Hearing the words of the mechanical monk Jing Fa, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong were simultaneously stunned.
Jing Fa stared at them for two seconds with eyes that flickered red, then said to Long Yuehong:
“You do not know the Ruling Stars.”
Having said that, he looked at Shang Jianyao and opened his mouth without emotional fluctuations:
“You know.”
Huh? Long Yuehong turned his head to look at Shang Jianyao, both bewildered and astonished:
The two of them received the same education, lived in the same environment, and were usually inseparable. How could it be that he had never heard of the term Ruling Stars, while the other seemed to know it well?
Shang Jianyao’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he answered frankly:
“I’ve heard a little.”
On Jing Fa’s metal-cast black face, the red light flickered once more:
“End, beginning, year-end, beginning of the year…
“You learned it from the followers of Siming.”
Shang Jianyao, who had felt strange just now, immediately confirmed something:
The mechanical monk opposite him seemed to be able to hear a part of his inner voice!
Long Yuehong didn’t have time to think about the title Siming and also noticed something was wrong.
Jing Fa didn’t continue, but instead simply explained:
“The Ruling Stars are the deities who rule the years and rule this world. There are thirteen of them, each corresponding to a different month.”
“Aren’t there only twelve months?” Long Yuehong pointed out the obvious problem.
He roughly understood that the Ruling Stars were a popular religious belief or myth on the surface.
Jing Fa’s voice was deep and cold, not at all like that of a human:
“One of them rules the intercalary month, or rather, the entire year, the entire age.”
Without waiting for Long Yuehong to ask again, Jing Fa directly entered the main topic:
“Our Order speaks of the emptiness of the flesh and the emptiness of the four elements because this world itself is the dream of My Buddha World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata.”
Shang Jianyao suddenly opened his mouth, interrupting the mechanical monk Jing Fa’s words:
“World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata? Isn’t it Bodhi?”
Jing Fa put his hands together and said:
“World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata is the Buddha of the past, the Creator. My Buddha Bodhi is the present Tathagata, the beginning of all consciousness.
“Weren’t you just about to ask who rules the intercalary month, representing the entire year and the entire age?
“This Penniless Monk is now telling you that it is World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata.”
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong simultaneously revealed looks of understanding and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Jing Fa then lowered his head and began to chant:
“Namo World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata.”
During the low chanting, he straightened his back made of metal bones, maintained the posture of putting his hands together, and bowed slightly towards the towering ‘chimneys’.
“Are you going to ask why This Penniless Monk is paying respects to the iron smelting and steel refining towers?” After straightening his body, Jing Fa took the initiative to say what was on Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s minds. “That is because My Buddha World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata also has the honorable name ‘Stupa.’ This is another name for Buddha, and it also represents pagodas. Therefore, when we chant the Buddha’s name of World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata, we should pay our respects to the highest tower around. This can be a pagoda, a water tower, an iron smelting tower, a signal tower, or a high-voltage tower.”
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had originally thought that the mechanical monk Jing Fa’s words were coherent and logical, but after hearing the second half, they began to feel a little strange.
Jing Fa didn’t seem to notice the thoughts of the two, and stopped in time to say:
“Outside the Sramanas, My Buddha World-Honored Self-Existent Tathagata also has another honorable name.”
“What is it?” Long Yuehong blurted out.
Jing Fa still sat cross-legged, and it was impossible to see any emotions on his face made of pure metal:
“Zhuang Sheng.”
“Zhuang Sheng… Ruling Star Zhuang Sheng… Zhuang Sheng Dreamt He Was a Butterfly…” Shang Jianyao couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
Jing Fa’s head moved up and down:
“What Zhuang Sheng dreamt of is this world of ours.
“You should have all had dreams, knowing that everything is illusory in dreams, and all feelings and interactions are merely the result of dependent origination. If you cannot see through this point, then you will always be mired in this, suffering the pains of birth, old age, sickness, death, love separation, resentful encounters, unfulfilled desires, and the blazing intensity of the five aggregates over and over again.”
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong thought about it carefully and felt that the mechanical monk opposite them made some sense.
Of course, the premise was that this world was indeed just a dream of a certain deity.
Just then, Jing Fa changed the subject:
“Two Benefactors, please wait a moment while This Penniless Monk performs some maintenance.”
“…” Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong watched blankly as the mechanical monk wearing a monk’s robe and a kasaya opened a metal cover on his waist and abdomen, and took out a plastic bottle from inside.
Then, he unscrewed a small metal cap located at the ‘collarbone’ position and poured a little of the rather viscous yellow ‘grease’ inside.
“This is…” Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
He didn’t expect Jing Fa to answer, but the other party actually said frankly:
“Special lubricating oil.”
The expressions on Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s faces froze for two seconds at the same time. They instantly had the absurd feeling of why they had thought this guy made sense just now.
Jing Fa seemed oblivious, and after putting away the bottle of special lubricating oil, he looked up at the two opposite him with eyes that flickered red:
“How old are the two Benefactors?”
“?” Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong were unable to understand what the other party wanted to ask for a moment.
The textbooks inside “Pangu Biology” placed more emphasis on poetry and idioms than on classical Chinese.
