A master of comedy!

"clang!"

As the gong sounded, "The Medicine Buddha" officially began its performance.

It's called a performance, but there's no stage. It's just on this blood-red land, with the sky as the curtain and the earth as the stage.

"The ground is made of crystal, clear and blue; the Dharma rain falls from the branches of the seven treasures. The twelve great vows shine endlessly; the Eastern Master reveals his true form."

As Zhou Sheng began to sing, his chanting, which sounded like Buddhist chants, caused celestial music to resound all around, rows of precious trees to grow, and even the extraordinary phenomena of Buddha lands to appear in the Seven Treasure Pond.

In an instant, his entire body radiated boundless Buddhist light, and twelve wheels of five-colored Buddhist light even appeared behind his head.

Zhou Sheng has given his all to perform this play.

With the tongue's supernatural power brought to its fullest potential, every time a word was uttered, the golden lake in the dantian would visibly shrink.

The consumption of magical power was terrifying; if he hadn't possessed a century's worth of cultivation, he definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

However, the effect was also astonishing. Zhou Sheng's opening remarks set the tone, and not only the ordinary monks, but even the abbot was struck as if by lightning, his long eyebrows trembling, and he could hardly maintain his composure.

Whether it's good or bad, just one sound.

It is worth ten thousand taels of gold.

The very first note that marks the start of the performance is crucial; if you sing it well, half the battle is won.

Upon hearing this shout, the other actors seemed to be reassured, their tension and fear vanished, and they were even drawn directly into the play.

He truly lives up to his reputation as the troupe leader!

Zhou Sheng slowly raised his eyes, his gaze revealing no sharpness, but rather a boundless compassion and peace, as vast as the earth itself.

Suddenly, the sound of the zither rose, deep and desolate, and the surrounding air rose with turbid air, gray mist filled the air, and the cries of all living beings could be faintly heard.

This is a vision created by Jinse through the sound of her zither, symbolizing the rising turbid air from the southern continent of Jambudvipa, and the cries of all living beings reaching the ears of the heavens.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng's gaze hardened, and he made a grand vow.

"The intention I have made is immeasurable, and I vow to save the blind with crystal. I only wish to eliminate all suffering and pain, and not to seek medicine in the human world."

He then persuaded the Bodhisattvas of Sunlight and Moonlight, and disregarding the advice of the twelve Yaksha generals, resolutely reincarnated as an ordinary person named Brahmin.

This is the content of the first act. When they saw this, even the monks who had fallen into demonic possession were completely immersed in the play. Some even bowed and paid homage to Zhou Sheng, addressing him as the King Buddha.

Even if one has fallen into demonic possession, the faith accumulated over so many years before and after death has already penetrated deep into the soul. Upon seeing the Medicine Buddha in person, one's soul is naturally shaken, and one devoutly prostrates oneself in worship.

"Skin and bones, life hanging by a thread, waking in pain at midnight and coughing at dawn..."

When Uncle Wei, suffering from illness, looking pale and emaciated, and dressed in rags, appeared on stage, his superb acting skills and sorrowful singing instantly stirred the compassion that had not yet been completely extinguished in the hearts of many monks.

One song, three sighs; one sigh, three coughs.

He portrayed the image of an elderly man suffering from illness with great vividness.

The Brahmin, who was reincarnated as a mortal, witnessed the old man pass away in pain and was deeply moved.

Then he encountered a destitute blind woman who often suffered from hunger due to her blindness, and eventually fell off a cliff and died while searching for wild vegetables.

"In the beginning of chaos, before the light was seen, I vaguely remember the fragrance of the sun. I offered a thousand lamps before the Buddha, so why am I blind in this life?"

Yunniang truly lived up to her reputation as a renowned actress, portraying the old woman with unparalleled skill and mastery. In particular, her final recitation was filled with sorrow and grief, as poignant as a cuckoo's cry of blood.

The actors gave it their all, performing far better than during rehearsals, not only because of the troupe leader's instructions, but also because they genuinely wanted to help the monks of Yaofo Temple.

Just like those monks who risked their lives to help the people back then.

