The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Luo Yang looked at the little remaining stone, wooden planks, and bricks as he said with a dumbfounded look, “Master Ma, if I don’t recall wrongly, there was still a lot of materials here yesterday. Why is it almost all gone today?”

“Well, people…” Master Ma was also agape as he kept muttering. “It’s been decades. I haven’t seen such scenes in decades. F**k, Luo Yang, you can continue watching. I’ll be moving the stone.”

“Master Ma, you are a skilled worker.”

“F**k skill. Don’t call me Master Ma. I’m still young! Haha! I feel like I have turned decades younger. This feeling is f**king awesome!” Master Ma shirked off his usually pedantic and bookish mannerisms by taking off his jacket, and he took a step forward with his arms bare. He looked decades younger, resembling a high-spirited youth. There were even women who cheered for Master Ma.

Upon seeing this, Luo Yang ran forward in excitement. Amid this, he heard Wang Yougui shout out, “Quickly tell our brothers and sisters from Dongliang Village not to come. We have too much manpower here. If they all come, we can’t provide them with lunch.”

The moment that was said, a series of Buddhist proclamations sounded. A group of bald monks had arrived. From their attires, they were clearly monks from Hongyan Monastery! Leading them was Hongyan Monastery’s Venerable Speech Awakening.

Wang Yougui quickly went towards them to inquire about the situation. Instead, it was Venerable Speech Awakening who countered with a question, “Wasn’t it you who posted on WeChat that the construction of One Finger Monastery’s bell tower was lacking manpower? My master specially instructed us to rush here to help. But, you…”

Wang Yougui smiled wryly. “I was just complaining online. I never expected there to be so many people coming so early in the morning today. I even thought the Eight-Power Allied Forces were here to wipe out my village! It gave me quite a fright. As you can see, there’s quite a number of people. So, why don’t…”

“What do you mean ‘don’t’? We are already here. Aren’t there still some items left? Begin!” Speech Awakening saw that the bricks were quickly being moved away. He hurriedly ordered for the monks to begin working. The reason why he had been given his Dharma name was because he was quite a garrulous one. Zen Master Hongyan wished he could curb his talkative habit by giving him such a name, but a leopard couldn’t change its spots. Speech Awakening would become talkative again the moment he turned anxious.

A group of monks rushed over to help, moving away the final bits of materials.

Wang Yougui looked up at Mt. One Finger and mumbled, “When has laborious work ever been so popular?”

Meanwhile Fangzheng was also dumbfounded. When he opened the monastery’s door early in the morning, he saw countless bricks, tiles, and wooden planks neatly placed by the monastery’s entrance. People came in waves while soaking in sweat. Work which would have taken a week was surprisingly finished in a morning! Fangzheng saw many familiar faces. Zheng Jiaxing, Dog Song, Yang Hua, Yang Ping, Sun Qiancheng, Chen Jin, Chen Long, Chen Bin, etc. Some of them were people he had helped in the past, while there were also some he had never helped. Some of them had come to make wishes while others had come to seek enlightenment over their worries. There were also many people he could not remember.

“Master, you are finally awake.” Upon seeing Fangzheng, the large group of people stood up in unison as they said with big smiles.

Fangzheng looked at the men who were drenched in sweat, and he felt a little moved. Tears began to well in his eyes as he subconsciously recalled what Zen Master One Finger had once said, “Goodness is like the seed of a dandelion. It will fly off and it doesn’t belong to you, but when it lands, it will bloom and spread even further.”

Fangzheng pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Patrons, thank you.”

“Master, look at you. Why are you treating us as strangers?” said Dog Song with a smile.

Zheng Jiaxing said, “Master, if not for you, my home would be wrecked. What is this bit of work? My wife said that I wouldn’t be allowed back home until I finished helping you. She bought three boxes of dry, crispy noodles. If I screw up, she’ll have me kneel at the door on the noodles, and I’m not allowed to crack them.”

Chen Bin said with a smile, “Master, if not for your advice back then, Feifei would never have been with me. Our marriage will be this October. Master, can we invite you to join our wedding?”

Only then did Fangzheng recall that the pair of childhood sweethearts had once come to One Finger Monastery. Feifei had an imaginary lover in her heart which separated the two. Later, Fangzheng had used a classic story to allow the two lovebirds to be together. Fangzheng smiled. “This Penniless Monk will definitely attend.”

“That’s great. Haha!” Chen Bin laughed.

Others spoke out as well, but Fangzheng did not find them bothersome. He chatted with all of them, and slowly it became noisier. The monks from Hongyan Monastery arrived, as well as the villagers from Dongliang Village who Fangzheng had helped. Even the young girl who received the stationery case had come.

Wang Yougui let people send the dishes up the mountain. Food was placed on tables in an empty space, and food was provided to all who came!

The entire mountaintop bustled. Fangzheng forgot how many people toasted him with water. Since there was no alcohol, everyone only drank water.

However Fangzheng would have never thought that even drinking water could get one intoxicated from the joyous mood. The group became happier the more they chatted. There was dancing, singing, and bragging…

The people dispersed only in the evening.

Fangzheng, Red Boy, Monkey, Squirrel, and Lone Wolf stood on the mountaintop as they watched the people leave.

Red Boy looked up at Fangzheng and said, “Master, I suddenly seem to understand something.”

“What do you understand?” Fangzheng returned with a question.

“Some happiness cannot be snatched. My Mom used to tell me that things were simple—I can snatch anything I like. Later, I discovered that it’s impossible to force people to treat me with heartfelt feelings. It’s just like when I suffered a tribulation. None of the demon kings I had captured to be my slaves were willing to help me. But you are different. Although you are powerless, you treat them with genuine feelings, and they in turn treat you with genuine feelings. The feeling of being shown concern sure is nice.”

Fangzheng was surprised before he rapped Red Boy on the head. “What do you mean powerless? I’m super powerful!”

“Yes, super.” Red Boy curled his lips as he gave a look of contempt.

“Don’t be unconvinced. My divine power is those people. You can use your divine powers to transport all the materials up here in a moment, but so can my divine power. With so many people working together, it’s in no way inferior to your divine power, right?”

Red Boy was stunned.

Fangzheng sighed. “I only realized it today; that the greatest divine power is not the ability to Call the Wind and Summon the Rain or Casting Beans for Soldiers. When the hearts of all of humanity are filled with goodness, there will be no more conniving. When they work hard together for a common goal, they can surpass all divine powers. Mortals also have a divine power, and its name is goodness.”

Red Boy added, “Master, well said.”

Fangzheng: “…”

After the materials and tools were moved up the mountain, the most difficult problem had been resolved. What remained was relatively easy.

Luo Yang, Master Ma, and company began working diligently. Fangzheng and Red Boy were like two humanoid machines. They lifted up the stones and wooden planks and walked without any hesitation. Lone Wolf was linked to a wheelbarrow and was used as a buffalo. In the beginning, Luo Yang and company disparaged the idea, but they soon realized that Lone Wolf was better than a buffalo! When Lone Wolf heard their evaluations, he immediately wept. He nearly went on strike several times.