Chapter 22: The Two Heian Sects
What kind of creature’s hair has this special ability to absorb souls and increase growth?
Pinggong Qianye thought carefully and realized that he had never encountered this kind of creature in his past exorcisms.
This should be some kind of monster with a physical body, not a ghost.
Monster...soul-sucking...that big monster Qingxuande?
There was no way. He had only come into contact with the big monster Qingxuande. As for other monsters, he had never met any of them. It was as if they were extinct.
It may also be because he lives in Tokyo, where there are many temples. Even if there are real monsters, they would not dare to show up openly.
This hair is not long, only half a finger long, so it cannot be the hair of the great monster Aoandon.
Its hair was long and hanging down, almost as long as its arm.
Pinggong Qianye thought for a moment, rubbed it gently with his fingers, took the candlestick next to him, and burned the hair on the fire.
It burned, giving off the peculiar smell of burning protein.
There is no special difference from ordinary hair.
Could it be some kind of monster born from stone?
It uses stone as its shell and transforms into a shape. After it leaves, it leaves a hair in the stone body?
It was difficult for Pinggong Qianye to think of the correct answer based on just this one hair.
Unfortunately, he killed the black shadow that jumped out of the stone before with one glance, otherwise he might have been able to find the owner of the hair with the help of its direction.
After the hair was burned out, Pinggong Qianye cleaned up the stone powder on the table, left the side hall and returned to his home.
In the bedroom on the second floor, Hiramiya Chiye finished taking a bath, edited the story content, and chose to save.
He has been posting forum stories too frequently lately, and even semi-fictional stories tend to attract attention.
But he still wants to continue to be a big shot in the forum.
I have earned a lot of merit points recently, which should be enough to exchange for some scriptures to read.
Pinggong Qianye opened the merit point exchange interface and selected scriptures in the filter section.
As for the sect, he deliberately chose the Nichiren sect.
Currently, the Japanese Buddhist community is roughly divided into 13 sects, and the Nichiren sect is the largest.
This Pudu APP was initially initiated by the Nichiren sect, which is why it was able to be promoted and popularized in the Buddhist community at a very fast speed.
It can be said that the Nichiren sect is currently the most prestigious sect in Japanese Buddhism and also the one with the largest number of believers.
The reason why Heimiya Chiye chose to exchange the scriptures of the Nichiren sect was not only because of its rich and complete collection of books, but also because of another reason.
Weilian Ancient Temple, judging from the name alone, it is more inclined towards the Nichiren sect rather than the Shingon sect.
During the years of studying scriptures, Pinggong Qianye discovered, based on several ancient books handed down by Weilian Ancient Temple, that although Weilian Ancient Temple belonged to the Shingon sect, it had once moved closer to the Nichiren sect in history.
There must have been an ancestor who once yearned for Nichiren Buddhism and wanted to learn both the Nichiren and Shingon sects.
The Nichiren sect originated from the Lotus thought of the Chinese Tiantai sect, so it is also called the Lotus sect.
The entanglement between Shingon Buddhism and it can be traced back to the "Heian Two Sects".
During the Heian period, the Tendai sect and the Shingon sect flourished in Kyoto. The founder of the Tendai sect, Saicho, and the founder of the Shingon sect, Kukai, were both called great and virtuous masters by later generations.
The great monster Aoandon also seemed to have been active during the Heian period.
Pinggong Qianye's thoughts wandered for a moment, and then he collected them.
If we really want to sort out the origins of Nichiren Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism, it would be enough to write several books.
He doesn't have such a deep grudge against sectarian differences. It's the 21st century now.
When talking about differences between sects, there is always a sense of old-fashioned and outdated thinking.
For him, Buddhism is above all sectarian differences.
As he once said to Horii Suzune: The temple is small but the monk is great, the monk is small but the Buddha is great, the Buddha is small but the Dharma is great.
Studying both schools of thought is indeed a very good path.
Heimiya Chiye didn't have this idea for the time being. He was just curious about the differences between the scriptures and practice methods collected and uploaded by the Nichiren Sect and his own Weilian Ancient Temple.
The Vimalakirti Sutra, the Ratnakara Sutra, the Mahavaipulya Sutra, the Mysterious Meaning of Nirvana, the Commentary on the Nirvana Sutra, the Great Wisdom Treatise, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Prajnaparamita Sutra, etc.
The Nichiren sect has many and diverse sutras.
Many Buddhist scriptures can also be bought on the market, but the scriptures you buy should be slightly abridged than the ones uploaded here, and there are no interpretations by eminent monks.
But the general content is not much different, so the merit points required to exchange scriptures are not too high.
What is referred to here are the common and widely circulated versions of the scriptures, not the secret scriptures.
Moreover, the true value of the scriptures is not measured by the number of merit points that can be exchanged, but by its rarity.
For example, a fragment of an ancient sutra can be exchanged for dozens of times more merit points than the Lotus Sutra.
