After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

"The Guanhe River has been severely clogged in recent years. In order to ensure the smooth excavation of the river, some manpower has been transferred to it." Shen Yunzhou replied while ordering someone to get the account book.

Looking through the account books handed over by Shen Yunzhou, Pei Jiaoran showed a slight smile on his face, "It's already the end of August, and it will be cold in a few months. The food of the river workers must be changed, and the charcoal fires used for the winter must be prepared. You should also prepare your coat."

"Write everything down." Shen Yunzhou turned around and ordered Qizhou Sima.

Seeing that the river embankment was about to be halfway completed, Pei Jiaoran handed the account book back to Shen Yunzhou. He said casually: "Xuanjing is in the state prison now. I'm afraid I won't be able to distract myself from what's going on in the river. I'm going to have to worry so much about it."

"Understood. I wonder what Mr. Pei plans to do with Xuanjing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Jiaoran licked his lips. Shen Yunzhou still asked the key question.

After all, Xuanjing was an eminent monk from Zenzhi Temple. Even though it is not as good as the former Samana in theory, there are still some believers in Jiangnan.

"Let's go to trial first. Does Governor Shen have any good ideas?" Pei Jiaoran spoke softly.

"How can Shen have such ability? It all depends on Mr. Pei's orders."

After hearing what Shen Yunzhou said, Pei Jiaoran said nothing. He left everyone and went to the state prison alone.

She wanted to see Xuanjing.

Due to Xuanjing's special status, he was held in a separate cell. I don’t know if it was because the jailer was considerate or because someone had given special instructions. Futons and wooden fish were prepared in the cell.

The candlelight in the cell was dim, and the light cast from the window overhead became the only thing that could see the surrounding furnishings. And that beam of light happened to fall on Xuan Jing.

He sat cross-legged with his back to the cell door. The sound of wooden fish came into my ears one after another.

Looking at Xuan Jing under the sun, Pei Jiaoran said: "How?"

The soft voice fell, and Xuanjing struck the wooden fish for a moment. He stood up and turned to look at her. Performed a monk's ritual.

"It seems that Zen Master is doing well." Pei Jiaoran waved his hand to ward off the jailer who was about to open the cell door. Looking at Xuanjing through the wooden fence, "Zen Master thinks whether the Buddha is good or evil."

Still the same problem as yesterday.

Twisting the Buddhist beads, Xuanjing already looked kind and kind, "Believers will naturally think that Buddha is good. Those who don't believe will regard Buddha as a villain. If the monk worships Buddha, Buddha is good to me."

"That's right. But since the Buddha was good, why would he oppress the people and plunder people's land?" Pei Jiaoran smiled contemptuously, "In the end, there are no gods and Buddhas in the world. People worship Buddha because of their own greed. The reason why the Buddha is a Buddha , because the world says they are.”

Xuanjing frowned slightly. Although this was not the first time he met Pei Jiaoran, the two meetings gave him a different feeling. The first time they met, he felt that this person had no respect for gods and Buddhas, but when they met today, he once again saw the power of her own principles.

Xuanjing said: "There are people in this world who do evil, and Buddhism encourages people to do good. If there were no Buddha to teach the Dharma, everyone in the world would take evil as their righteous thoughts. But the Buddha said, one thought of evil will repay a thousand years of good intentions. One thought of good will repay a thousand years of bad deeds. .”

The last sentence comes from the Tan Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, which is a representative work of Zen Buddhism. The standard for judging good and evil actions in the Tan Sutra is not based on the action itself, but depends on the thoughts that initiate good and evil. At the same time, he also emphasizes that under the liberating wisdom that all phenomena are empty, attachment to the good and evil in this world is nothing but vain.

According to the words in the Tan Sutra, the summary is, "Nature contains all dharmas, which are great, and all dharmas are all self-nature. When you see all human and non-human beings, evil and good, evil and good dharmas, don't pick them up and don't be contaminated. Like void.”

