Chapter 253: Buddha Heart
Monk Mingxin arrived at Yankang Kingdom, only to see clouds still lingering in the sky. The effects of the snow disaster had not yet dissipated. Government troops were busy with relief efforts everywhere, refugees were still fleeing famine, yet many bandits and robbers were looting homes and plundering houses, while starving people wandered in all directions—truly a scene of utter misery and despair.
"There's a plump, fair-skinned monk here!"
Some starving refugees spotted him, overjoyed, and said, "No need to wash him—we can eat him right away!"
Monk Mingxin immediately turned and fled. The refugees, having gone hungry for who knows how many days, couldn't catch him and had to give up, grumbling, "We told you not to make noise. Wait until he gets close, then grab him and bite. That fair-skinned monk wouldn't have gotten away."
Monk Mingxin was terrified. After going hungry for two or three days, he couldn't find a single thing to eat, and had been chased by starving refugees more than a dozen times.
The Great Thunderclap Temple was a place of peace and tranquility, but the outside world was so treacherous, with famine everywhere. The Buddhist scriptures said nothing about such things. Only when one was well-fed and warmly clothed would they think about the teachings of the sutras.
The Heart Sutra he had brought was also useless—it couldn't solve the problem of an empty stomach.
This place was remote, with too many refugees, and the imperial court's reach was too long to manage. Corpses of those who had starved to death lay scattered haphazardly along the roadsides.
There were also wild wolves and dogs that had turned into demons by feeding on human corpses, roaming in packs, hunting living people everywhere.
Dogs were originally tame, but in times of famine, they too ate people. They bred quickly and were fiercer than wolves!
"This is hell..." Monk Mingxin wept as he looked at the demons and monsters everywhere, at the corpses scattered all around.
"Monk, do you have a child?"
A gaunt, starving refugee grabbed his robe, holding a child in their arms, their face full of hunger: "Give me your child, and I'll give you mine. You eat my child, and I'll eat yours..."
Monk Mingxin screamed, broke free, and fled in panic.
"Tathagata—"
Mingxin ran for who knows how many miles, until he couldn't run anymore. He fell to his knees and cried out in anguish: "You sit in the Great Thunderclap Temple—can't you see this human world?"
Dazed and disoriented, he staggered forward. Ahead stood a temple. Mingxin burst inside, only to see several people hanging from the beams, upside down, their skin flayed off. A few monks were crouched in a corner, holding iron basins and eating meat. When they saw him, they were startled and quickly called out, "Abbot! Abbot! There's a monk who's wandered in alone!"
The old abbot hurried out and said, "Monk, where do you come from? Our food supplies are running low too. Even the topsoil has been scraped clean by the starving. Yuanding, give him a bowl of food and send him on his way. Buddha be merciful."
A basin of human flesh was placed before him. Monk Mingxin stood frozen, and suddenly felt the Buddha in his mind collapse, shatter.
He leaped up, madly hammering at the Buddha statue, pushing it over and smashing it to pieces. The other monks rushed to stop him, furious: "You've gone mad, monk! You've fallen into demonic possession! Blaspheming the Buddha, betraying your master and ancestors!"
Monk Mingxin let them beat him without fighting back. Soon he was battered and bloody. Just then, a troop of soldiers arrived and cut down the monks in the temple.
"These monks eat people—they've become lawless... General, there's another monk here, beaten beyond recognition. Huh, he's still breathing!"
The soldiers carried him over. The general took one look and said, "He won't die. Monk, I can see you have some skill. Why didn't you fight back when they tried to kill you?"
Monk Mingxin said woodenly, "I am full of flaws..."
The general laughed and said, "Full of flaws is good. Who doesn't have a few flaws? Only those who know their own flaws are true experts. You have some ability. Come with me and help protect the crops. These refugees are even eating the grass roots. If we don't guard the newly planted grain, they'll strip it bare too. Men, burn this temple down!"
The soldiers set the temple ablaze, and soon it was engulfed in flames.
Monk Mingxin nodded, then suddenly froze and rushed toward the fire: "My sutra!"
The general ordered his men to hold him back and said, "What sutra? How thick is it?"
"Only two pages."
"In this freezing weather, such a thin sutra isn't even enough to warm yourself by the fire."
The general raised a finger, a look of compassion in his eyes: "If we can get just one season's harvest, the people of this land will have food and won't go hungry. Then this human world will be a human world, not hell. So protecting the crops is crucial—they must not be ruined by the refugees! When the world is at peace again, you can read your Buddhist scriptures. Then I'll give you a whole basket of sutras—you can read whichever one you like!"
Monk Mingxin stood stunned. Only when the world is at peace can one read the sutras?
Then how can these Buddhist scriptures save people from suffering? How can they deliver all sentient beings?
Useless in times of chaos, and when the world is peaceful, what use is there in saving people from suffering and delivering all beings?
"Lord Qin was right. The one who wrote the Buddhist scriptures was indeed not the Tathagata."
Monk Mingxin, in his plain robe and straw sandals, his once-white monk's robe now stained with blood, followed the soldiers away. "From now on, I am my own Tathagata. I will write my own sutras!"
Great Thunderclap Temple.
The sound of bells echoed softly. Qin Mu looked westward, toward the disaster-stricken Great Wasteland, and eastward, toward Yankang, which was enduring the snow calamity.
The Great Thunderclap Temple sat between these two, untouched by disaster or calamity. It was indeed a good place. The monks on the mountain lived without worry, devoting themselves to studying the Dharma, undisturbed by misfortune.
"The Great Thunderclap Temple has over four thousand courtyards. The Heavenly Dragon Courtyard and the Mind Zen Courtyard are among the higher-ranking ones. Each courtyard handles different things, and the insights gained also vary greatly. If a disciple is exceptionally outstanding, they will be taught by an old monk directly, without needing to wander between courtyards."
