Chapter 920: Endless Hell
The old lady put her hands together like a prayer and said: “Little girl, you’re so kind. Good people will be rewarded.”
The fierce monk was quite dissatisfied that Gong CaiCai only donated ￥50. However, he noticed that Gong CaiCai still had a lot of hundred dollar bills in her wallet, so he didn’t say anything.
“Gong CaiCai, that was completely unnecessary!” I complained, “Instead of giving your money to this damn monastery, you should have treated me to dinner later!”
I said it as a joke, but Gong CaiCai took it seriously. She took out her rabbit-shaped wallet again, and this time took out ￥100 from it, then handed it to me with both hands respectfully and bowed her head to apologize:
“I’m sorry! I embarrassed everyone because I’m too weak! I also embarrassed Happy Science! I hope this money will be enough to pay for Ye Lin’s lunch…”
“Hey! If someone sees, they’ll think that I’m blackmailing you in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva! It’s fine if I’m misunderstood by other humans, but I’ll get bad luck if I’m misunderstood by Guanyin Bodhisattva!”
Fang Xin pondered for a moment, then walked up to the fierce monk who was guarding the donation box, and asked:
“Bhikkhu, what conditions need to be met to become a monk in your monastery?”
“Huh? So you could tell that I’m not a samanera but a bhikkhu, you have a pretty good judgment!” The fierce monk said with great interest, “Are you perhaps householder Fang? Do you want to become a monk?”
Fang Xin clasped his palms together and said, “It’s not that I want to become a monk, but that he wants to become a monk after seeing through the world of mortals. I’m simply asking on his behalf.”
He said as he stretched out his hand and pointed at me.
Who wants to become a monk? It doesn’t matter what you want to do, Fang Xin, don’t use me as a tool!
So I subconsciously put on a fierce visage. The fierce monk glanced at me and was immediately humbled. He probably thought that if I was actually ordained and became a monk, I would negatively affect the monastery’s income. The media would also report that the monastery has connections with the underworld.
“Uh, householder Fang, the friend you brought —— is he over 17 years old? According to the monastery’s regulations, a monk can’t be younger than 17 years old, nor older than 60 years old!”
“It doesn’t matter. Although he’s yet 17 years old yet, he will be once the new year passes.” Fang Xin lied about my age. I looked very mature for my age and people would usually believe me when I say that I’m a high school student.
“So why does he want to become a monk? What do his parents do?”
Fang Xin shook his head inexplicably, “Buddhists believe in treating everyone equally. Does it make a difference if I told you that the boy’s parents are rich or that they’re simple office workers?”
“Well, there are rules for who can become a monk and who can’t become a monk. I was simply following a script. Since householder Fang wants to know the specific conditions for becoming a monk, I will elaborate a little bit…”
Gong CaiCai, who was next to him, was also listening with wide eyes, as if she was the one who wanted to become a monk.
“To become a monk at Jianren Monastery, you must first have a complete set of identification documents, have a middle school education or above, have permission from your parents, not in a marriage or relationship, no debt disputes, no lawsuits, and must not be a wanted criminal…”
The fierce monk glanced at my face as he spoke, as if he had seen me on a wanted list before.
“Secondly, those who become monks must not have any physical or mental defects. Those with missing limbs, poliomyelitis, leprosy, crooked necks, as well as those suffering from neurasthenia, schizophrenia, and epilepsy cannot be ordained as monks…’
“Wait a minute, why can’t a person with a crooked neck become a monk?” It felt like Fang Xin was asking even though he knew the answer.
“Hah, it’s because people with crooked necks can’t walk upright, which damages the monastery’s image.” The fierce monk replied proudly for some reason, maybe because his neck wasn’t crooked.
“Also, monks must not only walk upright, but also have upright facial features.” The fierce monk continued, “If you’re blind, cross-eyed, deaf, missing ears, have a crooked mouth, have a cleft lip, mute, or anything else, then you can’t become a monk!”
Fang Xin followed up with a sentence with perfect timing: “Does it mean that if you meet the above conditions, you can become a monk, but you aren’t required to believe in Buddhism?”
“Of course… of course you need to have faith and piety!” the fierce monk said in a hurry. In his panic, he slurred his words and almost referred to ‘faith and piety’ as ‘faith and money’.
