I see.
This pool of ashes gathers all the pasts abandoned and forsaken by people in the Nineteen Continents, and the past she had given up in the cause and effect gate also came here. Every day in this pool, she absorbs the spiritual energy and Buddha light gathered by Monk Yichen's practice, and gradually becomes a strange existence in this world, and develops spiritual wisdom.
Yichen treats all things with compassion. Out of a thought of kindness he does not kill her, but answers her questions and resolves her confusion, which in turn makes her realize the truth and become a demon.
This incident reminded Jianchou of the time when he first started practicing, when he accidentally said something that made Fu Chaosheng "hear the truth"...
How similar are these times
It must have been the right opportunity when Monk Yichen gave her some enlightenment that allowed her to become such a special being and become a "demon" in this world.
Those so-called "monsters" are different from humans. They are transformed from non-intelligent beings in the world.
This past that Jianchou had given up turned into a demon in an instant, which sounds incredible.
But if you think about it carefully, in the past, the Master Bu Yu died and his inner demon ascended; in the middle, the rules of reincarnation in the extreme realm gave rise to the living beings and transformed into King Qin Guang; later, Fu Chaosheng heard the truth and became a demon.
In comparison, it is insignificant.
But Jianchou recalled what Monk Yichen had just said, "His thoughts were very firm, his will was very determined", and the question the witch had asked in front of the Heavenly King's Palace just now...
"If you can even give me up, what else in this world can you not give up?"
For a moment, I was a little confused.
Monk Yichen was still talking about what had happened, including how he had calculated that the demon girl had gone to the Snow Region, and thus reminded Kong to be careful. He also talked about the changes in the past twenty years and why they had never found any trace of the Sumeru mustard seed.
This demon was so clever that it actually discovered the Liangyi Pool at the junction of the Yin and Yang sects.
When yin and yang meet at a line, chaos is born. Mount Sumeru and mustard seeds are placed in the chaos, just like they are placed in the newborn universe. Not even a breath can be seen.
It was not until Jianchou and Xie Buchen escaped using the Great Five Elements Breaking the Ban Technique that the mustard seed was caused to fluctuate violently, which was discovered by Yichen.
Finally, he said to Jianchou, "The female demon has been detained by Senior Brother Wujiu in the Thousand Buddha Hall. It is up to you to deal with her. But I see that you are very hesitant and seem to be confused. Besides, the sun is setting. Why don't you stay in the Zen temple? You can also think about how to deal with her."
It is said that this monster had appeared in the Snow Region before and almost killed her at the hands of Xie Buchen. If it had not been for Liaokong's rescue, she would have been beheaded. Then this monster even snatched away the Xumi mustard seed and hid it in the Liangyi Pool. It was obvious that he had no intention of showing mercy to her and wanted to get rid of her and Xie Buchen together...
So at this moment, she should not have any hesitation, but should directly choose to eliminate its existence and prevent future troubles.
However, the subtlety and confusion in my heart are really hard to get rid of.
Jianchou recalled the gaze that stared at her across the chasm in the Gate of Karma that day, and the eyes that were vaguely cold and hateful in the Snow Domain Temple, and even more so the deep irony in the demon's questioning of her and Xie Buchen just now...
Was it her fault to let go of the past
Jianchou didn't know the answer.
So at this moment, she did not express any objection to Monk Yichen's proposal, but just nodded: "According to what Master Chengyi said, I must be bothering you."
"Cause and effect are intertwined, and they must eventually be resolved."
Monk Yichen remained calm, and when he saw the sun setting, he flicked his fingers and lit a dim lotus lantern by the ashes pool, and then walked back the way he came.
"Speaking of which, this kind of extraordinary event of transforming into a demon with just one thought is something I have only seen in my life. In the past, there were also thousands of people who had obsessions in the past, but only this one thought could turn them into demons. It can be seen that the past of the donor Jianchou is really extraordinary."
Although I don’t know what Yichen’s intention was in lighting a lamp above the pool of ashes, it can be seen that Chou didn’t think much about it.
Hearing his words, she certainly would not mistakenly think that Monk Yichen was shirking some responsibility. She knew that this "heart master" was just lamenting about her past.
