The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

"Then I'll name the current state 'existence' and the state of letting go 'emptiness.' Do you understand?"

The crowd continued to nod, and some of the quick-thinking individuals had already grasped what Ishihara Akira was trying to say.

"Then, by the same token, this situation of maintaining the initial state without any additional transactions or concepts is what is called emptiness," Ishihara Akira explained.

Everyone then finally realized what was going on.

“But this is only emptiness in the general sense. In addition, emptiness also means space, world, and at a deeper level, transcending all cognition, existence, origin and ultimate meaning. Now you understand what emptiness is, right?” Ishihara Akira asked again.

"Master, what do you mean by origin and ultimate?" a follower who liked to get to the bottom of things asked.

"As the name suggests, it is a special state before and after the birth of the world, when all things have ceased to exist and are no longer present. It is indescribable, incomprehensible, and imperceptible," Ishihara Akira replied.

"I see. Does that color also have many layers of meaning?" The believer understood and continued to ask.

“Yes,” Ishihara Akira affirmed. “One of them, as the previous benefactor mentioned, refers to what we see with our eyes—animals, plants, industrial creations, and even our very existence—all can be categorized as form. Beyond that, actions and thoughts that arouse our desires are also form; that is to say, desire itself is also a form. Furthermore, all the knowledge, morality, and common sense that we perceive, understand, and can be generalized are also form. Therefore, the saying ‘form is emptiness, emptiness is form’ means that what you see, pursue, and understand are all illusory and unreal, fleeting like passing clouds. There’s no need to be overly attached; you must let go. When you can correctly understand the mystery of emptiness, those things you originally pursued will appear around you one by one. But at that time, you will no longer be attached to their existence. This is the essence of the next saying, ‘Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form.’” Ishihara Akira explained.

"Then, Abbot, what are the various forms described in the Buddhist scriptures?" an elderly lay Buddhist asked, raising his hand.

“It’s cognition,” Ishihara Sho replied.

谷盟

“For example, right now, in your eyes I am a young monk. This is a kind of perception, a kind of appearance. The so-called lifelong appearance is the collection of your lifelong perceptions, or common sense, your understanding of the world. The so-called absence of the appearance of sentient beings means that Buddhist practitioners should elevate their state of mind to emptiness, that is, return to the initial state I was in before I picked up the mallet. Because only when your original mind returns to the initial stage can you eliminate all prejudices and external influences, and understand the role, right and wrong, good and bad of a person and things from the essence, and thus give rise to various changes in your state of mind,” said Ishihara Akira.

"Then what are relics?" a female believer immediately followed up with a question.

"It is the crystallization of knowledge, similar to a writer's work. You see, once a writer's work is published, no matter how much time passes, whether the writer is still alive, what kind of evaluation the work itself has, or how the world perceives it, does the work itself remain unchanged? It is still the same, and the words inside are still the same words. This is the same as the relic, which is neither increased nor decreased, neither born nor destroyed, neither defiled nor pure."

"If the relics are the crystallization of wisdom you mentioned, then what are the relics enshrined in those temples? And what about the Buddha's bone relics?" another elderly believer asked.

"That is the condensation of the merits of spiritual practice. Although it is called a relic, it is the manifestation of the merits of a monk's lifelong practice."

"Master, what are merits and achievements, and what are virtues and deeds?"

"The results of practice are the merits and achievements of one's spiritual practice. From the initial thought in one's mind to the formal commencement of practice, then to the in-depth study and reading of Buddhist scriptures, to understanding their main meaning, to putting the scriptures into practice and making them one's own principles, and to upholding them in daily life, until the attainment of Nirvana, when they are condensed in one's body, this is the merit and achievement, this is the relic."

"Merit is the same. When you have good thoughts and compassion, that is merit. Then, when you act according to those good thoughts, that is virtue. Virtue is not judged by success or failure, but by action."

"And what is sin?" an old woman asked.

"Just like merit, when evil thoughts arise in the mind, sin is born. When one acts according to those thoughts, one creates karma. Karma, too, does not care about success or failure, but only about the facts."

"Does the Western Paradise really exist?" A young man asked, whether he was there to cause trouble or to disrupt the event.

