151. Debate
In the winter of the 31st year of Jianing, at Luhun Mountain Villa.
The sky is full of wind and snow, and the miles are covered with silver.
The manor was still brightly lit at dawn, with tall gray walls and gray tiles stacked up like a huge cruise ship, quietly sailing in the silver-white sea of snow.
From a distance, passers-by seem to be able to hear the sound of ice breaking, as if it is slowly breaking through the permafrost of the polar region.
With a thud, the sound of a bell rang out melodiously.
Two young monks stood guarding the gate of Luhun Villa, their hands tucked into their sleeves. One of them heard the sound of a bell and turned back to look deeper into the villa. He whispered, "Another member of the Dao Court has been defeated. Whose number is this?"
"The eighth one. If we lose one more, there will be no one left."
"The Dao Court is arrogant, but we came prepared."
A young novice monk gathered his sleeves and looked out at the snow outside, sighing, "After a day and a night of debate, it's finally coming to an end."
At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the wind and snow.
The young monk stood under the plaque of Luhun Villa, put his hands on his eyes, squinted and looked out into the wind and snow. After looking for a long time, he saw a few gray shadows gradually becoming clear.
A young man, head bowed, held three reins in his hands, trudged through the snow against the wind. The strong wind blew his sleeves back, and the men on the three horses behind him crouched down to ward off the cold.
The young monk asked cautiously, "Who?"
The newcomer quickened his pace: "I'm here to stay the night."
"Stay overnight?" the young monk wondered. Seeing the man walking faster and faster, he suddenly shouted, "This is a sacred Buddhist site. Stop!"
"Buddhism?"
The visitor raised his head, revealing a young man's face. "Isn't this the base of the Laojun Mountain Taoist Temple? How did it become a Buddhist treasure land?"
The young monks exchanged glances and hurriedly explained, "Ma Yiming, the chief disciple of the Laojun Mountain Daoist Court, lost the debate with our eldest brother. The Daoist Court has already surrendered Luhun Mountain Villa to our Yuanjue Temple."
The young man was stunned for a moment: "Are you playing such a big game?"
He looked up at the lintel of Luhun Villa. The villa covered hundreds of acres and was vast and boundless. The cost of building it was at least tens of thousands of taels of silver.
A manor like this can be lost just like that?
The young novice monk said, "This is our Zen Buddhist heritage. Daoting won it from us in the twelfth year of Rende. Now we are simply returning it to its rightful owner. Today, there's an even bigger gamble. If Daoting loses all nine rounds, all nineteen Daoists participating in this debate will be ordained as monks, ringing the bell in our temple for the rest of their lives."
The young man was dumbfounded: "How many rounds have we reached now?"
The young monk replied, "The eighth debate has just concluded, and they will probably rest for half an hour. If you are just passing through and want to stay overnight, please go back. Today, Luhun Mountain Villa is only accepting guests from the literary gathering."
The young man glanced behind him and saw a young girl lying unconscious on the horse. He turned back again and politely said to the young monk, "Among us are the Prince and Princess of Prince Jing's Mansion, as well as Miss Zhang Er from the Luocheng Prefect's family. Please inform us that we encountered bandits on the road and lost our invitation."
The young monk was startled: "Prince and Princess? You are..."
The young man said, "I am just a junior apprentice at the Imperial Physician's Clinic in Prince Jing's Mansion, Chen Ji."
The young monk asked, "Do you have a token of the royal palace?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "No, but there must be someone in this literary gathering who knows the prince and the princess."
"Please wait a moment," the little monk held up the hem of his gray robe and ran into the manor to report.
Chen Ji returned to his horse and whispered to the princess, "Don't worry, princess. With the Taoist temple and Buddhist sect here, they must have medicine to treat the cold."
The princess had a piece of clothing wrapped around her head and was leaning over her horse, humming softly. She couldn't straighten her body and it was unclear whether she heard what Chen Ji said or not.
Chen Ji touched her forehead and it was burning hot.
The next moment, the young monk hurried back and said, "I'm sorry, benefactors, the roads are blocked by heavy snow, and we can't verify your identities. Please go back."
Chen Ji frowned slightly: "Did you inform who is here?"
The young monk patiently said, "Yes, but the elder brother said that since you didn't bring any tokens or invitations, you should go back."
Chen Ji suddenly realized that Buddhism was making excuses!
This literary gathering at Luhun Mountain Villa, even if you're just an ordinary scholar, as long as you're willing to come, you can get an invitation. How come the threshold is so loose, but I can't even get in here?
The other party must know what happened in Longwangtun, and because they don't want to get involved in the affairs of the Liu family and Prince Jing's Mansion, they are unwilling to let them in.
What a great way to be free from cause and effect.
Zhang Xia rode on Zaozao's back and asked, "What should we do now?"
Chen Ji reached out to grab the whale knife beside the princess's saddle, but the princess weakly raised her hand and pressed the back of his hand: "Don't do anything stupid."
He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just checked to see if the knife was still there. I'm not stupid enough to go and find a high-ranking official from the Taoist or Buddhist sect to die."
Chen Ji turned around and looked at the couplet under the plaque of Luhun Villa. The upper couplet read "Everything is in the hands of man, don't say everything is fate", and the lower couplet read "The situation is created by the mind, take a step back and you will naturally feel more at ease".
But.
He can't retreat from this step.
Chen Ji pulled the clothes wrapped around Bai Li's head tighter to prevent the cold wind from blowing into his collar.
