Chapter 137: Jia Lan on the altar, discussing the sutras and arguing about the Dharma
How could a normal conversation suddenly jump to the point of issuing a challenge to Master Du Chen?
Monk Guozhong swallowed hard, feeling that things were getting increasingly out of control.
The wind that blew across Mount Koya was too strong and too terrible.
There are only two possibilities to defeat Master Duchen, and that is to win in one of the discussions on scriptures and the competition on cultivation.
But no matter which path he chooses, Pinggong Qianye has no chance of winning.
Master Du Chen has been immersed in Buddhist scriptures for many years, and with the help of the eminent monks he has won over over the years, his experience and level in discussing scriptures and debating the Dharma has reached an unattainable level.
As for the competition of cultivation, that is the cultivation of Homa-pin!
How old is Pinggong Chiye?
He is only 20 years old, how can he possibly defeat Master Du Chen?
This is a losing challenge!
Not only did Monk Guo Zhong think so, all the monks present who heard this thought that it was impossible to win.
Perhaps this is the unyielding pride that young people possess?
The monk Kuninaka sighed, patted Hiramiya Chiye's right shoulder, and answered the question with a serious face, "Discussing scriptures and arguing about the Dharma in the temple, or deciding the victory with cultivation on the top of Mount Koya."
Pinggong Qianye nodded, ignoring the complicated looks from the monks around him, and said to the monk Zhishan: "Please tell Master Duchen what I mean when you go back."
"..."
Even the calm mind of the great monk Zhishan was slightly disturbed by these words.
This man, who is so young, actually wants to discuss scriptures and debate with his master, and compete in cultivation!
"Great Monk Zhishan, we don't need to pay any attention to his clownish behavior!"
A monk behind the Eminent Monk Zhishan could not wait any longer and spoke, but this time the Eminent Monk Zhishan did not try to stop him.
Pinggong Qianye ignored the monk and looked at the monk Zhishan and continued, "As for whether to discuss scriptures and debate Dharma or compete in cultivation, it is up to Master Duchen to choose."
"..."
The calm state of mind of the great monk Zhishan had gone from being slightly rippled to being like a raging sea.
Such words are simply a blatant disregard for his master!
To choose between discussing scriptures and debating the Dharma or competing in cultivation, this has always been the choice that challengers have to face!
His master was fearless and did not need to make this choice!
Because no matter what choice his master makes, he will win and never lose!
"This evil monk is so despicable! How dare he look down on Master Duchen like this!"
This time, Pinggong Qianye's remarks immediately caused a lot of condemnation, such as evil monk, evildoer, slanderer of Buddhism, ignorant madman, jumping clown... a series of bad names were added to Pinggong Qianye's head.
Even the monk Kuninaka who was standing next to him was completely speechless. This really shouldn't be said like that.
This sounds like a naked provocation.
"I am upholding the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly and loving the young."
Pinggong Qianye did not say this to the monks in person, so as not to intensify the monks' already boiling anger.
After all, this is Kongofeng Temple, not his own Weilian Ancient Temple, so he should not make things too difficult for Abbot Guozhong.
Pinggong Qianye listened silently to the voices criticizing him and sighed in his heart.
Is this a Buddhist practitioner?
If you can't even control your emotions, how can you practice Buddhism if you are so irritable and easily angered?
The character of this most virtuous monk is still good. At least he does not show his joy on his face and has a certain state of mind.
"Evil monk, you lunatic! What right do you have to challenge Master Duchen?"
The young monk standing behind the monk Zhishan stepped forward and walked in front of Pinggong Qianye. He suppressed his anger and spoke as calmly as possible: "Let me weigh your weight first!"
"Not interested in."
Pinggong Qianye replied calmly. Seeing the anger rising from the bottom of the young monk's heart, he shook his head and sighed, "You just asked me why I dared to challenge Master Duchen. The answer is very simple, because I dared to question the path that Master Duchen took."
The young monk's face changed slightly, and he was about to refute something, but Pinggong Qianye said calmly, "If you also have the courage and confidence to question Master Duchen, then you are naturally qualified to challenge Master Duchen."
