I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1592 - Chapter 1592: Chapter 56: Asking Buddha (2)_2

Chapter 1592: Chapter 56: Asking Buddha (2)_2

“Yanshan!”

Master Guangming suddenly shouted loudly, interrupting Yanshan’s narrative, “Do you know what you are talking about!?”

“The young monk knows.”

Yanshan surveyed the hall, meeting the eyes of other Zen masters, some surprised and some angry. Finally, he turned his back to Master Guangming, facing the South Heavenly Buddha, and said, “The path to the Three Treasures Realm is wrong!”

“How audacious!”

“Arrogant!”

“Impudent!”

“Absurd!”

As soon as Yanshan finished speaking, many Zen masters in the gathering stood up, excitedly and angrily accusing Yanshan of spouting nonsense. The allegations were especially vehement from the Great Zen Masters who had attained enlightenment.

Nearly two-thirds of the Zen masters stood up, the spiritual pressure of their anger alone caused the Zenith Buddha Pavilion to begin vibrating. Amidst their wrathful stares, Yanshan stood like a boat in wild waves, constantly on the verge of capsizing.

Yet such intensity was what the monk had already anticipated, so Yanshan was neither panicked nor did he try to refute.

Merely gazing silently at the South Heavenly Buddha, his eyes as calm as they had been at the beginning.

“If the Three Treasures Realm is mistaken, then what path should the new Arhats follow?”

No longer a mere spiritual voice in the Sea of Consciousness, the South Heavenly Buddha, who had practiced the silent meditation for hundreds of years, actually spoke.

With that utterance, the law followed the spoken word and immediately commandeered all other voices in the Buddha Pavilion, leaving only Yanshan the power to speak.

“Almsgiving, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, wisdom.”

“Taming the Five Yins, abstaining from the Three Poisons, severing the Six Roots, breaking the Six Dusts, eradicating the Eighteen Realms of Clear Appearances.”

“An endless sea of suffering, seeking only self-liberation.”

Under the questioning of the South Heavenly Buddha, Yanshan endured an inhuman pressure, even his Supreme Luminous Stone physique creaked.

Yet, he remained composed, methodically presenting his thoughts on the new path.

“Is that so?”

The South Heavenly Buddha smiled, then closed his mouth and eyes again, bowing his head.

As the Buddha closed his mouth, the right to speak returned to everyone else. Though only a short moment had passed, many monks were already restless.

“This is Yanshan Arhat’s new law?”

Liaoyin of the Esoteric Sect challenged, “Severing the Six Roots, breaking the Six Dusts. The eyes cannot observe forms, the ears cannot hear sounds, the nose cannot smell scents, the tongue cannot taste flavors, the body cannot feel sensations, and even the restless mind must be cut off. Does Yanshan Arhat intend to promote the Buddha’s way, or to destroy it!?”

“Liaoyin Brother speaks the ultimate truth!”

Sect Head Fachuan of the Vinaya School also spoke in agreement, “May I ask Yanshan Arhat, who in this world would be willing to enter the monastic life of Buddha’s Country at the cost of severing thoughts and desires?”

“All phenomena are but empty appearances…”

If all is emptiness, then what is there to cling to?

Yanshan intended to persuade the two venerable monks in this way, but after speaking only half the sentence, decided not to continue, and instead, brought his palms together in silence as a gesture of respect.

Subsequently, more Zen masters took turns to stand up and criticize Yanshan’s doctrine from various perspectives, attacking his new law mercilessly.

But Yanshan just listened quietly and performed a respectful salute with palms together after each had spoken.

Of course, while there were dozens of high monks in the Buddha Pavilion, not all were so intense. Some, after hearing Yanshan’s words, lowered their heads in contemplation.

Yanshan’s speech had a profound impact on those Zen masters genuinely seeking to advance their cultivation. Yet, the silent majority seemed like complicit accomplices, making it appear as if all the Zen masters were vilifying Yanshan.

Until the South Heavenly Buddha spoke again, gesturing Yanshan to come and sit next to him on the cushion.

In the eyes of the aged monk, honest as a young boy’s, there was much joy and delight.

“Let the old monk discuss his own path of cultivation.”

The South Heavenly Buddha spoke again, once more seizing the voice of the Buddha Pavilion, instantly adjusting the mood of the previously infuriated monks. They sat straight, attentive and focused.

