NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102
Chapter 102: There’s Always One or Two Winds in the World, Filling My 180,000 Dreams!
“But, I still think it’s ridiculous!”
“In Lin Beifan’s mouth, not even two out of his ten sentences are true! He’s especially good at twisting words and turning black into white and even changing concepts. I don’t think that high monk can learn anything about Buddhism from Lin Beifan!”
The Empress sneered, having long seen through the other party’s nature.
“But, if you change your thinking, it can be understood!”
Bai Qingxuan smiled, “Grandmaster Jing Tai is indeed a highly profound master of Buddhism, but he is also someone who easily gets bogged down in things. He asked for Buddha’s help day and night with extreme piety, and as a result, he fell into a dead end and couldn’t see a way out, causing both his Buddhist and martial arts practices to stagnate.”
“But, if he meets Lin Beifan, it’s different!”
“As Your Majesty just said, he has many unconventional ideas and is good at twisting words. He can turn even Buddhism into something different. This created a new, alternative path for Grandmaster Jing Tai, leading him to a great enlightenment. That’s why he willingly became Lin Beifan’s student, hoping to gain more insights.”
“Well, Qingxuan is very convincing!” The Empress nodded, “However, I still can’t rest easy with a strange master living in Lin Beifan’s home. Could you keep an eye on things and let me know if anything goes wrong?”
“Your Majesty, please rest assured. I’ll keep an eye on things.”
Bai Qingxuan’s figure gradually disappeared.
One day passed quickly.
The next morning, Lin Beifan saw the old monk and young monk come to greet him.
“There’s no need for such formality. Just treat this place as your own home,” Lin Beifan smiled, “I was planning on going out today, would you be interested in joining me?”
With two days left of his vacation, Lin Beifan naturally didn’t want to stay at home and wanted to go out instead.
“Yes, Teacher (Master)!” The two monks replied in unison.
So the three of them went out with excitement.
By now, the sun had already risen and people had started their daily routines. The streets were becoming lively.
Lin Beifan leisurely walked with the two monks, feeling the people of the capital city.
However, wherever they went, they attracted many people’s attention.
Because their combination was too bizarre!
One was a newly appointed top scholar of the capital, one was a withered old monk, and the other was a young and ignorant monk. Naturally, they drew many people’s eyes as they walked on the road.
Especially when they saw Lin Beifan walking in front with the two monks respectfully following behind, it was more surprising.
How could the new top scholar, Lin Beifan, be mixed up with two monks?
And, it was even more strange that the two monks looked at Lin Beifan with utmost reverence.
People whispered, and the capital city had another piece of gossip.
At that time, Lin Beifan saw the young monk behind him frowning and wanting to speak several times.
“Jie Kong, just speak your mind, don’t hide your thoughts,” Lin Beifan said.
“Yes, Master!” The young monk first bowed to Lin Beifan before raising his doubts, “Master is obviously a true Buddha walking the earth and has great compassion in his heart, helping sentient beings to attain liberation. Why do the people keep spitting on Master?”
The old monk also looked up and waited for Lin Beifan’s explanation.
Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “Because what I do is not understood or accepted by others! I’ve said before, the world is a vast ocean of suffering, and people are struggling and sinking in the sea of suffering! I want to bring people out of the sea of suffering and quickly seek transcendence! But, have you thought about how to save sentient beings from the sea of suffering and help them reach the shore?”
“This… I haven’t thought about it!” The two monks shook their heads.
Lin Beifan spoke forcefully, “First, one must experience the depth of the sea by sinking oneself in it. Only then can one know how deep the sea of suffering is! One must make oneself impure and then experience the dirtiness of the sea of suffering. One must speak of the bitterness and then taste the bitterness of the sea of suffering! Only by doing so…”
“Can one lead others out, ferrying them across the sea to the other side!”
The two monks seemed to have grasped something. “Amitabha Buddha!”
“But, when one has seen the depth and tasted the bitterness of the sea of suffering firsthand, and their body is covered with dirt, they will inevitably not be accepted by the people! Because they are also sinking in the sea of suffering, their eyes are blinded by delusions, and they are extremely ignorant. They only believe in what they see and don’t want to search for the truth behind it. They only believe in what they hear and don’t want to seek the real truth behind it!”
“Anyone who is different from them will be rejected! Anyone who goes against them will be detested! That’s why… I’m spurned by them!”
“Amitabha Buddha, I understand now!” The two monks said in unison.
“As long as you understand.” Lin Beifan nodded.
“Master is truly a Buddha walking the earth!” The old monk looked at Lin Beifan with admiration, “Your heart is filled with great compassion, showing pity to sentient beings. It’s like the Buddha cutting his flesh to feed the eagles. Your disciple has learned a lot!”
“But, Master, doesn’t it hurt when others misunderstand you?” The young monk asked curiously.
