Chapter 117: Meditating with the Tree Demon (Continued)

Where is heaven? Where is hell?

To be honest, Shen Shi actually knew. In the heritage of the Ren Sect, there exists a path to ascension. While the Ren Sect ascended to the higher realms, they left behind a path that reaches the heavens. However, this is not something that can be explained in a few words.

In the brief time he witnessed the creature turning into a demon, he had to use words he understood—words that could move him instantly. Fortunately, such words exist within the Buddhist sutras. A tongue that blooms with lotuses is not merely a figure of speech.

Shen Shi glanced at him and said, "It is in your heart, and it is also in all directions."

"Oh? In my heart? Why can I not see it?" He paused, his expression growing much calmer.

Shen Shi chuckled and bluntly chided him, "You old bald donkey."

An old monk was instantly enraged, and several younger monks picked up their staffs, ready to fight Shen Shi to the death.

Shen Shi pointed at them unhurriedly. "Look, the gates of hell have opened."

Upon hearing this, the monks were struck by a sudden realization and dropped their staves one after another.

Shen Shi laughed again. "Look, the gates of heaven have also swung open."

The monks looked at each other in confusion; so this is what heaven and hell meant within the heart.

Compared to them, the tree demon’s realization was far more profound. Over a thousand years of Buddhist practice instantly overwhelmed his demonic nature. The demonic energy surrounding him slowly receded, and the Buddha-light reappeared. He asked even more urgently, "Then what does it mean that heaven and hell are in all directions?"

Shen Shi casually recited Buddhist gathas: "A flower is a world, a blade of grass is a heaven; a tree is a floating life, a leaf is a Tathagata; a grain of sand is paradise, a square inch is a pure land; a smile is a karmic bond, a single thought is clarity."

The dozen or so monks stood there, dazed. As members of the Buddhist faith, they felt embarrassed that their mastery of the Dharma was inferior to an outsider's.

Even the tree demon was briefly lost in thought. Clearly, he had not expected Shen Shi to possess such profound Buddhist insight, and for a moment, he forgot that Shen Shi was not a Buddhist. "Donor, since you believe in heaven and know of hell, why do you commit violent and harmful acts?"

The obsessions in one's heart, the conflict between what the eyes see and what the Dharma teaches—this is the very root of the demonic heart arising from the Buddha-heart. It is not easily resolved.

However, this question ignited the temper of Gongsun Ce and the others. "Who is committing violence? It was you who attacked first! Master Shen was clearly just unable to stand by and watch, so he intervened. How does that make him the perpetrator?"

Unfortunately, the tree demon ignored them completely. His question was not as simple as it appeared on the surface; it was a conflict between his thousand years of Buddhist practice and reality. It was like living in the news broadcasts of later generations—an ideal society that simply did not exist in reality. Some adapt easily to such falsehoods and conflicts, while others can never accept them.

The tree demon, clearly the latter, merely stared at Shen Shi. "Regardless of cause and effect, you believe in hell—are you not afraid of falling into it?"

The caution of practicing Buddhism is such that one dares not do anything, not even kill a single insect. Specifically for the tree demon, it meant he was desperately trying to save the monks, while the monks were only interested in hoarding wealth. But what could he do? Only convert, convert, and convert again—at least, that is what the Dharma he studied taught him.

Just as he acted as a divine tree, receiving the incense and prayers of the people. No one knew the weight of those prayers better than he did. He could only constantly burn them away with his magic power, dissolving the weight of the prayers, returning to the source, and restoring pure spiritual energy to the people. He bore a heavy burden. Watching the magic power he had cultivated with such toil flow away, while heaven and earth offered no reward and instead continued to wither, with spiritual energy growing ever scarcer—that feeling of being unappreciated for doing good and being abandoned by the world was something only the tree demon understood.

But his dilemma could not stump Shen Shi. His mindset was no different from those "unrecognized talents" in state-owned enterprises—especially in that unique era where pay remained the same regardless of effort or danger. Shen Shi had heard and seen such things plenty of times; it was simply a matter of replacing "I am a brick of socialism" with Buddhist terminology. How hard could that be?

He laughed heartily, his voice filled with grand spirit. "If I do not go to hell, who will?"

This gatha is perhaps the most famous Zen saying in Buddhism. With this sentiment, no matter how bitter or exhausting the sacrifice, it ceases to be a burden.

Even Bao Zheng and his companions could not help but cry out, "Well said!"

"A fine 'If I do not go to hell, who will!'"

Under the Qingli Reforms, progress was difficult. Was that not exactly a case of "If I do not go to hell, who will"? Bao Zheng had felt such weight simply by executing the reforms. For the tree demon, who had endured for a thousand years, how deep must his feelings be?

*If I do not go to hell, who will?*

For a moment, the tree demon’s expression softened, and the look he gave Shen Shi changed. This was not merely a statement of grand spirit, but a Zen saying of great compassion—if those in the hell realm are trapped without hope of escape, suffering immense agony, if I do not go to help them find liberation, who will?

The tree demon pressed his palms together. "Amitabha."

The true monks of Lanruo Temple also pressed their palms together. "Amitabha."

The rest were mere worldly people—that is, fake monks. Lacking that compassionate heart, they could neither see nor understand, and were naturally just worldly men.

The tree demon scanned the room and realized that in the vast Lanruo Temple, there were only a few true monks, while the number of worldly men was high.

"Amitabha," the tree demon murmured with sudden insight. "The body is the Bodhi tree, the heart is like a bright mirror stand; constantly wipe it clean, let no dust settle—this is my path to seeking the Buddha." He truly understood now: the body is like the Bodhi tree that awakened his predecessors, and the heart is like a spotless, bright mirror, constantly observing itself so that dust does not obscure its bright, true nature.

"Look, the divine tree is bleeding!"

"What is happening? Why is the divine tree bleeding?" The villagers near the tree suddenly noticed thick, scarlet blood oozing from the trunk, as if a wound had been torn into a person.

The wind grew fiercer, but above, thunder rumbled incessantly.

"Hurry, kneel and apologize to the divine tree! We cannot defy the gods any longer."

Those among the believers who had been reluctant to oppose Lanruo Temple immediately knelt in prayer. In truth, they had committed no sin of defying the gods; on the contrary, as their prayers rose, the power of their incense and devotion condensed into the character for "God," which descended toward the tree demon.

In the past, the tree demon would have only refined this energy, never accepting the office of a deity. But in this moment, having heard "If I do not go to hell, who will," his mindset had shifted. He was now prepared to accept this divine office.

The "God" character descended.

As it landed, the tree demon’s true form erupted with light. This light transformed into clouds of radiance—the Clouds of Great Perfection, Great Compassion, Great Wisdom, Great Prajna, Great Samadhi, Great Auspiciousness, Great Virtue, Great Merit, Great Refuge, and Great Praise.