My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1127 The Whistleblower of the Chan Sect

"Absurd! This is nothing but the sophistry of demons!"

Venerable Kasyapa was the first to lose his temper, pointing at the water mirror and angrily rebuking, "The 'convenience' of Xinyuan City is nothing but a trap of greed that lures sentient beings into ruin! The Dhammapada says, 'Greed breeds sorrow, greed breeds fear.' The money and technology they pursue will ultimately become the root of their troubles. How can they compare to the pure and carefree life of the people of Peacock City who are devoted to Buddhism?"

The bodhisattvas echoed, “Buddha, the Creator Heavenly Venerable deliberately chose the most simple aspect of the City of Bliss, but avoided mentioning the salvation efforts of our Western Sect—the people of the City of Bliss live a simple life, yet they are free from the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death, and free from the disturbances of greed, anger, ignorance, and pride. This is true liberation! The people of Xinyuan City seem wealthy, but they are busy with work and anxious about their desires. This kind of ‘happiness’ is nothing but a mirage.”

The Sage Zhunti, holding his prayer beads, spoke with a hint of anger: "This scoundrel dares to use 'data' and 'comparisons' to confuse the public and attempt to shake the foundation of my Buddhist teachings! Does he know that the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra says, 'All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows'? The so-called 'life expectancy' and 'literacy rate' are all illusions within conditioned phenomena. How can they compare to the eternal truth of my Buddhist teachings? Those deceived mortals cannot even distinguish between illusion and reality. It is truly pitiful."

The Sage of Guidance closed his eyes and sighed softly, but his voice carried an undeniable firmness: "There is no need to argue with demons. Once we join forces with the Chan Sect to eradicate this extraterrestrial demon and destroy its 'television' and 'broadcast,' all living beings in the mortal world will understand that only the Buddha's teachings can bring true peace. This current argument is nothing more than the demon's last struggle."

The Buddha remained silent until the water mirror played a recording of mortals refuting the notion that "happiness born of ignorance is not true happiness." Only then did he slowly open his eyes, golden light shimmering within them: "The foolishness of sentient beings, their delusion by the appearances of demons, is also the will of Heaven. Issue this decree: immediately dispatch ten disciples to the mortal realm to expound the true meaning of the Diamond Sutra's 'All phenomena are illusory,' and expose the Creator God's conspiracy to 'substitute illusion for reality.' Remember, do not mention the data shown in the program; only say that it is an illusion fabricated by demons."

"As the Buddha commands!" Venerable Kasyapa and the bodhisattvas responded in unison. As they turned to leave, their whispered murmurs could still be heard: "Mortals are inherently greedy. If not for the temptations of evil spirits, how could they question the Dharma..."

The seven-jeweled lotus lamps in the Buddhist hall flickered, reflecting the tense faces of the Buddhas—they spoke of “illusion”, but they knew in their hearts that the contrast in the water mirror had planted the seed of “seeking knowledge” in the hearts of some wavering believers, and this seed was precisely the “disloyalty” that Buddhism feared most.

At the same time, the atmosphere inside Yuxu Palace was as tense as a bowstring.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable sat on the Nine-Dragon Throne, with the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect standing on either side. In the water mirror, a clip of mortals discussing "the fragility of happiness born of ignorance" was playing.

Upon hearing the statement that "without the Buddha's protection, there is no way to resist natural disasters and man-made calamities," Taiyi Zhenren slammed his hand on the table, causing the jade ruyi in his hand to tremble.

"Outrageous! Remnants of the Jie Sect are actually inciting mortals to question the protection of immortals and Buddhas!"

Taiyi Zhenren angrily said, "In the past, when the floods raged, if it weren't for the help of my disciples from the Chan Sect, the people of the mortal world would have long since perished in the fish's belly; when the plague raged, if it weren't for Laozi's elixir, how could they have survived safely? Now, however, they have been bewitched by evil spirits and think that the protection of immortals and Buddhas is 'unreliable,' which is simply ungrateful!"

