Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 380: Three Years of Debate
The sword cut through the artery, but no plasma spurted out, and there was no pain at all. The scene in front of him did not change at all, but the person in front of him suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a bald, skinny monk sitting in the long hall.

The monk sat cross-legged, clasped his hands together and said, "Well done, well done. You are the first person to escape from this illusion of mine."

Wuzhan asked, "May I ask what your Dharma name is, Senior? Where is this?"

"This is Penglai, my Buddhist name is Ran Deng."

"Why am I here?"

"Of course it is the cycle of cause and effect. I have a question. This is the paradise, where you can have everything you want and live forever. It is what those who practice Taoism yearn for. Why do you choose to be free from it?"

"That's just one person's world, not the real world."

Ran Deng smiled and said, "The human heart is the heart of heaven. Your heart is the world, just like the sound of the waves. If you don't listen, you can't hear it. If you want to listen, you will hear the sound of the waves. In the eyes of the crow, it doesn't feel that it is dirty. The wolf eats the sheep, but the wolf doesn't feel that it has done evil. The black and white, good and evil, beauty and ugliness of the world are all in the mind. Therefore, all phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dreams and lightning. You should view them in this way."

"If everyone in the world is like you, then there will be no distinction between good and evil. However, since there are so many worlds in the world, there are so many human hearts. Human hearts are selfish, so there are sufferings and disputes. How can you help others? If you see people fighting over a piece of steamed bun, they can survive if they eat it, but they will starve to death if they don't. How can you resolve the conflict?"

"I will cut off my own flesh so that they can live."

"I am impressed by your sacrifice. It is just to kill the kind-hearted people and save the evil-hearted people."

“Why do you draw such a conclusion?”

"Because if that hungry person eats the senior's flesh, it would prove that this person has an evil heart and cannot be saved. On the other hand, a person with a kind heart, like the senior, would rather starve to death than eat the senior's flesh."

Randeng smiled and said, "I admire your debate, so how do you think I should resolve this?"

"If you don't look, you won't see. This is what the predecessors said before: human heart is the heart of heaven, and the environment is created by the heart. Since everything is just a dream, why bother? Therefore, the Dharma that the predecessors talked about is not to save others, but to save oneself. Saving oneself is selfishness, and if there is selfishness, it is not the real Dharma."

Upon hearing this, Rāhāng could no longer laugh. He had wanted to use Wuzhan's method to expose his previous judgment, but he never expected that Wuzhan would use his Buddhist teachings to overturn Buddhist teachings.

“What is the true Dharma?”

"The real law cannot be changed by human will, and cannot break the law of real existence. Just like the changing of time, the movement of the stars, and the sound of waves washing over the beach, it is certain to make a sound. It is not that the sound cannot be heard, but that the predecessors chose not to listen. Just like the stone in front of you, no matter how high you throw it, it will eventually fall down. This is the law of real existence. When people are hungry, they will be happy if they can eat a piece of steamed bun, at least their stomachs will feel better. This is also a law. Desires do not necessarily make people evil, but can also make people good. It is because of loss that people know how to cherish, and it is because of suffering that people will reap the rewards after suffering."

No one had ever said such words to Dipankara that would make his Buddhist faith collapse, and he had never doubted Buddhism. Although he had entered the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and seen the true nature, it all turned into a dream in an instant.

Upon hearing this, Randeng entered into meditation, “Good, good…” All the paradoxes in the Buddhist scriptures were readily resolved, and his mind became extremely clear.

“I seem to be getting enlightened!”

I saw that there was Buddha's light all around Randang, reaching up to the sky. The surrounding scenery dimmed, and the earth began to tremble violently. The soil and rocks were overturned, and a huge golden Buddha rose from the ground. The left hand of the giant Buddha held up Randang, and Wuzhan stood on the fingertips of his upright right hand. The ground began to become smaller, and the sun also became smaller, and finally turned into a bright spot. Looking in all directions, there was a vast sea of ​​stars, with different star disks, endless, and the silence contained a mysterious power.