At the moment, he could only sigh in a complicated tone: "Master Yichen is joking."
Yichen also smiled, but didn't say much.
Having once sat and discussed the past with Jianchou, he certainly knew what kind of turbulent undercurrent existed between the two seemingly peaceful people behind him.
But the two of them kept silent about it, and Yichen pretended to be completely unaware of it.
The three of them quickly returned to the Zen temple below.
The residences of the Zen disciples and elders were all in the back of the mountain, mostly in Zen rooms. Jianchou and Xie Buchen were no exception, and they didn't mind where they lived. They followed Yichen and randomly chose a Zen room to rest.
It’s just that one of them chose the east end and the other chose the west end, and it was obvious that they didn’t want to waste time talking to each other.
All the furnishings in the room are simple and plain.
There was a Buddha statue hanging on the wall, a piece of incense stick, an incense burner, a bed under the window, and a purple cushion on the floor. A red sandalwood Buddha shrine was placed on the wall next to the incense stick, with a statue of Amitabha inside.
There is nothing else besides this.
Jianchou said goodbye to Monk Yichen and entered the house. He took a quick look and walked towards the Buddhist shrine. He stretched out his hand and took out a bamboo slip from the secret compartment under the shrine.
When I opened it, it turned out to be a volume of the Heart Sutra.
She had already memorized this sutra, and there was nothing interesting about it, so she put it back.
She was in the Zen room, gazing at the statue of Amitabha Buddha in the niche. Her heart, which should have calmed down quickly, felt an indescribable restlessness.
For most of the cultivators in these 19 continents, only twenty years had passed.
But when she counted with her fingers, she found that she, who was in the mustard seed on Mount Sumeru, had been practicing hard in the pagoda for nearly four hundred years!
How hard it is!
How lonely is it
At that time, he was still able to be moved and patient, and even to discuss the truth with Xie Buchen. But now that he came out and came into contact with this extremely real and vivid world, he became restless.
Of the three Buddhas in Buddhism, Dipankara is the Buddha of the past, Sakyamuni is the Buddha of the present, and Amitabha is the Buddha of the future. At this moment, her eyes fell on the statue of Amitabha, but she could only think of what Monk Yichen had said before.
Everything she had ever remembered flashed through her mind.
Jianchou finally felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation in this Zen room. After meditating on the cushion for an hour or so, he stood up, opened the door, and walked out.
She randomly found a young monk on night patrol to ask for directions, then changed direction and went to visit Kong.
I still remember meeting him in the Shahong world. He was just a young monk, but his excellent luck amazed everyone.
Later, Gu Qingmei cast out the earth-binding formation set up by Xie Buchen, accidentally trapping him and Meng Xizhou inside. It was she who shattered the entire formation with her axe, and saved them.
When the Snowland Holy Temple was in turmoil, it was Lekong who risked his life to save it. How could Jianchou forget such a kindness in his heart
Whether or not others remember the kindness she has shown them is their business; whether or not she remembers the kindness others have shown her is her own business.
Perhaps because this young and wise monk is still recuperating from his injuries, the location of his meditation room is particularly secluded and quiet.
Jianchou followed the direction pointed by the young monk who was on night patrol, and walked through the Zen temple. He saw ancient Bodhi trees all around, with clear springs gathering into pools. He could faintly hear the sounds of Zen disciples chanting in the evening, and his heart became strangely quiet.
When I arrived at the Zen room a moment later, I found someone inside.
It was the Abbot Wuque whom I had met before.
Jianchou was slightly startled outside the door, and then he imitated the etiquette of Zen Buddhism, clasped his hands together, and bowed to him: "Jianchou greets the abbot master."
Abbot Wujiu also had a broad and square face, and even at night when no one was around, he maintained a meticulous and serious expression.
Seeing Jianchou bowing, he was slightly surprised.
But then he understood and invited her in: "Donor Jianchou, there is no need to be polite. I guess you are here to see Kong, right?"
"I have heard that Junior Brother Kong was seriously injured in the Snow Region and was entangled by evil forces. Although there are many reasons for this matter, it was ultimately caused by me. Since I have troubled your sect today, how can I not come to visit you?"