Master Huanglong frowned and said, “Master, this fiend’s methods are too insidious! Instead of competing with us in supernatural powers, he uses these ‘trivial matters of people’s lives’ to win over mortals and even lets them ‘judge for themselves’—this is clearly an attempt to seize our immortals’ right to interpret the ‘Way of Heaven’! If this continues, all living beings in the mortal world will believe in his ‘Way of Intercepting Heaven’ and not in the ‘Way of Heaven’s Ethics’ of my Chan Sect. Where will the foundation of my Chan Sect be?”

The Primordial Celestial Venerable's face was gloomy. He tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne and swept his gaze over the disciples in the hall: "A bunch of short-sighted mortals, blinded by the petty favors of demons! Do they know that without the 'racial orthodoxy' upheld by my Chan Sect, without the order of the Heavenly Court, the prosperity of the mortal world is nothing but a castle in the air!"

The immortals of the Chan Sect echoed their sentiments, their emotions running high, and they all condemned the mortals for being ungrateful and blinded by ignorance and greed.

Only two immortals standing in the corner had slightly furrowed brows. One of them was Yun Zhongzi. Even after only a short month of experiencing the mortal world, he had come to understand many truths that he could never comprehend while staying in his secluded mountain cave, a quiet place far removed from all living beings.

The other immortal who frowned was Jiang Ziya.

Like Tongtian Jiaozhu, Yuanshi Tianzun issued a golden talisman to summon all disciples of the Chan Sect, including the Chan Sect officials of the Heavenly Court, and Jiang Ziya was also among those summoned.

But unlike the last great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, this time Jiang Ziya was marginalized. Even if he came in response to the summons, he was just there to make up the numbers.

This time, the Chan Sect obtained the Jade Emperor's edict, and with the orthodoxy of the Three Realms in hand, there was no need to send disciples to support the human kings of the mortal realm to compete for the fate of the human race. Special talents like Jiang Ziya, whose cultivation was weak, were of no use.

After Yuanshi Tianzun's angry shout subsided, all the immortals in the hall fell silent, except for Jiang Ziya, who stood in the corner with his brows furrowed even more tightly.

As he gazed at the simple meals of the people of Peacock City reflected in the water mirror, and the dazzling array of grains in the supermarket of New Source City, his own experiences in the mortal world involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

As the prime minister of the Zhou Dynasty, he personally witnessed the people being displaced due to hunger and cold; as the Kitchen God, he traveled to every household in the mortal world every December, and knew the principle that "food is the first necessity of the people." If one cannot even get enough to eat, talking about "pure heart" is nothing but self-deception.

"Master, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."

Jiang Ziya took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed. Although he knew that Yuanshi Tianzun was furious at the moment, he could not bear to see the Chan Sect stray from the people's livelihood because of its stubborn adherence to "orthodoxy"—the Chan Sect was able to win the Investiture of the Gods war because it "followed the will of the people," how could it forget its roots now?

His descendants' fiefdom, Qi, relied on the profits from salt and iron to promote national prosperity and strength. Before the great calamity of the demonic insects, it already showed signs of becoming a hegemon among the feudal lords, surpassing the Zhou royal family.

When Yuanshi Tianzun saw that it was him, his expression softened slightly, but he still showed some impatience: "Tell me."

"Thank you, Master." Jiang Ziya raised his head, his eyes sincere: "I once assisted King Wu in overthrowing King Zhou in the mortal realm, and I was also the Kitchen God. I have visited thousands of households and know that the most basic demands of the people are nothing more than 'having food to eat, clothes to wear, and being able to live a peaceful life'."

He paused, his voice growing more earnest: “I believe that the ‘people’s hearts’ are the true ‘foundation of the Way of Heaven.’ If the people can’t even fill their stomachs, how long can they endure chanting Buddhist scriptures on an empty stomach, no matter how pure their hearts may be? Once they encounter a natural disaster, without food reserves or fortifications, relying solely on chanting scriptures and praying for blessings will ultimately not save them from calamity.”

"Although the demons of the Wenrui Jie Sect are from beyond the realm, they have grasped the concept of 'people's livelihood,' which is why they have aroused the desire of the mortal people. If we want to win, we must first win back the hearts of the people. We should not rely solely on military force to suppress them, but rather reflect on how to enable the people to live a better life, instead of simply accusing them of being 'bewitched.'"

(End of this chapter)