Chapter 418 A Painting

Very quickly.

In the history of ancient India, the most absurd thing happened.

At least in Shi Pantuo's eyes, it was terrifyingly absurd. Yes, as Xuanzang, the holder of the special ability to target kings, he triggered the most outrageous situation he had ever seen, or rather, the most outrageous thing in the entire ancient Indian civilization.

Out of the seventy countries, the two most powerful kings.

The king of the Jie Ri Empire, who unified most of ancient India!

The embodiment of the sun god, King Jie Ri.

The king of East India, who unified the eastern region.

Two emperors whose names alone could scare people to death were about to fight over Xuanzang at the border. Shi Pantuo was sent to East India as an envoy. The King of East India said with a cold smile, "I am but a mortal, always indulging in worldly pleasures. Now, having heard the name of the Chinese monk, I have conceived the idea of learning the Dharma."

"However, if the Chinese monk does not come, I will definitely flatten Nalanda!"

Shi Pantuo: "…………"

He sighed and lamented, "Damn, this is so familiar."

This kind of operation was very familiar to the former bandit leader.

Yes, too familiar...

Flatten Nalanda and snatch Tang Xuanzang!

Beat the opponent and snatch the wo... no, snatch the man.

Shi Pantuo told himself to calm down.

I'm familiar with this scene...

Calm down.

Calm down my ass!!!

The forty-something-year-old bandit felt his cheeks ache. Are you emperors crazy to be fighting over a monk? How many emperors has Master bewitched along the way? Five, or seven or eight? Is this really okay?

It feels like any emperor who sees Master becomes bewitched.

Although he is indeed good-looking.

But his is bigger than mine.

With a heavy heart, Shi Pantuo returned to the Jie Ri Empire and told King Jie Ri what had happened.

King Jie Ri looked at Wei Yuan, who was touching his sword beside him.

"A Yuan, have you ever seen an elephant dance?"

The chivalrous youth was at a loss: "No, I haven't..."

"Today, you will."

King Jie Ri coldly laughed and directly pulled the army that he had used to conquer North India to the border.

King Jie Ri was an absolutely self-centered emperor. If the opponent's fist was hard, he would only be harder than the opponent. However, when he thought of this sentence, King Jie Ri looked at the chivalrous youth beside him, his eyes ached slightly, and he silently swallowed the domineering words.

In the end, they did not fight. The King of East India had to take a step back.

Correspondingly, he wanted to see the most powerful Buddhist teachings in the world. Therefore, King Jie Ri gladly agreed.

He chose to hold a Dharma assembly involving the entire territory of India.

But this time, it was not just Buddhism.

……………………

The young man followed his majestic teachers and elders, riding on elephants, to the capital of the Jie Ri Kingdom.

Kanyakubja.

It is said that the king there is working hard to govern and has the ambition to unify the world, so this young man extremely hoped to see that capital. His lineage is the ancient Brahmanism, still called by this name now, later to be called Hinduism. Among the sects, great virtues stand in great numbers, an unprecedented prosperity.

Carrying on the past and opening up the future.

His teacher is the leader of contemporary ancient Brahmanism, with many disciples scattered in the seventy countries of the entire ancient Indian region. In this era, to be honest, Buddhism has already begun to decline. Nalanda Monastery is the last glory, and correspondingly, ancient Brahmanism is at its peak.

Their conflict with Xuanzang mainly stems from the fact that the latter is almost the second Gautama.

Gautama intended to overturn the caste system.

This monk from the Tang Dynasty, however, put forward another explanation, but he explained the caste system as being divided according to individual qualities. This seems to be nothing, but the Buddhism he created is gradual and can improve one's comprehension qualities.

In other words, Xuanzang directly erased the relationship between 'caste' and 'bloodline'.

The higher the innate aptitude, the higher the caste.

And how to determine innate aptitude?

By diligence, by cultivation, that is, by acquired effort.

Anyway, you can't rely on bragging about your ancestors.