Uncle Ma said, "For example, that monk Mingxin was personally taught by Monk Jingming. Disciples who study under a master are generally the cream of the crop among the monks. And those with the highest aptitude, enlightenment, and Buddha nature are personally taught by the Tathagata himself."
Qin Mu looked down and saw the mountain peaks arranged like lotus petals, surrounding the Golden Summit in the center. Thousands of temples and monasteries were filled with the smoke of burning incense.
"The Great Thunderclap Temple does have its strengths. In teaching disciples, it shares some common ground with the Yankang National Teacher." Qin Mu nodded.
Uncle Ma led them around, heading toward an imposing Buddhist pagoda, and said, "The first heaven of the Heavens Courtyard is the Yama King Courtyard, and the second heaven is the Sagara Dragon King Courtyard, representing different states of mind in the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. At the very top are the Shakra Devanam Indra Courtyard and the Brahma Courtyard. If you count from the top down, the Brahma Courtyard is the first heaven."
Qin Mu looked up, his heart shaken. This Buddhist pagoda was truly magnificent—towering, majestic, and awe-inspiring!
They entered the pagoda and arrived at the first courtyard, the Yama King Courtyard. Several young novice monks were practicing the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. An old monk hurried forward and said, "Horse King God."
Uncle Ma said, "We'd like to look around here."
The old monk looked troubled and said, "This is a place for cultivating the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra..."
Suddenly a voice said, "Senior brother, the Buddha said there is nothing in the Great Thunderclap Temple that cannot be seen. They may go anywhere."
The old monk looked and quickly said, "Buddha Son."
A young monk walked in and greeted Uncle Ma, saying, "Senior brother."
He then greeted Qin Mu, saying, "Lord Qin."
Qin Mu returned the greeting and smiled, saying, "So it's Buddha Heart, the Buddha Son. I once saw you outside the Imperial Academy, but you didn't see me."
This monk had a perfectly round head, a noble appearance, bright eyes like jewels, earlobes like water droplets, and a red mark between his brows—truly extraordinary. He was indeed Buddha Heart, the Buddha Son.
Buddha Heart had once followed Old Monk Jingming to block the gates of the Imperial Academy. Qin Mu had taken a glance but hadn't fought him because the Young Ancestor hadn't given him any benefits, and Qin Mu still had to go drug the Azure Bull.
When Imperial Physician You and the others drugged the Imperial Academy, Si Yunxiang had sneaked out and fought him, making Buddha Heart back off.
Buddha Heart studied Qin Mu and noticed that although the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader was polite, gentle, and refined, like a gentleman, his gaze was quite aggressive. From time to time, a wild and unrestrained spirit burst from his eyes, piercing into others' hearts. This made Buddha Heart's own heart skip a beat: "This man's demonic nature is so heavy!"
Buddha Heart said to the old monk, "The Tathagata said there is no problem even if Lord Qin sees the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. The Mahayana Sutra of our Great Thunderclap Temple cannot be cultivated by those without Buddha nature. Besides, Senior Brother Ma also has a copy of the Mahayana Sutra. If he wanted to pass it on to Lord Qin, he could have done so long ago. Two benefactors, Senior Brother Ma, please feel free to observe."
The old monk relaxed and began explaining the mysteries of the first heaven, the Yama King Heaven, to the young monks, without holding back despite Qin Mu and the others being present.
After a moment, Qin Mu had an insight and activated the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra he had heard. He felt his body alternate between eight cold and eight hot sensations, as if falling into hell, transforming into the Yama King.
Buddha Heart saw a sudden burst of precious light emanating from him and his heart skipped a beat: "This is Buddha light! He stood right here and comprehended the first heaven of the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra? Does he have Buddha nature? Isn't he a demon lord?"
Uncle Ma also saw the sudden burst of Buddha light from him and said, "Mu'er, you've already attained the first heaven of the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. There's no need to listen to this level anymore. Let's go to the next one."
Qin Mu followed Uncle Ma and Blind to the Sagara Dragon King Courtyard. Buddha Heart quickly followed as well. Here, another old monk was expounding on the various mysteries of the Sagara Dragon King Heaven.
Before long, Buddha Heart felt Qin Mu's Buddha light grow even stronger.
His heart trembled violently. Those with demonic nature could not cultivate the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. Qin Mu was the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, the demon among demons, yet he had cultivated the Mahayana Sutra to the second heaven just by standing there and listening for a while. This was too shocking!
To be called the Buddha Son, Buddha Heart had a heart as pure and transparent as a child. When he first came here, he had also cultivated the Mahayana Sutra to the fourth heaven in a short time, shaking the Great Thunderclap Temple and being honored as the Buddha Son.
And he had heard that the Horse King God was the same. Buddha Heart had heard legends about him—how the Horse King God had once cultivated all the way to the fifth heaven in one go, and the old Tathagata had held great expectations for him, grooming him as the next Tathagata.
"A demon lord from the Heavenly Demon Cult cannot possibly have Buddha nature as deep as mine!" Buddha Heart thought to himself.
At the third heaven, Qin Mu unconsciously comprehended the state of mind of the Moon Palace Heavenly King from the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra, cultivating the Moon Palace Heavenly King Heaven. A Buddha light appeared behind his head, shining like a precious moon. And in this Moon Palace Heavenly King Courtyard, there were only a few monks who had cultivated this heaven!
At the fourth heaven, Qin Mu again comprehended the state of mind of the Sun Palace Heavenly King from the Tathagata's Mahayana Sutra. A Buddha light appeared behind his head, blazing like a great sun, as if he were an enlightened monk of high attainment!