From the God of Lies to the Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 258 Cultivator, Great Enlightenment

Min Ang disappeared into the crowd before everyone's eyes.

The monk staggered and moved somewhat awkwardly, yet he still didn't appear to have an unpleasant demeanor. His eyes were bright, and his body was clean and tidy. He seemed like a person independent of the world, carrying out his spiritual practice.

Min Ang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket, exchanged them for some food and items on the street, and then went to the poorest part of the street to give these things to some children.

These are children whose parents have died, who live in shacks, and who are barely surviving.

Then, he sat upright and explained principles to the children.

He didn't preach or try to persuade the children to believe in Buddhism. Instead, he told them where to find food and safe jobs in the future.

"Grandpa Minang, are you leaving?" A child keenly sensed that he was different from before and looked up to ask.

“Yes, I’m leaving!” Min Ang said with a smile. “From now on, it’s up to you children.”

"Our Buddhism teaches us to do good, so I also teach you to do good and not to do evil deeds, as this will diminish your merits!"

"But if it's about survival... then survive first! That's all I can teach you..."

The children nodded as if they understood, then watched him struggle to his feet and stagger away.

Children don't really understand parting, but they know this might be the last time they see each other.

So they ate their food, staring blankly at the departing monks.

However, Min Ang's departure did not last long. Soon, he sat down slowly in a small alley.

He could no longer walk; he could barely move. His body's cries of pain told him that he had reached his limit.

Min Ang could feel that his body was being ravaged at an alarming rate due to his long-term poor health and terrible beatings.

He ate very little, yet he spent his precious time each day working and praying to earn money to help others and to appeal to the government for things that seemed impossible.

He knew it was impossible, and he knew that few people cared about what he was doing.

But he persisted; for Min Ang, persistence was the only meaning of his life.

Because he felt that the world should not be like this. Buddhism teaches them compassion, kindness, and how to guide people toward goodness.

But he couldn't do what other monks did: silently watch ordinary people living below the poverty line, suffering a fate worse than death, and still have to support them, the Sangha.

"Amitabha!" he murmured, bowing to the west. "World Honored One... please forgive my rudeness. I have not fulfilled my great vow, I have not achieved liberation. I am guilty, and I wish to descend to the eighteenth level of hell!"

Min Ang knew he was going to die, which is why he showed the children a relatively good path.

It was just like what he said when he was a child during the war, watching the people die, and watching his dying mother:
"Yeah, live on! Don't starve to death, as long as you live, nothing else matters!"

So he survived by remaining a monk for life, but he was expelled from the temple and ended up on the streets because of disagreements with the monks, where he remains to this day.

His life was uneventful, and his heart was pure and flawless.

The monk with his eyes closed closed his eyes in the alley. He was too tired and needed to rest...

"What a compassionate person he is!" Bai Yang remarked with admiration.

He read the other person's information and learned about the life of this monk. In this country where everyone was numb, Min Ang could even be called a "sober one" or even an awakened one, after all, he was really working hard for the people of this country.

From the national environment to the children on the street, he is making changes in his own way.

You could even say he was a compassionate, patriotic, and kind person. All his actions were filled with goodwill. It's just a pity that his goodwill did not attract companions, but only death!

Because of the monk's special status in the country, the warlord could not kill him, but beatings were commonplace. Therefore, his death can be understood as a combination of overwork, malnutrition, and excessive injuries and illnesses.

“Your Majesty, he is very suitable, because he is a patriot!” Alvin said. “After gaining power, he will definitely choose to eliminate the warlords, and because his beliefs differ from those of the other Buddhists, and because he has seen too much filth, he will also choose to eliminate Buddhism!”

"He's the perfect candidate!"

"Perfect, but certainly a good candidate!" Bai Yang nodded slightly and said, "We don't need many other options. Luck is also part of ability, so he's the one!"

Bai Yang landed in the alley, looked at the man before him who was so thin that his age was hard to discern, and slightly raised his hand. Golden light was released from his hand, transforming into real power that entered the other man's mind.