And the cruelest thing is the last level, called no caste, which means that even if you have not cultivated any results, it only means that you do not have the aptitude for cultivation. It does not matter other than that, directly equating caste with cultivation and learning.

This almost broke the spine of the caste system with one Zen staff.

Telling you with that eight-hundred-jin Zen staff smashed on your head.

Equality for all beings.

Everyone can become a Buddha.

Equality for all beings.

Everyone can become a Buddha.

Or, in the style of Shenzhou, are kings, lords, generals born to their rank?

"He is an external demon who confuses the masses, and this monk must be expelled!"

The elders said with gnashing teeth.

But the young man was very puzzled.

The two most powerful emperors in the entire Five Indias region both hope to bring this monk to their own region. Could it be that what this monk says is really false? Is it something that is not beneficial to people? If so, then have the two wise and martial emperors been bewitched by such words?

The vehicles quickly stopped, no longer moving forward.

The leader of the ancient Brahmanism, who was still talking eloquently about how to defeat that demonic monk, was puzzled.

"What's going on? We haven't reached Kanyakubja yet."

He identified the stone tablet next to him, frowned, and rebuked unhappily:

"There are still eighty *li* to Kanyakubja. Why did we stop?!"

The coachman murmured, "I... This, sir, I don't know how to tell you."

The members of the ancient Brahmanism came down to take a look, and then all fell into silence and stillness.

Prayer flags fluttered in the sky, seeming to obscure the entire sky, and although there were still eighty *li* to Kanyakubja, there was indeed no way to go any further. The young man looked at this scene in disbelief, listening to the conversation of the people beside him.

The King of East India is also here.

Besides the two of them, there are eighteen emperors who are qualified to participate in this grand event.

This time, all the wise men of the entire India have appeared here.

There are more than three thousand monks, and more than a thousand eminent monks from Nalanda Monastery are also attending. In addition, there are more than two thousand wise men from various Brahmanisms, Jainism, and even folk beliefs, with their wise men and followers. Vehicles and elephants made the area within dozens of *li* of Kanyakubja crowded and congested.

This scene had an unprecedented and tremendous impact on the young man.

Later, revealing his identity as a wise man of the ancient Brahmanism, they successfully entered the place of debate. The young man saw for the first time all the famous wise men and great virtues of all the countries he could recognize. This was almost a clean sweep of all the wise men of ancient India, and their target was only one person.

A monk murmured in a low voice, "...Challenging Dharma Master Xuanzang?"

The young man saw his clothes and knew that he was an eminent monk of the Theravada sect.

Buddhism has developed for more than a thousand years, with numerous sects. Under the division of Theravada and Mahayana, each has its own separate sects. To be able to stand here is enough to prove his ability and status. This young man, who lived well and was taken care of in Brahmanism, asked curiously, "Are you worried that you won't be able to win? But how is that possible?"

The young man, who obtained the title of wise man at the age of sixteen, said with a smile:

"This place gathers all the wise men of the Buddha country and the five regions of India."

"Even if Brahma is here, he cannot surpass so many brilliant wisdoms. That Dharma Master Xuanzang, even if he is also a very famous wise man, should have only faced one-on-one before, and never faced so many talents."

The voice of the young Brahmin was gentle, and his expression was peaceful, far from what those who only possessed this name could compare to. The eminent monk sighed, seeming to find a little confidence, and said, "Yes, we have so many people here. For thousands of years, the elders of every sect of Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism have come here, as well as the masters of Brahmanism and Jainism."

"So many people, side by side, together to deal with him."

"Even Dharma Master Xuanzang may not be able to easily defeat us in fifteen days."

The young Brahmin was stunned.

The meaning in this sentence made him a little at a loss.

At this time, his teacher called him back.

After an unprecedentedly solemn ceremony, an incomparably beautiful woman walked out. She was the sister of King Jie Ri, the most beautiful woman in the entire Jie Ri Empire, very interested in Theravada Buddhism, but soon, all the wise men in India were attracted by the handsome monk behind her.

"That is... Dharma Master Xuanzang... No, it should be Tripitaka Master."

