From the God of Lies to the Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 257 Ascetics, Compassionates

What is a religious country like?
The Vatican cannot be an example because it is too small, so small that donations from some wealthy believers could cover the entire fiscal deficit of the country.

Moreover, it is the head of Catholicism worldwide. Under the new pope, his iron-fisted methods and extraordinary power have enabled the Vatican to complete a complete transformation from a religious state to papal rule.

This country doesn't seem like a religious country at all, but rather more like a theocracy!

But the country in front of Bai Yang fits the definition of a "religious" country even better, and this definition is filled with a special "religious mystery".

Because what is visible to the naked eye is nothing but poverty.

One interesting statistic is that India claims its poverty rate is 5.3%, while the World Bank sets its poverty rate at 28%, and Myanmar's is 32%!

Yes, it's ironic that a Buddhist country that believes in "equality for all" has a higher poverty rate than countries with a caste system.

As Bai Yang personally experienced the situation, he roughly understood how the country's operating model and its inherent attributes contradicted each other.

This is a purely Buddhist country, the only difference being the coastal state of Rakhine, which retains modern symbols and other religious elements.

Therefore, the economy there is relatively prosperous and wealthy, and there is a relatively active business. As for other places, war and death are everything!
Of course, none of that is the key point. The key point is the numbness and desolation of the country itself. With economic collapse, warlord conflicts, political infighting, and frequent climate disasters, this country has no vitality at all.

All that remains is severe poverty and hunger, and a numb populace under the so-called "Buddhist teachings."

Because Buddhism teaches patience, they endure as long as they are not about to die.

"The Buddhism here doesn't seem like a religion that guides people to goodness; it's more like a tool of rule that has completely penetrated their country. They believe in Buddhism not because of faith, but because they dare not have any emotions!"

When Bai Yang saw this scene, he felt a complex and inexplicable mix of emotions. He could sense the emotions of everyone and knew that these people's "faith" was more like "fear" than faith. In this country where Buddhism was most deeply rooted, there were very few truly devout believers.
Just like how Theravada Buddhism was initially established because it did not want to accept valuable items such as gold and silver, and when it clashed with the Mahasanghika school, which was trying to collect money, the Mahasanghika school chose to leave, thus forming the prototype of Theravada Buddhism.

As a result, the richest people in this country, besides warlords, were monks. The gold-leaf-covered pagodas and the emaciated people created a terrible contrast.

Some monks are even able to be publicly elected to become government officials, and they begin to incite public outcry and ethnic sentiments, all based on the contrast!
To put it bluntly, it's actually quite simple. This country is like a makeshift operation, kept running by many people because nobody wants it to be good, which is why it can continue to exist.

This is something that goes against Eastern philosophical thinking, but since Westerners dominate this approach, it's not hard to understand.

After all, in the logic of Western powers, only chaos can bring them benefits, and only chaos makes it easier for them to intervene. Therefore, they actively guide this chaos.

Of course, none of this was within Bai Yang's scope of concern. In fact, what he was more concerned about was the depth of faith in this country.

After experiencing the "poison of faith" in India, Bai Yang understood that not all "willpower" can be extracted, and that the willpower in those ancient beliefs may very well contain poison.

The poison of Hinduism lies in the caste system and the subservience passed down for thousands of years, while the poison of Burmese Buddhism lies in the alienated social system, the apathetic masses, and the world itself!
Thinking about it this way, America's ability to use her willpower was simply because she was wearing a shell called "Lord," which absorbed all the "poison."

Jehovah was poisoned, what does it have to do with him?
Bai Yang smiled and clarified everything in front of him.

"Your Majesty, the most chaotic order is far better than the most orderly chaos! I thought America was the limit, but then I came to India and Burma..."

Alvin's expression was complex and incomprehensible. Compared to these two countries, America was a world benchmark!
"That's because you don't know about Africa and Central America..." Bai Yang couldn't help but complain. War has always been a place that destroys humanity. When order is completely out of balance and everything becomes chaotic, the people at the bottom are not even as valuable as consumables.

Having completed a thorough analysis of the country, Bai Yang began to discuss work with Alvin. "The central authority remains in the underworld, observing everything in Zhenluo and collecting the remaining souls. Therefore, all the arrangements for this country will depend on us!"

"Your Majesty, to what extent do you need this kingdom?" Alvin asked. "Is it to have a force of our own, like America, or to completely overthrow a part of the rule, like India?"

“None of those!” Bai Yang waved his hand and said, “What I hope for is to end the chaos here, no matter what method we use! After all, everyone is a potential believer, and less war means we can gain more spiritual power!” “I understand, then this monk should meet your requirements!” Alvin raised his hand and highlighted a monk from the crowd.

The Sangha are the monks of Myanmar. In a country where everyone is expected to become a monk, they are not particularly prominent, but ascetics are still respected by everyone.

After all, this country still follows the ancient precept of "not eating after noon." Many people are fine as short-term monks, but if they become long-term monks, enduring hunger and thirst for many years will become their instinct.

Ascetics, on the other hand, need to undertake long journeys, arduous practices, and hard work, which is why the man Alvin pointed out looked very thin.

But compared to his thin physique, his eyes were incredibly bright.

The eyes are the windows to the soul. Through these eyes, Bai Yang could see the other person's inner world, which was incredibly solid.

He wore coarse monk's robes, walked barefoot on the mottled and rugged earth, carrying his alms bowl as he walked across the street.

The calluses on his feet are proof of his ascetic practices.

Unlike other monks who went out to beg for alms, he simply walked along the road, step by step, until he saw the wealthy people who were giving alms. Only then did he approach them, put his palms together in prayer, and ask for food.

After he received the food, someone asked him curiously, "Master Min Aung, why do you ignore the alms offered by people on the street and only choose their food? Do you think they are unworthy of your blessings?"

Upon hearing this, the monk named Min Ang shook his head and said softly, "No, I will bless everyone I meet equally, but the people here are starving every day, yet they still give alms to monks. This is wrong!"

"If I take a little less, maybe some families' children will have a little more to eat... and if they have enough to eat, they'll be less likely to get sick!"

Upon hearing this, the people around looked on with great incomprehension. Every household in their village was like this, so why did it seem abnormal in the eyes of this monk?

This is an unconventional monk whose ideas are different from those of most people.

Therefore, many people cast strange glances at him, because he took out a large white cloth from his pocket, on which he had written words.

"Cancel the preferential treatment for monks, lift military control, and let the people have enough to eat!"

The above words brought clarity to his surroundings and also drew condemnation from many people for his behavior!

In this Buddhist country, his behavior cannot even be described as "eccentric," but rather as "rebellious"!
He's digging up the roots of this country!
This was still too advanced for the country as a whole, so he was quickly driven away by armed police and soldiers. They roughly snatched his white cloth and hit him twice, making him stagger and cower.

However, he only coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, and then left as if nothing had happened, heading to a distant part of the city.

Someone asked curiously, "Master Min Ang does this every day, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on him!"

“Master Min Ang said that as long as his actions benefit even one person, he should continue!” an old man said softly, guiding the young man beside him. “We dare not say much, but we cannot laugh at those who dare to speak out. They are our only help as ordinary people!”

P.S.: Information about Myanmar is really scarce. We rarely pay attention to this country, so we don't know how exaggerated and shocking it is.

PS2: I slept on and off for about seven hours today, which is okay. I'll continue writing. I'll post three chapters first, and the fourth chapter tonight.

PS3: Thank you to the author of "The Serpent of the End Devouring God" for the 500 Qidian Coins donation! Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)