Chapter 615: Unparalleled Buddhist Teachings
In Licheng, Qin Mu arrived early in the morning at the Buddhist monastery in the city. He knocked on the door and handed in a visiting card, saying, "I've come to see Master Ma."
The monk who received him hurried back to report.
The reason Qin Mu said he came to see Master Ma rather than Ma Tathagata was that Ma Tathagata was the guide of the Buddhist path, needing to sit at the Great Thunderclap Monastery and propagate the Dharma, while Master Ma was his family.
One was a title, the other was familial affection.
To come see Ma Tathagata, he would need to present his status as the Human Sovereign and the leader of the Heavenly Sage Sect; to come see Master Ma, he came as the child Master Ma had raised.
After a moment, the guiding monk arrived and said, "Master Ma invites you in."
Qin Mu revealed a smile and followed him into the monastery. This monastery was the place allocated to the Great Thunderclap Monastery by the gods and demons of the Imperial Heavenly Court. The monks of the Great Thunderclap Monastery had built temples here for daily cultivation.
Qin Mu looked up and could see the hazy Twenty Heavens suspended above the monastery. Many monks were below the Twenty Heavens, continuously chanting sutras. The sound of their chanting collided in the air, transforming into beams of Buddha light that surged into the Twenty Heavens.
The Twenty Heavens were the Buddhist heavens. The Twenty Heavens floating above the monastery were merely projections of the true heavens, not the real thing.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze. Just then, he saw a simple old man who had shed his Tathagata robe, looking at him with a smile.
Master Ma.
Qin Mu grew excited. Since Master Ma had become the Ma Tathagata of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, their time together had become much rarer. Ma Tathagata had taken off his Tathagata robe to meet him as family—how could he not be moved?
But this was, after all, the sacred ground of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, filled with monks everywhere. He had to suppress the surging familial affection in his heart, so as not to cause trouble for Master Ma or disturb his state of mind.
"Master Ma, didn't you establish contact with the Twenty Heavens long ago?"
Qin Mu steadied his mind and asked curiously, "Why are you still continuously contacting the Twenty Heavens now? Haven't the Buddhas of the Buddhist Realm transmitted higher-level techniques and methods?"
"They have transmitted some, but not much."
Master Ma led him to the side of the monks who were chanting to connect with the Buddhist Realm. The interior of the monastery was quite spacious. Nearly a thousand monks sat in lotus position—some on the ground, some in the air, and some on pagodas. He said, "The Buddhist Realm's intention is for us to focus solely on cultivating Buddhism, not to get involved in the conflicts of the mundane world. They seem reluctant to meddle in worldly affairs, as if there are many taboos. My view, however, is to ask them to teach advanced methods. The Buddha has a heart to save the world—how can they stand by and watch worldly people fall into suffering without offering help?"
Qin Mu looked around. The thousand or so monks, male and female, human and demon, were all chanting Buddha names, giving the Buddhas of the Twenty Heavens no peace.
This tactic seemed like a method of harassment. By reciting the Buddha's name, the Buddha would hear it. These monks of the Great Thunderclap Monastery were reciting the names of the Buddhas.
"At first, a few Buddhas transmitted teachings down, but then no one transmitted anymore, and they became secretive about it. I wanted to invite them to descend to the lower realm, but they were unwilling to come down and help."
Master Ma shook his head and said, "I believe it's not that they fear getting involved in mundane affairs, but that they fear certain terrifying existences. Although they have profound realms and advanced techniques, their state of mind has already fallen to a lower level. A few days ago, the Buddhas of the Buddhist Realm, unable to bear the disturbance, proposed a competition of Buddhist teachings among the Buddha's disciples."
"A competition of Buddhist teachings?"
Qin Mu became interested and asked with a smile, "How is it conducted?"
"It involves selecting disciples of the Buddha to compare their depth of Buddhist understanding. This comparison is done across the void. The one I sent is Zhan Kong."
Master Ma pointed and said, "Zhan Kong is over there. He has already defeated several Buddha disciples from the Twenty Heavens."