As the oldest and universally recognized as the most deeply cultivated and mysterious King Buddha in all of Buddha’s Country, no one knew exactly how powerful the South Heavenly Buddha was.

Due to his immense longevity, much of his past was obscure and beyond investigation, let alone any record of his achievements.

But whenever the Vinaya School was mentioned, the name of the South Heavenly Buddha inevitably came up.

Even the proudest Wuxiang Zen Temple in Buddha’s Country, King Buddha, who ascends beyond, avoids mentioning the word “south” to show respect to the South Heavenly Buddha.

Such teachings from King Buddha are a rarity in one’s lifetime; how could they not be meticulously heeded?

“The old monk actually isn’t from Zhongzhou. Back then, the southern region faced disaster, and the people barely survived. My parents were beaten to death for protecting me from being eaten, and Monk Shixin rescued me from the pot and brought me to Zhongzhou to cultivate.”

“Monk Shixin said that after people die, they descend to the underworld, cleanse their memories after crossing the river of darkness, and then reincarnate to start a new life.”

“However, if one has deep obsessions or regrets in the mortal world, they might still retain memories from past lives after reincarnation.”

“Monk Shixin also said that if one’s cultivation is sufficient, you can calculate the whereabouts and regions of the reincarnated persons.”

“Then, the monk gradually entered the monastery to cultivate alongside Shixin.”

“When the monk attained the Wisdom Fruit, he asked Shixin if his cultivation was enough to calculate his parents’ reincarnations. Shixin said it wasn’t enough; one needs to attain the Arhat Fruit Rank for that.”

“But Shixin also said the monk’s talents were inferior, and he might never achieve the Arhat Fruit Rank in his lifetime.”

“So the monk asked Shixin if there was any way for him to achieve the Arhat.”

After a long pause, South Heavenly Buddha said softly, “How eager are you to achieve the Arhat status?”

Seven hundred years ago, in a rainforest temple, the old monk sat before the young monk, smilingly asked.

“Very much! I desperately want to.”

The young monk with a flat head clenched his fists and loudly proclaimed to the old monk.

“Not enough.”

The old monk glanced at the young monk and disdainfully said, “You only want to find your parents’ reincarnations. This thought will fade in a few days, and you won’t want it anymore.”

“No, that won’t happen!”

The young monk stood up, swearing to the old monk, “As long as I can achieve the Arhat, anything is possible!”

“Empty promises.”

The old monk casually picked up a wooden bowl from the table and picked up a stone from the ground, shaking it inside.

In the hollow bowl, only the small stone made clang-clang collision sounds.

After shaking it for a while, the old monk stopped his actions and said to the young monk, “If life is this wooden bowl, then parents are the stone inside it. Are they important?”

“Only stones are in the bowl, of course they’re important!”

The young monk answered loudly.

“Important, because there are only stones in the bowl, you would give up even the bowl for them,” the old monk said with a smile, then scooped up a handful of sand from the ground, and poured it into the bowl: “Listen now.”

The bowl, once shook again, no longer emitted the sound of the stone hitting the sides of the bowl; only the stone enveloped in sand made a ‘shush’ sound.

“As long as you live, new things will continuously fill your life, burying what once seemed most important under the sand.”

Continuing, the old monk picked up several stones from the ground and held them in front of the young monk, stating, “Not just familial ties, in your life, you will encounter many important things.”

“Companions, lovers, enemies…”

The old monk spoke while placing the stones one by one into the bowl, then smilingly said, “These people will occupy crucial roles in different phases of your life, pulling at your heartstrings, no less than your parents whom you care about now, but what about that?”

After filling the bowl with more stones, the old monk shook the bowl again, giggling.

“Shush, shush, shush.”

“Listen.”

Holding the bowl, the old monk said to the young monk, “Life is about filling with sand; if you fill it enough with sand, the stones won’t hurt you, so don’t talk foolishly about sacrificing everything for others ever again!”

“No, that’s not right!”

The young monk shook his head, snatched the wooden bowl from the old monk’s hands, letting the sand fall while catching the stones.

Turning the now empty bowl upright, the young monk tossed the stones back in and, mimicking the old monk, started shaking it.

As the stones continuously hit the sides, the young monk stubbornly said, “My life will only be filled with the most important things, not with sand!”