Can it be said that the Buddhist teachings recorded in that incomplete sutra are greater and have a higher status than those recorded in the Lotus Sutra?
Pinggong Qianye swept his eyes across the scriptures one after another, and finally chose the "Mahaparinirvana Sutra", also known as the "Nirvana Sutra" for short.
Nirvana, such a word always tends to inspire people's imagination.
Whether in Buddhism or in secular stories, the Nirvana Sutra has a special meaning. Especially in some novels, the Nirvana Sutra is simply the supreme Bible for healing and rebirth.
Pinggong Qianye felt that he was observing the true nature of Vairocana Tathagata within himself and cultivating the Vajra Body without, and was too brave and murderous, lacking some gentleness.
If one could really learn the methods of healing and rebirth in Nirvana from the Nirvana Sutra, it would indeed be able to make up for one's own shortcomings.
But it may not be used.
After all, in all his years of exorcising evil spirits, he had never encountered an evil ghost or evil spirit that could hurt him, let alone one that needed healing and nirvana.
Pinggong Qianye spent 1500 merit points to exchange for the "Mahaparinirvana Sutra" mentioned above.
It is very expensive, far exceeding the price of other ordinary scriptures.
Because there is a picture of Buddha's Nirvana drawn by a monk himself.
This is the true value of merit points. After all, the picture of Buddha's Nirvana was definitely a secret in the past.
Pinggong Qianye clicked on the cover of "Mahaparinirvana Sutra" with his finger, and the phone interface automatically jumped to the reading interface, which is roughly equivalent to the reading mode of UC Browser.
Although the built-in reading function is not that rich, it is sufficient for reading.
The whole sutra is divided into 13 chapters: life span, Vajra body, name and merits, Tathagata nature, questions asked by all the people, present illness, holy conduct, Brahma conduct, infant conduct, Bodhisattva of Light Illuminating the Noble Virtue King, Bodhisattva of Lion's Roar, Bodhisattva Kasyapa, and Kaundinya.
It mainly expounds the Mahayana Buddhist ideas that the Buddha's body is eternal and indestructible, Nirvana is eternal bliss and purity, all sentient beings have Buddha nature, and that Ajatashatru, Sravakas, and Pratyekabuddhas can all become Buddhas.
Pinggong Qianye took a quick look and then focused his attention on King Kong.
Perhaps the Vajra Body in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra can learn from and improve upon the Vajra Body in the Vajrasekhara Sutra.
As for the picture of Buddha's Nirvana, he did not have the mind to visualize it for the time being.
……
The next day, the sun rose and the first ray of sunlight shone.
Pinggong Qianye sat cross-legged on the balcony outside his bedroom, facing the mountains, greeting the sun breaking through the clouds, and practicing the "Mahavairocana Sutra".
In fact, he had already passed the stage where he needed the help of the sun in the sky to practice.
Especially after gaining magical powers, when the magical powers flow, one can practice all the time, without distinguishing between day and night.
But sometimes, he also likes to pay attention to the sense of ceremony.
Especially when his cultivation was improving or he had some sudden enlightenment, he always liked to sit cross-legged on the balcony, emptying his mind and immersing himself in the rays of the sun.
He had indeed benefited greatly from studying the Mahaparinirvana Sutra of the Nichiren sect last night.
Especially in the practice of Vajra Body, it cannot be said that they are more than complementary, but his Vajra Body has probably been strengthened by one or two points.
This was already an extremely difficult progress. During this period of time, he always felt that the Vajra Body he had cultivated had reached a level that was difficult to break through.
If you want to make further progress, you need to explore new methods instead of just practicing in depression.
As for what to do, he has not decided yet, but he already has two possible directions in mind.
One is to transform one’s body into the four great Vajra.
The second is to bless yourself with the four great Vajra.
He hasn't decided which path to take yet, and he doesn't know if it will work.
Ever since he developed magical powers, he has become confused about the path of cultivation and has been practicing while thinking.
He cultivated his physical body as well as his Dharma images, cultivated his mantras as well as his secret seals. He tried every method of cultivation that he could understand.
Alas, there is still no famous teacher who can guide me in my practice.
He had no idea how other Buddhist practitioners practiced and how they continued to move forward along the path.
Are there levels in spiritual practice?
There are so many things about spiritual practice that he doesn't understand very well.
He felt that he was only good at exorcising evil spirits.
It was almost nine o'clock when Hiramiya Chiye finished his training and arrived at Shiraishi High School.
Today is a simple in-class test in Chinese class.
Pinggong Qianye sat in his seat, and there was already a test paper on the desk.
He took a quick glance and found that the question was not complicated.
Pick up the pen and start writing.
One class period is almost over.
When he handed in his paper with other students, the Chinese teacher flipped his paper over and over again to make sure he had finished it completely before nodding with a smile.
(End of this chapter)
