Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The vibration of will in the Tripitaka Block felt very miraculous, as if it contained countless secrets within.
Naturally, a sense of immutability, unchangeability, omnipotence and omniscience was revealed.
The Virtuous Zen Master was very familiar to this will. Before he even got close to the Tripitaka Block, he could already subtly feel it.
“Way of karma?” The Virtuous Zen Master was a little surprised, “Is it Wang Lin or Zhu Yi? The understanding of the way of karma is already very deep.”
His aura was not revealed, but his zen mind’s interaction with the will of the person in the Tripitaka Block allowed the other party to sense his presence.
That person then retracted his own will and Wang Lin’s voice rang in the ears of the Virtuous Zen Master, “Please enter, Virtuous Zen Master.”
The Virtuous Zen Master pushed open the door and entered the Tripitaka Block and went up three levels. As they met, he laughed and said, “Comrade Wang’s understanding of the way of karma has become deeper and deeper.”
But as he saw Xiao Yan, Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao all present, the Virtuous Zen Master could not help but feel curious, “This is…”
Xiao Yan coughed dryly before saying, “Zen Master, we are all analyzing the way of karma now. Our thoughts are still undeveloped.”
Shi Tianhao nodded his head repeatedly too, “That’s right, they are still undeveloped.”
Wang Lin and Zhu Yi stood at one side and did not offer any objections to that statement. They all smiled as they looked at the Virtuous Zen Master.
But it was because that they were acting like this which caused alarm bells to ring in the heart of the Virtuous Zen Master.
It was probably because the four of them were normally very confident. But now that they were acting so abnormally, the Virtuous Zen Master had a premonition.
Connecting to Wang Lin’s deduction of the way of karma, the Virtuous Zen Master thought of something that had always been on his mind.
Five years ago, in the Greater World, during the Anti-Celestial Set War, he might have been hurt by Jie Luoshi, but he still continued to battle on when the enemies arrived on Mount Yujing.
Wang Lin and the rest arrived at the battlefield and were trapped by Shi Tianfang, the leader of the Samsara Sect. But when Wang Lin formed the Immortal Soul, he managed to reverse the situation.
But it was during that battle that Wang Lin used a spell to curb Shi Tianfang’s Red Lotus Fire.
The battle was very messy then and the Virtuous Zen Master had his own enemies to deal with. From the side, he could not see clearly, but he could subtly feel that the spell Wang Lin used had something to do with the way of karma.
Over these years, the Virtuous Zen Master had never asked Wang Lin about this before.
That was because he had a feeling that it would not be something good.
This matter was buried in the heart of the Virtuous Zen Master and no one knew about it. Normally, the Virtuous Zen Master would choose to forget it, but now he felt that whatever Xiao Yan and the rest were prepared to tell him had something to do with what happened before.
Xiao Yan and the rest were also a little uncomfortable too. But as Lin Feng went to the Ying Sea, the four of them devoted a lot of time trying to figure out the way of karma and developed a deeper understanding of it.
His previous conception was starting to take shape. If the Virtuous Zen Master knew about it, he might still be affected, but it shouldn’t be too serious.
If the Virtuous Zen Master could straighten out his thinking, he might be able to improve and comprehend something new.
The Virtuous Zen Master was also someone with the highest Buddhist cultivation level the four of them could interact with. If he could join them, he would contribute greatly to their understandings of the way of karma.
“Comrade Xiao, you can be direct with me. I may not be the most outstanding, but I have analyzed Buddhism for many years. Maybe I can give all of you some advice.” The Virtuous Zen Master focused and said after taking in a deep breath.
After Xiao Yan and the others looked at one another, Wang Lin said, “Zen Master, in the past, I asked for advice about the way of karma from you. After that, I gained some ground in my understanding of it, but in my subsequent cultivation process, I developed a few oppositions to the current school of thought.”
“Some of them came from my own experience, while some were derived from the experiences of others.” Wang Lin related the discussion of the four of them previously, “Besides my own experience, we also went to verify some of the rumors that we stumbled upon personally.”
“Besides those that happened too long ago and can’t be verified, we checked all those that could be.”
“Among them, there are some ridiculous ones, but they do have their reasons behind them. These reasons can be hidden from others, but not us.”
Wang Lin said slowly, “Some of the things resonate with my experience when I was younger. I can’t use karma to explain it, and this happens quite commonly too.”
He looked at the Virtuous Zen Master, “In fact, just my experience alone is enough to confirm that using the way of karma to describe how things work in the world, based on the three lifetimes of the past, present and future, is impossible. At least it’s not complete.”
“The way of karma isn’t the only concept in this world. It does not explain Dao, nor does it form the foundation of destiny. It’s not the eternity that all life in the world would point towards eventually.”
After Wang Lin finished speaking, Xiao Yan and the rest looked at the Virtuous Zen Master. The Virtuous Zen Master was calm and said slowly, “Comrade Wang, whatever that you just described, I have heard it for as long as I have lived.”
“Buddhism has existed for a long time. In such a long history, there are such occurrences that you have described.”
