Cultivation: Being Immortal

Chapter 858

Lingfa Star

Lingfa Star is a very important world under the Buddhist sect, because Lingfa Star is so huge that, in an age without a satellite system to see the whole picture, the cultivators on Lingfa Star feel that it is endlessly long and wide.

Even the living beings on Lingfa Star are countless.

Such a vast world, with so many living beings, is naturally very important to the Buddhist sect.

And indeed, Lingfa Star is like that; under the Buddhist sect, Lingfa Star is full of talented people. Even among the Buddhist cultivators in the Bodhisattva Realm, there are hundreds, and within a few years, there will be Bodhisattvas achieving enlightenment, helping the Buddhist sect to thrive.

Bodhisattva Fa Kong is a very famous Buddhist cultivator on Lingfa Star. He came from a poor background but became famous at a young age. After joining the Buddhist sect, he defeated many rivals at a Buddhist law conference and traveled all over Lingfa Star, visiting many high monks and great virtues to discuss Buddhist principles, becoming well-known throughout the land.

Almost everyone believes that Bodhisattva Fa Kong will be the next true Buddha of Lingfa Star. The endless calamity that Buddhist cultivators fear, called the Transmigration Stage, would not be difficult for him.

Until the news of the fall of Lingjing Star arrived, Lingfa Star shook with worry. You see, Lingjing Star is a symbol of the prosperity of the Buddhist sect. Thousands of years ago, the eighteen Bodhisattvas of Lingfa Star traveled west to Lingjing Star to spread the teachings, capturing it in one go, turning Lingjing Star from a place of evil into a Buddhist land, and almost all of those eighteen Bodhisattvas achieved true enlightenment.

There was much discussion on Lingfa Star, and several top Buddhist temples even debated to retake Lingjing Star, so they sent Fa Kong to gather information.

However, everyone was shocked when Fa Kong returned from Lingjing Star; not only did he say nothing about Lingjing Star, but he also began to teach new Buddhist teachings to various Buddhist cultivators.The Buddhist teachings are quite accepting within a certain range and are willing to introduce some New Buddhism to enhance the understanding of their beliefs.

However, what Fa Kong calls New Buddhism is not a supplement to the existing teachings but aims to overthrow their foundation.

For example, the theory of cause and effect in Buddhism states that during the early spread of their teachings, they often relied on local leaders. They presented the idea that if a person suffers in this life, it is because they did not create good connections in their past life, and thus they encourage followers to endure their suffering now and to work on doing good to create better outcomes in the next life.

This idea is very much liked by rulers, which helps the spreading of their teachings and is one of the core theories of Buddhism.

However, Buddhism has not proven the existence of reincarnation, and the birth of souls remains a very mysterious matter, which Buddhism tries to avoid discussing.

Today, Fa Kong’s New Buddhism directly addresses this issue because, on Lingjing Star, he sees that ordinary people, even common folk, can have happy lives without waiting for the next life; they only need increased productivity and abundant resources.

In this way, Fa Kong’s teachings undoubtedly touch the core theories of Buddhism and are seen as undermining their beliefs.

Naturally, this behavior angers the Buddhist community, and other bodhisattvas on Lingfa Star challenge him to a debate, but surprisingly, Fa Kong wins. Faced with many of Fa Kong’s questions, the high monks of Buddhism cannot provide perfect answers.

Of course, those questions are ones that Fa Kong cannot answer either; they are paradoxes, and on Blue Star, no one has answers for them.

All the great monks were defeated. Lingfa Star was greatly shaken. Because Fa Kong was already very popular, his New Buddhism quickly spread across Lingfa Star, eventually leading to the true Buddha intervening and personally imprisoning Fa Kong.

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Lingfa Star, Foyin Temple

Fa Kong sat in a seven-story pagoda in Foyin Temple, surrounded by golden Buddhist patterns, almost unable to move. He simply sat there with his eyes tightly closed.

Around him, six high monks were chanting Buddhist scriptures, mainly focusing on the Freedom Bestowing Sutra, along with other classic Buddhist texts.

"Senior Brother Xuan Fa"

"Abbot Xuan Fa"

An old monk walked in, and the six high monks stood up to pay their respects. This person was the head of Foyin Temple, Bodhisattva Xuan Fa, who was also the top Bodhisattva of Lingfa Star.

"Is the evil spirit on Fa Kong not cleared away yet?"

