Chapter 16: Debating the Buddha

The candle flames were brilliant, and the sandalwood incense swayed.

Clear Zen sounds echoed continuously within the great hall.

"Shariputra, all phenomena are empty; they are not born, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing."

"Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no mental formations, no consciousness; no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or object of mind; no realm of eyes and so on until no realm of consciousness; no ignorance and also no..."

The Buddhist chanting was devout, like the most clear-eyed novice monk, sensing the Buddha's teachings with his heart.

Looking toward the sound, inside the great hall, a burly Demon black bear was currently kneeling on a meditation cushion in the very center.

With hands pressed together, he was devoutly chanting the Prajna Heart Sutra.

The room was not large, very crude, and could even be described as shabby.

Though called the main hall, it was shabbily beyond compare.

Only the Buddha statue in the very center radiated a shimmering precious light, with half its body cast in gold, looking bejeweled and extremely extravagant.

It formed an extremely sharp contrast with the impoverished room.

After finishing the chant of the Prajna Heart Sutra, the black bear bowed devoutly toward the Buddha statue before him.

"Oh, Buddha!"

"I have already devoutly read all the scriptures, and I have also cast a golden body for you."

"Why am I still not recognized by you?"

The black bear knelt before the Buddha, raised his head, his eyes looking up with devotion, solemnity, and reverence.

Li Xiang had never seen such a spectacle.

If the gray wolf and the white snake were a kind of mad confusion in their pursuit of the Dao.

The black bear before his eyes showed him what true faith was called.

It had nothing to do with race, nothing to do with the difference between human and Demon.

Just by standing there and looking up at the Buddha, he made people feel purity and feel that resonance originating from the heart.

Though the Dao is far, I shall surely approach it.

This was the feeling the black bear gave him: pure, firm.

This was a devout Buddhist disciple, a true seeker of the Dao.

"Oh, Buddha, am I not devout enough?"

"Are you dissatisfied with the gift I offered?"

"Is it because I did not cast a perfect golden body for you that you are blaming me?"

"You said that the Buddha is wise, that you have reached the other shore, that you understand all things, lacking nothing, and feeling no sorrow."

"You are so great and so merciful, why can you not bestow even a little bit of your wisdom upon me?"

"You... I beg you to give me a little more time, I will surely cast the most beautiful golden body for you, I will surely build the most magnificent temple for you."

"Oh, Buddha, I am so eager to receive your grace, to receive your gaze, I pray to you..."

"Oh, Buddha..."

Under the candlelight, the black bear looked at the Buddha devoutly, his eyes as pure as the sun.

If a painter were here, they would surely be moved to tears by this scene, and the painting they recorded of this moment would become a classic passed down through the ages.

Before the merciful Buddha, even a rebellious Demon yearns to receive the Buddha's grace and the Buddha's wisdom.

A Demon pursuing wisdom before the Buddha.

What a beautiful scene.

What a sacred scene.

But looking at such a sacred scene, Li Xiang let out a long sigh.

At this moment, even though he did not practice Buddhism, he knew the black bear had taken the wrong path.

And an extremely absurd one at that.

"Having faith is a good thing."

"Having a firm Dao heart is also a good thing."

"But if one keeps walking on the wrong path, what meaning do these have?"

"The Buddha"

"Would he really care about your looking up at him?"

In the shadows, Li Xiang watched the black bear from afar, muttering to himself.

Li Xiang had not studied Buddhism, but he knew some Fo Men allusions.

What is a Buddha?

One who has attained supreme enlightenment!

It is the true suchness of one's original nature, also known as the self-nature of the pure mind.

A Buddha is one who has attained great wisdom, one who has complete cognition of himself at a philosophical level, one who is truly enlightened, understands his own five aggregates, has awakened to his original nature, yet has severed all afflictions, is without increase or decrease, possesses a flawless heart, and has attained great purity and great perfection.

Where is the Buddha?

The Buddha is three inches within the heart.

If one does not attain enlightenment, how can one attain supreme enlightenment?

If one attains enlightenment, where in life is not Spirit Mountain?

