Zhu Xian: Learn from the Great Ying Immortal and rebuild the Trinity School

For Xu Zhiqiu, this was not the first time he came to Tianyin Temple.

But after all, it has been more than ten years, and the memory has long been fuzzy.

"Donor Xu defeated the beast god that day and saved all living beings from danger. Such a great merit will not only be appreciated by our humble temple, but even the Buddha will be grateful to you."

"Haha, Master, you are flattering me."

Listening to Buddhist chants and smelling the fragrance of sandalwood can bring inner peace.

Xu Zhiqiu then smiled and said:

"Buddha relieves the suffering of the heart and seeks the afterlife. Taoism says that in this life, heaven and man are one. I am visiting you today for the sake of that [unity of heaven and man]."

Hearing this, Puhong looked at the others, as if they had some guesses.

At this time, Xu Zhiqiu proposed to go and see Pu Zhi's body, and Pu Hong naturally agreed.

That year, after Pu Zhi was carried back to Tianyin Temple by Xu Zhiqiu, he passed away within one night.

Later, the body was suppressed with an "Ice Jade Plate" to keep it immortal and incorruptible, so that one day, when the truth of the Cao Miao Village tragedy was revealed, Zhang Xiaofan would come to deal with it.

At that time, you can rub the bones into ashes, fry them in oil or burn them in fire to atone for your sins.

Of course, in Xu Zhiqiu's view, this is nothing more than giving the monks and ghosts peace of mind.

The place where Puzhi's body was kept was in a Zen room in the east wing of Tianyin Villa in the back mountain of Tianyin Temple.

On the way to the back mountain, Xu Zhiqiu asked:
"By the way, have those two orphans from Caomiao Village, especially Zhang Xiaofan, ever been here in these years?"

In response, Puhong did not answer, but just shook his head.

The Dharmadhatu said:

"Reporting to Uncle Xu, although Junior Brother Zhang Qingyun has not been here, I think in his heart... he should have let it go."

"Well, I think that although Zhang Xiaofan is a little dull, he is also kind-hearted," said Xu Zhiqiu.

The few of them walked and talked, and soon arrived at a windowless house.

Fashang opened the door and lifted the heavy cloth curtain, and suddenly a bone-chilling chill overflowed from the house.

The room was dark. As everyone walked in, a faint silver light suddenly appeared in the center of the room.

The light spread out layer by layer on the ground like ripples on water.

It was vaguely recognizable as a round luminous object about one foot square.

Sitting above the disc is an old monk in yellow robes, with his hands clasped in front of his chest and his head slightly lowered.

"Junior brother, Donor Xu is here to see you."

Puhong called out in a low voice.

Xu Zhiqiu looked over.
Old Monk Puzhi looks lifelike. Although his skin is pale and frosted, there is no sign of dryness or shrinkage.

His expression was still normal, but between his brows, there was a hint of pain that could not be concealed.

Xu Zhiqiu sighed softly, feeling mixed emotions.

Just as Puzhi confessed when he was on the verge of death - Buddhists seek perfection of one's own nature, but he was obsessed with longevity, making what he sought go in the opposite direction of the Tao.

Maybe Puzhi was not born to be a monk.

Xu Zhiqiu has a clear view of the whole thing.

At this moment, there is still the light of the heavenly soul residing in Puzhi's corpse.

The remaining two souls and seven spirits either scattered around the temple or wandered in other places, ending up with a tragic end of being ignorant and without wisdom.

And the reason why this surviving soul doesn't leave is perhaps because it is anxiously waiting for the moment of rebirth?

Xu Zhiqiu walked forward, squatted down, and put his hand on his forehead.

"Master, how are you?"

He greeted him, and then he saw the fetal light in the corpse's orifice move.

I guess it's a response to him, right?
"Brother, I am incompetent. I couldn't save you back then, and I can't fulfill your last wish now. Now that the donor has come to see you, I think you will be happier, right?"

"May you let go of your worries as soon as possible, and be reborn to cultivate good deeds in another life. Amitabha..."

…………

After watching Puzhi, they left the hut and headed toward the mountain.

On the way, Puhong mentioned:
"Junior brother has gone astray and created this kind of karmic debt. In the end, we, the living, have to pay it off for him... To be honest, I have often thought about this over the years. When I think of the ghosts of those villagers who died in vain, I lose my appetite and cannot sleep at night..."

As he spoke, the old monk looked at Xu Zhiqiu, his expression a little stiff, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

How could Xu pretend to be confused? Raise your hand:
"Master, you have something to say, but you can speak it."

Puhong was grateful and put his hands together and said:

"To be honest, I have the intention to send monks from the temple to the ruins of Caomiao Village to pray for the souls of the dead, but this matter... after all, cannot be brought up rashly."

After listening to the words and thinking for a moment, Xu Zhiqiu figured out the key.

The Cao Miao Village case was actually complicated in nature.

They are also suspected of passing on skills and stealing teachers, which is related to the lifeline of the sect's inheritance.

The lawsuit involving Zhang Xiaofan was coldly handled ten years ago, but being coldly handled does not mean it is over.

