The Strange Tales of Tokyo Monk

"If it weren't for those monks, how could we end up in this situation? They are really a group of good dogs raised by Emperor Kanmu!"

"Ah! I hate it! They all deserve to be killed! They all deserve to die!"

When anger was mentioned, the female ghost once again lost the sanity that she had finally recovered, and was once again swallowed by hatred and rage.

Hiramiya Chiye could only walk up to the male ghost. If the legend was correct, he was Prince Sawara who had been practicing Buddhism since childhood.

A ray of Buddha's light condensed from the fingertips of Hiramiya Chiya and flowed into Prince Sawara's mind, allowing him to temporarily escape from the entanglement of endless anger and hatred and gain a bit of freedom.

"Master, what do you want to know?"

"Stories, stories about you."

This will determine how Pinggong Qianye deals with the two ghosts, whether to eliminate them completely or to help them to be reborn.

"It's a long time ago..."

Prince Sawara leaned against the wall, looked up and sighed, then told the third version of the story.

At that time, Prince Sawara wanted to prove his innocence, so he turned into a ghost and returned to the palace in anger and unwillingness. He wanted to find Emperor Kanmu to get everything clear.

He never had any ambition to become the emperor, but why did Emperor Kanmu go so far to frame him!

Although I already have the answer in my mind, I still want to hear Emperor Kanmu's personal explanation.

When Prince Sawara found Emperor Kanmu, Emperor Kanmu was so frightened that he cried and pushed all the blame onto his queen, then drew his sword and killed the queen himself.

When Prince Sawara was about to leave, the high monk guarding the imperial palace arrived. Emperor Kanmu changed his previous crying and repenting attitude and shouted at the high monk to capture Prince Sawara and to kill him completely.

There were many eminent monks in the palace, and Prince Sawara, who had just transformed into a ghost, was no match for him. When he was about to die, Emperor Kanmu's Empress, Fujiwara Otomu, transformed into a ghost with the most turbulent hatred.

The two ghosts merged into one and temporarily forced back the monks guarding the imperial palace. At the same time, drought and famine occurred near Heijokyo-kyo. As for the bandit uprising, it was purely because Emperor Kanmu's rule was unpopular.

After all, Prince Sawara had been influenced by Buddhism since he was a child, and he could not bear to see famine and drought sweeping the country where he once lived, so he voluntarily let the monks who came behind him suppress him in Taiji Hall.

Empress Fujiwara no Otomuro, who also turned into a ghost, was naturally suppressed in Taigiden along with Prince Sawara.

"This is the truest story, a story about Emperor Kanmu alone who is ugly and disgusting."

After telling the story, Prince Sawara tried hard to suppress his emotions, but his unwillingness and anger gradually made him lose control.

Pinggong Qianye was silent for a while, collected all the lotus flowers in the Taiji Hall, and said calmly: "Let this little monk take you to the afterlife."

Chapter 122 Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Great Vow, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Heart Mantra

Go to the afterlife?

This sentence seemed to have touched a sensitive chord in the female ghost. She floated over from the corner and looked down at Pinggong Qianye.

"Those bald donkeys have been trying to use Buddhist scriptures to help us attain rebirth day and night for so many years, but they have failed every time."

"The resentment and anger in our hearts cannot be relieved by just a few words from you!"

"Emperor Kanmu deserves death! The bald donkey who helped him commit atrocities also deserves death! They all deserve to die!"

"Hate! Angry!"

The female ghost's mind was once again taken away by hatred, and her entire body began to swell. Her originally beautiful face was now covered with black cracks.

"Ugh."

Pinggong Qianye sighed, raised his right hand, and gently swept the female ghost to the other corner of the wall.

"Prince Sawara, you have studied Buddhism before, so you should know what a tragic ending it would be if you became a demon and stayed in the world to commit crimes."

"Master, the resentment in my heart can never be eliminated. I just can't let it go, even though Emperor Kanmu has long since died."

Prince Sawara smiled bitterly, and he forced his hands together, "The sins I have committed do not deserve the rebirth."

