In the Mani Temple.
Zhang Yao and Zhenhui bid farewell to Abbot Tongyuan, crossed the Main Hall, and headed towards the Dajue Hall.
As the two of them went deeper, the surroundings became increasingly quiet, and even the majestic bells that vibrated for hundreds of miles became vague and non-existent.
A moment later:
Under the leadership of monk Zhenhui, Zhang Yao finally saw the Dajue Hall, which is known as the first of the twelve halls.
"Principal Qingxu."
Monk Zhenhui clasped his hands together, lowered his head and said:
"Master is in the hall, I won't disturb you, just leave now."
"Okay, it's time for you, Master."
Zhang Yao nodded slightly and returned the salute politely.
After Zhenhui left, he withdrew his eyes, raised his head and looked at the magnificent palace in front of him, then smiled and stepped forward.
"Dong, dong, dong..."
The floor of the Dajue Hall is a simple gray color, giving people a sense of vastness and desolation. The steady and powerful footsteps fall, step by step like a hammer beating a heavy drum.
When Zhang Yao entered the main hall, he saw the huge jade at first sight, saw the shapes of mountains, rivers, land and land above, saw the entanglement of black energy and golden light, and was suddenly shocked.
He immediately realized that the Great Enlightenment Hall he was in was the absolute core and center of the system of good deeds.
And under the jade:
A thin old monk sat alone in front of a huge jade, leaving only his back.
"Master of Passage."
Zhang Yao stopped in the palace and took the initiative to bow his head:
"I am a poor man of pure virtue and came to visit upon invitation."
His words echoed in the empty Dajue Hall:
The old monk in front of the Mani jade finally slowly stood up and turned around, revealing an ordinary face, fair and beardless, with only two long white eyebrows.
"A poor monk travels around and has seen the layman Qingxu."
After returning the salute, Tongxing Arhat gestured:
"Householder, please."
Zhang Yao nodded slightly, came to another futon in front of the jade wall, and sat across from Tongxing Arhat.
The two looked at each other:
Zhang Yao saw the bottomless pool, and Tong Xing saw the whirlpool on the vast ocean.
“Seeing is worth hearing a hundred times.”
Zhang Yao took the initiative to look away, lowered his head slightly to show respect, and said:
"Today, when I meet the Tongxing Arhat, I know that the famous name of 'Passage in all directions, unimpeded in the Central Plains' is truly worthy of its name."
"It's okay not to mention my bravery in the past."
Tongxing Arhat smiled slightly and said:
"I am already a withered bone in the grave and a yesterday's flower. However, layman Qingxu is still young but is brave and diligent. His future achievements will definitely be higher than mine."
"The master has promoted me."
Zhang Yao responded humbly.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Tongxing Arhat suddenly spoke:
"What do you think of the good merit system of our country, Mani?"
"Um?"
Zhang Yao was stunned for a moment, thoughts swirling in his mind.
He was a little confused about what the old monk was thinking, so he answered sternly:
"It's certainly great."
"Under the good merit system, all living beings can enjoy a peaceful and prosperous world, and monks can obtain the fruits of merit. It is more in line with the Buddhist way of transcending the world and joining the world. It is perfect."
If it weren't for the discovery in the Demon Cave, his evaluation wouldn't be wrong.
On the surface, the system of good deeds is indeed perfect. It makes it easier for Buddhist monks to practice good deeds and accumulate merit, which helps them achieve enlightenment and increase their mental state, laying a strong foundation for the Mani Temple.
Without the existence of the system of good deeds, Mani would not have been able to give birth to so many golden Arhats and prosper to this day.
But combined with the discovery in the devil's cave and Zhang Yao's secret investigation afterwards, the existence of the good merit system is very problematic.
However, Zhang Yao still didn't know the old monk's true intention, so he naturally wouldn't reveal his secret.
"Why don't lay people speak up?"
As expected, Tongxing Arhat was not satisfied with this answer and shook his head:
"Everything in the world has light and darkness, and light and shadow."
"Layers only mention the bright side and keep silent about the dark side. This is not magnanimous enough."
"Um?!"
Zhang Yao was suddenly shocked and immediately realized what his words meant.
As his thoughts flashed rapidly, he noticed the simulated jade wall at the side from the corner of his eye, and there was a thump in his heart, and he vaguely guessed something.
But he still chose to pretend to be dumbfounded and frowned:
"What do you mean by Master's words? How could I know the dark side of the good system?"
Tongxing Arhat smiled slightly and said:
"Didn't the layman see the scene of the 'black prison' under the devil's cave in Changle Mountain with his own eyes?"
As soon as these words came out, the Dajue Hall immediately became silent.
"..."
Zhang Yao was silent for a while, his eyes became indifferent, and his tone was slightly cold:
"The poor man was arrogant and careless for a while, and he was lucky enough to find someone to take advantage of. He has nothing to say."
"But if Master thinks that he can use this as a leverage to threaten Pindao, then he is totally wrong!"
At the time of the incident, he was sitting quietly in Changle Palace, with the intention of destroying everything and causing an upheaval.
He thought that the matter was over, but he didn't expect that Mani Temple's monitoring methods were much more terrifying than he imagined. They could even detect the demon caves where turbidity was rampant.
Today's incident in Dong Chuang means that his wealth and life are all at the mercy of this old monk's thoughts. This makes him secretly regretful, and at the same time, the only thing left is to firm up his thoughts and fight to the death.
