From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 55: Buddhist Path
"Four bowls of mutton soup, with more mutton and more soup. Also four pancakes and two plates of cold cuts!"

Zhang Guinian found a roadside stall, sat down, and offered food and drinks.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Gong." Meng Yuan clasped his fists towards the two young men who followed Zhang Guinian.

One of these two men was named Zhang Lingfeng, the nephew of Zhang Guinian, and the other was named Gong Zihua, whom he had met before in Muzhuang.

Zhang Lingfeng and Gong Zihua returned the greeting with a smile, and the three of them sat down with Zhang Guinian.

"What's going on with this Luo Sect?" Meng Yuan knew that a fight was about to happen, but he still wanted to find out the whole story.

Zhang Guinian gulped down his soup and said, "Xiao Gong, tell him that he was brought up by Old Nie, not an outsider."

"We just found out about it these few days." Gong Zihua was very gentlemanly. He stopped drinking soup and eating meat while talking, and said with a smile: "Now we have almost figured out the details of Luo's mother and Luo's sect. It is probably a faction of Buddhism that uses this poor place to attract people's hearts and recruit believers."

"Preaching by treating illnesses?" Meng Yuan asked.

"That's right." Gong Zihua smiled slightly. "At the beginning of February, many people here fell ill one after another. It was all Luo's mother's doing. Then Luo's mother rescued people again and gained many fools to follow her. The Luo Sect was thus established."

"I see." When Meng Yuan heard Sister Hua talking about Luo's mother before, he felt that this disease was a bit strange. It turned out that Luo's mother gave the medicine and Luo's mother treated the disease, using this opportunity to show mercy and preach.

Meng Yuan had experience dealing with Buddhist disciples, so he asked, "What rank is Luo Mu? Are there any followers who have reached the rank?"

Gong Zihua said nothing more, but looked at Zhang Guinian.

"Like the Big Tail Wolf, both are of the seventh rank. But their abilities are much stronger than the Big Tail Wolf. I guess they are here for some great aspiration." Zhang Guinian smiled, "Mother Luo is blind in her left eye and deaf in her right ear. She is on the path of severing her seven orifices and reaching the state of nirvana, and she has cultivated some abilities."

"Nirvana?" Meng Yuan was a country bumpkin, so he asked out of curiosity, "Does it mean that to achieve Nirvana, all seven orifices must be destroyed?"

"Of course not. The severance of the seven orifices is just the surface, there is no need for everything to be damaged. Mother Luo has gone astray." Zhang Guinian said with a smile.

Meng Yuan understood that this was another Great Tail Venerable.

"Uncle Zhang, what should I do then?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Mother Luo has just started the Luo Sect, and it has not yet taken off, so the followers are all ordinary people." Zhang Guinian was very confident, "She has seven or eight monks under her. I will deal with Mother Luo when the time comes. You and Xiao Gong will follow her. We will capture her alive if we can, and kill her if we can't."

He nodded at Meng Yuan and said, "Remember, your own safety is the most important thing. Don't be too stubborn. There are other people besides us."

"Yes." Meng Yuan immediately agreed and asked, "When do we set off?"

"Wait until the evening." Zhang Guinian laughed, "The old woman hides very well. We know her lair, but she only shows up in the evening."

It was still a little early, and seeing this, Meng Yuan started to inquire about the Buddhist practice methods. After all, it was always good to know more.

"Didn't Old Nie tell you?" Zhang Guinian was a little surprised.

"He has been very busy these two days." Meng Yuan told the truth.

"Just for a few bucks! No future at all!" Zhang Guinian cursed, "I'm telling you something, so you can be prepared if you encounter it."

"We generally call the ninth level of Buddhism the state of enlightened mind. It is not difficult to enter the level. You don't need to recite many Buddhist scriptures or have a good understanding of Buddhist texts. The most important thing is to plant the Buddhist Bodhi seed in your heart and give birth to the Buddha's heart."

"What is Buddha's heart? Is it truth, goodness and beauty? No, Buddhists do not set up idols. The gradual cultivation school believes that reading Buddhist scriptures more, following the precepts, being obedient and sensible can plant the seeds of Bodhi and give birth to Buddha's heart. The sudden enlightenment school believes that the so-called Buddha's heart is one's own heart. Feeling this thought can achieve the Buddha's heart and Bodhi seeds."

"Plant the Bodhi seed, generate the Buddha's mind, and you will achieve perfection."

