My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1003 Those who have consumed all living beings must spit them out.

The Great Thunder Temple, the Great Buddha Hall.

In the past, this temple always radiated dazzling golden light, surrounded by purple mist, filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and echoed with the sounds of conch shells, wooden fish drums, and chanting.

At this moment, however, all light has vanished, leaving only darkness. The only source of light is the radiant glow emanating from the Buddha seated on the lotus throne.

The vermilion gates of the main hall remain unchanged, but the golden light has faded, and the bronze rings, though bright, have lost their former luster.

The wind passed silently, no longer accompanied by the chanting of Buddhist hymns. The glazed tiles on the roof remained, but no longer reflected the sunlight; the rafters were as usual, but could not conceal the dimness inside the hall.

The golden bricks that once shone on the ground now appear gray and dull. The beams and pillars stand tall, but no longer shimmer with Buddhist light; the brackets are majestic, but no auspicious aura can be found.

The precious light that once illuminated the three realms before the Buddha's seat is now like a flickering candle, dimly about to go out.

The entire hall was furnished as before, yet it was quite different; everything seemed to have lost its golden luster and was no longer vibrant.

The hall was filled with many Arhats, Venerables, and Zen Masters dressed in various styles of kasaya (monastic robes). The large number of monks made the hall feel quite crowded.

Aside from Buddha's Birthday, there are few occasions like today where eminent monks from various sects within the Western Paradise have gathered at the Great Thunder Temple.

However, unlike the celebrations on Buddha's Birthday, the number of the eminent monks gathered here who usually wear magnificent robes adorned with jewels and pearls or carry exquisite ritual implements made of "special materials" is much smaller.

On the contrary, there were many more ascetic monks dressed in coarse linen or even tattered clothes.

At the temple gate, two Arhats rushed into the hall. One of them shouted, "Buddha, something terrible has happened! Drepung Monastery has fallen, and Vajrapani Bodhisattva has passed away..."

He only managed to utter half a sentence when he saw the Buddha on the lotus platform merely raise his eyebrows slightly, and a beam of Buddha's light swept across him. The Arhat's anxious and burning heart seemed to be nourished by sweet rain, and all his anger and karmic fire dissipated completely.

The two monks who arrived at the scene simultaneously realized the truth, their shouts abruptly ceased, and they stood respectfully at the very end of the line of monks in the hall, hands clasped together, without uttering another word.

The two Arhats who had just entered the hall discovered that the hall was already divided into two factions, each holding their own opinions and engaging in a heated debate.

The representatives of the two monastic communities were none other than the two great disciples of the Buddha, Venerable Kasyapa and Venerable Ananda.

Venerable Ananda said, “Brother, at this critical moment for our religion, why are you still worrying about the impure Buddhist hearts of the monks in our religion, and how they are suffering the consequences of their actions? At this time, we should be united in our thoughts and work together to overcome this calamity! Tantric Buddhism and Southern Buddhism are both extensions of our teachings and are also spreading the Dharma. Even if the methods used are foolish and difficult for people to accept for a while, it cannot be said that they are creating karma and suffering the consequences.”

"Then why did the local people applaud when the demonic insects breached some Buddhist temples?"

Venerable Kasyapa retorted, “We Buddhist disciples should be without discrimination. Why is it that noble lords who offer gold, jewels and shells can enter the temple and receive blessings, while poor believers are blocked outside? In this demonic calamity, some temples, because they are rich in wealth due to the large number of offerings, have stockpiled a large number of weapons and ritual implements, and have great Bodhisattvas guarding them, have been easily breached by demonic insects.”

"Some temples strictly adhere to their precepts, live a simple life, focus on rigorous spiritual practice, cultivate good relationships, and remain detached from the public, yet the demonic insects never attack them? Even when demonic insects pass by these temples, the local people spontaneously organize to protect them, risking their lives to bravely resist the ferocious army of demonic insects, their light as weak as fireflies." "They are both propagating Buddhism, just in different forms. The demonic insects prefer to attack temples that have accumulated wealth and magical artifacts, simply to plunder treasures. What does that have to do with creating negative karma?"

