Ch50 – Ceremony

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Looking at the horde of commoners outside the temple and the stunned expressions on the noble’s faces, Nianfa started feeling lightheaded.
He’d heard rumors of Liang Feng’s appearance, and knew full well his master’s intentions in inviting him, but had never imagined that he’d have the power to so enthrall the people of Jinyang!

His face wasn’t his only asset – he had the rumor that Buddha had entered his dreams! Had they worked so hard to hold the ceremony, only to let someone else reap the benefits? 

Nianfa couldn’t help but look towards his master, who was utterly unmoved.
He stepped forth and clasped his hands in salute to Wang Wen, who’d ascended the stairs first, “I am honored by your presence, Controller Wang.”

Wang Wen, surprised upon seeing the abbot, quickly said, “You show me too much courtesy, abbot.
How could I ever miss such a grand ceremony?”

 

 

After the two had exchanged pleasantries, Liang Feng reached the top of the stairs and stood to the side of Wang Wen.

The old monk turned, appraised him, then bowed deeply to him, “Many thanks, Benefactor Liang.” 

His salute, which went outside the realm of ordinary etiquette, sent ripples of shock throughout the onlookers.
Liang Feng startled for a second before he cupped his hands and bowed fully in return, “Thank you, abbot.”

 

One Buddhist salute, one secular salute, two expressions of gratitude encapsulated the bypast tribulation and countless lives.
It was senseless but sincere.
Beneath the steps, the masses tearfully kneeled and said “namaste.”

The old monk slowly straightened up and made a gesture of invitation, “My good benefactors, please, follow me inside.”

Liang Feng stood straight.
Upon hearing the resonant Sanskrit phrase and seeing the people’s reverent gazes, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.
The old monk knew how to control a crowd.
With only a greeting, he’d turned their attention to Buddha and the ceremony.
But he didn’t mind.
After all, the ceremony was the reason he was here in the first place.

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Following behind Wang Wen, he entered Huai’en Temple.

This temple was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty, which wasn’t that long ago, but it didn’t lack for grandeur.
Even though the ceremony was very large, there were venues both inside and outside the temple.
Outside, there were merely some parasols and incense burners.
Inside, prayer flags and incense smoke swayed in the breeze.
The monks were solemn and austere, donned in ceremonial robes and holding religious artifacts.

Under the almost oppressive religious atmosphere and the other guests took their seats in the main hall.
An old man sat at the foremost seat.
His casual attire made it impossible to discern his station.
After him, were the elders of the Zhong and Pei families, then Wang Wen.
The veiled women were seated separately.
Liang Feng sat in his place next to Wang Wen and glanced at the old man, surmising his identity.
Too bad that now wasn’t the time for introductions.

Once everyone was settled in, the abbot walked to the front of the room, primly kneeled on the praying mat, and prostrated to the golden Buddha statue within the hall.
Then, he stood, walked to the altar, and struck the golden drum. 

The temple bells, cymbals, wooden fish, and bronze chimes rang out in succession.
Sacred music filled the air.
Sitting inside the main hall, the very ground seemed to shake and the light shining from outside seemed to brighten.
Fragrance wafted through the air as Buddha pinched a flower and lowered his eyes, a smile filled with compassion blooming on his face.
The drums, the melody, the chanting; the divine sound was omnipresent.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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Oljcu Mfcu rlifcais werfv atja Devvtlra glaejir kfgf lcvffv gfwjgxjyif.
Pa kjr cb kbcvfg atja atfs tjv rb wjcs yfilfnfgr.

The symphony lasted for a full fifteen minutes before gradually fading away.
The abbot lightly brushed his willow rod against the golden drum once more, smoothening away the unseen ripples.
Then, he unfurled the scripture before him and began singing the fast-breaking sermon.

The sermon was formal, poignant, and rhythmic.
To sum it up, he was beseeching Buddha to grant them merit, praising all the benefactors in attendance, and expiating the sins of those who’d died from the plague.
Amazingly enough, the prayer was neither obsequious nor glib.
Each word was earnest and apt.
All the bankrollers who were present couldn’t help but nod in approval.
Apparently, they were pleased with the round of praise. 

After the lengthy sermon was over, the abbot rang the chimes, and the chanting of sutras began once more.

