Chapter 812

Chapter 812: Spreading the Teachings

Year 7725 of the Xia Calendar, Qingyun

In the blink of an eye, Chengzang had been in Qingyun for four years. He spent one year in Huaxia, but his identity was not strict enough, and the regulations in Huaxia were very strict. Therefore, Chengzang ultimately chose Qingyun.

In Qingyun, he had already begun to spread the teachings, but the process was very difficult. The logic of the Buddhist teachings is about cultivating for the afterlife. The theory states that the suffering in this life is due to not having done good in the previous life, so one must cultivate good in this life to have a happy life in the next.

However, not many people accept this logic. The society of the Alliance of Three Countries has developed for thousands of years, and it is under capitalist rules, which also impose heavy internal pressures. As a result, Qingyun has had times of great competition, and after competition comes a state of giving up or even more competition.

Those who are caught in more competition do not care about the next life; this life is already difficult enough, so why think about the next?

Sorry, in the next life, some people do not even want to be human. If it weren’t for the lack of protection for animals, they would just want to be a protected animal in their next life, living a life of ease and waiting to die.

But those who are even more caught up in competition still hold hope for their real lives. They look down on the happiness of the next life, feeling that there is no reason to wait for the next life to be happy. Can’t they be happy in this life? If not, then why are they working so hard?

After facing many setbacks in spreading the teachings, Chengzang felt very painful, because he realized that if the teachings of Buddhism remained unchanged, they would not be able to spread them here, and changing the teachings of Buddhism was not something a small arhat like him could decide.

After much hesitation, Chengzang did not dare to change the Buddhist scriptures, because it would be disrespectful to Buddhism, but Chengzang was not an inflexible person. His final choice was to forcefully guide others.

Fortunately, forceful guidance proved to be quite useful. After more than a year of planning, he came into contact with a small but powerful family in a small city called Qingyun and successfully guided its head, who then led the whole family to believe in Buddhism.

With a solid base, Chengzang began his great mission of spreading the teachings and gradually guided many people, including those who sincerely believed in them. After all, throughout history, there have always been foolish people.

"The morning lesson is over. Everyone may disperse now."

In a villa in a small town, Chengzang said this to dozens of key believers. Some of these people were guided forcefully, and those who were forcefully guided needed to be supervised daily in reciting scriptures, both morning and evening, in order to strengthen their faith. Over time, this would no longer be necessary.

"Master."

After everyone dispersed, Chengzang naturally went to the study of the family head, who respectfully bowed to him.

"Head Shuhe, is there something you need?"

"Master, today I have two things I would like to ask you about."

"Go ahead."

"The first thing is about the development of my family, the Shu family. Yangjiang City is just a small city; according to the development of cities in Huaxia, it is only a fifth-tier city. It is too small and has too few people to meet the needs of my family. Can we possibly expand to other cities…"

The head of the family said cautiously. In the past two years, with Chengzang, a great master, watching over them, the Shu family’s strength has grown rapidly. The head of the family has become a bit overconfident, feeling that this small city is not enough to satisfy his ambitions. He wants to develop in bigger cities.

"I need to think about this."

Chengzang replied. So far, he has been very careful; even the number of followers is just over a thousand, and their growth is very slow. He prefers to establish a strong foundation first before proceeding.

According to the past traditions of Lingjing Star, the development of Buddhism is divided into two paths: one focuses on the upper class, where some high monks take charge. They are already very skilled, not just in Buddhist teachings but also in arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. With support from the upper class, everything becomes easier.

The other path focuses on the lower class. The people in the lower class are often less educated, making it easier to spread the teachings. A large number of followers can provide them with a lot of spiritual strength, enhancing their power.

This approach has never failed; it can be said to work every time, and there have been almost no mistakes.

But the problem is, Blue Star’s society is too strange for him. His past experiences are not enough, and he cannot be careless.

Although he already knows that there are no strong fighters in Qingyun who can defeat him, the strongest person is only at the beginning of Void Achieving. But he knows even better that Qingyun is a subordinate of Huaxia, which has a lot of Tao Achieving experts.

"Yes, Master is right."

The head of the family was not angry about Chengzang’s refusal. He is not only spiritually devoted to Buddhism, but his real interests are also tied to it. In these two years, their family’s wealth has grown by dozens of times. If Chengzang were not here to protect it, he would not be able to hold on. Their interests have already become one.

"What is the second thing?"

"Master, a few days ago, my son, who studies at Jingdu University, told me that there are places in Qingyun spreading the teachings of Buddhism, and he wants to go…"

"Wait, are there other places spreading the teachings of Buddhism?"

"Yes, Master, what is it?"

"Bring up the news for me to see."

"Yes, Master."

The head of the family made a video call to his son in front of him. His son converted last year and is very devout. He immediately told Chengzang what happened.

This has been happening for some time. In Huaxia, Qingyun, and some areas of Zhou Liao, bald Buddhist cultivators have emerged, and they openly teach. Although the government does not recognize them and places them alongside other religions, they still spread quickly.

Not only are there Buddhist temples in Jingdu City of Qingyun, but there are also dedicated websites, and monks are active both online and offline, working hard to promote the teachings of Buddhism.

When Chengzang saw this news, he was completely shocked; it felt like his brain was about to explode.

"How could this be? How could this happen?"

Chengzang murmured to himself, unable to understand. Could it be that the Buddhists from Lingjing Star have come forward and defeated the Blue Star Lord, allowing them to spread their teachings openly?

But why didn’t he receive the news? That was impossible; after all, he is an arhat, almost a bodhisattva, and a high-ranking member of Lingjing Star. How could he not know about this?

But that doesn’t explain why others are teaching. Why are they so bold? Is Blue Star not stopping them?

"Master?"

"Bring up those websites and the monk’s situation. I want to take a close look."

Chengzang quickly replied, and soon he began to browse the websites and watch the videos.

It was a familiar smell because he knew the content very well; those scriptures were indeed from the Lingjing Star Buddhist sect, and he was very familiar with them.

He was also familiar with those preaching methods, like some little stories, such as a worker in a machine factory. When a machine broke down, others were hurt or even died, but he was safe because he recited the name of Amitabha Buddha.

There was even a case where someone’s house caught fire at night, and he seemed doomed, but because he recited a certain Buddhist scripture, a miracle happened: the fire created a path that allowed him to escape safely.

Don’t underestimate these seemingly silly stories; they had played like this before and it worked very well. Many people believed them.

But the problem is, this is Blue Star, a place where technology has developed for thousands of years. The people here are wise, so how many would believe these stories? Even if foolish people exist, with Blue Star’s population, there would still be countless followers, but what about others? How do they view Buddhism?

The more Chengzang thought, the more uneasy he felt. With his arhat level of cultivation, his mind was nearly in a muddle.

"Master, is this wrong?"

"Yes, it’s very wrong."

Chengzang said, and then he shared his thoughts, and the family head looked shocked.

"Master, do you think this could be a trap?"

The family head said, as an outsider, he could see clearly and easily guessed it was a trap.

"You are right, this is a trap."

When Chengzang heard this, he nodded repeatedly; he had felt this way before, and the family head had just broken through that thin layer of doubt.

"Master, since it is a trap, we can just ignore them."

The family head said, now that they saw it was a trap, they could just ignore it.

Chengzang nodded as well, not caring about it, but he always felt that not caring would lead to problems, he just didn’t know where the problem would be.