After the blind woman, Fanzhi wept bitterly, as if a raging fire was about to burst forth from his heart, and a crazy idea was brewing.

He began to study medicine and went up the mountain to collect herbs.

However, when he saw his mother's gray hair, the sweat on his wife's forehead as she did housework, and his child's innocent smile, he suppressed that thought.

Until he met a deranged teenager. "Heaven is unkind! Earth is unjust!"

Where do I, born of my parents, belong?

The boy played by Hongxian curses the heavens and the earth, much like Nezha in mythology who cuts off his flesh to return to his mother and his bones to return to his father.

Finally, the boy deliberately ingested a deadly poison and climbed to the locust tree outside the house, where he died.

Despite his seemingly rebellious nature, Fan Zhi knew that he was simply suffering from a brain disorder, sometimes going mad and sometimes lucid.

He would even hurt his parents when he was insane, but his parents always treated him very well and endured his pain even when he was hurt.

In order to stop hurting them, the boy committed suicide by poisoning himself while he was still conscious. The reason he climbed out of the house was because he heard that his parents were planning to sell the house for money and he did not want his death inside to affect the house's value.

Looking at the boy's cold body, and listening to the parents' grief-stricken cries.

Fanzhi's heart was once again deeply shaken, and the flame that had been suppressed in his heart could no longer be contained and burst forth, like a volcano awakening.

His eyes were filled with tears, yet they shone brightly.

The second act, the curtain falls.

This scene depicts the suffering of all living beings. In order to achieve the best effect, Zhou Sheng made some changes to the script.

For example, the child in the play was indeed portrayed as a demon child, but Zhou Sheng deliberately added a twist to the character.

When this scene ended, Zhou Sheng clearly saw that all the monks of Yaofo Temple had red eyes and tears in them.

Some were constantly reciting Buddhist scriptures, while others were lost in thought, looking as if they had lost their way.

When compassion arises in one's heart, demonic influences will naturally dissipate.

How could a truly kind person remain indifferent to the suffering of all living beings?
Just like that vengeful ghost who called himself the Demon Buddha, who had already become possessed by killing people, the poison he made still hadn't been distributed to the whole village.

In the third act, the Brahmin shaved his head and became a monk.

Instead of chanting scriptures and reciting Buddhist mantras, he resolutely bid farewell to his family and embarked on a difficult path filled with pain and torment.

He has tasted all the medicines in the world to relieve the suffering of all living beings from illness and calamity.

He was repeatedly poisoned and narrowly escaped death. For a period of time, he was paralyzed in both legs and unable to walk, so he crawled on his arms.

Upon hearing this, the people revered him as a divine healer and flocked to see him for treatment.

The Brahmins welcomed all who came, but did not accept a single penny from the poor.

What's disheartening is that those who are cured may not be grateful, while those who are not cured harbor resentment, and their families may even throw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at the monk, cursing him as a fraud.

When they saw this scene, all the monks tensed up and their eyes showed sadness.

But the Brahmin repaid evil with kindness and continued to practice his own way.

“Those who see me carrying a bowl say I am greedy for medicine; those who see me dispensing medicine say I am showing off my supernatural powers; those who see me saving people with wrong views say I have broken the precepts; those who see me saving evil people say I have no discrimination.”

“However, I made twelve vows, the seventh of which is ‘to remove the illnesses of all sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness in body and mind.’ Among all these vows, there are those who slander me, doubt me, and destroy me.”

After a pause, the Brahmin's voice boomed like a bell.

“When people slander me with their tongues, I regard it as the delirium of a sick person; when people burn me with their hearts, I regard it as a fever of madness.”

"If doctors are afraid of patients' delirious ramblings, how dare they enter a city plagued by disease?"
If a Bodhisattva were to concern himself with the praise or blame of sentient beings, how could he possibly ferry them across the sea of ​​suffering?

Boom!

This recitation resounded like thunder in the ears of the monks, causing them to either laugh or grieve as if struck by lightning.

"Wrong, wrong!"

"We were all wrong!!" (End of Chapter)