Daxuan Wusheng: Start by practicing and adding points

Chapter 532: The Truth in Reincarnation (6k6)

Temple backyard.

From the small temple room, bursts of chanting could be heard.

"As for me, the Buddha, there is no fixed Dharma called Anuttara Samyaksambodhi, nor is there any fixed Dharma that the Tathagata can speak of. Why? All the Dharmas spoken by the Tathagata are unattainable, unspeakable, neither Dharma nor non-Dharma."

As time goes by, Chen Mu, the abandoned baby outside the temple, has now grown into a seven or eight-year-old novice monk. He wears a tattered cassock, kneels on a cushion, and recites Buddhist scriptures.

"True Determination, how should we view all the dharmas in the world?"

Suddenly, an old monk in a cassock came from outside the hall, chanting Buddhist mantras and asked Chen Mu.

Chen Mu responded: "All worldly laws that arise from causes and conditions are like shadows in bubbles, elusive and ever-changing. Therefore, all conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and lightning. You should view them in this way."

After hearing this, the old monk smiled and walked away.

The old monk was the abbot of Fatan Temple. He was also the monk Jingnian who picked up Chen Mu and brought him back to the temple. He became the abbot of Fatan Temple during the seven years when Chen Mu grew up. As for what the abbot said at the beginning, that Chen Mu had a predestined relationship with Buddha, he now believed it without a doubt, because Chen Mu knew it almost since birth. Since he could speak, the first sentence he recited was the Buddhist scriptures.

After that, he was no longer as restless and mischievous as other children. He only liked to listen to the chanting of Buddhist scriptures in the temple. When he was older, he began to read the scriptures on his own every day. At the age of seven or eight, his understanding of the scriptures even surpassed that of some monks in the temple who had been chanting for several years.

thus.

The monks in the temple even secretly spread the rumor that Chen Mu was the reincarnation of an arhat who came to Fatan Temple to save all living beings.

Therefore, although Chen Mu is only a young monk now, his status in Fatan Temple is quite high. He has even been trained as the heir by the abbot early on. The reason why Jingnian was able to become the abbot is because he picked up and raised Chen Mu.

"All conditioned phenomena should be viewed in this way..."

Just as Jingnian walked away, Chen Mu was muttering scriptures and looked up at the small Buddha statue enshrined above.

As it is, as it is viewed, as it is the Dharma, as it is the Tathagata.

When he was an official in his second life, he visited Buddhist temples and Taoist temples after retiring and returning to his hometown, but he never realized one problem. It was not until now that he realized that it seemed that no matter where in the world, there were Buddhas and Taoists.

There are all kinds of beliefs. It is normal for human beings to develop beliefs in the midst of disasters, and use them as spiritual sustenance. However, it is not ordinary for all the worlds, including his past before he came to Daxuan, to be like this.

And no matter which world the Buddhist or Taoist scriptures come from, the meaning of the scriptures always points to the Great Way.

Chen Mu had no intuitive feeling before.

Since he started practicing martial arts, he has gained great power and even thought that he would transcend the mundane world and become a god. Naturally, he does not care about the talk of gods and Buddhas and regards them as the fantasies of ordinary mortals. But now he feels that things may not be that simple.

Just as he comprehended the great way of emptiness and the great way of time.

If someone completely understands the great way of time and masters the complete power of time, can his name run through the entire river of time, flow through the years, and never disappear?
And if someone completely comprehends the great way of the void and masters the complete power of the void, then can his shadow illuminate the heavens and be projected into any place in billions of worlds, infinite and endless, immortal?
If figures like Buddha and Taoist priest existed only in one world, it would not be strange. However, both real worlds he experienced existed, and the same was true for the world he was in in reincarnation. In addition, he had now entered the Tao in the void and was comprehending the great way of time. He had a vague premonition that both Buddha and Taoist priest might really exist.

They may all be people who have reached the end of the road, so their names and figures can illuminate the heavens, exist in any world, and evolve into various situations and spread.

of course.

All this is just Chen Mu’s guess now.

After all, up to now, the world he is in is still completely different from his real previous life. His previous life was the vast starry universe, while here, there is endless void and endless airspace, giving birth to countless worlds.

For him now, he is not qualified to explore the connection between the two, and he cannot touch the thread that brought him to this world. Perhaps only when he truly masters the complete Avenue of the Void or the Avenue of Time, will he know all the answers and no longer have any confusion in his sight.

