Chapter 162: If this life fails, try again in the next life
Yamabushi is a general term for Japanese ascetics who practice in the mountains to obtain divine methods, walk barefoot in rivers, meditate under waterfalls, and spend the night on mountaintops...
Yamabushi's training method is somewhat similar to that of Indian ascetics. Both of them liberate the body and gain freedom of the soul by inflicting suffering on the body.
Pinggong Qianye always respected such ascetics and kept his distance from them.
When a practitioner needs to practice through deliberately inflicted suffering, this in itself is a sign that his practice is not thorough enough.
Suffering is also an external cause and inducement.
It is true that it can help practitioners to enter into a state of meditation and practice better, but too much is as bad as too little, and harming one's own body is never good.
Hiramiya Chiye put away his distracting thoughts and looked at the old man in front of him. His attire really did resemble that of a Yamabushi Shugenja.
It’s just that the clothes are not that formal, and they are more casual.
"Grandpa, I met this master when I was picking mulberries in the mountains just now. He wants to stay at our house for one night. Should that be okay?"
The boy carried a small bamboo basket on his back, walked forward, held the old man's hand, and spoke with a smile.
The old man touched the boy's head and nodded, then handed the wooden cooking spoon to the boy and patted his shoulder.
"Go cook."
"..."
The boy walked into the kitchen reluctantly with a bitter face.
"Monk, this way please."
"Sorry for bothering you."
Pinggong Qianye followed the old man around the kitchen and came to a tea room with ventilation on two sides.
After taking his seat, the old man did not deliberately show off his tea-making skills. He simply brewed the tea very quickly and then handed a cup to Pinggong Qianye.
Before I even drink it, the strong aroma of tea hits my nose, and after taking a sip, my mouth starts to water.
"Good tea."
This tea is much better than Daijomiyaji's in terms of both tea quality and brewing technique.
If Omaeji was interested in the tea ceremony, he should really come and take this old man as his teacher.
"The monk came here to eat and sleep in the open air. Are you traveling?"
"It never hurts to go out more often."
"There are many demons and monsters nowadays. A monk needs to be careful when he goes out alone."
"Well, they are scary."
Pinggong Qianye nodded and asked, "Is the old man a mountain guard?"
“That was in the early years.”
The old man did not deny it, and poured another cup of tea for Pinggong Qianye, and continued: "I have lived in the mountains since I was a child, and practiced with the nature of heaven and earth. I can be considered a good shugenja."
"Taking nature as your teacher is indeed a good practice." Pinggong Qianye nodded in agreement.
If we really talk about Shanfu, it should be the product of the combination of Taoism, Buddhism and Shamanism.
In the past, Japanese mountain shamans and sages (a name for priests) had to undergo training before leaving the mountains.
One has to live alone in the mountains and caves for dozens of days, during which time there are three things that must be done: fumigation, fasting, and night patrols.
The so-called fumigation is that the practitioner lives alone in a cave, closes the door, burns firewood to make smoke, and throws chili powder on the fire to endure the test of being choked by the smoke.
The so-called fasting means living in the mountains, not eating rice or grains for many days, and only drinking clear spring water, in order to endure hunger and hardship and transcend the mundane world.
The so-called night patrol means that the night before enlightenment, the mountain shamans and the ancestors will patrol in the mountains and must walk through a canyon as a symbol of birth from the mother's womb or vagina.
After daybreak, the shugenja returns to the shrine, locks himself in a room, then suddenly opens all the windows and doors and shouts out to represent his birth from the mother's womb.
Through these rituals, new gods, shamans and predecessors emerged.
"The Yamabushi method is still a little too hasty after all."
The old man drank a sip of tea, looked at the green mountains and dense forests outside, and whispered: "When you get older, you feel that everything should be left to nature. There is no need to deliberately pursue anything, nor do you need to deliberately practice, because sitting, lying down, walking, etc. are all practices."
Pinggong Qianye admired this idea very much. It was the right path to go naturally.
The obsession in Buddhism is similar to this. When you are natural, you will not have any strong obsession.
If you don’t have obsessions, your inner demons won’t disturb you.
This is a good state of mind.
After chatting with the old man for a while, Pinggong Qianye asked about the boy's sister.
It’s not that he likes to make associations, but this is a deep mountain forest, so it’s normal for monsters and demons to appear here.
The old man shook his head and said, "I understand what the monk meant, but the poor girl really died when she accidentally fell into the river while crossing it."
"Sometimes I also hope that she was harmed by a demon or ghost. In this way, I can find someone to take revenge on and vent the pain in my heart."
"But things are unpredictable. No one could have predicted that such a small river could take away such a young life."
Pinggong Qianye remained silent, he just felt something was strange.
With the old man's high level of cultivation, is it impossible for him to save the little girl?
"Grandpa, Master, the food is ready." The boy shouted while leaning on the door frame.