When Jianchou entered the Zen room, he immediately saw Lekong sitting cross-legged on the Arhat bed.
The originally handsome young monk now looks a little skinny.
The thing wrapped around his body was the black aura that she had seen in the Snow Region before, exactly the same as the black aura on the disciples of Kunwu who died in Yashan, except that the evil aura was deeper and more ferocious.
Perhaps because they have been fighting for more than twenty years, the evil aura seems to have faded a lot.
Abbot Wujiu came to check on the situation as a routine today. Perhaps because he saw Jianchou frowning, he said, "It takes eighty-one difficulties to achieve the Great Dao, but this is just the beginning. His injury is not serious, but his mind is not strong enough, so he was invaded by this evil spirit. It has been twenty years now, and he has survived most of it. He should just practice hard in seclusion."
In other words, Liaokong is almost safe
Jianchou glanced at Abbot Wuqiu beside him and felt that this master, who looked serious and cold, said this probably to reassure himself.
After all, it was that witch who planned it.
If Zen Buddhism wants to make sense, then in order to avenge Kong, one should just kill the female demon that was transformed from one's past.
But Monk Yichen had clearly subdued her easily, but he did not attack her. Instead, he let her deal with it, just hoping that she would think it over carefully.
"The two schools of Buddhism, Zen and Esoteric Buddhism, are so different..."
She couldn't help but sigh.
Upon hearing this, Abbot Wujiu paused the Buddhist beads he was holding, looked at her, and shook his head with a serious and solemn expression, and a hint of depression in his eyes like a dark cloud.
"Early after the northern migration and split, Xueyu Xinmi was no longer part of our Buddhist sect."
To Zen and Old Tantric Buddhism, they are all heretics.
Jianchou could vaguely understand the meaning of this sentence, but after all, this was their own Buddhist business, so even though she heard it, she didn't say anything else.
In this room, she just stared into the air for a long time.
Abbot Wuque only said, "If there is a calamity, it will come sooner or later. Lekong did nothing wrong in rescuing you. It was the female demon who plotted against you that caused you and donor Kunwu Xie to be trapped in the mustard seed. The cause was originally good, but it was mixed with other factors and led to bad consequences. But now the female demon has been detained in the Thousand Buddha Hall, which can be regarded as her taste of karma. Lekong is in this calamity, donor Jianchou does not need to worry about it."
In fact, he was actually comforting her.
Jianchou couldn't express his feelings, and remained silent for a long time. He only said "Thank you, Abbot, for your enlightenment" before bowing and leaving. He neither made any promises nor offered to help.
There are three masters in Zen Buddhism. If there was a way, they would have saved Lukong long ago. How could it be her turn
Coming out of Liaokong's Zen room, Jianchou looked up at the sky, only to see the night sky filled with bright stars and the chirping of insects and birds everywhere. Different from the extremely cold snowy area, the city was full of life of its own.
When passing by a Bodhi tree, I ran into a young monk.
The man was thin and small, and should have just arrived. He was lying on a tree branch, holding a short stick with a net bag in front of it, and reaching towards a kingfisher on the branch.
"I'll catch you this time!"
As he approached cautiously, he muttered to himself.
Seeing that he was almost able to catch it, he suddenly leaned over and headed towards the kingfisher net.
But he didn't expect that the branch was too thin and couldn't bear the force of his leaning. With just a slight tilt, the little monk was caught off guard and fell down!
The man and the bird were about to fall to the ground together.
Fortunately, Jianchou was right below. He was quick-witted and reached out to grab the back of the little monk's collar. At the same time, he stretched out his other hand and caught the falling kingfisher in his palm.
"Wow!"
At this time, the little monk screamed in surprise, not because he was scared by the fall, but rather because of the sudden appearance of Jianchou.
Jianchou looked at him, then turned back to look at his palm.
The little kingfisher seemed frightened, too, and cried out pitifully twice, cowering in her palm. But its folded wings were tied with a white cloth in a funny way, which gave off a faint smell of medicine.
She was startled and immediately realized that she had misunderstood.
I thought a boy of this age might be catching the bird for fun, but I didn't expect that she had such mean thoughts.