"Tathagata..."

Chen Mu muttered to himself, recalling the extremely distant past memories, the "Rufa" that he had talked and laughed with others, and couldn't help but smile, but after laughing for a while, he was stunned again, because the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there were indeed many mysteries in it.

Just like when he came to this world, he had experienced three reincarnations. He had been a hunter, an official, and an emperor... But as time passed, all the traces left by his previous three lives were now lost in the dust of history.

So has he been to this world?
Tathagata.

It is not "make the best of it", but "As it comes".

The origin of the great way is something that cannot be explained clearly, vague and mysterious.

Vaguely.

Chen Mu seemed to see a little bit of the thread of the Avenue of Time, but when he tried to grasp it, it slipped through his fingers.

"years."

He muttered to himself, but he felt no regrets in his heart, instead he felt a little happy.

He had not made any progress on the Avenue of Time in his previous three lives, but he finally began to move forward in this life. Although he had never grasped that bit of spiritual light of the Avenue of Time, as long as it had flashed by, he would catch it one day.

After all, he had endless time.

Chen Mu lowered his head again and looked at the scripture at hand.

Time flies.

Seventeen years passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Mu, who was 24 years old at the time and went by the Buddhist name "Zhen Ding", represented Fatan Temple in a debate with a group of monks who came from Lingtan Temple. He was able to defeat a large number of them alone and overshadowed the leading monks of Lingtan Temple and a group of up-and-coming monks. He became famous in an instant.

Three years later, Chen Mu was twenty-seven years old. All the monks of Fatan Temple had the tradition of going down the mountain to practice cultivation. So Chen Mu followed the tradition and went down the mountain to travel the world. He spent ten years traveling all over the country and visiting various temples. When he returned to Fatan Temple, he was already a famous monk in the world, and there were even many young monks who followed him.

Four years later, Chen Mu, then 41 years old, took over the position of abbot of Fatan Temple. Since then, he promoted Buddhism and spread the scriptures, becoming a recognized eminent monk in the world. Later, even the royal court invited Chen Mu to the court to preach several times. Even the contemporary emperor had some enlightenment and began to believe in Buddhas. He even listed Fatan Temple as a national temple, which was glorious for a time.

Forty years passed since then.

Chen Mu went down the mountain countless times, either to educate the ignorant people in the wild lands or to save people from suffering during years of disaster. The more people respected him, the more it even greatly reduced the impact of the disasters on the imperial court, which should have been shaken by the many natural disasters.

Two successive emperors bestowed honorific titles on Chen Mu several times, and he was successively honored as "the Great Venerable Dharma King of the World who is Responsible and Benevolent".

This went on for another ten years.

Chen Mu, who is over 91 years old, has long white eyebrows, hair and beard like a waterfall, a skinny body but a ruddy face. He walks briskly in the temple on weekdays. All visitors say that Chen Mu is the "true Buddha in the world."

someday.

Chen Mu put on his robes, looked out the window, watched the sun rise in the east, took a deep breath, then stood up and walked out of the hall.

Although his movements were very gentle and the sun had just risen, there were still monks waiting outside the hall. They approached him immediately, bowed their heads and said respectfully, "Abbot, what do you want?"

The previous two generations of emperors both believed in Buddhism, which led to the prosperity of Buddhism throughout the world. Although the third generation of emperors does not believe in Buddhism deeply, he does not reject it, and Buddhism is still prosperous. Today, no matter which temple or which monk in the world, they all know that Chen Mu is the number one monk in the world. For the true Buddhas in the world, being able to serve Chen Mu is the most respected thing.

Especially since Chen Mu is already over ninety years old.

Naturally, there were monks guarding outside the temple where he usually rested day and night.

"Pass my decree on all monks to go to the main hall. I have something to announce."

"Yes."

The waiting monk immediately responded respectfully, turned around and trotted away.

Not long after.

Inside the magnificent hall of Fatan Temple, all the white-haired and bearded monks took their seats one by one. Behind them were a group of middle-aged monks kneeling, while those who were younger and of lower seniority could only stand respectfully outside the hall.

At this time, Chen Mu walked slowly and arrived at the hall.

"Abbott."

Whether it was the chief monk or the ordinary monks inside and outside the hall, they all bowed respectfully to Chen Mu.

Chen Mu chanted a Buddhist name, walked to the abbot's seat in the center, and sat down cross-legged. His long white eyebrows fell to his knees, his face was still rosy, and his breath was normal, but the first words he said shocked everyone present.