Fang Xin suddenly sighed: “Sigh! Buddhism has changed since the Buddha’s death! Back then, Buddha was a prince, but he knew how to pity farmers who worked under the scorching sun, even the lice under the farmer’s feet. It’s a pity that you fake monks are only interested in money and you even set so many barriers for people to become a monk! Where’s your ambition to save all living beings?”
The fierce monk suddenly blushed at what Fang Xin said, then he turned angry and said: “I didn’t make the rules! If you don’t like it, then go talk to the abbot! I only follow the rules… and people with disabilities who become monks will cause everyone trouble!”
“Hmph.” Fang Xin sneered, “Buddha said: Form is emptiness and all things have no distinction. Once there is a distinction, there arises dualistic thinking. How can one enter ‘The Dharma Door of Non-duality’ with two minds? A monk who harbors discriminatory thoughts builds a foundation for sin and is bound for endless suffering!”
What Fang Xin said was similar to Buddhist verses and left the fierce monk speechless. He might not even know what Fang Xin said. He just didn’t realize what it was and was afraid that he would be laughed at depending on his reply, so he didn’t say anything.
I also acquired some basic knowledge of Buddhism from my father and I know that Fang Xin wanted to say: from the perspective of monks, if there is a difference between a high-rise building and a thatched hut, a difference between a rich man and a beggar, and a difference between a healthy person and a disabled person, then you have violated a Buddhist taboo and will fall into the endless hell and suffer (the movie ‘Infernal Affairs’ refers to the same eternal punishment).
After ridiculing the fake monk who only cared about amassing money, Fang Xin took Gong CaiCai and me and laughed our way out the door and attracted many onlookers. The monk sighed and said: “No wonder others say that Householder Fang is a modern Ji Gong, he really didn’t leave us any face!”
On the way back, Fang Xin shared with me and Gong CaiCai about the current income situation of monks. According to him, in tourist attractions like Jianren Temple, the monthly salary of samanera during the probation period is ￥3000. After becoming a bhikkhu, it would be ￥5000 per month. It would be ￥8000 per month after working for one year, they only would 6-hour shifts, food and accommodations are included, they receive extra money on outings and they don’t have taxes or require insurance.
“What did you think? Ye Lin, you’ve always said that Happy Science is an evil cult. How do we look like an evil cult when compared to Jianren Temple? We guide people to be positive, which is much more scientific than blindly praying to gods and Buddhas?”
“That’s right!” Gong CaiCai said energetically, “After being encouraged by fellow members, I have become a little.. a little braver! I even rejected a salesman last week! Although I felt very guilty afterwards…”
Is it considered brave to refuse a salesman? That’s a basic human skill! Gong CaiCai, if you don’t correct yourself now, then when you get married, your husband will be disgusted by you because you can’t refuse salespeople and end up buying a lot of unnecessary things!
“I just went to Jianren Monastery to cause trouble. Should we go to Tianwang Temple next?”
Fang Xin rubbed his chin and began to think about making a move on the Taoist priests.
“Let’s not. Tianwang Temple is in the east side, it’s too far away.” I said, “Also, you could see there’s a traffic jam now, right?”
Fang Xin nodded, “Ye Lin, as the future right hand, I have to give you a difficult task now! Did you see the old lady coming out of Jianren Temple? She’s the one who just prayed to Guanyin to help save her husband… go and get her to join Happy Science!”
“What? Are you asking me to preach on the streets?” I frowned, “Even if it meant harming others, you shouldn’t choose an innocent old lady, right?”
“How are we harming people?” Fang Xin sneered, “Since the establishment of Happy Science, can you give a single example of how we have harmed people? Today’s society is unfair, largely due to an unequal distribution of information. As long as we have enough information, maybe we can help the old lady cure her husband’s disease quickly and effectively! Don’t you think it would be more effective than for her to burn incense and worship Buddha?”
That’s, to put it bluntly, there are many members of Happy Science who are doctors. If the old lady joined, it might really help her husband’s condition. In addition, my goal was to become a core member. As the future right hand, it would be a bit weird if I haven’t recruited anyone other than Xiao Qin.
