Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

“As the Buddhist scriptures say, “Cultivating Buddhism is the result of accumulated merit over many lifetimes. It is already difficult to achieve good results in one lifetime of cultivating Buddhism. To enter the Pure Land, one must have great wisdom, great perseverance, and great opportunity. Throughout history, it seems that there have indeed been very few.”

"Very few?"

Lin Zhu's lips curled into a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.

"Spending ten, even a hundred or a thousand lifetimes in arduous practice and upholding the precepts, only a very small percentage might actually reach the threshold of ultimate bliss? Xuanzang, don't you think this Buddhist system... is a little bit 'unbelievable'?"

"Not...not awesome?"

Tang Sanzang was stunned by this vulgar yet straightforward word.

"Yeah, not awesome."

Lin Zhu's tone was certain.

"The truly amazing knowledge is the kind that allows people to quickly grasp the essence, get straight to the point, and even... achieve success immediately. Let me tell you a story, which you may have heard before."

He paused, as if recalling something, and then spoke slowly.

“In the past, the Tang Dynasty in Jambudvipa and the Buddhist Kingdom of India in Aparagodaniya broke out into a great war due to border disputes and religious conflicts. When the war was fierce, the so-called ‘Dharma-protecting Buddhist soldiers’ of the Buddhist Kingdom of India were ordered by the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to descend to the mortal world to help in the war.”

These Buddhist soldiers, wielding knives and staffs, chanting Buddhist mantras, committed acts of slaughter, cutting down soldiers and civilians on the Tang Dynasty's borders as easily as chopping vegetables.

Tang Sanzang's expression changed slightly. He had indeed seen vague accounts of this history in some miscellaneous records and unofficial histories, but it had always been deliberately downplayed or explained in official Buddhist scriptures as "subduing demons and monsters" and "protecting the Dharma." Now that Lin Zhu had brought it up in such a direct and bloody way, he couldn't help but feel a tightness in his heart.

Lin Zhu continued.

"What's even more interesting is that at that time, within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, there were also indignant monk soldiers who responded to the imperial court's call, took off their monk robes, put on military uniforms, picked up their monk knives, and shouted slogans such as 'stop killing with killing' and 'protecting the country is protecting the Dharma' before rushing to the battlefield to fight against the Indian Buddhist soldiers."

That battle was a bloodbath, with rivers of blood and corpses strewn across the fields.

His voice was calm, yet it painted a cruel picture that ran completely in the opposite direction of the purity and compassion of Buddhism.

"And after the war," Lin Zhu changed the subject, a hint of sarcasm flashing in his eyes.

According to the news from the Buddhist kingdom of India and some sources from the Western Paradise, half of the Indian Buddhist soldiers whose hands were stained with the blood of Tang Dynasty soldiers received the Buddha's grace and ascended to the Western Paradise to serve as Buddhist soldiers, Vajras, Arhats, and other positions, enjoying the bliss of ultimate happiness because of their "meritorious service in protecting the Dharma".

Several generals, due to their "outstanding military achievements," laid down their weapons and "instantly attained enlightenment," reportedly achieving the supreme and perfect enlightenment of "Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi." Have you heard of this? Is it recorded, either implicitly or explicitly, in Buddhist scriptures?

Tang Sanzang's breathing suddenly quickened! He wasn't entirely unaware of this history! Some unorthodox records, and even some ancient murals in temples, vaguely depicted scenes, did mention that after that great battle, many Buddhists on the Indian side "achieved perfect merit" and "ascended to the Pure Land," and there were even claims that some generals "suddenly attained enlightenment and became Buddhas!"

Previously, he either regarded it as a legend or fabricated story, or he tried to explain it by using complex doctrines such as "protecting the Dharma and subduing demons" and "karma".

At this moment, Lin Zhu has so blatantly connected these events, pointing to a chillingly clear conclusion—murder, especially murder in the name of "protecting the Dharma," is not only blameless, but may even be a shortcut to the Western Paradise?!

"This this……"

Tang Sanzang broke out in a cold sweat. He felt his thoughts were sliding into a terrible abyss, and Lin Zhu's words were the rope that pulled him in.

Before he could organize his thoughts, Lin Zhu's voice suddenly turned cold and clear, each word striking Tang Seng's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Do you understand now? Those who practice vegetarianism, chant Buddhist scriptures, cultivate themselves with few desires for ten lifetimes might not even be able to touch the gate to the Pure Land. But those who take up a butcher's knife and slaughter all living beings, as long as they 'let go' in the end, can 'instantly become Buddhas' and directly enjoy the Pure Land! This is the true 'Buddhist teaching' that your Buddhist school has passed down to this day, hidden in its deepest recesses!"
Your set of strict rules and regulations, your supposed compassion, are nothing but empty words to fool honest people and maintain order and incense offerings! The Buddha you worship doesn't even understand these true 'rules of survival,' or perhaps he himself was the creator and beneficiary of these rules, yet he uses a different set of rhetoric to teach you. Tell me, does he understand Buddhism?