“Then this humble monk does not know, for this humble monk has never been to the Pure Land, but that does not prevent us from believing, does it?” Ishihara Sho replied calmly and composedly.

What is faith? Isn't it just a kind of spiritual sustenance? It's just that Christianity sustenance is in God and longs for the Garden of Eden, while Buddhism sustenance is in Buddha and longs for the Pure Land.

"Master, how should ordinary people cultivate themselves?" another woman asked.

"Upholding the precepts is the foundation for ordinary people to cultivate themselves and enter the path. Only after that can one become familiar with Buddhist scriptures, understand them, cultivate a kind heart, perform good deeds, accumulate merit, and eliminate sins."

"Please enlighten me, Abbot."

"Buddhism in Japan has changed somewhat, with fewer precepts. But since you want to know, I will give you a brief explanation."

Then, Ishihara Akira recounted the contents of the major and minor precepts of Buddhism, which were mostly things that went against human nature and desires. Even monks could break these precepts if they weren't careful, let alone ordinary people accustomed to worldly pleasures. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the believers who had been somewhat eager to try fell silent.

They approve of quitting alcohol, but quitting meat?

What's the point of life then?

The same applies to abstaining from pornography.

Abstaining from killing is fine, but what on earth are the five pungent vegetables and the three kinds of pure meat?

There are also things like greed, anger, and ignorance.

It's inhumane to think about, which explains why most Japanese monks don't abstain from alcohol and meat.

They wouldn't comply either.

Chapter 418 Breakup and Data

The entire Dharma assembly lasted for more than two hours before ending amidst applause from the audience, who were still eager for more and filled with admiration.

The devotees began to get up and leave the main meditation room, or they came to Ishihara Sho and asked to add his LINE account, or ask for the names of his Instagram, SNS, Twitter or other online promotional accounts so that they could follow him. Afterwards, they chatted with their friends about what they had learned that day as they left the temple.

It can be said that, in terms of scale alone, the Buddhist ceremony held by Ishihara Sho was very successful. It not only increased the temple's revenue but also expanded its number of followers and business.

It is believed that in the future, whenever any of these believers need to hold a religious ceremony at home, the first person they will think of will be Ishihara Akira, who left a deep impression on them, and only then will they think of the monks from the temples near their homes.

"You're really something." After seeing everyone off, Hanako turned around and slapped Ishihara Akira on the back, praising him.

"Don't you know who I am?" Ishihara Akira said smugly. Then, after a pause, she asked with some surprise, "By the way, where's your boyfriend? Didn't he ask you out on a date?"

"We broke up," Hanako said calmly, her smile fading.

"You broke up? When?" Ishihara Akira asked in surprise.

"It's been a while," Hanako replied casually as she entered the large open-plan room to tidy up.

Clearly, he didn't take his previous relationship too seriously.

"Why?" Ishihara Akira asked curiously.

"What do you think?" Hanako stared at him curiously.

"Because of me?" Ishihara Akira asked in surprise.

"It's all because of you!" Hanako stood up straight and glared at him. "Ever since I did that with you, I've found that I always feel very uncomfortable when I'm with that guy. I don't feel like I want to be with him much, and I even feel uncomfortable when he holds my hand. Not to mention anything else, I would basically refuse with various reasons. After a while, he naturally noticed my abnormality, and then he had an open and honest talk with me a while ago, and we broke up."

"I'm really sorry." Although Ishihara Akira said sorry, his expression showed no sign of apologizing.

"Stop being so smug. Come on over and help us pack. Aren't you going out later?" Hanako reminded her.

"You heard that?" Ishihara Akira asked in surprise.

"I'm not blind," Hanako said, pursing her lips.

After a long pause, he abruptly said, "Remember to treat me better in the future, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Ishihara Akira asked, smiling at her.

"How come I never knew you were so annoying?" Hanako, who had been thinking for a long time but couldn't come up with anything else, slapped Ishihara Sho's arm again and complained.

"Hehe, don't worry, with our relationship, as long as I have food, you'll have food too." Ishihara Akira chuckled as he stepped forward, hugged Hanako, and kissed her on the lips.

"I hope what you're saying is true." Hanako felt quite pleased, but she still rolled her eyes at him, looking disgusted.

