Chapter 201: Joyous Offering

Boiling gemstones with medicinal herbs sounds exactly like the ingestion methods of the ancient Qi-refining practitioners; they loved consuming various minerals most of all, and it was by obtaining such a method that Shanju Guan came to consume jade stones.

However, this is not strange; the people regard food as their heaven, and what is eaten into the belly—if it tastes good, it is food; if it tastes bad, it is medicine; if it tastes strange, it is seasoning and spices; even those stones and all sorts of bizarre things, they would try every possible way to obtain and have a taste.

As for the first people who discovered that these jade minerals could be consumed and refined, Xu Jia could not even imagine how terrifying their stomachs must have been.

As for the later technique of gathering the lustful Qi of the brothels, it belongs to the lower-class prostitution arts among the Leftist Path, which is to say, cultivating the "Charm Fragrance Constitution." This is the same method the foxes used to cultivate the "Joyous Sandalwood Fragrance" by eating aphrodisiacs mixed into their rice. It is not good for combat, has no other magical arts, and only maintains a young and firm physical body while emitting a strange fragrance. Legend has it that several hundred years ago, an emperor even visited a brothel and brought a famous courtesan back to the palace to be made a consort.

It is just as the saying goes: heroes have a hard time passing the trial of a beautiful woman, let alone other types of people.

The "Fenghong Kulou Outer Path Benzun" mentioned at the end is a Buddhist concept, which is the "Pink Skeleton." They are two different things; she interpreted it as a pink-colored skeleton, that is, a skeleton filled with lustful Qi.

But in fact, the Pink Skeleton is a warning method of Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa. In order to educate those who are addicted to sensory pleasures and have lost their way, the Bodhisattva manifests as an extremely attractive beauty, which is the "sixteen-year-old beauty" mentioned by Lvzu. This sixteen-year-old beauty is the "appearance of the pink."

The Bodhisattva first pretends to be intimate with those who are deluded by worldly desires. When these people are at the peak of enjoying sensory pleasure, the image of the beautiful girl suddenly transforms into a skeleton of bones.

This instantaneous transformation between beauty and skeleton is what is called the "Pink Skeleton."

The Bodhisattva's original intention is to reveal Impermanence and Emptiness through this.

But people in the world only think about the stimulation of being joyous with the Bodhisattva, and often forget the warning that follows.

However, this fox spirit Hu Agui is barely stumbling into it by accident. One must know that the purpose of Joyous Zen is to seek Emptiness and Prajna wisdom within joy, while the Pink Skeleton leans toward life, death, and Impermanence, and the terrifying, unpredictable nature of joy. They seem the same, but their essences are worlds apart.

Yet, being able to cultivate to such a realm must have its merits. Xu Jia did not have his previous "feeling of contempt." After all, those who can cultivate to success on their own are all "Grandmasters." Relying on a single scripture, the "Great Joyous Offering Method," and with no one to explain the scripture to her, she only knew that the Huan Xi Jin Gang and the "Emptiness-Joy Mother" were very powerful, though she did not know how powerful, nor did she know how to cultivate these two deities. That she followed her own understanding to cultivate this pink skeleton shows she has insight, opportunity, wisdom, and Karmic Connection.

Xu Jia previously felt that the cultivation method of Shanju Guan was insufficient, but did Cai Yu not also pass on to him a Tiangang Great Sage Thunder Law?

Thus, he began to discuss the Dharma with Hu Agui. Hu Agui was surprised that Xu Jia actually knew the Dharma, but she was unwilling to reveal which Buddhist scripture she was practicing, not knowing that Xu Jia had long deduced from the Wild Fox Zen lineage of Hu Jinhua that it was the "Great Sage Joyous Offering Method."

"The Joyous Offering Method emphasizes joy and offering, which means cultivating a joyous heart to practice and to make offerings to oneself, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, and even all living beings."

Hu Agui was greatly shocked in her heart when Xu Jia pointed out the method she practiced in one sentence, but she dared not show it.

She truly could not understand what the great joy of inner satisfaction was, nor how to use this joy to make offerings to the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, and all living beings, simply because she had never attained the "joy" of enlightenment.