"I will enter Nirvana tonight."

Chen Mu said in a normal tone.

The temple was suddenly completely silent, and countless monks were shocked. The head monk with white hair and beard was also shocked. After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but say, "Buddha, have mercy on me... My uncle has attained enlightenment and is a living Buddha. Why did he pass away? Are we stupid? Does my uncle no longer want to guide us?"

In the eyes of everyone, Chen Mu is almost the same as the real Buddha. Not to mention other things, the fact that he is still ruddy in complexion and strong in body at the age of over 90 is far beyond the reach of ordinary people. How many people in the world today can live to the age of 90?
Not to mention that he is still as healthy as a normal person at the age of ninety.

But now,
Chen Mu looked normal, but he said that he would pass away tonight. This news was undoubtedly like thunder.

Chen Mu said calmly, "Everything in the world has its destiny. Although my body is dead, I have already attained the immortal Dharma body. I entered the cycle of reincarnation only to comprehend the wonders of all dharmas. After entering death, I will appear in the world again. You can continue to respect my Dharma name."

This statement came out.

All the monks present looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some young monks were shocked and became excited.

Although those who believe in Buddhism all believe in the existence of Buddha and that practice can transcend reincarnation, after all, no one has ever seen a power beyond the mundane in this world.

It is said that Chen Mu is a true Buddha in the world and possesses supreme Buddhist teachings, but no one has ever seen him in person.

And this time.

From what Chen Mu said, his passing away was just to get rid of this physical body, and he will reappear in the world.

Although the theory of reincarnation is a subject in Buddhism and countless people have read and believed in it, no one has ever witnessed it with their own eyes. But now it seems... they are about to witness the true meaning of reincarnation.

That night.

Chen Mu had a peaceful expression on his face as he sat upright on the altar. He peacefully fell into silence as the crowds of people chanted sutras.

After entering into silence this time, although Chen Mu's vision gradually rose, his consciousness was not engulfed by the power of time, but quickly crossed over dozens or hundreds of years. Instead, he grasped a trace of the vein of time from the dark and stabilized himself.

that's it.

Soon his thoughts once again followed the movement of heaven and earth and entered the world.

This time, he was born in a farmer's home, but there was only a gap of three years between his entering the world this time and his passing as the "True Buddha" in his previous life.

This time, when Chen Mu was born, he made the reincarnation seal with both hands, exactly the same as when he passed away, one hand pointing to the sky and the other to the earth, and he was in the reincarnation between heaven and earth. Although there was no strange phenomenon in heaven and earth.

But the birth of the baby in this way still surprised the farmer's family, and the news soon spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Half a month later.

The abbot of Lingyin Temple, the temple closest to the farmer's home, was shocked when he heard the news, and quickly thought of something, so he led many monks to visit in person.

The extremely old host walked slowly to the farmer's house with slow steps, bent down and walked into the reeds.

He looked at the shabby bed among the reeds.

He saw Chen Mu, who was like a baby, lying on the bed. He seemed to have heard the noise of him coming in, so he slowly opened his eyes and looked at him.

It was this one look that immediately made the seventy-year-old host feel dazed.

He seemed to have returned to ten years ago, when he had traveled to Fatan Temple to listen to Chen Mu's sermon. When he looked up at Chen Mu, the look he saw on Chen Mu's face was exactly the same as the look in the baby lying on the bed at this moment.

In a trance, the old host seemed to see the baby smiling at him, and then he heard a voice. Although the voice was a little childish and unclear, he still heard it clearly.

"Du'e."

That is his Dharma name.

The old host trembled, and finally chanted a Buddhist name, put his hands together, and respectfully performed a disciple's salute to Chen Mu, saying: "Disciple Du'e, welcome the senior sergeant."

Three years ago, after Chen Mu passed away, he had heard Chen Mu's last words, saying that although he had attained immortality and transcended the world, he would still enter the cycle of reincarnation to save all living beings.

Three years later, he saw Chen Mu's reincarnation and was so excited that he could hardly control himself.

Who among those who practice Buddhism in the world does not want to escape from suffering and transcend the world, but no one knows what level of practice they have reached and whether they can really transcend the cycle of reincarnation. But now, the person who has truly transcended the cycle of reincarnation has appeared.

