Chapter 1166: Chapter 1165: On Dharma and Reunion with Old Friends
"White Cloud Temple?"
The middle-aged monk heard this, glanced up and down at Lu Zheng, and then noticed the five female companions who got off the carriage with him.
The middle-aged monk, "..."
Lu Zheng, "..."
"Outer Sect disciple," Lu Zheng added.
"Amitabha Buddha! This humble monk is Ji Neng." The middle-aged monk clasped his hands in greeting, "Since we are fellow practitioners, naturally you are welcome. Fahua Temple is hosting a guest lecture today, and it’s just a coincidence that you’ve come to observe."
After a pause, Ji Neng asked again, "I wonder if the friend mentioned, our temple’s ancestor, Zen Master Dejie..."
"Zen Master Dejie traveled the world, and I was lucky enough to meet him and was even saved by him. Additionally, I was fortunate to contribute three copper coins towards casting the Buddha’s Golden Body, so the Zen Master invited me to offer incense to the Buddha."
Lu Zheng was referring to the matter of Zen Master Dejie dealing with the thousand-year Corpse King, although he could handle it, it certainly wouldn’t have been easy.
"Amitabha Buddha, I see." Ji Neng chanted the Buddha’s name, "Since this is the case, it seems you are destined with Fahua Temple.
However, monks from the Great Brahma Heaven Temple of the Western Buddha Country are here for a discussion today, and due to many affairs, it is difficult to host your group. Is my friend intent on entering the temple, or would you prefer to come another day?"
"Can I visit the temple today and observe the debates between the masters and those Western monks?" Lu Zheng asked.
"Certainly." Ji Neng nodded and smiled, "There are other fellow practitioners in the temple. Fahua Temple is closed to the public, not inviting visitors, because the discussion of Buddhist sayings carries divine techniques, which can easily affect the divine souls of the common folk. For Abnormal People, however, it is not a problem."
"I see..."
Lu Zheng nodded, "Since we’re here, I would like to witness the grand scene of your temple’s high monks triumphing over the Western Buddha Country."
Ji Neng smiled knowingly, then called over a young monk to lead Lu Zheng and his group into the temple to observe in the Great Hero Hall.
Lu Zheng returned the courtesy, then entered the temple with his female companions.
The nearby townsfolk did not cause any commotion, as those who were close enough heard the conversation between Ji Neng and Lu Zheng, understanding that Fahua Temple was facing adversaries, a matter not suitable for common folks to meddle in.
Lu Zheng led a few people following the young monk ahead, quickly making their way from the mountain gate up the mountain, entering the gates of Fahua Temple.
Upon entering, the scent of sandalwood incense became overwhelmingly strong, and phrases of Buddhist teachings subtly echoed, word by word, into the ears of the group.
"It is the elders of the sect discussing the Dharma," said the young monk leading the way.
Lu Zheng nodded, then a dazzling Golden Palace appeared in the Sea of Consciousness of Lin Wan and Jing Qianyu, helping them suppress the divine souls stirred by the incitement of Buddha’s sounds.
The other three women required no such intervention.
"Goodness, is this a discussion or a magical combat?" Lin Wan clicked her tongue and asked.
"Magical combat concerns Buddhist Dharma, while discussions target the Dao heart, which can be more perilous than magical combat in some ways."
Shen Ying, holding Lin Wan’s arm, explained, "Lu Lang and I once attended a Buddhist Dharma discussion; one side was monks from Rizhao Temple, and the other led by the Great Glazed Temple, and they were all of the younger generation, yet it was already quite dangerous."
"What was the outcome?" Lin Wan asked.
"It ended in a draw," Shen Ying explained, "Though their side had top-tier young experts from the Great Glazed Temple, Guangyue’s not losing was akin to winning."
After all, Guangyue was not the number one of the young generation at Rizhao Temple.
As they chatted, they crossed several courtyards and arrived at the central Great Hero Hall of the temple.
