The Prince Can Do Divination-Chapter 147 - 129: Great Success in the Emperor’s Heart Skill, Jiang Shan’s Sermon, the Confucian-Buddhist Debate
Jiang Shan chuckled lightly. "Please speak, old master."
"I am a scholar of the Confucian Family. I often hear of cases judged at the Drumming Institute, and a few of them involve the Buddhist Sect. I would like to ask the Saint Monk to comment on them."
His tone was deferential, yet his words carried an aggressive edge.
Lu Mingyuan sensed it. ’This Master Xun seems to be trying to use Jiang Shan’s name to expand his own influence.’
Jiang Shan’s voice remained gentle as he continued, "I wonder, Master, what doubts have arisen from your listening to the scripture?"
Master Xun smiled faintly. "I am puzzled. Monks do not engage in production; their days are spent meditating and chanting scriptures. They claim to bestow grace upon the masses, yet they are sustained by the offerings of believers, making them seem like parasites on the nation."
This master, his face wreathed in smiles but his words sharp as a blade, asked, "Zen Master, what is your explanation?"
"There is some truth in what you say, Master. However..."
Jiang Shan said, "The common people are farmers who till the soil to harvest rice, millet, and wheat. My Buddha tills the fields of the human heart, eliminating karmic obstacles and guiding people toward goodness. The two are merely a division of labor, no different in essence."
"This ’tilling the fields of the human heart’ you speak of, Zen Master—how is that for eliminating karmic obstacles? Isn’t it just for your own cultivation? The greatest benefit, the merit, doesn’t it all end up with you?"
Master Xun said with a laugh, "Since it’s for your own cultivation, don’t go around preaching about saving others. It’s too hypocritical. You’re only saving yourselves!"
An uproar swept through the square.
The fundamental concept of the Buddhist Sect is to save others, but after this old man’s explanation, it had been twisted into a selfish act of saving only oneself.
The true meaning of a Buddhist Cultivator’s path—performing good deeds and bestowing virtue—had been turned into an act of evil!
Buddhist Cultivators are inherently evil!
The faces of some Buddhist believers in the crowd turned deathly pale. The more emotional ones even looked ready to rush the stage, pull the old man down, and give him a beating to teach him the meaning of "physical salvation."
Flashes of spiritual light flared—some were from the Taoist Sect’s Body Fixation Skill, others from the Confucian True Words Technique—stabilizing the crowd.
At this point, the scripture lecture had turned into a debate. On one side was a Great Scholar from the Confucian Temple, and on the other, a Saint Monk from the Buddha Country.
What they represented were the foundational principles their respective sects had relied upon for ten thousand years.
Ordinary people only heard Master Xun’s razor-sharp words, but Cultivators with profound Dao Practice saw a clash between the core philosophies of the Confucian Family and the Buddhist Sect.
Jiang Shan fell silent for a moment, knowing he had encountered a true master today.
’His background is extraordinary.’
He thought hard about who he might have offended recently.
’The only thing I can think of is stirring up the waters in the Capital City with the Buddha’s Relics, which triggered a round of infighting among the Princes.’
’Could it be that this Master Xun is the teacher behind one of the Princes?’
’Is he lashing out in anger and shame because he couldn’t obtain the Relic?’
Changing the subject, he said, "Master, you have an extraordinary bearing. Might I ask your name and identity?"
"This old man is Xun Gongjin. I once served as the Mountain Master of Nan Zhou Penglai Academy."
When the name Xun Gongjin spread through the crowd, the square fell silent at once, no longer needing the Cultivators to maintain order.
Jiang Shan continued to ask, "Mr. Xun, have you ever held a position in the Court?"
Master Xun replied, "This old man was an official for several decades. I’ve held all sorts of posts, from the Six Ministers to the Chief Minister of the Cabinet."
"I have heard the Saints and Sages of the Confucian Temple lecture that scholars must have a great ambition: to Govern the Country and Manage the Family, and bring peace to the world."
Jiang Shan said slowly, "Scholars also do not engage in production, and they also cultivate themselves in the process of governing the country and managing their families. I wonder, is that also selfish?"
Master Xun pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands in respect. "Impressive, most impressive! Mage, you have a silver tongue!"
’This monk is quite interesting,’ he thought to himself.
’An ordinary person would probably start to doubt their own Dao after just a few of my words.’
’This man’s Zen Heart is stable. He’s a promising talent.’
"Amitabha Buddha!"
Jiang Shan recited the Buddha’s name and said, "Saving others is cultivation, and saving oneself is also cultivation. Master Xun, you have become attached to appearances."
