Chapter 622: All beings are equal, and the disaster is coming
In the main hall of Leiyin Temple, the Golden Immortals looked at Zheng Fa, speechless for a moment.
They finally understood why Zheng Fa proposed the concept of emergence - emergence is essentially a phenomenon in which the whole is greater than the part.
The essence of this greater than is not even a distinction in the size of power. In fact, this is because the collective has some properties that individuals do not have and can create miracles that individuals cannot accomplish.
If we look at it from this perspective, any cultivator, Golden Immortal, or even Taiyi Golden Immortal, no matter how strong their cultivation is, cannot be greater than the collective.
What Lu Yao said about the Golden Immortals holding meetings and controlling the heavens was actually against the way of heaven.
After realizing this, the Golden Immortals and even all the Dao Fruits in the hall felt an involuntary aversion to what Zheng Fa had just said - in essence, this was a denial of the status of all Dao Fruits.
"What Sect Leader Zheng said is both supreme and profound, yet also profound and subtle." Lu Yao actually praised Zheng Fa. "Even I gained a lot from listening to him."
Zheng Fa looked at Lu Yao and saw him clapping his hands and smiling, his expression was extremely sincere.
"Just one thing." Lu Yao looked around at the Dao Fruits around him and said with a smile, "What you call this emergence has nothing to do with the Dao Law, and what does it have to do with what we are discussing today?"
Xuan Chengzi and others were stunned. They were shocked by the theory that Zheng Fa said. They had never thought of this - the emergence that Zheng Fa talked about was not only irrelevant to Taoism, it didn't even have any spiritual energy. How could it be forced to be connected?
"It's not related to Taoism?" Zheng Fa chuckled. Instead of refuting, he asked a question, "Do you know when I first saw a demonstration like this?"
As he spoke, algae, various creatures, humans, villages and cities appeared in the images on his palms.
Lu Yao and others looked at each other in surprise.
"It was when I first met Hongjun." Zheng Fa paused, then added, "Oh, Hongjun, the Daoist Ancestor of the First Era... You said it has nothing to do with Taoism?"
“…”
Xuan Chengzi grinned secretly. Of course he knew who Hongjun was - this great man was mentioned in the internal tradition of Taishang Dao.
Zheng Fa also felt a little sad in his heart. When Hongjun first entered the modern world, he demonstrated a wave of creating the universe in his palm and did something similar to what he was doing today.
At that time, he just thought Hongjun was deducing the origin of modern times.
But when he really began to comprehend his own true immortal path, he looked back on this scene and felt that Hongjun had said a lot to him.
"It was only later that I understood its true meaning." Zheng Fa shook his head and said, "Taoism is where most emergence phenomena occur."
“…”
The picture in Zheng Fa's hand changed, revealing an extremely short scripture that many people could not even understand.
"This was analyzed from some tortoise shells collected by Fairy Xiao Yuying of my sect." Zheng Fa explained.
After deciphering the characters from the First Era, Xiao Yuying and the others sorted out the tortoise shells they had found before and made some small discoveries.
"One of these passages actually talks about..." Zheng Fa pointed his finger, and the text transformed into the mysterious language of later generations, "Recognizing talismans and swallowing breath."
Xuan Chengzi and the others were all Dao Fruits. This little bit of cultivation knowledge was too simple for them. They knew at a glance that what Zheng Fa said was true.
"As you can see, this is actually a fire-based Qi training method. It's basic, crude, and simple."
Zheng Fa turned his gaze away from Xuan Chengzi and the others, looked at the believers, and explained:
"This is the earliest Taoist method. Judging from the writing style and carving techniques, it should actually be a relic from the First Era. Then someone analyzed it a little bit in the Second Era."
"Then, time goes back... to the early part of the Second Era." Zheng Fa displayed the spells one after another in front of everyone. "The Foundation Establishment Method appeared, then the Golden Core Method, and then the Nascent Soul Method..."
"What we can see is that each Taoist method is actually built on the foundation of the previous Taoist methods."
“Even at that time, there were other methods, some of which were passed down and became the minor arts of today.”
"Until finally, one person unified several techniques, connected them together, and created... the Yangshen Method!"
Xuan Chengzi murmured, "Dao Zun..."
Tai Shang Dao was originally the descendant of Dao Zun, but at this moment, the people of Tai Shang Dao suddenly felt as if they had gotten to know Dao Zun all over again.
"The emergence of the Yang Shen Fa is a typical example of emergence." Zheng Fa looked at the Dao Fruit of the Supreme Dao and spoke each word with clarity. "None of the cultivators who created Qi training methods, foundation building methods, and Golden Elixir methods knew that their techniques would one day become part of the Yang Shen Fa and bring eternal life to the human race. They simply learned, created, and communicated."
"Let me ask you, if there were no such techniques as a prerequisite," Zheng Fa asked Xuan Chengzi, "even if the Dao Zun was extremely talented, could he create the Yang Shen Technique in such a short time?"
