Volume 1: A stone strikes a thousand waves, the world surrounds Li Daosheng Chapter 130 The nature of things is not necessarily the answer
"Donor." In the Buddhist temple, Yuanjie closed his eyes and said, "I don't understand what you mean. Buddhists don't save the dead."
"Really?" Li Si nodded quietly and looked up at the Vajra statue in the Buddhist hall: "It seems that I have come to the wrong place."
Yuanjie didn't say anything else, probably indicating that he agreed with Li Si's words.
But at this time, Li Si said again: "But speaking of it, Master, do you know, someone once told me a story about a monk in Shaolin who killed people..."
Yuanjie paused for a moment, then raised his hands and clasped them in front of him and said.
"There are no killer monks in Shaolin."
Li Si looked at the Vajra statue and did not answer him, but continued to tell the story.
"The story goes that the monk wanted to kill all the evil people in the world. Everyone said he was wrong, that he was stubborn and obsessed with his true self, but he continued to kill. The blood in the martial arts world was overwhelming, his monk's robes were stained with blood, his notoriety spread far and wide, and wherever he went, the land was covered in red."
"Some said he was a Buddha, others said he was Yama. Until one day, even he felt that he was wrong. He came to the gate of Shaolin Temple, kowtowed and repented, and asked for a cause and effect . From then on, he knelt under the Vajra statue and never appeared again."
Li Si glanced at Yuanjie, who clasped his hands together and didn't look at him.
"Master, guess what I was thinking after hearing this story?"
Li Si asked with a smile. Yuanjie didn't answer, so he continued talking on his own.
"What I think is that the monk did nothing wrong. On the contrary, he did something that no one in this world dared to do."
"Killing one person is one karma, killing ten thousand people is ten thousand karmas. That monk really made a great wish. He wants to kill all the evil people in this life and shoulder the karma of this life. I would like to ask, how many people in this world dare to do such a thing?"
At least Li Si himself didn't dare to do that.
"So I told the storyteller, 'Buddha said, if I don't go to hell, who will?' I guess that monk was heading for hell."
"The storyteller smiled, shook his head and said, 'It's a pity that the man stopped at the gate of hell.'
…
Li Si said nothing more and the hall became quiet.
Until Yuanjie opened .
"Who told you this story, donor?"
He asked with his eyes lowered, his figure looking hunched and skinny under his monk's robe.
"He said his name was Yuanji, and once upon a time, his name was Yuanyuan." Li Si raised his eyebrows and replied.
"Brother Yuanyuan..." Yuanjie murmured, and then he laughed and sighed: "Is it true..."
After saying that, he slowly sat up straight.
Facing the Vajra Buddha statue, he raised his head and let out a long breath.
"When we were young, Brother Yuanyuan was the one with the highest level of understanding among us. Whether it was Buddhism or martial arts, he always understood it at once. Master was most satisfied with him because he could always see deeper and farther than us."
"As for me, I am the dumbest one. I am always blinded by a single thing and obsessed with it. I often need others to help me resolve it. So when choosing a Buddhist name, the master named him Yuanyuan, and I was called Yuanjie."
"That year, we were seventeen years old."
Yuanjie's voice was deep, as if he was lost in a distant memory.
"Later, we went to the mountains to practice. Brother Yuanyuan had the highest martial arts skills and practiced the Golden Body Compassionate Dharma Sutra. I was at the bottom and practiced the Great Compassion Sutra to Save the Suffering. Now that I think about it, everything seemed to be predestined."
"There is no time in the mountains, fifty years pass at a time. We have all cultivated our skills to perfection, and Master called us together to travel down the mountain. He said there was only one requirement, that we should not be affected by suffering or evil, nor by cause and effect, in this life. Senior Brother Yuanyuan said nothing, but bowed three times to Master. Master did not look at him, but just waved his hand. Senior Brother Yuannian listened carefully, but Junior Brother Yuanzhen was inattentive, and Yuanlu had not woken up yet. I sat aside, and I did not know that so many things would happen ."
"That year was the last time we got together."
"After I came down the mountain, the world was so different from what I imagined. It seemed like this world was full of suffering and evil. I saw people starving to death on the streets, I saw people wandering around, I saw the rich and powerful oppressing the common people, I saw the land left barren after natural disasters. But I couldn't get involved in karma, I always remembered what my master said, I only watched and didn't do anything, it was like I had sealed my ears, eyes, mouth and nose, I didn't care about anything."
"Until one day, I saw a group of bandits robbing the road. They killed the couple in the caravan and stole the property. I wanted to bypass them, but at this time, a little girl ran towards me."
"She must be the couple's daughter. When she ran over, her face was pale and stained with her parents' blood. She ran to my feet, grabbed my legs and said, 'Save me.'"
"I still remember her expression at that time, but I still can't express it in words. Because I stood there stupidly, watching an arrow shoot from behind her and hit her back."
"I heard the laughter of bandits in the distance. It turned out that they were teasing a girl. The girl's blood splashed on my hands. She looked at me with her eyes wide open, and I looked at her."
"The blood on my hand is warm, just like the relics of a Buddhist monk that were transformed in fire."
"I felt as if my body was on fire, and my head was vibrating like a stick was stirring inside. So I couldn't bear it anymore, took off the stick on my back, and walked towards the bandits."
"That day, I killed twelve people and didn't let any of them escape."
"It was also on that day that I made a wish. I would no longer be a Buddha. I wanted to save people and save them from suffering in this life."
"My understanding is the worst, so I will stop trying to understand. I can't ignore all the worldly affairs, so I will just do things, do what I think is right."
"To distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, yin and yang, black and white. No matter if it is Buddha or devil, I want a world without flaws, without suffering and evil. With the stick in my hand, with the monk's robe."
Having said this, Yuanjie lowered his head.
In front of King Kong, his old face looked tired and his eyes were dull.
"Unfortunately, I am still obsessed with appearances, just like when I was young, I was blinded by a leaf. I have been in the human world for nearly ten years and killed countless evil people. I turned the Great Compassion Sutra of Saving Evil and Suffering into the Sutra of Killing and Suffering. My martial arts skills are improving by leaps and bounds, but the evil people are still endless. I don't understand, I don't understand why the world is so miserable, but the Buddha does nothing. If he does nothing, what kind of Buddha is he?"
"So I kept killing until I became half crazy and half insane. Finally one day, Senior Brother Yuanyuan found me..."
"I asked him about the four words Buddha, Dharma, Man and Sangha, and he answered me that Buddha is Dharma and Man is Sangha. Yes, that's when I understood how simple it is. The two are clearly distinguished. Man cannot become Buddha, let alone Dharma. Buddha does not save man, and Buddha is not Buddha. In the end, the only one who can save man is man himself."
"After that, I returned to Shaolin. I wanted to save myself first, so I have been saving myself until now..."
Yuanjie sat in the hall and stopped talking. It seemed that he didn't intend to talk anymore.
Li Si looked at him silently for a while, then smiled and said, "Then do you want to know what else the old monk said after he told me this story?"
Yuan Jie was stunned for a moment and looked at Li Si again.
"What else did he say to you?"
Li Si supported himself on the ground with his hands, sat sideways, and spoke casually.
"He said that he didn't expect you to return to Shaolin. What he wanted to tell you was that Buddha is not a human being and does not save people, but monks do."
Yuanjie was stunned. Li Si then raised his head, met his gaze and looked into his eyes.
This is what the old monk told him in the end, and this is what all those who convert to Buddhism should do.
It’s not difficult, just two words - help others.
Yuanjie did nothing wrong, never.
He was the one who performed the best when he went down the mountain for training that year, because he was the dumbest.
