Chapter 1593: Chapter Fifty-Seven: Preaching in the Southern Heaven

“Just pack the important things, not the sand?”

The old monk laughed heartily and reached out to touch the young monk’s head, “Go on, go on!”

A well frog cannot talk about the sea because it is confined to the well; summer insects cannot talk about ice because they live only in the moment.

In the brevity of life, there are always some things we consider most important and insurmountable.

Which young boy has not firmly made vows and had heartfelt desires?

But such things often end in disappointment more than they are realized.

As time goes by, one can only say “how delightful” — this is not settling, it’s growth.

So the old monk just took the young monk’s words as child’s nonsense, not taking it to heart.

“In the future, the monk would devote himself to cultivation. But with poor aptitude, the esoteric mantras of the Vinaya School seemed obscure and hard to understand to the monk, who had to read mantras eight or ten times to grasp what normal disciples could within three or five reads.”

The monks in the Buddha Pavilion looked at each other in disbelief, unable to believe that the South Heavenly Buddha, esteemed as the strongest in the Vinaya School, would speak of himself as having poor aptitude.

But the South Heavenly Buddha, already lost in his memories, paid no heed to the shocked monks and continued his narrative without pause.

“Due to poor aptitude, the monk was disliked in the Zen monastery and was relegated to doing chores like chopping wood and cooking.”

“Being exempt from martial training was a good thing, as it allowed the monk to focus more on his spiritual practice.”

“After eight or nine years, the monk reached the summit of the Wisdom Realm, and yet felt no further increase in his cultivation, so he went to consult Shixin.”

“Shixin said, it was because the monk wasn’t concentrating hard enough that he felt no advance in cultivation.”

“The monk then asked how to concentrate, and Shixin told him, ‘When only cultivation remains in your heart, then you will be concentrated.'”

At this point, the South Heavenly Buddha smiled, his lips curving up and all his facial wrinkles bunching together, as if recalling his naive and gullible younger self.

“So that year, the monk entered a deep meditation retreat.”

The South Heavenly Buddha went on, “Every day, tilling, cooking, then cultivating. The retreat distanced the monk from people, but came with many inconveniences–cold of winter, heat of summer, spring lethargy, autumn laziness, flies and insects in the mountains, rats scurrying in the cave. And then, the scattered thoughts.”

“But what was hardest to bear was still the feeling of no progress in cultivation, so the monk wondered if he was still not focused enough, still not desiring enough?”

“When entering deep meditation, myriad distracting thoughts would invade, and ill thoughts sprout.”

“What should be done?”

“The monk, born dense, without the power to turn the world upside down, decided to seek the solution within himself. If plagued by scattered thoughts, cut them off; if the Six Roots are impure, cut them off.”

“At first, it was difficult. It took him ten years, but eventually, the monk was able during cultivation to sever the continuation of mental states, leaving only a barrage of thoughts.”

“Ten more years passed, and the monk finally severed the root of consciousness, losing track of time during cultivation, only waking to eat when his body was extremely weak, and using some Clear Water. Perhaps the benefit of severing the consciousness was drawing nearer to a state of consuming nothing but air; the periods of uninterrupted cultivation grew longer.”

“I do not know how many cycles of rebirth later, subtly sensing a breakthrough, the monk emerged from his retreat.”

“Upon inquiry from the Eastern Administrative Officials, he learned that the retreat had lasted thirty years, and Master Shixin had passed away.”

I remember that day, the South Heavenly Buddha sat for a long time in Shixin’s Zen monastery.

Isn’t it said that Arahants have transcended the cycle of life and death and reached the Nirvana state of sainthood? Why would they pass away then?

Pulling back from his memories, the South Heavenly Buddha softly said, “Becoming an enlightened Arahant, yet being a useless Arahant, obtaining Buddha Fruit, but still unable to deduce the rebirths of my parents and that my master had also passed away.”

At this point, the monks felt somewhat awkward; at their level, it was clear how fictitious this talk of reincarnation was.

Yet, the common folks were keen to believe it, so Buddha’s Country maintained this doctrine, right or wrong.

Now hearing that the South Heavenly Buddha had embarked on his path of cultivation due to this very deceit, they felt fortunate yet somewhat embarrassed.

But evidently, the old monk had no intention of making everyone uncomfortable, continuing instead, “Looking at the empty wooden bowl, what else is of importance in life for a monk who has nothing? Perhaps only cultivation remains.”

Rejecting the position at the hall of meditation, the monk returned to retreat, but this time was different.

“Back then, those disciples with startling talents, some had passed away, others grievously injured, but it was the most ordinary monk who became the most distinguished.”

“Even during retreat, people brought scriptures and elixirs to help; yet by then, the monk had no need for them.”

“I thought that after obtaining a position, cultivation would become more devoted, but unexpectedly, after reaching the stage of Buddha Position, a new Manas-vijnana (spiritual consciousness) emerged, bringing yet more chaotic and evil thoughts. To subdue this consciousness, the old monk spent another forty years.”

At this, the old monk laughed again, “Once the consciousness was tamed, the monk reached the pinnacle of the Arahant, ready to forge a responsive golden body.”

“But still being slow in talent, even with the authentic methods from the Eight Sects, it took a full eighty years to reach the Great Zen Master Realm.”

“Afterward, the monk was invited to practice at the Vinaya Stupa, nourished by the aura of Buddhas from all directions, spending another forty years to merge the Buddha Position and the golden body into King Buddha.”

“Then, the monk retreated to the top level of the Vinaya Stupa, moving from the Nine-tiered Pagoda, to the thirteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth tiers, and now, it has reached thirty-seven.”

The South Heavenly Buddha looked at the astonished monks in the Buddha Pavilion and said, “In my life, the old monk has only cultivated and will only cultivate. The reason for the continuous breakthroughs is simply a longer life than others. As for the mysterious tales surrounding the South Heavenly Buddha, that’s because the monk has never fought with anyone.”