Chapter 3: Great Shamatha
The monk looked at Jiang Ce, and Jiang Ce also looked at the monk. The two gazed at each other in silence.
After a long while, the monk finally reached out to pry Jiang Ce’s hand off his shoulder and said gravely, “How much do you know about the world of ghosts and monsters?”
Jiang Ce pursed his lips, his expression seeming somewhat conflicted. After a moment, he asked gravely in return, “What is the world of ghosts and monsters?”
“If you don’t know, then what hesitation are you pretending to have!”
The monk finally couldn’t hold back.
Jiang Ce gave a dry laugh twice: “I truly haven’t seen ghosts and monsters, I only know that such things exist, but after doing so many Buddhist Rituals, I haven’t seen a live ghost—eh, no, ghosts aren’t alive to begin with—anyway, that’s the idea. The scene just now was also the first time I’ve seen it; it’s pretty horrifying, to be reasonable.”
“Clearly an ordinary person, yet able to draw in ghosts and monsters. The wooden fish for Deliverance became a soul-summoning object in your hands, and yet it can still purify ghosts and monsters, gaining merit.”
The monk sized him up. The golden light from before seemed like an illusion; there wasn’t a trace of it on Jiang Ce, as if this person was innately immune to merit.
“Yet it vanishes without a trace. How strange! Truly strange!”
Jiang Ce’s heart tightened. His intuition told him that the monk in front of him seemed to have more to him than imagined, and he couldn’t help but be interested in these things that his Master had always kept secretive.
Thus, the guest-welcoming trait in his DNA instantly awakened. He plucked a half-burned incense stick from in front of the nearby tombstone and respectfully handed it to the monk: “Esteemed Abbot Martial Uncle, come, don’t just talk—have a smoke to moisten your throat.”
Hearing this, the monk’s mouth twitched. He rolled up his sleeves and put his hands on his waist: “Be honest, what is your Master’s name? Let me see if I know him.”
“Aiya, we’re uncle and nephew chatting here, why bring up that old man?”
Seeing the monk’s gaze growing increasingly off, Jiang Ce then gave a dry cough twice and said seriously:
“I was driven out by my Master. He wouldn’t let me mention his name outside, saying I’d ruin his merit.”
“Tsk.” The monk sucked his teeth, suddenly understanding.
So your Master gets it, huh? He made you leave the order purely because you’re a disaster, right? And you thought you found a treasure, nearly becoming a big fool? In the end, I’m the clown, huh?
Gazing at Jiang Ce, who was casually eating offerings, with a complex mood, the monk finally realized: He could form a good karmic tie with him, but must not have any relationship with him!
After thinking it over, the monk took a middle path. He pulled a booklet from his bosom and handed it to Jiang Ce. The latter took it and looked at the cover, suddenly feeling a sense of shock.
Four large characters from top to bottom—Great Shamatha!
The Classic of Great Vehicle Doctrines says: “Shamatha, translated as ‘stop.’ It means to settle the mind on its object.” Shamatha is stopping, that is, settling the mind on its object, away from distraction.
For Buddhism, which places great emphasis on mind cultivation, Shamatha was something Jiang Ce had encountered early on. However, the classic in his hand seemed different from what he had known before—at least, Jiang Ce had never seen an independent system dedicated solely to Shamatha; it usually only appeared briefly in various Buddhist Scriptures.
He was just about to look up and ask the monk what this meant when he discovered that the monk, who had been right in front of him, was gone. Only a few words were left on the sandy ground.
“Jianghu sorcerers, Heaven-Reaching Dharma Masters, half-step immortals, True Gods;
Vengeful spirits disturb the mind, fierce ghosts harm people, fierce fiends destroy merit, killing gods extinguish the Way.
Supernatural Revival is imminent; the night parade of a hundred ghosts may be upon us today!
You encountered a fierce fiend and did not die, but merit retreats from you, fortune slips away. If this continues, calamity will surely arise.
This monk gifts you a Great Shamatha sutra. If you can rely on this sutra to transcend the mundane and step into the ranks of sorcerers, you can resolve the calamity. Within ten years, if you cannot succeed, no one can help you!
If after ten years you are still in the world, I will come find you myself.”
Jiang Ce frowned and stared at these lines for a long time, but couldn’t make heads or tails of them.
