Mingxin arrived in the State of Yankang, only to find clouds still lingering in the sky—the aftermath of the snow disaster had yet to dissipate. Soldiers were busy everywhere providing disaster relief, refugees were fleeing famine, and bandits were robbing homes left and right. The starving people wandered aimlessly, a truly miserable sight.
"There's a fair, tender monk here!"
Some starving refugees spotted him and cheered joyfully: "No need to wash him—he's ready to eat!"
Mingxin scrambled to run away. The refugees, having gone hungry for who knows how many days, couldn't catch up and had to give up. They grumbled: "Told you not to make noise. Wait till he gets close, then grab him and bite—this tender monk wouldn't have gotten away."
Mingxin fled in terror. He'd gone two or three days without eating, unable to find even a morsel to fill his stomach, yet he'd been chased by starving refugees more than a dozen times.
Inside the Great Thunderclap Monastery, everything was serene, but the outside world was so treacherous—famine everywhere. The Buddhist scriptures contained nothing about this. He supposed one would only think of scriptures when well-fed and warmly clothed.
The Heart Sutra he'd brought along was useless—it couldn't solve the problem of an empty stomach.
This place was remote, and refugees were everywhere. The imperial court's reach was limited. Starved corpses lay scattered across roadsides in grotesque positions.
Some wild wolves and dogs had fed on human corpses and become demons, roaming in packs to hunt the living.
Dogs were naturally docile, but during famine years, dogs would eat humans too. They bred quickly and were fiercer than wolves!
"This is hell..." Mingxin wept, looking at the demons and monsters everywhere, at all the corpses.
"Monk, do you have children?"
A gaunt, yellow-faced refugee grabbed his robe, clutching a child in his arms, his face etched with hunger: "Give me your child, and I'll give you mine. You eat my child, and I'll eat yours..."
Mingxin screamed, broke free, and fled in panic.
"Tathagata—"
After running who knows how many li, Mingxin collapsed, kneeling and crying out in anguish: "You're in the Great Thunderclap Monastery—can't you see this mortal world?"
He stumbled forward in a daze. Ahead was a temple. Mingxin rushed inside and saw several people hanging from the roof beams, head down and feet up, skinned alive. A few monks were crouching in corners, eating meat from iron basins. When they saw him, they were startled and hurriedly called: "Abbot! Abbot! A lone monk has arrived!"
The old abbot rushed out: "Where does this monk come from? Our provisions are running low—even the earth has been gnawed bare by refugees. Yuanding, give him a bowl of food and send him on his way. The Buddha is merciful."
A basin of human flesh was placed before him. Mingxin stared blankly, suddenly feeling the Buddha in his mind collapse and crumble.
He leaped up, frantically striking the Buddha statue, toppling it, smashing it to pieces. The other monks rushed to stop him, angrily shouting: "This monk has gone mad! He's possessed! He's blaspheming the Buddha, betraying his master and ancestors!"
Mingxin let them beat him without fighting back. He was soon beaten to a bloody pulp. Just then, a group of soldiers arrived and cut down the monks in the temple.
"These monks are eating people—they've completely lost their humanity! General, there's another monk here, beaten beyond recognition. Hey, he's still alive!"
The soldiers carried him over. The general took one look and said: "He won't die. Monk, I see you have some skill. Why didn't you fight back when they were killing you?"
Mingxin said woodenly: "I'm full of flaws..."
The general laughed: "Being full of flaws is good! Who doesn't have a few flaws? Only those who know they have flaws are true masters. You have some ability—come with me. We need to protect the crops. These refugees have eaten even the grass roots—they'll devour the newly planted grain if we're not careful. Men, burn this temple down!"
The soldiers set the fire, and the temple quickly went up in flames.
Mingxin nodded, then suddenly froze and rushed toward the fire: "My scriptures!"
The general ordered men to hold him back: "What scriptures? How thick are they?"
"Only two pages."
"It's freezing cold now. Such thin scripture wouldn't even make decent kindling."
The general held up one finger, a hint of compassion in his eyes: "As long as there's one good harvest season and the people have food and no longer go hungry, this mortal world will be a mortal world—not hell. So protecting the crops is absolutely vital—they can't be trampled by refugees! When the world is at peace, you can read your scriptures then. I'll send you a whole basket of scriptures—read whichever one you like!"
Mingxin was stunned. Only when the world is at peace can one read scriptures?
Then how could scriptures save the suffering and deliver all sentient beings?
They're useless when the world is in chaos. If you wait until the world is peaceful to save the suffering and deliver all sentient beings, what's the point?
"Qin Mu was right—the one who wrote the scriptures was indeed not the Tathagata."
Mingxin, in rough cloth and straw sandals, his once-white monk's robes now stained with blood, followed the soldiers away: "From now on, I am my own Tathagata. I will write my own scriptures!"
---
The Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Bells chimed softly. Qin Mu looked west, toward the disaster-stricken Great Ruins, then east, toward Yankang, which was enduring the snow disaster.
The Great Thunderclap Monastery lay between the two, untouched by disaster or calamity—a truly fine place. The monks on the mountain lived carefree lives, devoted to studying Buddhist teachings, undisturbed by worldly troubles.
"The Great Thunderclap Monastery has over four thousand halls. The Heavenly Dragon Hall and Heart Zen Hall are among the higher-ranking temples. Each hall is responsible for different things and studies different aspects. Exceptional disciples are taught directly by senior monks, without having to rotate through the various halls."
