Chapter 148: Preaching the Dharma through Scriptures
"God is merciful and merciful. Donor Fang is ill, so why would our temple force him too much? Just wait for me and the monks to give the order. Why are you beating around the bush to send the ginseng?" Zhizhen said, but the old ginseng in his arms did not show any intention of giving it back.

Fang Youwei's back bent a little more: "Thank you, elder. I wonder how much my rent is..."

"I'll waive 40% of your rent this year, and you can pay 10% less every year thereafter. What do you think?" Zhizhen said after thinking for a while.

Fang Youwei cried out, "Thank you, Elder. Thank you, Elder. You are truly a living Buddha!"

Zhizhen waved his hand: "It's just memorizing the teachings of Buddhism. Buddha is not in words, but in actions."

"Yes, yes, the Buddha's teachings are boundless," Fang Youwei felt relieved and started chatting. "What are you going to do, Elder?"

"The uncle abbot asked me to gather the monks. I'm now looking for my junior brother Zhihui..." Zhizhen was also happy to take a break.

The man in black robe stood beside Jian Zang, but he turned a blind eye, as if the two people did not exist.

Jian Zang looked at the black-robed man with some doubt: "As a tenant, I seek rent reduction, and Zhizhen also agreed. Although there is interest involved, it is normal. However, it is inevitable that greed will arise. I still need to practice."

The man in black robe gestured for him to continue watching.

When Fang Youwei heard Zhihui's name, his face changed. Before he could say anything, there was a noise in the room behind him and a bald man ran out. His monk's robe was not straight and he was breathing heavily.

"Senior brother, Zhihui is here!" Zhihui shouted.

Zhizhen bowed and said, "So you are my junior brother. It's easy for me to find you."

"Donor Fang invited guests to have a meal, and I was explaining Buddhism to him when my brother came." Zhihui smiled and straightened his monk's robe. Fang Youwei lowered his head and said nothing.

"The abbot is calling you, don't delay, just follow me." Zhizhen didn't care, and the two of them went up the mountain together.

Fang Youwei, who was left alone here, sighed and went back home. A woman in the house was sorting out her clothes. When she saw Fang Youwei coming in, she asked, "Have you settled the rent?"

"It's done." Fang Youwei squatted down and replied in a muffled voice.

The woman straightened her clothes, climbed out of bed, and stood there for a moment, finally unable to hold back her tears.
"Boss, what kind of life are we living?"

Fang Youwei held his head and said, "What kind of day is this? It's a miserable day for a turtle."

The woman was not wearing shoes. She stood up barefoot and came behind Fang Youwei. She put her arms around him and sobbed softly, wetting Fang Youwei's clothes on the back.

Fang Youwei's body trembled, he broke free from his embrace, stood up, walked to the corner of the bed, and reached out to grope.

bass

He pulled out a long knife and said, "I can't live like this any longer. I'm going to kill those bald donkeys and vent my anger!"

The woman hurriedly stopped him: "Those monks are well-fed, warmly dressed, tall and big, how can you deal with them? The world is so big, it's like this everywhere. It's nothing but a miserable life. This sin cannot be escaped no matter where you go. It doesn't matter if I suffer some grievances. Just bear with it. It's good to be alive. Wait for the next life to be reborn into a good family and enjoy a peaceful life." As she spoke, she knocked the long sword out of Fang Youwei's hand.

The long sword fell, and with it fell Fang Youwei's courage that was born out of anger at the moment. The two men hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Jian Zang closed his eyes, unwilling to look any longer, but then suddenly opened them again, forcing himself to engrave this scene in his mind.

The man in black robe thought, and the two of them moved back to the meditation room: "Fang Youwei is just a tenant farmer of Huasheng Temple. How come I have never seen such a scene before?" He thought for a while: "Have you ever heard of the saying that a good wife grows good fields, a bad wife grows bad fields, and no wife doesn't grow fields?"

