disguised holy monk

At the beginning of the Sutra Discussion Conference, all the monks had a question and an answer, asking about the teachings of the Buddhist scriptures. If the answerer thinks for too long or cannot answer, he will be considered a loser, and then the questioner will have a question and answer with another person.

This method of reciting scriptures is the most basic but also the most challenging.There are as many Buddhist scriptures as there are mountains and seas. Not only do you have to memorize them all, but you also need to answer them calmly when faced with sudden questions.

But for Xuan Qing, with the "Buddha Heart" in his body, those Buddhist scriptures seemed to be imprinted in his mind.

He sat upright in white clothes, with a dignified bearing, a gentle voice, neither arrogant nor impetuous.

After an hour, he and Kong Ying were the only ones left on the round stage, asking and answering, coming and going.

The sun was getting worse, although the two of them were still not in a hurry, but their monk robes were wet with sweat.

Xuan Qing's brows were calm, but his complexion turned paler.Wuku and the others were worried about his body, and Beixuan also secretly clenched his folding fan, worried that he would not be able to hold on.

He looked at the group of elders, and raised his voice to remind him lightly: "Elders, with the Buddhist scripture reserves of the two masters, I am afraid that even if you ask them like this until it gets dark, you may not be able to tell the winner."

The elders also nodded in agreement, and looked at Kong Jian after discussing.

Kong Jian secretly sighed that his prediction was not wrong, the final rival was indeed Xuan Qing.He didn't mention the next competition because he thought it would take a lot of energy to suppress it, but now that everyone is urging him, he can't delay any longer.

"The first round of competitions at the Discussion Conference is over. Junior Brother Xuanqing of Qingchan Temple and Junior Brother Kong of Luoxia Temple will conduct the next competition." Kong Jian stood up, "The second round will be divided into three questions. Draw lots to decide, and the remaining two people will each propose a question, and the topic can be any question related to Buddhism."

After he finished speaking, a young monk came forward holding a box.Inside is the topic of the lottery.

Beixuan's eyes dimmed, he folded his fan, smiled and said, "Since that's the case, to be fair, it's better for me, an outsider, to take the first question."

Kongying paused for a moment, then put his palms together and said, "Amitabha, this is the best."

He originally wanted to make a fuss here, but it's a pity that Kongying refused, and he doesn't do much to stop him now.

Beixuan reached into the box, randomly selected a question from a bunch of questions, and unfolded it——

"The two need to complete a gatha within a stick of incense to experience the Buddhadharma and show the depth of enlightenment."

As soon as the topic came out, everyone who had been a little sleepy watching the discussion between the two immediately regained their energy.

Xuan Qing and Kong Ying, their expressions unchanged, just sat cross-legged facing each other, twirling Buddhist beads with both hands and closing their eyes in deep thought.

The gatha is somewhat similar to a poem explaining Buddhist principles. There are four sentences in total, and each sentence has an indefinite number of four to seven characters.

Although Xuanqing did not believe in Buddhism in his previous life, he also knew some extremely famous and wonderful gatha, such as Shenxiu and Huineng's Bodhi gatha.

Although most of the Buddhist scriptures in this world are the same as those in previous lives, the historical figures in Buddhism have changed.He thought about it carefully, and found that there was indeed no Sixth Patriarch Huineng, and naturally there were no such excellent gatha of his.

But copying directly, Xuan Qing still didn't have this idea.What's more, a practitioner shouldn't have such a strong desire to compete.

The two sat motionless with their eyes closed, and the people below also held their breath tightly.

The sun shines on the two of them, one is red and the other is white, the breeze is blowing, and the monk's clothes are fluttering.

Before I knew it, the stick of incense had burned out.

Kong Ying slowly opened his eyes, and all eyes were almost focused on him for a moment.

He only heard him say in a deep voice——

"There are all kinds of goodness in one nature, and there is nothing missing or surplus in true appearance. Illusion has form and will eventually be destroyed. All appearances are not the same and are too empty."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the monks present showed admiration unconsciously. Kongying's broad thinking and deep research are worth pondering by the monks.

Although the onlookers who listened in a cloud of fog did not quite understand the Zen meaning in it, it did not affect their feeling that it was powerful.

Immediately, everyone turned their eyes to Xuan Qing.

