I attained immortality in the real world.

Chapter 66 Empty Paper Returns

Bianjing (Kaifeng)

White Horse Temple.

Located slightly west of Bianjing, it is the closest to the venue of the Ullambana Festival, even closer than Daxing Temple.

Because the Ullambana Festival was originally organized by the White Horse Temple under imperial decree, outside the temple gate, one can still see many craftsmen building preaching platforms and debate platforms, decorating with flowers and bamboo, enclosing areas for the common people to listen to the Dharma, and setting up special seats for dignitaries in the front row.

Chen Jing and his group at Jinshan Temple.

They followed the group from Xuanming Daci Temple to Baima Temple.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, one sees a statue of Weituo beside the main hall. It is majestic and imposing, with its eyes wide open in anger. It is clad in fish-scale golden armor and carries a demon-subduing pestle on its shoulder.

Chen Jing and Xuan Ming, as the heads of their respective temples, walked into Baima Temple side by side, followed closely by the rest of the group.

Jinshan Temple: Thirteen people.

Daci Temple: Fourteen people.

When the young monk saw that nearly thirty monks had arrived, he quickly turned around and went to call the old monk.

Soon, a white-bearded, white-browed monk stepped forward to greet them and bowed to them in Buddhist salutation: "Amitabha, I am the Elder Guest Master of Baima Temple, Guangxian. Greetings to all fellow disciples."

All the monks returned the Buddhist greeting. The old monk Xuanming took out a special monk's pass and spoke first: "This humble monk is Xuanming, a Dharma lecturer at Daci Temple. I have been ordered by the emperor to be in charge of the second ceremony of the Ullambana Festival. In order to make the ceremony less complicated, I have come to ask Brother Guangxian for a favor."

Guangxian took the monk's certificate and examined it carefully. He nodded and said, "Of course, there is no problem. Our temple has many vacant meditation rooms. Junior Brother Xuanming can choose any room for quiet cultivation. However, these fellow disciples are also monks from Daci Temple."

When Chen Jing saw that he had been called out by the elder in charge of receiving guests, he quickly stood up, performed a Buddhist salute, and said: "This humble monk is Qianye, a Dharma-debating monk from Jinshan Temple. I have not been ordered by the emperor, but have come purely to pay homage to the Buddha's relics and wish to stay at Baima Temple."

This statement came out.

Several pairs of eyes in the hall simultaneously turned to look at Chen Jing.

There are actually quite a few monks who come to Baima Temple to stay without special monastic certificates.

However, these monks were all in their individual capacities, or from small temples; none of the temples were qualified to participate in the Ullambana Festival.

Since no one recognizes them anyway, there's no loss if the order fails. Once they prove their devotion to Buddhism and have the White Horse Temple's endorsement, it's a highly profitable venture.

However, if a well-known temple like Jinshan Temple is refused entry by Baima Temple, it will lose face greatly!

"........."

"Everyone wants to see the Buddha's relics, but to prevent accidents, anyone who wants to see them must be accompanied by several monks. Our temple is not capable enough to ensure the safety of the relics while allowing everyone to see them."

"But we are unwilling to turn away those who are devout to Buddhism, so we came up with the idea of ​​using Buddhist poems to prove the Buddha's heart. If my junior brother can prove the Buddha's heart, then we can choose a day to pay homage to the relics, and staying at the temple is naturally the proper thing to do."

Guangxian's words were perfectly watertight.

As soon as he finished speaking, a young monk led Chen Jing to a table where writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were already laid out, and three monks were already standing nearby.

One had a gaunt face, another a round face, and the third a tall man. The gaunt-faced monk was clearly prepared; he picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote a Buddhist poem with great speed.

"The flickering candlelight reflects the Buddha's image; with devout eyes, the Buddha's image can be seen."

"The lotus throne rests peacefully in my heart, and a gentle breeze carries the fragrance of the heart."

Chen Jing glanced at the Buddhist poem written by the other party, and to be fair, it was a fairly standard Buddhist poem.

However, since it's not about literary talent, it's harmless. The problem is that it's a bit too simplistic; most Buddhist monks are like that.

Sure enough, after a few polite words of praise from the monk Guangxian, he invited the gaunt-faced monk down the mountain.