"..."
The young monk's face changed, but he finally said, "But you just issued a losing challenge to Master Duchen out of impulse!"
"Then why don't you have this urge?"
Pinggong Qianye glanced at him. He thought that he was a secret seal product and had good cultivation at a young age. He couldn't help but say, "Since the challenge hasn't even started yet, how do you know that I will definitely end up in failure?"
The young monk wanted to make another argument, but this time, the great monk Zhishan stopped him again.
"Since Master Liansheng has made the decision, I will naturally convey it to Master. However, whether Master will accept it is not up to me to decide."
When Pinggong Qianye saw the monk Zhishan speak, he also restrained his momentum to show respect: "I can go to the mountain gate to visit Master Duchen in person."
The matter of Koyasan must be resolved. Whether Master Duchen accepts the challenge or not, he must meet Master Duchen.
The monk Zhishan looked deeply at Pinggong Qianye, then led the other monks out of the room and left Kongofeng Temple.
After all the monks left, only Heimiya Chiye and Kuninaka Shojo were left in the room.
"Want some tea?"
"Need not."
Guozhong Sengzheng asked, then silently made a cup of coffee for himself.
"Is there any chance of winning?"
"It's okay."
"..."
Monk Guozhong was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "You should go back and rest first. You have been awake for so many days, and you can't beat Master Duchen like this."
Pinggong Qianye did not continue chatting with Kuninaka Sengzheng. He returned to his room, charged his cell phone, and then fell asleep.
……
Pinggong Qianye was awakened by the monk Guozhong.
"You've been sleeping for two whole days!"
Monk Guo Zhong was knocking on the door. He did not come in until Pinggong Qianye woke up and opened the door for him. Then he told him everything that had happened in the past two days.
Master Duchen has accepted his own challenge and will discuss the sutras and the Dharma at the altar at 3 pm today.
Monk Guozhong was waiting until 9 o'clock in the morning of that day, and he could not delay any longer, so he used brute force to knock on the door to wake himself up.
"I'll take a shower first."
Pinggong Qianye nodded calmly, and then said to the anxious Monk Guozhong, "Please help me prepare some vegetarian food."
"..."
Monk Kuninaka was stunned for a while, then he sighed and left. He took a 20-minute bath, cleansed his body, put on the robes he wore when he first came to Koyasan, and walked out of the room with a staff in one hand and a begging bowl in the other.
The sun is a bit dazzling after 10 o'clock, and the sun at 3 o'clock in the afternoon should be even brighter.
Master Du Chen chose a good time.
When I came to the kitchen, the table was already filled with vegetarian food.
Guo Zhong, a monk who knew Pinggong Qianye's appetite well, had prepared all the vegetarian meals at once this time.
"Thank you."
Pinggong Qianye pulled out a chair, sat down, and began to slowly enjoy the meal in front of him.
Although he had eaten there several times, the vegetarian food at Kongobuji Temple still made him feel amazing and delicious as always.
Monk Guo Zhong was sitting opposite Pinggong Qianye. Although he was anxious, he still waited patiently for Pinggong Qianye to eat.
Many monks had gathered outside the kitchen. If the abbot Guo Zhong had not instructed them in advance, they were not allowed to disturb Pinggong Qianye.
They would never let Pinggong Qianye sleep peacefully for two days.
A high monk from Tokyo wanted to discuss Buddhist scriptures and Dharma with Master Duchen.
This incident has spread throughout Koyasan, and almost all the monks know about it.
After all, it has been five years since the last time Master Du Chen discussed Buddhist scriptures and debated with eminent monks.
Even some believers and tourists knew that such a big event was about to happen.
Finally, Kongobuji Temple stepped forward and led monks from several other temples to separate the altar and forbid other irrelevant people from disturbing it.
Pinggong Qianye's meal lasted until after 12 o'clock, which made Kuninaka Sengzheng hungry, so he finally started eating too.
After finishing the vegetarian meal, Monk Guozhong led Pinggong Qianye to his room to prevent anyone from disturbing them.
