civilwarnovels Chapter 392: The Birth of the Wondrous Method
Chapter 392: The Birth of the Wondrous Method
After the old monk Foyin finished ringing the bell, he returned to the tree where he had discussed the Dharma with Ji Yuan. He saw that the eminent monks of Daliang Monastery who had attained some mastery in Buddhist teachings had already gathered once more, while Ji Yuan was gazing at the tree in the courtyard.This tree was nearly 20 zhang tall, quite large considering that the surrounding buildings were generally shorter.
The monks around them remained silent, simply bowing to the old monk Foyin. Ji Yuan suddenly asked a question.
“Is this a Bodhi tree?”1
This tree looked somewhat familiar to Ji Yuan. It was a large, sprawling tree that somewhat resembled a banyan tree, making it wonder if it was the Bodhi tree from his previous past life.
“Bodhi tree?”
The old monk Foyin asked in confusion, then looked at the tree again.
“This is a banyan tree,2 why would it be called a Bodhi Tree?”
Ji Yuan immediately realized that the culture and even many aspects of knowledge here were similar to those of his previous life, but the Buddhist community here certainly did not know the story of Shakyamuni.3
Ji Yuan nodded. “So it’s a banyan tree,” he said, and did not continue.
“Mr. Ji, what does ‘Bodhi’ mean? The pronunciation sounds rather familiar.”
Ji Yuan looked at the old monk Foyin and recalled some information from his previous life, then spoke.
“Bodhi is a transliteration of a distant dialect, meaning enlightenment or wisdom.”
“I see!”
The old monk Foyin didn’t say much. After pondering for a while, he smiled and then bid farewell to Ji Yuan and the monks of Daliang Monastery, returning directly to Lan Province in the Western Regions.4
…
In the Departing Flourishing Blossoms Villa, a maid who had gone out to buy supplies ran excitedly from the front courtyard to the back courtyard.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
She ran while shouting excitedly.
“What are you yelling about? What’s making you so happy?”
Outside one of the buildings in the back courtyard, which was modeled after a monastery hall, the lady-in-waiting frowned and scolded the maid who was running up towards them. Princess Chu Ruyan came out from the building behind her.
“What has happened?”
“Your Highness, the Daliang Monastery will reopen tomorrow! I heard that many people heard the monastery bell ring at dawn today, and a lot of people in the market outside are saying they will go to offer incense tomorrow!”
The eldest princess’s expression lit up in delight.
“Really?”
“Absolutely! I heard the news and searched around the market area. I found several monks from Daliang Monastery who were out shopping. They confirmed it with me personally. Daliang Monastery will reopen to pilgrims tomorrow!”
Chu Ruyan clapped her hands together abruptly.
“Great! Prepare the carriage immediately, we’re heading to Daliang Monastery now!”
“But Your Highness, isn’t the Daliang Monastery supposed to open tomorrow?”
The princess smiled and waved a hand at her maid.
“That’s for ordinary people. If Daliang Monastery can open tomorrow, then everything must definitely be fine today. They just need some preparation to accept pilgrims again. We’ll definitely have no problem going today! Quickly, have someone prepare the carriage.”
The maid smiled and quickly replied, “Yes,” accepting the order.
After the maid left, the lady-in-waiting turned to the princess and asked.
“Your Highness, isn’t this a bit too hasty?”
“It’s alright. If it’s really inconvenient, we can just come back. Besides, His Majesty is very concerned about the affairs of Daliang Monastery. He has already sent a letter to inquire about the situation here, asking me to keep an eye on it. I’m just doing this to share the burden for the emperor!”
Chu Ruyan and the lady-in-waiting did not spread what they had witnessed at Daliang Monastery last time, but her brother-Emperor had suddenly gained a great interest in Daliang Monastery. He specifically sent her a letter via a very fast horse to inquire about the situation, so she took the opportunity to mention her impression of being “the only one sober in a world full of drunks.”
This made the emperor even more concerned. He asked his sister to pay even more attention to Daliang Monastery.
The maid could only smile; the princess’s reasoning was perfectly plausible.