Seeing that his opponent had answered without faltering and broken his Heart Bureau, Master Xun felt that he had indeed underestimated him.
So he continued with his questions:
"Some days ago, the Bright Lamp Bureau searched Wenshu Temple in the West Suburb and discovered several notorious criminals living there as monks."
Master Xun said, "The oldest among them is over ninety. Fifty years ago, he terrorized a region, and slaughtering entire families was a common affair for him. The one with the gravest crimes was a rebel leader who, thirty years ago, declared himself king of a mountain and brought disaster to the area..."
"The one who joined the temple most recently has only been there for three years. He was a ’flower-plucking thief’ who specialized in sneaking into young women’s bedchambers. One day he had an epiphany and became a monk of the Buddhist Sect!"
"When the Bright Lamp Bureau’s Brocade Clothing went to arrest them, the abbot actually threatened to kill himself, claiming that since they had ’put down their butcher’s knives and entered the empty gate,’ the laws of the mortal world should no longer apply to them!"
"According to Great Yan Law, harboring notorious criminals is equivalent to being an accomplice, and harboring rebels is a crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of one’s entire clan."
"Mage, do you think this abbot deserves to die?"
Jiang Shan’s brow furrowed. Master Xun wasn’t asking if those monks deserved to die, but if the abbot of Wenshu Temple did.
The Buddhist Sect did indeed harbor some filth, but the Taoist Sect and the Confucian Family were no better; they had their own corrupt practices as well.
Demon Daos, unorthodox Magicians, and corrupt scholars were still commonplace.
Jiang Shan had never supported such things. He could simply say the abbot should be executed, which would also demonstrate the purity of the Buddhist Sect.
If he said the abbot should not be executed, he would be directly defying Great Yan Law. On what grounds could a monk harbor criminals without breaking the law? This would easily provoke the resentment of the people of Great Yan and would be detrimental to spreading the Buddhist Technique in the future.
If he said the abbot should be executed, not only would it make Jiang Shan appear cold-hearted and chill the hearts of his fellow monks...
More importantly, with his validation, Great Yan would surely set this as a legal precedent. In the future, if a temple was found to be harboring notorious criminals, the punishment would inevitably follow this case.
If they were truly harboring criminals, that would be one thing. But many monks in the Buddhist Sect have unknown origins. Who’s to say if they are criminals or not?
If the Court were more malicious, they could deliberately plant a few criminals to become monks and then come to investigate. How could the Buddhist Sect continue to spread its teachings then?
Master Xun’s voice reached the ears of everyone in the square listening to the lecture, causing a constant buzz of discussion. Compared to their faith in the Buddhist Sect, the common people were more concerned with just and rigorous laws.
Monk Fahai clapped his hands and laughed. "Interesting, very interesting!"
’I didn’t expect to encounter Great Powers clashing with techniques from across a distance just by passing through the streets today.’
Hearing the question, Jiang Shan’s expression was calm. "Although the abbot was acting out of compassion, he was also indulging evil. Good deeds cannot offset karmic obstacles. According to the law, he must be executed!"
"Many thanks, Zen Master!"
A faint smile appeared on Master Xun’s stiff face. Though he had clearly won the point, he bowed and performed a salute.
Then, he slowly departed.
His steps were exceptionally light, completely unaffected by the debate.
Jiang Shan’s statement gave Great Yan Law a clear precedent, which would surely reduce the number of temples hiding criminals—an act of boundless merit. At the same time, it won a wave of goodwill from the people of Great Yan, so there were some benefits.
"There is no need for such courtesy, Mr. Xun. I have also thought about similar issues, but I have always turned a blind eye until now."
Jiang Shan said, "Fortunately, your words were only for the sake of punishing evil and have awakened me. I nearly incurred karmic obstacles myself."
Between the Confucians and Buddhists, one had lost and one had won; each side had a victory and a defeat. It could be called a draw.
Those few short sentences seemed much plainer than a flowery sermon. However, to the ears of Cultivators, it was nothing less than a discourse on the Dao, a hundred times more profound than any lecture.
In terms of long-term impact, even the most beautiful scriptures could not compare to these few lines of debate.
"Today’s lecture has concluded. Everyone is welcome to return tomorrow..."
After listening, Lu Mingyuan was about to leave with the crowd of commoners and Cultivators.
Suddenly, a voice called out from near the bottom of the stage.
"You there, Mage, please wait."
Lu Mingyuan was called to a halt and turned to look at the speaker.
It was none other than the White-clothed True Buddha, Jiang Shan.
...