Randeng said with emotion: "The human heart is not the heart of heaven. There is no heart of heaven in this world. This is the world of three thousand great worlds, and our world is but a moment of a meson."

The two of them watched for an unknown amount of time, seeing the sorrow of reincarnation, all kinds of worldly affairs, and the rotation of heaven, until the sea of ​​stars disappeared and the two returned to their original place.

The two looked at each other and smiled. Ran Deng said with emotion: "If I could hear the truth in the morning, I would be willing to die in the evening!"

"Congratulations to the senior for comprehending the cycle of heaven and earth,"

"If it weren't for your words, how could I have seen the three thousand worlds, overlooking all living beings, and the rise and fall of fate."

"No need to thank me, I just hope you can let me out."

Randeng's face darkened and he replied, "It's just that this poor monk can't do it."

Wuzhan said calmly: "Why?"

Ran Deng sighed and said, "I was entrusted by someone."

"Who is this person and why is he trapping me here?"

"I have nothing to say, but I can tell you that this person wants to save your life."

Wuzhan said: "Senior, please tell me that I don't need anyone to care about me. I just need to leave here."

Ran Deng shook his head and said, "If you leave here, not only will there be no place for you in the world, but you will also implicate that person. If you stay here, not only will you save your life, but you will also enjoy the paradise."

Wuzhan said in a deep voice: "If I would rather be hunted down, I would not stay here. It is no different from death here, because there are things I must do outside."

"Daoyou's affairs are the great affairs of this world. You must have known about your past life. The Demon Emperor was annihilated, and we met once. But I was still a nameless person back then. I witnessed the earth turning into a desert, the sea flooding the sky, the lives of all living beings being charred, and the blood flowing into rivers. That war was called the "Immortal Tribulation", and countless immortals fell. I was able to escape by hiding in the West. Those who survived that year have all become the masters of the heavens. If they knew that you have been reincarnated, who would not be frightened and terrified? Who would not keep you? Even if I was not entrusted by others, I would not let the tiger go back to the mountain even if I had to risk my life." He then said, "And now, I feel more and more that you are terrifying. You are too wise. You have eyes that can see through everything, and you have the ability to devour everything. But your soul is not complete yet, and your abilities cannot be fully exerted. Therefore, you are trapped in this pure land of mine."

"It seems there is no room for improvement."

"Not even a lick of wiggle room."

"Then I'll just have to force my way in."

"In this pure land, all the laws are controlled by this poor monk, so you should give up this obsession."

"What if I go out?"

"Absolutely impossible."

"Well, let's make a bet. If I go out, can you do something for me?"

"I never make bets. It is impossible for you to leave." "Since you dare not make a bet, it means you are not sure that you can trap me here."

Ran Deng smiled and said, "Then I will make an exception. I will make this bet with you. What do you want me to do?"

Wuzhan smiled and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll let you know when I have thought about it." Then he said, "You said I was the first person to get rid of this illusion. Does that mean there are other people in this illusion?"

Randeng said: "Three thousand extremely evil people, and three thousand extremely good people."

Wuzhan asked, "Are there any differences between these people?"

"Of course there is a difference. The extremely evil people can do whatever they want in the illusion until their lives are exhausted, while the extremely good people can enjoy bliss and escape from the sufferings of the world."

Wuzhan smiled slightly and said, "The bliss of a wicked person doing whatever he wants is no different from the bliss of a virtuous person."

Ran Deng smiled and said, "According to Daoist friend's theory, it is naturally the same. The environment is created by the mind. If you want to trap those extremely evil people, this is the only way. Otherwise, they will do evil in the world."

"Then I am the evil person. May I ask, Senior, why do you think I am the evil person?"

Ran Deng smiled and said, “You have killed people and directed killings.”

"Then the senior has also killed people, so he is also a bad person."

Ran Deng said: "I have never killed anyone."

"Those extremely evil people in the illusion were killed by the predecessors, or are being killed."

"I didn't kill them. They were trapped because they refused to give up their obsession. Even if I didn't trap them, they would still die."

