In the clean and dust-free cloud room, Fang Jian took a bath and changed his clothes, then put on a brand new Qingxia Yudou Qilin robe.
Then he walked to the sandalwood stand beside him, took out the Taiyi Jinguan Sword and inserted it into the green bamboo scabbard, and then hung the green bamboo scabbard on the white jade belt on his left waist.
Then, Fang Jian tied up his long hair and secured the bun with a snow-white jade belt, letting the remaining length of the jade belt hang down from the back of his head.
Finally, Fang Jian passed a jade hairpin through the bun, securing the bun and the jade belt.
After doing all this, Fang Jian held the sword in his left hand, put his right hand behind his back, and walked to the door of the cloud room. A breeze blew in from outside, slowly blowing the door open.
Outside the door were more than twenty divine generals wearing armor and serving as majestic guards.
"Your Excellency." Seeing Fang Jian walk out of the cloud room, more than twenty divine generals immediately bowed to Fang Jian in unison.
Fang Jian nodded slightly. Then, the monk Yeqing, who had been waiting for a long time, came out and said to Fang Jian, "Master Hongqing, the abbots and the heads of all the Buddhist temples and Zen monasteries have all arrived at the 'lecture platform' to greet Master Hongqing."
Fang Jian nodded and said, "Let's go to the lecture platform."
On the broad and spacious lecture platform, Sang Mojie led 118 abbots and they were divided into more than ten rows and sat neatly on the lecture platform. Sang Mojie was at the front, followed by the abbots of various Buddhist temples and Zen monasteries.
The Dharma Assembly for Exhorting Good Deeds clearly states that only the abbots and the chief monks of each temple can attend. Therefore, apart from the divine generals who are on guard on all sides, there are only Sangmojie and the abbots of the temples in the Kingdom of Shala. No other monks can enter.
When Fang Jian arrived at the lecture platform, Sang Mojie and the 118 abbots stood up, clasped their hands together, and bowed to Fang Jian, saying, "Master Hongqing."
Fang Jian walked forward and came to the embroidered cushion specially prepared for him, then sat down cross-legged on the embroidered cushion with his left hand supporting the sword.
"No need to be so polite, fellow Taoists." Fang Jian raised his right hand and pressed it slightly, saying, "Please sit down."
Only then did Sangmojie and the other monks sit down again and turn their gaze to Fang Jian.
Although Fang Jian was sitting cross-legged, he held his chest high and his head held high, looking tall and handsome. His eyes slowly swept over the monks before him, and then he spoke: "Today, the Japanese God is holding a 'Dharma Assembly to Encourage Good Deeds'. The key point is the word 'goodness'. Fellow Taoists, what is the teaching of Buddhism?"
Upon hearing this, Sang Mojie immediately spoke up, "Reporting to Master Hongqing, the Buddhist teachings of our sect are: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and the Three Dharma Seals."
Fang Jian then asked, "What is the Buddhist doctrine of entering the world?"
Sang Mojie replied again: "Punish the evil and promote the good, and save all living beings."
Fang Jian nodded, then said, "This is the true meaning of the word 'good' in this Dharma Assembly. Now, let me ask you fellow Taoists: Among the Buddhist disciples today, how many monks can fully uphold the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and the Three Dharma Seals?"
The monks present suddenly fell silent, and no one dared to say that they could fully uphold it.
Fang Jian then asked, "How many of you here can truly uphold the principles of punishing evil, promoting good, and saving all living beings?"
As Fang Jian finished speaking, the silence on the lecture platform instantly disappeared, and the abbots began to speak: "Everyone can uphold it."
"Okay." Fang Jian nodded, then took out a jade slip from his arms, and then asked according to the name of the abbot of Hongfa Temple.
A fat monk stood up, put his hands together and said to Fang Jian, "I am here."
Fang Jian asked the abbot of Hongfa Temple, "Is it considered evil in Buddhism if a demon eats people?"
Upon hearing this, the abbot of Hongfa Temple immediately replied, "Monsters eating people is a great evil."
Fang Jian nodded and continued, "There's a ten-thousand-year-old toad spirit in Youling Gorge, a Xuanxian. The last time it ate a human was a year ago, so it's eaten over seven thousand people in the past ten thousand years. And Hongfa Temple is only forty-five miles away from Youling Gorge. Why don't you kill it?"
When the abbot of Hongfa Temple heard this, his face suddenly changed. He knew the thousand-year-old toad spirit very well, and he was about to convert it to the sect. How could he possibly kill it?
But when asked by Fang Jian, the abbot of Hongfa Temple had no idea how to answer.
After a long time, the abbot of Hongfa Temple said to Fang Jian: "Reporting to Master Hongqing, I have also noticed the Toad Spirit for a long time. In recent years, through my efforts, I have persuaded him to change his evil ways and have seen initial success. As long as
If he is willing to lay down his butcher knife and join my Buddhist sect, and no longer eat or harm people, then this is the greatest kindness he can do."
Fang Jian said, "So this is what it means to put down the butcher knife and instantly become a Buddha? If he put down the butcher knife and instantly became a Buddha, then what about those mortals he devoured?"
"He should be liberated and reborn in the Pure Land through the help of Hongfa Temple." said Gongshen, the abbot of Hongfa Temple.
Fang Jian said calmly, "Do you think this is the way to punish evil and promote good? If someone kills someone, all they have to do is lay down their butcher knife and become a monk, and that's the greatest good they've ever done. All their sins will be wiped out, and they won't have to face any retribution or punishment. Do you think this is fair to the person who was killed? Is this punishing evil and promoting good? Or is it punishing good and promoting evil?"
The abbot of Hongfa Temple had cold sweat on his forehead. He was silent for a long time, and finally replied reluctantly: "Evildoers will be punished." cascoo.net
"That's a contradiction," Fang Jian said. "If one can become a Buddha instantly by laying down the butcher knife, how can one say that evildoers will be punished for their evil deeds? Are all Buddhas evil?"
This directly dealt a critical blow to the abbot of Hongfa Temple. He looked helpless and nervous, and kept swallowing his saliva. He just kept saying "this...this..." in his mouth, but he couldn't say anything else.
Fang Jian smiled faintly, looked at the abbot of Hongfa Temple and said, "It seems that fellow Daoist needs to study Buddhist scriptures more. You can't even speak better than a layman like me. You really don't deserve the honor of being 'eloquent'."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