On the plaza in front of the Great Hero Hall, over a hundred monks of Fahua Temple sat cross-legged.
The main door of the Great Hero Hall was wide open.
Inside, at the center, sat a dozen monks of various ages, dressed in yellow monk robes—these were the monks from Fahua Temple.
To the east inside the hall, more than twenty monks in bright yellow monk robes, though of slightly different styles, sat—they were likely from the Great Brahma Heaven Temple.
To the west inside, scattered among them were over ten individuals, both monks and Daoists, old and young, male and female.
Importantly, Lu Zheng even recognized two among them.
Surprisingly, they were Master Lin Yi of Chunyang Palace and Li Lingyu, whom he hadn’t seen in years.
"Lu Xiaoyou, Miss Shen, Miss Liu." Master Lin Yi communicated through telepathy.
"Brother Lu! Sister Shen!" Li Lingyu, too, communicated telepathically.
"Master Lin, Lingyu."
At this moment, an esteemed monk from Fahua Temple was delivering a sermon, so Lu Zheng quietly led the group to the west side of the hall, found a few meditation cushions, and sat next to Master Lin Yi.
"Why are you also at Fahua Temple?"
"Lingyu’s cultivation progressed too quickly, and his state of mind couldn’t catch up, so I brought him to experience the mundane world," Master Lin Yi telepathically explained.
Lu Zheng: ???
Turning around, Lu Zheng instinctively pinched Li Lingyu’s shoulder, only to realize he had already cultivated for several hundred years.
Lu Zheng was astounded; even with a natural Dao Body, this speed was a bit too fast, definitely surpassing his own pace back in the day.
"Thus, with pure thoughts continuing, attaining samadhi, he becomes a disciple, Amitabha Buddha."
Just then, an aged monk from the center of Fahua Temple finished his sermon, chanted Buddha’s name, and calmly looked towards the east.
"Brother’s Buddhist Dharma is profound; this humble monk is impressed. But how would you explain Ananda, who is from the Four Heavens of Emptiness, where mind and body have vanished, the nature of determinative emerges, without the fruit of deeds, reaching to the end?"
Within the monks of the Great Brahma Heaven Temple, a high-nosed deep-eyed old monk asked indifferently.
"Amitabha Buddha, this matter is simple, did brother not interpret scroll eight?" The old monk from Fahua Temple smiled slightly, offering words.
Then came another round of profound and obscure words that were not particularly easy to understand.
Though Lu Zheng had practiced the ’Lecture on the Heart Sutra of the Buddha on the Dharma Flower Platform,’ he had not delved deeply into Buddhist philosophical texts.
However, compared to the previous time at Jiming Temple where he didn’t understand at all, this time Lu Zheng at least comprehended what the old monk was saying.
And he also clearly observed that it seemed the old monk from Fahua Temple had the upper hand because the more he spoke, the more the old monk from the Great Brahma Heaven Temple’s expression turned grim.
Sure enough, after the old monk finished speaking, the Great Brahma Heaven Temple monk withdrew without another word.
Then, another old monk from Fahua Temple spoke a Buddhist verse, discussing the Dharma of the west.
Buddhist Dharma discussions, three questions and three answers; after the questions and answers, it switched sides to continue, a total of six rounds.
This is the three questions and answers, six rounds in all, forming the Nine-Grade Golden Lotus Dharma Assembly.
Before Lu Zheng arrived, two rounds had already passed, the third round just ended with Fahua Temple’s victory, while in the fourth round, a middle-aged monk from Great Brahma Heaven Temple eloquently refuted an old monk from Fahua Temple.
Until the sun was high and nearly 1 p.m., the Nine-Grade Golden Lotus Dharma Assembly finally concluded.
Although neither Fahua Temple nor Great Brahma Heaven Temple stated a clear victor, the spectators could tell.
Three to three, another draw!
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, thinking that whoever initially set the rules for these debates must have done so intentionally; otherwise, why not set it to seven rounds?
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