Old Ma said: "For example, Mingxin was taught exclusively by Master Jingming. Those guided by teachers in this way are all exceptional among the monks. And those with the highest aptitude, comprehension, and Buddha-nature are taught by the Tathagata himself."
Qin Mu looked down and saw mountain peaks arranged like lotus petals, surrounding the golden summit main peak. Thousands of temples and monasteries filled the landscape, incense burning thick and fragrant.
"The Great Thunderclap Monastery does have its merits. Its approach to teaching disciples shares something with the Yankang National Teacher," Qin Mu nodded.
Old Ma led them around, walking toward a magnificent pagoda: "The First Hall of the Myriad Heavens is the Yama King Hall. The Second Hall is the Sagara Dragon King Hall. Each represents a different mental state in the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra. At the very top are the Sakra Hall and Brahma Hall. If counting from top to bottom, the Brahma Hall would be the First Heaven."
Qin Mu looked up in awe. This pagoda was truly spectacular—it seemed to pierce the heavens, majestic and awe-inspiring!
They entered the pagoda and arrived at the First Hall, the Yama King Hall. Several young novice monks were studying the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra. An old monk hurried forward: "Master Horse God."
Old Ma said: "We'd like to look around."
The old monk looked troubled: "This is a place for cultivating the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra..."
Suddenly a voice said: "Brother, the Buddha said there's nothing in the Great Thunderclap Monastery that can't be shown. They may go anywhere they please."
The old monk looked and hurriedly said: "Buddha Heart."
A young monk walked in and greeted Old Ma: "Brother."
The monk then bowed to Qin Mu: "Cult Master."
Qin Mu returned the greeting with a smile: "So it's Buddha Heart. I saw you once outside the Imperial Academy, though you didn't see me."
This monk had a perfectly round, shaved head with a noble bearing, bright eyes like jewels, earlobes like water droplets, and a red mark between his eyebrows—truly extraordinary. This was Buddha Heart.
Buddha Heart had once accompanied old Master Jingming to the Imperial Academy for a confrontation. Qin Mu had happened to glance over, but since the Young Ancestor hadn't offered any benefits and Qin Mu still needed to drug the Green Ox, he hadn't fought him.
When You Taiyi and the others were drugging the Imperial Academy, Si Yunxiang had slipped out and fought Buddha Heart, forcing him to retreat.
Buddha Heart studied Qin Mu. Though this Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult was polite and refined, appearing like a gentleman, his gaze was aggressive—occasionally a wild, unrestrained spirit flashed in his eyes, piercing into others' hearts, making Buddha Heart's heart skip a beat: "This man has such heavy demonic nature!"
Buddha Heart said to the old monk: "The Tathagata said it's perfectly fine to show Qin Mu the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra. Our Great Thunderclap Monastery's version cannot be cultivated without Buddha-nature. Besides, Master Ma has his own copy—if he'd wanted to teach it to Qin Mu, he could have done so long ago. Two benefactors, Master Ma—please feel free to observe."
The old monk relaxed and began explaining the mysteries of the First Heaven—the Yama King Heaven—to the young monks, showing no hesitation despite Qin Mu's presence.
After a moment, Qin Mu had a sudden insight and activated the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra he'd heard. He felt his body alternate between extreme cold and heat, as if falling into hell, transforming into the Yama King.
Buddha Heart saw him suddenly emit a holy radiance and his heart trembled: "That's Buddha light! He's standing right here and comprehended the first heaven of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra? Could he have Buddha-nature? Isn't he a demon?"
Old Ma also noticed the sudden burst of Buddha light from his body: "Mu'er, you've already grasped the first heaven of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra. There's no need to listen to this level—let's move to the next."
Qin Mu followed Old Ma and Blind Man to the Sagara Dragon King Hall. Buddha Heart hurried after them. There too, an old monk was expounding on the various mysteries of the Sagara Dragon King Heaven.
Before long, Buddha Heart sensed that the Buddha light from Qin Mu had intensified further.
His heart shook violently. Those with demonic nature couldn't cultivate the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra. Qin Mu was the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult—the demon among demons—yet after standing here listening for a short while, he'd already cultivated to the second heaven? It was too shocking!
It should be known that Buddha Heart was called Buddha Heart because he possessed a pure, transparent spirit like a newborn. When he'd first come here, he'd also cultivated to the fourth heaven in a short time, shocking the Great Thunderclap Monastery and earning the title of Buddha Heart.
And it was said that Old Ma had been the same. Buddha Heart had heard legends that Old Ma had cultivated to the fifth heaven in one go, and the old Tathagata had placed great hopes in him, intending to groom him as the next Tathagata.
"The demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult can't possibly have as deep a Buddha-nature as I do!" Buddha Heart thought.
At the third heaven, Qin Mu unknowingly comprehended the Moon Palace Heavenly Lord state of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, cultivating the Moon Palace Heavenly Lord heaven. Buddha light appeared behind his head, the precious moon shining like blossoms. And in this Moon Palace Heavenly Lord Hall, there were very few monks who had achieved this heaven!
At the fourth heaven, Qin Mu comprehended the Sun Palace Heavenly Lord state. Buddha light blazed behind his head, the great sun burning like flames—resembling a fully enlightened high monk!