I attained immortality in the real world.

Chapter 67 Target Number One

Empty paper returned—Chiba.

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 grows 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?

【………】

White Horse Temple.

Inside a spacious and clean meditation room.

A page of Buddhist poetry, written by Chen Jing himself, fell into the hands of a young man.

A poem with straightforward wording and no strict rules on parallelism and tonal patterns made the young man read it two or three times.

This Buddhist poem consists of three stanzas.

It has multiple meanings, meaning that the last two stanzas and the first stanza have the same meaning.

The meaning has two layers. The first layer tells us that the Buddha's heart is immeasurable. If you want to use a poem to verify my Buddha-heart, then I'll have to start bragging.

The second layer of meaning was to tell me that the Buddha's heart had surpassed the rules, and since I had already arrived at the Buddha's place, I would not go back because of a blank piece of paper.

The Buddha's heart cannot be measured; it is entirely determined by the words of the monks of the White Horse Temple.

But what if someone refuses to follow these rules if they don't achieve their goal, and then tries to use the White Horse Temple to prove their Buddhist heart? How would you respond then?

Li Zhi put down the Buddhist poem and exclaimed, "It transcends the Three Realms and is not within the Five Elements."

He was more interested in the people who wrote the poems than in the poems themselves. It was rare to find someone who could analyze the whole situation from a bird's-eye view, even when they were in the thick of it.

Upon seeing the name Chiba, I immediately thought of that monk who "laid down his butcher's knife and became a Buddha on the spot," and who took fifty-five bandits as his disciples.

"It's him!"

Li Zhi suddenly discovered that the monk who wrote the poem was actually an acquaintance he had never met before.

Turning his head to look at the bowing monk, he asked, "Abbot Guangzhi, do you know why, even when someone holds great power and can make decisions with a single word, there still appears an exception that the rules cannot refuse?"

After pondering for a moment, Abbot Guang replied respectfully, "It's just that the rules I set were not perfect, allowing him to find a loophole. I assure you that I will absolutely not let him disturb His Majesty."

Li Zhi shook his head: "No, there are no loopholes. It's because you don't have the ability to measure how much Buddhist compassion others have, but you set vague standards for judgment in order to control power. And 'he' knows very well that Baima Temple is not worthy and is not qualified to be his judge."

Upon hearing this, Monk Guangzhi broke out in a cold sweat and replied, "Your Majesty, this old monk has absolutely no selfish motives. I wrote Buddhist poems simply to select devout monks. Please grant this old monk three days, and I will surely be able to devise a perfect strategy."

"I know, but the desire for control is human nature ingrained in our bones. Those upright and impartial ministers are still happy to hold the power to bend the law for personal gain."

"You... you'd better not think about it! It's just a relic anyway, and I haven't figured it out yet..."

Li Zhi suddenly felt bored. It was exhausting to chat with someone who wasn't on the same wavelength. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Tell Qianye that he can pay homage to the Buddha's relics early tomorrow morning and accompany me. But don't tell him my identity. After all, a private audience with the Emperor is the right of the winner of the Ullambana Festival."

"........."

At Baima Temple, in a meditation room, the group from Jinshan Temple were taken to the monastery and given three meditation rooms.

Besides Daci Temple, there are five other monasteries: Jiming Temple, Hanshan Temple, Kongming Temple, Wenxiang Temple, and Daye Temple, which correspond to the six rituals on the first day of the Ullambana Festival.

Chen Jing and Faji chose a small meditation room next to the monastery gate. As soon as they put down their luggage, Chen Jing asked, "Master, besides Daci Temple, what other lineages does the Yogacara school have?"

The monk Faji knew that Chiba wanted to revive the Yogacara school, and the prerequisite for revival was preservation, so he must have had the intention to rebuild the Yogacara school.

Not surprised by Chen Jinghui's question, he replied, "The lineage of Baima Temple grasps the fundamental theory of Yogacara, the lineage of Daci Temple grasps the precepts, the lineage of Kongming Temple grasps the perception and hearing, and together with the lineage of Jinshan Temple grasps the Dharma of Characteristics, this is the core lineage of Yogacara."

Consciousness-only, moral discipline, perception and hearing, and the characteristics of phenomena.

Chen Jing hadn't expected that the core inheritance could be broken down into four parts: "Is there any way to discuss with the other three lineages and bring the inheritance back together?"

Master Faji: "In fact, at the last Ullambana Festival, the lineage of Baima Temple proposed the idea of ​​bringing together the lineages of various schools of Buddhism. However, after a thousand years, no one could be sure whether the other was still upholding the true scriptures of Xuanzang. So we made an agreement that whoever could win the debate at the Ullambana Festival would have the lineages gathered in their hands. However, I did not agree to it."

"If you are confident that you can win the debate, you don't need to do anything. Your teacher can just agree."

As expected, Qingdeng's task was a side quest. As long as he could win the debate at the Ullambana Festival, it wouldn't be difficult to obtain the entire lineage of the Yogacara school.

Chen Jing nodded: "I'm sorry to trouble you, Master, to agree to this precept. The Yogacara school can't possibly keep up with this precept forever."

"Boom!"

Two knocks were heard on the door.

Chen Jing opened the door, and outside stood Pude, the young novice monk from Baima Temple who had led the way.

Pude bowed to Chen Jing in Buddhist salutation: "Greetings, Senior Brother Qianye. Abbot Guangzhi asked me to convey a message to you."

"Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM) is the auspicious time to pay homage to the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha. Please arrive at the location of our temple's pagoda before Chenshi. Also, a distinguished person will be accompanying you. Please be mindful of your manners, words, and actions."

Chen Jing returned the greeting with a Buddhist bow: "Please tell the abbot that I understand and will be there on time tomorrow. Also, thank you for your guidance, abbot."

"........."

The next day, early morning.

Chen Jing arrived at the location of the White Horse Temple Pagoda on time.

The seven-story pagoda is built entirely of white stone, and the top of the pagoda is a hexagonal canopy inlaid with colorful glazed tiles.

The monks of Baima Temple were already waiting outside the pagoda when a young man dressed in brocade robes, with a pale face and a somewhat sickly appearance, arrived late, surrounded by several guards. He exuded nobility and possessed a restrained domineering aura.

His appearance at Baima Temple at this time, not as a monk who had become a nun, but as a young man of high status, makes his identity not difficult to guess.

Chen Jing glanced at the man and thought to himself, "Target number one!"

Missionary work is fine!

Let them carry out the ritual!

The essence is to gain the trust of the world. The simplest and most efficient way is to gain the trust of those who hold the highest power, so that those above will follow suit.

The emperor has always been the best springboard for all ambitious people to realize their ideals, making him the highest priority target for brainwashing. However, meeting the emperor is very difficult; even a single opportunity to have a conversation with him requires half a lifetime of struggle.

But it's also very simple: don't treat the emperor as a person. As long as you make a little noise within his reach, it will eventually reach his ears.

It's not limited to face-to-face communication. It's much easier to pique the emperor's interest and then have him invite you over. This is what's often referred to as the shortcut through Zhongnan Mountain.

(End of this chapter)