If one could attain enlightenment just by worshipping the Buddha, if one could understand the five aggregates just by begging the Buddha, then why would there still be so many troubled people in this world?

"Your path was wrong from the very beginning; how could you ever see the true Buddha?"

Li Xiang shook his head, quietly evaluating.

For some reason, a trace of pity suddenly arose in his heart.

He had a strong urge to bring this lost Buddhist disciple before him back onto the right path.

Perhaps it was before the Buddha that even Li Xiang felt a trace of compassion.

After thinking for a long time, he stepped out from the shadows and gently pushed open the main hall's doors.

He already had a plan for the matter of the debate.

"Who?"

"Who is it?!"

"A mortal?!"

"You, what did you come here for? Get out quickly, do not disturb the Buddha's purity!"

The Black Bear Spirit stood up, looking at the small child before him in surprise.

He was not hostile toward mortals; he was merely a bit resentful.

This was the Buddha's hall; how could he allow an idler to disturb it?

"What a magnificent Buddha statue. May I offer a stick of incense to the Buddha before I leave?"

Li Xiang walked in directly and openly, not caring in the slightest that the Black Bear Spirit before him was a Demon.

It seemed as though, in his eyes, there was only the Buddha.

"A believer?"

The Black Bear Spirit's hostility vanished completely in an instant.

"You are also a believer of the Buddha? That is wonderful; naturally, you may offer incense."

"Do you think this Buddha statue is beautiful? Do you think the Buddha will like it?"

The Black Bear Spirit hurriedly stood up, first bowing to Li Xiang, and then taking a bundle of incense from beneath the altar.

Held in his hand, a faint fragrance drifted over; it seemed to be an extremely precious spice.

"What a magnificent Buddha statue. Did you make it?"

He lit the incense in his hand and inserted it into the Incense Burner.

Li Xiang sat on the ground casually, raised his head, and looked at the magnificent Buddha statue before him.

The Buddha statue was large, with half its body made of pure gold, and it looked very kind.

"Yes!"

"I begged for much, much gold and silver from the mortals down the mountain, and only then was I able to gild half of the Buddha's body."

"The Buddha will surely be very happy!"

A look of self-satisfaction suddenly appeared on the Black Bear Spirit's face; he seemed to enjoy sharing these things with others.

It was like a happy child who had done a good deed and was waiting for someone else's praise.

"Happy?"

"I think the Buddha would be angry."

Li Xiang smiled and turned to look at the Black Bear Spirit.

"You took the gold and silver from the mortals; what are they supposed to live on then?"

"The Buddha is compassionate; seeing those suffering mortals, the Buddha would also shed tears, would he not?"

The Black Bear Spirit was somewhat surprised, and for a moment, he did not know how to refute this.

"This..."

"They contributed gold and silver to the Buddha; the Buddha will protect them."

Listening to the Black Bear Spirit's rebuttal, Li Xiang smiled.

He sat on the ground, looking up at the Black Bear Spirit.

At this moment, the Black Bear Spirit seemed slightly nervous.

"I am just curious, why are you so obsessed with wanting to gild the Buddha's body?"

"To, to make the Buddha happy!"

"Make the Buddha happy?"

"Then why do you want to make the Buddha happy?"

"Because... because I want to obtain the Buddha's wisdom."

"The Buddha's wisdom?"

"So that is how it is."

"You believe in the Buddha in order to obtain the Buddha's wisdom, is that it?"

"I have another question I would like to ask you; can you answer it?"

One man and one bear faced each other before the Buddha.

"A question?"

"Is it for the mortals' gold and silver?"

"I cannot return the gold and silver to you; the Buddha's golden body is not yet finished."

Li Xiang shook his head and reached out to point at the Buddha statue.

"I did not come for the mortals."

"I came for you."

"For me?"

The Black Bear frowned, seemingly finding it hard to understand what Li Xiang was saying.

"To be precise, he told me to come."

"The Buddha asked me to come and ask you."

Li Xiang looked up, his gaze meeting the Buddha statue; looking at the brilliant golden body, he slowly asked in a calm tone.

"Are you truly worshipping the Buddha?"

"Or are you worshipping your own desires!"

(End of this chapter)