The carriage was prepared in less than a quarter of an hour. Not had it been thoroughly cleaned, but everything, from the coachman to the servants, from the fruits and pastries to the sandalwood had been prepared. They even brought along two jugs of fine wine.
However, the carriage couldn’t leave immediately once it was ready, because Princess Chu Ruyan needed to carefully touch up her makeup, which took another full half hour.
After the princess finished applying her makeup and putting on the appropriate hairpins in front of the mirror, the two maids who had helped with her makeup withdrew. The princess turned to ask the lady-in-waiting.
“How is it? Does it look good?”
“It’s beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Let’s go!”
The lady-in-waiting gave a perfunctory answer; in truth, she couldn’t see any difference between the princess’s previous and current makeup, except that she had added more hairpins and ornaments.
Two carriages drove out of the villa and headed straight for the western gate of the city, accompanied by several riders on horseback, including a the lady-in-waiting.
In just over fifteen minutes, the carriage arrived at the still empty market outside Daliang Monastery, and then reached the monastery gates, which were now open, but heavily guarded.
The wooden sign announcing the temple’s closure and the imperial gold plaque had already been removed. Monks were sweeping a large open space in front of the temple, clearing away fallen leaves and other debris blown by the wind, as many parts of the temple hadn’t been cleaned for over a month.
Upon seeing the approaching figures, and recognizing the familiar horse-drawn carriage, a monk immediately ran back into the monastery to report. As soon as the carriage stopped, Monk Huitong came out to greet them.
“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha! This humble monk, Huitong, respectfully welcomes Your Highness the Princess!”
Monk Huitong bowed slightly to the carriage while performing a Buddhist greeting, while the princess simply opened the carriage door and smiled at Huitong.
“Master Huitong, may I enter the temple today?”
The monk Huitong spoke very frankly.
“Of course you may. Although the temple will reopen to pilgrims tomorrow, there is nothing particularly unusual about the monastery today aside from some cleaning.”
Hearing this, a maidservant descended from the second carriage in the queue and placed a step stool in front of the princess’s carriage. Chu Ruyan then stepped down.
“You all, take the carriage to the rear courtyard. Today, Master Huitong and I will walk in.”
The servants all acknowledged the order and withdrew, leaving only the lady-in-waiting by the princess’s side. Huitong then led the way towards the monastery gate.
“Please, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Master Huitong.”
Huitong took the lead by half a step, and the two ladies walked side by side behind him as they entered Daliang Monastery. Their gaze swept across the halls and saw many monks cleaning. As they passed some larger halls, they could see monks carrying out mats, bedding, and other items. There were quite a few of them.
After strolling around the main square and the main hall, which were usually bustling with pilgrims, the two headed towards the inner courtyard.
“By the way, Master Huitong, have Mr. Ji and that old monk left?”
Huitong chanted a Buddhist sutra before answering.
“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha! The Venerable One departed after striking the bell, but Mr. Ji has not yet left. He is currently writing at his desk in the inner courtyard’s forbidden area!”
“Forbidden area?”
Chu Ruyan looked at Monk Huitong with curiosity.
“Which part of Daliang Monastery haven’t I been to? How come there’s a forbidden area now?”
Huitong did not hide anything.
“To answer Your Highness’s question, our Daliang Monastery originally had no forbidden areas. However, after the monastery was closed this time, a small courtyard in the inner courtyard has become a forbidden area of our temple. That is not to say that it is absolutely forbidden, but merely that it has been designated a pure area, meaning no noise or uncleanliness is allowed!”
“Oh! May I go take a look?”
Huitong knew the princess would ask that question, and smiled.
“If the princess wishes to visit some other time, this humble monk will personally guide her there. But not now, as no one is allowed to disturb Mr. Ji at this time.”
“Oh, Monk, what nerve! Not even the Princess is allowed? Are you implying that you’ll even stop His Majesty even if he comes?”
The lady-in-waiting spoke half-jokingly and half-seriously, but she saw Huitong looking at her seriously. He solemnly repliedd.
“Attendant Lu, you are correct. Even if His Majesty himself were to arrive at this time, he would not be allowed to enter the forbidden area.”