Xuan Chengzi wanted to say yes, but in fact, everyone knew that it was not possible.
There is a time limit for Xuanwei's cultivation of immortals, especially before the Nascent Soul stage, when lifespan is extremely limited. If Dao Zun were to create the methods of Qi training, Dan formation, and even Nascent Soul formation from scratch, he would have turned into a handful of yellow earth long ago.
"Dao Zun himself is proof of the emergence of the Dao Law. Even his enlightenment is the result of the emergence of the Dao Law."
"...Then there's the Dharmakaya." Zheng Fa looked at Lu Yao again and asked, "The appearance of the Demon Sect's magic formula predates the Dharmakaya, doesn't it?"
What Xiao Yuying collected could clearly show the development of the Dharmakaya method—
The so-called Demonic Sect actually appeared a long time ago. They are good at charm, and good at refining blood, bones and souls.
Then, Lu Yao must have combined these techniques to create the Dharmakaya technique.
Lu Yao's expression kept changing, as if he wanted to deny it, but when he created the Dharmakaya method, the four sects had already appeared. This matter was not a secret, and in the end there was nothing to say.
"The same is true for Venerable Tianhe. The methods of refining weapons and weapon spirits actually predate the methods of natal magic weapons." Zheng Fa saw that he was speechless and continued, "He seems to have also referred to the magic weapons of the Shinto way."
Zheng Fa had discovered this early on. He shook his head and said, "The development of the immortal path is the result of repeated emergence."
Lu Yao could only remain silent.
There are many talented people in arguing and debating in Leiyin Temple, but the way Zheng Fa presents the principles of the world's operation and the history of the development of Taoism to them is something they have never seen before.
How can we continue to argue when the scriptures slap us in the face?
Zheng Fa looked at the silent Xuan Chengzi and the others and chuckled, "Let me ask you, if the Dao Zun rules Xuanwei and cuts off the path of ordinary cultivation, will there still be Dharmakaya and Tianhe Dharma in the future?"
“…”
Seeing that the Golden Immortal in the hall was speechless and unable to refute, Zheng Fa turned his attention to those believers.
"The most important thing about emergence is... quantity."
“Only with enough atoms can everything in the world be created; only with enough molecules can there be an environment for life to be born; and only with enough cells can consciousness be born.”
"Therefore, the first principle of our Mahayana Buddhism is that all beings are equal. Everyone can practice the Tao! Any knowledge of the Tao should belong to everyone."
"...If that's the case, how will you deal with the decline of spiritual energy?"
Lu Yao's cold voice was heard in everyone's ears.
"The Daoist tradition is in disarray, and people's hearts are in disarray. If it is as you wish, the spiritual energy will decline again and again, until finally, Xuanwei will have no spiritual energy left!"
Lu Yao's voice echoed across Xizhou.
"Equality among all beings doesn't mean there's no order." Zheng Fa was confident, as if he had a plan in mind. "But this order doesn't lie in restrictions, but in rewards."
"award……"
"Reward those who innovate and advance the human race and the Dao." Zheng Fa said, "Aren't we the result of Heaven's reward?"
Xuan Chengzi and others nodded in agreement upon hearing this - even a calamity that is extremely threatening to cultivators is actually a gift from Heaven.
Speaking of this, Zheng Fa couldn't help but think of Tongtian and Yuanshi.
Tongtian is a kind of absolute equality.
Yuanshi is probably an absolute order that does not even allow any accidents.
In Zheng Fa's view, he accepts accidents, because accidents are the nutrients for the evolution of the immortal way.
But he did not completely agree with Tongtian. He believed that good accidents must be rewarded in order to distinguish good from evil and separate the good from the bad.
"This is the second principle of Mahayana Buddhism: using certain reward rules to achieve survival of the fittest and continuous evolution."
Seeing that no one was talking, Zheng Fa further elaborated on the third principle of Mahayana Buddhism:
“The Dao is open source, and you can choose freely.”
"Free choice..." Xuan Chengzi repeated Zheng Fa's thoughts in a low voice, "Each school has its own unique skills. How can we choose freely?"
Zheng Fa smiled lightly, and the "Huangting Sutra" in his body changed.
First, it was the "Trapping Immortal Sword Classic". When he practiced this technique, the sword energy was so powerful that it made people shudder.
Then came the "Chixiao Jade Book", Xuan Chengzi and others couldn't help but look back at Lu Yao.
Lu Yao twitched his face.
Later came "The True Secret of Great Freedom".
The pure aura of the demonic technique made Xuan Chengzi and others even more dumbfounded.
"I have the Huangting Sutra, which can accommodate all things."
"The Huangting Sutra... The Huangting Sutra..."
Li Sanxian whispered, "I think his Huangting Sutra is extraordinary!"
Xuan Chengzi glared at Li Sanxian, then sighed again, unable to utter any rebuttal.