And so, the two worked together to tidy up the meditation room. Ishihara Akira then went back to his room to change into more casual clothes, left the temple, and headed towards Yamada Keiko's house.

……

谷悍

"What are you looking at?" In the main courtyard of the Yamada family mansion, Ishihara Akira walked into the large house where Yamada Keiko was and asked her as she sat there reviewing a document, dressed in a casual kimono.

"You're here! Perfect timing. You can also help me see if this guy is suitable." Upon hearing this, Keiko Yamada looked up and a happy smile appeared on her face when she saw Akira Ishihara.

"What is it?" Ishihara Akira asked as he sat down next to Yamada Keiko.

"Information on the candidates for Nagoya City Councilor," Keiko Yamada explained as she handed the documents to Akira Ishihara.

"Isn't the election supposed to start next March?" Ishihara Akira asked, taking the documents with a puzzled look.

“Yes, but the official election campaign starts at the beginning of the new year. In addition, we are nominating a newcomer. Even with the support of the Yamada Group, if the campaign platform is not good, even if we get a seat in the Nagoya Diet, that will be the end of it. It is unlikely that we can go further into the Diet.” Keiko Yamada explained.

"A newcomer? What? Those old guys won't cooperate?" Ishihara Akira asked, puzzled.

Compared to starting from scratch and promoting a newcomer, it is simpler to find a partner among existing, established members of parliament. Not only can the basic strength be stronger, but the network of contacts is also wider. This makes it relatively easier to form a party and enter the parliamentary circle in the future.

But what do newcomers have?

Aside from possibly being more obedient and easier to control, there's really nothing else to it.

“No, not really. Although they were arrogant and demanded a lot, they were still willing to cooperate with us after I used some methods.” After a pause, Keiko Yamada continued, “However, since the cooperation was achieved through some means, there will inevitably be some resentment between us. Therefore, I would like to recommend one or two more people as backups, so that when our partners reach the end of their term, there will be people to take their place.”

"Methods? What methods?" Ishihara Akira asked curiously.

"I checked the other party's bank statements, learned about their network of relationships and relatives, and even offered to pick up their grandson from school..." Keiko Yamada replied casually.

Well, it's practically like I know you're embezzling, accepting bribes, and engaging in money transactions, and that if you don't obey, don't blame me for kidnapping your relatives. No wonder the other party would submit. Yamada Keiko was worried that the other party would trip her up in the future and then select a candidate.

"Why didn't you look for me?" Ishihara Akira asked curiously.

Knowing that there are better ways to handle this kind of thing, why not look for yourself instead of relying on your own strength to act alone and act recklessly?

"I didn't think that much about it at the time, and it wasn't anything difficult..." Keiko Yamada replied somewhat embarrassedly.

Ishihara Shō shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to look at the documents in his hand.

As for the collaborator that Yamada Keiko mentioned, there's no rush. We can deal with the collaborator issue after we help Yamada Keiko get in shape today.

"Shoutaro Asahi?"

The information shows that he came from a civil service background and was quite ambitious, which is why he wanted to break out of the bureaucratic circle and become a real bureaucrat.

At 36, she is still relatively young, but this aligns with the current trend in the general election of politicians—a shift towards younger demographics.

He is married and has a wife named Asahi Shizure.

"Chao Zhang Jingli? If I remember correctly, she's a full member of our Illuminati, isn't she?"

Chapter 419 Untitled

“Yes, all the candidates were selected from the relatives of official members of the Illuminati,” Keiko Yamada confirmed.

"Speaking of the Illuminati, didn't you have Sato recruit the relative of that senator you agreed to cooperate with?" Ishihara Akira asked casually as he continued flipping through the documents in his hand.

"I've already spoken to Sato, and he said he'd try to find a solution, but so far there's still no news," Yamada Keiko sighed.

Clearly, she had given up hope of getting the senator's relatives into the Illuminati.

“Then let’s find a time to meet him.” Ishihara Akira nodded in response.

"Okay." Keiko Yamada said happily, knowing what Ishihara Akira meant.

"So, do you have any suitable candidates in mind?" Keiko Yamada then asked Sho Ishihara.