Compromise is impossible. He would rather be in pieces than in ruins. He has the capital to make a comeback.
But what he didn't expect was:
"The layman misunderstood."
Tongxing Arhat stood up and bowed deeply, his mouth full of shame:
"Before, the layman and I had never met each other and had no good friendship. Today we have a brief chance to get together."
"The poor monk has no choice but to use this matter to test the layman's mind, but he has no intention of threatening him. This Tathagata can learn from this!"
"oh?"
Zhang Yao raised his eyebrows and heard the sincerity in his words. His expression softened slightly and he said:
"In that case, let's ask the master to sit down and talk."
"Okay, thank you layman for your understanding."
Tongxing Arhat put his palms together and bowed before sitting down again.
As soon as he sat down, Zhang Yao asked directly:
"The incident at Changle Mountain was caused by my excessive selfishness and confusion, and I accidentally offended the taboos of Mani Temple. I am willing to accept the punishment."
"I wonder how Mani Temple will deal with my fault?"
The earth soul crystallization cannot be exposed, so he can only take the blame on himself and take a look at what kind of medicine the old monk is selling in his gourd.
But something beyond his expectation happened again:
"The layman thought wrong."
Tongxing Arhat slowly opened his mouth and said:
"Mani Temple doesn't know about your affairs, only I know."
"At that time, your actions were indeed a bit reckless, and you almost triggered the early warning mechanism of the Dajue Palace, but I stopped you."
Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, as if he was afraid that Zhang Yao would have any scruples, and pointed to the jade aside:
"Folks, don't worry. We are under the Mani Jade, in the central place where the endless turbid energy and the wishes of all living beings meet. No one can spy on our communication. Even the real Yuanying and the great Arhat are no exception. .”
"So, in the following exchanges, lay people can speak freely without any inhibitions."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao looked at him deeply and didn't speak for a while.
He never expected:
This man, who is known as the number one master of Buddhism and supernatural power in Mani Temple in the past 500 years, and the future great Arhat, is actually not of the same mind as the senior officials of Mani Temple.
So what is his purpose? And why do you want to hide the Changle Mountain Demon Cave from yourself? Because you have value?
Many thoughts were floating in Zhang Yao's mind. After a while, he finally said:
"What exactly does the master want to say?"
Tongxing Luohan did not answer directly, but changed the topic and said:
"Did the layman ever know that this person can be 'tamed'?"
"Domestication?"
Zhang Yao narrowed his eyes and said calmly:
"Master, what do you mean..."
"What I mean is simple."
Tongxing Arhat said calmly:
"Just like people raise pigs and sheep and select the ones that are fat and easy to feed. After ten or even dozens of generations, the pigs and sheep will be very different from their ancestors."
"The same is true for pigs and sheep, and the same is true for people. They must also follow this law. They are not nobler than livestock, vegetables, fruits, and rice."
"But the common people in Mani Kingdom obviously violate this rule. Can't the lay people see it? Don't you think it's strange?"
When Zhang Yao heard this, he also understood what Tongxing Arhat meant.
People can be domesticated. The rules, etiquette, systems, and even culture, customs, and habits passed down from generation to generation will change and restrain people.
According to this theory, we can deduce:
The system of good deeds implemented in Mani's country has a history of thousands of years, so there should not be any "evil people" long ago.
Let me ask you, if a boy grows up in a world without women at all, he will never truly understand the full concept of "female".
And guiding people from generation to generation to abandon evil and embrace good, punish evil and promote good is also an extremely efficient domestication process, and more importantly, it changes the entire environment.
In the Kingdom of Mani, evildoers will be punished and hunted down by Buddhist monks. They will have to pay a huge price and the gains will not be worth the loss. However, good people who do good deeds will be praised and rewarded and gain real benefits. and reputation benefits.
If this continues, in just a few generations, the concept of "evil" will quickly disappear from the country, or even cease to appear.
If the children and grandchildren of every household have been taught to do good since they were young, and everyone they come into contact with is willing to help those in need, and be charitable, then how can there still be "evil people"?
You may make mistakes unintentionally, or you may have malice in your heart, but subjective and spontaneous evil deeds, such as theft, robbery, murder and arson, etc., should not exist in this environment and cannot continue.
But everything in the Mani Kingdom today is obviously not like this. Good deeds dominate, but evil deeds have not disappeared. The battle between good and evil is the eternal theme.
"...I understand what Master means."
Zhang Yao spoke slowly and in a low tone:
"If there were no problems with the system of good deeds, Mani Temple would have become a true Buddhist kingdom and a pure land of bliss thousands of years ago."
"But it didn't. Instead, it is still trapped in the cycle of the battle between good and evil. It is obvious that the system of good deeds is fundamentally problematic and is not designed to promote good deeds at all..."
"The layman really knows it all at once!"
A heartfelt smile appeared on Tongxing Arhat's face.
"Just one point? I only blame myself for being stupid."
Zhang Yao laughed at himself and said:
"I have been living in the mortal world for many years, but I never thought of being high up in the sky and flying around for so long that I have forgotten what the human world is like."
"If it hadn't been for Master's vigilance, I wouldn't have even noticed that there was anything wrong with the mortal world of Mani Kingdom..."
(End of chapter)