Qin Mu looked up and saw the demon ape Zhan Kong sitting on a pagoda. That pagoda seemed to reach the same height as the Twenty Heavens. Across from him sat a Buddha disciple riding a precious elephant, which was adorned with garlands and extremely ornate.
Behind the precious elephant were magnificent temple complexes, and towering Buddhas with halos of light spinning behind their heads, their Dharma appearances solemn.
The two were engaged in a heated debate. The Buddha disciple from the Twenty Heavens spoke eloquently, his words flowing like a river. He talked for half an hour without pause, his voice sometimes high and impassioned, sometimes low but compelling listeners to pay close attention.
This eloquent speech was a lengthy discourse, leaving no room for rebuttal.
When the Buddha disciple finished, he finally stopped speaking and looked at the demon ape with a smile.
The demon ape extended his furry hand with five thick black fingers and said in a hoarse voice, word by word: "Ultimate."
The Buddha disciple didn't understand what he meant and pondered deeply. After a moment, the demon ape said again: "Void."
The Buddha disciple frowned, his thoughts racing. The demon ape said again: "Existence."
The Buddha disciple's body trembled slightly, and he exclaimed, "If there is void, how can there be existence?"
The demon ape ignored him and said, "Stillness."
The Buddha disciple grew furious and shouted, "Since there is existence, how can there be stillness? Your words don't accord with the Dharma!"
The demon ape said, "Subtle."
The Buddha disciple was about to refute him completely when suddenly his body shook violently. He froze on the back of the precious elephant, dumbfounded, unable to speak a word.
Behind him, a great Buddha sighed and said, "'Ultimate, void, existence, stillness, subtle.' Too profound, too wonderful. Each word is a treatise on the Great Vehicle of Buddhism, and the five words together form an even greater profundity. Kong Xiang, you spoke for half an hour and delivered many lengthy discourses, but they don't compare to even one of his five words. You have lost. Withdraw."
The Buddha disciple Kong Xiang rose from the precious elephant, bowed to the demon ape, and slowly retreated.
Qin Mu was both astonished and awed. He asked Master Ma, "Master Ma, does Big Guy truly have spiritual roots?"
Master Ma said solemnly, "He has great spiritual roots! Even surpassing mine, and higher than Ming Xin!"
Just then, another Buddha disciple came from the Twenty Heavens, descending from a higher heaven, followed by several physically immense Buddhas. As soon as he sat down, this Buddha disciple radiated brilliant light, shining down from the Twenty Heavens and illuminating everyone in the monastery.
This universal illumination startled all the monks in the monastery: "This Buddha disciple's Buddhist cultivation is so profound!"
The demon ape raised his hand to block the light, his large hand casting a shadow over his face.
The newly arrived Buddha disciple was about to speak and debate when he saw this. Greatly shocked, he suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. He exclaimed, "Your Buddhist attainment is this high? Before I could even speak, you've already defeated me in debate!" With that, he fell backward, his breath faint.
The several great Buddhas behind him quickly moved to save him, finally reviving him. One Buddha praised, "Buddha disciple Pu Zhao intended to debate the meaning of 'illumination.' Who would have thought this young Buddha disciple directly broke his thesis? Truly unimpeded eloquence! Admirable, admirable!"
Qin Mu was dumbfounded. He struggled to tear his gaze away from the demon ape and looked at Master Ma in confusion.
This kind of debate was beyond his comprehension.
Master Ma explained, "Buddha disciple Pu Zhao opened with 'illumination,' radiating brilliant light universally. But Zhan Kong raised his hand to block it, and what his hand covered was darkness. This told him that where there is light, there is darkness—they depend on each other. Thus, Pu Zhao's debate was cut off directly. He couldn't speak a word and choked until he spat blood. This shows Zhan Kong's spiritual roots."
Qin Mu was speechless.
He could tell that the Buddha disciple Pu Zhao just now had extremely high cultivation, likely a Dharma expert at the Heavenly Being realm. Even if Qin Mu had faced him in debate, he might not have been able to win.
