Under One Person, Mountain and Sea Painting Demon

"I'm sorry, this is just my humble opinion, I just want to throw out some ideas. It's not my intention to be rude or offensive, I hope you won't blame me or take it seriously."

"This……"

It must be said that Youfang's words were truly sincere and heartfelt, and the truth in them was profound. Coupled with his final apology, all the monks really lost their temper.

Of course, the main reason why they lost their temper was because they were all pondering what Youfang had just said. An atmosphere of enlightenment gradually spread among the monks, and the previously obscure meanings of the scriptures seemed to become clearer.

Seeing this scene, the abbots in the first row couldn't help but look at each other with surprise in their eyes. They never thought that the profound meaning of their Buddhist practice could be seen through by such a young boy.

Yes, the entry point to Buddhist practice is indeed “faith”, but as the practice deepens and the understanding of Buddhist teachings deepens, this “faith” will gradually be broken. From “worshiping Buddha” to “becoming a Buddha” is the true practice of Buddhism!

Just like the saying...

Thousands of roads lead to the same destination!

Buddhist practitioners are also people who practice cultivation, so how could they really be bound by "faith"?

The only difference is that the Taoists follow the path of their own choice, the path of enlightenment to break free from the shackles of heaven and earth, and they are more free and easy...

Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches one to first restrain oneself and correct one's behavior in order to cultivate one's mind. After reaching a certain level of practice, one then seeks a breakthrough and pursues the principle of "sudden enlightenment". This has given rise to sayings such as "Put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha instantly".

Of course, to be honest, the practice of Quanzhen people is somewhat similar to that of Buddhism. Both of them take the first step in practice by restraining themselves.

However, Buddhism is more extreme and ruthless in this regard, even establishing "faith" together. But precisely because of this, when they can see through "faith", it is also the opportunity to attain enlightenment!

There is no doubt that all the eminent monks and abbots present here are enlightened people who have seen through the word "faith". The "Buddha" they speak of is different from the "Buddha" spoken of by ordinary people. It is the "Buddha in their hearts".

There is a Buddhist saying:

"The body is the bodhi tree, the mind is the mirror, always wipe it and don't let it collect dust."

This is the state that most of the enlightened monks are in. At this point, their "sexual" power has become unprecedentedly strong.

And the Buddha said:

"There is no tree in Bodhi, the mirror is not a stage, and there is nothing in it, where can it cause dust."

This is the realm possessed by sect leaders such as Miaojing, Miaoyan, Miaowu, and even Master Jiekong. Their mental insights have long since broken through the shackles and are moving towards the ultimate goal of "becoming a Buddha"!

Therefore, they all understood what Youfang was saying, and naturally they would not get angry at all. They would only think that it was a pity that this kid did not enter Buddhism!

After hearing his answer, Master Jiekong's mouth corners raised, and then he waved his hand, indicating that Youfang could sit back.

In fact, what Youfang just said was actually the theme of his lecture this time, which is also the responsibility that the "Zen Sect" has always undertaken - to guide and help disciples of other sects to break this "false Buddha".

Seeing that the young disciples below had already understood something, he knew that he didn't need to repeat himself. He couldn't help but smile and asked another question:

"You have all heard what Master You just said. So, does anyone want to refute it?"

"..."

There was silence below.

In fact, it was not that no one wanted to refute, but that the young monks did not know how to refute. In fact, they all felt that what he said made sense, so how could they refute it?

So...

"What Master You said is what I want to say. You can remember what he just said and think about it carefully..."

"Most of you have already reached a bottleneck in your practice of 'faith'. If you want to make another breakthrough, you must think carefully about... how to 'not believe'!"

"Do not believe?!"

Hearing this, the young monks looked at each other in bewilderment. They had believed for so many years, and suddenly someone said they didn't believe it. They were a little frightened for a moment.

However, this suggestion ends here, and there is no point in going deeper. The path of cultivation ultimately lies in the word "enlightenment", and they still have to rely on themselves.

but……

"If you really find it difficult to understand, I have an example here, which is from my own experience." Master Jiekong suddenly continued.