This is a very sensitive topic between Qingyun Sect and Tianyin Temple. Both sides are deliberately avoiding or downplaying the impact of this matter.

It has been so many years, and the souls of the dead in Cao Miao Village have either been reincarnated or have been liberated through Taoist rituals. They have probably all dispersed by now, so why should he bother with this?
Now Puhong wants to bring up the matter again, saying it is to liberate the souls of the dead, but in fact he is just looking for an excuse.

I want to throw out some ideas and strive for a result.

After all, more than 20 years have passed, and Pu Zhi cannot rest in peace until the matter is resolved.

As his senior brother, how could he bear to do this?
After thinking for a while, Xu Zhiqiu said:
"If your temple is not comfortable with this matter, I, Sanyi, can act as an intermediary and pass on the message."

He thought that through the connection of Lu Xueqi < Shuiyue < Wanjianyi > Tian Buyi > Zhang Xiaofan = Lin Jingyu, he should be able to complete this line of thinking.

Of course, he could only help pass the message, but whether it would succeed or not was not something he could control.

To be honest, he would be happy if the old monk Puzhi could finally rest in peace.

"In that case, I would like to thank you in advance!"

Pu Hong's old face was filled with excitement, his long beard trembled, and he was completely undignified.

The image behind him even secretly wiped away his tears and put his hands together to pray:
"Amitabha, so good, so good..."

Pu Hong and others led Xu Zhiqiu to a magnificent building.

"Donor please."

Xu Zhiqiu looked up and saw three large gold-plated characters on the plaque - Sutra Repository.

Although Xu Zhiqiu did not say it explicitly, Puhong probably had guessed the purpose of his visit to Tianyin.

When they pushed open the door, they saw rows of bookshelves.

There are no less than thousands of scriptures and books on the shelves, which are the life-long efforts of the eminent monks and sages of Tianyin Temple over the past thousand years.

Xu Zhiqiu's visit to Tianyin this time was actually to "go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures."

Now he has obtained four of the five volumes of the Heavenly Book, which is considered a stroke of luck. However, he has no clue about the last fourth volume.

I went to ask Zhou Yixian, who knew the answer clearly, but it turned out that even he didn't know.

Helplessly, in order to continue to perfect his own practice theory, Xu Zhiqiu could only settle for the second best and try his luck in Tianyin Temple.

After all, there are many things we can learn from Buddhism.

"Please look, benefactor."

After walking around the bookshelves, Puhong handed a thin yellow paper booklet to him.

"This is the supreme and authentic inheritance of our Tianyin Temple, the Mahabrahma Prajna." The inherited skills of Tianyin that had not been leaked for thousands of years were now presented to the emperor with both hands. Xu Zhiqiu could not ignore the importance of it, so he took it solemnly.

"Unlike the all-embracing Taoist method, my Buddhist method focuses on strengthening the foundation and nurturing the essence, closing the acupoints of the whole body, taking one's own body as a world, seeing one's own nature alone, and bursting out supernatural powers from one's own nature..."

Not only did Pu Hong let Xu Zhiqiu look at it, he also introduced it to him:

"I am not boasting. This method cultivates both the inner and the outer, and protects both the body and the soul. The magic and supernatural powers that our ancestors have perfected over the past thousand years, such as "Bitter Zen", "Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra", "Concentration Supernatural Power", "Prajna Heart Circle", etc., are all derived from this sutra."

Xu Zhiqiu simply flipped through a few pages and closed the booklet.

Smiling at the old monk:

"It seems that Xu will have to stay in your temple for a few days."

Puhong Faxiang and his disciple both put their palms together and bowed:

"Amitabha, I wish for it."

Next, Xu Zhiqiu stayed temporarily in Mount Xumi, accompanied by the morning bells and evening drums every day.

While listening to the monks chanting scriptures in the morning and evening, I comprehended the scriptures.

During this period, Puhong, Pufang and others often came to visit him and helped him with difficult questions in the scriptures.

After all, Xu Zhiqiu was a layman in Buddhism and needed their help.

After studying it for several days, I felt that this method was very profound and mysterious.

But he made rapid progress and gradually mastered the key points one by one.

After the whole road is connected from beginning to end, you can "jump out of Mount Lushan and overlook the smaller mountains."

But gradually, he became a little disappointed because it didn't bring him much inspiration.

Although the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra is profound, it seems to have limitations. Many places that could have been explored in detail are not explored in depth, and I always feel that I have not done my best.

He also read through the practice notes of many eminent monks from past dynasties, but still gained little.

Perhaps it is because of the limitations of the realm of the people who created the achievement, so that no matter how much later generations think about it, it is difficult to transcend the framework of their predecessors.

On the fifth day, he took the initiative to resign.

Puhong saw that he didn't gain anything real and felt guilty for not being able to help him.

So he offered to take him to a place.

"A jade disk without words?"

Hearing this name, Xu Zhiqiu quickly remembered a legend.

"Isn't it the supreme holy place of your temple as rumored in the martial arts world?"