"If the monk has the ability, please make the two of us disappear completely from the world."

“I no longer look forward to the afterlife.”

The repressed hatred and anger within Prince Sawara burst out again, devouring his sanity and giving rise to a single scarlet eye the size of a fist.

When Prince Sawara's aura surged again, he did not rush towards Hiramiya Chiye, whose aura made him feel disgusted, but rushed to the corner of the wall on the other side and hugged the female ghost tightly.

The two ghosts, a man and a woman, completely merged together and turned into a powerful ghost with two heads, four arms, an evil ghost appearance, and a three-meter body.

Its head was almost touching the beam, and the faces on the two heads had been completely changed, and their original appearance could no longer be seen.

Compared with the slightly illusory state just now, the evil ghost at this moment seemed to be real, and seemed to be covered with a set of black and green armor all over the body.

This has gone beyond the scope of an ordinary ghost and is a ferocious and terrifying ghost king.

The aura surged and expanded, and the overwhelming power of ghosts and evil spirits filled the entire Tai Chi Hall.

Pinggong Qianye just watched quietly.

The soul is scattered and it is the greatest punishment for all sentient beings.

In the past, when he faced demons and monsters, he only tried to save them and enlighten them, but he didn't completely defeat them and make their souls shattered to pieces, leaving them with no hope of reincarnation.

"I will use the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Heart Mantra to save you. If you still cannot attain rebirth, then I will grant your wish and let your soul fly away, cleanly and completely."

Pinggong Qianye thought that when he went to the Sutra Library, the last sutra he read was "The Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva". Perhaps all the causes and effects had already been destined.

"Om, Prajnaparamita, Suvaha."

Pinggong Qianye ignored the ghost king in front of him and sat cross-legged on the ground. When the ghost king swung his four arms to attack him, he chanted golden characters to easily block all attacks.

At the same time, golden characters were spit out from Pinggong Qianye's mouth and surrounded the Ghost King. In just a few breaths, the ferocious Ghost King could no longer move.

It was said in the "Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva": Shakyamuni Buddha summoned Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and made him the eternal leader of the underworld, so that all people in the world who have relatives can recommend their relatives and ascend to the Pure Land together.

Ksitigarbha received this important trust, so he made a great vow before the Buddha: "To provide all possible means for the suffering sentient beings in the six realms, so that they can all be liberated, and only then will I attain Buddhahood myself."

This is also the origin of the saying "I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty."

This is the great wish of Ksitigarbha, so Ksitigarbha is also called "Great Vow Ksitigarbha".

In Buddhism, Ksitigarbha’s great vows echo the “great wisdom” of Manjushri, the “great deeds” of Samantabhadra, and the “great compassion” of Avalokitesvara.

If even the Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva cannot save the two ghosts from reincarnation, then Pinggong Qianye can only beat them to death.

After reciting the Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the first time, the ghost king who was bound by the golden characters had a completely dull expression and did not struggle at all.

After chanting the Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the second time, the ghost energy around the Ghost King dissipated, and Prince Sawara and Fujiwara Otomuro, a male and a female ghost, separated from their fused state.

After the third recitation of the "Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" was completed, a golden light slowly emerged from the bodies of Prince Sawara and Fujiwara Otomuro. Attracted by the golden light, Prince Sawara and Fujiwara Otomuro ascended to heaven on the spot, and were reborn in another life.

Outside the Tai Chi Hall, two beams of light can be faintly seen rising into the sky, shining in the night sky.

Is that the light of rebirth in the Pure Land?

The abbot of the Wen Zheng Hall was greatly shocked. He had also performed exorcism on some evil spirits and ghosts before, but all he could produce was a flickering light, which sometimes could not even be seen.

The wonderful sight at this moment seems like a group of eminent monks are chanting the "Nirvana Mantra" with all their might.

Is this a way to forcibly liberate the two ghosts in the Taiji Hall?

Is this the great power of Master Liansheng?

Host Wen Zheng's eyelids twitched slightly. The scene before him always felt unreal.

