2 Buddhism (1/2)

Meng Qi's secret happiness turned into embarrassment. Zhen De and the other acolytes looked at him with astonishment and contempt, which reminded him of typical elementary school students who always wanted to draw a line between themselves and bad kids. The only exception was Zhen Hui ”Fang Aqi”, who stared at the golden figure of Buddha in front of him, and it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere.

Subconsciously, Meng Qi turned his head to Xuan Zang who was standing next to him. ”Did he feel anything weird?”

For Meng Qi, being embarrassed in front of everyone wasn't a big deal, but if he exposed his true identity, which was a ”zombie”, it would be a big, big deal.

Xuan Zang still had the dispirited face that he has always had. Seeing that Meng Qi was staring at him, he slightly shook his head. ”Namo Amitābha. What have been decided by Brother Xuan Ku is already decided,” he didn't imply but said it aloud.

”Ugh, so he thought I was begging for help…” Meng Qi was relieved because he knew Xuan Zang didn't discover anything that he wasn't supposed to discover. Therefore, unless the parents of the body or the horse-faced man showed up again, he might be able to keep his secret forever. Then after a few years nobody would suspect him ever again, since it wouldn't be strange for anyone to forget childhood memories.

”Compared to this, being banished into the Chores Yard was just a minor issue!”

Meng Qi tried to look as absent-minded as Zhen Hui so that Xuan Zang wouldn't notice that he wasn't really disappointed or sad.

After the wide-faced Xuan Ku finished inquiring all the children, the result was that including Meng Qi and Zhen Hui, six children were being sent to the Chores Yard. All the other children became members of the Warrior-monk Yard.

Gently tapping his left palm with the discipline ruler, Xuan Ku said, ”Follow me to the Sundries Yard for tonsure, and to pick up your robes and Buddhist textbooks. From now on, if you continue to work extremely hard, you still have the chance to join the Bodhi or Dharma Yard to learn advanced sutras and Kungfu.”

”So there's Dharma here too?” Meng Qi was stupefied for a second, but Xuan Ku didn't give him any time to think and walked passed all the children, towards the outside.

Being surrounded by strangers, Meng Qi didn't dare to ask too many questions. He followed the two yellow-robed monks, Xuan Ku and Xuan Zang, and walked into a nearby yard.

”You are not officially joining Shaolin yet, so you only have to pray to Buddha. Have your tonsure done and leave your names,” Xuan Ku told them as he pointed to the hassock inside the prayer room.

”Yes, Uncle Xuan Ku,” the children followed Zhen De's example and answered. They kneeled on the hassock one by one and kowtowed to the golden Buddha above them.

After all the children finished their prayers, Xuan Ku put his palms together devoutly and saluted solemnly to the Buddha figure. Chanting ”Namo Amitābha”, he walked towards one of the children and put his right hand gently on the child's head.

Immediately, the child's long, black hair turned yellow, withered, and fell to the ground like autumn leaves. Less than the time it took to take two breaths; the child became a real acolyte.

”Wish your worries fade completely and secularity stays away from you,” Xuan Ku said solemnly, and his deep voice echoed in the peaceful and quiet prayer room.

”What kind of Kungfu is this? Unbelievable!” Meng Qi was stunned and excited. ”Will I have the chance to learn this sort of Kungfu too?”

Xuan Ku tonsured all the children and repeated the same words again and again.

When it was Meng Qi's turn, he lowered his head and silently chanted the names of Buddha and Lao Tzu, while grieving over the hair that will soon leave him forever.

Xuan Ku's thick and large hands softly touched Meng Qi's head, and his hair fell one by one right in front of him. This broke his heart because he had always loved secularity and never even thought of the idea of becoming a monk.

”Wish your worries fade completely and secularity stays away from you,”

Xuan Ku's voice, which was like a sudden chime of the temple bell, made Meng Qi quiver. The second after, he felt that his soul was clean and clear.

However, when Xuan Ku left, the ”clean” and ”clear” feeling that Meng Qi felt faded away as well.

With that Meng Qi's firm belief came back to him, ”I'm going back to secularity at some point in the future!”

After praying to Buddha, tonsuring, and recording their names, the children followed a few gray-robed monks to the backyard and picked up their belongings- two sets of gray robes, two pairs of shoes and socks, and two textbooks, Shaolin Disciplines, and 12 Chants of Dawn.

”When you finish learning, reading, and writing in the Sutras Yard, you will be able to recite the disciplines and chants. Before that, I will tell you the basic disciplines. First, you must not deceive or disrespect your teachers and predecessors. Second, if you don't have the permission to learn Kungfu, you must not try to learn them sneakily. Third, you must not kill any living beings. Fourth, you must abstain from alcohol. Fifth, you must abstain from meat. Sixth, you must abstain from lust…” Xuan Ku repeated the major disciplines that needed to be followed, and in the end he said in a very serious tone, ”For anyone that breaks these rules, a light punishment will be scolding, while the most severe punishment could be the deprivation of you learning kungfu and expulsion from Shaolin.”

He only mentioned two of the possible punishments, which were respectively the lightest and the most severe. Other punishment could include hard labor, hand-writing the entire sutra, being hit by clubs, and standing facing the wall without moving for hours while reflecting on your mistakes.

After explaining these disciplines, Xuan Ku and Xuan Zang led the acolytes and left the Sundries Yard.

”In Shaolin Temple, monks who wear gray robes are ordinary monks, those who wear yellow robes are the manager monks of different yards, and those who wear yellow robes and red cassocks are the His Abbotship, the head of the yards, and the elders…” On their way, Xuan Ku didn't take a break and continued to educate the acolytes about the ”common sense” in the temple. He only stopped talking and went silent when Zhen De and his fellow yard-mates entered the Warrior-monk Yard.

As they walked, Meng Qi noticed that they obviously were walking further and further away from the center of the temple. Green trees surrounded the yellow-painted walls, and he could seldom see a prayer room. After a long time, Meng Qi finally saw an extremely mottled and timeworn yard.

”Oh my, Brother Xuan Ku, Brother Xuan Zang, you came so early!” A fat monk standing in front of the gate walked towards them with a large smile on his face. He also wore a yellow robe, but his collar was open and untidy, and his big fat belly stood out and grabbed a lot of attention.

Xuan Ku frowned, and put his palms together solemnly. ”Namo Amitābha. Brother Xuan Xin, how could you be so lazy?”

The fat monk Xuan Xin seemed to have become used to Xuan Ku's temper since a long time ago. He wasn't angry at all. ”Ah, you are too obsessed with looks. Are these the students for our Chores Yard?” He didn't want to argue with Xuan Ku about his looks, so he pointed at Meng Qi and the other children and asked.

”Please arrange them as you like, Brother Xuan Xin,” Xuan Ku answered seriously.

At this moment, the silent Xuan Zang suddenly opened his mouth, ”Are Zhen Ying and Zhen Guan still in the Chores Yard?”

”They are, they are!” the fat monk said confusedly. ”Brother Xuan Zang, why are you asking about them? You aren't planning to accept them as your students, are you?”

Xuan Zang shook his head and sighed. ”The kungfu build-up in my body is already broken. How can I accept new students? I don't want to mislead anyone. Brother Xuan Xin, could you please lead these two to the same room with Zhen Ying and Zhen Guan?”