Chapter 192: Half Meat, Half Vegetarian
Afterwards, the boy said a few more words to the old woman about health, which moved her so much she almost gave her low-income benefits to the boy. The boy refused for a long time, and only with much persuasion did he reluctantly accept a hundred yuan.
Anyone who knows the boy knows that he doesn’t dislike money; rather, he pursues wealth righteously. He helps people while also discerning their character, not being the type of idiot who only cares about money~!
Seeing that the old woman had finished talking with the boy, she left with a beaming face.
The old monk then cupped his hands together and said directly, “Fellow Daoist, my monastic name is Liaochen. I am from the Great Sui of the East. I happened to pass by this place, and in order to save two lost souls, I have used up all my money and haven’t eaten all day. I wonder if you, fellow Daoist, could be generous and help this old monk through this small predicament?”
Hearing this, the boy got up and cupped his hands towards the old monk. “I am a carefree young Daoist, my Daoist name is Wuyou. Since we are both cultivators, by common sense, if you, venerable sir, were to ask, I would certainly have to help. But please forgive my presumption, may I ask if you have any identification, monk?”
Upon hearing this, the old monk froze. Imagine him, a wanderer who has always disliked restraint and acted freely, never seeking fame or fortune by associating with powerful people. Therefore, he had not joined any faction, and as for identification, he truly did not have any.
He said with some embarrassment, “This, fellow Daoist, to be frank, I am a rogue cultivator. I have never joined any temple, nor have I ever obtained identification to gain status. For me, having a compassionate heart towards Buddha is more important than any document. If one has documents but no compassionate heart towards Buddha, then the documents are merely decorations. If you disbelieve me because I have no identification, then I can understand.”
If most people had said that, they would have left. This old monk did not leave, but remained standing there with his hands cupped together, slightly bowing his head towards the boy.
The boy’s brow furrowed, as if thinking about something. He thought, “If this old monk had directly produced identification, I would absolutely not have helped. Why? To beg for money and also carry identification with you, what kind of proper cultivator is that? Isn’t that like a beggar who needs a permit?” He thought, “A true cultivator, if you can help him, you help him. If not, he won’t blame you. Would he really need to show you identification to ask for money? That would be too worldly!”
“It’s like some cultivators who claim to be from this place or that, with all their credentials, and then get into fights over unequal distribution of incense money. What kind of cultivators are they? They haven’t even broken through their attachments, and they just spend money to buy credentials and beg for food.”
The boy saw that the old monk was a bit unusual. “Let’s not talk about anything else, just his face isn’t ordinary. If I didn’t speak, he would just stand there waiting for me to continue. This is not comparable to the average person.”
However, the boy had a heart for helping others, but he couldn’t help everyone who came to him. He asked again, “Master, what do you say is a person who has left the secular world?”
The old monk saw that the boy did not look down on him for cultivating without identification. He knew that this young friend was also extraordinary, and he smiled as he replied, “Leaving the secular world can be divided into leaving the heart or leaving the body. A person who leaves the body appears like a cultivator, but their heart is still in the mortal world. A person who leaves the heart, though their body is in the mortal world, their heart has long been outside of it and cannot be viewed by common sense.”
The boy nodded and asked again, “What do you say is cultivation, and what is cultivation for?”
The old monk said, “All things in the world are cultivation, and cultivation cannot be separated from the world. Whether it’s flowers, grass, people, or any other living beings, they can be said to be cultivating. Cultivators in the eyes of the world are, in a sense, not cultivating, but rather letting go and returning. All sentient beings are born from the Dao and die by the Dao. What cultivators speak of is between these two states, before death after birth, to return to the original state that is the same as the Dao, thereby achieving liberation of body and mind, stepping outside of patterns, and no longer suffering the torment of eternal reincarnation, nor having life and death to speak of, without self, without other.”
After hearing this, the boy admired the old monk and gave him a thumbs-up. Not for any other reason, but these words alone were not something an ordinary person could easily say. It could be seen that this old monk, like him, was also a true cultivator who was not bound by form.
So, he didn’t ask any further questions. He turned around, gathered all the scattered change from the ground, and gave it to the old monk. He then insisted that the old monk have a meal, showing great respect as if seeing the old monk as a confidant and appreciating his shared spirit.
The old monk was not one to put on airs. He didn’t pretend to be anything he wasn’t and cheerfully followed the boy to a restaurant.
As soon as they entered, the boy shouted loudly,
“Shopkeeper~! Bring us good wine and good dishes! Half meat and half vegetarian, half beer and half liquor! And a pot of good tea! Hahaha.”
The boy didn’t know what the old monk liked to eat, so he ordered a combination of meat and vegetarian dishes, beer and liquor, plus a pot of tea. For him, this was the highest level of treatment for a guest. Let’s say, whether in a small restaurant or anywhere else, ordering like this showed how happy the boy was at that moment.
The old monk did not refuse. It’s not that others invited him to eat and he chose meat or vegetarian dishes; even when begging for alms, he wouldn’t be picky. He only liked vegetarian food, and ate less meat for fear that the donor might harm other living beings because of him.
However, normally, one is not allowed to make conditions when begging for alms. To put it nicely, it’s begging for alms, guiding sentient beings to generate compassion. To put it crudely, it’s just being a beggar. If you’re begging, why be picky? Eat whatever you’re given. Can you ask people to specifically make vegetarian food for you and trouble them? Eat whatever is left at home. Why act like a VIP when begging?
Some people say they are suffering for all sentient beings and should enjoy comforts. Get lost, you old fools. For the sake of sentient beings, have you ever used incense money to build elementary schools? For the sake of sentient beings, have you ever done charity work every year? Why are you always buying luxury cars? Of course, this is just referring to a portion of people, not all of them are like that.
These two, an old man and a young man, showed no appearance of cultivators. The old monk took off his kashaya, folded it neatly, and put it aside. The boy took off his Tang suit, just like the old monk.
In their own words: “Wearing clothes and maintaining appearances is for universal salvation; shedding them and being ordinary also returns to the mortal world.”
Of course, their demeanor was not the same for everyone. The only ones who could make them return to the mortal world were fellow Daoists, and no one else.
This was because both of them had cultivated the ability to enter and exit at will, and no longer were bound by any forms.
Just like the eminent Master Ji Gong who attained Buddhahood and Lu Zhishen, they were not bound by the appearances of wine and meat.
With the heart as Buddha, everything eaten is vegetarian. After all, no matter what they ate or drank, they would offer salvation for the food in their hearts, grateful for the gift.
Furthermore, after truly breaking through attachments, one becomes formless, even without the appearance of cultivation. Conversely, one can manifest any form they desire. The heart remains unmoved, not attached to any external form.
