The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

At the same time, in the restaurant where FlowersBlossomToDie was, there was silence. Everyone looked at him as though he was a retard. FlowersBlossomToDie’s face turned red with gloom. As for the beauty? He didn’t even dare to look at her. He knew he had embarrassed himself terribly!

At this moment, the beauty suddenly stood up. “Sorry, but I’m not feeling too well, so I’ll be making a move first.”

With that said, she gave FlowersBlossomToDie a look like he was retarded. When she turned to leave, another woman followed her. She asked, “Sister Hong, what’s the problem?”

“I can’t be friends with people who have poor morals, who act shamelessly just to show off. I lose my appetite eating with someone like that.” She didn’t speak loudly, but everyone could hear her in the silent restaurant.

The redness of FlowersBlossomToDie’s face intensified, but it was unknown if that was due to embarrassment or anger.

After Sister Hong and the other woman left, FlowersBlossomToDie said angrily, “Can’t I make a joke? To treat it so seriously…”

The moment he said that, everyone looked at him in unison. A man who had been joking all night with a fun attitude even spoke seriously for once. “There are certain things that cannot be joked about. It’s fine doing it in private, but to say it publicly to a Weibo account with a million fans, that’s not a joke but slandering, denigration, and provocation! If Abbot Fangzheng hadn’t replied, how many people would have been misdirected by your words? How many monks would have suffered unwanted disaster as a result?”

With that said, the man got up as well. “I’m sorry, but I have a matter to attend to. I’ll be making a move.”

“Brother Guo. Me too. Let’s go together.”

“Oh, I need to work overtime.”

“My boyfriend just called me.”

…

In minutes, FlowersBlossomToDie was the only one left in the rowdy private room. He sat there staring at the boiling hotpot in a daze. He never imagined that just a few words would leave him miserable and alone… What really stumped him was that it had been only a few words concerning a mere Fangzheng. Did they need to do this to him?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. FlowersBlossomToDie took out his phone and thought for a bit. He reposted a message—something that Fangzheng hadn’t replied to in the past. He felt that Fangzheng’s lack of a response had to have been because he didn’t know how to reply. He believed that using the message again would balance the situation a little. “Kneeling before Buddha for three thousand years, yet never have I seen Buddha’s compassion.

“Imagining that Buddha’s eyes have screened the mortal world, the reason for his lack of compassion can solely be a lack of donations!

“Buddha isn’t greedy for wealth? Then why does He accept the worship of others? Buddha isn’t evil? Then why can’t He stand being disrespected by people?

“I have Buddha in my heart, but Buddha doesn’t have me in his. After suffering in misery, I ask Buddha, but Buddha says that it’s fated and that Heaven’s will cannot be violated! I scoff, wondering what’s the point of worshiping Him if He can’t help me?

“Buddhism talks about redeeming life, but never has anyone been seen redeemed. Daoism talks about paying attention to one’s own moral uplift, but it also helps others in tragic times.

“In a chaotic era, Buddhism preaches about closing the doors and shutting oneself off from the world, while Daoists come down the mountains, saving the people with medicine. In a flourishing era, Buddhism talks about liberating the world, but Daoism retreats into the mountains to cultivate the Dao.

“Foreign religions corrupt the heart and scheme for money and food. This deserves vanquishment!

“Never have I seen Buddha save a person. I have only seen Buddha covering himself in gold. This deserves annihilation!

“Never have I seen a monk eat vegetarian and chant the scriptures. I have only seen bald donkeys in gold and silver!”

After typing out all of this, he immediately felt as though he had vented his anger. He felt a lot better, but at the instant he was about to post his message, he thought about it and deleted the parts about chaotic and flourishing eras. He didn’t want Fangzheng to use his previous words to smack him in the face again. After making sure that everything was fine, he posted it.

When Fangzheng saw this, he was instantly bemused. This punk wasn’t giving up!

Venerable One Ingenious asked in surprise, “What the heck is up with this guy?”

Fangzheng smiled and didn’t say a word. Instead he replied on Weibo, “Treating ignorance as elegance, making a fuss about nothing.”

When One Ingenious saw this, he laughed. “Haha! Well said, ingenious!”

The netizens also laughed.

“Abbot Fangzheng is being cheeky again. It wasn’t easy for this kid to put those words into a sentence, can’t you give him some credit?”

“Oh, this poor baby can now write. Everyone, show mercy on him.”

“Hehe, this kid really has been brainwashed by such excerpts. And they aren’t even his. Doesn’t he have something that he came up with by himself?”

“Abbot Fangzheng, please retaliate!”

“Abbot Fangzheng, I’m curious as well. How should one reply when encountering such a person? Please explain!”

“Same here!”

Fangzheng originally didn’t plan on harping on this matter, but since people asked, he couldn’t just ignore it. Hence he replied, “What is Buddha? Buddha is in everyone’s heart. Everyone is Buddha. Therefore, praying to Buddha is equivalent to praying to yourself. When things happen, one should face them on their own with the firm belief that there’s a Buddha in their heart. Be firm about your values and beliefs. Only by forging ahead will you see success. What that patron said looks ridiculous to This Penniless Monk as well. He doesn’t believe in Buddha, but talks about praying to Buddha. Neither is he praying to the Buddha in his heart, but to a statue… If he fails, he claims Buddha doesn’t save him and says it is because there’s no incense donations. Might This Penniless Monk ask, would Buddha save you even if you gave incense donations? If you don’t try to save yourself first, who else can do it for you?

“As for people praying to Buddha, those who are truly aware know that they aren’t praying to the statue, but to the Buddha in their hearts. The statue before them is nothing but a spiritual crutch. They are projecting the Buddha in their hearts onto a physical thing, so as to find their true selves, understand something, and affirm their beliefs. It’s nothing like what he said, that Buddha will bless you with a smooth-sailing journey once incense is offered and a prayer is made. That isn’t Buddha, but a lazy demon, a slothful fiend!

“Buddhism teaches about redeeming yourself first before redeeming others. Only when one is good can one be a role model to lead others into doing good, helping all life survive the misery. When everyone is good in the world, that will be the redemption of all life. This Penniless Monk has always been puzzled. In ancient times, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were considered one. There were no misgivings among them, and instead they complemented and helped each other. Why have they become three separate bodies that can’t see eye to eye when they reach the populace? Why seek trouble with one another? Can a patron explain this to This Penniless Monk?”

Upon seeing this, many people laughed.

“Master Fangzheng, at times, the people in question don’t have misgivings, but it’s the people who are just watching that create countless misunderstandings. It’s like they are afraid that they will miss a show if people don’t come to blows.”

“This is called hiding a malicious intent!”

“The act of wretches!”

“Heavenly Lord of the Immeasurable. Abbot Fangzheng is right. Buddhism and Daoism were one to begin with, so why quibble over such trivialities? Abbot Fangzheng, if you have the time, please visit Mt. Wudang.” At that moment, a verified account from Mt. Wudang’s Daoist temple sent a comment.

One Ingenious instantly said, “That’s the account of a Perfected One from the Wudang Sect.”

Fangzheng nodded slightly and replied politely, “Perfected One, thank you for the invitation. This Penniless Monk will definitely visit if there’s an opportunity.”

“We will await you with open arms, Venerable One.” The Wudang Daoist temple’s account replied.

Fangzheng thanked him again with a reply before closing Weibo. He then asked curiously, “Venerable One Ingenious, you seem to be familiar with Weibo? Do you often go online?”