The joy of enlightenment is a feeling beyond words; the Buddhist school once used "picking a flower and smiling" to represent enlightenment.

Once enlightened, one will find it unforgettable. Of course, the Buddhist school also says that enlightenment is becoming a Buddha, but for some, enlightenment is instantaneous, while for others, it is continuous. Enlightenment does not truly mean becoming a Buddha; enlightenment is only the first step toward becoming a Buddha, and one must still practice and verify it gradually. In the process of practice, one gradually forms connections and bonds with the essence of life, the truth of the universe, and the reality of the self. In Taoist terms, this is entering the state of Heaven and Human Unity, also known as "Heaven, Earth, and I are one; the ten thousand things are equal."

This kind of joy is different from the joy of romantic love, the joy of satisfying desires, or the joy of gaining power. These joys are all external and will not satisfy the self; instead, they will bring a constant stream of emptiness.

This kind of joy is eternal and will not be fleeting. It is a great liberation where "the world is drunk while I alone am sober," freeing oneself from the Demonic Obstacles of ignorance, Greed, Anger, and Ignorance, and experiencing an unprecedented freedom.

Following this is a profound tranquility and inner peace, like the stillness of a lake without wind. There is not a ripple in the depths of the soul; even if there is wind and rain outside, the heart remains in absolute stillness.

After obtaining Great Joy comes "awakening," resolving the Twelve Causalities, knowing the source of all suffering in the world, and thus generating supreme compassion, wishing to enlighten all living beings and bring them liberation.

This compassionate heart of helping others is "offering."

Offering to oneself, offering to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, and offering to all living beings and things.

Xu Jia said: "You use another kind of joy for almsgiving, but you have not truly conveyed Joyous Offering to all living beings in a meaningful sense. The pleasure of living beings is momentary, and what you have done has always been labor in vain."

"Then why has my Dharma Power grown so fast, and why have I even cultivated an Intermediate Yin Body that remains? You are a Taoist, why are you discussing the Dharma with me?"

Xu Jia said: "Besides almsgiving, there are many other ways to practice; one can observe precepts, practice patience, and engage in meditation."

"Although you may not necessarily have a heart of compassion, you treat every guest who comes to Cuichun Pavilion equally, treating them with a joyous heart, so you have touched upon it slightly. But your joyous heart has a price, and that is that you must have money."

"Who says so? Before I had achieved success, I had intimate relations with beggars, cripples, bandits, widowers, eunuchs, and night-soil collectors, and I didn't take money. The reason I take money is because I discovered that prostitutes are more pitiful than them. Even if they are eunuchs, widowers, or night-soil collectors, because they are men and have a 'root of right and wrong,' they can tease and grope without regard for resistance. They are the most pitiful. If I don't step in, they will never have status or a voice."

"Now that I have reorganized this business, men are grateful to me, and women are also grateful to me. I have helped them from the root, so my heart feels joy, and I am making offerings to all living beings." Hu Agui said: "My love is great love, and my joy is also Great Joy!"

Xu Jia said: "But you have also turned them into tools for making money, haven't you? Even those foxes, originally listening to the teachings of Hu Jinhua—although his cultivation was not good, he did righteous things, held to the center and kept to the one, without two hearts or three intentions. You say on the surface that it is for their own good, but in your heart, you are actually still doing it for yourself, to achieve the status of an Earth Immortal. This is the Attachment to Self that you cannot let go of."

"The Dharma emphasizes Emptiness and Impermanence; the more you seek, the less you get. When you let go, it comes naturally." Xu Jia said: "Only when you are truly and sincerely doing it for these girls, for the beggars and night-soil collectors you mentioned who cannot obtain Joyous Offering, will you be able to pass the Earth Immortal Calamity."

"Your Intermediate Yin Body will then be truly complete, just like the bright moon that rises and sets, waxes and wanes. Yet when people think of it, they know, 'Oh, this is the moon.' It does not cease to be the moon because it waxes and wanes, or rises and sets. Similarly, the Great Joyous Offering you practice is the same. It is not because you did these things that you are joyous, but because of the wisdom, enlightenment, and liberation you have had all along."

(End of chapter)