Chapter 252: The Monk Mingxin
"Kill the Demon Lord and avenge our senior brothers!"
In an instant, the monks were filled with righteous fury, swarming forward to attack. Qin Mu frowned slightly, and with a shake of his body, the Thousand-Armed Buddha erupted, Buddha light blazing. The sounds of Buddhist chanting in the Heavenly Dragon Monastery swelled, becoming immensely loud.
Qin Mu stood like an immovable great Buddha, clashing against attacks from all directions. A series of booming explosions rang out without end as monks were sent flying in every direction, crashing into dragon pillars. Some pillars snapped on impact, breaking into three or five pieces.
Qin Mu shook his body again, and the thousand arms behind him vanished, along with the Buddha light that had just appeared.
He swept his gaze over the monks lying scattered on the ground, then flicked his sleeve and said, "These are your Great Thunderclap Monastery's Thunderclap Eight Forms. Are they also demonic techniques? A technique, when used rightly, is righteous; when used wrongly, even the Thunderclap Eight Forms or the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra can be demonic!"
Horse Grandpa coughed lightly and said to the stunned old monk Jingming beside him, "Senior brother, your Heavenly Dragon Monastery is a bit too chaotic. Let's go take a look at the Mind-Seal Monastery instead."
Old Monk Jingming glared at Qin Mu, anger burning in his heart. Qin Mu had injured or killed many of his disciples, but with Horse Grandpa and the Blind Man right there, he dared not act rashly.
Especially the Blind Man beside him. Though his eye sockets were empty, Jingming sensed a killing intent emanating from within him whenever he made the slightest move, always lingering around his throat.
If he truly dared to strike, he was certain the Blind Man's bamboo staff would pierce his throat in the next moment.
His Tathagata Mahayana Sutra had a flaw, right at that spot on his throat, one he could never fix.
The other old monks of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery also dared not move. Standing beside Horse Grandpa and the Blind Man, they felt as if two Mount Sumerus were pressing down on them—one wrong move and they would be crushed to dust!
Jingming's forehead broke out in cold sweat. He said, "Junior brother, your disciple killed my monks in my Heavenly Dragon Monastery and destroyed the Hundred Dragons Diagram..."
Horse Grandpa said nothing.
The Blind Man remained calm, leaning on his bamboo staff, and said, "Senior Brother Jingming, the destruction of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery today is your own doing. If you hadn't pointed out that Mu'er is the Demon Lord, this wouldn't have happened. Don't let this escalate—if it gets bigger, it'll be even harder to clean up."
A drop of cold sweat slid down Jingming's forehead. He coughed, his voice booming like a bell, and said, "Lord Qin is a guest from afar. Monks, do not act recklessly. Withdraw."
At his words, the other monks in the Heavenly Dragon Monastery sighed with relief and quickly helped up those lying on the ground.
Horse Grandpa said, "Mu'er, come back."
The Blind Man smiled and said, "You've fought, you've smashed things, you've spoken your piece. We're guests here, after all—we shouldn't be too unrestrained. Horse Grandpa said we're going to the Mind-Seal Monastery. Aren't you coming?"
Qin Mu acknowledged this, then bowed to the young monk Mingxin and said, "Little monk, if you can't get along in the Great Thunderclap Monastery, you can come find me in the Celestial Demon Sect."
Mingxin looked puzzled and said, "Why would I not get along? My master treats me very well, and these senior and junior brothers take good care of me. I won't turn to evil, and neither should you. Stop being the Demon Lord. Wouldn't it be better to abandon evil and do good early on? The Buddha's teachings say, 'The sea of suffering has no shore, but turning back is the shore'..."
Qin Mu shook his head and said seriously, "You are a true monk. But sometimes, true monks are not tolerated by the false monks in the temple. When the temple can no longer hold you, you must go into the world to seek your own true nature, your own great awakening. Read fewer sutras. The ones who compiled those sutras—few of them were Tathagatas. If they themselves cannot become Buddhas, how can they guide you to Buddhahood? Extinguish the Buddha in your heart, extinguish the Great Thunderclap Monastery in your heart, and you will be your own Buddha. The world will be your Great Thunderclap Monastery, and all beings will be your companions, your senior brothers."
