501 Shall We Go to Worship Buddha? (1/2)
Chapter 501: Shall We Go to Worship Buddha?
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Ning Que did not ask about the Tomes of the Arcane— since the ”Ming” Handscroll was in the Academy all this time, the Headmaster could read it as he wished. He was talking about the other Handscrolls. Many years ago, Lotus was invited to the Zhishou Abbey and he was only allowed to read two of them. Ning Que doubted that there was anyone in the world who had a chance to read all seven of them.
Therefore, upon hearing this, he was so shocked. He murmured in his heart. ”Teacher, even if you are the greatest man in the world since the relationship between the Academy and the Zhishou Abbey is so bad, how was it possible that the Taoist priests could lend you the seven Tomes of the Arcane?”
The Headmaster knew what he was thinking about, so he said, ”I like reading, of course, I was particularly eager to read the Tomes of the Arcane. I would never stop reading just because the taoist priests did not allow it.”
Ning Que was shocked by his hidden meaning in his words and he gasped. ”Did you break into the Zhishou Abbey to read the books? What was the difference between you and a robber?”
The Headmaster was a little embarrassed and said, ”Books are the inheritance of knowledge which should not be hidden in the mountains. It's never wrong to read a book.”
The seven Tomes of the Arcane were so supreme in people's minds. However, they were the same as normal books for the Academy, especially for the Headmaster. As long as he wanted to read them, he was able to read them— thinking of this, Ning Que was proud while shocked at the same time.
It was pride to be a Tang man, so was to be a disciple in the Academy. The Youngest Uncle had left a great reputation in the world and his Senior Brothers were able to raise rain and wind when they occasionally showed up. Especially the unfamiliar anecdotes of the Headmaster, all of these formed a special atmosphere, that no matter how restrained you were, you would become proud if you stayed in this atmosphere for a longer time.
Besides, Ning Que was never a bashful person. He sighed and recalled his former question. ”What was the message left by the Buddha on the 'Ming' Handscroll?”
The Headmaster replied, ”I've told you, as long as you comprehend this book, you would know.”
Ning Que remembered that he had read the ”Ming” Handscroll. When he thought of the ambiguous words in the book, he faintly realized those were the messages of the Buddha. Although he was so curious, at his present realm, he had no way to figure them out.
Whether in the back of the mountain or the forecourt of the Academy, the students were free to study. Ning Que did not feel ashamed to learn from his teacher, so he said, ”Teacher, I don't understand.”
The Headmaster sighed and said, ”In fact, I don't understand it either.”
Ning Que looked at his teacher's fluttering white brows and felt helpless. He thought, ”As an unordinary man, there shouldn't be any character you are not able to read.”
”When the dharma period reaches the end, the night will come and the moon will surface.”
The Headmaster looked at the stars above the cliffs and said, ”The first sentence naturally refers to 'Dharma Ending Period' and the night means 'the Underworld Invasion', but what is the moon? Since the Yuelun Kingdom was named after it, it must be round. You had talked about it last year, but who has seen it?”
He turned around and asked Ning Que, ”I don't understand because it's a prophecy. I said earlier that if a prophecy would always come true, then what do we live for? Since we can live by our own will, the prophecy may not come true. If it's not fulfilled, it may never happen to our world. Then, how can we understand if it doesn't happen?”
All these musings were quite a mouthful, but Ning Que heard him very clearly and he generally understood his teacher's attitude towards the Ming Handscroll. He thought for a moment and asked, ”If the prophecy of the Buddhism Sect doesn't matter, why do I have to go to the Lanke Temple?”
The Headmaster asked, ”What is Lanke Temple famous for?”
”It's supposed to be the monks.”
Ning Que said in his heart, but he knew that if he answered like this, he would be badly scolded. Then he thought of the rumors before Prince Long Qing entered Chang'an and the key moments during Master Lotus's life, then he asked uncertainly, ”Is it a debate?”
He had answered him with enough seriousness and care, but his teacher was still dissatisfied with it.
He said angrily, ”You talk and then I talk. That is romance. A group of cultivators talk about everything on paper and can only fool the scholars and Taoist priests. It's all Lotus and the little monk at Lanke Temple's fault since they started this.”
Ning Que asked, ”Then what is it?”
The Headmaster said, ”What was the invitation for? The Lanke Temple is best known for the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival.”
Ning Que said indignantly, ”What does this have to do with me?”
The Headmaster said, ”The Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival is a Spirit Festival which had a long history. It came from the legend of the Underworld Invasion, so the most important thing was devil-worshiping. In the beginning, it was a ceremony where people begged for a later arrival of the Underworld. In other words, it was a message for the Underworld to keep away and never come.”