Chapter 181: Is there still mercy in the belated Buddhist teachings?
"Buddha has mercy on me. May everything be safe and smooth."
Host Kong Zhi looked worriedly into the depths of the cave where no sound could be heard.
But no clear sound came from the cave, as if it had fallen into a long silence.
"Brothers Kongming and Kongshan, thank you for guarding this place. I need to go downstairs to take care of some things first."
"Go."
Before leaving, Abbot Kongzhi took one more look at the stone cave, quickly left the back mountain, and returned to the main hall of Kiyomizu Temple.
He first asked people to notify all major temples in Kyoto to remain vigilant and be prepared to deal with disasters at any time.
Then he summoned the Buddhist disciples of Kiyomizu Temple and asked his two disciples to lead a team of monks to evacuate and resettle the tourists who were still visiting the temple.
Another team left the temple and went to the street to observe the situation to see if anything unusual happened.
Then, he asked several of his fellow disciples to lead a group of monks to guard the big bell. If the situation was bad, they would immediately ring the big bell to drive away the evil spirits and clear the sky.
Then let the uncles guarding the Sutra Repository and the pagoda be prepared. If the situation gets bad, they should use the Buddhist treasures to protect the temples and the entire Kyoto.
He led a group of monks to stay in the main hall, sit cross-legged in front of the Buddha statue, and chant scriptures and recite Buddha's name.
After finishing all this, host Kong Zhi finally had a brief moment of free time to answer the phone that had been ringing non-stop since a while ago.
"Master Kongzhi, please don't tell me that this weather is a natural phenomenon?"
"The vortex partially collapsed and poured downward."
"The Seven Sinners have escaped from the seal in Master Luanjie's body?"
“It hasn’t come to that yet.”
"What could that be?"
"Perhaps His mind was temporarily disturbed."
"The state of mind of the Seven Sinner Lords?"
"Perhaps he really did try to visit the Buddha."
When host Kong Zhi answered the questions, he inevitably thought of the conversation he had heard outside the cave before.
To put it in more modern terms, the seven evil masters were broken down by Master Liansheng.
The fact that they were able to break through the defenses proved that the Seven Sinners did have a heart for good, and were not simply a collection of negative emotions.
He had his own thoughts and tried to pursue something.
As for the results, it is difficult to say whether they are good or bad.
Abbot Kongzhi hung up the phone and answered a call from the abbot of another temple.
The general idea is to let them be prepared and try their best to resist the impending disaster and prevent the disaster from expanding.
The sky outside was getting darker and darker, and there was a faint ominous aura brewing.
……
Inside the cave, water drops occasionally fall from stalactites hanging on the mountain wall.
Each sound creates waves in the hearts and minds of people.
"Master, if I had met you 20 years earlier, I might have looked very different from what I am now. Unfortunately, it's too late."
After a long silence, the Seventh Sinner Lord said something that made Master Lajie's heart tremble.
Does this mean he is wrong?
Master Lejie's expression changed slightly. If he had been like Master Liansheng today, he would have chosen to save instead of kill.
Would things really be different?
Could the mercy at that time really save the seven sinners?
The Seventh Sinner understood Master's inner thoughts at the moment and chuckled, "Do you need me to tell you the answer to this question?"
"unnecessary!"
The Master's wavering attitude suddenly became firm, "No matter how many times I have done this, I will kill you!"
"What a murderous nature."
The Seventh Sinner uttered a sigh of relief, as if mocking him: "Are you afraid of hearing the answer to this question?"
"Oh, your evil words and heresies are vainly trying to shake my determination to eliminate demons!" Master Lajie sneered.
"Yes, if you had shown me mercy, I would have shown you mercy as well."
"ridiculous!"
"At the beginning, I was one body and seven incarnations. Each of my incarnations had a different personality. I was a relatively peaceful person by nature, so I voluntarily chose to be imprisoned in Buddhism because I wanted to be immersed in the Buddha's compassionate Dharma."
The Seventh Sinner Lord ignored the Master's reaction and said to himself, "Do you find it strange? All things are different in nature. I was born because of all living beings. Although negative emotions dominate, there is also a trace of good thoughts from all living beings."
"After the seven transformations, that strand of sentient beings' good thoughts became me. In order to avoid being affected by the negative emotions of sentient beings, I volunteered to become a prisoner in the Buddhist sect."
"The other two of me also went to Shintoism and Onmyoji with different ideas."
"Otherwise, do you think that we seven clones randomly selected three of them through such a childish method as drawing lots, and then went to Buddhism, Shintoism, and Onmyoji respectively?"
The expression on Master Lajie's face became increasingly silent.
"It's normal for you to have murderous intentions towards me when we first met. I don't blame you."
"After three years, you still have murderous intentions towards me. I begin to doubt whether the Buddha's mercy exists."
"Ten years later, you still want to kill me. No matter how compassionate I am, you just think I am trying to infect your mind and deceive people with lies."
"At that time, I felt that the Buddha's mercy was not suitable for an outlier like me."
"Humans are suspicious by nature and will do their best to eliminate any existence that poses a threat to them."
"Now 20 years later, you still want to kill me."
"Master Liaojie, if you and I switched roles, would you still believe that compassionate Buddhism exists in this world?"
The words of the Seven Sinners were like steel knives scraping bones, falling on Master Laojie one by one.