Actually, it was still rare to give a lecture by giving examples, but he felt that it was appropriate at this moment, so he began to talk:

"Everyone knows that my cultivation was completely destroyed due to an accident. Now I can no longer circulate Qi, and my body is no different from that of an ordinary person..."

“But as long as I keep moving forward, it means that the path of cultivation has not been cut off. I have never stopped. I am still on the road, and my cultivation has never left me.”

As he spoke, Master Jiekong gently raised his eyelids, and glanced at everyone present, with a serene and extremely calm smile.

However, just such an ordinary and common glance made everyone close their eyes involuntarily, as if a ray of light shot into their eyes, extremely dazzling.

But soon, this dazzling feeling turned into gentleness, like a gentle breeze or warm sunshine, making everyone feel comfortable.

When Master Jiekong lowered his eyelids again, all the feelings disappeared, as if everything that had just happened was just a dream, and everyone woke up.

"Uncle Jiekong, what is your level of cultivation?!" After experiencing the wonder just now, even Master Miaowu could no longer sit still and immediately asked.

“Having your cultivation destroyed doesn’t mean you can’t practice. Practicing has never been a complicated thing. Every word, every action, every standing and every sitting, these... are all practice!” A smile appeared on Master Jiekong’s face.

That’s right, practicing has never been a complicated matter, and there have never been so many requirements, especially in sects like Taoism and Buddhism that practice “cultivating both body and soul”. Even if one’s cultivation is abolished, it does not mean that one cannot practice.

It’s a very simple truth. If you can’t circulate Qi, is it possible that there is no Qi in your body?

If the meridians of the physical body are destroyed, does that mean the physical body will no longer exist?

Could it be that if "life" and "qi" are blocked, the cultivation of "nature" will also disappear?

Even if the cultivation of "sexuality" is lost, will those principles that have been understood in the past be forgotten?

Indeed, due to what happened in the past, Master Jiekong is no longer able to use any means, and all his Shaolin Kung Fu skills have basically disappeared.

But means are means, and practice is practice, the two have never been bound together. Means are just superficial manifestations of the results of practice, and one's own practice is the foundation of everything!

"Except for one's own practice, everything is just a dream and bubble, so one should view it in this way." The next moment, Master Jiekong's voice once again penetrated everyone's ears, like a bolt from the blue.

"Life is illusory and empty, so being injured or not has no effect on my practice..."

"Qi is illusory and empty, so whether it works or not, it cannot affect my practice..."

"Nature is illusory and originally empty, so whether it is dispersed or not, it cannot affect my practice..."

"I am also illusory, and have always been empty. Whether I exist or not, the Tao is moving forward!"

"Namo Amitabha!"

At the end, as a Buddhist chant sounded, everyone who was immersed in the wonderful world created by Master Jiekong was shocked and woke up as if from a dream.

The next moment, they all looked towards Master Jiekong in front of them, only to feel that his entire person seemed to have disappeared. He was there and yet not there, just like the reflection in everyone's heart!

"This……"

Seeing this scene, even Youfang was shocked. He could see that Master Jiekong's cultivation in the past must have reached a very high level!

In this state, even if he cannot catch up with the old Heavenly Master, he definitely has the potential to be "second only to the best". Otherwise, how could he perform such a "miracle" when his cultivation was completely wasted!

"so……"

"How on earth was Xiao Zizai able to defeat Master Jie Kong?" You Fang was suddenly startled and began to recall the information he knew...

……

……

Xiao Zizai, a temporary worker in East China.

He was born with a kind of "madness". When the disease strikes, his "red eyes" will open, making his whole body and mind fall into an irresistible killing tendency, and he will cruelly execute those he regards as "enemies".

Since his teenage years, he had been trying every possible way to treat and suppress his symptoms, but to no avail. As he grew older, his symptoms became more frequent.

Before becoming a temporary worker in East China, Xiao Zizai had stayed in the company's "bunker" for a period of time. That was the last time he killed someone as a "civilian". After he turned himself in, he was sent directly to the "bunker" by the company.

