Fangzheng and Monkey were rendered completely speechless when they heard that. This fellow was a lazy glutton who loved to eat and work. He was a lazy bum who wanted to freeload! Most importantly, this fellow was especially narcissistic!
Fangzheng frowned before he got up and walked into the temple hall. He offered incense and kowtowed. Then, he mumbled, "Bodhisattva, bless This Penniless Monk to become Buddha as soon as possible." At the same time, he cast A Golden Millet Dream!
Upon hearing that, the man jumped in fright. There was actually someone begging for this? When he turned his head, the man nearly jumped in fright. The person kneeling beside him looked extremely familiar!
He looked up at the Buddha statue on the Ten Thousand Buddha plaque and then at the person beside him. They were identical! The man's soul nearly flew out of his body!
At that moment, Fangzheng turned his head and smiled. "Patron, is there a problem?"
"You … You … She …" Pan An pointed at Fangzheng and then at the Guan Yin Bodhisattva on the Ten Thousand Buddha plaque. He was speechless.
Fangzheng did not say a word as he waited silently.
Pan An gulped and finally mustered his courage. "You are her?"
Fangzheng nodded. "Yes."
"You are Bodhisattva?" exclaimed Pan An.
Fangzheng continued nodding.
Pan An felt emboldened when he saw Fangzheng's amiable expression. "Since you are Bodhisattva, why are you begging Bodhisattva? That's not right. Why are you begging yourself? "
Fangzheng smiled. "Because This Penniless Monk knows that begging others is better than begging yourself. If you don't work hard, who can you ask for help from? If This Penniless Monk wants to become Buddha, does he have to rely on himself or others? Can he be relied on? "
Pan An was stunned.
After Fangzheng said that, he got up and left the temple hall. He transformed into a stream of light and vanished. Fangzheng obviously did not know how to fly. However, it was an illusion. He could fly freely …
Pan An was dumbfounded. If he had thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him, or that he had been fooled by a cosplayer, he was now completely convinced! Could ordinary people fly? Of course not! When he turned back to look at the Ten Thousand Buddha plaque, Pan An was lost. then he asked, "Bodhisattva, are you giving me pointers?"
Unfortunately, there was no response from the Ten Thousand Buddha plaque.
However, Pan An still laughed. "Yes, Bodhisattva is definitely giving me pointers! Haha … I knew I had an extraordinary life. Even Bodhisattva himself descended to guide me. Even Bodhisattva thinks highly of me. How could I not succeed? Hmm, I'll go back and work hard … "As he muttered to himself, Pan An left the temple hall and ran out of the monastery. He slipped down the mountain.
Monkey stood beside Fangzheng and asked, "Master, why is this fellow so mysterious?"
Fangzheng smiled. "Some people don't have God in their hearts, but they come to pray to God. Some people have God in their hearts, so they come to pray to God. But they don't know that in this world, it's better to rely on oneself than to rely on others. "
"Master, if you put it that way, why do you still have a monastery? What's the use of incense? Can't we just go back and beg ourselves? "Monkey scratched his head and asked in confusion.
Fangzheng smiled. "Seeking help from oneself is the best strategy, seeking help from God is the middle strategy, and giving up is the worst strategy. It was precisely because there were too many people in the world who did not know how to seek help from themselves and were lost in their efforts that there were today's monasteries and Buddhas. If they did not know how to seek help from themselves, they could only seek help from the gods and Buddhas. At least there was still hope. The existence of gods and Buddhas is to give people hope. At any time, if you seek help from them, they will stand by your side and listen to your joys and sorrows. They will also use their own methods to resolve the sorrows in their hearts and share their happiness. If not, when people are lost and unable to see hope, without anyone understanding them, it is very easy to walk down a path of no return. "
"Then … Then wouldn't gods and Buddhas be useless when everyone seeks help from themselves?" Monkey asked worriedly.
Fangzheng laughed out loud. "If everyone seeks help from themselves, the world would be Mount Numinous, and all life would be Buddha. How could they be useless? All the virtues of having a clear mind, seeing one's true nature, and being indomitable will be awakened from people's hearts. All life would be Buddha, and that would be a golden age. "
Monkey was enlightened as he pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. I've learned something."
Fangzheng patted Monkey on the head and returned to the temple hall to recite the scriptures in satisfaction.
Days passed one after another. He ate vegetarian, recited the scriptures, fetched water, and farmed. His days were carefree. But on this day, Fangzheng received an invitation from Sunglow Monastery.
Although Sunglow Monastery was not the biggest monastery in Jilin Province, it was one of the more famous ones. The monastery had centuries of history. It had experienced the vicissitudes of dynasties, but it had never declined. Sunglow Monastery was located on Changbai Mountain, and it was one of the few large monasteries built on Changbai Mountain.
Although they were all on the Changbai Mountain range, Changbai Mountain had a broad and narrow meaning. In a narrow sense, Changbai Mountain referred to the southwest corner of Changbai Mountain, where the main peak of Changbai Mountain was. And the broad meaning referred to the three northeastern provinces. It was the general name for the mountainous area in the eastern part of the northeastern region. It stretched from the northern foot of the Wanda mountain range to the southern foot of the Qianshan mountain range's Laotie mountain range. It was about 1,300 kilometers long and 400 kilometers wide from east to west. It was the source of the Yalu River, Tumen River, and Songhua River.
Sunglow Monastery was located on the broad meaning of Changbai Mountain range. It was the northeasternmost part of Jilin Province. If Fangzheng wanted to go there by car, it would take him two days and two nights. If he took the high-speed rail from Black Mountain City to Gulin City, it would be faster. However, he would need to spend a lot of money.
Fangzheng sat at the monastery's entrance and looked at the invitation in his hand. He wore a depressed look. Ignoring the high-speed rail, he couldn't even afford a car fare!
Just as Fangzheng was feeling depressed, he suddenly heard a voice. "Is this an invitation from Sunglow Monastery?"
Fangzheng was taken aback as he looked up. He saw a girl widening her watery eyes as she looked curiously at the invitation in Fangzheng's hand. The girl was no stranger. She was none other than Ouyang Fenghua, the daughter of the calligrapher Ouyang Huazai who had competed with Fangzheng in calligraphy. She had a ponytail and was dressed in a yellow t-shirt, cropped denim pants, and canvas shoes. She did not have any unnecessary accessories. It was very simple and refreshing, but she looked invincible and energetic. She had a pair of large eyes that were extremely bright. Her eyelashes were long and they flickered, making her look very attractive.
"Amitabha. So it's you, Patron Ouyang." Fangzheng stood up and pressed his palms together.
"Aiyah, Master, aren't you being too polite? Aren't you being too old-fashioned? My impression of you isn't like that. "Ouyang Fenghua blinked her large eyes playfully.
Fangzheng smiled and returned with a question. "Then how do you see This Penniless Monk?"
"Although he looks a little old-fashioned, he's quite an interesting person. At the very least, he's not old-fashioned." Ouyang Fenghua wanted to say that he was sunny, handsome, and a little pixie. However, she was afraid that Fangzheng would be unhappy if she said that. Therefore, she changed it.
Fangzheng smiled. He had no way of rebutting Ouyang Fenghua's evaluation because he was not an old-fashioned person. He was a master in front of others but an ordinary person behind others. He had no lack of mischief.
"Thank you for your praise, Patron," replied Fangzheng.
"Don't thank me. Don't call me patron either. We are already so familiar with each other. Just call me by my name. My name is Ouyang Fenghua. Everyone calls me Fenghua, "said Ouyang Fenghua playfully.
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