Wuzhan smiled and said, "To imprison a person for life is just a matter of time compared to killing a person. I don't want to argue with you whether you have killed anyone or not. I want to say that even in Buddhism, there are times when you can be angry and kill evildoers. It is a good thing to stop violence and stop losses in time. The people I killed are all evil people in this world."

Ran Deng said: "Jie Mie is a very evil person."

Wuzhan shook his head and said, "Jiemie is not me, and I am not Jiemie. If you can't explain it clearly, do you want to talk about the previous life? The previous life... Who knows if there was a previous life, and what happened in it."

Ran Deng laughed and said, "I can't win the argument with you, but no matter what you say, I won't let you go."

Wuzhe looked around and said, "Even if you won't let me go, you still need to arrange a place for me to stay."

Randang called a tall and thin disciple and ordered him to take Wuzhan to arrange accommodation. The disciple never said a word and left after taking him to a side hall. Not long after, another disciple came and brought vegetarian food, and they settled down there.

This is an isolated island, surrounded by the vast ocean. It is warm and rainy. There are no other houses on the island except the temple. A dozen monks work silently, taking care of the fields behind the temple.

Wuzhan was free on the island and his daily life was taken care of by someone. The monks had no tongues, so they had nothing to ask. Randeng was everywhere, and whenever Wuzhan wanted to talk to him, Randeng would appear in front of him. However, Wuzhan never took the initiative to talk to him. Instead, Randeng took the initiative to ask Wuzhan if he needed anything.

There is a library in the temple, which contains many Buddhist scriptures. Wuzhan only took one month to read all the scriptures. Whenever Randeng asked about them, he would narrate them word for word and point out the problems in the scriptures, which made Randeng praise him continuously and make revisions quickly.

As time went by, Wuzhan seemed to have integrated into the life here and never tried to leave. Randeng also regarded Wuzhan as his close friend. Every time he lost a debate, he would think about it alone for a long time. After coming up with the result, he would look for Wuzhan to continue the debate. However, he would be refuted by Wuzhan after just a few words. Randeng could not sleep or eat well unless he experienced a victory.

Dipankara once said, “All dharmas are the Buddha’s Dharma.”

Wuzhan asked, "Killing and robbing is also in line with Buddhism?"

"Killing and robbing is not Buddhism."

Wuzhan smiled and said, "All that is not Buddhism."

Upon hearing this, Randeng was stunned for a long time and was unable to refute. He thought about it alone for a day and a night before he came up with a way to refute it and went to see Wuzhan.

"Killing and robbing is also Buddhism. Daoist friends only mention the cause, but do not see the result. They still cannot escape the nature of emptiness. This is Buddhism."

"Since killing and robbing is also a Buddhist practice, does Buddhism teach us how to kill people?"

"How can Buddhism encourage others to do evil?"

"Then killing people is not Buddhism."

Randeng scratched his head and disappeared, and he was not seen for several days.

Finally one day, Randeng came to see Wuzhan with a smile, and said, "All dharmas are not all dharmas, so they are called all dharmas. What fellow Taoists call killing and robbing is to confuse right and wrong, and is not the dharma of Buddhism."

"Is there a law of good and evil?"

"If the law has no name, how can there be a distinction between good and evil?"

"Killing and robbing are illegal, Buddhism is the true Dharma, the Dharma has no name, but the predecessors distinguish between right and wrong. Is there no self in Buddhism?"

Upon hearing this, Randeng froze again and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. If he argued that killing was illegal, he would have to admit that there was a self in the Buddha, not an 'empty' self. If he did not argue that killing was illegal, then the Buddha's teachings would not include everything, and everything would not be the Buddha's teachings. He could only disappear in dismay, thinking, "All this has caused me so much suffering."

……

(All the Buddhist theories are fabricated by me and are not true Buddhist scriptures.)
When Wuzhan stepped into the long hall where Randeng sat for the second time, more than three years had passed. During these three years, Wuzhan spent all his time debating with Randeng and meditating.

Randeng opened his eyes and said with a wry smile: "You want to leave?"

(End of this chapter)