The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The burly man thought that Fangzheng had forgotten about him, so he cooperated and said, “He cried so badly after an entire nest of ants died. He sure was a kind person.” With that said, he glanced at the tea on the table.

Unfortunately, Fangzheng didn’t seem to notice it as he continued. “That’s right. He was indeed a good person. He was very kind and had never killed an ant his entire life. Unfortunately, he ended up killing an entire nest of them this time.

He was very sad. He returned to the temple and took out a wooden fish. He sat by the entrance of the ant hole and recited the scriptures for the ants, hoping to send them off. As he recited the scriptures, he cried and confessed his sins.”

“And then?” The burly man realized that the monk in front of him was too f**king stingy. He probably had no chance of getting a cup of tea, so he began listening attentively to the story.

“He cried for three days and three nights. He was really sad and regretful.”

The burly man said, “Did he become a Buddha?”

However, Fangzheng didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to expound. “At that moment, a tipsy butcher passed by. Upon seeing the young monk crying so sadly, he asked for the reason. The young monk said that he felt guilty and sad because he had caused the extinction of an entire ant nest. He explained how he had knelt there, recited the scriptures, and stayed there for seven full days, performing funeral rites for the ants and confessing to his mistakes.”

The burly man frowned and did not say anything.

Fangzheng continued. “When the butcher heard that, he was stunned. He then sat on the ground and wailed loudly too!

“The young monk was puzzled as he asked, ‘Patron, why are you crying?’

The butcher shouted. ‘You killed a nest of ants, but I’ve been killing pigs since I was young. I’ve killed countless pigs! If what you have committed was such a grave sin, aren’t my sins all the more heinous? I regret it just like you!’

With that said, the butcher threw away his pole and cleaver. He roared. ‘I won’t slaughter pigs anymore in the future. The past mistakes will be corrected with my life!’

With that, the butcher jumped off the cliff!

The young monk was stunned. Just as he was about to shout for help, he heard the sound of a crane. Following that, he saw a white crane carrying the butcher up into the air and heading west. He could vaguely see the Buddha waiting to receive him on the horizon!”

With that said, Fangzheng took another sip of tea before he fell silent.

When the burly man heard that, he sat rooted to the ground in a daze. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Who did that immortal crane actually come for?”

Fangzheng smiled. “What do you think?”

The burly man said, “It was supposed to come for the young monk, but unfortunately, the butcher jumped off the cliff to repent, so he took the butcher away, right?”

Fangzheng smiled without saying a word.

The burly man nodded and said, “I understand. The young monk also repented and sincerely regretted it, but he wasn’t fated to become a Buddha. To become a Buddha, he had to bear the responsibility and jump off the cliff to redeem himself…”

Fangzheng still remained silent as he kept smiling.

The burly man frowned. “Master, am I wrong?”

Only then did Fangzheng say, “Patron, do you have a cell phone? Do you know how to go online?”

The burly man nodded. “Of course, I’m not a caveman. How could I not know?”

“The story This Penniless Monk just told you was the origin story of repenting to become a Buddha. Since you have a cell phone and can go online, why didn’t you go online and search for it yourself? Once you research online, you can figure out everything. Why do you need to be so conflicted and seek help from others?” Fangzheng continued asking.

The burly man was stunned.

Fangzheng continued. “Sometimes, it’s not that the problem is too difficult. It’s just that the answer is by your side, but you deliberately don’t look at it. In fact, echoing what others say is what’s truly scariest.”

The burly man was speechless.

Upon saying this, Fangzheng sighed and sipped his tea. He smiled and said, “Patron, your friend is waiting for you.”

Only then did the burly man recall that he was there with a friend. He was only focused on listening to Fangzheng’s explanation and when he looked back, there was no one!

The burly man said angrily, “Master, why are you lying?”

Fangzheng smiled. “Patron, This Penniless Monk has had his back facing the temple hall. This Penniless Monk doesn’t know your friend, but you do. This Penniless Monk doesn’t know anything about whether your friend is out or not, but you can know just by looking up. Then, why did you believe This Penniless Monk and get cheated?”

The burly man opened his mouth and closed it again. He closed it again and said bitterly, “I get it.”

Fangzheng smiled. “Patron, what do you get?”

“Patron, why did you address This Penniless Monk with ‘Master’?”

After some thought, the burly man said sternly, “The reason why humans are human is because they have thoughts. The heavens have given everyone the ability to think, but many people have given up on coming up with independent thoughts. Instead, they simply accept the thoughts of others and don’t distinguish them before turning them into their own thoughts. Like that, they share the beliefs of others. It has to be said that being mentally enslaved is far more tragic than being physically enslaved. Even when physically enslaved, one is still whole, but for mental enslavement, one isn’t even oneself…”

“Master, I have learned something.”

“Previously, I only heard what others said and believed them. Now that I think about it, such behavior is really… shameful!”

Fangzheng was truly surprised by the man’s perceptivity. He may be far from handsome, but his perceptivity was enough to make him a so-called expert.

At this moment, the burly man asked again, “Master, can I ask a real question?”

Fangzheng nodded.

The burly man asked, “I know, I’m not good enough for her, but I really can’t let her go. I keep thinking of her…”

As the burly man spoke, Fangzheng suddenly handed him a teacup.

The burly man subconsciously took it, and Fangzheng poured him tea with the teapot.

The burly man was stunned. He didn’t expect that despite his repeated hinting, he wouldn’t be given tea. Yet now that he didn’t ask for it, he got it instead. He found it really unexpected.

However, at that moment, when the tea was filled to the brim, Fangzheng continued pouring the tea. The burly man was scalded by the boiling water and subconsciously released his hand. The teacup fell onto the table and the tea spilled all over the table.

The burly man was stunned. Just as he was about to say something, Fangzheng said, “There’s no such thing as people or things that can’t be let go of in this world. Once it hurts, you will naturally let it go.”

The burly man was enlightened as he stood up. “Thank you for your guidance, Master.”

Fangzheng nodded and said, “Patron, you can leave now.”

The burly man nodded and turned around to look. His friend had appeared behind him at some point in time. It was a woman. The woman frowned and looked at the strong man. She said lightly, “Let’s go.”

The burly man looked at the woman’s cold gaze and felt pain in his heart. He knew that she had heard what he had said and understood what he was getting at. He also understood the meaning behind her reaction.

The burly man sighed and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

With that, the two of them left, but the gap between the two of them increased as they walked.

At that moment, a child ran over and grasped the woman’s hand. “Mommy, Uncle Wang.”

When Fangzheng heard that, a dark cloud hung over his head as he thought to himself, “Thankfully, I didn’t try matchmaking them. Otherwise, I would have committed a heinous sin!”

At the same time, Monkey recorded the conversation between Fangzheng and the burly man and mumbled. “So this is what a master should be like. I get it… But if that’s the case, I can also be a master! I’ll give it a try later!”