“I will go to hell if no one else will.” Lin Beifan smiled calmly. “Since I have chosen this path, I must bear everything. Even if thousands of people oppose me, I will move forward! It’s not only for the benefit of all beings, but also for the Buddha in my heart. As long as my mind remains steadfast, no criticism or opposition can stop me.”
The old monk trembled all over and was deeply moved by Lin Beifan’s words. Each of his statements was an eloquent and wise saying that struck his heart. “Amitabha Buddha!” The old monk folded his hands together, and his Buddha nature became even stronger.
Lin Beifan was surprised that his gibberish about Buddhism would inspire such enlightenment. “Amitabha Buddha, Master, you are truly a person of great perseverance. Even if thousands of people oppose you, you still move forward. If it were me, I couldn’t hold on. I’m ashamed!” said the young monk, his head bowed in contrition.
“It’s not that exaggerated!” Lin Beifan laughed. “There are many like-minded people on this path. You’re not alone! Although there is too much suffering and happiness is fleeting, every once in a while, there is a wind that fills me with ten thousand dreams.”
“Amitabha Buddha!” The two monks were again enlightened.
This time, even the young monk’s Buddha nature became stronger. For monks who specialize in studying Buddhism, a stronger Buddha nature means greater strength.
Lin Beifan’s lips twitched. This master-disciple pair was really strange! His nonsense actually inspired enlightenment.
Next, the three continued on their way. The old monk behind them felt the rapid increase in their Buddha nature over the past two days and felt extremely happy.
It was fortuitous to encounter a true Buddha. Becoming his disciple was the right decision! He learned more about Buddhism in these two days than in the past few years!
Watching Lin Beifan’s back, he felt he was holy and dignified. His admiration for him grew stronger.
Folding his hands together, he secretly made a decision. “Master, you are not alone on the path of salvation!”
“This disciple, this disciple is willing to go through life and death with you!”
“Amitabha Buddha!”
Two days passed in a flash.
Lin Beifan started working again.
It had been a month since the last monthly exam, and now it was time for them to make their profits.
Lin Beifan once again cheated a large sum of money from the group of useless young masters.
As it was already the third monthly exam, he still failed.
According to the rule set by Lin Beifan, failing three consecutive monthly exams would result in being beaten with 80 canes.
But if you handed over 80,000 taels of silver, you could avoid punishment.
There were a total of 24 young masters, each of whom paid 80,000 taels of silver.
So, during this monthly exam, Lin Beifan received a total of 1.92 million taels of silver.
This made both the civil and military officials feel a sharp pain.
In only two months, they had already lost so much money. If it continued this way, what else could they do?
Their money was not just picked up from the street.
It was the result of their hard work for several years or even decades, but they were all cut down like leeks by Lin Beifan.
This was inhumane!
Many ministers had already issued death orders to their own sons. If they didn’t pass the next monthly exam, they would not give them money again, letting them suffer the consequences and fend for themselves.
The young masters were crying and howling, feeling a bleak future ahead.
At this time, after many days of tireless efforts, Lin Beifan finally created a manned hot air balloon.
This unprecedented manned hot air balloon not only changed the world’s landscape but also became Lin Beifan’s sharp tool to cut down the leeks.
“Nobody can resist the temptation of flying!”
“No ruler can ignore this national weapon that changes the war situation!”
“As long as you can’t resist the temptation, just wait for me to cut down the leeks!”
“With the hot air balloon, who can compete with me?”
Lin Beifan had already sharpened his knife, and the bad ideas in his head stirred up again.
On this day, the early morning court session came.
Lin Beifan stood up and said loudly, “Your Majesty, after my unremitting efforts for a month, I have finally created a manned hot air balloon! We are about to launch the first flight experiment. Please witness it, Your Majesty!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the court was in an uproar!
“A manned hot air balloon has been created?”
“This…is it a miracle?”
“Can it really carry people flying?”
…
The empress was full of surprise on her face: “Sir Lin, are you telling the truth? Did you really create a hot air balloon?”
Lin Beifan smiled and said, “How could I deceive Your Majesty?”
“Good, good, good! You have worked hard, Sir Lin!” The empress thanked him three times and smiled so much that her mouth couldn’t close. But she became worried again: “This flight will be a historic moment. What is the probability of success?”
“After all, it is the first flight, and I dare not say that it has a possibility of 100%, but it should be about 70-80%,” Lin Beifan said conservatively.
“70-80% is enough!” The empress became happy again: “If the flight is successful, I will reward you heavily!”
“Thank Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan bowed.
“Sir Lin, when will you fly?” The empress couldn’t wait to ask.
“I have already observed the stars at night, and tomorrow is a good time for flying with clear sky and sunshine,” Lin Beifan smiled.
“Great! We will hold the flight experiment tomorrow, and I and the officials will witness the miracle together!” The empress declared.
“I obey, Your Majesty!” The officials all said in unison.