Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

"That's right, I always feel like I'm listening to Buddhist scriptures and some mystical chanting in my ears, so I'm listening to a few more passages to ward off evil spirits!"

This should be one of the few times when we can openly read and discuss the Little Emperor's Book.

Suddenly, a woman sat down at Chu Mingkong's table. The hand that picked up the book "Jin Xiaomei" was delicate and fair, and a string of small, lustrous white jade beads was worn on her wrist.

Just by looking at this beautiful hand, one can tell that its owner is exceptionally beautiful, sparking the imagination.

And at this critical juncture, it's obvious who could ignore Shen Xuejun's icy aura that keeps strangers at bay.

Chu Mingkong sipped his tea, looked up, and was stunned, feeling both depressed and sentimental.

This isn't a stranger!

The woman before him was none other than the courtesan surnamed Liu, whose stage name was Qingmei, whom he had "played" with in the capital's brothel with his beloved master, Zuo Qiuchi.

Now, seeing her again, her appearance is no less beautiful than before. Her delicate and intelligent features highlight her talent and elegance. A touch of plum red between her brows and peach-colored eyeshadow adorn the corners of her eyes. Her lips are bright and full. In her dignified and gentle appearance, there is also an indescribable charm and allure.

Adorned in a magnificent and exquisite peacock robe, adorned with jewels and jewels, the Bodhisattva exudes an air of supreme dignity and unparalleled beauty. The back is slit so wide that one can almost see the deep Buddhist cleavage of the Bodhisattva's full buttocks.

However, Chu Mingkong found it hard to say whether this person was still the same Qingmei girl from before, as her eyes held a detached, god-like gaze.

"I never expected to meet you again. May I ask if you are the Miss Liu from the capital?"

Chapter 290 Goddess Bodhisattva

"Yes, but also no," the woman said, her gaze still fixed on the book in front of her.

Chu Mingkong found her riddle-like answer quite reasonable.

It seems that the higher one's level of Buddhist spiritual attainment, the more one prefers this mysterious tone and the way of not speaking normally.

Chu Mingkong observed his surroundings and realized that something was amiss!

He had just assumed that his master's wife was not speaking and did not react much to the appearance of the Bodhisattva simply because the other party was not hostile at the moment. But that was not the case. It seemed that he had been isolated!

In the distance, Master's wife sat quietly sipping tea, listening to the storyteller's tale of the "evil book" written by Chu Mingkong. Her composure in silence suggested that she was waiting for the goddess to make her move.

In reality, from some point onwards, what Chu Mingkong saw of his master's wife in the corner of his eye was already an afterimage, and even the surrounding teahouses and the streets outside were afterimages, not the real thing.

When Chu Mingkong's gaze fixed on that spot, everything dissipated in an instant, like wisps of smoke disturbed by a fire.

The master's wife transformed into icy blue smoke and scattered, while the people around her transformed into a colorful mist and scattered, eventually creating a world shrouded in thick fog, like a world of smoke and fire enveloping everything when incense and candles are burning.

These mists create a bizarre and fantastical scene, resembling a sensual hell with a lustful power that makes one fall into its depths and find it difficult to escape.

Only the beautiful woman across from him, slowly flipping through a pornographic book, was clearly visible.

When the hell did they separate him from his master's wife?!

Didn't even the master's wife notice?

This is not good. Chu Mingkong knew that he did not have the ability to deal with a Bodhisattva, and even an Arhat would be a bit difficult. If he were to deal with an Arhat now, he would have the ability to break through the Arhat's defenses and inflict fatal damage, but he might not be able to cope with the endless spells and Buddhist treasures.

In layman's terms, it means that the attributes and equipment seem adequate, but the skills are lacking.

Faced with the Bodhisattva, Chu Mingkong not only had no means to deal with her, but he also lacked the ability to break through her defenses and exploit her weaknesses, making him completely incompetent.

but,

Since the other party didn't start with any unnecessary actions, there should still be room for negotiation.

"Then I think you must not be that Miss Liu. She's not like you."

"You are too attached to appearances, Master Chu, because you are fixated on your own impressions of everything."

Chu Mingkong raised an eyebrow, instinctively feeling aversion to this kind of conversation, but it was necessary to expand the topic slightly to ascertain her intentions.

With his remaining mental capacity, he pondered how to "speak inhuman language," and, struggling, managed to say:

"Why is it considered attachment to appearances? If one doesn't even believe or judge what one sees, feels, and remembers, what is the meaning of one's thoughts?"