Venerable Ananda said, “Ordinary people are foolish. If the supreme nobility and supreme majesty of the Buddha’s teachings are not manifested, how can they be taught? That is why the Buddha needed to pave the ground with gold bricks when he preached the Dharma. Does the Buddha also create karmic obstacles by preaching the Dharma in this way, as you say?”

With the Buddha right in front of him, Venerable Kasyapa was speechless. He looked at Venerable Ananda, who was dressed in a magnificent robe, holding a white jade rosary, and adorned with jewels, speaking eloquently. Deep anger was suppressed in his eyes.

“Buddha, you must not listen to Brother Kasyapa’s advice to offer up all the knowledge and resources accumulated by our sect over thousands of years to borrow troops from the Creator God!”

Seeing that Kasyapa was unable to refute the argument, Venerable Ananda quickly seized the opportunity to put his palms together and plead with the Tathagata on the lotus platform: "The accumulation of our religion is the sincere offering of countless believers over the past thousands of years. If it all benefits the Creator God, even if his puppet army can wipe out the demonic insects of Xiniu Hezhou, what will happen to our descendants in the future when they have no money to use?"

The two Arhats who entered the hall later understood that the Buddha's two disciples were arguing about borrowing troops from the Heavenly Court.

The Southern Continent is now a scene of peace and prosperity, and the elite demonic insects dare not cross the line. The Western Continent, on the other hand, has become a paradise for demonic insects, and the activity range of the elite demonic insects has spread to the foot of Mount Ling. If they can cross the Lingxu Ferry, Mount Ling will no longer be a peaceful and happy land.

Back then, when Bodhisattva Lingji led a delegation to seek an alliance with the Jade Emperor, Wen Rui used the excuse of creating a puppet army. At that time, Wen Rui made it sound very good, saying that once the puppet army was formed, it could be dispatched at any time to wipe out the remaining demonic insects lurking deep in the prehistoric land.

However, the truth is that he has carried forward the fine tradition of "better to die than to die" of the Heavenly Court and Taoism. The puppet army only quelled the demonic insects in the Southern Continent and never crossed the border to set foot in the Western Continent.

Some time ago, Venerable Kasyapa led the Western Mission to the Heavenly Court again to borrow troops from the Jade Emperor. They used Wen Rui's puppet army to wipe out the elite demonic insects that were ravaging Xiniu Hezhou.

As a result, Wen Rui, the ancestor of unscrupulous merchants, quoted an exorbitant price, claiming it included research and development expenses, patent fees, material costs, depreciation fees, energy consumption fees, etc.

He also said that if every scientist who develops a puppet were to provide the puppet for free, it would greatly stifle the spirit of innovation, causing future generations to starve to death because they would have no money to spend, and in the event of another great calamity, no one would be willing to invest funds in research and development at a loss.

This guy even used the example of Buddha preaching, saying that Buddha received a lot of gold bricks for preaching, and that he charged exorbitant prices for just providing intangible knowledge-based paid services. He said that Buddha actually provides real, high-quality products, so why can't he charge exorbitant prices?

The exorbitant price demanded seems to have been meticulously calculated, and it is similar to the offerings received by believers in Western religions over the years.

To put it bluntly, as long as the Western Religion demonstrates the accumulation of thousands of years since its founding, he will agree to send a puppet army to help the Western Religion eradicate the elite demonic insects and reclaim Xiniuhe Prefecture.

Venerable Kasyapa originally wanted to persuade Wen Rui with the reason of compassion and saving the people of Xiniu Hezhou. Without saying a word, Wen Rui took out the footage taken by satellite and reconnaissance drone. The footage showed that the demonic insects did not harm the human race in Xiniu Hezhou, but only focused on attacking the Buddhist temples of the Western Sect.

Some ascetic Zen temples, which strictly adhere to monastic rules and only accept alms from believers, will not even let demonic insects pass by their gates.

Only those Buddhist temples that have accumulated a large number of offerings from believers and whose cellars and warehouses are filled with magical treasures and wealth are the main targets of the demonic insects.

(End of this chapter)