Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 214 Zen Master Huijing: Behold My Buddhist Teachings

Zhang Zhiwei, facing the other, rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his muscular arm as he turned his elbow.

"Come!"

He stood sideways, his right hand extended in front of him, his four fingers hooking towards Jie Kong.

Seeing Zhang Zhiwei's nonchalant movements, Jie Kong felt a little angry, but the lingering power of Lü Qian's move just now made him dare not be careless.

He gathered his strength in his feet, stomped his foot, and pounced on Zhang Zhiwei again.

The ground cracked and splintered, dust billowed across the surface, and Jie Kong's figure flashed rapidly, arriving in front of Zhang Zhiwei in the blink of an eye.

He clenched his left fist and punched forward, while simultaneously shifting his foot to throw a right punch, ready to attack Zhang Zhiwei from the side.

Zen Master Huijing, who was fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, nodded, showing some appreciation for Jiekong's initial attempt to use a scheme.

"You've learned to be more tactful, that's good."

But soon, he shook his head and sighed, "What a pity, neither of the two you encountered today can be dealt with by trickery."

"Young friend Lü was just playing around with you before, but now this Zhang Zhiwei has really put some thought into it."

As if in response to his words, another slap resounded throughout the room.

"Snapped!"

On the field, Zhang Zhiwei raised his hand and used his right palm to knock Xie Kong's lower face away.

Jie Kong's lower face seemed to have bumped right into Zhang Zhiwei's lower hand, leaving the final thumbprint on his face.

The sound wasn't as loud as before, but it was much duller than the previous slap.

"Thank you for your concession."

Zhang Zhiwei said calmly, then stood still with his sleeves tucked in.

Jie Kong, who was knocked away, tumbled twice in mid-air before landing steadily with his back to the two of them.

From behind, all you could see was him with his hands behind his back and his head tilted back. His breathing was erratic for a moment before regaining its composure.

Lu Qian walked over to Zhang Zhiwei, flicked his whisk, and asked with a smile about Jie Kong's retreating figure.

"Master Jiekong, how are you?"

"Okay, of course... of course is good..."

Jie Kong, who had his back to the two of them, still did not turn around. When he spoke, his originally calm demeanor was disrupted again, and he seemed to be choked up.

Zen Master Huijing walked quickly toward him, appearing somewhat hurried.

Jie Kong is, after all, his own junior disciple. He has encountered two extraordinary talents today, so he still needs to take good care of him.

But upon seeing Jie Kong for the first time, this somewhat nervous senior uncle immediately turned his back, not daring to face Jie Kong's face directly.

The somewhat disheveled middle-aged monk forced himself to speak, suppressing the trembling laughter within.

"Nephew Jiekong, have you truly grasped the meaning of 'there are mountains beyond mountains, and people beyond people'?"

"Disciple...disciple understands."

Jie Kong bowed respectfully towards the middle-aged monk, subtly wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"This disciple underestimates the people of the world; he has arrogance in his heart but lacks the corresponding inner strength."

"Disciple, disciple... Waaaaah..."

The little monk, who was bent over and covering his face, hesitated and was about to say something, but the bitterness that had been building up in his throat burst out the next moment.

He knelt down in the direction of Zen Master Huijing, covered his face with Zen Master Huijing's robe, and said in shame.

"Uncle-Master, wasn't I incredibly foolish before, like an arrogant monkey?"

As if anticipating something, Zen Master Huijing turned to look at his feet. Overwhelmed with shame, Jiekong was pulling at his tattered clothes to cover his painted face.

From the very beginning, when Jie Kong arrogantly challenged the two, Zen Master Huijing had already anticipated this.

After Zhang and Lü make corrections, the impact on Jie Kong will definitely exceed expectations.

Polishing jade requires careful grinding with files of various sizes, taking at least hundreds or thousands of strokes to perfectly carve the jade.

But in this world, how many things are truly perfect?

Moreover, the human heart is far more complex than carving jade.

Fortunately, Jiekong has not been completely defeated.

Although the pride in his heart was excessively destroyed, he did not completely lose his spirit.

Since that's the case, then let him, the senior apprentice, be the one to straighten things out one last time.