Kong Ying also stared at Xuan Qing closely, her thin lips were tightly pursed, and there was a bit of tension and anticipation that she couldn't explain clearly between her cold and arrogant brows.

Xuan Qing's originally pale complexion turned slightly red under the hot sun, but the faint smile on his lips and eyebrows was like a stream, a clear spring.

He smiled, and said slowly, "Thousands of predestinations are all gone, all dharmas are empty. Keep the emptiness alone, not outside things."

The clear voice, like a gurgling stream, slowly spread out, offering a comfortable empowerment.But Xuanqing's gatha is more popular, and the truths that practitioners understand are well-regulated and not outstanding.

The onlookers also understood his gatha, and for a moment they couldn't believe that it was spoken by a divine monk who studied Buddhist scriptures deeply. Shouldn't it be a wonderful gatha with profound words and profound meaning?

In any case, the first game still had to be judged for winners and losers. The judging panel was composed of representatives from various temples, and internal discussions fell into it for a while.

Beixuan's thoughtful eyes fell on Xuanqing, and he was playing with his folding fan in his hand.

Wuxin secretly felt something was wrong, and he was a little anxious on the spot. He glanced at Xuanyuan's upright expression and didn't seem to be worried, so he could only quietly move to Wuku's side, touched his arm, and whispered: "Wuku Brother, why do I feel that uncle is going to lose?"

Wu Ku also showed no emotion, he just said indifferently: "Master is the most powerful."

Wuxin: ...Okay, he is the only one who is anxious about co-authoring.

After a quarter of an hour of discussion, the result came out.

Xuanqing's gatha could not be wrong but always felt that it was not subtle enough, while Kongying's gatha had a bit more Zen meaning, so in the first round, Kongying won.

The result was expected by everyone, so it didn't cause much disturbance, but the audience was more or less disappointed with Xuan Qing.

In the second round, after drawing lots, Kong Ying took the lead in asking questions.

On the high platform, Kong Ying never left Xuan Qing's eyes from the beginning to the end, so he knew very well that even if he lost the first round, Xuan Qing's expression did not fluctuate at all, and he still smiled calmly.

He was silent for a moment before opening his mouth, "When I was studying Buddhist scriptures, there was a question that I couldn't figure out, and I just realized it recently."

For a while, everyone became curious, what problem has troubled Master Kongying for so long?

Kong Ying looked at Xuanqing seriously, and said slowly: "In this world, everyone recites the Bodhisattva's blessing, so what does the Bodhisattva recite?"

As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned—studying the Buddhist scriptures, isn't it the content of the Buddhist scriptures that they are wondering about?But after thinking about it, I felt that it was indeed an empty shadow, and my thoughts could delve into such a far place.

Everyone stared at Xuan Qing in unison again.

Regarding this question, Xuanqing had a lot of Buddhist theories to explain in his mind, but... the usual explanations of Buddhist theories can't give people new ideas, but he has seen similar problems in a small Buddhist story in his previous life .

Xuanqing thought for a while, and said, "Say 'Bodhisattva bless'."

Everyone was stunned and speechless for a while, they were still waiting to listen to Buddhism and Zen principles, why did Xuan Qing dismiss them with just one word?

Kong Ying was also slightly surprised, obviously the answer was not in his mind.

But he didn't refute, he paused for a moment and asked, "Why?"

Xuanqing twirled the beads, smiled slightly and said, "Because Bodhisattvas know better than us, it is better to ask others than to ask ourselves."

For a moment, the people around were so shocked that they exclaimed, Buddhism respects Buddhism, isn't Xuan Qing's statement a slap in the face?

Xuan Qing's face remained unchanged, and his light eyes looked at everyone with compassion and kindness, "Buddha does not save people, only people save themselves. Buddha only tells the truth to all living beings, and you need to save yourself if you want to save yourself."

So that's the case... For a moment, everyone felt that his statement was irrefutable, and after thinking about it carefully, they felt that it made more sense, and they couldn't help but feel a little more admiration on their expressions.

It's just that Kong Ying decides whether Xuan Qing's answer is right or wrong in the second game.

But Kongying didn't say whether he was right or not.

He seemed to have realized something, pondered for a moment, and said lightly: "Junior Brother Xuanqing, I want to know, what is your problem?"

Xuanqing paused, then shook his head with a smile, his eyes seemed to be shining, and said softly: "I don't have any questions that I want to pass my senior exam."