“The skilled monks from the preceding generations had their own doubts too and they even investigated the reason behind all of this.” The Virtuous Zen Master clasped his palms, “After investigating a few of them, we can confirm that they are just nonsense, or otherwise, it’s because some have a limited understanding of our world and hence developed misunderstandings.”
“Whereas for some things, we are still unsure. But because of this, it demonstrates the brilliance of karma. Our powers are beneath that of karma. For many things, even if we try to understand them, we can’t find out the truth still. It’s not that the truth doesn’t exists, but it’s because we can’t see them.”
Around the body of the Virtuous Zen Master, Buddhist lights revolved and revealed the wisdom of perfect enlightenment.
While he was always friendly, cheerful and maintained his calmness, he never once revealed his Buddhist light aura around Wang Lin, Xiao Yan and the others.
Right now, his attitude was friendly, but he was more serious than ever. Whatever they were discussing involved his entire life of belief and faith. In the face of even the Celestial Sect of Wonders, his zen mind must not waver.
This had nothing to do with his respect for Wang Lin, Xiao Yan and the rest, and even for Lin Feng. But this was an attitude that a monk in the Golden Form Second Level should possess.
The four of them were also not concerned by this. In the process of seeking Dao, this was only natural.
“Just like how ordinary people were limited in their knowledge, that’s why some facts and truths would be wrongly passed down. They changed the truth that karma preached into some ridiculous story.” The Virtuous Zen Master said, “Cultivators in my generation have knowledge and powers that are much beyond the ordinary person. But this does not mean that we are omniscient. We are also exploring the concepts of the great Dao. There are things that we don’t know or don’t understand too.”
“Just because we are still unclear about some concepts doesn’t mean that they are wrong.”
The Virtuous Zen Master shook his head slightly, “The different mantras in the Heavens and Earth are all different. But even as things change, all paths will converge and everything all points to the same path of Dao.”
“Everyone follows the guidance of the laws of the Heaven. But to me, the Heaven also possesses karma. The laws of the Heaven is thus the way of karma.”
“There are many concepts in the world, so how do we understand all of them? To exist in this world, it’s already a form of karma. Karma represents Dao and it is also the perspective that we should view our world from. With cause, there’s effect. With an effect, there’s a cause. Thus, we can then analyze, know, understand and comprehend the way things are in our world.”
Wang Lin nodded his head, “Zen Master, you are wise. I understand what you mean. But, if we are unclear about concepts, how do we know whether they are right or wrong?”
“Zen Master, please take a look.” Wang Lin’s finger drew the outline of a flat stone that seemed like a mirror. Its surface was smooth and reflected the figure of a human.
The Virtuous Zen Master stared at the stone and tried to figure out the way concept within. After a brief moment, he was frightened, “Although it’s just nascent, it seems to be very similar to the Three Lifetime Curse of the Great Thunderclap Temple. They seem to come from the same source.”
“Comrade Wang, you are indeed an exceptional talent. Just by reading and referencing to the Buddhist scriptures, you can analyze the way of karma to this level. You are even to infuse within your own cultivation.”
The Virtuous Zen Master sighed, “If you cultivate Buddhism, you will be someone.”
Wang Lin replied, “Zen Master, your words too kind. Please take a look at this too.”
He kept the Three Lifetime Stones before showcasing the Cause and Effect World. The Virtuous Zen Master looked at the gate to the Cause and Effect World, seeing lines of lights coming out from a light spot. These lines extended to the next light spot and then to the next light spot and this cycle continued on. The Virtuous Zen Master then nodded his head, “Karmic Line…”
The starting point was the cause and ending point was the effect. With cause, there’s effect. As something started, it would change continuously along the way. When it stopped, there would be an effect.
In the next moment, the gate to the Cause and Effect World shut. The extending lines returned to the starting point from the ending point.
The past formed the future. With an effect, there’s a cause. The future could be traced to a cause.
The Virtuous Zen Master turned to look at Wang Lin and he said in a deep voice, “Zen Master, please calm yourself down.”
The gate to the Cause and Effect World opened once again and the starting point extended out with a line of lights again. The line of light stopped and the ending point consolidated to form a second light spot. The second light spot then extended the second line of light. When the line of light stopped, a third light spot appeared.
Amidst doubt, the Virtuous Zen Master opened his eyes wide.
That’s because he saw that Wang Lin’s Cause and Effect World appeared with a fourth light spot. It was an isolated light spot, and had nothing to do with the third light spot. It also did not connect with any other thing.
“You!” The Virtuous Zen Master turned to look at Wang Lin. Because it was such a serious matter, he turned all his attention to Wang Lin’s spell.
Whatever that was going on in the Cause and Effect World was not real, but it revealed the concept behind it.
Thus, the appearance of this light spot was not tampered by Wang Lin, nor did he use any other spell to create it. It was the result revealed by the Cause and Effect World.
According to the Cause and Effect World, this was something that happened without any reason. It just appeared out of nowhere.
The first light spot of the Cause and Effect World appeared at the gate. Only this light spot was created by Wang Lin. Although it was the start of everything, the light spot also had a cause, which was the gate to the Cause and Effect World.
Whereas the fourth light spot did not exist because of a cause.