Unexpectedly, just by the demon ape blocking the light, Pu Zhao spat blood and nearly died!
The demon ape had already debated up to the Great Merit Heaven of the Twenty Heavens. The next heaven was the Great Eloquence Heaven.
In the Great Eloquence Heaven, the Buddhas came with a young Buddha disciple to face the demon ape. The young Buddha disciple slowly sat down, said little, formed a hand seal, and held a lotus flower. He said, "Void."
The demon ape said, "Existence."
The young Buddha disciple frowned, put down the lotus, and said, "Existence."
The demon ape said, "Void."
The young Buddha disciple stood up and demanded, "Are you a common mortal?"
The demon ape shook his head: "I am a sage."
The young Buddha disciple asked with a thunderous voice, "Are you a sage Buddha?"
The demon ape shook his head again: "I am a mortal."
The young Buddha disciple's face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, "When I have something in my hand, you say void; when I have nothing, you say existence. When I ask if you are a mortal, you say you are a sage Buddha; when I ask if you are a sage Buddha, you say you are a mortal! What are you trying to say?"
The Buddhas behind him frowned and called for several Vajras to drag him away. One Buddha apologized to the demon ape, saying, "Forgive us, junior brother. He has already lost his original mind. 'When void acts as existence, existence is yet void; when the mind aspires to sagehood, the sage is also mortal.' Junior brother's Buddhist attainment, we admire." Note 1
The demon ape returned the courtesy but said nothing.
Qin Mu was horrified and dizzy. He held his forehead and said to Master Ma, "Master Ma, I can't understand any of this anymore. I don't have such spiritual roots. I'd better not listen to the lectures."
Master Ma laughed and said, "When I was Zhan Kong's age, I was far from having such attainment. Since you're confused, let's leave the monastery and take a walk."
Qin Mu felt relieved.
The two walked out of the monastery. Master Ma let out a breath and said with a smile, "Mu'er, now that I am a Buddha, I am drifting further from you. When I put on the kasaya and sit on the Buddha throne, I am no longer the Master Ma of old. In my eyes, you are just one of all beings. But when I step down from the Buddha throne and take off that robe, I am the Master Ma of Cripples' Village, Ma the Divine Constable, and you are the child I watched grow up."
Qin Mu suddenly hugged him tightly.
Master Ma was startled for a moment, then smiled and patted his back, saying, "Zhan Kong learns very quickly, and Ming Xin is also a good child. In the future, they will inherit the mantle of the Great Thunderclap Monastery. By then, I will no longer be the Tathagata. I will return to Cripples' Village, and I will laugh and talk with you all again, eat meat and drink wine."
Qin Mu asked, "Why are the Buddhas of the Twenty Heavens unwilling to transmit teachings or descend to help? Master Ma, have you asked the reason?"
"I have. One Buddha told me that the reason the Great Thunderclap Monastery has survived through the ages of calamities is precisely because it doesn't ask. If it asks, it can no longer be preserved. He told me not to ask either."
Master Ma sighed and said, "This time, I used a trick the Mute taught me. He told me to have the monks recite the Buddha's names, disturbing their peace, making them unable to bear it, so they would talk to us. If we win this debate, the Buddhas of the Twenty Heavens will grant three slots to enter the Buddhist Realm for study. But they still won't allow anyone from the Buddhist Realm to descend and help. I've thought it over—three slots are better than none."
Just then, a sudden uproar came from the monastery. The cheers of the monks rang out. Qin Mu and Master Ma exchanged glances, quickly turned back, and rushed into the monastery. They saw the monks tossing the demon ape high into the air, catching him, and tossing him again!
"We won! We won!" the monks cheered and leaped with joy.
Note 1: These debate topics come from the Thirty-Six Pairs of the Sixth Patriarch of Buddhism, Hui Neng. Interested readers can look them up. "Ultimate, void, existence, stillness, subtle" also originates from Hui Neng's "Ultimate Void Existence Stillness Subtlety," all being Buddhist debate topics with very high conceptual depth.