It lasted for another fifteen minutes.
A whole hour had passed, and the starting ritual had only just finished.
The abbot returned to the seat at the head of the hall.
Speaking of, he must’ve been sixty or seventy already, yet he didn’t even look tired after standing for a whole hour chanting and preaching.
He ordered the greeter to serve tea to their benefactors.

After everyone had finished with their tea, the abbot spoke, “That the plague in Jinyang could be stopped was due to Buddha’s guidance, Controller Wang’s intervention, and all your selfless charity.
Now that it has passed, you are possessed of incalculable merit.
Our temple is willing to cast for Buddha a body of gold and chant prayers for three days, to deliver the souls of the dead.”

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Everyone knew that already.
There was only one reason why he was saying it again so gravely: money. 

Everyone could hear his undertone.
The old man sitting in the front stroked his beard and declared, “Buddha is merciful! I am willing to donate two hundred thousand, for the souls of the dead.”

The abbot saluted him, “Many thanks, Commandant.”

 

Two hundred thousand was no small amount.
Just what was this commandant’s background? Liang Feng’s confusion deepened.
Although, the donations had already begun.
He couldn’t let his mind wander.

The Zhong and Pei families immediately donated one hundred thousand each.
Wang Wen, representing the Wang family, followed their example.
That was all the top-tier elite of Jinyang.
Afterward, the Guo, Sun, and Wen families all contributed fifty thousand.
Their households were visibly inferior to the first few. 

There weren’t that many people with the standing to be seated in the main hall, so it didn’t take long before everyone was finished.
Everyone’s gaze landed on Liang Feng.
Based on his rank, he should donate fifty thousand.
But by the looks of his plain clothes and unembellished carriage, how much money could he really cough up?

Liang Feng calmly rose to his feet and bowed, “This ceremony today came about from the dream from Buddha.
I have specially prepared a few items to present to His Eminence.”

A few people smiled affably, assuming that Liang Feng was simply taking the clever way out by contributing material goods instead of money so that he could both save face and maintain decorum.
But when he took the box from his servant and retrieved the item within, they all gasped.

It was a double-layered tea set.
The upper part was a bowl sculpted into a blooming lotus, the bottom part was a plate in the shape of a lotus leaf.
The two merged together seamlessly into a delicate, lustrous piece of porcelain.
What was most unusual was that the color was white! 

Everyone there was of a noble family, of course they all had porcelain in their homes.
Out of all the porcelain under the sky, Yue ware was the finest.
Every presentable piece of Yue ware was celadon.
Oftentimes, having a piece of Yue ware was a status symbol.
But who had ever seen anything like this white lotus cup?

Even though it wasn’t pure white, it was indeed blueish white.
And there were a few cloudy spots near the bottom of the lotus leaf plate where the glaze was uneven.
But its faint flaws didn’t detract from its loveliness.
Rather, it implied that it was “borne of mud but untarnished by it.”

A porcelainware like this could easily sell for a hundred thousand; as a gift to Buddha,  it was more than enough to show one’s sincerity!

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Liang Feng acted as though he didn’t hear their reactions.
He carefully set the cup down and opened another box, taking out five scrolls of scripture. 

“This is the full text of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.
I heard it within a dream, and now I return it to the venerable Buddha.”

Now, even the monks were moved.
They’d all heard of the prophetic dream, but few of them had seen the sutra.
How could they not be excited that Liang Feng was gifting it to them? Even the abbot bowed thrice toward the scripture before receiving it with both hands.

Both of the items that Liang Feng had presented were priceless treasures.
Not one person looked at him with disdain or pity anymore.
Plus, his thousand-man escort had added another shining ring of light to his halo.
Who could doubt now that Buddha had visited his dreams?!

Then, Liang Feng turned and bowed to the other guests, “Lastly, I have an unreasonable request.
On my journey here from the Liang Estate, I have seen innumerable refugees, starving, driven from their homes.
In Jinyang, thousands of commoners lined the streets and prostrated to Buddha merely to beg his mercy, that they might be spared from disaster.
The ceremony has delivered the souls residing in the underworld, but who shall deliver the sick, orphaned, and elderly? Thus, I am willing to exchange a thousand sheets of Scripture Paper for grain so that I may provide it to the struggling people of Jinyang.” 

