Stronger from Earth

Chapter 215 214: Master and Disciple's Conversation

The Wuyou Temple doesn't have much reputation in the world, and people only know of a Bodhisattva called Universal Relief, whose place of practice is known as Wuyou Temple, but its location is unknown.

No one has seen it, only heard about it, because apart from the disciples of the Precious Light Temple, few can enter here.

Pine trees and green bamboo grow in the mountains, evergreen and vibrant throughout the seasons, swaying and rustling in the wind, and a tall Bodhi Tree stands sturdy like a dragon, with Bodhi Seeds hanging from canopy-like branches.

A girl, 1.6 meters tall, sits poised beneath it, with a dozen Buddhist Scriptures placed on the stone table, a faint Buddha's Light emanating from above, and the pages fluttering in the wind.

Although the girl's body is not short, she has a youthful face, with soft skin tinged with a hint of red, smooth and tender, full of youthful vitality.

Her cheeks are slightly chubby, her gaze shifts with the fluttering pages of the scripture, occasionally lost in thought. She has memorized the wisdom and philosophy within the scriptures.

But memorizing doesn't mean understanding, nor does it mean she has reached total detachment. The scriptures are like school textbooks to her.

"Meditation isn't easy; it's making my head hurt," Xiaowei rubbed her forehead, her shoulder-length short hair clearly defined, shining with a dark, glossy luster.

Universal Relief slowly approached, looked at his disciple, and said, "The wisdom in the scriptures belongs to others. Reflecting on one's own spirit, the enlightenment gained is one's own. You don't need to deliberately meditate. The scriptures appear new each time they are read; they're always there, while you are the one growing."

Expecting a girl to understand much about life's wisdom is ultimately unrealistic; Universal Relief has never imposed any requirements, everything happens naturally.

"Oh." Xiaowei brushed her hair, it grows really fast, and even if cut, it still sprouts again involuntarily.

"Master, there are so many scriptures at Precious Light Temple, not only must we study those written by ancient people, such as Diamond Scripture, Prajna Scripture, Huayan Scripture, we also have to learn the scriptures authored by the Bodhisattvas in the temple.

The Three Treasures Scripture, including treatises and discussions, is obscure and profound, with many principles, viewed from different angles, any little detail can be expounded upon for hundreds of thousands of words.

I could read them for a thousand years and still not understand them thoroughly."

Xiaowei felt like she would drown forever in the ocean-like vastness of the Buddhist texts, no matter how deep the wisdom, she couldn't escape this massive pit.

Universal Relief smiled benevolently: "Your little brain, thinking it can understand all these Buddhist scriptures? Such thoughts don't even occur to me.

Each scripture is a crystallization of great wisdom. If they could be understood easily, wouldn't the Bodhisattvas in the temple have wasted their years of practice?

If you treat these scriptures as delicacies, what you're doing now is just sampling; you have preferences. There's always a scale in your heart to judge the taste.

Ultimately, study what you wish to learn, what moves you the most, interests you the most, and where your insight is deepest."

"Oh." Xiaowei nodded. The unknown caused her anxiety and confusion, while her master's guidance made her realize that many of her worries were non-existent, merely self-created due to her own disturbed mind.

"Do you like Buddhist scriptures?" Universal Relief asked.

"They're alright, not boring," Xiaowei replied. "When reading scriptures, it feels like I'm conversing with wise elders, gaining a lot in the process.

Sometimes, this gain makes my mind enlightened, clears up many doubts, and I am no longer confused, thus I feel happy."

"Thoughts arise and thoughts fade, all emotions are contained therein," Universal Relief said.

Xiaowei still didn't understand the concept of "thought". If there were no thoughts, she would be in stasis like spirit and time, merging her body with space.

"Those without thoughts are either stones that understand nothing and thus don't think, or they are great sages who understand everything and thus don't need to think," Universal Relief Bodhisattva said.

"Oh." Xiaowei nodded. The word she said most at Wuyou Temple was this one, as she was the youngest and least knowledgeable among Universal Relief's disciples.

Xiaowei had a thought and asked, "Master, why do people have worries? What is the state of total detachment without worries?"

"Worry? That exists because you believe it to be worry," Universal Relief said, "Holding and releasing, seeing through everything, there are no worries then.

Children have no worries, that's the closeness to the way of being carefree.

The ignorant have no worries, they don't consider things as worries.

Great sages have no worries, as they live transparently and can easily let go of worries.

Who do you think is better?"

"Children." Xiaowei responded without hesitation.

The joy of the foolish is simple, they rarely recognize the existence of worry, their demands are few.

Great sages, the so-called living transparently, had their spirit undergo how much suffering and ordeal before they reached a point where everything was clear?

As for children, they are truly naturally happy.

"Then why not keep a child's original heart?"

Xiaowei nodded with a smile. There are many theories in Buddhism she doesn't like; what she thinks and does is guided by her own measuring stick.

Her heart belongs to herself, so she doesn't go against her own heart.

"Master, what is love?" Xiaowei asked, she wanted to ask because many issues related to love confused her.

A girl's mind is often occupied with such thoughts.

Universal Relief mused, looking at the swaying Bodhi Tree and the rotating Milky Way, and said, "A fervent heartbeat, mutual willingness. A thought eternal, a moment dissolved."

"I don't understand." Xiaowei didn't quite comprehend this answer.

"Emotion arises unknowingly, deepens as it takes expression. You feel moved; mutual willingness leads to enduring affection, joined hearts during promises, it solidifies its existence. Once affirmed, it's treasured, marking eternity. But if doubt arises, it's given up, no longer cherished, it turns from priceless to an illusion.

Love belongs to the spirit, comes from the spirit, and is destroyed by the spirit; it is both priceless and worthless.

Do you understand when I put it this way?"

"I think I'm starting to get it." Xiaowei pinched her slightly chubby cheeks and asked, "Did Master ever feel moved?"

Such a high cultivation level and strong spirit, being at the Bodhisattva level, what kind of life must her master have led?

This time, Universal Relief hesitated longer; it seemed some things hadn't been thought of for a long time and had become distant memories.

After a while, he nodded: "I think it happened. I grew up on the mountain, with the cyan lamp and ancient Buddhas, since I was born.

I came down the mountain at sixteen and met a girl on the way. I felt she was special, pleasing to the eye; I couldn't take my eyes off.

Wanted to know her name, where she lived, what food she liked, which books she enjoyed."

"And then?" Xiaowei asked, curious.

Universal Relief laughed: "Then my master, your master's master, hit my head with a ruler, told me not to break the precepts of desire, to keep my original heart steady, that women are glamorized skeletons."