Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 673: Five Three Eight Mahayana Buddhism

Chapter 673: Five Three Eight Mahayana Buddhism

Jiang Chen turned around, only to see the wealthy individuals, who had previously entered, flocking around an old monk coming out.

Clearly, the commotion outside had disturbed the people laughing and talking inside.

The old monk walked up to me Jiang Chen and said angrily, "Donor, defaming the Buddha can lead you to hell. Aren’t you afraid of the Buddha’s blame for defaming him so?"

Jiang Chen asked in surprise, "Defaming the Buddha? What did I defame? Didn’t the Buddha say all beings are equal? Defaming the Buddha indeed is a sin, but it won’t lead to hell."

"It’s the acts of harming living beings and repeatedly violating precepts that are great sins and will lead to hell while defaming the Buddha is a minor misstep. If even the Buddha saw this, he would primarily admonish."

"Frightening others with hell with every little thing is in fact deviating from the Buddha’s original intention and twisting the Buddha’s meaning. Such acts do deserve hell."

The words of Jiang Chen, regardless of whether the Buddha had said them or not, were not essential. As monks are compassionate, anything related to compassion can be regarded as the words of the Buddha. Even the Buddha himself would smile upon hearing them.

If the Buddha didn’t agree, that would mean he lost his compassionate heart. He would have fallen into the demonic path, would not be worthy of being the Buddha, and would be the person to be overthrown by everyone.

Not to mention, Jiang Chen himself is also a Buddha — a Buddha, acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao and the fate of Buddhism, with great virtues and might. His words are themselves the words of Buddha, on par with Buddha’s teachings.

To debate what the Buddha says with a Buddha, it would be surprising if this old monk could win.

Being accused by Jiang Chen of misconstruing the Buddha’s intent, the old monk became angry inside and scolded, "Donor, do not talk nonsense. Both insulting and defaming the Buddha will lead to hell. This is the collective will of all Buddhas of the Spiritual Mountain, which is common knowledge in the Xiniuhe Continent."

Just as the words of the old monk finished, the others standing behind him quickly said, "Yes, indeed. Insulting the Buddha is a great sin. We’ve known this since childhood. It has been passed down from our ancestors, and so it is throughout the entire Xiniuhe Continent."

Seeing them respond in this way, Jiang Chen figured out that there is no point in arguing with them about this. Even if he wins the debate, they won’t listen.

For many years now, the line "Buddha not to be insulted" has been etched into their bones. It has been passed down from generation to generation with their bloodlines. To change this, it is impossible to do it all at once.

Turning his gaze towards the people behind the old monk, Jiang Chen said, "I can see that you are all wealthy individuals. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to offer so many treasures to the Buddha."

"However, there is one thing I don’t understand. Since you are so wealthy, why don’t you use these treasures to help the poor, instead of offering them to lifeless Buddha statues?"

"Having a kind heart and helping the poor naturally brings merit and is perceived by the Buddha. This is the only way to seek liberation in the afterlife."

"However, Buddha statues are merely lifeless objects. Gold and silver are useless to the Buddha, just like mud. What use is it offering here, no matter how much you give?"

As soon as Jiang Chen said this, the faces of the crowd immediately changed dramatically, especially the old monk, who was literally glowing gold.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was cautious about the large crowd present, he probably would have already manifested his golden body and have slapped Jiang Chen out. This would prevent him from continuing to deceive the crowd with his specious arguments.

"Ahem!" Someone coughed softly twice and said quietly, "Gold and silver are like mud? The Buddha never said that. If the Buddha regards gold and silver like mud, where did the treasures of the Spiritual Mountain come from?"

"And also, the Buddha doesn’t see us helping the poor. But offering gold and silver is done right under the Buddha’s watch. He knows clearly what we are doing, how can we not gain merit?"

Jiang Chen frowned and said unhappily, "Haven’t you read scriptures? The Buddha once said: Buddhism is unselfish and great, free from notions of self and others, and does not play favorites. When you escape power, insult, or disrespect Buddha, he still looks at you with kindness and love. Even when the world suffers, you call to the Buddha, and he saves the world and fights against suffering. He does not need your treasures and chariots to be effective."