Everyone was even more astonished now.
Exchanging paper for grain, to aid the poor? Truth be told, the rich families did set up soup kitchens whenever disaster struck, but no one saw it as deliverance.
But upon closer thought, if they were willing to spend hundreds of thousands for the dead, why couldn’t they spend some grain to bring salvation to the living?

From the side, the veiled old madam of the Guo family suddenly spoke, “I am willing to exchange fifty stones of millet rice for Master Liang’s Scripture Paper.”

Though Madam Guo was elderly, she wasn’t of the highest seniority.
It was, in fact, rude of her to speak first.
But after their pause, they suddenly realized something else.
This Scripture Paper was produced by the Liang Estate! Seeing as he had Buddha’s favor, might this paper be somewhat holy, able to bless their families? The Guo family had lost two children to the plague – was that the reason why Madam Guo was in such a hurry to obtain the paper?

Several people immediately became annoyed with themselves.
Why hadn’t they thought of it sooner? They’d missed such a great opportunity! A mere fifty stone of grain was nothing to them! Now that someone else had gotten there first, it’d be ill-mannered even for someone of status to offer a higher price. 

Liang Feng gladly saluted Madam Guo, “I appreciate your generosity.
After the ceremony, I’ll have the Scripture Paper delivered to your residence.”

Then he asked the abbot, “I will be departing from Jinyang in a couple of days.
Could I trouble Huai’en Temple to distribute this fifty stone of grain?”

 

Oh my! Nianfa thought, this is bad! If the temple were to dispense the grain, the poor commonfolk’s gratitude would surely be accorded to Liang Feng and Madam Guo.
But the temple would have to cease their almsgiving once the food ran out, as it inevitably would.
When that happened, would the ignorant masses hate Liang Feng? No, they’d blame the monks for being stingy and unwilling to help them.
Wouldn’t they be forced to keep giving handouts forever? Where would the temple get all that money from?

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What Nianfa realized, the abbot did as well.
But he nodded without hesitation and recited a verse of scripture, “‘When bodhisattvas practice charity, they should not abide in the notion that they are practicing charity.
This is what is called “practicing charity while not abiding in form,” and “practicing charity while not abiding in sound, odor, taste, touch, or conceptions.”’ That is exactly what you are doing, Benefactor Liang, practicing charity without abiding in form.
It is a wise, meritorious deed.
How could our temple refuse?” 

The passage that the old monk had recited was from the Diamond Sutra.
What it meant was that one should not give charity with the expectation of repayment.
Only when one put the intention of helping others before all else could they receive the greatest karmic virtue and become a boddhisatva.

All the noble Buddhism enthusiasts present could infer this concept.
Everyone nodded in understanding.

Liang Feng hadn’t thought the old monk would flatter him right back and help him smoothen things out.
He bowed slightly to him.
Whatever the case, his objective was accomplished.
Now that a fixed price had been established at the ceremony, Scripture Paper would henceforth be sold for fifty stone of grain per thousand sheets.
This was practically highway robbery, yet done so elegantly there wasn’t even a whiff of vulgar copper.
How could the highborn aristocrats ever resist?

And since the temple had promised to give out grain, they couldn’t just swallow it for themselves like jackals.
They had to spit up some money to set up porridge pots.
Who knew how many commoners would be saved by the money that slipped through the cracks between their fingers? With this result, all his brain-wracking and grandstanding had paid off. 

Liang Feng modestly returned to his seat.

The abbot clasped his hands, “As this occurrence was due to Buddha’s guidance, then the first scripture we shall use to send the souls of the departed shall be the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra then.”

The two monks instantly stood to either side of him and splayed the scripture that Liang Feng had gifted them.
The old abbot took a deep breath and began to recite.
His voice was somewhat hoarse and dry, yet it was strangely captivating. Kumarajiva’s translation of the Diamond Sutra was exquisite to begin with.
The use of language was elegant and apt, the conveyed meaning spiritual and profound; it just to happened to match the Jin people’s taste.
Now, coming from the old abbot’s mouth, it was even more mesmerizing.

Amidst murmuring chanting and encircling incense smoke, Liang Feng slowly closed his eyes and listened. 

The author has something to say:

Haha, the money has arrived, now he’s happy XD

The translator has something to say:

The translator’s being swamped by college stuff already, so please forgive the lack of editing.
If there are any typos, misused words, or other grammatical gaffes, please feel free to point them out, it would be much appreciated.