The Battle in Journey to the West-Chapter 60 - 0 A Lotus Blooms from the Tongue

Liu Zhuang laughed heartily, “The two Masters are excused from ceremony! I did not expect my brother would trouble such great immortals with their presence. It is indeed an imposition.”

Yang Jian replied, “Your Majesty jokes.”

The two had entered the great hall with divine skills, arriving without a trace and leaving without a shadow, which made people envious and in awe. In contrast, the two monks had walked into the great hall, which appeared plain and unremarkable, thus seeming to give Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest and Yang Jian the upper hand immediately.

Liu Zhuang asked, “True Lord, what do you think about the comparison between Buddhist law and Taoist arts?”

Yang Jian replied gravely, “Your Majesty, my fellow Taoist, Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest, has many abilities pertaining to our philosophy. For this question, you should ask him.”

Liu Zhuang then turned to Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest and said with folded hands, “Would Equal to Heaven Master please enlighten us.”

Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest nodded and smiled, “Your Majesty, some say our Taoist Golden Elixir harms people. However, those harmed by the Golden Elixir are but nobles who blindly trust alchemists, and those who make the elixir are also but of limited talent and knowledge, not to be counted as men of Dao and virtue. Today, there are those who widely promote Buddhist Law, yet they do not realize that Zazen can kill people—such practice can lead not only to individual deaths but also to the decline of the entire Celestial Dynasty’s science. The Golden Elixir may kill a few nobles, but Buddhist Zazen could lead to the destruction of the entire dynasty’s technology.”

“Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest, you must not speak so carelessly. How can our Buddhist Zazen cause the nation to decline and science to be destroyed?” Shemoteng said sharply.

“Idle talk can harm a country, practical work can build it! Having calculated, I foresee a future emperor who, due to the pursuit of Chan Method, will ruin his country and his life. Even the Tathagata himself, when he reincarnated as a prince to spread Buddhism, perished his country and deviated into madness because of pursuing Zazen! True or not?” Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest’s words were incisive.

Shemoteng and Zhufalan glanced at each other, silently agreeing. In the past, the Tathagata reincarnated as the prince Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, which everyone knew, yet Siddhartha’s country was destroyed, and he deviated into madness. It was only after five hundred years of enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree that he regained his rightful Path.

Seeing that the two monks remained silent, Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest sneered, “You supposed immortals, your method of meditative visualization is indeed marvelous for cultivation, but for mortals, it is nothing short of poison!”

Shemoteng replied, “You’re slandering! Our Buddhist Law is compassionate and dedicated to the salvation of all living beings. How could it be poison? Do you not see that in the West Cow He State, the country is peaceful and the people all have compassionate hearts?”

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But Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest said, “The spirit of mortals is not enough to support the method of meditative visualization! And as for those who deviated into madness from Zazen, their numbers are immense. Your own Buddhist Sect’s ‘Secret Dharma for Treating Chan Illnesses’ and ‘Mahayana Sraddhotpada Shastra’ contain records of various Zazen-induced afflictions! The Buddhist Chan Method is an introduction of foreign techniques and spells, primarily used to treat those who have deviated into madness.akin to fighting poison with poison, and as a result, it has also caused many who were not ill to fall into madness through Zazen.”

The Dharma of Zen from Buddhism is indeed unparalleled in the world for those in spiritual cultivation, and even the Oral Spell passed down by Patriarch Subhuti, which Wukong initially practiced, contains the method of Zen. The Chan Method of Buddhism and the Techniques and Spells of the Daoist Sect are inherently incompatible, like water and fire, yet Patriarch Subhuti, with outstanding skill, used the well-balanced and peaceful means of Confucianism to harmonize them, succeeded in melting them together in one furnace, taking chestnuts out of the fire, and planting the Golden Lotus.

The so-called “Deviation into Madness” has its own definition in later generations, named as a mental illness, which leads to mental disorder, thus termed as entering madness.

Zhufalan sternly said, “You are just talking nonsense! Our Buddhist Zen Method is simply peerless in the world.”

The Daoist Equal to Heaven said to himself, “How sanctimonious your Buddhist Sect is! Sage Confucius said, ‘Food and sex are human nature.’ You Buddhists cultivate the mind, but in front of these four words, you are weak and powerless. Of course, I’m excluding immortals like yourselves, and am referring to the ordinary disciples of your sect. Your myriad and confusing teachings — such as the Ten Stages of the Mind’s Development, the Eight Awakenings of Great Beings, the Four Forms of Mindfulness, contemplation of impurity, contemplation of bones, contemplation of disenchantment with food, the Four Dhyanas and Eight Concentrations, Nine Progressive Stages of Samadhi, the Five Spiritual Faculties, Ten Spiritual Powers, the Twenty-five Bodhisattva Stages, and so on — are not only deep-rooted deceptions but also deeply harmful! The Taoist Golden Elixir of the mortal world only harms those nobles who firmly believe in immortality, but your method of Zen can harm all under the heavens, even producing a great number of madmen. I dare to assert that if Buddhism continues to spread, it will destroy the culture of The Eastern Land, plunging the entire land into a mire, even distorting the very words spoken by Confucius.”

