Chapter 268 - Buddhism

Mount Fanjing, peace lies within the Pure Land. Inside the deep mountain, chanting of scriptures came from an ancient temple. Ning Zhe kneeled underneath a Bodhi tree. He was in deep thought.

Behind him, a figure walked over slowly. He wore a cassock typically worn by the head monk. Walking in front of Ning Zhe, he asked, “Jing Chen, why did you call for me?”

“Master, I am confused about how to deal with a particular matter.” Ning Zhe explained slowly.

Hearing that, Reverend Qing Chan raised his brows up, saying, “Could it be because of… benefactor Leng Yueyan?”

Ning Zhe nodded as he explained, “I met her in my previous life. In that life, she died protecting me. In the end, I became an immortal while she died on the path to immortality.”

“After I entered the immortal realm, I reflected for 30,000 years under the Bodhi tree. In the end, I came to find her in our next time after committing suicide. However, in this life, I am not Fan Kong, and she is not Yu Zhu.”

“In this world, I longed for Buddhism. However, I let Yueyan down in my previous life and I do not wish to let her down again. I merely wanted to pay back my errors in my previous life, but I do not want to go against the ways of Buddhism.”

“Master, what should I do?”

Qing Chan frowned upon hearing that. “Do you think this is karma?”

“Of course, I bear the consequences now for the actions in my previous life.” Ning Zhe nodded.

“Since you caused it in your previous life, why do you not resolve it now?” Qing Chan asked again.

Ning Zhe sighed shortly, explaining, “However, I don’t know how to do it. I will have to give up my Buddhist ways because of her. However, if I remain committed to my Buddhist ways, I would have wronged her.”

Qing Chan put his hand together and chanted a Buddhist scripture, “Afraid that love can hurt your Buddhist ways, entering a mountain but scared of losing out on city life. How can I find a way where I can satisfy both Nyorai and her?”

“This sentence is most suitable to be used to describe you.”

“That’s right. I do not want to wrong Nyorai, nor do I want to wrong her.” Ning Zhe frowned.

Qing Chan seemed to have understood the situation and advised, “I can hear that you wish to repay back for your past sins. If that is the case, why don’t you face it on?”

“However, I do not want to waste my Buddhist ways. I don’t how it will end if I do end up together with her.” Ning Zhe shook his head.

“You are a civilian monk and is not bond to the rules of Buddhism. You can take heart and be brave in your pursuit of her.” Qing Chan continued.

However, Ning Zhe shook his head and said, “Even though I can choose to not follow it, I won’t be at ease if I truly turn against the Buddhist teachings. After all, I grew up in the Buddhist world.”

“I owed Yueyan a favor that I must repay. However, I owed Buddhism a favor as well. I cannot wrong either one of them.”

Hearing that, Qing Chan nodded his head slowly as he smiled. “It’s enough to just bear the Buddhist teachings in your heart. The only difficulty in holding Buddhist values is to have it in your heart. You will not have wronged Buddha if you have him in your heart.”

“There is no need for you to remember the rest of the quote, there is no difficulty in your heart other than to separate yourself from love. You need to know that samsara was borne out of lust and that religions were borne out of love. Everyone has permission to love, including Buddhists.”

Ning Zhe rebutted, “However, the love of Buddhists is all-encompassing. How can it be compared to my private love?”

“Dear! There is no difference between the types of love. The greatest love is not all-encompassing love but that from mother to son. Following that, it is romantic and loyal love.”

“The power of love is very strong and very confusing. It can create miracles after miracles. You can understand the greater love of humanity through private love.”

“You would not have wronged Buddhism. If you cannot even understand private love, how can you use all-encompassing love to save humanity? So, you can rest assured in your pursuit of her. You caused it in your previous life.”

“All actions will result in consequences. You cannot escape from your karma so you might as well face it head-on.”

His words sent Ning Zhe into deep thought. One could understand the greater love through private love, one could not escape from karma…

“Master, if I fell into a relationship, will you be disappointed? Will Buddhism be disappointed?” Ning Zhe stood up to speak.

Qing Chan shook his head and replied, “You owed me nothing, and you owed Buddhism nothing. Buddha is a manifestation of mortals. Everyone who holds Buddhism in their heart can find true meaning within their heart as they realize the truth.”

“You will forever be my disciple even if you only chanted sculptures for one day. If you constantly hold Buddhism in your heart, you can become Buddha.”

Hearing that, Ning Zhe seemed to have a revelation. “I heard a Buddhist quote that one can see Nyorai if one think about Buddhism 300 times a day, and chant Amitabha 10,000 times in their life.”