"If you bribe the Buddha with money, make images to honour him and recite the great virtues in the hope of becoming a Buddha, you fail to understand the Buddha and are not in the Buddha’s heart."

"The Buddha has said that if you use money to seek his protection and create golden statues for him, you have fallen into evil ways, deviated from the Buddha’s heart, and will not receive the Buddha’s protection."

As Jiang Chen finished speaking, the old monk’s brow twitched, his body radiating a Buddha’s light that manifested into the Buddhist door’s sacred sixteen-feet Golden Body.

The monk, bathed in a golden glow, clasped his hands together, chanted a Buddhist salutation, and inquired in a deep voice, "Amitabha! May I ask, benefactor, whose words are these, and in which Buddhist scripture are they mentioned?"

"I have been cultivating myself for two hundred years and have read quite a few scriptures, yet I have never encountered such ludicrous assertions."

"In my view, it is highly likely that you, benefactor, have concocted these so-called scriptures, these false words of the Buddha."

The monk was genuinely upset now. Previously, he thought Jiang Chen was merely causing trouble, but after hearing his words, he regarded Jiang Chen as the embodiment of evil, misinterpreting the Buddhist scriptures and falsely teaching, tarnishing the Buddhist Law.

Seeing the monk so eager to fight at a slight disagreement, Jiang Chen scoffed, "Tsk tsk, so you resort to violence when you can’t win an argument?"

The monk did not refute, but continued to ask in a deep voice, "I kindly request the benefactor to tell us, who exactly spoke the words earlier, and in which scripture are they mentioned?"

Judging by his demeanor, if Jiang Chen didn’t give him a convincing explanation, the monk seemed ready for confrontation.

Meanwhile, more monks emerged from the monastery, slowly surrounding Jiang Chen.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but sigh, speaking with a sense of regret, "Today’s disciples of the Buddhist door really lack insight. Faced with a True Buddha, they fail to recognize one. Instead, they regard the golden and silver statues as True Buddhas, illustrating their lack of Buddha-nature, indicating their cultivation is flawed."

As he spoke, Jiang Chen strode towards the monastery. The surrounding monks tried to stop him, but they couldn’t approach within ten feet of him.

As Jiang Chen strode on, he continued, "My words come from the ’Sutra of the Namo Mighty King Buddha’s Profound Teachings on the Great Buddhism’, which was imparted by the great and noble King Buddha of the Buddhist door."

"All beings, deluded and confused, fall into the net of love and desire, wandering in suffering, never finding peace. The Great Buddhism transcends all hardships, dispels all disasters. It outclasses all divine abilities, all spirits, all Buddhist laws, and all magic treasures, nothing matches it."

"Oh, how foolish beings are! Yet they are not truly foolish. My Great Buddhism has countless paths, giving birth to countless Buddhas. There are countless hearts, giving birth to countless manifestations."

"Building temples, erecting pagodas, devouring people’s wealth, all these actions create extreme karma and are nothing but demonic manifestations. These manifestations are all cast aside by my true law. All these manifestations borne by sentient beings are all Heavenly Demon manifestations. They don’t know the Great Buddhism of Great Wisdom and Virtue, the Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon who eradicates all evil deeds, annihilates all karma, relieves all suffering, slays all demons, and completely eradicates all Heavenly Demon manifestations."

...

As the Buddha’s voice rang out, those who were good-hearted felt joy, while those who were wicked felt fear, growing restless.

"Demonic words!"

"This is a demonic sutra, disciples, do not listen!"

The old monk was quick to respond, cautioning his disciples as soon as Jiang Chen began speaking. However, could they resist listening to Jiang Chen’s words just because they wanted to?

No matter what divine abilities the monks used, Jiang Chen’s voice still echoed in their ears.

At this moment, Jiang Chen had already walked into the grand hall of the monastery and in front of the golden statue of the Buddha.

Jiang Chen turned around and laughed at the crowd, "Desecrating the Buddha is a sin? That’s quite the joke. Today, I’ll desecrate the Buddha and let’s see who dares to condemn me."

Then, under the incredulous gaze of everyone, Jiang Chen kicked out, knocking down the Buddha’s golden statue worshipped inside the hall.

PS: Stuck with the writing, so only one Chapter today.