Amidst the soft rustling of pages turning, the goddess bodhisattva lowered her eyes to read, replying without raising her head:

"If Benefactor Chu is too fixated on appearances, he will easily be led by the nose, become blinded by illusions, miss opportunities, and be troubled by troubles."

Chu Mingkong couldn't answer. To cover up the emptiness and weakness of his words, he put on an arrogant and disdainful expression, raised his hand in a "please" gesture, and sneered arrogantly:

"Please enlighten me, Bodhisattva Liu, how have I been led by the nose?"

If he could actually utter a few words of substance, he wouldn't be spouting such platitudes.

"In the past, Benefactor Chu devoted himself to the border of the Abyss, regarding the Abyss as his nemesis and the ferocious beasts of the Abyss as his immediate enemies. So what about now? Has Benefactor Chu decayed among the Abyss, or has Benefactor Chu failed to appreciate the Abyss's goodwill towards you, and after a series of fortuitous events, finally received its help?"

Chu Mingkong was still quite stubborn and naturally didn't have much affection for Buddhism. For example, during his trip to the East Sea, he met a monk on the beach. Who would have thought that the bald monk was actually the Blood Blade King, who almost prevented him from bringing Yuehe back?

He wasn't led by the nose, and shook his head, saying:

"What you said makes sense, but that's just a result-oriented view. After the fact, a sycophant can always make his point... What I really want to know now is why Qingmei, the most beautiful courtesan in that brothel, has become the bodhisattva in front of me?"

Were you already a saint when we first met? Were you just pretending and hiding it from me?

"No, my appearance is the appearance of all beings, and it is also formless, which can manifest in all beings. Precisely because it is formless, Benefactor Chu can see my appearance at this moment."

At that time, Qingmei was blinded, her eyes and wisdom both obscured. But after awakening from the eight sufferings and myriad flavors of life, she opened her wisdom, attained liberation, and achieved enlightenment in this present moment.

The surrounding mist shifted and began to change, gradually revealing bizarre and fantastical scenes, and finally, Qingmei's face became clear.

An admirer gifted her a string of white jade beads, exquisite and delicate, which was the very string that the goddess was wearing on her fair wrist at that moment.

Qingmei held the prayer beads and pondered them. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and gained supernatural powers, witnessing all kinds of evolving experiences.

A highly respected scholar, deeply in love with her, spent a long time gaining her approval, promising her a lifetime of love. Qingmei believed him and, without spending his money, used her own savings to redeem herself. When she went to find him again, she discovered his evasive attitude. After some inquiries, she learned that he already had a family and held an official position. He worried that a woman from a brothel would tarnish his reputation, and that marrying a woman from such a background as a concubine would only bring him more shame. Qingmei then realized that those sweet words were merely the language of a brothel; the listener heard them sincerely, but the speaker did not speak them sincerely.

Despite her heartbreak, Qingmei's comprehension could not be stopped; she forced herself to continue...

The Tianji Empire collapsed under a devastating blow. Regardless of how hateful the country might be in some people's eyes, some still felt a deep attachment to their homeland, and Qingmei was one of them. A man determined to pass the imperial examinations and serve his country entered Qingmei's life. When they became acquainted, Qingmei encouraged him and accompanied him in his studies, as she herself possessed considerable literary talent and refined manners. After the Tianji Empire became a mere shell of its former self, Qingmei urged him, regardless of the likelihood of success, to join the ranks of those seeking to restore the empire. However, this time, the man she sympathized with hesitated; fearing the overwhelming power of the regicide, he simply fled.

The pain of the previous nightmare hadn't subsided when another one dealt her a devastating blow, yet the prayer beads couldn't stop her from meditating and seeking enlightenment...

Suddenly, without knowing the cause and effect, Qingmei felt as if she were experiencing a life as sweet as honey. This experience might actually be illusory, but in the senses of meditation, it was indeed blissful. In this bliss, she suddenly found herself in her twilight years, her beauty fading. Her husband, who had long since grown tired of her past, no longer the radiant beauty of a former courtesan, one day used the excuse of buying tea to run away, secretly taking the house and land deeds to sell. When the pawnshop came to collect the property, Qingmei was completely unaware of what had happened. In the end, to ensure her daughter had a place to live, she hanged herself at the door. Before she could fully savor that false sweetness, Qingmei ended her meditative experience in agony.

During a chance encounter with an unstoppable meditation session, Qingmei endured countless hardships and difficulties before letting go of everything, thus becoming who she is today.

In Buddhist terms, it means receiving a karmic connection with Buddhism, seeing through delusions, achieving profound enlightenment, and gaining the wisdom of a goddess or bodhisattva.

But in Chu Mingkong's view, this was just torturing an ordinary woman's mind until she was numb, and then taking over her body.

