Chapter 262 The Road to Immortals and Buddhas, the Foundation of Enlightenment (First Update)
The sky is getting brighter, the red sun rises in the east, and the night recedes.
In the manor built against the mountain, several Taoists were humming and cleaning up the mess from last night. In another small courtyard, the sweet smell of porridge and rice was filled.
The food of a Taoist priest is considered to be vegetarian, but Yang Yu is naturally not picky about food and devours it happily. He has not eaten anything these days.
"Sir, please eat slowly..."
The old Taoists were horrified to see that this man could eat enough for five or six of them for a day.
Looking at the table that was as empty as the wind and the remaining clouds, Skylark held the bowl and took a while to react.
I have to be hungry again...
Knowing martial arts does not necessarily make you a master.
Looking at these shabby Taoist priests, Yang Yu also felt something in his heart.
He was robbing but worried about his face, he didn't know how to do business at all, he was afraid of being poked in the back when he surrendered to the court, so he just guarded a Taoist temple and a few acres of wasteland.
That's all in ordinary times. Although there is not much incense, there is no shortage of food in the deep mountains, but there has been a severe drought for many years, and there is really no way to escape.
Bigu, after all, only exists in legends.
The reality is that no matter whether they are traders or pawns, emperors or generals, monks or Taoist priests, or martial masters, they all need to eat.
Moreover, people who practice martial arts have extremely large appetites.
Take Yang Yu himself as an example. He swallows blood-enhancing elixirs and golden iron beans every day to replenish his physical strength, but his appetite is still ten times larger than that of an ordinary person.
They don't have the ability to eat dirt, so it's perfectly normal for them to be manipulated in this time of great famine.
Of course, if they can let go of face, the current chaos in Deyang Mansion, robbery and theft may not be something the court can deal with.
"My lord, your appetite is truly astonishing."
Miaofa Lao Tao put down his bowls and chopsticks, and the tense strings in his heart gradually relaxed.
Yang Qianhu, who has a great reputation, does not seem to be that difficult to get along with. Of course, this thought only passed through his mind.
"You may have various reasons, but if you make a mistake, you must accept the punishment!"
Yang Yu put down his bowl and chopsticks.
"I am a poor man, please accept your punishment."
The old Taoist Miaofa sighed, and people had to bow their heads under the eaves.
"You don't need to feel wronged. Although you didn't personally participate in the ambush, you set up an altar in this manor with the intention of ending their marriage."
He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, Yang Yu said calmly.
Just because you have difficulties does not mean you are excusable.
The mist of the altar made him smell the danger. If it was not him who was chasing him, but Qi Gang who had been severely injured, he would probably fall here.
He naturally had a strong conscience about this matter.
"Leave it to your lord's disposal."
The old Taoist Miaofa glanced at the two junior brothers who seemed to be sitting on the wood with expressionless faces, as well as the confused Skylark, and sighed again.
He knew that since Yang Qianhu didn't take action directly, he must have something to do with him and others.
This kind of person is a knife and I feel bad for the fish, but there is nothing he can do.
If he were to leave, wouldn't all these fools be left with any bones left to eat?
"How to deal with it is another matter later."
Yang Yu waved his hand, looked directly at the old Taoist, and asked:
"I heard that all true practitioners of Buddhism and Taoism abide by the Three Refuges and Five Precepts. Is this true?"
He still remembered what Hui'an, the old monk of Nalanke Temple, once said about observing the precepts. In the past few years, he had heard similar sayings many times overtly and covertly.
It’s just that it’s so hard to find people who are pure Buddhists and Taoists.
After all, the monk Jingse was young and did not know much. When he met these Taoist priests this time, he naturally wanted to seek confirmation.
"As a monk, the first priority is to observe the precepts..."
Miao Fa Laodao's expression was a little subtle. He guessed what Yang Yu wanted to ask. After thinking for a while, he answered:
"However, the difficulty of keeping the precepts lies in the conduct and the mind. The conduct is easy to say, there are many monks and Taoists who strictly abide by the precepts, but the difficulty lies in the mind."
"Heart?"
Yang Yu chewed on the old Taoist words and thought deeply in his heart:
"When it comes to deeds, we don't care about the heart. When it comes to the heart, there is no perfect person in the world. When you are born in the mortal world, you will have all kinds of desires and thoughts. If you keep the precepts with your heart, if you keep all the eight precepts, you may no longer be a human being, but an immortal Buddha."
People with strong self-control can obey no matter how many commandments they have, not to mention the Eight Precepts, but their hearts are not that simple.
Who can control his own heart?
"Your Majesty is right, but what monks and nuns like us are looking for is peace of mind..."
Miao Fa nodded slightly in agreement, and then said:
"According to what my ancestor said, if a person wants to become an immortal or a Buddha, keeping the precepts is an inevitable process. Unfortunately, the old way is so stupid that even now, we dare not say that we can keep the 'one precept', let alone the 'eight precepts'
realm."
"In order to become an immortal Buddha, one must complete the Eight Precepts?"
Yang Yu raised his eyebrows.
This is not the first time he has heard similar words, but even the legendary immortals and Buddhas, not many can achieve such a state, right?
"If you have only power but no state of mind, what kind of immortals and Buddhas are you?"
Miaofa Laodao responded calmly:
"According to the old way, the so-called immortals and Buddhas in legends are just mortals who have traveled farther than us. They cannot be regarded as the real immortals and Buddhas in the classics."
"Something interesting."
Yang Prison looked down upon this veteran again.
