Chapter 268 - Buddhism (1/2)

Mount Fanjing, peace lies within the Pure Land. Inside the deep mountain, chanting of scriptures came from an ancient temple. Ning Zhe kneeled underneath a Bodhi tree. He was in deep thought.

Behind him, a figure walked over slowly. He wore a cassock typically worn by the head monk. Walking in front of Ning Zhe, he asked, “Jing Chen, why did you call for me?”

“Master, I am confused about how to deal with a particular matter.” Ning Zhe explained slowly.

Hearing that, Reverend Qing Chan raised his brows up, saying, “Could it be because of… benefactor Leng Yueyan?”

Ning Zhe nodded as he explained, “I met her in my previous life. In that life, she died protecting me. In the end, I became an immortal while she died on the path to immortality.”

“After I entered the immortal realm, I reflected for 30,000 years under the Bodhi tree. In the end, I came to find her in our next time after committing suicide. However, in this life, I am not Fan Kong, and she is not Yu Zhu.”

“In this world, I longed for Buddhism. However, I let Yueyan down in my previous life and I do not wish to let her down again. I merely wanted to pay back my errors in my previous life, but I do not want to go against the ways of Buddhism.”

“Master, what should I do?”

Qing Chan frowned upon hearing that. “Do you think this is karma?”

“Of course, I bear the consequences now for the actions in my previous life.” Ning Zhe nodded.

“Since you caused it in your previous life, why do you not resolve it now?” Qing Chan asked again.

Ning Zhe sighed shortly, explaining, “However, I don’t know how to do it. I will have to give up my Buddhist ways because of her. However, if I remain committed to my Buddhist ways, I would have wronged her.”

Qing Chan put his hand together and chanted a Buddhist scripture, “Afraid that love can hurt your Buddhist ways, entering a mountain but scared of losing out on city life. How can I find a way where I can satisfy both Nyorai and her?”

“This sentence is most suitable to be used to describe you.”

“That’s right. I do not want to wrong Nyorai, nor do I want to wrong her.” Ning Zhe frowned.

Qing Chan seemed to have understood the situation and advised, “I can hear that you wish to repay back for your past sins. If that is the case, why don’t you face it on?”

“However, I do not want to waste my Buddhist ways. I don’t how it will end if I do end up together with her.” Ning Zhe shook his head.

“You are a civilian monk and is not bond to the rules of Buddhism. You can take heart and be brave in your pursuit of her.” Qing Chan continued.

However, Ning Zhe shook his head and said, “Even though I can choose to not follow it, I won’t be at ease if I truly turn against the Buddhist teachings. After all, I grew up in the Buddhist world.”

“I owed Yueyan a favor that I must repay. However, I owed Buddhism a favor as well. I cannot wrong either one of them.”

Hearing that, Qing Chan nodded his head slowly as he smiled. “It’s enough to just bear the Buddhist teachings in your heart. The only difficulty in holding Buddhist values is to have it in your heart. You will not have wronged Buddha if you have him in your heart.”

“There is no need for you to remember the rest of the quote, there is no difficulty in your heart other than to separate yourself from love. You need to know that samsara was borne out of lust and that religions were borne out of love. Everyone has permission to love, including Buddhists.”

Ning Zhe rebutted, “However, the love of Buddhists is all-encompassing. How can it be compared to my private love?”

“Dear! There is no difference between the types of love. The greatest love is not all-encompassing love but that from mother to son. Following that, it is romantic and loyal love.”

“The power of love is very strong and very confusing. It can create miracles after miracles. You can understand the greater love of humanity through private love.”

“You would not have wronged Buddhism. If you cannot even understand private love, how can you use all-encompassing love to save humanity? So, you can rest assured in your pursuit of her. You caused it in your previous life.”

“All actions will result in consequences. You cannot escape from your karma so you might as well face it head-on.”

His words sent Ning Zhe into deep thought. One could understand the greater love through private love, one could not escape from karma…

“Master, if I fell into a relationship, will you be disappointed? Will Buddhism be disappointed?” Ning Zhe stood up to speak.

Qing Chan shook his head and replied, “You owed me nothing, and you owed Buddhism nothing. Buddha is a manifestation of mortals. Everyone who holds Buddhism in their heart can find true meaning within their heart as they realize the truth.”

“You will forever be my disciple even if you only chanted sculptures for one day. If you constantly hold Buddhism in your heart, you can become Buddha.”

Hearing that, Ning Zhe seemed to have a revelation. “I heard a Buddhist quote that one can see Nyorai if one think about Buddhism 300 times a day, and chant Amitabha 10,000 times in their life.”

“This meant that one would not have wronged Buddha if one had him in your heart. Even if your Bodhi Heart fell into the mortal world, can you still be a Buddhist as long as you hold Buddha close to your heart?”

Hearing that, Qing Chan smiled and nodded his head, saying, “Dear, you have finally understood. That is the truth. Everything originates from your heart. As long as your Bodhi Heart is still present, you will be a Buddhist.”

Ning Zhe bowed to his respected master and said, “Then, I… shall find Yueyan now. I have promised to meet her within three months at Muni Valley.”

“My trip now is to find out more about the causes in my previous life, so I can decipher what sort of consequences will occur in my present life. Afterward, I shall venture to Yuxu Pure Land, where Brother Bugui waits for me.”

“Go ahead. All actions resulted in consequences, and everything is predestined by fate. Master hopes that you can find a good end to your work. Do not hurt benefactor Leng again.” Qing Chan smiled.

“Yes, Master. Also, which master said the quote regarding satisfying Nyorai and his love?” Ning Zhe suddenly asked about that.