This left both the lady-in-waiting and the princess speechless. The former wanted to retort, “How dare Daliang Monastery!” but Monk Huitong seemed to have seen through her thoughts, and immediately explained.
“You two have witnessed the Venerable One’s supernatural presence before, and you must know that Mr. Ji is an extraordinary person. Forget people outside this monastery, not even the monks of this monastery are allowed to enter or leave the forbidden area at this time. How can we mortals disturb a saint?”
Seeing Huitong’s serious expression, the eldest princess subconsciously asked:
“If ordinary people cannot enter, then does that mean not even you can enter, Master?”
Chu Ruyan admired Monk Huitong. She had previously been aware that Monk Huitong possessed true Buddhist teachings. This time, however, she gained a new understanding of what the “True Dharma” was. It was no longer the kind of chanting and praying for blessings and disaster relief that she had previously conceived it to be.
“Haha, people say that Huitong of Daliang Monastery is an eminent monk of this era. This is too much of a compliment. Compared to such great figures as the Venerable One and Mr. Ji, this monk is merely an ordinary mortal! Let’s go, if the Princess wishes to take a look, this humble monk will try his best to take you through the outer perimeter of the forbidden area.”
The three of them walked slowly into the inner courtyard. After walking for a while, Huitong stopped and pointed to a large, lush tree in the distance.
“The small courtyard under that tree is a forbidden area of this monastery. We may only stop here for a brief look.”
The princess subconsciously stood on tiptoes. They were nowhere near the entrance to the so-called forbidden area; it was at least two courtyard walls away. From here, she couldn’t even see the archway leading to the forbidden area, let alone any people.
At this very moment, beneath the large tree stood a table, complete with the Four Treasures of the Table atop it. Ji Yuan sat alone under the tree, writing and deducing the mysteries of heaven and earth.
After their previous discussion, Ji Yuan’s thoughts flowed freely. All the previously complex problems, which he had only known a general direction on how to approach, were now easily resolved.
Furthermore, Ji Yuan also considered adding some safeguard measures. For each major deduction that he made, the key points would be written in special Edicts to prevent those outside the lineage or those with ulterior motives from obtaining the techinque.
As the writing progressed, the various strange phenomena that had been silenced by the sound of the bell reappeared faintly. This time, they did not reappear on a large scale within Daliang Monastery, but merely around Ji Yuan.
The brush seemed to move with divine presence, darting and weaving across the paper. Sometimes Ji Yuan’s wolf-hair brush could even directly touch the strange phenomena, transferring them onto the paper along with the ink from the brush tip.
In just one day, Ji Yuan had written more than three thousand small characters on a scroll of Xuan paper. Not only did he use the techniques of Heavenly Script and imbuing his spiritual knowledge, he also imitated the divine intent of the characters that he had learned from the small calligraphy spirits during this period of time. Coupled with the surrounding strange phenomena and his constant mental focus, the entire book could only be described as a treasure in every respect.
This not only conveyed the teachings of Cloud Mountain Temple, but Ji Yuan also regarded it as the foundation of his own cultivation.
With the last character finished, the first half of “The Wondrous Methods of Heaven and Earth,” and its most important part, “The Transformation of Heaven and Earth,” was complete.
Suddenly, thunder roared through the clear sky, and large swaths of dark clouds rapidly gathered over Daliang Monastery.
A fierce wind howled, sweeping away fallen leaves; the surrounding clouds shifted and changed, and after a flash of lightning, the sky darkened rapidly…
The Bodhi Tree is a specific sacred fig tree in the Mahabodhi Temple in India, said to have been the place where Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) attained enlightenment. The original tree no longer survives, but its offshoots do. T/n: small inaccuracy here. The Bodhi Tree is a sacred fig tree () while the banyan tree is a different kind of fig (). They have some distinct physical differences as well. Another name for Gautama Buddha. “Shakya” was the name of his family clan, “muni” meaning sage T/n: this is all pure speculation, but I can’t help but think that the tree hasn’t become this world’s version of the Bodhi Tree , and the fact that JY and Foyin just spent a week under the tree gaining what basically amounts to enlightenment is the spark that will start the legend of this very tree, mirroring history in JY’s first world. Heck, JY even named it the Bodhi Tree himself!