He extended a finger and tapped it on Mingxin's heart, smiling. "Here, a true Buddha dwells."
Then he tapped Mingxin's forehead. "And here, a false Buddha dwells. Don't let faith become your demon, your shackle, your cognitive barrier. What you should do is look up to heaven and down to earth, with a clear conscience."
"Place a scale in your heart, let it be your principle, to measure good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness and heresy, Buddha and demon. Go out more, see what others do, don't just read what the sutras say. Staying in the temple thinking about good and evil, thinking about becoming a Buddha—you'll never succeed."
Mingxin's mind buzzed, lost in thought.
Qin Mu turned and walked toward Horse Grandpa, then bowed to Old Monk Jingming and the others, saying, "I apologize to all the great masters for disturbing your peace."
Jingming and the others returned the bow, saying, "The Demon Lord is too polite. Their cultivation is insufficient, and your demonic nature is too strong, skilled at seducing hearts and too ruthless in your actions. You are a born old demon."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "My mental cultivation is shallow. When others try to kill me, I can only fight back. You great masters have profound mental cultivation—when others try to kill you, do you fight back?" With that, he drew his Shaobao Sword with a clang, his gaze less than friendly.
Jingming and the others' eyes fell on the gleaming blade, and they slowly shook their heads.
Qin Mu sheathed his sword, sighed in relief, and laughed. "I thought you enlightened monks could transcend life and death, honor and disgrace. Turns out you're just like me—ordinary people with too much demonic nature. Farewell. Grandpa Horse, Grandpa Blind, what is the Mind-Seal Monastery?"
Horse Grandpa led them out, saying, "The Mind-Seal Monastery is where the Great Thunderclap Monastery trains the mind. The practice there is different. Monks there first cultivate the mind. Many practice the Vow of Silence, not using their tongues."
The Blind Man sighed in relief and laughed. "Good, good—no tongues means no arguing. Otherwise, you'd tell them about the monks' real-world actions, and they'd talk about Buddha's teachings. You'd tell them to reform the monastery rules, and they'd talk about Buddha's teachings. You'd reason with them, and they'd talk about Buddha's teachings. You'd talk about Buddha's teachings, and they'd throw punches. Just the unity of knowledge and action—these believers can't even manage that."
Horse Grandpa hesitated, then stopped. "Then let's not go to the Mind-Seal Monastery."
Qin Mu was surprised and blurted out, "Are the monks there the same?"
Horse Grandpa shook his head. "There are also monks in the Mind-Seal Monastery who don't practice the Vow of Silence. It's a good thing you came along. If I came here alone, they'd definitely nag me. Now that you're the Demon Lord, they'll want to nag you even more. And if they can't out-argue you, they'll reenact what happened in the Heavenly Dragon Monastery."
The Blind Man shook his head. "Then let's not go. Most of the monks in the Great Thunderclap Monastery are false monks. There are few who can be consistent in appearance and reality, who unite knowledge and action. As soon as you say something bad about them, they'll argue with you. And making someone truly convinced is the hardest thing. They can't break through their cognitive barriers. They always make simple truths complicated, confusing you. If you follow their lead in conversation, you've already lost."
Horse Grandpa said, "No matter how well you explain a truth, it's still just a truth. In the end, it's about what you do. In this world, there are really few true monks. Most are false. Those who open their mouths and spout flowery words, quoting scriptures—they're all false. They only show off, never act. If one in a hundred is true, that's already a stroke of luck. The Tathagata is old, slack in his teaching. In recent years, he seems somewhat powerless."
He wasn't usually talkative, but revisiting old grounds made him speak more without realizing it.
Jingming and the others watched them walk away, exchanging glances.
"So sinister. This Demon Lord is truly sinister."
An old monk sighed. "The Tathagata keeping him in the monastery—I fear it won't be a blessing for our Great Thunderclap Monastery."
Another presiding monk said, "The Tathagata wants to keep him. I don't understand. He's the Demon Lord. Which Demon Lord of the Celestial Demon Sect has ever been easy to deal with?"