In the archives of the "dark bunker", there is still a self-narration of Xiao Zizai, which details the whole process of how he discovered his "illness":

"The first time I realized I might not be normal was when I fought back and beat someone until he bled. I felt a little excited."

"This emotion was new to me because I had never had any emotion before, and since then I've started to pay attention to myself."

“When I was in anatomy class, watching violent movies, or seeing pigs and chickens being slaughtered, people around me either showed pity or fear, but no matter how I tried to convince myself, I couldn’t go against my true feelings—I was only excited.”

"If the reaction of most people can be called 'common sense', I'm sure... it's the sick one."

Xiao Zizai has been a silent academic master since he was young. No matter whether it was a task assigned by the teacher or a request for help from his classmates, he would calmly carry out any request.

No matter how lively, sad or happy the environment is, his expression will not show any obvious changes. Therefore, everyone who knew him back then gave a unanimous evaluation of him: mature, steady and introverted.

After realizing that he had violent tendencies, Xiao Zizai's first reaction was fear. He had been hiding his violent tendencies and relying on self-mutilation to barely suppress his impulses.

At the same time, he also began to learn various psychotherapy methods and cultivation methods, trying his best to heal himself, until he met Master Kong at Lingyin Temple.

In Xiao Zizai's understanding at that time, if he could enter into the compassion of Buddhism, perhaps he could eliminate his cruel nature.

But Master Jiekong made it clear that the compassion of Buddhism was not what Xiao Zizai had imagined, and even if he entered Buddhism, there was no way to cure his disease.

But one thing is that people's good and evil thoughts all come from "self-attachment" and "self-opinion". If one can get rid of "self-attachment" through practice, then Xiao Zizai's own existence will no longer be a problem, let alone mental illness.

From then on, Xiao Zizai entered Buddhism and became a Buddhist monk, taking Master Jiekong as his teacher. He was given the Buddhist name "Baojing" and began his true practice.

This was the cause of the subsequent tragedy.

A few months after Xiao Zizai entered Lingyin Temple, Master Jiekong decided to teach him his own methods and techniques. Naturally, this was strongly opposed by the monks in the temple, who believed that Xiao Zizai should be kept away from all factors related to fighting and killing.

But Master Jiekong believed that, since Xiao Zizai had talent in this area, starting with martial arts might be able to help him get rid of his "ego"... and at least in the first few years of practice, this was indeed the case.

Ever since he began learning martial arts from Master Jiekong, Xiao Zizai's red-eye attacks have become more and more frequent, and the best time he had not had an attack was a year.

Seeing that he had made great progress, everyone was naturally happy for him. However, Master Jiekong still repeatedly reminded them: In practice, one must remember not to be reckless, as being reckless will lead to "greed for learning", which will instead increase the power of the "ego", causing all previous efforts to be wasted.

You should know that the process of Buddhist cultivation is just as the saying goes, "In the state of tranquility and emptiness, the four delusions arise, and greed, arrogance, ignorance and views increase." In the state of "meditation" where external things are abandoned, practitioners are prone to develop an extraordinary sense of joy, and become proud of their own "tranquility." This is "contamination."

If one cannot get rid of this state and is overly greedy for Zen, false thoughts will arise and may even lead to obsession and loss in this kind of pleasure.

However, Xiao Zizai at that time was happy because the red eye had disappeared, and was somewhat indifferent to Master Jiekong's advice. He often secretly increased his practice when the master could not see.

And in the end, things did slide towards the worst outcome. Xiao Zizai's "ego" suddenly became stronger, and one night, he couldn't help but open his strong "red eyes"!

Just like that, Xiao Zizai, who fell into the abyss of madness, beat anyone he saw, and he always killed them. The monks were unwilling to kill in Buddhism, so they were very cautious during the fight and could not stop him at all.

