The Strange Tales of Tokyo Monk

They did not deliberately lower their voices, but spoke very naturally, and the passionate gazes they cast on Pinggong Qianye did not show any intention of concealing the slightest.

Seeing this, Pinggong Qianye lowered his head slightly and chanted a Buddhist name.

This action, on the contrary, made the girls who had been staring at him let out sounds of excitement that were almost screaming.

Some people even pick up their phones and start taking secret photos.

Suzuka Haruhi hurriedly stopped their rude behavior and explained the situation to Hiramiya Chiya that these girls were just people she met on the train.

She came here today to thank Pinggong Qianye for her help last time, but she didn't expect to meet this group of girls of similar age.

During the conversation, she learned that these girls were students from the girls' school next to Shiraishi High School.

We came here together because we saw a very popular promotional video on the Internet. We wanted to see if the beautiful monk in the promotional video was really that good-looking.

Promotional video?

Hiramiya Chiye was a little curious. Could it be the result of the promotional photos taken by the photography club members?

The interval is a bit long. Could it be that they are taking advantage of the summer vacation to start promoting it?

“Master Liansheng, it’s this promotional video.”

Ruyi, who was standing by, quickly found the promotional video that Suzuka Haruhi mentioned on the Internet and handed it to Heimiya Chiye to watch.

To be honest, he had watched this promotional video two days ago.

It was Hase Shuichi who pushed it to him.

The cause was that Hidekazu Hase saw a video on the Internet promoting Weilian Ancient Temple and Master Liansheng, so he forwarded it, pinned it to the top, and attached a comment.

Master Liansheng is the most beautiful person in the world.

As one of the top stars in the Buddhist community today, Hase Shuichi still has a lot of influence and fans.

His seemingly self-deprecating comment naturally attracted the attention of many fans and passers-by.

Then, this promotional video went viral.

Pinggong Qianye watched the entire promotional video and sighed slightly.

In fact, his face hardly appeared in the entire promotional video, only his side profile. Most of the promotional content and scenery were still placed on the Weilian Ancient Temple.

The original intention of the photography team members should have been to focus on promoting Weilian Ancient Temple, but his figure was also included in a few shots.

With the help of Hase Shuichi, the "Brother Leiyin" who likes to watch the fun and make trouble, I, who have few shots, have become particularly eye-catching.

How can I put it? It has indeed achieved its purpose of promoting Weilian Ancient Temple.

But he had a hunch that most of the people who would come to Weilian Ancient Temple for sightseeing would be girls, and most of them would be high school students.

"Master Liansheng, can you chat with us? We also want to listen to you preach the Dharma."

“I heard that Master Liansheng was still a high school student. Can you tell us about his daily life between school and the temple?”

"Master Liansheng, you really live up to your name, as pure and innocent as a blooming lotus."

Faced with such verbal bombardment, Pinggong Qianye did not show any timidity or shyness, but always maintained a gentle and distant smile.

Having supported a temple for so many years, he has seen many things.

In the past, when the elderly ladies first came to the temple, their words and actions were much more unrestrained than these young girls, regardless of whether they were eating or drinking meat.

It's just a small scene now.

Would the great Master Liansheng run away just because of such a small matter?

Then all his Buddhist practices would be in vain.

Although he has not yet reached the state where all beings are the same in his eyes.

But Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. The same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

“What kind of Dharma do you want to hear?”

Pinggong Qianye smiled and spoke, leading them to the big banyan tree at the entrance.

There was no way, as the scripture hall had not been built yet. The side hall could accommodate some people, but there were still elderly believers there who were voluntarily folding paper cranes and chatting to pass the time.

"This banyan tree is so big, as majestic and magnificent as Master Liansheng!"

"Meiko, how did you know that Master Liansheng was so majestic and powerful?"

"Oh, stop arguing. Can't you touch and feel for yourself whether Master Liansheng is majestic and powerful?"

The topic gradually tended to go off track.

Suzuka Haruhi, who was standing by, had her ears flushed as she listened to their conversation with some curiosity and nervousness.

Sometimes I really wanted to interrupt, but after looking at Pinggong Qianye, I chose to keep silent.

It's a bit uncomfortable.

"If you are obsessed with appearance, you will be easily seduced by it, and end up going astray and wasting your youth."

Pinggong Chiye just spoke calmly.

"Master Liansheng, are you going to give us a sutra to enlighten our lustful hearts?"

"Master Liansheng, it is said that the Buddha once fed the devil with his own body. Can you feed me with your own body? It only takes one night, and I will definitely join the Buddhist sect and believe in Buddhism devoutly."

"As for me, I am willing to believe in Buddhism. In this life, I only hope to have a romantic encounter with Master Liansheng."

Looking at their young and tender faces and listening to the teasing words coming out of their mouths, Pinggong Qianye still maintained a gentle smile.

He knew that these girls actually did not understand the true meaning of words like salvation and Buddha feeding the demons with his own body.

These are just the words and excuses they hear when surfing the Internet to tease and make fun of Buddhist practitioners.

Of course, he could have shouted at them for making provocative remarks and insulting Buddhists, thus making them cover their faces and leave in shame.

