Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 301: The Buddhist-Taoist Debate
On the third day, on Tiandu Peak, disciples from various sects were whispering, exclaiming in amazement, obviously discussing the duel that took place last night. Many people could not have expected that Ye Yi was actually killed. He was a grandmaster and a top-level immortal, how could he die so easily? After listening to some people's vivid descriptions, they realized that it was a fair duel and no longer had any doubts about Wuzhan's martial arts.

When Wuzhan entered with two disciples, everyone stopped talking and looked at him. Wuzhan was the same as the previous two days, no change, very calm, as if nothing had happened. What changed was the look in the eyes looking at him, which was full of awe. Just think about it, Ye Yi was killed just because he insulted this man with one word, who would dare to approach such a man.

Not long after, Yunmeng, Feijian, Shilifang and others entered the scene one after another. After Linyazi introduced Shilifang to everyone, he asked Shilifang to preach. This was something the three of them had discussed, and their purpose was to let those who practice Taoism expand their horizons and understand Western Buddhism.

Sri Prabhu sat cross-legged in the center of the temple and read a passage that no one could understand. Then he explained to everyone: "There are three kinds of physical sufferings in sentient beings: aging, illness, and death; there are three kinds of mental sufferings: greed, anger, and ignorance. What you want cannot be obtained, what you hate cannot be eliminated, fame and career are not successful, and those who succeed suffer from failure. Suffering is the truth of the world, which is called the truth of suffering."

"People develop various obsessions and desires due to 'ignorance', which drive their body, speech and mind to create various karmas. The accumulation of karmas becomes karma power, and the accumulation of karmas becomes karma results. Good karmas have the power to produce good results, and bad karmas have the power to produce bad results. The present suffering results are caused by the bad karmas in the past, and the bad karmas in the present will produce the suffering results in the future. Delusion and bad karmas are the causes of suffering results. This is the truth of suffering."

"So if you want to eliminate the bitter fruits, you must not create karma. If you want not to create karma, you must eliminate delusion. If you want to eliminate delusion, you must observe the true nature of the world and understand the principle of no self. Once you know that there is no self, you will not have any feelings and will not create karma. The chain of reincarnation is broken, and the suffering of birth and death is freed. This is the truth of extinction."

"Right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. By practicing these eight principles, one can eliminate suffering and stop the root of suffering, and attain the peaceful and cool state of Nirvana after the end of suffering. This is the truth of the path."

"All living beings are floating and sinking in the sea of ​​karma. If they do not get tired of suffering, then it is fine. If they get tired of suffering, then they should follow the Four Noble Truths, 'knowing suffering, stopping its cause, desiring its cessation, and practicing the path', so that they can reach the other shore and be liberated."

Everyone listened quietly to Sri Lankan Fan's teachings, with many doubts in their hearts. Although there were many similarities with Taoist ideas, their principles and theories were different. Taoism cultivated qi in order to seek the method of becoming an immortal, while Buddhism was about cultivating the mind, eliminating desires and ending accumulation in order to reach the other shore. Although Taoism also requires "purifying the mind and reducing desires," Buddhism requires the elimination of desires and the self.

You have to know that those who come to listen to the Dharma are all practicing Taoism for longevity. Taoist thoughts are deeply rooted in their hearts. How many of them believe in Sri Lanka's Buddhist teachings? And they have to cut off their delusions. Who would be willing to give them up?

The head of Changshan Leiyun asked, "Master, may I ask what the other shore is?"

"Eliminating worldly worries, transcending the cycle of life and death, being free from all suffering and enjoying all happiness, this is the Pure Land."

"Why don't you go, Master?"

"If delusion is not purified, merit is insufficient."

Lei Yun laughed and said, "Even the master can't do it, but you are spreading it here. Do you think we will believe it?"

"All living beings have Buddha nature. Even if I cannot do it, it does not mean that there are others who cannot do it."

Lei Yun chuckled and said, "If you live without any desires, what's the difference between you and being dead? How can you enjoy the joy of being alive? The nirvana that the master talked about must be death. The dead have no desires, so who knows whether they are happy or not."

After hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, obviously not believing the Buddhism preached by Srivijaya.

Shi Lifang shook his head helplessly and said, "Everything has cause and effect, and the cycle of suffering and rebirth never stops. Master Lei does not know about nirvana, nor does he know what happens after death. Although I have not achieved enlightenment, I have seen Tathagata preach the Dharma. How dare I speak nonsense?"

Dongling Luo Yuying said with a smile: "We can achieve immortality without giving up desires when practicing Taoism. There are immortals here. Don't you think it's ridiculous for you to talk about Buddhism in front of immortals?"