At this time, Master Jiekong rushed over after hearing the news, but he did not take action to cripple Xiao Zizai. Instead, he took on all of Xiao Zizai's attacks with his physical body, and fell to the ground in despair in front of the "Palm of Great Compassion" that he personally taught him.

"Although my master still has a breath, his meridians are completely destroyed. The monks want to destroy me to avenge my master. I am willing to bear it."

"But my master resolutely stopped me and told me to leave Buddhism and find my own way. He kicked me out of the temple."

"At the same time, I also made an agreement with him that if there is really no other way out and I can no longer control myself, I will return to Lingyin Temple and kill him."

"After I left, I returned to secular life and lived a normal life for a few years. I got a job and a girlfriend..."

After leaving the temple, perhaps because that killing spree had eliminated a lot of his murderous nature, Xiao Zizai's red eye disease did not occur very often. Whenever it did occur, he was able to suppress it basically with the experience of practice.

But until the day he was taken away to the "bunker", even he himself could not remember why or what stimulated him, or maybe there was no reason at all, he almost killed his girlfriend with his own hands.

run!

This was his only thought at the time. The red eyes had not completely disappeared, and the little bit of rationality he had left was telling him that the only way to save her was to leave her.

So he fled like a dog, and happened to encounter a knife-wielding robber on the way. Perhaps he had a just reason, and in order to get rid of himself, he killed the criminal, then went to the police station to surrender, and was soon taken to the "bunker".

Regarding Xiao Zizai's situation, Dou Le, the person in charge of the "Bunker", commented on the file:

"Compassion and killing have always been born together. An ancient book says: "I have never cultivated good deeds in my life, but I only love to kill and set fires. Suddenly, I suddenly got enlightened. I broke the jade lock here. The tide in Qiantang River came. Today I know who I am. "This person's situation is special. I will detain him in the bunker first. After the information is complete and the higher authorities are informed, we will deal with him."

This is the past of Xiao Zizai and Master Jiekong, as well as the reasons and consequences of his becoming a temporary worker.

……

……

Originally You Fang thought that Xiao Zizai was too talented and his cultivation level increased too quickly, and coupled with the fact that the monks in the temple at the time did not want to hurt him, this eventually led to Master Kong being deposed.

But now it seems that with Master Jiekong's level of cultivation, no matter if he had controlled Xiao Zizai or really used his internal energy to withstand it, it would have been impossible for him to be defeated by Xiao Zizai.

"Then, there is only one possibility. The final outcome of that incident was caused intentionally by Master Jiekong!" Youfang analyzed in his mind.

"And the reason why he did this might be to help Xiao Zizai to be liberated, or maybe he saw that this was a must for Xiao Zizai to practice!"

Thinking of this, Youfang nodded unconsciously. In fact, this approach is the same as the Taoist concept of "leaving the world and entering the world". It is difficult to achieve perfection by just sitting in meditation.

Moreover, Master Jiekong, who possesses such high level of cultivation and pays special attention to Xiao Zizai, could not have been unaware that Xiao Zizai was practicing secretly, and the fact that he did not stop him meant that... he knew he could not stop him!

Just like what I said to Mr. Lu when I left the Lu family, it is better to guide than to block. No matter how many reasons you explain, it is not as good as to sort out, guide and persuade step by step.

Although Xiao Zizai's problem can be overcome through "Zen meditation", he must also experience the various problems that may arise from "Zen meditation" itself. Only when he can truly elevate his realm to the corresponding level can he truly achieve his goal.

As for the matter of giving up his own martial arts, perhaps it was the "ultimate insurance" that Master Jiekong gave Xiao Zizai, just as he and Xiao Zizai agreed - if Xiao Zizai really couldn't control himself outside, he would let him kill himself.

And when that time really comes, facing a Master Jiekong in his prime, even if Xiao Zizai really wants to keep the appointment, he may still have some hesitation in his heart. Only by giving up his own cultivation can he truly reassure him.

"In that case, Master Jiekong really put a lot of effort into a disciple like Xiao Zizai..." Youfang couldn't help but sigh, and admired Master Jiekong for being able to achieve such a level.