The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Shao Min smiled bitterly as she said, “I know… I won’t do that again in the future. Next time, I’ll investigate the matter fully before doing anything. I will not rush to a conclusion without understanding the situation.”

“Amitabha.”

“Abbot Fangzheng, you will be having a mooncake party tonight. Can we join?” Zhao Gang was clearly more interested in the party.

Before Fangzheng even said a word, someone patted Zhao Gang on the shoulder. “If you wish to join the mooncake party, follow me. Carry your own stool up!”

Zhao Gang was taken aback as he looked at Fangzheng.

Fangzheng smiled. “Patron, you are welcome to join.”

Zhao Gang immediately laughed. He liked such simple and down-to-earth folk customs which had not been commercialized. It was simple, straight to the point, and joyous! Therefore, Zhao Gang immediately walked off.

Xue Zong bowed at Fangzheng. “Thank you, Abbot Fangzheng.” When Xue Zong tried putting himself in Fangzheng’s shoes, he came to the conclusion that if he were Fangzheng, he would definitely dislike them. If he had the chance to send them off, there was no way he would let them stay. However Fangzheng reacted with a smile, and it was not a forced smile. There was no facade. There was only sincerity in his eyes. He was really not angry at them, just a bit helpless when it came to the previous Shao Min. This indicated that the monk before him really had a heart that could take in all sorts of problems. Such a state of mind was something he had seen only from the abbots and accomplished monks of major monasteries.

“It’s no wonder he was able to become the abbot of One Finger Monastery. His Buddhist Dharma is indeed profound.” Xue Zong thought wistfully.

Xue Zong left with Shao Min, but before leaving, Shao Min asked, “Abbot, is this tree really not afraid of the cold?”

Fangzheng smiled. “Yes.”

This time, Shao Min did not pester Fangzheng endlessly but left happily. Clearly, she believed in his words.

It was noon, so there was the entire afternoon left before evening. Since no one was in a rush, people returned home for lunch.

Once everyone was gone, Monkey, who had been acting completely serious, quickly got a mooncake. Having circled the mooncake mound so many times, he already knew which flavor he was targeting. He was naturally the fastest and most precise when it came to taking action!

Red Boy roared as he charged over and dived into the pile of mooncakes before rolling around. Fangzheng hurriedly chased the brat out because the prodigal child was squashing the mooncakes.

Lone Wolf, who was slumped on the ground looking lazy, also dashed forward in high spirits. However, using the lesson drawn from Red Boy’s actions, he gave up the thought of fumbling around. Instead, he came close and began sniffing around, shaking his ass in the meantime while finding the flavor he liked the most.

Red Boy was thrown onto the ground by Fangzheng, and just as he was about to say something, he turned his head and saw a figure flash across the top of the bodhi tree. He chuckled and said, “Master, someone is spying on us.”

Fangzheng smiled as well. He picked a five-seed mooncake and came under the tree. He opened the packaging, allowing a waft of mooncake fragrance to suffuse the air.

Fangzheng smacked his lips and said, “Hey, this smells real good.”

Red Boy instantly laughed when he heard that. He hurriedly picked up a black sesame flavored mooncake and came under the tree. He peeled open the mooncake, and the fragrance of black sesame wafted upwards. Red Boy inhaled deeply and let out a comfortable and satisfied laugh. “How fragrant!”

Monkey and Lone Wolf exchanged looks when they saw this. They giggled as both of them ran under the tree. Monkey helped Lone Wolf open the packaging, and the ignominious bastards sat under the tree, eating while smacking their lips. They couldn’t stop reflecting over how delicious and sweet the mooncakes were.

As they spoke, they secretly swept their gazes at Squirrel’s villa in the tree.

Indeed, as they were having the time of their lives eating, a particular furtive fellow had secretly pushed open his windows to peep at them. His tiny nose was inhaling deeply as his saliva nearly drooled out.

The moment Fangzheng looked up, the windows were closed.

Fangzheng laughed and said, “Jingkuan, mooncakes are delicious. Don’t you want some?”

“Hmph! No!” Squirrel said grouchily. However, he was nearly in tears while hiding at home. How fragrant… I want to have some!