So I hesitantly chased after the old lady. After getting Fang Xin’s consent, Gong CaiCai also followed behind as she wholeheartedly wanted the old lady to join for the good of the old lady.
I deliberately slowed down and let Gong CaiCai walk up first, and she called the old lady from behind.
“I’m, I’m sorry, can I take up a little bit of your time?” Gong CaiCai was as nervous as a person handing out flyers on the street.
The old woman turned around and saw the girl who had just helped her out in the monastery and the sadness on her face eased slightly.
“Little girl, do you need me for something? If you don’t mind eating vegetarian food, how about I treat you to lunch?”
“Thank you, thank you! It’s alright! In fact, I… actually we… our Su, Su Science semi… can do it…”
Gong CaiCai was too introverted after all. The courage she had finally mustered up before had dissipated.
I walked up right in time and tried to keep my face as calm as possible. I stood side by side with Gong CaiCai and said: “Grandma, have you heard of Amway?”
The old lady’s face suddenly changed: “Um… I’m not interested in MLMs! My niece-in-law’s classmate was deceived by a MLM organization and she’s nowhere to be found!”
I said seriously: “You misunderstood, we’re not a pyramid scheme. I just wanted to tell you that there was a guy who sells Amway under the overpass. He used to have a stuttering problem, but after he joined our association, his stuttering was cured! So if your family members are sick, you can try joining our association and maybe it might help!”
“That’s right!” Gong CaiCai finally reacted. She handed over a name card, “We’re members of Happy Science Seminar. It’s a scientific organization that welcomes anyone. It will never be like Jianren Monastery who discriminates against disabled people and the sick!”
That’s true, it’s because the leader of Happy Science is mentally ill himself, so he has no reason to follow Jianren Monastery and refuse mentally ill people.
The old lady had already been seeking medical advice everywhere for her husband’s illness, and she already had a good impression of Gong CaiCai at Jianren Monastery. So when Gong CaiCai told her about it, she was actually tempted and started asking us details about Happy Science.
Thanks to Gong CaiCai, I was able to recruit my first member. Otherwise, with my fierce appearance, even if I learned from Fang Xin, Dr. Yu, and could easily be eloquent with my words, in the end it would inevitably scare the old lady away.
I don’t know if he was deliberately trying to show it to me, but the old lady actually got help from the Happy Science Seminar. A doctor of traditional Chinese medicine who had been with the seminar for half a year specializes in treating rheumatoid arthritis, and happened to be the best choice to treat the old lady’s husband’s illness.
It always felt like Fang Xin, like Ai ShuQiao, was trying to instill in me the idea that ‘our cause is beneficial to mankind’, but forget it, I don’t want to get too involved on either side. It’s best if you both suffer heavy losses in the fight, then everyone will be happy.
The next day was Sunday, and due to various reasons, I chose to spend it at Ai Mi’s VIP building. The class leader and Xiao Qin had agreed to make something delicious for me, and they also chose the VIP building —— The class leader would never give up a chance to get close to Obama and Mi Ba.
In addition, Xiong YaoYue also brought Gong CaiCai here. It had nothing to do with the class leader and Xiao Qin cooking, but Xiong YaoYue felt that the Golden Lightning Team lacked a mascot (Ai Mi was a shareholder and refused to be the mascot), so she felt that Gong CaiCai was a good fit, so she forced Gong CaiCai to come over and let her work as the team’s assistant. She would take a group photo with the team members and put it on their website.
Gong CaiCai desperately refused: “No! Don’t put my photo up! I heard that once a photo is uploaded to the web, it will be photoshopped. If that happens, I won’t… I won’t be able to live on this planet anymore!”
That’s way too exaggerated! Fortunately, I stopped Eunuch Cao from selling photoshopped nude photos of the girls, otherwise if Gong CaiCai saw a naked photo of herself, she would have suffocated herself with a pillow.
“It’s okay!” Xiong YaoYue persuaded Gong CaiCai with a smile, “What we want is a group photo of you together with everyone else. It’s not a single photo and it won’t be photoshopped! Also, you don’t actually have to do any work, you get paid just for being the mascot!”
“I don’t need a salary or anything like that!” Gong CaiCai was rich after all, unlike Xiong YaoYue who was always greedy for more money.
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