go, you will understand after you read it."

Although the monk did not understand Qieci's intention, he still took the copy respectfully, bowed in thanks and left.

Back in his room, he couldn't wait to open the seventh volume.

This volume contains a metaphor of "repentance needs to be done".

The monk studied it carefully and finally understood the profound meaning of this.

He realized that repentance alone was not enough.
You also need to take practical actions to make up for your mistakes.

At the same time, he was also very clear that to bring down Huiming, he alone was far from enough.

So he secretly contacted the tenant farmers.

The tenant farmers were already filled with anger towards Huiming, and after hearing the monk's plan, they all expressed their willingness to fully cooperate.

They began to pay close attention to Huiming's every move, especially his interactions with the outside world.

Finally, they discovered that Huiming had frequent communications with the drug dealers.

After careful planning, the monks and tenant farmers found the right opportunity and successfully intercepted the secret letter between Huiming and the drug dealer.

The secret letter detailed how they colluded and embezzled the relief medicines distributed by the imperial court.
How could they pass inferior quality medicinal materials off as good ones and send them to the villages at the foot of the mountain?

Seeing this, the monks and tenant farmers were furious.
They knew that they had finally found the key evidence to bring down Huiming.

The monk showed the intercepted secret letter to several senior monks in the temple, and these monks were immediately shocked and angry at Huiming.

After obtaining irrefutable evidence that Huiming had embezzled medicinal materials and passed inferior products off as good ones,
They decided to strike while the iron was hot and sent people to raid Huiming's meditation room.

The leading monk waved his hand and led a group of equally indignant monks, walking quickly towards Huiming's meditation room.

When the door of the Zen room was suddenly pushed open, a luxurious atmosphere hit me in the face.

The monks originally thought that they would only discover some shameful secrets, but the scene before them was far beyond their imagination.

The Zen room was filled with boxes of gold, silver and treasures.

They also found some undestroyed secret letters in Huiming's study.

When they opened it, the monks' faces became even uglier.

The contents of the letters confirmed their guess that these secret letters were exactly the correspondence between Huiming and the drug dealers in collusion to embezzle disaster relief medicinal materials.

The letter recorded in detail how they planned and distributed the benefits.

They strode into the square inside the temple, carrying boxes of evidence and the secret letters.

At this time, many monks had gathered in the square.
They were originally carrying out their daily practice, but when they saw this scene, they all gathered around.

The monks placed the gold, silver, treasures and secret letters on the ground so that everyone could see them clearly.

When the monks saw these solid evidences, they were shocked.

Those monks who once had a good relationship with Huiming were filled with disappointment.

In a corner of the temple, Huiming was discussing with a few of his confidants how to deal with the recent crisis.

Suddenly, a little monk ran in in a panic and told him breathlessly,
The Zen room was searched and the evidence was found.

Huiming's face turned pale in an instant and his body began to tremble.

He knew that the situation was hopeless, but he was unwilling to lose everything he had.

Just as Huiming was about to escape, a martial monk arrived in time and subdued Huiming and his cronies.

The warrior monk and other monks brought Huiming to Qieci.

The monk said respectfully to Qieci: "Master, Huiming has been subdued by us."

"Now, I am waiting for your decision." (End of this chapter)