Bai Yang also created a Buddhist illusion, and now he is extremely adept at doing these things, even finding them very smooth and easy.

……

"Amitabha!" A Buddhist chant, accompanied by the sound of bells, rang in Min Ang's ears, awakening him from the endless void.

He opened his eyes, somewhat bewildered, and looked around at everything.

Around him were still the city streets, and everything on those streets was still what he saw.

The only difference was that Min Ang saw his own "body" at his feet, which made him both surprised and somewhat expectant.

He is truly dead, but he is still conscious.

Then, he saw the "golden light and shadow" before him and immediately knelt down:
"O Enlightened One! Has it been you who came before your disciple?"

(The term used in Theravada Buddhism to refer to the Buddha)
"I do not ask for forgiveness, I only ask for repentance! Please take me with you, take me to hell, take me to bear the consequences of my sins..."

This is also a difference in Theravada Buddhism, which advocates the principle of "self-illumination," that is, not praying to the Buddha for forgiveness, but only seeking to remove obstacles to spiritual practice.

Therefore, they follow the ironclad law of reaping what one sows, and they practice their sins through spiritual discipline; these are their rules.

Before Min Ang, the originally blurry light and shadow quickly coalesced, transforming into a completely real being—a figure clad in sal tree bark, whose thin yet heavy body seemed to represent his power.

"Amitabha!" the newcomer proclaimed, "This humble monk Ananda, by the command of the Buddha, has come to guide you, Bhikkhu Minang!"

Min Ang knelt on the ground and whispered, "How fortunate I am, how hopeful I am... This disciple's cultivation is shallow, I dare not accept such an honor!"

Upon hearing this, Ananda looked up at the middle-aged monk and said, "You have already suppressed greed through the practice of contemplation of impurity; you have already resolved resentment through the practice of loving-kindness meditation... How can your practice be considered shallow?"

"Throughout my life, I have accomplished nothing. I tried to influence those in higher positions, but I never even met them. I tried to accumulate good deeds, but all my efforts were in vain..."

Min Ang said with a somewhat somber tone, "A life of cowardice, nothing accomplished... I dare not claim to have cultivated myself!"

"Though you claim to be cowardly, you can still stand against tyranny! Though you have accomplished nothing, over a hundred lives have been saved because of you!" Ananda looked at him with great admiration. "Let me ask you, what is the purpose of your lifelong practice?"

"As believers, we have food and clothing; as citizens, we have safety; as Buddha, we have respect; as our country, we have stability!" Min Ang said, gradually drawing out and expressing the most primal things in his heart.

Ananda nodded approvingly, "This is the Great Enlightenment! You are a monk with great aspirations!"

"This disciple is terrified!" Min Ang couldn't quite understand these things, so he looked up and found that this "Arhat," who was famous even in Buddhist scriptures, was looking at him approvingly.

"So, what you believe in and pray to is either the Buddha you think you are, or a path you are walking?"

“Your disciple is foolish! What I pay homage to is the Dharma that Your Excellency has realized! What I pray for is not external power, but the courage and wisdom to practice mindfulness and cultivate right knowledge like Your Excellency!” Min Aung suddenly opened his eyes and said loudly.

"Hahahaha!" Ananda laughed loudly, "Very good, your prayers have been answered!"

"The response is not elsewhere, but in every word you just repeated, in every breath you take, and in your true awareness of the arising and ceasing of every thought."

Min Ang kowtowed again, "This disciple does not understand, which way is this road?"

Ananda stopped speaking, as if he felt he had said enough. "You must walk the path yourself, rely on yourself and on the Dharma, only then can you attain perfect enlightenment!"

A special instruction also appeared in his ears:

"All phenomena arise from causes and conditions, and all phenomena cease due to causes and conditions."

"This is suffering, this is the cause of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the path to the cessation of suffering."

"When all things are impermanent, one can attain aversion to suffering by observing them with wisdom; this is the path to purity."

P.S.: My goodness, I'm so awesome! I can write dialogue like this! *hands on hips*

(End of this chapter)