The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng smiled.

Red Boy pouted disapprovingly, “Ridiculous. I have seen arhats eat meat. It’s not like anything happens. Hinayana Buddhism is so much better and more free. If they liberate themselves, why care about anything else? Your Buddhism has so many rules. You can’t eat meat, can’t drink alcohol, can’t eat the Five Pungent Spices. Nor can you get married and have children. You can’t have hair etc. Seriously. Oh by the way, I’ve heard humans mention that there are many unfilial acts, but the worst is not to bear a son! Parents give us our bodies, but by severing the line, one is being unfilial! Oh, there’s also… Also… I can’t recall other examples for now. But anyway, no matter what you do is wrong. I suggest we follow the Hinayana Buddhism doctrines from this day forth. We can eat meat and drink alcohol. How great would life be!”

Lone Wolf and Monkey felt tempted when they heard that. Should they raise their paws too?

Squirrel did not eat meat in the first place, so he firmly stood on Fangzheng’s side. He lied down and raised his four paws and his tail, shouting, “Anyway, I’m with Master!”

Fangzheng chuckled as he looked at Red Boy and said, “Jingxin, do you know why monks do not eat meat, don’t marry, have children or hair?”

Red Boy snorted, “Just trying to be different to attract the attention of others. It’s just a form of enslaving the thoughts of people!”

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “Who doesn’t know that meat is delicious? Who doesn’t know that women are beautiful? Who doesn’t know the importance of having children? Who doesn’t know that one will look better with hair? However, it is precisely monks not wanting those things that tells the world that what people find very important can also be relinquished. Furthermore, one can still be happy and free after relinquishing those material aspects. If one can still be happy and free under such conditions, what things can the world not relinquish? By facing life with a smile, life will smile back at you. What’s the point of feeling aggrieved all the time?”

Red Boy was immediately left at a loss for words, but he soon shouted, unwilling to give up. “Isn’t, isn’t that just lying to yourself? If you are unhappy, it means you are unhappy. To act happy while being down on your luck. Tch.”

“Good luck never happens to trash that resign themselves to despair. It often happens to the unlucky ones that continuously work hard at forging a path forward. Chances are always left to those who are prepared. Do you understand?” countered Fangzheng.

Red Boy narrowed his eyes as he thought over the matter. He ruminated over it inwardly, “It does seem to make sense. According to him, I should be constantly prepared to stab him to death. I will probably never accomplish the deep if I just wait for a chance.”

Fangzheng believed that he had finally convinced the child when he saw Red Boy nod. He felt proud of himself. He had not read all those scriptures and books for nothing! However, he probably would regret deeply if he knew what Red Boy was thinking.

As Red Boy immersed himself in the thoughts of his assassination, he naturally began to eat his meal.

After being satiated, Fangzheng was about to head out to take a look at his Crystal Rice paddy when his cell phone rang!

Fangzheng picked it up and saw that it was that unfamiliar number again. He frowned and picked up nontheless. Before he even spoke, he heard a boy’s voice on the other end of the line. “Daddy, is that you?”

Fangzheng said wryly, “Amitabha. Child, you called the wrong number. This Penniless Monk is not your father.”

With that said, Fangzheng hung up and shook his head. He pushed open the back door and walked out. Again, his cell phone rang.

“Amitabha. Child, This Penniless Monk is not your father,” said Fangzheng without even a thought.

The result…

“Uh… Master, your technique at claiming kinship is much better than mine,” a woman’s voice that sounded both familiar and unfamiliar came over the call.

Fangzheng was taken aback. It was not the child! He quickly looked at the phone and indeed, it was a differenr unrecognized number. Furthermore, it was a landline! However, why did the number look familiar? Without much thought, Fangzheng immediately replied with his face blushing red, “Amitabha. Sorry about that. Patron, a young patron kept calling me- Eh, what’s the matter, Patron?” Fangzheng did not know how to explain. Having relegated the caller as his son was in a way, taking advantage of her. He found it wrong.

There was laughter in response. The woman used a sweet voice and said, “Master, since you have let me down, I’ll give you a chance. Listen to what I have to say.”

Fangzheng pondered for a moment. Since he had nothing to do, he could spare the time.

The woman was clearly very happy when she heard Fangzheng agree. She heaved a sigh of relief and clenched her fist. She repressed the excitement in her heart as she said, “I have finally succeeded! It all depends on what a rich monk like you will say now.”

The woman continued, “Master, it’s this. Aren’t you tired of going out daily to solicit donations or deliver blessings?”

Fangzheng was taken aback. Solicit donations? Deliver blessings? He had really never delivered blessings. He had solicited donations, but that happened at the foot of the mountain. It was not considered tiring, so he replied, “It’s rather okay.”

“I see, but I can let you solicit donations with greater ease. Let me introduce to you. I’m Black Mountain City’s exclusive retailer for Porsche. I’m your car representative, Xiaorong. Master, you did not seem very interested in the promotion we had the last time we talked on the phone. You felt that fifty thousand yuan was an insult to you. Hence, I’m recommending you a luxury car that will match your status. It’s the Porsche Angel, the latest model introduced only this year. There are only fifty produced in the entire world. The market price is thirteen million yuan! If you pre-order it today, we will deliver it to your door, no matter where it is,” said Xiaorong.

Fangzheng was immediately dumbfounded when he heard that. He suddenly recalled that some time last year, a woman had indeed pitched a car sale to him. Then, he rejected her with the reason that he was not short on fifty thousand yuan. Back then, he had only done so just for laughs, but he never expected it to backfire so soon.

Fangzheng coughed dryly and replied, “So it’s Patron Rong. This Penniless Monk would like to take the liberty of asking about the car’s cross-country performance. This Penniless Monk frequently enters mountainous regions.”

When Xiaorong heard about the question about the car’s cross-country performance, she immediately beamed. By asking about its capabilities, it meant he was intrigued! She replied, “This is Porsche’s newest SUV. It might not be the best at cross-country, but there’s no problem for it to enter mountainous regions. Customers have even driven this car to Tibet. It led the way and met without any obstruction! By the way, what sort of road conditions does the mountainous region you visit have?”

Fangzheng thought about the stone staircase that had just been built, “It has just been renovated-”

“If it has just been renovated, then there will definitely be no problems! The roads that are newly mended are all wide. Driving our cars on them feels like flying!” Xiaorong immediately said before Fangzheng could finish his sentence.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. The lass truly was impatient. Couldn’t she wait for him to finish?

Indeed, before Fangzheng said a word, he heard her ask, “Master, is that mountain road of yours steep?

Fangzheng thought about the staircase and said, “It’s not considered steep, but-”

“Then it’s definitely okay. As long as a tractor can go up, our car will equally be able to drive up! Do you have any other questions? Ask them all. I guarantee that I’ll give you the most perfect answer!” asked Xiaorong in excitement.

Fangzheng said with a bitter smile, “Patron, it’s still the problem with the road. This Penniless Monk’s mountain road is not considered steep and it’s true that the road has just been fixed. However, the mountain road is made of stone steps. It spans about one and a half meters. If your car can drive up the steps, This Penniless Monk would like a test drive.”

“Doo… Doo…”

Fangzheng looked at his phone in surprise and shook his head, “You can’t blame This Penniless Monk, right? Amitabha, what an impatient patron.”