"There's still time for everything now." Pinggong Qianye said calmly.
"Perhaps the Buddha really has that kind of great compassion." The Seven Sinners mocked, "But most monks don't have this kind of compassion, let alone sentient beings who are entangled in various desires."
"If they knew of my existence, they would be more willing to kill me than to end the Master's life."
After a short silence, the Seventh Sinner Lord put away his turbulent mood today and said, "Master Liansheng, it's time for us to end our hypocritical relationship as master and disciple."
Pinggong Qianye did not speak, and Master Lujie shouted: "Are you planning to break free from the seal and tear up the non-aggression agreement we signed?"
"seal?"
The Seventh Sinner said with contempt, "You have never truly sealed me. Master Liansheng sees this more clearly than you."
When Master Laojie was about to say something, the face of the Seven Sinners embedded in his left cheek suddenly emerged from his flesh and blood, passed through the golden Buddhist seal, fell to the ground, and turned into a figure as tall as Pinggong Qianye.
Unlike Pinggong Qianye, he wore a blood-red mask on his face, and his facial features could not be seen.
He has never had any facial features, because He is neither human nor demon nor monster, and has no gender, nor any specific appearance that He should have.
It has thousands of faces and changes, and it is up to Him to be natural.
"Do you believe it now?"
While the Seventh Sinner was speaking, he stretched out a finger and placed it on the left cheek of the Master, pressing it gently a few times, with a mocking look in his eyes.
"..."
Master Lejie had an unsightly expression on his face, with anger burning in his heart. The entire stone cave wall began to shake violently.
He didn't expect that after 20 years of hard work sealing him in the mountain wall, he ended up being just a joke in the eyes of the Seven Sinners!
"Angry? Shocked? Desperate?"
The Seven Sinners squatted down slightly and carefully appreciated the various subtle expressions on Master Lu's face.
He had imagined this scene many times.
For example, under what circumstances should I leave the seal, what words should I use to attack this master who has been determined to defeat demons and monsters all his life, and how should I enjoy the taste of victory...
He had imagined this many times, and each time He was in a good mood.
But at this moment, the joy in His heart was not too strong.
Instead, it is tasteless and boring.
"I've been looking at your old face for too long. It's really boring."
The Seventh Sinner Lord stretched out his right hand and patted Master Lajie on the cheek, then he ignored Master Lajie and stood up straight and looked at Pinggong Qianye.
"Master Liansheng, do you still want to use your Dharma bowl to accept me now?"
"You can give it a try."
After Pinggong Qianye finished speaking, he asked Master Lejie a few more questions about the various conditions that the Buddhist sect had put forward when they were guarding the seven evil lords.
When he heard that the guard could be changed, Pinggong Qianye's eyes gradually became firm.
Master Lucky was unable to truly seal the Seven Sinners, so he wanted to try it himself.
See if the seven evil lords can escape from his Dharma bowl.
Seeing that Pinggong Qianye had made up his mind, Master Lejie put away all his complicated emotions and said in a deep voice: "Seventh Sin Lord, when we made the agreement, you promised to cooperate with the seal guarding behavior of the Buddhist sect, regardless of whether the guard is changed or not."
"Now, I officially pass on the position of guardian of Buddhism to Master Liansheng."
"Why don't you quickly enter Master Liansheng's Dharma bowl and accept the seal? Or do you want to break the original agreement?"
No!
Don't!
Before the Seven Sinners could say anything, the bride in the Dharma bowl showed a look of despair and began to wail.
Although she was sealed in the Dharma bowl, she could still hear the conversation outside.
She was not at all unfamiliar with the existence of the Seven Sinners.
This Lord was the most powerful alien in the demon rebellion 20 years ago.
When he was born, he possessed strength that surpassed that of ordinary monsters.
20 years have passed, and with his speed of cultivation, his strength is absolutely terrifying.
If she stayed in the Dharma Bowl with Him, she would definitely be driven insane!
"Okay, I also want to see the magical powers of Master Liansheng."
No……
The cries of the bride were doomed to be in vain. She could only watch helplessly and pitifully as a figure was taken in by the Dharma bowl and landed in front of her.
"Hey, there's a little spider here."
The bright red masks worn by the Seven Sins were now dripping with blood.
Drops of blood fell, like evil spirits crawling out of hell.
"..."
Luo Xinfu suppressed the fear that was surging in her heart, and forced a smile, saying: "Seven Sinners, we were all imprisoned here by that evil monk, we should..."
"Little Spider, Master Liansheng hasn't said that he doesn't recognize me as his disciple. What crime should you be punished for slandering him in person?"
The teasing tone didn't sound at all like a prisoner put into the Dharma bowl.
"..."
The spider didn't dare to speak anymore. It turned into a small spider and retreated a distance.
"As you said, there are only two of us here. In order for us to get along harmoniously in the future, we should indeed get closer to each other."
"..."
The new wife retreated a distance, curled up in the corner, and trembled.
"I have a kind heart. Even though you are a monster, you are still a living being. How could I hurt you?"
"Really?" The new wife asked timidly.
"I am now somewhat interested in Buddhism. Let's talk about Buddhism together."
The Lord of the Seven Sins stretched out his hand and the Bride fell into his palm.
(End of this chapter)