Old Monk Jingming said, "Don't speculate blindly. The Tathagata's intention is to use Buddhist teachings to influence him, to let him know the vastness of the Buddha's teachings, abandon evil, and convert to Buddhism. The Tathagata originally had his eye on him and wanted to take him as a disciple, but the Celestial Demon Sect's founder got there first and snatched him away."
The other old monks were surprised, knowing that Jingming had a deep master-disciple bond with the old Tathagata and was often privy to such matters. They quickly asked, "Is that so?"
Old Monk Jingming said, "That Khakkhara was the token, but he casually gave it to a monkey. The Tathagata considered the connection broken, so he didn't seek him out. Actually, the Tathagata keeping him has a second meaning. With this Lord Qin as their leader, the Celestial Demon Sect shows signs of revival. The Demon Lord has a close relationship with the State Preceptor of Yancheng. During this snow disaster, the Demon Lord showed foresight, ordering the sect to help the emperor with relief efforts. With the emperor and the State Preceptor as allies, the Celestial Demon Sect will surely flourish across the land."
The old monks' faces changed drastically, and they stamped their feet. "How can this be allowed?"
Old Monk Jingming said, "If this Lord Qin is trapped in the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Celestial Demon Sect loses its leader, and its revival momentum is broken. The demon wanes and the Buddha waxes—that is a blessing for our Great Thunderclap Monastery. Even if the Celestial Demon Sect tries to find another Demon Lord, they likely won't find one as outstanding. As for the third meaning..."
His pupils flickered with Buddha light, dim and bright, and he said softly, "It's about the next Tathagata. The old Tathagata doesn't have the boldness of the Celestial Demon Sect's founder to choose a young lad as leader. He still favors Horse King God, believing him most suitable to inherit his mantle. What a pity..."
The other old monks exchanged glances and sighed in unison, "What a pity."
The young monk Mingxin wandered over in a daze and said to Old Monk Jingming, "Master, I..."
Jingming saw he was distracted and tried to console him. "Good child, you've been seduced by the Demon Lord's words. Demons are best at seducing hearts, especially the Demon Lord."
"But... I think what he said makes sense..."
Jingming laughed heartily. "Good child, the monastery's sutras have many judgments about demons. Go read what the ancients said, and you'll understand on your own without me guiding you."
Mingxin was still unsettled.
Jingming frowned, knowing that Qin Mu's impact on the young monk was too great. He decided to give him something to do to keep his mind occupied, so he said, "First, go treat your senior brothers, then set the dragon pillars upright. Though they're broken, they can still be glued back together."
Mingxin acknowledged this and hurried to help the monks of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery, tending to the injured. But the monks gave him no good looks, brushing him off and driving him away.
Mingxin stood there stunned, then went to set up the fallen dragon pillars. Several monks came over and pushed him aside.
Mingxin tried to squeeze in, but an unknown monk slapped him to the ground. Mingxin sat on the ground, staring blankly at the crowd, then silently got up and went to the Sutra Library to read Buddhist scriptures. But the truths in the scriptures just wouldn't sink in.
Jingming was also tidying up the Heavenly Dragon Monastery when he suddenly saw Mingxin carrying a small backpack, heading down the mountain. His heart stirred, and he called out, "Mingxin, did you bring any sutras?"
Mingxin stopped. "Master, I brought a copy of the Heart Sutra."
Jingming nodded. "Go down the mountain. Turn back soon. The sea of suffering has no shore, but turning back is Mount Sumeru, is the Great Thunderclap Monastery."
Mingxin knelt down, kowtowed twice to him, then turned and left.
Behind him, the bells of the Great Thunderclap Monastery rang out. The sun was high in the sky, casting the young monk's long shadow down the mountain.
——Second chapter is here! Lala, Piggy is off to take a bath~~
[Reading address: (omitted)]
Notice: Two chapters in a row tonight!
Zhaizhu just checked the time and realized he couldn't finish writing this chapter in time. Both of today's chapters will be posted tonight. Sorry~