Shemoteng and Zhufalan’s faces darkened with anger, and they said, “That’s just your own presumption, claiming that our Dharma of Zen is a harmful, deceitful teaching. How much better can your methods be then?”

The Daoist Equal to Heaven said, “Disciples in the mortal world naturally can’t abstain from food and drink, so your Buddhist sect preaches compassion and forbids killing.”

Shemoteng replied, “That’s right, so our disciples in the mortal world eat vegetarian meals every day and never take lives.”

Yet the Daoist Equal to Heaven chuckled and said, “The Buddha Ancestor said, ‘A single grain of sand, a single world; a single leaf, a single Tathagata.’ You eat vegetarian, but have you ever considered that even those vegetarian foods are teeming with countless beings? Whether born from eggs, wombs, moisture, transformation, those with form, those with thoughts, those without thoughts, and those neither with nor without thoughts — all of these beings exist even on your vegetarian meals. Even though you eat vegetarian food, you are still killing! And knowing ‘a single grain of sand, a single world,’ you still eat every day, this is a great action! Even not eating is a great action! If you starve yourself to death, your own body is also composed of countless beings. Knowing this and still starving yourself to death is also an act of killing. Your teachings are inherently contradictory. I pursue the Taoist Teachings of natural inaction. How can you say that Buddhist Law is superior to Taoist Arts?”

The Daoist Equal to Heaven had his unique insights into Buddhist Law, for he cultivated the “Sutra of the Other Shore,” a scripture of Amitabha Buddha, supreme and incomparable. Shemoteng and Zhufalan were left speechless after his barrage of relentless arguments, their faces flushing red with embarrassment.

Zhufalan and Shemoteng, indeed being high monks, were unable to rebut such a barrage, but they immediately changed the subject, bombarding the teachings of Taoism to expose its contradictions, engaging in a verbal fencing match.

Of course, these statements were undeniable even to the Daoist Equal to Heaven and Yang Jian. After all, extraordinary individuals in the Daoist Sect had emerged in great numbers, and immortals are not the same as ordinary people. The Dharma of Zen from Buddhism might be poison to ordinary people, but it is a treasure for the cultivation of immortals.

Even a superior individual like Subhuti had to learn the Buddhist Cultivation Method, which shows its power. It’s really hard to say which is stronger or weaker.

However, it was determined long ago in Ancient Times that everything under heaven originates from “Dao,” which is natural in essence, returning to one spirit, from which all else evolved, giving rise to the world as we know it today.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven brought out a writing brush in his hand, toyed with it for a moment, and said, “Idle talk can ruin a state! Here we are arguing, but it doesn’t show whether your Buddhist Law is superior or our Taoist Arts are more mysterious. How about setting up a stage for Magic Combat to determine who is superior?”

Although Liu Zhuang, as the Human Emperor, was a mighty and resourceful ruler, he did not understand these religious secret techniques. Both sides seemed reasonable, and while he felt that what the Daoist Equal to Heaven said was probably correct, the words were too sharp. He had allowed the introduction of Buddhism, but now the Daoist Equal to Heaven thoroughly rejected it, even proclaiming that it would lead to the nation’s ruin, which made Liu Zhuang somewhat uncomfortable.

“I think it’s a good idea. Why not have both True Persons and these two Holy Monks set up a stage for Magic Combat to contest their superiority? In the end, whether Buddhist Law is superior or Taoist Arts are more mysterious will be discerned,” said Liu Cang.

“Hmph! Those are just trivial tricks of heretics. We should rather clarify the reasoning to distinguish superiority,” Fu Yi quickly argued.

Liu Zhuang waved his hand, saying, “The Equal to Heaven Taoist Priest is right, idle talk can ruin a state, but solid work can strengthen a nation! There is no point in arguing about Buddhist Law versus Taoist Arts, so it’s better to set up a stage for Magic Combat to see who is stronger and who is weaker—simple and straightforward, and no hassle.”

The ministers present also thought this made sense and nodded in agreement, praising the Son of Heaven for his wisdom.

Liu Zhuang then said, “In that case, I would ask the two True Persons and Holy Monks to proceed, and at the time, both sides will need to demonstrate their Divine Skills to establish superiority.”

The Daoist Equal to Heaven laughed, “Naturally!”

Shemoteng and Zhufalan, caught between a rock and a hard place, had no choice but to agree.

As for who would win or lose, please listen to the explanation in the next episode.