Pei Jiaoran smiled solemnly, "Human nature is also mixed with good and evil. If you practice good, you will be a good person, and if you practice evil, you will be a bad person. If the good is not enough, it will deteriorate. But everyone has desires, and if there are desires, there will be evil thoughts in the body. . The Zen master hopes to expand the Buddhist temple to spread the Dharma, but every time the Buddhist temple is expanded, the wealth of the court will be reduced. This is not helping the evil."

Open the cell door and push it in. Pei Jiaoran sat down cross-legged in front of Xuanjing, frowning in meditation, "I'm also confused. People in the world come to the Buddha because of their desires. But Buddhism itself is also governed by precepts and rules, but it has to satisfy the desires of the world. Zen masters don't They talk about good and evil, but they practice good deeds and accumulate blessings by spreading the Dharma. So where does this good deed lie?"

"Building temples, giving alms, and making offerings are just for cultivating blessings, and blessings cannot be regarded as merit. Merit and virtue are in the Dharma body, not in the field of merit. There is merit and virtue in the Dharma nature, seeing the nature is merit, being upright is virtue, seeing the Buddha nature internally, and being respectful externally. If you take everything lightly and keep yourself and others, then you will have no merit in your own Dharma nature. What is impermanent is the Buddha nature; what is permanent is the mind that distinguishes all good and evil Dharma." Xuanjing clasped his hands together and recited the name of the Buddha again.

After hearing this, Pei Jiaoran still frowned and sighed, "Buddha nature is permanent, but the Zen master said it is impermanent; the laws of good and evil, and even Bodhicitta, are impermanent, but the Zen master said they are permanent. Isn't this against the scriptures?" Righteous?"

Speaking of this, Pei Jiaoran suddenly raised his eyes and smiled on his lips. A pair of eyes that were originally calm suddenly had a surge of excitement, and the wind and frost seemed to hit his face under the opening and closing of his lips and teeth, "Buddha, when you work hard on civil engineering, take away people's gold and treasure ornaments, and send you to be a teacher, Far from being equal to the precepts. There are still people in the world who have no food to eat and no clothes to cover their bodies, but the Buddha is worshiped day by day. Since the Buddha will eventually die, why not give up this ordinary life and enter the bliss as soon as possible. Why bother because of a moment? False and impermanent thoughts increase the suffering of the people. You must know that sentient beings say you are Buddha, and you are the Buddha."

At this moment, Xuanjing finally stopped twirling the beads in his hand. He raised his head and looked directly at Pei Jiaoran. After several rounds of debate, she finally revealed her purpose.

Xuanjing suddenly realized that his idea was wrong from the beginning. This person's goodness lies in the world, not in the Buddha. Likewise, her ill will towards Buddha is real. There are thirty million Buddha Dharma, and there are eighty-four thousand Dharma doors to become a Buddha, even if there are mustard seeds in Sumeru. Pei Jiaoran is not a Buddhist, and she does not need to be compassionate to Buddha.

Looking at Xuan Jing with a smile, Pei Jiaoran's expression gradually became gentle. She believed that Xuanjing had made her thoughts clear.

"If you feed an evil tiger and can change the lives of others, you might as well do it. Buddhism exploits the people, doesn't the court impose excessive taxes and taxes on the people? When desperate, escaping into Buddhism is not a kind of vitality." Xuanjing said calmly. .

Pei Jiaoran's fingers fell on the wooden fish in front of Xuanjing. He rubbed the inscription on it, "Kill those who adhere to the heretical path and cause chaos in the government, and kill those who pretend to be ghosts and gods to endanger others. Zen Master, you are the first to confuse the public with your evil words, but your compassion is only for your own benefit and is of no benefit to the country. Now I am Looking at the road, what is carried on the shoulders is the country, the country, and the land, which is not a place of mercy. If the court has no state, who will support the soldiers? The army is unfavorable, and when the barbarians invade the country, the Buddha's sin will bring harm to the people of the world. Zen Master You still have a chance to think about it, Pei takes his leave."

After that, Pei Jiaoran stood up and left. Before stepping out of the cell door, she raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and quickly left the state prison.