The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Elder Yu waved his hand and said, “Let’s take a look at that monastery. As long as Fangzheng keeps performing good deeds, we can open up some doors for him, and let the whole world see that China has a broad and open mind. We can accept everything, and we can adopt everything. At the same time, our culture is rich and profound. Not only can it be seen, we also have a living Buddha!”

He emphasized his words when he said “living Buddha”, a cheerful skip in his tone as though he was making a joke.

The middle-aged man was amused, and he bade farewell.

After the man left, Elder Yu knocked on the table and said, “Qing’er, are you pleased now?”

A faint and elegant voice sounded from the room beside. “If he hadn’t done well, could This Penniless Priest have changed your mind?”

“Haha! Qing’er, that’s nothing like you. You wouldn’t have said such words of flattery in the past,” Elder Yu said with a laugh.

The faint and elegant voice sounded again. “He said before—be it Buddhism or Daoism, what we are fighting for isn’t money, but the devils in everyone’s hearts. Guiding people to do good is the reason for our existence. Tomorrow, This Penniless Priest will return. This Penniless Priest made some pastries outside. You can try them.”

With that said, the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.

When Elder Yu heard that, he sighed. “You are still unwilling to return home?”

“It’s peaceful in the mountains. Why should I return?” The voice had turned ethereal.

Elder Yu shook his head and pressed. “Are you in love? Aren’t you indifferent to everything after separating yourself from the world?”

Unfortunately, there was no further reply.

Elder Yu felt helpless as he walked to the wall and saw a huge piece of calligraphy. On it were the huge words: “Daoists leave the mountains only for justice.”

Elder Yu smiled ruefully. “Indeed, you know me best. Forget it. I don’t care if it’s because of a predestined relationship, friendship, or justice, children can take care of themselves. Why should I interfere?”

Shaking his head, Elder Yu also left.

However, another command from the government was sent down.

Almost on the same day, all news regarding Fangzheng vanished from the Internet.

Everyone discussed it for a little longer, but over time, they forgot about it and talked less about it. Finally, the Internet’s discourse was replaced by other news. The monastery on Mt. One Finger and the monk on One Finger Monastery seemed to become a fleeting mythical story that only spread locally.

However, the incense One Finger Monastery received remained plenty, and it seemed to keep increasing.

“Master, all news about us is gone,” Red Boy waved the phone and said unhappily.

Fangzheng smiled. “I’m aware.”

“Uh, Master, aren’t you angry? This is them severing our path to riches,” Red Boy said.

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “It’s actually someone who is helping us.”

“Helping us? Master, are you sick?” Red Boy came over and touched Fangzheng’s head.

Fangzheng smiled. “You don’t get it. As the saying goes, things always reverse themselves after reaching an extreme, no matter how beautiful and perfect the matter is. Once something receives too much attention, different voices will appear. This is a free world, a free age. People also have freedom of thought. They will attempt to view problems from all kinds of angles, from both good and bad. Even if some angles don’t exist, a particular line of thought will still be there. When the discussion increases, it’s impossible for everyone to say good things about you. When almost all the good has been said, people wish to listen to the bad. This way, something good will eventually be gossiped into something bad… Someone is helping us suppress the media when we are at our peak, allowing us to stop at the peak. This is helping us, not suppressing us.”

“Really?” Red Boy stroked his chin and recalled the news he had previously seen. To his alarm, he realized it had really been like that!

At this moment, Monkey ran over and flailed his arms, crying. “Master, it’s a letter from Vietnam!”

Fangzheng was taken aback. A letter from another country? Did he have relatives in other countries? Apparently not!

Fangzheng received the letter and indeed, the address on it was Vietnam’s Dharma Characteristics Monastery. Fangzheng was puzzled when he saw that. It was odd that a foreign monastery would write to him.

When he opened it, it was an invitation letter with a golden Buddhist hall printed on it. There were the huge words: “Southeast Asian Buddhism and Daoism Summit Invitation!”

Written on it was the following: “Honorable Venerable Abbot Fangzheng of One Finger Monastery , the Southeast Asian Buddhism and Daoism Summit will be held on 25th January 20XX at the Dharma Characteristics Monastery in Vietnam…”

The rest consisted of very formal wording that Fangzheng didn’t fully understand. At the end of it, it was signed by the administrative council of the Southeast Asian Buddhism and Daoism Summit, followed by the time, date, and exact address.

After reading it, Fangzheng handed the invitation to Red Boy. “Throw it away!”

Red Boy was taken aback as he asked, “Master, throw it away? This is an invitation from them, after all. You just need to tell them that you aren’t going, but why throw it away?”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. “Do you think I have the qualifications to be invited by an international summit?”

“Master, things are now different. The present you is definitely qualified! A living Buddha! It’s so obvious!” Red Boy said.

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “Look at when the letter was sent. It’s from a week ago! Were we that famous a week ago?”

Red Boy was left speechless.

Although Fangzheng was very amazing now, the number of people who knew him a week ago hadn’t been anything to speak off. Even if he had caused quite a stir previously, in this age of information, it made it easy for people to see him, but also easy for people to forget him. Nothing could make people remember things forever. There was always more fresh news awaiting. Many people no longer had the mental capacity to remember all kinds of news. Therefore, even the most popular celebrities had to stir the news from time to time to stay in the limelight. Perhaps today they did surgery on their eyes, and the next day they did their face. Today, they professed their undying love, and the next day they were filing for a divorce. It was all laughter today, but weeping the next day…

Apart from national leaders, to have their reputation ingrained in the minds of everyone, one had to constantly appear on the news.

As such, Fangzheng might appear to be rather eye-catching from what he previously did, but to say that the had influence and reputation wasn’t necessarily the case. If he didn’t produce any more news later, all that awaited him was to be forgotten.

And the influence brought about by hot news was inferior to people like Abbot Baiyun and company who worked professionally for years, accumulating their influence over time. Their reputations were genuine, ones that could be left behind in the annals. As for Fangzheng’s, it was fleeting. He soared high up, but he would scatter with a gust of strong wind.

Therefore, for an international summit to seek out Fangzheng was truly baffling.

Hence, Red Boy asked, “Master, are you implying that this might be a trick from some cheats?”

Fangzheng returned with a question. “What else? I just became famous, and I received an invitation. Can you believe it?”