This time, he did not ask any more polite questions, but directly brought a bottle of green tea to Pinggong Qianye.
"I prefer iced cola to green tea."
"I'll buy some Coke and put it in the fridge later."
Monk Guozhong took a sip of bitter coffee, looked at Pinggong Qianye who still had a calm face, and sighed: "Alas, Master Liansheng is worthy of being Master Liansheng, his mentality is so good."
“When things get serious, you must be calm.”
"That makes sense. My practice is still lacking."
Monk Guozhong was very calm about this, "If you can wake up earlier, several senior monks in my temple would like to give you some pointers on how to discuss the sutras and debate, and try to give you a better chance of winning."
"It's a pity indeed. I really want to listen to the Buddhist teachings of the great monks at Kongobuji Temple."
"There are only two hours left until the agreed time. It's no use preparing for the battle before it's too late. Everything depends on you."
"I see."
Seeing that Pinggong Qianye was still in a good mood, the monk Guozhong put down the heavy responsibility in his heart and said with a smile: "It's just a discussion of scriptures and Dharma. Even if you lose, it's nothing to have another setback in life. After all, you are still very young."
Pinggong Qianye smiled and said nothing.
Just like Master Du Chen had no choice but to discuss sutras and debate the Dharma from the very beginning, he also had only one option from the very beginning.
As the time approached 2 o'clock, Heimiya Chiye and Kuninaka Monk came out of the room and headed towards the altar under the supervision of a group of Kongobuji monks.
The so-called Danshang Kalan was the place built by Master Kobo when he first founded the sect. It is the fundamental place of practice of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
The most famous attraction is the 49-meter-high, bright red tower.
This fundamental pagoda was also the place chosen by Master Duchen to discuss the sutras and debate the Dharma.
When Pinggong Qianye and others arrived here, a circle of monks had already surrounded the area, isolating the nearby area. Tourists could only look at the place from afar from the outer areas.
When they arrived, Master Du Chen had not yet arrived, but many of his disciples and followers had come.
Pinggong Qianye looked at the time, it was 2:20. He had no intention of dealing with Master Duchen's disciples, so he entered the Fundamental Tower first.
"Go."
Monk Guozhong was watching Pinggong Qianye's figure disappear into the tower.
For today's discussion of Buddhist scriptures and debates, only Pinggong Qianye and Master Duchen can enter the tower. They will start the discussion of Buddhist scriptures and debates at the top of the tower, in which only the two of them can participate.
The reason for choosing this more covert method is to preserve enough face for the losing party.
After all, the only people who can enter this fundamental pagoda are the eminent monks who come to challenge and Master Duchen.
Each of them holds an important position in Buddhism.
The higher the position one holds, the more he or she cares about his or her reputation; even Buddhists are not completely immune to this.
"Will you win?"
A senior monk from Kongobuji Temple asked Monk Kuni-no-kami.
"Hard to say."
Monk Guozhong was gazing at a 49-meter-high fundamental pagoda, and did not say anything definite.
Hiramiya Chiye, the master Rensheng from Tokyo, gave him a very strange feeling.
He even felt in his heart that Master Liansheng could defeat Master Duchen.
Pinggong Qianye, who was missed by many monks, went to the top of the pagoda. There were only two yellow cushions and nothing else.
Pinggong Qianye randomly chose a cushion and sat down cross-legged.
Turn off your cell phone, put your bamboo hat behind you, put your Zen stick on your left hand, and your Dharma bowl on your right hand, and wait quietly for Master Duchen to arrive.
Time passed by minute by minute, but Pinggong Qianye did not feel annoyed at all.
When the clock was about to point to 3 o'clock, Pinggong Chiye heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs.
Master Du Chen is here.
His steps were neither fast nor slow, but steady, and each step was firm and unwavering.
Just like he is firm and unwavering in the philosophy he practices today.
"Master Duchen."
"Master Liansheng."
After a greeting, the two sat opposite each other. The setting sun shone in from the window at the top of the tower and sprinkled on the two of them.
(End of this chapter)