After hearing this, everyone burst into laughter again and looked at Ye Xiaoxiang and Lie Feng. The immortal was right in front of them. Ye Xiaoxiang had just passed the calamity and became an immortal not long ago. She just smiled slightly and didn't take it seriously. Lie Feng just stared at Shilifang, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Sri Prabhu said: "Even if you practice Taoism and become an immortal, if you don't get rid of your obsessions, you will still be in the cycle of life and death, but the difference is the length of your life, just like adobe becomes bricks, which will eventually disintegrate."

After hearing this, everyone booed. This was undoubtedly saying that those who became immortals did not cultivate the right path, but were instead following unorthodox ways.

Ye Xiaoxiang stood up and said with a sweet smile: "We cultivators understand the principles of the Great Dao. We follow the natural course and use it for our own benefit, just like drilling wood to make fire or riding a boat. Where is the cycle of life and death that the master talked about?"

Sri Prabhu said: "The sun and the moon rotate to form day and night, the climate cycles to form four seasons, the universe is like this, how can we know that there is no reincarnation, the silkworm turns into a pupa, the pupa turns into a moth, you know, they don't know it, but the three lives of human beings are caused by cause and effect, and they are in it, even if they don't know it, bats fly at night, ants avoid heavy rain, how can they be detected by the six senses, not seen does not mean it does not exist."

This remark caused the temple to remain silent for a long time, and everyone was unable to think of any excuse for a while.

Ye Xiaoxiang walked to the front of Shilifangshen with lotus steps and asked with a smile: "Master, you preach that we should cut off our delusions. May I ask you, Master, if I am thirsty and want to drink water, is this a desire?"

Sri Bhandari smiled and said, "Drinking water is a person's true desire, not a delusion."

Ye Xiaoxiang giggled and said, "Since drinking water is a human's natural desire, then human emotions should also be natural desires. What the master said is self-contradictory." These two questions were very tricky, and many people applauded secretly.

Sri Fang said: "Follow your duty and live in peace, follow the laws of nature, do not have unreasonable desires, do not take money without justice, do not seek extravagant enjoyment, do not kill, and keep good thoughts in your heart, which is the right desire."

Ye Xiaoxiang said: "All things have spirits. How can people survive if they eat grains and don't kill?"

Shilifang remained silent, and Ye Xiaoxiang continued: "The strong prey on the weak, and the fittest survive, this is the way of heaven. I advise the master not to preach here, no one will believe it." After saying that, she chuckled and walked back. She was so charming that many men sighed.

Sri Fang smiled bitterly and said: "All living things are eternally trapped in reincarnation. That's it. All things are created by the mind, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, dew and lightning. The deeper the obsession, the harder it is to extricate oneself." Qin Moyao stood up proudly and said: "Master said that everything is illusory and unreal, so what you are saying here should also be unreal?" Everyone praised the question as a good one.

Shi Lifang said: "Master Qin is right. Everyone has heard and seen my teachings, but the sound will fade away, I will grow old, and everyone will forget. How can it be true?"

Qin Moyao smiled and said, "Then what's the point of Master preaching here?"

Sri Fang said: "I am trying to wake up the dreamer."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the temple laughed at them. Sri Fan said that these people were dreaming and no one could believe them.

Qin Moyao asked, "Master, what you mean is that all of us here are having the same dream with you?"

Sri Prabhu said, "This dream is not that dream. Only great enlightenment can awaken us."

Qin Moyao asked with a smile: "Master, how can you prove that we are in a dream?"

Sri Fang asked back: "When Master Qin did not wake up from his dream, did we know it was a dream? So, if we did not wake up from the dream, how can we prove that it was not a dream?"

Qin Moyao thought for a moment and smiled: "We are all conscious now and can feel our surroundings. Isn't this real?"

"Man is made up of the five aggregates, and his perceptions are limited by them. For example, the mountain before our eyes is small when seen from a distance, but large when seen from close up. The question is, is it large or small? Man speaks of the vastness of the ocean, but he does not know the world of medium. When one is in that realm, all that one sees is an illusion."

Qin Moyao thought for a long time but couldn't think of a way to refute, so she sat down slowly, looked at Wuzhan beside her, with a slightly complaining look in her eyes, and said: "Sir, you are very eloquent, why don't you argue with him?"

Wuzhan said: "If there is no conclusion to be reached by arguing, why bother to argue?"

"Does the gentleman like to listen to such foolish talk?"

"I don't think this is foolish talk, on the contrary, I think it's like talking to a cow."