His martial arts skills are sparse and his energy and blood are declining, but his views are quite good. He is not a true practitioner, but he is still a true Taoist priest.
This point is much stronger than his two junior brothers.
"Although our Moyun sect is only over 700 years old, our ancestors have left a lasting legacy, and there are also some Taoist canons in our sect. The old Taoist has been a monk for more than 70 years, and the only way he can be content is to read the Taoist canon well."
Miaofa Laodao was slightly complacent.
For a Taoist priest, being familiar with the Taoist canon is almost as good as a Confucian scholar's "five carts of knowledge".
Seeing him like this, Yang Yu lightly tapped the table:
"go on."
"Tao Zang has a saying that among all kinds of practice, keeping the precepts is the first. The eight precepts of Buddhism are actually very different. After all, my Taoism is much longer, and it is not necessarily known that Buddhism has many references."
"Tell the important point!"
Yang Prison glared at him.
"Ahem!"
Miao Fa Lao Dao was choked. Seeing Yang Yu's expression was not good, he calmed down a little and said:
"According to what my ancestor said, Tao and Fruit are the essence of heaven and earth, the foundation of enlightenment, and observing the precepts is the road to immortality and Buddha. The two are indispensable and complement each other.
Of course, this is just a family opinion. The old Taoist has lived for more than seventy years and has never seen anyone with Taoist fruit..."
The two of them asked and answered questions, and they said, "Three poles in the sky."
Miaoyun, Yunque and others really couldn't sit still, but they didn't dare to leave without authorization. The two veterans were fine, but Yunque couldn't sit still more and more.
Seeing that the sun was rising, he hurriedly called the servants who were cleaning up the house and asked them to sit and eat more. He was really hungry and couldn't stand it.
From early morning to dusk, the conversation between the two lasted for a full day. In the end, not to mention Skylark, even the other two veterans could not sit still.
After looking at the flaming clouds in the sky, Miaoyun, who had been silent all day, spoke:
"Mr. Yang, it's getting late. If you have any questions, can we talk to you tomorrow?"
"Junior brother, I'll leave as soon as I can. As a brother, I feel like old friends with Mr. Yang at first sight, so what if we just hold a candle and talk at night?"
Miaofa Laodao seems to be unhappy.
"It's getting late. Let's take a rest early and let's talk tomorrow."
Yang Prison was speechless.
Not caring about Miaoyun's harsh words, he signaled to the others to help themselves, while he casually found a guest room and went in, asking the others to boil water for him.
Skylark seems to have been granted amnesty.
The aura of this Senhu-sama was really heavy, and this day was simply an ordeal.
"Senior brother, you are too spineless!"
Unwilling to leave the courtyard, Master Miaoyun couldn't bear it anymore and was holding back his anger.
"backbone?"
Miaofa Laodao shook his head and didn't want to say anything.
Another old Taoist seemed to have figured it out. He bowed for a long time and let his sleeves fall to the ground:
"Thank you for your hard work, senior brother..."
"Between us, what is hard work or not?"
Miao Fa Lao Dao helped his junior brother up, looked at Miao Yun, and said seriously:
"After thinking about it for my brother, I still want you to go back to the mountain. It's time to wipe the memorial tablet in the Patriarch Hall..."
"Senior brother, are you going to drive me away?"
Miaoyun's heart thumped, and her tone suddenly softened:
"Junior brother is just angry for a moment, senior brother..."
"We went down the mountain this time to survive, not to die."
Seeing him admit his mistake, he sighed:
"There are rules for joining the world. Just like we have no money or food, we are subject to the sea of forgetfulness. We are inferior to others and have our feet hurt when being held. So what if we bow our heads?"
"Junior brother understands."
Miaoyun took a deep breath, feeling ashamed and ashamed:
"Poor senior brother, at such a young age, he still has to suffer such humiliation..."
"How humiliating is that?"
Miaofa shook his head:
"If he can stop, we have to be grateful for his kindness. Now think about it, what will happen if we lose the three of us?"
Miaoyun was horrified.
There are only about twenty people in the Moyun Sect, including Yu Wanghai and his son. Without them...
"Senior brother, Master Yang is only leaving me here because of Yu Wanghai."
Another veteran spoke again.
"Whether it is yes or no, we can only take one step at a time..."
The old Taoist Miaofa sighed and left.
The remaining people followed silently, with thoughts surging in their hearts. They felt that the mountain was too torturous. Although they could survive, they were far from the leisure and comfort in the mountain.
If there hadn't been this severe drought...
…
…
Keep the precepts!
Soaked in the hot medicinal liquid, Yang Yu was still digesting the information he had obtained from the Miaofa Taoist priest, the most important of which was observing the precepts.
The Moyun Sect will not have more complete information than the Six Sects' archives, but the latter is large and complex, while the former is small and pure.
Regarding the secrets of Taoism, the former is naturally more detailed.
"How should we uphold the precepts? Subdue our own minds?"
Thoughts surged in Yang Yu's heart.
As a law student, he considers himself to be law-abiding, but the precepts he observes are those of lust, killing, and anger...
In his impression, this is human nature. How can this be maintained?
"Keeping the precepts, the Buddhist and Taoist families probably have secret methods. Next time I see Jingse, I have to make some circumstantial remarks. After all, his Dharma name is Jingse..."
After a long time, Yang Yu shook his head, temporarily suppressed all his thoughts, swallowed a few golden beans, closed his eyes and meditated, and entered the cauldron of gluttony.