"Are you okay?"
She loosened her grip and put the frightened little monk down, letting him stand firmly on the ground before asking a question.
The young monk had not been in the temple for long, and although he did not know Jianchou's identity, he knew that a distinguished guest had come to the mountain.
Seeing her face so close, he blushed and quickly stepped back, chanted "Amitabha" twice, and then replied: "Thank you, thank you for saving me, I'm fine."
"your?"
Jianchou didn't mind and stretched out his hand again, handing the kingfisher over.
The little monk's eyes immediately revealed a hint of surprise and gratitude. He quickly took it in both hands, carefully protecting it in his palms, and then hurriedly thanked Jianchou.
"I wanted to change the medicine for it, but it was naughty and ran away again."
"Nothing serious happened, I'm glad."
Jianchou smiled.
The young monk was still shy and did not dare to talk to her, so he said goodbye and left in a hurry. However, he left in such a hurry that he dropped the short stick that was holding the net, and it lay on the ground.
Jianchou bent down and picked it up, looked at it for a few seconds, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Just like the net, just like the medicine and swords in this world, some people use them to kill people for money, but some people use them to save people and relieve suffering.
Now she holds the net, the medicine, the knife and the sword in her hands. How should she choose
People's thoughts and ideas are the most mysterious things in the world.
She was in the door of cause and effect, unwilling to dwell on the past, unwilling to dwell on pain, and even more unwilling to be bound by the past. So she drew a chasm between the past and the present, separating her past self from her current self.
Love, hate, and vengeance are still there.
Because, that was how she was at that time, and she would not change by cutting off the past.
What is separated is only the past self who was tormented, burdened and bound by love, hate, and emotions, and was not open-minded enough.
But she became a demon...
There are many incredible things in the world. This kind of thing sounds like some kind of truth in the world. It is an invisible thing, but suddenly it becomes a monster or demon.
In Jianchou's opinion, this was just a choice. It was necessary at that time and he did not regret it now.
However, new problems have already emerged.
She had given it up once before. Now, should she give it up and kill it, or keep it and save it
Jianchou slowly placed the short stick with the small net against the bodhi tree, and walked slowly in the night with the sound of waves coming from afar. Unknowingly, he came to the road where Monk Bai Ri Yi Chen took them to the Cinder Pool.
She stopped for a while, lowered her eyes, smiled and walked up.
Under the tall and smooth mountain wall, the pool water carrying the ashes is still flowing, the lotus in the pool is blooming, and thousands of shapes and phenomena on the water surface are still flashing like phantoms.
By the pond, a lotus lantern stands tall.
In the deep black night, its dim light, with a hint of warmth, enveloped the entire pool of ashes, with an indescribable compassion and gentleness.
Jianchou remembered that this was lit by the monk Yichen by the pond at sunset.
There was nothing strange about all this. After all, she had seen it during the day.
But when she got closer, she suddenly realized—
There is still a little difference.
The silent footsteps suddenly stopped, and he looked at the lotus lantern with a worried look in surprise.
The lamp is full of lamp oil, and there is a warm yellow flame in the middle.
But on the edge of the lotus cup containing lamp oil, there was actually a little man about two inches tall sitting!
He has a white and chubby body, with a red bellyband hanging around his neck. He looks quite naive, but his pair of black eyes reveal a cleverness.
It's very small, about the same size as a normal person's thumb.
At this moment, he was sitting beside the lotus cup, his hands holding the edge, while his legs were hanging outside, dangling in the air.
Almost at the moment when Jianchou saw it clearly, it had already noticed it and jumped up as if startled. It stretched out its hand and hugged the lotus lantern that was several times larger than its body tightly, while looking in the direction of Jianchou.
A hint of surprise suddenly flashed across his pair of excited eyes.
"It's you, eh, no, it's not..."
The person is very small and the voice is very soft, so if you don't listen carefully you won't be able to hear it at all.
While it was halfway through its words, it had already recognized something from Jianchou's expression and breath, and immediately realized that something was wrong. Its mouth immediately opened wider and it suddenly realized.
"So this is her current state. She looks really amazing..."