Jing Fa didn’t mind and changed to a more common way of asking:
“How old are the two Benefactors?”
“21.” Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong answered in unison.
Jing Fa pulled up his red kasaya and covered it over his knees:
“The two of you are still young, and you may not have a deep understanding of what This Penniless Monk just said. But after waiting another thirty, forty, or fifty years, as you gradually grow old, your bodies become weaker and weaker, you experience more and more illnesses, and you witness more and more tragedies, you will be able to understand the meaning of the suffering of all living beings.”
Shang Jianyao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but closed it tightly again.
After a few seconds, he said seriously:
“But we have all undergone genetic modifications. After fifty years, our bodies should still be very healthy.”
Jing Fa was speechless, but quickly recovered:
“But eventually they will pass away. In the long years, there is no essential difference between fifty years and a hundred years.”
Long Yuehong wanted to retort, but after looking at the grenade launcher on the mechanical monk Jing Fa’s left arm, he rationally gave up on this plan.
“You are right.” Shang Jianyao’s gaze returned from the same spot.
The red light in Jing Fa’s eyes flickered slightly:
“What do you think is real in a dream? Judge from your usual dreaming experiences.”
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong thought for a while and shook their heads in succession.
Jing Fa’s cold, emotionless voice sounded once again:
“Actually, there is. In a dream, only one thing is real, and that is the recognition of oneself. When everyone dreams, they know that I am me.
“Two, don’t you understand? All things are false, consciousness is true. When you get rid of the restraints of the flesh and truly control your own consciousness, you can escape this delusion, enter the Pure Land, and obtain eternal life and bliss.”
“Then, how can we truly control our own consciousness?” Shang Jianyao habitually replied.
Jing Fa pointed to himself:
“Use devices to upload your consciousness into a robot’s body. This will allow you to easily and directly get rid of the restraints of your physical body.”
“But shouldn’t normal religions emphasize self-cultivation?” Long Yuehong said some of the things that were sparsely mentioned in the “Pangu Biology” textbook.
Jing Fa’s voice was monotonous and without undulation:
“There are three thousand orthodox dharmas and forty thousand heterodox paths. Each path is different, but they can all lead to the Pure Land.
“What our Monk Order has chosen is the path of technological enlightenment among the three thousand orthodox dharmas.”
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong’s lips moved, their thoughts were chaotic, and they couldn’t respond.
The mechanical monk Jing Fa continued:
“When you put down your physical body and upload your consciousness into the bionic chip of a robot, you will be able to see the Land of Ultimate Bliss, which is what the Ashlands calls the ‘New World.’
“This will allow you to comprehend the Dharma and obtain certain supernatural powers.
“This Penniless Monk was able to hear the voices in your hearts just now because My Buddha Bodhi is compassionate and allowed This Penniless Monk to comprehend telepathy. Of course, This Penniless Monk’s Fruition is not high enough, and I still can’t hear too much or too deeply.”
…Why did he expose his shortcomings so naturally? Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong simultaneously had such a thought.
Jing Fa put his hands together and proclaimed a Buddha’s name in a low voice, then said:
“A monk does not lie.”
“…What is Fruition?” Shang Jianyao asked another question.
Jing Fa’s voice answered without undulation:
“Consciousness uploading is not the end, but the beginning.
“Technology for technological enlightenment is not the core, but the auxiliary. Its role is to provide us with better conditions for comprehending the Dharma.
“When the physical body is discarded, we can see this world from another angle, so as to better comprehend the Dharma and understand the emptiness of the four elements.
“This is a process, and the key nodes in the process are called Fruitions. When you attain the Fruition of ‘Great Arhat,’ you can truly enter the Land of Ultimate Bliss and transcend the world.”
After explaining this, Jing Fa swept his gaze over Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong:
“For the two of you, this is rather profound. Let’s end here today.
“This Penniless Monk can see that you will walk on the Ashlands. I hope you can experience the world and understand that all living beings are suffering and the physical body is illusory.
“At that time, if we are destined to meet again, This Penniless Monk will guide you to the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli.”
When Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong saw that the mechanical monk was voluntarily ending the preaching, they were overjoyed. How could they dare to ask any more questions?
They quickly stood up, walked to the side, and made way.
“If you don’t want to address This Penniless Monk directly by my Dharma name, then just call me Zen Master,” Jing Fa said with his hands together.
He then flung his kasaya and returned the same way, disappearing around the corner.
After watching him leave, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong exchanged glances and followed the same path they had come from, exiting this rusty iron ‘forest.’
At the gate, Long Yuehong looked around, calculated the distance, and quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the button:
“Team Leader, we encountered a monk from the Monk Order!”
This was also what Shang Jianyao wanted to do, so he didn’t stop him.
“What? What’s his Dharma name?” Jiang Baimian’s voice rang out accompanied by a crackling sound.
Near those towering ‘chimneys,’ the mechanical monk Jing Fa, who was walking step by step towards the depths of the steel factory ruins, suddenly stopped.
The red light in his eyes suddenly brightened, his neck turned stiffly, and he spat out extremely cold and emotionless words:
“A woman’s voice…”
ps: Asking for recommendation tickets~