"Senior Brother Xuan Fa, Fa Kong has turned to darkness on his own, not because of outside forces, and even the Freedom Bestowing Sutra has no effect on him."

A wise monk said, "If it were outside forces, it would be easier to handle. What we fear is a dark force that grows within, and it cannot be removed. Moreover, Fa Kong is already a top monk in Buddhism, almost immune to its teachings."

"Sigh"

Xuan Fa sighed and didn’t know what to say. Fa Kong had been brought back to Foyin Temple by his master. He had watched Fa Kong grow up; everything seemed fine, so how did it change so suddenly?

"Fa Kong"

Xuan Fa walked to Fa Kong, sat down in front of him, and Fa Kong opened his eyes.

"Martial Uncle"

"Fa Kong, do you still not see your mistake?"

"Martial Uncle, I have done nothing wrong."

"Fa Kong, why do you still not understand your mistake? The problems you mentioned already have answers; they are part of those people’s fate, do you understand?"

Xuan Fa said that Fa Kong changed the train problem to a horse-drawn carriage, and the meaning is the same. However, they could not make a choice, but they found a new answer: whether the carriage crashes into a lot of people or just a few, it can still be considered their own fate.

It is because they did not do good deeds in their past life that they face this fate in this life, and the logic connects well.

"Martial Uncle, it is easy to deceive others, but it is hard to deceive oneself."

Fa Kong said that a single fate cannot explain all the problems in the world.

If the child in the train problem dies due to fate, what about the poor people? They live in hardship, but when they encounter technological progress, they suddenly become rich. Is that also fate?

If everything is fate, then where does fate come from? Is it predetermined by heaven? If so, what is the point of their practice? They are born as ordinary people and should die old at seventy or eighty. How can they live for a thousand or ten thousand years? This logic does not make sense.

"Fa Kong, this is not about deception, but the truth of the world is just like this. Lingfa Star, bathed in the light of our Buddha, has ended the wars and lacks killings. Whether ordinary people or Buddhist cultivators, they all live peacefully and happily; this is supreme merit…"

Xuan Fa continued, compared to other cultivator worlds, Lingfa Star is a paradise on earth. Although the major temples have disputes, they do not break out into wars, and there are no people displaced from their homes. The disciples of Buddhism do their best to help the common people; isn’t that enough?

Fa Kong turned a deaf ear to these words. Once, he thought the world under the Buddhist teachings was beautiful, but after visiting Lingjing Star, he no longer felt that way. Now, he believed that the beauty of Lingjing Star was built on the foundation of everyone being poor, and this kind of beauty was an illusion.

Only a beauty based on the prosperity of all, like that of Lingjing Star, is true beauty.

"Sigh"

Seeing Fa Kong’s expression, Xuan Fa realized he still couldn’t get through to him, and he let out another sigh.

"Martial Uncle, I have done nothing wrong and have never betrayed the Buddhist teachings. My heart for the Buddha is as clear as the sun and moon. I just want to fill the gaps in Buddhist theory and truly make our teachings flourish."

"Fa Kong, do you know what those things you mentioned are called in the world of cultivators?"

"Saint."

"Since you know, why do you still cling to your misunderstanding? No one in the world of cultivators wishes to be a saint anymore. Everyone has their own selfish desires; the Buddhists are no exception."

"Martial Uncle, I have always believed that the Buddhist teachings are more noble and greater than the world of cultivators. What cultivators cannot achieve, the Buddhist teachings should be able to."

"But this is something that cannot be done."

"How can you know it’s impossible if you don’t try?"

"Fa Kong, have you thought about what will happen if it doesn’t work out? Consider the situation of our temple."

Xuan Fa shouted angrily, "What do you think our temple is? Just saying it can’t be done is not enough; it will confuse our beliefs and could lead to serious consequences."

"Forget it, I won’t say more. The evil in your heart comes from Lingjing Star, so our temple is preparing to gather an army to fight against this evil."

"Martial Uncle…"

"What? Do you still want to excuse them? Lingjing Star is our temple’s territory. Those cultivators have killed countless disciples of our temple there, cutting off our teachings. This is an unforgivable hatred."

Xuan Fa said, "Let’s not mention anything else; the struggle for dominance is enough to make countless people go mad. War is just an excuse to fight."

"Amitabha…"

Fa Kong sadly recited the Buddha’s name. He felt that Lingjing Star would not be a match for Lingfa Star; Lingfa Star was just too strong. He hoped that this war would not start because he still wanted to use Lingjing Star to support his New Buddhism.