“This meant that one would not have wronged Buddha if one had him in your heart. Even if your Bodhi Heart fell into the mortal world, can you still be a Buddhist as long as you hold Buddha close to your heart?”

Hearing that, Qing Chan smiled and nodded his head, saying, “Dear, you have finally understood. That is the truth. Everything originates from your heart. As long as your Bodhi Heart is still present, you will be a Buddhist.”

Ning Zhe bowed to his respected master and said, “Then, I… shall find Yueyan now. I have promised to meet her within three months at Muni Valley.”

“My trip now is to find out more about the causes in my previous life, so I can decipher what sort of consequences will occur in my present life. Afterward, I shall venture to Yuxu Pure Land, where Brother Bugui waits for me.”

“Go ahead. All actions resulted in consequences, and everything is predestined by fate. Master hopes that you can find a good end to your work. Do not hurt benefactor Leng again.” Qing Chan smiled.

“Yes, Master. Also, which master said the quote regarding satisfying Nyorai and his love?” Ning Zhe suddenly asked about that.

Looking at the inner hall, Qing Chan explained, “That was a monk from the mortal world called Cangyang Jiacuo. He obtained love just like you, but he never managed to secure it.”

“In my life, I have experienced love three times, each ending in misery. That was a poem he wrote, together with many others. Take it and read it.”

As he spoke, he sent Cangyang Jiacuo’s life story and his love poems into the mind sea of Ning Zhe.

Ning Zhe flipped through and read the life story of this mortal before reading his poems.

“In that life, I climbed over ten thousand mountains, not for a better afterlife, but to meet you on my journey.”

“That moment, I ascended to heaven, not for immortality, but to protect you from above.”

“If I were given another life, you would still be my only choice!”

“How can I find a way where I can satisfy both Nyorai and her?”

From Cangyang Jiacuo’s poetic words, one could feel his determination to love. As a Buddhist, he did not want to become Buddha. Rather, he wished to merely spend the rest of his life with the person he loves.

“He…”

Even though Ning Zhe never saw that mortal monk before, he could empathize with him through his work. Was the loss of love really so painful?

“Master, I shall leave first.”

Clasping his hands together, Ning Zhe said his goodbyes to Qing Chan as he left Mount Fanjing alone. When he flew out, he morphed into a golden bird, flying in one direction.

That was the direction of Mount Huang.

In the Nine Heavens Pure Land, Leng Yueyan was sitting cross-legged under a waterfall. The surrounding white mist made her look more ethereal, like an immortal falling into the mortal world.

“Yueyan.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind. Leng Shuangrong came to her side from behind her.

“Greetings to master.”

Leng Yueyan did not stand up but merely nodded. Their relationship was extremely casual, more like a family rather than between a master and her disciple.

Of course, they would only show this aspect of them in private, when the two were relaxed. They were not connected by blood relations, merely two people with similar personalities.

“Eh, how are you and that mortal monk?” Leng Shuangrong turned her head and asked.

“He said that he would reply to me soon. I am waiting.” Leng Yueyan stared at the waterfall and did not shift her gaze.

“Really? How did you see him in your heart?” Leng Shuangrong asked again.

“I don’t really hate him. Even though he hurt me in a previous life, that was my fault for loving too deeply. His reply will mean if we are acquaintances or not.”

Leng Yueyan explained slowly and calmly, without any emotions in her words.

However, Leng Shuangrong noticed something out of the norm. She smiled and confronted, “Your voice tends to be lower when you lie, and you will focus on one object.”

“I think you can’t forget him, right? You wish to obtain a satisfactory response to continue your relationship before.”

Leng Yueyan stood up immediately, slightly blushing, explaining, “Master, I didn’t! You did say that all men were bastards. How can I harbor such thoughts then?”

“I changed my mind after all these years. Because of Wang Bugui, I understood that there are a few good men in this world, but we didn’t meet any of them.” Leng Shuangrong explained.

“But not Ning Zhe!” Leng Yueyan turned her head and lamented.

“Really? Good, then don’t see him again.” Leng Shuangrong smiled.

“But I, I am still waiting for his reply…” Leng Yueyan’s voice turned softer as she spoke.

Everything had been exposed in the eyes of Leng Shuangrong. She caressed her head and explained, “You have always been crystal smart since young, but you are just like me when faced with such issues.”

“You turn confused and helpless. Such is love. I believe you… harbored emotions for him, right?”

“I…” Leng Yueyan’s beautiful eyes darted from side to side, not sure how to respond.

“Come and have a chat with me.”

Leng Shuangrong took out a stone table and two stone chairs. She placed a kettle of tea on top before chatting with her disciple.