But this is not a good solution.

Since they came to the temple, no matter what their purpose was, they were themselves and they were themselves.

Coming to the temple, listening to Buddhist teachings, and letting them leave with a full load of gains, this is what we should do.

As for liking one's own appearance and figure and making provocative remarks, it is just a trivial matter.

There is nothing wrong in liking things that you think are beautiful.

Buddhism and Buddhist scriptures can also be considered things that can make people feel good.

"You said you wanted to believe in Buddhism because of me, which is a good thing."

The first sentence that Pinggong Qianye said made the hearts of the six girls present tremble. They had never expected to get such an answer.

Faced with their blatant provocation, the young monk in front of them, the so-called Master Liansheng, was neither angry nor ashamed, nor furious. Instead, he only had a calm and natural affirmation.

“But do you know how to believe in Buddhism?”

“Does reciting a Buddhist scripture count as believing in Buddhism?”

“Does worshipping a Buddha or Bodhisattva count as believing in Buddhism?”

“Does donating money to temples and offering the Three Treasures count as believing in Buddhism?”

"Furthermore, what is this Buddha you are talking about?"

Pinggong Qianye asked each sentence in a calm tone, which sounded like a question or a guiding inquiry.

Suzuka Haruhi and the others looked bewildered and a little dazed, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Moreover, they don't know how to answer.

If they knew what Buddha is and how to believe in Buddha, they would not have said those provocative words before.

Seeing this scene, Pinggong Qianye smiled and began to talk about what Buddha is in a soothing and peaceful tone.

Guide them little by little to listen to Buddhist knowledge and come into contact with wisdom and compassion.

Chapter 102: Youth Fireworks Festival

People come and go in front of the temple.

When the sunset glow faded and the sky darkened, Heimiya Chiye saw off Suzuka Haruhi and others who had been listening for two hours.

Before leaving, Pinggong Qianye vaguely saw that their watery eyes were filled with confusion and puzzlement, as if they were doubting something.

Perhaps they have realized from Buddhism how wonderful life is.

In addition to allowing them to return home with a full load, the temple also received a considerable amount of donations because of its lectures on Buddhist teachings.

Speaking of which, girls are really generous when it comes to the things they like.

Classmate Lianghua alone donated 10 yen to the temple. It was probably the New Year's money she had saved for a long time.

The other five girls also each offered a considerable sum of money.

"Master Liansheng, you are my Buddha!"

Now that there were no outsiders present, Ruyi, who had been taciturn all along, became visibly excited.

Just now, he was standing aside and saw with his own eyes how Master Liansheng received the six female donors who came with unclean purposes such as covetousness, teasing, and ambiguity.

There was no anger, no shyness, no timidity, but he defused their numerous verbal attacks with a nonchalant attitude.

By changing the topic again, he led them into the door of Buddhism, and they listened quietly and obediently to the Dharma for two hours.

What is Buddha?

How to believe in Buddhism?

How can we use the wisdom of Buddha to deal with things and behave in our daily lives?

The topic progressed step by step, so that they left with a full knowledge of Buddhism.

This is what every true Buddhist practitioner should do.

This is also the direction in which we should study and work hard.

As he had said before, Guru Padmasambhava is the Buddha on his path of practice!

"It seems a little late now."

Pinggong Qianye ignored Ruyi who was already showing signs of going crazy. He looked up at the dark sky, then glanced at the time on his phone. It was almost 6:.

Tonight is the time for the Sumida River Fireworks Festival, and he had previously agreed with Horii Suzune to meet near Asakusa Station.

Even though it was a unilateral decision made by Horii Suzune, he did not object.

With a light touch of his finger, he turned to the unread message interface, and sure enough, there were two messages from Horii Suzune.

[Hiramiya-san, it’s getting late. In case you forget what day it is tonight, I’m letting you know in advance. See you at Asakusa Station at 7pm.]

[I have already set off and will arrive in about 20 minutes]

Well, there is still half an hour until 7 o'clock. If I can catch the tram, I will almost make it.

Pinggong Qianye put away his cell phone, closed the temple door, and went to the station with Ruyi.

Recently, Ruyi has been staying with Hase Shuichi, traveling back and forth between Shinjuku Ward and Arakawa Ward every day.

"It turns out that Master Liansheng is also interested in tonight's fireworks display."

Ruyi, who successfully got on the same train with Chiya Hiramiya, began to look for topics to talk about.

Shinjuku District and Asakusa Station are not on the same route, but he doesn't mind changing trains at Asakusa Station, and he can also choose to visit Sensoji Temple.

"Something just happened."

Pinggong Qianye didn't start the small talk, he just felt very hungry.

This afternoon, I was so busy explaining Buddhism to those girls that I barely drank any water. I was also rushing to Asakusa Station and hadn’t even had dinner yet.

There's nothing he can do about it; he's always punctual and doesn't like to be late.

……

Asakusa Station saw a surge in passenger traffic tonight, with people from many areas and tourists from other places choosing to come here to watch the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.

Because this has always been a good viewing point.

Not far from the station, Horii Suzune was sitting on a bench, drinking cantaloupe-flavored soda while scrolling through the contents of her mobile phone.