The so-called formlessness is more like the soul of a bodhisattva who has lost his physical body, finding a decent physical vessel to occupy. If this physical body is damaged, another one can be found in the next thousand years.

This is how the myriad forms of life came to be.

Life is certainly a mix of bitterness and sweetness. Some bitterness is unbearable, while some sweetness can make people persevere and fight for it. If you were to gloss over all the sweetness and leave only painful memories, no one could bear it.

That's really weird...

The best outcome for this goddess bodhisattva now is that the bodhisattva's will merge with Qingmei's; the worst outcome would probably be that only the bodhisattva's will remains.

"When I was causing trouble for that monk Santong, I learned that your venerable name is the Great Love Goddess Bodhisattva. I wonder, in the illusions that you made Qingmei experience, which aspect could be considered as great love?"

While Chu Mingkong was observing Qingmei's comprehension of the content, the Goddess Bodhisattva had already finished reading the book "Jin Xiaomei".

She neatly closed the book and laid it flat, without any sign of anger or disrespect. She said:

"It is the boundless meaning of great love, seeing through the endless sea of ​​suffering from a hundred kinds of love... Qingmei's experience may be an illusion, or it may be a past life and this life. All beings suffer, but not everyone can see through the skeletal pain buried under the river of love."

Well, Chu Mingkong couldn't argue with her. Even though he felt sorry for Qingmei, there was nothing he could do. He said jokingly:

"Now that you've finished reading the book, what are your thoughts, Bodhisattva Lady?"

“Very good. Benefactor Chu is indeed very fortunate to have a great affinity with Buddhism. Even though you have not yet seen through the delusion in your eyes, you can still write such a cynical yet enlightened and compassionate article. Your affinity with Buddhism is very high.”

Chu Mingkong felt a chill run down his spine. All he could say was that this book, which had been praised as "the greatest book of all time" in his previous life, was truly amazing!

"Aren't you angry?" he asked.

"Why are you angry?" the beautiful yet indifferent goddess asked in return, her voice ethereal and melodious, a smile playing on her lips, inexplicably alluring and seductive.

“There is a lot of ‘slander’ against Buddhist monks in this. Because of these words, the people you have worked so hard to convert have returned to normal. You should be angry.”

As Chu Mingkong spoke, he muttered to himself, "It's not so much slander as it is a factual description."

But the alluring and dignified goddess unexpectedly said:

"You consider it 'slander,' but it's clearly the truth?"

what?

Chu Mingkong felt that these were his lines, so why weren't you following the script?

"Why?" Chu Mingkong felt something was amiss. When he started to delve deeper into the matter, he was beginning to follow the other person's line of thought.

Chapter 291 Offering One's Body

The goddess explained:

"Thus have I heard: all sentient beings suffer, and all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature. It is only because they have not broken through greed, anger, and ignorance, and have not understood the karmic obstacles of life, that they cannot let go of wealth, lust, alcohol, and anger, that they are deeply mired in the mire."

But does that mean we should shut them out of Buddhism? If we have no intention of saving sentient beings from suffering and simply sit idly by, then how can we say that all sentient beings are suffering? The Dharma may be understood by only a few, but it should not be accessible only to a few.

This is the doctrine of compassion.

Chu Mingkong was speechless, and he began to understand what the other party meant. This was Mahayana Buddhism, which believed that all living beings could become Buddhas, so all of them could be converted into Buddhism. Good people could become Buddhists, and bad people could naturally become Buddhists as well.

The doctrine says that all things in the world can become Buddhas, so the world belongs to Buddhism no matter what.

This is quite domineering in a sense, but it also explains to a large extent why those guys from the Blood Blade King's Palace can thrive in Buddhism.

They don't care whether you do good or evil deeds; they just bring you in. If you improve in the future, they'll say that Buddhism enlightened and guided you. If you haven't improved, then you're still on the path to improvement.

Those who have already entered the Buddhist order are past Buddhas; those who have not yet entered the Buddhist order but do good deeds are present Buddhas; and those with bad character may become future Buddhas.

That makes perfect sense no matter how you look at it!

The current state of Buddhism is not unrelated to this doctrine of "great compassion".

Because of this doctrine, it seems perfectly natural for Buddhists to interfere in other people's affairs, and if others do not recognize Buddhism, they are said to be blinded by karmic obstacles.

"But you've taken in evil people who have stained their lives with the blood of countless karmic debts into Buddhism. Aren't you afraid of damaging Buddhism's reputation?"

However, Chu Mingkong felt that this worry was unnecessary, as there was no hope now.