Everyone is not stupid, even many believers understand Zheng Fa's philosophy:
There are no restrictions on ordinary people's practice, but instead they are given as much freedom as possible. In this case, good skills will naturally be sought after and learned.
According to Zheng Fa's idea, the more people practice a certain technique, the more perfect and advanced it will become, and it will naturally attract more people.
To a certain extent, this is the best practice that is guaranteed to be popular.
Everyone understood that Zheng Fa also wanted to unify - but this unification was based on the unification of the "Huangting Jing", the most possible unification!
To a certain extent, what everyone practices is a certain technique!
…
Li Sanxian was very excited after hearing this. Seeing Xuan Chengzi seemed to be pondering, he couldn't help but say, "I think what Zheng Fa said..."
"That's ridiculous."
Xuan Chengzi said in a cold voice, no longer showing the excitement of approval.
Li Sanxian was stunned. He looked at the Golden Immortals present and saw that everyone had a cold expression. He suddenly understood.
Lu Yao and Zheng Fa have actually already put forward their own ideas about the human race, and even the pros and cons are already very obvious.
Lu Yao's plan is simple and direct, and will be of great benefit to Daoguo, but the development of Daofa may stagnate. It can be said to be stable, but in fact it can be said to be dead.
In his opinion, the Nine Mountains Plan mentioned by Zheng Fa, or the so-called Mahayana Buddhism, is in line with the beliefs of the Taoist Master and even in line with the development of the Heavenly Dao, but it is particularly detrimental to the Dao Fruit.
Several uncles have already made their choices...
In other words, most of the Dao Fruits in this main hall have already made their choice, and are even more determined than before - no, not determined, but fearful.
He sighed inwardly, looking at the golden bowl on Zheng Fa's head, feeling somewhat relieved - if it weren't for this golden bowl, Zheng Fa's current situation would probably be ten times more difficult than before the sermon.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, is there any way to break this golden bowl?"
Xuan Chengzi seemed to have the same idea as him and asked.
"The golden bowl is not unbreakable." Lu Yao shook his head and sighed, "But the Pure Land is now protecting Zheng Fa. If we forcefully attack, it might harm the Pure Land."
Everyone looked at Zheng Fa in silence.
Zheng Fa also heard these conversations, but ignored them. He just continued to preach to the believers. He started with the three principles of Mahayana Buddhism, and then talked about the method of practicing Qi and building the foundation. He practiced it himself and explained the method of cultivation to the believers.
As he was speaking, Zheng Fa felt something in his heart and looked up.
In the Pure Land, the mist and haze had condensed into colorful clouds, covering the sky and the earth. The gaseous incense and faith had turned into spiritual rain, falling drop by drop onto the lotus platform under Zheng Fa's seat.
A strong warmth emanated from the lotus platform and invaded Zheng Fa's body.
Zheng Fa was stunned and looked towards the believers, only to see many of them staring at him with eyes full of gratitude.
The power of faith...
Zheng Fa blinked his eyes slightly, knowing that perhaps not every believer could understand what he was saying today, and even most of them could hardly understand it. In other words, the number of people who could truly understand something was only one percent, or even one thousandth.
Maybe only a very small number of these believers.
But these people provided him with incense far beyond that of ordinary believers!
A vast warmth surged into Zheng Fa's body, and Zheng Fa's immortal body was rapidly improving. Zheng Fa continued to preach, and the warmth grew stronger day by day.
In the main hall, Lu Yao and others seemed powerless and could only watch Zheng Fa rapidly improve his cultivation.
Until after March.
Zheng Fa paused in his preaching and suddenly looked down.
Wrinkles had appeared on the back of his hands at some point, and his pores were large and dark.
The wind blew up a few strands of white hair, floating past his eyes.
"The Five Tribulations of Decline of Heavenly Beings!" Xuan Chengzi said in a deep voice, "He's only been preaching for a hundred days, and yet he's already reached the tribulation that takes an ordinary immortal five thousand years to reach?"
Upon hearing this, Li Sanxian felt very complicated. He was a little happy for Zheng Fa, but he himself had not yet overcome the Five Calamities of Degeneration of Heaven and Man - it was not that there was not enough time, but that he always felt that he was not ready and was hesitant.
When he first met Zheng Fa, this man seemed to be in the Nascent Soul stage?
Now he's actually going to surpass me...
But generally speaking, he was mostly happy, until he saw Lu Yao and the other four Buddhas suddenly stand up from the lotus platform and bow slightly towards the Pure Land, as if they were worshipping.
His heart skipped a beat and he looked up, and saw the images of all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats in the Pure Land bowing in one direction, their faces full of piety and expectation.
A golden Buddha light that covered the sky and earth slowly rose up.
Li Sanxian's heart suddenly trembled.
There is only one person who can make Lu Yao and the other five Buddhas worship him, who can make everyone in Leiyin Temple so convinced, and who can have such power in the Pure Land - Leiyin Buddha!
(End of this chapter)
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