He turned and walked back to the gate of Luhun Villa: "Is this a literary gathering?"
The young monk replied, "Yes."
"Can we debate?"
"yes."
Chen Ji asked, "What is the topic of this debate between the Dao Court and the Buddhist sect?"
The little monk curled his lips: "Why should I tell you?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "I want to go in and debate as well."
The young novice monk was amused and looked him up and down: "What sutra are you debating about?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xia dismounted and, braving the wind and snow, came to the gate with Zaozao by his hand. "Is Yuanjue Temple afraid that we will go in and win the debate?"
The young monk leaned against the gray brick wall beneath the plaque and rolled his eyes: "Even provocation won't work!"
Zhang Xia said in a serious tone, "I am the niece of Xu Shu, the Vice Director of the Imperial Observatory. If you don't report this, I will return to the capital and tell everyone I meet that the monks from Yuanjue Temple are afraid of being defeated, so they won't let us into Luhun Villa! Go report this now, you can't bear the consequences!"
The young monk shrank his neck, turned around and went into the villa to report.
A moment later, he came back with snow on his shoulders. "You can debate, but you need to answer the questions we've given to the Dao Court this round!"
Chen Ji glanced at him and said, "Speak."
The young novice monk asked, "Taoism says that the Tao gives birth to all things. Is this Tao knowledgeable or ignorant?"
Chen Ji was about to answer when Zhang Xia gently pulled his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Debating scriptures is not that simple. Every sentence of the answerer must have a source in the scriptures. If there is a source, it is a true scripture, and if there is no source, it is a false scripture..."
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come and argue with them?"
Zhang Xia's expression darkened. "No, they don't debate with women. You answer their questions, and I'll teach you how to answer them."
"good."
The wind and snow flowed between the two of them, and small cyclones flowed around them.
Several
After taking a breath, Chen Ji turned around and stepped forward: "The Tao Te Ching says, 'Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature.' The Tao is the law of heaven and earth, the model for all things, and naturally it is knowing."
The young monk gave the answer and took small steps back to report.
When he returned a moment later, he had a new question: "My senior brother said that since the Tao is sentient, it should only give birth to good people. Why does it also give birth to evil people? Since the Tao does not distinguish between good and evil, it must be ignorant. If it is ignorant, how can it give birth to all things? How can it become a model for all things in heaven and earth to emulate?"
But he heard Zhang Xia's lips moving slightly behind him and whispering a few words.
Chen Ji looked at the young novice monk and replied, "The Mahaparinirvana Sutra says that the 'I' is the Tathagatagarbha. All sentient beings have Buddha nature, and all sentient beings have the 'I'. The Buddha said that everyone is born with Buddha nature. How can you decide who is born good and who is born evil?"
The young novice monk was stunned: "How do you understand the Buddhist scriptures so well?"
Chen Ji said angrily: "Human lives are at stake, go and report!"
The little monk hurried into the villa again.
This time, the little monk did not come back quickly. It seemed that the monk from Yuanjue Temple who asked the question was lost in long thought.
I don’t know how long it took, but I heard a melodious and loud bell ringing again in the villa.
Zhang Xia's eyes lit up. "The bell rang, and the other party put this issue aside, which is equivalent to admitting defeat. Chen Ji...Chen Ji?"
She turned her head and saw Chen Ji with his head down, wondering what he was thinking about.
At this moment, Chen Ji discovered that the fire in his body suddenly jumped for a moment when the bell rang, and then the light red fire became brighter!
It's strange, is it because Zhang Xia just won the debate in his own name?
Previously, he thought that the change of the fire required doing good deeds and winning the hearts of the people, but now it seems that the reason for the change of the fire may be deeper and broader.
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia.
Zhang Xia touched his cheek and asked, "What are you looking at me for?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "It's okay, Miss Zhang Er is knowledgeable and intelligent. I admire her. No wonder you look down on uneducated people."
Zhang Xia was a little embarrassed: "I just have a good memory."
As he was speaking, the little monk hurried back: "You won this round, but..."
"But what?"
The young monk said in embarrassment: "To be honest with you, my Buddhist sect is peaceful and free, without karma. I really don't want to be entangled in the mundane world. You two have worldly affairs to attend to, and karma has not yet been resolved. It is not appropriate for you to come to Luhun Mountain Villa. Please go back."
Chen Ji looked at the other person calmly: "Is it okay to ask for a pill?"
The young monk shook his head and said, "No. Don't embarrass me, benefactors. I am only a young monk."
Chen Ji was about to rush in, but Zhang Xia grabbed his arm and shook his head silently: "You can't go in."
"We have to break through even if we can't!"
However, at this moment, singing voices drifted in from the wind and snow.
Chen Ji and Zhang Xia suddenly turned around and saw a man sitting upside down on the back of a green ox, flipping through a book and humming: "You have evil intentions, burning incense will do you no good. Be upright, and it's okay if you don't bow to me..."
The sound of folk songs was swept into the wind and snow, and was carried far away by the snowflakes.
Seeing the green ox coming to the door, the young Taoist priest on the green ox jumped off the ox's back with a light leap.
He smiled as he walked past Chen Ji and Zhang Xia to the door. He reached out and stroked the young monk's bald head. "Zhang Li, the chief disciple of the Huangshan Taoist Temple, has come to debate on behalf of our master, the 'disciple'. Get out of here now, little monk, or I'll slap you."
(End of this chapter)
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