The young Brahmin whispered, "He understands the Tripitaka of the Buddhist Dharma."

"Tang Sanzang."

A person who has to deal with more than five thousand wise men from seventy countries in India.

This made his heart tremble uncontrollably.

And at this time, he keenly noticed that there were people standing on both sides of that monk. One was dressed as a Tang person, holding a sword in his arms, the sword in his arms seemed to be the embodiment of the great sun, and the other was a person with a head of slightly yellow hair, like a monkey.

The princess, with her dignified and beautiful appearance, fixed her eyes on the monk's face.

Seeming quite infatuated.

But Tang Sanzang didn't seem to notice the most beautiful princess in the entire India, just quietly looking at the people under the city. Just when the young Brahmin thought that the Dharma debate was about to begin, his teacher suddenly stood up and shouted loudly:

"Since ancient times, there have been rewards and punishments for Dharma debates. Those who lose must become disciples of the victor. Great Tang Tripitaka Master, are you also willing to follow this principle?!"

There was an uproar, but no one spoke.

If they could make Tripitaka Master become their disciple, it would be an unprecedented honor!

The chivalrous youth spat out the willow leaf in his mouth, secretly patted the monk's bald head, and stared at the people below with an unkind expression. Shi Pantuo smiled bitterly. He had asked his master about his purpose for more than ten years, and the latter said that the explanations of Buddhism in the Central Plains were all chaotic, making the entire Buddhism smoggy.

There is no absolute standard, so he wants to come here to obtain the true scriptures.

Logically speaking, he should have already obtained them.

Shi Pantuo thought.

Even the beautiful princess looked at the person who spoke with displeasure. This was a great offense to an eminent monk, but no one thought that Xuanzang agreed. He said to King Jie Ri, "Please write my teachings on paper."

King Jie Ri was puzzled, but still did so.

Soon, Xuanzang's Yogācāra Buddhism was written largely on white paper and then lowered from the city.

The young Brahmin was puzzled.

The monk from the Eastern Land of the Great Tang stepped forward, his face calm:

"This humble monk's Buddhism is all here."

"Whoever can refute this humble monk, I will offer my head."

"Step forward and discuss the Dharma with this humble monk."

There was a dead silence, and there was no response for a long time.

The monk sat down cross-legged and directly explained his own Buddhism, and the reason for the explanation and analysis was to tell the other party how to refute him. And in order to refute him, more than five thousand wise monks listened attentively, and further away, were the majestic cities, and the emperors and nobles sitting on the luxurious white elephants—

The beautiful princess drew this scene down.

A long, long time later, so long that history was buried by wind and sand, and legends had already passed away, someone found this painting that was buried with the princess, and took this painting to ask other people, what exactly was this painting depicting? The West has a saying that there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, but they got the same answer.

"This is the Buddha preaching..."

An old and devout monk said with a smile, pointing his finger at the scroll.

"Look, these are Buddhas, this is the king of the human world, and these are the *bhikkhus*."

The traveler looked at this painting. On the scroll that had turned yellow due to wind and sand, the handsome and gentle monk lowered his eyes to preach the Dharma. The leaves of the Bodhi tree shaded him, and the divine general holding the sword guarded him. Beside him, monks either listened attentively or closed their eyes in intoxication, looking at the artistic conception of this painting, there seemed to be as many as several thousand people.

And beside these monks, there were even younger *bhikkhus*, who could only be painted very small, with everyone surrounding the gentle monk.

White elephants, Bodhi trees, luxuriously dressed human emperors.

Further away were many, many ordinary people.

I don't know how many eminent monks and Bodhisattvas were listening to a monk preach the Dharma, grand and solemn.

"This is the Buddha..."

The traveler sighed and agreed with the views of these monks, because this was almost no different from the Buddha's preaching in the legends. In an era where legends have passed away, it has become a new legend.

"Thus I have heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling at Sravasti..."

ps: Today's first update... three thousand eight hundred words.

The card event has started. If you are interested, you can draw a card. I'm lying down...

My routine has completely collapsed, right?