Those are two ghosts that have existed for a long time!

"I guess they will be more shocked than me?"

After thinking about this, the host Wen Zheng was in a good mood, smiled, then put away his lotus lantern and walked towards the Taiji Hall.

The three eminent monks in the other three directions also noticed the unusual changes in the Taiji Hall and stopped what they were doing.

He ordered the monks in the temple to guard their respective positions, and then walked towards the Tai Chi Hall in tacit understanding.

The aura of the two ghosts was gradually disappearing under the two golden beams.

By the time the four of them arrived at the gate of Taiji Hall, the ghostly aura inside the Hall had completely dissipated, and the two beams of light in the sky had also disappeared without a trace.

"Master Wen Zheng, the monk just walked out from your direction. Are you hiding something from us?" asked the monk from Todaiji Temple.

"That master just happened to come to my temple as a guest and encountered this incident by chance, so I asked him for help."

The abbot smiled, feeling proud of the boundless power of Master Liansheng.

"Which monk is it?"

"I can only say that this monk is from Tokyo."

"Tokyo? Could it be a high monk from Sensō-ji Temple?"

"Or maybe it's the monk Jingyi from Yutian Temple?"

Faced with these speculations, the abbot of the Wen Zheng Hall just smiled and said nothing. He was looking forward to the expressions of the three monks when they saw the true appearance of Master Liansheng.

It must be very shocking, right?

Squeak.

While several monks were discussing, the door of the Taiji Hall opened and a young figure walked out.

"So young? Impossible?"

"She is indeed too young. She can't be more than 20 years old."

"Was there another person just now?"

The three monks except the abbot of civil affairs subconsciously looked inside the Taiji Hall, but did not find any trace of the second person.

The host wanted to laugh, but he still tried to keep a calm expression. He walked in front of Pinggong Qianye, put his hands together and said, "Thank you Master Liansheng for your help tonight."

Master Liansheng?

Which Master Liansheng in Tokyo?

He actually came to Nara?

It's impossible. How could Master Liansheng be so young?

The other three monks all looked over, half believing and half doubting.

They have all heard more or less about the deeds of this Master Liansheng.

In the forum of Pudu APP, Master Liansheng has become a prominent figure.

He is best at writing story titles that are fresh and interesting enough, and the content of the stories can often shock people.

This is a great monk who can subdue big monsters and has great magical powers.

Judging from his words, deeds and rumors, it is impossible to connect that Master Liansheng with the young monk in front of us.

It’s not that they are used to judging people by their appearance, but the Master Padmasambhava before them is too different from the image of Master Padmasambhava in their minds.

"Are you really the Master Liansheng?"

"If there is no second Master Liansheng, it should be me."

"How can you be so young?"

"Did Master Liansheng ever say that he was very old?"

"Are you from Tokyo?"

"Tokyo Weilian Ancient Temple is located in Arakawa District. If the three monks are free in the future, you are welcome to visit the small temple."

Faced with the questions from the three monks, Pinggong Qianye simply responded calmly.

After chatting for a while, the host Wen Zheng interrupted the topic and asked about the specific situation of the two ghosts in the Taiji Hall.

"He has passed away and entered the cycle of reincarnation." Pinggong Qianye looked back at the Taiji Hall.

"Master Liansheng really has great magical powers and great compassion!"

Although the civil official had expected this, he still felt deeply moved when he heard Pinggong Qianye say this fact with his own ears.

This is a hidden danger that their three major temples have been unable to resolve over the years.

It is a difficult task to kill the two ghosts that can merge into one, let alone to save them and let them enter reincarnation.

"This is the power of the great wish of Ksitigarbha." Pinggong Qianye did not take credit for it.

Hearing this, the Wen Zheng host just smiled bitterly. They had also chanted the "Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" together, but it was impossible to get rid of the resentment and anger that had accumulated over the years in the two ghosts.

Although the "Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" is blessed by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's great vows, it also depends on who is reciting it. Not just any monk can send away those two scary ghosts with just the "Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva".