Chapter 101: Shameless monks have nothing to do with anyone else!
Not only was Lin Beifan stunned, but everyone around him was too!
Just a moment ago, you said that Lin Beifan had the bones and heart of Buddha, and wanted to take him as a disciple and make him a monk. How did it suddenly turn around and you are now bowing to him as your master?
Furthermore, as a respected and powerful older monk, is it appropriate for you to bow to a young scholar who has no martial arts skills?
“Amitabha!”
Master Jing Tai straightened his back but still maintained a respectful posture. Facing Lin Beifan with folded hands, he showed admiration and devotion, “This humble monk has seen the true Buddhist teachings and great love in you. You are the true Buddha in this world, so I wish to bow to you as my master and learn the incomparable Buddhist teachings. Please accept me as your disciple!”
After finishing, he bowed deeply to Lin Beifan once again.
Lin Beifan’s mouth twitched. Did my nonsensical teachings mislead you?
Finally, everyone confirmed that this senior monk really wanted to bow to Lin Beifan as his master and he seemed very sincere!
This scene was too crazy, crazier than a mouse wishing a chicken a happy new year!
Lin Beifan felt it was inappropriate and said, “Master, I think bowing as master and disciple is not necessary. After all, I am young, and it is not suitable for me to be your master. We can be friends and exchange knowledge on Buddhism.”
“No, this cannot be done. The ink of your brush strokes has become a masterpiece!” The old monk felt anxious and scared. “Your understanding of Buddhism is far more profound than mine. Every sentence you say benefits me greatly and gives me a clear understanding of what I have been missing out on. It’s not about age, but those who are wise and capable. I want to learn your teachings. Please accept me as your disciple!”
Lin Beifan forced a smile, “But I only have a limited understanding of Buddhism, and I am unable to be your master.”
The old monk became more excited and enthusiastic, “Even with limited knowledge, you are so profound! Amitabha! You are indeed the true Buddha in this world! Please accept me as your disciple!”
Lin Beifan continuously shook his head, “No, no, no…maybe we should think about it again.”
The old monk quickly urged, “Master, there’s no need to think about it anymore! Is it because my heart lacks sincerity, or my Buddha nature is not sufficient? Please tell me, I will change immediately!”
Lin Beifan continued shaking his head, “You are already a great monk, you don’t need to change. It’s me who needs to make changes.”
The old monk asked urgently, “If that’s the case, why don’t you accept me as your disciple?”
…
The two continued to argue like this.
One didn’t want to take in this old disciple, while the other desperately wanted to bow to him as his master.
Onlookers were dumbfounded.
“Master Jingt Tai is too persistent, isn’t he?”
“Is it really worth going this far just to learn some Buddhist teachings?”
“To be honest, I still can’t see any trace of Buddha in Lin Beifan!”
“Is it appropriate to accept him as a master?”
“Amitabha, you just don’t understand!” The young monk joined his hands in a fanatic manner and said, “As the saying goes, hearing the truth in the morning is enough to satisfy one’s life. My master devoted his life to Buddhism and pursued Buddhist fate. After finally encountering the true Buddha and experiencing the true Buddhist teachings, he naturally swore to follow him to death! If it weren’t for my master making the first move, I would have thought of switching to Mr. Lin as my teacher!”
Everyone held their heads with their hands, feeling exhausted. “Two lunatics!” they said.
At that moment, seeing the stalemate, the old monk bit his teeth, suddenly pounced over, and grabbed Lin Beifan’s thigh, saying shamelessly, “Sir, if you don’t accept me as your student, I will hold onto your leg and won’t let go!”
“Holy Fuck!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.
“Holy Fuck!” everyone echoed.
Everyone was stunned! You were a highly respected monk! Was it worth losing your dignity to become a disciple?
Really…
It wasn’t necessary!
Lin Beifan shook his leg but couldn’t get rid of him. He helplessly said, “You have to give me time to consider such a big matter as accepting a disciple, don’t you?”
“Just consider it, don’t worry about me. As long as you promise to accept me as your disciple, I’ll let go immediately!” The old monk shamelessly responded.
“What if I still don’t agree?” Lin Beifan asked.
“Then I won’t let go, and I hope you will keep your promise!” the old monk replied.
“Damn it!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.
The old monk was even more shameless than Lin Beifan had imagined! The young one was even worse! No wonder they were from the same temple!
The old monk moved to a different spot and pretended to be serious, saying, “Jie Kong, this is the Buddha’s leg. You must hold onto it tightly, but be sure not to hurt the sir, understand?”
“Thank you, Master, for your help!” Jie Kong said. Excited, he jumped over and hugged Lin Beifan’s other thigh.
Lin Beifan was at a loss!
Two monks holding onto both of his legs made it difficult for him to move!
Eventually, Lin Beifan had to say, “Alright, I’ll take you both as my disciples and teach you the supreme Buddhist teachings. Is that okay? Get up quickly!”
The two monks were overjoyed and said in unison, “Thank you, Master!”
They packed their belongings and happily followed Lin Beifan down the mountain.
The whole way down, Lin Beifan still felt confused, as if he was in a dream. He went up the mountain to enjoy the view, worship Buddha, and ended up taking two monk students back home! One of them was even a third-grade Grandmaster!
He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad; his heart was tangled up.
In the end, he had to take it one step at a time. After all, he had a big business and could afford to support two monks.
In the late evening, they finally returned home to prepare dinner. Dali and Xiao Cui quickly got to work in the kitchen.
However, the two novice monks who had just arrived were having a hard time digesting the table full of meat, fish, and luxury wine.
The young monk was nervous and said, “Amitabha! My master and I are vegetarians, could we have some vegetarian dishes instead?”
Dali replied, “It’s too late now; we can only prepare them tomorrow!”
Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Jing Tai, have you forgotten what you said to me before?”
“Amitabha! I dare not forget. Master said: Meat and wine enter the stomach, but the Buddha remains in the heart! As long as there is Buddha in the heart, even if you eat and drink wine, it’s alright!”
Lin Beifan nodded, “That’s right! Everything is like a dream, like bubbles or dew or lightning! Everything in the world is illusory, and so is meat and wine. If you hesitate to eat, it’s because you can’t relax and don’t have enough confidence in Buddha. How can you expect the Buddha’s kindness and protection if you are like this?”
“Amitabha! Master speaks the truth. Jing Tai has learned a lot!” Jing Tai bowed down with both hands clasped.
Then he grabbed a chicken leg, took a bite and ate it with relish. But his Buddha nature became even stronger.
The young monk watched the old monk eat so eagerly and secretly swallowed a bit of saliva. “Master, can I eat too?” he asked.
“Meat and wine enter the stomach, but the Buddha remains in the heart! But that’s only the first half of the sentence, there’s a second half!” Lin Beifan laughed.
The old monk immediately put down the chicken leg and clasped his hands together with a solemn expression, “Master, please tell us more!”
“The second half of the sentence says, ‘If people follow me, they will fall into the devil’s path!’”
“This means that if your level is not high enough and you can’t always make Buddha your priority, then you shouldn’t follow us and eat meat and drink wine. Otherwise, you will fall into the endless hellish path of the devil!”
Lin Beifan continued, “Jie Kong, it’s obvious that you haven’t reached that level yet and can’t resist temptation. So it’s better not to eat meat and drink wine for now!”
“Amitabha! Master speaks the truth. Jing Tai has learned a lot!”
Then he turned to the young monk and said sternly, “Jie Kong, your level is still too low, and your understanding of the Buddha’s teachings is not deep enough. So for now, you shouldn’t eat meat and drink wine. Instead, eat some dry food to fill your stomach!”
“Yes, master, thank you!” Jie Kong bowed his head in shame as he rubbed his stomach, feeling very hungry. He looked up again and saw everyone enjoying their meal with relish, their mouths full of oil. He felt tortured, realizing that his master was right about the world being a sea of suffering.
And so, the two monks stayed in the Lin mansion.
Lin Beifan was very important to the Empress. When two strangers appeared in Lin Beifan’s home, she immediately became wary.
She then sent someone to investigate and found out that the two living there were monks from the Thundercloud Temple.
The old monk was named Jing Tai and was a highly respected and powerful monk.
The young monk was named Jie Kong and was the old monk’s disciple.
The Empress was confused, “What do that guy have to do with monks?”
Then, Bai Qingxuan appeared in the void.
“I know Jing Tai. He truly is a wise monk who has great faith in Buddhism, and is completely different from the monks in the martial arts world! He is also a reclusive powerful master who previously had peak innate strength, and has taken a step forward to become a grandmaster!”
“As for Jie Kong, he is indeed Jing Tai’s disciple who has been learning Buddhism from him since he was young. He is highly enlightened and wise, and will definitely become a respected monk in the future!”
“But how did they end up with Lin Beifan? They don’t have any necessary connection!” The Empress asked with a frown.
“Because Lin Beifan is Jing Tai’s master, they have a teacher-disciple relationship and naturally came together.”
“What!? Lin Beifan is Jing Tai’s master?”
The Empress was shocked, “How could something so strange happen? What can Lin Beifan teach him?”
“I don’t believe it either, but I witnessed it with my own eyes and had to believe it!”
Bai Qingxuan said while suppressing her laughter, “At that time, I felt someone had broken into the grandmaster level, so I went to the Thundercloud Temple and found out why! The two met in the Temple and Jing Tai wanted to accept Lin Beifan as his disciple, so they discussed Buddhism.”
“However, Jing Tai was instead conquered by Lin Beifan’s Buddhism teachings! He had a great enlightenment and took a step forward to become a grandmaster! Because he wanted to seek even deeper Buddhism teachings, he then took Lin Beifan as his teacher and followed him!”
The Empress scoffed, “That’s ridiculous! Bai Qingxuan, do you really think Lin Beifan understands Buddhism? Could it be nonsense he’s saying seriously?”
Bai Qingxuan almost burst out laughing, “Maybe? Who knows? Isn’t he full of surprises?”
The Empress nodded, “You’re right!”
