Chapter 238: Wasting Breath
“Esteemed Lord, Zen Heart Great Master, please be merciful and help us. We truly have no other choice. We have elders and children to care for, and many considerations. We don’t have your connections, nor your heaven-piercing, earth-penetrating means. Please, help us~!”
“Stop your incessant babbling. Your karma is your own making, and your suffering is also self-inflicted. What you are enduring today is what you sowed in the past. If you don’t strive to improve yourselves, praying to gods and Buddhas is useless, and praying to me is even more so~! Laozi only looks after those who follow me; I don’t care about others~!”
“Wuwuwu~! Esteemed Lord, Zen Heart Great Master, please be merciful~! We, we will follow you from now on.”
“Follow me? You are thinking too much. Do you think anyone can just follow me? I have to be willing.”
Hearing this, the faces of the crowd showed various expressions.
Some were unwilling, some were resentful, and some even felt a trace of hatred.
Big Brother saw all of this in his eyes and thought to himself: Hmph, ordinary people. Once there’s no benefit to them, or even no help, their inner ugliness and instincts transform. Even as ghosts, this state dominated by the ego still exists. How could I possibly accept such things?
Whether I help them today or refuse to help them will provoke this kind of attitude in them. Help them? Am I crazy or are they crazy?
We cultivate immortality for freedom, not for a heart overflowing with sainthood. Whether they are human or ghost, it’s clear at a glance.
The only thing that brought Big Brother some comfort was that two sisters among them did not show such expressions; instead, they seemed to understand Big Brother’s stance.
I nodded towards the two and left a message in their hearts: “Good children, your hearts are not wicked. If you truly need Big Brother in the future, you can come again, and Big Brother will chat with you.”
The two showed joy and looked at Big Brother with gratitude. I waved my hand, letting them depart.
The others continued to kneel and clamor incessantly, their eyes darting around, their petty thoughts completely written on their faces.
This made Big Brother extremely disgusted: “All of you, stop your incessant nagging~! If you keep pestering This Seat endlessly, I’ll unleash my dogs~!”
These shameless bastards were not afraid. Some even said righteously: “As a cultivator, you’ve already achieved the Bodhisattva Realm. How can you treat us like this? You should save the suffering and help us~! If you don’t, how can you be like a Bodhisattva?”
Hearing this, Big Brother was so angry he almost laughed: “When did I ever tell you I was a Bodhisattva? What realm I’ve cultivated has nothing to do with you~! Damn it, the first step of the Bodhisattva Realm is Guānzìzài~! That is, after one can be absolutely free and unrestrained, only then comes compassion for all beings~!
I am free and unfettered. I will show compassion to whomever I wish. If I were to be influenced by your words~! Then I would truly have no cultivation level~! Get lost~! You damn fools, did I give you too much face?”
Big Brother’s face showed a hint of anger as he looked at the speaker, subtly injecting a trace of killing intent into his words.
This startled the person, causing them to tremble all over, their legs starting to shake.
Damn it, they always want to impose their superficial understanding onto Big Brother~! I’ve spoiled them~!
“Big Boss, Great Master, although you say that, I can also feel that you are actually doing this for our own good. Please calm down. Look at our sincere attitude in wanting to follow you. Please show your great compassion and lead us. Even if it’s just occasional guidance on how to cultivate, that would be enough~!”
Another seemingly clever, devout little ghost spoke up.
However, his demeanor was completely useless in my eyes. The fleeting look in his eyes had already been noted by me. And what he didn’t know was that even if he hadn’t shown that expression, I could sense the greed in his heart.
To put it bluntly, he doesn’t want to give anything, but he wants to be good. He sees that you are very good and wants to use you to improve himself. To achieve this, he can lower his posture and flatter me to achieve his goal.
Such petty thoughts could not escape Big Brother’s perception. Even without activating the Eye of God, most people appear like little children in Big Brother’s eyes; it’s just a matter of whether Big Brother is willing to pay attention to them.
“Damn it~! Then why don’t you show some compassion and get lost to go study? You’re disturbing my pure cultivation, do you know that? You want me to guide you every now and then? What is your state? What is my state?
You are troubled by this and that all day long, while I am free and unfettered without any worries. Should I use my state of freedom to interact with your troubles? You are dreaming~! You are neither my little brother nor my disciple, so why should I care about you? Do you even have any self-respect?
You think it’s not a big deal for me to guide you occasionally, and they also think it’s not a big deal, and a group of people think it’s not a big deal. Doesn’t that take up all my time? Besides, do you even have any idea what your intentions are? Go wherever it’s cool for you to be~!
This guy became quiet after my scolding, head bowed, kneeling in place. He wanted to leave but also wanted to wait and see if there was any other turn of events. Being scolded to the core and feeling his face lost, he was truly asking for trouble.
“Esteemed Lord, you can’t say that. We are not asking you to punish evil people now, we just want to learn something from you. Can’t you even satisfy us with this?”
“Did you not hear me scolding those two just now? You call this not asking for anything? Tell me, why should I teach you just because you want to learn?”
“This, this this this…, Esteemed Lord, be merciful, save us from suffering.”
“Get lost~! For me to show you compassion, there must be fate. Do you not know your own intentions? You still want to trick me? You can’t even trick yourself~! Your desire to take advantage is etched into your very bones. You haven’t even realized this, yet you want to seek the Dao and learn from me? If you truly have the heart to seek the Dao, first be a good person or a good ghost. I believe your original nature is not bad, and when you are not greedy, I will naturally forgive you and accept you, but can you do that?”
“I can~!”
“Esteemed Lord, I can~!”
“I can too, I definitely can~!”
……
Hearing me say this, the crowd started to chatter, making solemn vows and expressing their promises.
Seeing this, I thought, it’s over~! They’re all completely finished~!
Can it really be done just by saying it? Why not just do it?
It’s like some self-important individuals, who read a little something and then arrogantly judge and make their own evaluations. They don’t even know what awareness is or how to cultivate it, yet they boast that my cultivation is shallow. They can’t even understand that the unity of higher and lower dimensions is the unity of awareness and thought, and yet they waste their time arguing about Qi cultivation and other such nonsense, being utterly worthless.
They talk about this Heavenly Cycle and that Heavenly Cycle, unaware that any arising thought is in vain. Without arising thought or movement, the Dao naturally forms. This refers to a pure and untainted free heart. Without even a single thought like a strand of hair in the heart, one can return to the innate state of birth. In the innate state, the Heavenly Cycle operates automatically. It’s not like the post-natal methods of using Qi, concentrating in such-and-such a way, and observing this and that.
Observing the mind is only at the initial stage of this state~! If you can’t even constantly observe your mind, awakening as soon as a thought arises, and not being controlled by thoughts, then what are you cultivating~? Whose mind are you cultivating? If you can’t return to the innate state, what kind of Heavenly Cycle are you cultivating~? Are you cultivating Sunday worship~?
Big Brother really did not want to tangle with such people anymore. He turned and waved his sleeve; a strong wind arose, and amidst red mist, he sent everyone back home.
Cough, cough, cough, damn it~! What a waste of breath~!