"No! That's not the case!"

Tang Sanzang seemed to be stung by the last sentence, and suddenly screamed, trying to make a final struggle.

“Those Buddhist soldiers…those Indian generals…they killed invading enemies! They killed our own Tang soldiers who were hostile! They were…fighting for justice! Fighting to protect Buddhism! That’s why they were able to…that they were able to…”

"Justice? Protecting Buddhism?"

Lin Zhu interrupted him, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

"Xuanzang, I ask you, have you ever read the Diamond Sutra?"

"I have read it naturally since..."

Tang Sanzang answered instinctively.

“In the Diamond Sutra, it is mentioned repeatedly, more than ten times, that there is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life span.”

Lin Zhu's voice carried a soul-searching power.

"Since there is no 'form of sentient beings,' then in your Buddhist eyes, aren't the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist soldiers of India, and even everyone who dies on the battlefield essentially part of 'sentient beings'? Since they are essentially the same, then does killing count as breaking the precept against killing?"

"I……"

Tang Sanzang was speechless.

"If killing is a transgression, then why are the Indian Buddhist soldiers and generals who killed 'sentient beings' not only without fault, but also able to instantly become Buddhas and directly enter the Pure Land?"

Lin Zhu pressed closer and closer.

"If killing for 'justice' and 'protecting the Dharma' is enough to avoid breaking the precepts, then what exactly are these precepts against? Are they against you killing yourself, or against others killing you? Or is the essence of the precepts simply a set of tools that can be interpreted and adapted at any time according to 'needs'?"

Each question was like a sharp chisel, relentlessly chiseling at Tang Sanzang's already overburdened walls of faith.

His understanding of Buddhism was merely superficial, lacking depth. Now, having just suffered the devastating loss of his brother and the Buddha's refusal to save him, demonic tendencies had already begun to fester within him. Under this barrage of sharp, almost cruel questioning, the Buddhist worldview that had sustained him for eighteen years finally shattered under the unbearable weight!
"what--!"

Tang Sanzang clutched his head, letting out a low growl of pain, staggered back a few steps, and leaned against a nearby rock.

His eyes were chaotic, filled with pain, confusion, fear, and a hint of... a vague madness that even he himself was unaware of.

Lin Zhu stopped speaking and just watched him quietly, waiting for him to crawl out of the ruins of that faith, or... fall into another abyss.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly. A mountain breeze blew by, carrying the chill of the wilderness. Tang Sanzang's breathing gradually calmed, but the chaos in his eyes did not disappear; instead, it settled into an eerie emptiness.

Suddenly, he abruptly raised his head, his face no longer contorted with pain, but instead radiating an almost morbid, twisted light of surprise! His eyes were wide open, but his pupils were somewhat unfocused, and the corners of his mouth stretched into a strange arc.

"I...I understand!"

Tang Sanzang's voice trembled with excitement at discovering a shocking secret. "I understand! I understand everything!"

Lin Zhu raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Oh? What have you realized?"

"Bajie! It's Bajie!"

Tang Sanzang gesticulated wildly, his movements appearing comical due to his weakness, but his tone was unusually excited.

"Not killing, not stealing, not committing adultery, not lying, not drinking alcohol... these precepts are not for myself! They are for others!"
"It's to forbid others from killing me! From stealing from me! From doing anything improper to me! From lying to me! From preventing me from drinking! It's to protect me! Is that right, Lord Prison God? Is that right?!"

He looked at Lin Zhu eagerly, like a child waiting for his teacher's approval.

Looking at his manic yet joyful "enlightenment," Lin Zhu understood that her "guidance" had successfully led this guy's values ​​in an extremely bizarre and selfish direction.

He showed a satisfied look on his face, indicating that the student was teachable, and nodded slowly, speaking in an affirmative tone.

"The fact that you can think of this shows that your spirituality is not yet extinguished. The 'path' that your brother Lu Heshang practices may seem absurd, but it actually conforms to this principle."

He was not bound by strict rules, acting freely and seeking only the clarity of his own thoughts—this is the freedom of the 'heart'. And as the Buddhist saying goes, 'Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart,' this saying…

He paused deliberately.

Tang Sanzang, as if grasping at a lifeline or having been enlightened, immediately chimed in, his eyes shining, muttering to himself repeatedly.

"Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart... Wine and meat pass through the intestines... but Buddha remains in the heart... The Eight Precepts of Buddhism are not forbidding me, but forbidding all sentient beings, to protect my body... I understand! I have realized! This is the true essence of Buddhism! Hahaha!"

He muttered it with wild joy, his eyes growing brighter with each word, as if the thick fog that had shrouded his heart had been completely dispelled by the "sunshine" brought by those words, even though the color of that "sunshine" was somewhat eerie.