Zen Master Huijing nodded slightly in the direction of Lü Qian and Zhang Zhiwei, indicating that it was now up to him.

Using the eloquence he'd honed over the years, he tried to persuade—or rather, to force-feed Jie Kong two doses of motivational chicken soup.

It should be noted that despite his slovenly appearance and lack of adherence to monastic rules, he still held a considerable position in the temple, entirely due to his mouth, which was permeated with Buddhist teachings.

With his silver tongue, he attracted many worshippers, which cost the temple a lot of money in donations.

While Jiekong was venting his shame, Zen Master Huijing pondered the Buddhist scriptures and doctrines in his mind for a moment, and then rebuked him in a deep voice.

"Foolish child, you are attached to appearances. All things are empty; where have you found that emptiness?"

This loud shout was like a blow to the head, startling Jie Kongzhen, who was covering his face and too ashamed to show himself.

Seeing this, Zen Master Huijing grabbed the hem of his robe and swung it forcefully, revealing the emptiness beneath.

At this moment, Jie Kong had lost his initial high spirits. Tears rolled down his red face, and the teardrops, mixed with dust, made his face look dark.

On his chin, a bright red mark was very conspicuous, and next to it was a thumbprint.

This mark, along with the four-finger mark on his head, seemed to form a complete palm print.

Looking at that face, Zen Master Huijing suppressed the laughter in his chest and, seizing the opportunity, continued to scold.

"Everyone says you have exceptional comprehension, but look at yourself now, where exactly have you truly emptied yourself of all worldly desires?"

"The Buddha said, sever worldly thoughts and transcend the mortal mind."

"But this humble monk sees that you are now attached to worldly desires and trapped in a mortal heart."

"He was arrogant and looked down on everyone, but later he was ashamed and dared not face anyone."

"Deeply mired in vanity and superficiality, indulging in outward appearances, with an unclear mind and restless body, what kind of Buddhism are you practicing?"

"Which Buddha are you worshipping?"

"And which kind of 'emptiness gate' have you entered?"

Master Huijing's three consecutive questions made the previously bewildered Jiekong start to think.

Seeing that Jiekong was starting to get caught up in his own logic, Zen Master Huijing nodded secretly.

He waved his tattered palm-leaf fan and began reciting a passage from the Heart Sutra as he circled around Jie Kong.

"Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness are also like this."

"Form and emptiness are not different; form is emptiness. Emptiness is nothingness, and nothingness is nothingness."

"Entering into stillness, even stillness ceases to exist; attaining true stillness, emptiness and form become one."

On the other side, Lü Qian and Zhang Zhiwei nodded as they listened.

It must be said that this Zen Master Huijing did possess some Buddhist knowledge, as he readily quoted the superior teachings from the Heart Sutra.

There are no two vehicles of Dharma, but people can be foolish or dull.

Therefore, different people will have different understandings of the same passage of scripture.

Just like the sutra recited by Zen Master Huijing, there are three levels of understanding: superior, middle, and inferior.

The superior person is free from the constraints of emptiness and form, and is not confined to books and texts; he naturally seeks enlightenment within his heart.

Those who practice the Middle Vehicle (of Buddhism) attain emptiness and see form as mere form, pursuing the essence of things.

The inferior person takes relativity as the foundation, believing that emptiness and form complement each other, and that everything in the mind is in opposition, like water and fire that cannot be mixed.

Zen Master Huijing circled around twice, then stood in front of Jiekong again, tapped his forehead, and asked.

"Foolish child, do you understand now?"

Jiekong seemed to have grasped many truths in that short moment. He stood up and bowed to Zen Master Huijing with his palms together.

"Disciple understands."

"Good that you understand."

Zen Master Huijing smiled, though he himself did not understand what Jiekong had realized.

But judging from his appearance, he has already recovered from the excessive blow.

Buddhist principles are easy to explain, but it depends on whether you can glean your own understanding from them.

Having completed a task, Zen Master Huijing felt completely relaxed and waved to Lü Qian and Zhang Zhiwei.

"My two young friends, now it's time to get down to business."

"These Western devils seem to be after everyone in this county."

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Chapter One!