And as Chen Mu said, he has long been an immortal body, transcending the cycle of reincarnation. He enters the cycle of reincarnation only to comprehend the wonders of all dharmas and to guide and save all sentient beings in the world. This is undoubtedly a great merit. After all, the world is full of disasters and a sea of ​​suffering.

Chen Mu has already reached the other side, and now he is turning back to enter the sea of ​​suffering again.

Du'e had practiced Buddhism for half his life, and at this moment he could not suppress the turmoil in his heart, and could not help but say respectfully: "Sir, it is bitterly cold here, may I take you back to the temple?"

"..."

Chen Mu did not open his eyes, but just shook his head slightly.

Du'e immediately understood what Chen Mu meant. He clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist name.

a few days later.

The news about the reincarnation of the true Buddha in Fatan Temple spread quickly throughout the area and gradually caused a sensation!
When the monks from temples within a thousand miles radius heard the news, they were shocked. Regardless of their status, they all set out to rush to the place where Chen Mu was reincarnated. Not only the monks, but even many famous people were shocked when they heard the news.

The previous two generations of emperors believed in Buddhism, which made Buddhism prosperous in the world. Chen Mu's name also spread throughout the world. The news of his passing away three years ago also spread far and wide. There were many people in the world who firmly believed that Chen Mu would reincarnate and appear in the world again. However, in just three years, some people gradually forgot about it.

Now, not to mention those who believe in Buddhism, even those who do not believe in Buddhism would be shocked and suspicious when hearing this news.

For a time,

The remote village became extremely bustling, with thousands of monks and tens of thousands of Buddhists rushing here from all directions.

The imperial court was naturally alarmed by such a commotion and could not sit idly by. The local county magistrate was frightened and reported it to his superiors overnight. The prefect was also shocked, fearing that it would cause some kind of incident. While reporting to the admiral to mobilize troops, he also urgently delivered documents to the central government for 800 miles.

After the news reached the center.

The entire court was shocked!

The previous two generations of emperors believed in Buddhism and regarded Fatan Temple as the state temple. The status of Chen Mu, the abbot of the state temple, was naturally extremely high. Even the prime minister of the dynasty had to address Chen Mu as "Shangshi" when he met him on weekdays.

However, most of the officials in the current dynasty did not believe in Buddhism, and many old ministers had even advised the previous emperors. Now the reincarnation issue had come up, which undoubtedly made these old ministers very suspicious. Some even said, "Lingyin Temple is deliberately making a mystery and causing chaos in the local area. They deserve to be killed," and asked the court to send troops to suppress it.

As for the emperor,

After hearing the news, I was also very suspicious.

He did not believe in Buddhism very much, but the previous two emperors believed in Buddhism, and it was not easy for him to overthrow the system of the two previous emperors without authorization. He just tried his best to control it. However, in recent years, as he grew older, his ideas gradually changed, and he gradually thought about immortality.

And now, can the "senior official" in Fatan Temple really be reincarnated?

So is the thing beyond the other shore also true? !
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

The eunuch standing nearby saw that the emperor was confused and couldn't help but call out in a low voice.

The emperor shook his head, finally coming back to his senses, then took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Pass on my order, please invite Sergeant Zhending to the palace... No, I'll go in person."

Through information from various sources, he was basically certain that this matter was 90% true. He also did not think that the monks in Lingyin Temple would dare to be mysterious and create such a shocking thing.

If everything is true, then Chen Mu is still a baby now. Ordering people to bring Chen Mu to the palace from afar will undoubtedly involve too many variables and is also too rude. After all, if Chen Mu can really transcend to the other shore, jump out of the cycle of reincarnation, and achieve immortality, then he will truly be a living Buddha. What's more, he also wants to obtain the method to transcend the cycle of reincarnation.

a few days later.

Emperor Hongguang left the capital in person, which once again caused a sensation throughout the country.

If some people were skeptical about the reincarnation of "Zhending Shangshi" at the beginning, now that even the emperor has left the capital and headed west in person for this purpose, there is no doubt that people believe it about 80% of the time!
at last.

More than a month later.

Emperor Hongguang personally visited Xijun and met the reincarnated body of Chen Mu.

At this moment, Chen Mu was still a baby, but he was no longer in the state of a newborn. Surrounded by many monks, he sat upright on the lotus platform, watching Emperor Hongguang approaching step by step, and said calmly:
"His Majesty."