"These are just some rough food from the mountains. Please don't despise them, monk."
The old man politely led Pinggong Qianye to the dining area.
Tonight's dinner is mushroom soup with sautéed mushrooms and peppers.
"Monks don't have to worry. These are cooked with tea oil from the mountains. There is no meat or fish."
"Thank you."
Pinggong Qianye sat down and tasted a few bites. The mushrooms in the forest were indeed delicious and fresh. Whether they were cooked in soup or stir-fried, they tasted very good. However, the rice that had been cooked in advance was obviously not enough because there was one more person.
The boy waved his hand and said generously: "Master, you are welcome. I will be full after eating some roasted deer meat later."
After dinner, the boy was sent by the old man to wash the dishes. Pinggong Chiye came to the river and walked slowly along the river.
There is golden light in his eyes, which can see through the bottom of the river.
This is a small river, which is more than one meter deep in most places and more than two meters deep in only a few places.
The water here is calm and the aquatic plants in the river are not lush. It is possible to drown a person, but it will take some time.
Moreover, people who live by the river are likely to be able to swim.
At the very least you can shout for help, right?
Pinggong Qianye's expression gradually darkened, and he walked around the other side of the river again.
He met the old man who came here specifically to find him, and there was no panic expression on his face.
"I am indeed short-sighted. I didn't expect that the monk is actually a master with great accomplishments."
Pinggong Qianye did not speak, but just waited for the old man's next words.
"Master, are you doubting the cause of the girl's death?"
"You are a good practitioner, which makes this matter a little suspicious."
Although the old man tried to hide it, Pinggong Qianye could still see his danger level, which was about 30.
To be able to reach this level, the old man is very powerful, even stronger than the abbots in ordinary temples.
Like Miyaji Iori who we met before, his danger value is at most 25.
"Master, follow me."
The old man did not make any argument, but led Pinggong Qianye along the source of the river.
After walking for about an hour, we saw a pool of water, like a mirror embedded in the mountains.
There is a waterfall rushing down from above, creating a hazy mist.
Pinggong Qianye stared into the depths of the pool for a few seconds and found a girl practicing in it.
The girl was indeed dead, and she was practicing in the form of a soul.
"The Shanfu lineage has many secret methods. She couldn't stand the boredom of practicing in seclusion, so she wanted a quick way to achieve success and become a god. I had no choice but to follow her."
The old man spoke in a gloomy tone, sounding somewhat resentful and helpless.
The child has grown up and has his own ideas.
He could stop her once, twice, three times, but could he stop the girl from committing suicide every time and then cultivate his mind with his soul alone?
He told the boy that some people in this world don't want to die.
If she survives in the state of a god, her life span will far exceed that of an ordinary person, and a thousand years will be a piece of cake.
But this world is sometimes very fair. If you want to abandon your human body and cultivate as a god, you have to pay a huge price.
Most practitioners find it difficult to pass this level, and if they die, they are truly dead.
According to the Yamabushi secret method, the younger you are, the more likely you are to succeed.
Otherwise, once she becomes deeply entangled with this world, it will be difficult for her to break away from it.
"I don't know if she can succeed. I can only tell him that his sister has drowned."
The old man sighed helplessly and said, "That was what she meant. She even fell into the water right in front of him to stop him from thinking about it."
Pinggong Qianye stared at the girl in the pond for a long time, "I once ate a few strings of mulberries from him, so I'll give him a good thought."
"Master, what do you want to do?"
The old man's expression changed slightly, and he stood in front of Pinggong Qianye, "I know this action goes against the nature of heaven and earth, but Master, please don't save her soul."
Pinggong Qianye shook his head and said, "I just want to help her."
"I have ordained gods before, and I know what kind of beings they are."
Pinggong Qianye explained again before the old man's guard was dispelled.
On the path of spiritual practice, as long as you don't harm others, then you are just cultivating the spirit, and there is nothing to criticize.
Even in Buddhism, there are similar methods.
If it fails in this life, try again in the next life.
This is not just empty talk, but a path of practice that can actually be achieved.
Compared to the path of spiritual cultivation, the path of reincarnation is a hundred times more dangerous.
Because it is difficult to say whether reincarnation really exists.
As for the gods, they can be found in large numbers in the shrine.
So what if you become a god?
Pinggong Qianye could no longer remember how many gods he had saved.
After pondering for a moment, the old man quietly stepped aside, allowing the master who came from afar to do what he wanted.
Pinggong Qianye simply calmly threw the Dharma bowl in his hand, which floated above the water pool. He chanted Buddhist scriptures, and the Dharma bowl emitted golden light, which turned into scriptures that covered the water pool.
This is to help the girl completely isolate herself from the outside world and stabilize her mental state so that no demons will arise.
This is not a difficult thing to do.
After doing all this, Pinggong Qianye took back the Dharma bowl and left along the river.
(End of this chapter)