Jianzang kept silent.

"Your Buddhism advocates reincarnation, cause and effect, and the blessings you accumulate in the previous life will be enjoyed in the next life. But what about those who are suffering in this life?" asked the man in black robe.

Jian Zang gritted his teeth and said, "This is a distortion of the true Dharma. It is to allow mortals to cultivate fruitful karma in this life, not to do evil, to promote goodness, and to purify the six senses. The theory of karma is only to deter and warn sentient beings, and it is not as bad as the Venerable said."

"I saw that the honest and law-abiding person standing on the cliff was pushed by your Buddha," said the black-robed man. "You said the six senses are pure, how can I not see any of it? Is this the Buddha's heart you are looking for? Let go of the seven emotions and six desires and cultivate into an empty shell?"

Jian Zang shook his head: "This is even more absurd. The emptiness that Buddha talked about is to let go of the ego, let go of everything, and eliminate unnecessary desires, only then can we achieve great perfection."

Seeing that Jian Zang had fallen into the trap, the man in black robe said, "You said to let go, that person let go, but Fang Youwei couldn't let go. Thousands and thousands of sentient beings like him couldn't let go. They had never eaten enough, never had warm clothes, so how could they recite the Buddhist scriptures? They had nothing in the first place, so how could they talk about letting go?"

Seeing that the man in black robe had misinterpreted the meaning of his words, Jianzang recited Buddhist scriptures, but his heart was not so calm.

"If you want to spread Buddhism, you must first help the world. If you want to save people, you must first save them. I have a way to save the world. Do you want to learn it?" The man in black robe said in a low voice.

Jian Zang looked at the man in black robe and asked, "Venerable, are you willing to pass on the Dharma to me?"

The black-robed man shook his head, emitting infinite light: "It is to be passed on to you, but not to you now. You have lived in the temple for a long time, standing too high, and can't see the common people. The Buddhist teachings you have learned are like a high building on a cloud platform. If a strong wind blows, it will collapse."

Infinite brilliance formed a portal.

“I have a method. Those who enter the door will go through hundreds of lifetimes, as if they were reborn, with reality and illusion merging into one. If you are willing, you can step into it and experience what all living beings experience: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness and suffering. When you have tasted all kinds of flavors in life and know what all people want, it will not be too late to come and discuss the method with me.” said the man in black robe.

Jianzang looked at the door and said without hesitation: "Thank you for your enlightenment, Venerable. I will leave now." He walked in.

The man in black robe watched Jian Zang enter the door with a smile on his face. At the foot of the mountain, the couple Fang Youwei, who held the truth and wisdom, turned into black gas and turned into black robes. Faint laughter could be heard, which sounded like that of a man and a woman.

But it was said that Jianzang, whose true spirit was confused, was reincarnated as a small fetus. He took care of farm work and struggled for a living all his life. He died of overwork at the age of forty-four.

In his second life, he was a rich kid, living a life of luxury, but he accidentally offended a wandering Taoist priest, and his family was ruined.

In the third life, although not extremely wealthy, he was well-off and had a harmonious family. He bought a painting by chance, and then his luck fell. Evil spirits came to his house to claim his life. Only the man transformed by Jianzang survived, and he was crazy all his life.

In the fourth generation, she was a girl who was thrown into the river to be sacrificed to the gods, but in fact she was resold.

In the fifth life, he was a Taoist priest who sought the immortal way but failed, and his bones were buried in the mountains.

In the sixth life, he rose and fell in the officialdom and became a prime minister. He was greedy and ended his life with a cup of poison.

The seventh life...

The world is filled with thousands of sufferings and sorrows, and Jiao Jianzang experienced them all. When he reappeared, he was dishevelled, ragged, and smelled terrible. In that last life, he became a beggar. The cold winter froze him to death, and the heavy snow covered him to death!

Jian Zang touched his arm, and it seemed that the chill was still there.

(End of this chapter)