“What riddler?”
However, one word among these phrases caught Jiang Ce’s attention.
Fierce fiend.
He vaguely remembered that when his Master drove him out of the temple back then, he had heard this sentence: You don’t even know how much merit you owe the Buddha now. If you keep going like this, you’re about to become a fierce fiend. Hurry and descend the mountain; the temple is too small to hold you anymore!
At the time, he thought fierce fiend was some adjective. Now it seems… like some noun?
Jiang Ce rubbed his nose: “Feels like it’s not anything good.”
He put away the Great Shamatha and prepared to go home first, but then suddenly noticed that the monk hadn’t taken the wooden fish.
Staring at the wooden fish lying quietly on the ground, a bold idea suddenly popped into Jiang Ce’s mind.
Luocheng city district, some apartment building.
A man kept slapping the sofa armrest and cursing.
“How dare he? He dared to steal offerings from my mom’s grave today; tomorrow won’t he dig up our family ancestral graves?”
His wife carried a fruit platter and sat down beside the man, her expression somewhat unnatural: “Husband, a few days ago we made such a fuss, and only today did we find out the ring was secretly hidden by our son. If this gets out…”
The man’s gaze suddenly darkened.
“What are you afraid of? You don’t say, I don’t say, son doesn’t say—who knows where the ring went? Things have come to this point; just insist it was him who stole it. Hmph, didn’t expect him to dare do such a thing. Even if we can’t send him to jail, getting him fired is a done deal. Tomorrow I’ll go find their leader!”
Creak—
The two looked toward the sound. A seven- or eight-year-old little boy timidly held the doorframe, looking uneasy.
“Dad, Mom, but Grandma told me before to be an honest person. If Grandma knew, she’d be angry.”
The woman got furious upon hearing this: “You brat, what were you doing earlier? If you hadn’t secretly hidden the ring, would there be all this trouble?”
The man crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and leaned back tiredly, with no intention of speaking up for the little boy.
“But…” Tears streamed down the little boy’s face: “I just wanted to secretly keep something to remember Grandma by.”
Hearing the crying, the man got irritated and waved at the little boy: “Enough, isn’t your dad wiping your ass for you right now? Don’t worry about these things. You’ll understand when you grow up. Go back and do your homework!”
But the little boy still stood at the door rubbing his eyes, sobbing softly. The man suddenly flared up in nameless anger, stood up, raised his hand to discipline him, and the woman ate her fruit without any intention of stopping it.
At that moment, an untimely knock at the door rang out.
The man and woman exchanged a glance. Then the woman took the child back to the room, while the man cautiously approached the security door, peered out through the peephole, and asked, “Who is it?”
“Me! I’ve come to apologize and make amends.”
The voice was very familiar. Sure enough, the man saw the disreputable Jiang Ce through the peephole and immediately flew into a rage.
He yanked open the door and berated, “How do you know where I live? You wretch, let me tell you, this matter isn’t over so easily. I’m not done with you!”
Hearing this, Jiang Ce wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he smiled and explained:
“Aiya, don’t be hasty. Actually, I reflected on it later. Although you framed me, I shouldn’t have been so extreme either. I’m here this time, first to clear up the misunderstanding, and second to help you look for the ring. I think it’s very likely right in your home.”
“Misunderstanding? There’s no misunderstanding between us! Only now do you think of coming to apologize—what were you doing earlier!” The man sneered. He had already decided to pin Jiang Ce down.
Never mind him stealing offerings from his late mother’s grave; as a mere temporary worker, even if he died on the street, no one would care. Right or wrong didn’t matter. Either compensate for the ring and scram, or just scram.
Anyway, with the ring found, he wouldn’t lose out no matter what.
“Tsk tsk tsk.” Jiang Ce smiled ambiguously: “Such a big temper? Don’t worry, we will definitely find it. After all, I didn’t come alone. Guess who I brought?”
“Let me tell you, it doesn’t matter who you brought. If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police!”
The man was aggressive, not caring at all who Jiang Ce had brought.
But out of curiosity, he casually glanced behind Jiang Ce—and that one glance made his face turn ashen. He was so scared he froze in place, unable to speak.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Ce nearly laughed himself numb.
“Didn’t expect it, huh? I brought your mom!”