"What the donor said is correct."

Pu Hong nodded and slowly told the story:
“A thousand years ago, the founder of this temple was still a wandering monk.

He traveled around the world, and one day, for some unknown reason, he accidentally entered the mountains of Mount Xumi, lost his way, and had no way out.

The master was wandering in the forest, and perhaps it was a gift from heaven that he saw a stone wall as smooth as jade. At that time, the master was hungry and thirsty, and was extremely sleepy, so he took a rest under the jade wall.

But I don’t know why, but when I was not paying attention, I gradually entered into the eighth level of meditation - the state of neither thought nor non-thought.

The blessings of this state of concentration are extremely profound, and it is only one step away from reaching the state of great perfection in Buddhism.

But unfortunately, that’s the end of fate, there is no further progress.

It was during this eight-level meditation that the founder suddenly realized the Buddhist principles and comprehended the supreme truth, the Mahavairocana Prajnaparamita, which has been passed down from generation to generation in our temple, thus laying the foundation for the present-day Tianyin Temple.

The legend was so mysterious, and Xu Zhiqiu had made the trip with great difficulty, so naturally he didn't want to miss it.

Therefore, Puhong specially called together several old monks including Pufang Pude, his disciple Fashang, as well as accomplished disciples or elders, a total of forty or fifty people.

A large group of people walked towards the back mountain with Xu Zhiqiu.

After passing Tianyin Villa, the group continued walking along the mountain road for half an hour.

As we meandered through the winding valleys of Mount Xumi, we unknowingly left the Tianyin Temple complex far behind and could no longer see it.

All along the way, we saw strange rocks and a thin mist on the rocks and under the trees.

There are many sounds of birds, monkeys and waterfalls in your ears, but it does not seem noisy. Instead, it gives people a sense of natural self-harmony.

It seems as if there is a layer of auspicious light and mist filter everywhere here, bringing a sense of peace and comfort to people's hearts.

I guess this is what the legendary sacred place of Lingshan feels like, right?
After walking for about another quarter of an hour, Puhong stopped.

Looking ahead, the mountain road is still winding, with a dense coniferous forest on the left and dense bushes of weeds and thorns on the right.

After crossing the thorns, there is a cliff five meters away.

Xu followed Puhong and the others to the edge of the cliff.

Looking down, the cliff was thick with fog, like rolling waves, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Pu Hong said:

"It's just below this cliff."

Xu Zhiqiu raised his eyes and his vision improved. He could see through the layers of mist and catch a glimpse of the real situation below, which was a huge platform.

So everyone jumped down.

As it fell, the fog quickly dissipated.

The scenery below me became clearer, with a few old pine trees sparsely dotted around, nothing special.

Particularly eye-catching is a smooth platform in front, which is three meters square and about six feet high, which is a perfect place for meditation.

"Donor, if you stand on it, you will be able to see the jade disk without words."

Puhong invited Xu Zhiqiu to go up, and Xu of course did not refuse and went up.

Afterwards, these dozens of Tianyin monks found seats below and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Seeing Xu Zhiqiu was puzzled, Pu Hong explained with a smile:
"The master once said that he was able to realize the Buddhist principles because of the blessing of the jade disk. He thought that he was not a person with deep wisdom, so he was able to rely on the jade disk for his blessing, which must be a predestined relationship."

"For thousands of years since then, generations of eminent monks from Tianyin Temple have come to this jade disk to comprehend the Buddha's teachings, but no one has ever been favored by it again."

"Master Xu's talent and cultivation are second to none in the world. He should be recognized by the jade disc and even be able to comprehend its mysteries."

"If this is true, it is also the supreme blessing for those of us who are witnessing it."

"Haha." Xu Zhiqiu shook his head and laughed when he heard that, and teased, "Master, you are good at managing the household."

Afterwards, Xu Zhiqiu sat on the stone platform.

Before he could use his observation ability to see what was going on, he suddenly heard a sharp howl coming from the thick fog above his head.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of dazzling light penetrated the mist, tearing a hole in the thick fog and hitting Xu.

Xu was unmoved. Then a strange hissing sound was heard in the valley, as if the thick fog above was boiled by high temperature.

The beam of light above became larger and brighter, and soon it completely dispelled the thick fog, and the valley was illuminated as if it were exposed.

The exposure lasted for more than ten seconds before slowly fading.

Xu Zhiqiu looked ahead again.
It was a cliff like a mirror, hanging straight down, seven zhang high and more than four zhang wide.

The material of the cliff is better than jade, extremely smooth, and can reflect objects so clearly that it can reflect the beauty of the world and the mountains near and far, with every detail visible.

It is even larger than the Moon Viewing Platform on Xiaozhu Peak and is like an oversized, highly reflective fitting mirror.

As Xu Zhiqiu raised his hand, the “self” opposite him also raised his hand.

He smiled.

Looking a little further down, one can see the monks, including Puhong, with only half of their shiny bald heads exposed.

The group of bald heads reflected light, and the mirror wall also reflected light, making Xu Zhiqiu squint. (End of this chapter)