Then came the round-faced monk, who, after a moment's thought, also picked up his brush and wrote quickly:

"Burning incense before the Buddha, my heart is as still as water; I devoutly seek nothing from the Buddha." "Except for worldly desires, all is the Buddha; the mind dwells freely in the cycle of light and shadow."

This song is even worse than the last one, and the round-faced monk couldn't even stay at the White Horse Temple.

Then the third tall monk also failed to escape being asked to leave the mountain, but Chen Jing did not catch a glimpse of the poem he had written.

I looked up both poems I saw and found that they could both be found online.

Like Zhu Kui of the formless world, the two monks possessed some knowledge of the real world, which became the inspiration that sparked in their minds.

"........."

Three people failed in a row.

Regardless of the quality of their Buddhist poems, they had at least carefully crafted them over a long period of time, but Chiba's decision to stay at the White Horse Temple was entirely a spur-of-the-moment decision after arriving in Bianjing.

The old monk Xuanming looked at Jinchi and, seeing the old monk seemingly in deep meditation, asked in bewilderment, "You have so much faith in him? You're just watching this little monk run wild. My Daci Temple is on par with your Jinshan Temple; if he loses face, it will bring shame upon my Daci Temple as well!"

Jin Chi remained unmoved and said coldly, "I have no confidence, but do you think this little monk is trying to prove an old monk like me? He has his own plans. Believe me, even if he goes crazy and smashes the Buddha statue, you can't stop him! Haven't you already been assigned to a meditation room? Why are you still here watching the show?"

Xuanming said irritably, "Good intentions are wasted. I'm here, so you can explain that you came to discuss Zen with me. He was just doing his own thing to save face for your Jinshan Temple."

"Moved!"

"Junior Brother Chiba has moved..."

While the two old monks were arguing, a martial monk suddenly spoke up.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Jing also picked up a brush and began to write. He did not choose to copy, since it was just to express the meaning, and a doggerel was enough.

Today at Baima Temple, a single sheet of paper reveals the Buddha's heart.

Who says? It's just empty talk.

I have been praying to Buddha for three thousand years, and the mountains have cracked, the rocks have crumbled, and my forehead has rotted.

He knelt before the hall, never rising, his flesh turned to mud and dust, his bones taking root.

Year after year, incense is burned, yet not a single tree remains on this thousand-foot mountain.

Where once the chanting of sutras flew, now lotuses bloom all over the pond.

Upon arriving at the Buddha's place, was a blank sheet of paper returned?

"........."

Chen Jing wrote three paragraphs, but each ended with the same sentence.

After handing over the completed poem, the monk Guangxian's expression changed several times. He took a deep breath and said, "Pude, Puzhen, go and arrange meditation rooms for the senior monks of Daci Temple and Jinshan Temple."

Everyone was surprised. Although they didn't know what poem Chen Jing had written, there was no doubt that it had passed!
After the two young monks led the crowd away, one of the guest monks asked in confusion, "Master, didn't you say that there was a distinguished person in the temple and that you would not receive any outsiders except those related to the Ullambana Festival? Is it because his poetry is very good?"

Guangxian gave a wry smile: "This is no longer about whether the writing is good or bad, but about the meaning expressed in his poem. My devotion to Buddhism has exceeded the rules of your White Horse Temple. If you do not allow it, who knows what I might do."

"If my White Horse Temple is not devoted enough to Buddhism today, I will drive this little monk down the mountain."

“He spread this poem and then came up the mountain to steal the Buddha’s relics. How should my White Horse Temple deal with this?”

After pondering for a moment, the young monk suddenly realized, "I understand! If our temple severely punishes him, or even kills him, it will be because he is a devout follower of Buddha who would rather die than let the White Horse Temple keep the relics privately."

“Our White Horse Temple has proven itself to be defiled and dug its own grave. If it is not punished, the number of people who steal relics will be as numerous as the fish crossing the river. Therefore, we can only acknowledge his devotion to Buddhism.”

Guangxian nodded helplessly: "If it were a poem, I would be the judge, and even if he wrote a masterpiece, it wouldn't matter. But his poem has put us in a dilemma where we use our own words against our own defense."

(End of this chapter)