He completely ignored the warning that often followed this statement: "If people follow my example, they will be on the path of evil."

Lin Zhu chuckled inwardly, watching Tang Sanzang's fanatical expression—as if he had found a treasure, his worldview shattered yet strangely pieced back together—he knew he had made the right move. As for the potential consequences of that forgotten second half of the sentence? That was precisely the "variable" he was happy to see.

"thump!"

Tang Sanzang knelt down again, this time facing Lin Zhu, and excitedly kowtowed repeatedly.

"Many thanks to the Lord of Hell for your enlightenment! This disciple was foolish and dull, only today do I understand the true meaning of Buddhism! Your kindness is like a second life! It is like a second life!"

After kowtowing, he stood up unsteadily. His gaze swept across the room and he suddenly caught sight of the cave not far away, which had once imprisoned him and was now empty but still contained some of the monster's "belongings".

A strange light flashed in his eyes, and he stumbled and ran towards the cave.

Lin Zhu did not stop them, but watched with great interest.

Tang Sanzang rushed into the cave and searched around in a corner. He actually found a dirty wine jar wrapped in some kind of animal hide. He broke the mud seal, and a strong, pungent smell of wine, mixed with fishy and medicinal odors, rushed out.

This was clearly not the kind of low-alcohol, vegetarian wine bestowed by the Tang Emperor; it was more like a strong liquor brewed by a monster using animal blood, inferior grains, and possibly even poisonous insects, wild beasts, and medicinal herbs. Its color was dark red and murky.

Tang Sanzang, however, paid no heed to any of this, his eyes only fixed on the "true meaning" of "wine and meat passing through the intestines".

He picked up the wine jar, tilted his head back, and gulped down a large mouthful!

"Cough cough cough!!!"

The pungent, fishy, ​​and strange taste rushed into his throat like fire and knives, choking him and causing him to cough violently, tears and snot streaming down his face. But a look of wild joy appeared on his face as he wiped his mouth and laughed heartily.

"Good wine! Good wine! I... I feel Buddha! Buddha is flowing inside me! It's so warm! Hahaha!"

Lin Zhu finally couldn't help but chuckle and tease him.

"Oh? Where is Buddha? Has he arrived in my stomach?"

Tang Sanzang squinted, looking blissfully intoxicated, let out a burp, and mumbled something.

"It's...it's in my stomach! Warm and comforting!"

Lin Zhu's smile deepened, and he asked with a mischievous grin.

"So... has it reached the prostate?"

Tang Sanzang was already dizzy and disoriented from the cheap wine, and he nodded subconsciously in response.

"Hmm...hmm! We're here! We're all here! The Buddha's teachings are boundless and omnipresent! Hahaha!"

He hugged the wine jar and took another swig. This time he seemed to be able to handle it better. Although he was still coughing so hard that his face and neck turned red, his manic joy of "enlightenment" was becoming more and more obvious.

Lin Zhu shook his head, stopped teasing him, and waved his hand.

"Alright, you've drunk the wine and swallowed the 'Buddha.' Remember, just drinking isn't enough. If you really want to cultivate yourself, you can take some 'cephalosporins' or some peanuts. Remember what I said today: Buddhism emphasizes that you can't build something new without destroying it, and that you must constantly cultivate and renew yourself."

Don't be stingy with your understanding of the true meaning of "Pigsy is about abstaining from others" and "wine and meat pass through the intestines." If you meet someone with affinity on the road, feel free to share it with them so that more people can be enlightened by the Dharma.

This is the true essence of the journey to the West…

He paused, and his voice suddenly became somewhat ethereal and profound, as if it came from beyond the heavens.

“Remember, going to the Western Paradise doesn’t necessarily mean actually reaching that place. When you understand that everyone can create their own ‘Tripitaka’, then you have already… obtained the true scriptures.”

As his words fell, Lin Zhu's figure gradually faded into the light and shadow at the cave entrance, eventually disappearing completely, as if he had never been there. Only his last words, which were neither a verse nor a sermon, full of mystery and a strong sense of subversion, seemed to still echo faintly in the empty cave, accompanied by Tang Sanzang's silly laughter and mutterings while holding the wine jar.

"Everyone is the Tripitaka Sutra...everyone is...hehe...wine and meat pass through the intestines...Buddha remains in the heart...Pigsy is abstinence from others..."

Tang Sanzang, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, repeatedly pondered these words, feeling as if the world had suddenly opened up before him, and the road ahead was filled with "brightness," although the color of that light seemed completely different from what he had known for the past eighteen years.

Clutching the wine jar, he leaned against the cold stone wall, grinning foolishly, gradually becoming drunk and sinking into a dream perhaps filled with "wine and meat" and "new Buddhism." Outside the cave, from the direction of Five Elements Mountain, seemed to come a very faint breath, carrying endless coldness and anticipation. (End of Chapter)