Chapter 174: Of Beings and Buddha

　　As a matter of fact, this monk actually possessed amazing power as he could walk with ease despite he’s carrying a thousand pound giant bell.

　　He could release but not retain; although he had mastered the technique, he had yet to attain the meaning behind Dharma. Like a round boundless solar disk that could not shine brightly.

　　The bronze bell entered the square as it chimes. It dashed up to the sky and landed on the ground steadily while a humble looking monk appeared.

　　People could tell that he was not Huike while some could recognize this monk who clearly had been cultivating the Jingang Temple’s King Kong Strength.

　　The ringing sound was dull but powerful, it took a while for it to stop ringing.

　　The monk placed his palms together and said, “I am Hongzhen, my master, Huike, wants to ask the Venerable about the ringing bell.”

　　Baoyue the Venerable had his eyes fixed on the monk, with a faint smile he asked, “What would he like to ask?”

　　Everyone knew that Huike had got the ball rolling.

　　Shen Lian’s gaze fell on Hongzhen. This monk was exactly the same as the first time he met him. In other words, he had yet to make any improvements since then.

　　Although it was not too long ago when they last met the study of cultivation was like sailing against the current; one either keep moving forward or one falls behind. But Shen Lian could not sense any difference in him ever since their last encounter.

　　As if his cultivation experience was fixed, there were no improvements nor any deterioration.

　　Shen Lian felt that it was strange.

　　At this very moment, everyone present was waiting eagerly to see how would Hongzen ask on behalf of Huike.

　　Hongzhen did not let them wait for too long. He closed his eyes and opened it again. His eyes were brightly shining and one could tell that his cultivation of the physical body was actually pretty good.

　　He said, “My master made a verse out of the ringing bell.” With a clear voice, he proceeded to recite the verse.

　　“Shadow came from the shape, a ringing sound came from noise. Without shape, one wouldn’t know the shadow. Stop the sound, one wouldn’t know the source of the ring. Eliminate troubles to contemplate nirvana is similar to doing away of shape to look for the shadow. But if you seek the Buddha fruit from living beings, it is similar to wanting to hear sound in silent. We should know that ignorance and foolishness are not the same. A piece of work is not famous because of its name. Making reasons out of no reasons are controversial. Is it a fantasy or is it real? Who is right or who is wrong? Whims are not facts, what exists and what doesn’t?”

　　The Buddhist verse was a little long but the audience was uncertain about it. Even Daoist Huanzhen had his thinking face on.

　　This verse contained Buddhism and Daoism’s charisma and had a deep meaning towards it. The phrase ‘without shape, one wouldn’t know the shadow’, was originated from the ‘Nanhua Scripture’, specifically the first scripture of The Way of Heaven. It describes how Shi Chengqi sidled away from Laozi’s shadow; then he retraced his steps, advanced forward and asked, how should he cultivate himself. The person that Shi Chengqi asked was the Daoist Master, and the Daoist Master answered it was what he expressed on the outside and not his nature.

　　It could be described as ‘Seeking truth and getting rid off absurdity, is like trying to learn shape without shadow. If experiencing absurdity is real, then it’s like being under shade to put the shadows to rest’. Ordinary cultivators were puzzled by the debate, only people like Baishi, Huanzhen, and Shen Lian would be able to make sense of it.

　　They too had the qualities of Powang and breakthrough but understanding this concept did not necessarily mean achieving it.

　　Just like how there were no substances in unfounded absurdity, whims.

　　Shen Lian had this idea that perhaps Huike was not referring to breaking through whims, he had other objectives instead.

　　It was because whims were highly subjective and unexplainable as everyone had their own definition of it. Some would kill holy deities or their ancestors to obtain immortality; while some were, benevolent, and rendered good for evil and eventually attained the truth.

　　But the essence of it was just theories. Turning into a demon was just a fine line away from becoming Buddha. What separated the two was ‘intention’.

　　Baoyue the Venerable listened to the verse and smiled like a flower in spring. He said, “Since Huike asked so, he must have known the answer. It’s unnecessary for him to ask me.”

　　Hongzhen replied, “Although my master knew the answer he still needed the Venerable to clear his doubts.”

　　Baoyue the Venerable sighed, “Since he made a verse, I will answer him with another verse. Please listen carefully.”

　　Considering Baoyue’s age, things got a little more solemn. The Buddhist chants echoed throughout the hall and entered the crowd’s ears, “Brace yourself to see the truth, the unexpected truth. In the dream, rubies are debris; but in consciousness, those are in fact pearls. There is no difference in ignorance and wisdom; once mastered, everything is the same. The next generation, pen their own books. There is no difference between your body and Buddha, so why should we look further?”

　　The verse was a shock not to the Daoist cultivators but to the Bhikkhu monks and nuns of Xi Huang.

　　It was because Baoyue the Venerable has further explained Huike’s word. Huike believed that all beings have the same innate. If they could give up fantasies and return to what is true, they would have achieved the realm where beings and saints are equal. Therefore, there was no difference between a being and Buddha; and therefore it was not right for monks to promote the old Buddhist studies that enslaved the poor and viewed highly of the nobles.

　　Huike’s studies were not originally by him but had roots of Buddhism. It was also known as the Buddha Mind Sect by non-Buddhist, and there were also people who called it ‘Zen’.

　　The Buddha Mind Sect was secretly spread in the Zhou Dynasty and eventually gained influence.

　　The condensation of the Buddha Mind Sect today could not match the original eight schools of Buddhism- Tattvasiddhi, Kushashu, Risshu, Madhyamaka, Tiantai, Yogacara, Huayan, and Shingon.

　　However, it was more directed to the human mind and very few immortal Zhenren recognized it for its vigorous vitality.

　　Now that Baoyue the Venerable went for the opposite approach, this showed that times had changed in the Buddhist sect.

　　Most of the monks who came for the debate were at a loss.

　　Huike had yet to show up but had achieved his purpose.

　　The reason why the debate generated such huge buzz was that they wanted to establish the image of Buddha’s mind in a magnificent scene.

　　It was also an omen to a revolution in the Buddhist sect and the world of cultivation.

　　Huanzhen was pissed. Firstly, he did not manage to humiliate Shen Lian and secondly, people would be paying attention to the internal strife between Buddhist sects and that would be disadvantageous to the influence of the Guangqing Celestial Sect.

　　On top of that, the debate between Baoyue and Huike has garnered the attention of several Daoists. All sentient beings have Buddhism doctrine in them and it did not conflict with Daoism’s Powang. Many scattered Daoists and even pure Dao sects would be more than happy to interact with Buddhist sects and use them to open many other doors.

　　The Ming Wang Temple had not been doing anything big in the past thousands of years and who knew that they would achieve something so big this time around.

　　Plus besides the four main Daoist sects, other cultivators would not look too much into the differences between Buddhism and Daoism, as long as they could achieve immortality.

　　As long as it benefits their Dao, it did not matter if they had to go bald. To them, it was just like changing skin.

　　At this very moment, a demonic wind swept through the square and a whirl of demonic clouds covered the moon.

　　Baoyue the Venerable looked up to the sky as his face sunk. He raised his hands and used the golden Buddhist ray with the intentions of suppressing the demonic clouds.

　　Laughters could be heard coming from the demonic cloud, “Scramble away if you don’t want to die.”

　　The sudden spiritual pressure in the sky has caused the ripples in the void.

　　Several cultivators felt the spiritual pressure and knew that a demon of immortal Zhenren level was here. It was not unusual for normal beings to suffer from the battles between celestials.

　　In the blink of an eye, instruments in the square dispersed in four directions.