Yunchu chuckled, she just wanted to laugh.

Qin Moyao glared at Wuzhan and said, "You..." Wuzhan was obviously making fun of everyone, including her. Qin Moyao glared at Yunchu again, with murderous intent in her eyes.

Sri Lanka continued to preach to the crowd, but most people could no longer listen. In their view, Buddhism teaches people to give up this life and believe in reincarnation, while they practice Buddhism in order to keep this body, and even if there is an afterlife, it will not be themselves.

In addition, there are many contradictions in Buddhism, which cannot be justified, and many explanations are vague and unconvincing. After hearing what was said, everyone was too lazy to debate and just waited for Srivijaya to finish speaking.

Sri Prabhu saw that everyone had lost interest and it was pointless to continue, so he put his hands together and said, "Well, well, thank you all for listening to my teachings."

Before Sri Fang could even stand up, there was a buzz of excitement, all of which were the relief after impatience. Sri Fang shook his head, knowing the difficulty of converting people, and stood up and walked to the front of the table, saying to Yun Meng: "Thank you, Master Yun, for allowing me to preach here. This is a great merit."

Yun Meng said: "Master, you have worked hard. Please sit down and have a rest."

Yunmeng and Feijian were also curious and wanted to learn about the Western cultivation methods and customs. Therefore, they asked Sri Fang to stay on the mountain and discuss the Dharma until late at night. If Wuzhan had not killed Ye Yi at the foot of the mountain, it might have been even later. The two of them had heard a lot about Buddhism and had a general understanding of it, but they did not completely believe it. It was only because Buddhism advised people to be good, which was always good, that they agreed to Sri Fang's teachings. This result was also within their expectations.

Linyazi stood up and said to all the disciples, "This is the end of our talk about Taoism and Dharma. Next, it's time for disciples from all sects to make friends through martial arts, and to exchange ideas and compete with each other. The competition will be divided into groups by drawing lots. First, the group will compete. Those who lose two games will be eliminated. The top two in the group will be eliminated, and then cross-elimination will be conducted. As long as you are over 30 years old, no matter what faction you belong to or whether you are a member of the alliance or not, you can participate. When you compete and discuss, stop when you are satisfied. Don't risk your life and hurt the harmony. In order to make this conference more exciting, Master Feijian has specially asked the sword-making master Gusu Ye to forge a sword and give it to the winner." After he finished speaking, a disciple stepped forward and came in front of Linyazi with the sword in his hand. Everyone's eyes lit up, and they could tell the scabbard was extraordinary.

Everyone knows Gusu Ye, he is a peerless sword-making master who forged many fine swords many years ago. However, it is rumored that he has not forged swords for many years. It is a great favor to allow him to forge swords.

Linyazi picked up the sword and pulled it out with a "swish". Everyone was amazed. The sword was half a meter long, emitting a cold light and carrying a sense of tranquility. Those who knew swords would know that it was an unparalleled sword just by looking at its material and hearing its sound, because the better the sword, the stronger its spiritual charm.

The sword is a symbol of status, especially for those who practice sword skills. The better the sword, the stronger the sword master's skills are. Otherwise, he cannot protect the sword in his hand. Therefore, famous families all have famous swords that they are proud of, and this sword is by no means inferior to those famous swords.

But it is still inferior to the Changhe in Zhulang's hands. Otherwise, Gusu Ye would not have given it to Wuzhan and then wanted to take it back.

Linyazi said, "This sword is named 'Qi Yue', which means that all the sects of cultivation in the world should advance together and develop together." He paused and continued, "In addition, after consultation and decision by the leaders of the sects that have joined the alliance, the leader will be selected from the younger generation of the sects that have joined the alliance. He must have outstanding cultivation, good conduct, and be able to take on important responsibilities. He must be among the top in this competition, and will eventually be nominated by the leaders of the sects that have joined the alliance."

After hearing this, everyone felt that this rule was more reasonable. It not only gave the sects that did not join the alliance a chance to perform, but also put pressure on the sects that joined the alliance. The selection of the position of alliance leader was even more novel. It did not have to be the head of a sect, but perhaps a disciple. However, he needed to be young and courageous. Not only his cultivation but also other aspects were considered. In this way, older people like Yunmeng, Feijian, Bixia and others were excluded. This was reasonable. These people did not care much about fame and fortune. It would be better to let them realize the truth than to let them integrate the sects. Moreover, the alliance leader was actually just coordinating the relations between the sects and promoting exchanges and cooperation. He did not have more real power. The development of each sect still depended on itself.

(End of this chapter)