“Jingkuan, it’s really delicious! Much nicer than your pine nuts. If I were you, I would store a few of these huge mooncakes. Wouldn’t that be better than storing away pine nuts?” Red Boy shouted.

Squirrel felt a little moved. Yes, although he had been scammed of his pine nuts, he could obtain even more mooncakes. It didn’t seem like he would lose out. Squirrel’s tiny paws began scratching at his chest, as the look of various conflicting ideas ran through his eyes.

“Jingkuan, guess what I’m eating? It’s all pine nuts! Haha, the taste is excellent! Roasted pine nuts are indeed nicer than raw ones,” exclaimed Lone Wolf in excitement.

Squirrel swallowed his saliva and mumbled, “I’ll only take a look. I won’t be greedy. I won’t eat. I will not compromise.”

Therefore, Squirrel opened his window once again and furtively looked over. But the moment he did that, a huge hand extended inside and grabbed him out.

“Ahhh, let me go! Let me go! You can forget about appeasing my wrath!” Squirrel roared.

The next moment, a piece of mooncake was stuffed into his mouth. Squirrel subconsciously licked it, and it tasted really, really good…

A few minutes later.

Squirrel rubbed his rounded belly and exclaimed. “Master, these mooncakes are delicious. I want more!”

Everyone laughed at the actions of this glutton who forgot everything once there was food to eat.

“Take it. You can eat as much as you want.” Fangzheng smiled as well. Squirrel was only so big. No matter how much he ate, it wouldn’t be a lot. Instead, it was the ravenous beast that was Lone Wolf who had already eaten his second box!

Fangzheng raised his hand to strike Lone Wolf. “You stupid wolf. Spare some for later. We will be having a mooncake party tonight. If there’s not enough mooncakes, you will be handed out for everyone to eat.”

Lone Wolf chuckled. Then, he opened his mouth and devoured the mooncake by his mouth.

Fangzheng raised his foot and kicked him. The idiot was still eating, eating one mooncake in one bite at that!

Lone Wolf ran off with his tail between his legs. But as he ran too quickly, he choked.

“Cough…” Lone Wolf hurriedly ran to the backyard for some water.

Towards his hopeless disciples, Fangzheng felt exasperated. Were the disciples he took in all gluttons because he enjoyed eating?

In Buddhism, being greedy was a huge no-no. However, Fangzheng believed that it was not something he could wean himself from his entire life. Furthermore, he was puzzled why the System did not seem to care about his gluttony.

“Do you want me to care?” The moment Fangzheng thought of the question, the System immediately returned with a question.

“Why don’t you care?”

“Why do you think there’s precepts for eating?”

Fangzheng thought and said, “First, gluttony is a desire. Having a desire makes one’s heart unsettled. If one’s heart is unsettled, one cannot calmly study the Buddhist Dharma. Second, it’s what I said before. Just like shaving off one’s head, it’s to experience suffering for others to see. It’s to let us show to others that one can still be happy despite being in such a state, so why should they not be happy? Third, monks didn’t have any precepts regarding their diets at first. But thanks to history, these things eventually became rules, right?”

The System chuckled and said, “That is indeed the case in your world. But in Buddha’s world, although precepts regarding eating still exist, the precepts Buddhists uphold when it comes to eating is to not eat the flesh and blood of living beings. Buddhism believes that the flesh can die, but the soul is eternal. There is Samsara in this world, and souls will be forever in Samsara and live for all eternity. Above that, there’s karma. If you kill for meat, the dead party will have grievance. After they experience the circle of Samsara, they will definitely seek revenge on you. No one knows what one will become after the Samsara. If the party becomes an elite person favored by the heavens, all your life’s hard work might be for naught. Therefore, monks try not to eat the flesh and blood of living creatures to prevent the tainting of their karma and inviting trouble which might affect their cultivation. As for me, I’m watching you based on the rules of Mount Numinous. Naturally, I wouldn’t care about your gluttony. But what you say is right. Gluttony is a desire. Too much of it will result in mistakes. Therefore, rein in yourself or don’t blame me for not warning you when you are smote by heaven one day.”