"The eighth level of Buddhism is called the Pure Mind. The Buddhist philosophy is that if one has too many distracting thoughts and ideas in the mind, and too many disturbances from the outside world, it will delay the practice of Buddhism."

"So we need to cultivate our flesh and blood, strengthen our bodies, and clear our minds, so that we can practice better and get rid of greed, anger, and ignorance. We need to change our tendons and move our bodies, and temper our bodies to remove impurities." "At this time, the bald donkey's body is no less strong than that of a warrior. But we have a way to unlock the secrets of heaven, so they are no match for us."

"The first big hurdle in Buddhism is going from the eighth grade to the seventh grade, which involves the Three Refuges and Five Precepts."

"But the Three Refuges and Five Precepts are just a formality, and it doesn't matter whether you follow them or not. The inner meaning is to restrain your own behavior, overcome greed, anger, and ignorance, clarify your own practice goals and direction, and obtain the appearance of a Buddha."

"The Gradual Cultivation School believes that one must firmly accept the precepts, and even the Eight Precepts and Ten Precepts must be observed, and one must also temper one's muscles and bones every day."

"But the Enlightenment sect is different. They think the precepts are bullshit. They can obey them if they want to, and don't obey them if they don't want to."

"Once the Buddha form is achieved, it is considered the seventh level. From then on, you can practice Buddhist supernatural powers, such as the six supernatural powers, the precious elephant Buddha light, and the method of saving people."

"This seventh level is called the realm of receiving precepts. It talks about not having greed, anger, and ignorance, putting aside emotions and delusions, and letting the mind illuminate the void!"

After Zhang Guinian finished talking, he drank the mutton soup in one gulp, smacking his lips with satisfaction.

"Can greed, anger, and ignorance really be eliminated?" Meng Yuan asked curiously.

"Let me ask you, what do you think about most in the palace?" Zhang Guinian asked back.

"Protect the princess." Meng Yuan replied.

"Tell the truth." Zhang Guinian smiled.

"Practice martial arts." Meng Yuan said.

"There are no outsiders here, just tell the truth." Zhang Guinian rubbed his hands and encouraged.

"Thinking about women." Meng Yuan said.

Zhang Guinian laughed, Zhang Lingfeng also laughed out loud, and Gong Zihua smiled and shook his head.

"That's right. If you don't want women at your age, you're sick!" Zhang Guinian chuckled, "You've just suppressed your greed, anger, and ignorance. Put aside your emotions and delusions, and let your mind be clear. Then why are you here to preach? Isn't this an obsession? Do you really think you're here to save people? You're just trying to harm people first and then save them. It's just a trick to fool fools."

He pointed at Meng Yuan, Zhang Lingfeng, and Gong Zihua, and said seriously: "So this is not considered a great monk. A true great monk is not judged by rank, but by virtue. They will not use favors to force you to become a monk, let alone persuade you to become a monk. However, there are too few great monks with great compassion. Now there are only cuckolds in power!"

"Uncle Zhang, what should we be extra cautious about when fighting with monks?" Meng Yuan's mind was full of fighting.

"In terms of fighting, even if they have six supernatural powers, they may not be a match for us warriors." Zhang Guinian is very familiar with it. "We must be wary of their magic methods such as saving people and planting thoughts. This will make people think that life is meaningless and want to be a bald donkey! As long as you are determined, you will not be afraid. Of course, if the rank is much lower, then no matter how determined you are, it will not work."

Zhang Guinian finished talking and touched his stomach, "Oh, I'm full."

Seeing that Zhang Guinian had no intention of paying the bill, Meng Yuan looked at Zhang Lingfeng, only to see that he had also finished eating and was wiping the scabbard with his head down, as if wiping away endless loneliness.

Gong Zihua was concentrating on eating the bowl of cold mutton soup slowly, and he, who was supposed to be a gentleman, slurped the food.

Eh? There are three of you and I am alone, and you want me to treat you? Are you bullying an honest person? Meng Yuan obediently went to pay the bill.

After the meeting, Zhang Lingfeng stopped wiping the knife and Gong Zihua stopped drinking the leftover soup.

"Xiao Meng, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you're just too eager to get ahead!" Zhang Guinian criticized sternly, "I'm the elder, how can a junior treat me? Don't do this next time!"

"I'm the junior, and Uncle Zhang brought me here to see the world, so I should treat you." Meng Yuan discovered that people who were close to Master Nie were particularly good at pretending to be a whore and setting up a chastity arch. Zhang Guinian was like this, and so was he.

(End of this chapter)