When Emperor Hongguang was young, he had met Chen Mu with the previous emperor. After becoming emperor, although he did not believe in Buddhism very much, he had visited Fatan Temple several times and met Chen Mu more than once. At this time, he only took a look at the baby and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

After all, he was an emperor, so his mind was relatively calm. He said slowly, "Since you have reached the other shore, why did you return to the sea of ​​suffering? Did you come here to guide sentient beings?"

"No."

Chen Mu shook his head slightly and said, "To guide sentient beings is just to follow the trend, and to enter the world is just to comprehend the mysteries of all laws."

Emperor Hongguang was silent for a long time, then bowed to Chen Mu and said, "Sir, can you teach me?"

Chen Mu said: "All living things have the opportunity to transcend."

Although the rules of this world are extremely restrictive and extraordinary powers can hardly be displayed at all, the origin of the Tao is everywhere, and Chen Mu has also realized that the names of Buddha and Tao Zun are projected on the heavens, and those scriptures themselves are a kind of guide.

Normally it is impossible for ordinary people to comprehend the origin of the great Dao, but if they can gain enlightenment through these scriptures, there is a slight possibility that they will be guided at the time of death, and their consciousness will leave this world and be reincarnated somewhere else.

of course.

He wouldn't say these so clearly.

He came here only to comprehend the great Dao of time, and everything he did was just in accordance with the trend.

at last.

As Emperor Hongguang was converted by Chen Mu and began to believe in Buddhism, the commotion in the world began to gradually subside.

More than ninety years later, Chen Mu, who had seen off three generations of emperors, passed away again. Three years later, he came into the world again and was found again. He continued to be revered as the living Buddha. While preaching Buddhism to the world, he also continued to comprehend the great way of time.

Two hundred years later.

The world was in chaos and turmoil, and dynasties were changing. This was something Chen Mu could not change, or he had no interest in changing it. The change of dynasties was the result of the natural evolution of heaven and earth.

Because of his existence, the development over the past few hundred years has made the status of Buddhism in the world unshakable. Even when a new generation of dynasties is established, it still has to be adopted as the state religion and worship him as the supreme leader. His status is already above that of the emperor.

For emperors, if an ordinary person's status is superior to theirs, they naturally cannot tolerate it. But if it is a "living true Buddha", then they can accept it, because in the previous dynasties, Chen Mu was even involved in the succession of emperors. When some emperors were old, they would even ask Chen Mu to choose the successor.

of course.

If it were just that, the founding emperor of the new dynasty might not necessarily tolerate Chen Mu's existence. However, Chen Mu not only possessed the status of the previous dynasty, but also had believers throughout the world. Even his own reincarnation had long been recognized by the world.

Who can shake the status of the 'living true Buddha' who has been in the world for hundreds of years?
Even the founding emperor cannot do it.

in this way,

Chen Mu continued to stay in the world, generation after generation, until the twentieth generation. Nearly two thousand years had passed in the world, and three dynasties had changed. Finally one day, he told his disciples that after this nirvana, he would return and no longer stay in the world.

When the news spread, the whole world was saddened and countless believers rushed to the scene.

That night.

Chen Mu passed away peacefully.

This time, just as he said, he was no longer in the world. He looked at the passage of time in the world with a calm gaze. It accelerated again before his eyes and ran faster and faster.

Hundreds of years, thousands of years, tens of thousands of years... until hundreds of thousands of years later, a natural disaster struck, the weather was cold and the ground was frozen, the world fell into a great silence, and everything was buried. After tens of thousands of years, the world gradually returned to warmth, and the surviving human race finally began to reproduce again, and everything he left behind was once again buried in history.

This time.

Chen Mu just watched calmly.

His consciousness was not pulled into this world again. He just watched the years pass by, and watched thousands and tens of thousands of years change in a blink of an eye. The entire world was constantly in reincarnation.

After who knows how many endless years had passed, everything suddenly collapsed, the entire heaven and earth collapsed, and finally disappeared into the void, returning to complete deathly silence, turning into empty nothingness.

Chen Mu slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, what he saw was no longer nothingness, but the familiar scenery of the cave in the back mountain of Qixuan Sect. His consciousness had returned here silently.

"years……"

Chen Mu looked around and murmured softly.

All the changes in the world before now seemed like a dream in his mind. Although he had been into the world, he was only a witness. Finally, in the cycle of reincarnation, he realized the true meaning of the Avenue of Time!
(End of this chapter)