Chapter 147 Verbal Combat Without Eating Meat: Cultivation

"Do you know why I tore it up?"

The green pepper swayed as it tore the book to shreds.

"Please enlighten us, Your Majesty."

The monk leading the group put his hands together in prayer, feigning composure.

"You're reading a book of 'heavenly scripture' to people; who among them, the watch seller, can understand it?"

With that, Green Pepper threw the torn book hard at the head of the monk leading the group.

The monk leading the group immediately blushed.

Immediately afterwards, Green Pepper wandered through the crowd, raising one hand and continuing, "Is this the kind of 'morality' I'm talking about? You're just putting on airs, all the same old thing in a new guise!"

Virtue has no distinction of high or low, big or small, but it must be suitable for all ages and easy to understand.

"Action" means to demonstrate to people through practical actions, thereby influencing and inspiring more people.

"You guys are something else, taking a couple of steps to change your spot to sit and chant scriptures, and you call that 'doing'?"

"Holy King, you also said that the new era of the Investiture of the Gods should be a time for a hundred flowers to bloom and a hundred schools of thought to contend."

Not everyone has a karmic connection with Buddhism; those who do are naturally able to understand its profound mysteries.

We are simply spreading Buddhist teachings, and at the same time, we can select new deities who are compatible with Buddhism.

The monk leading the group gradually regained his composure, adopting the demeanor of a spiritual practitioner.

"What are you picking out? You've actually started picking out yarn."

In the new era, it is man who chooses God, not God who chooses man.

Only those recognized by all beings are the true gods!

Before he knew it, a few words from him would make Green Pepper furious. Green Pepper ran over and kicked him to the ground.

After kicking the person, Green Pepper felt a little better, but then remembered that Qiuyue might see it, so he quickly adjusted his expression and continued, "How is your way of picking people different from what I call 'teaching'? You've already divided all living beings into different classes right from the start."

Take your statement about "those with affinity comprehending Buddhism" as an example. It's a typical case of setting up a threshold and pretending to be aloof!

The new era of Investiture of the Gods is not about selecting disciples.

Instead, you uphold your principles, go out into the community to do good deeds that have real meaning, influence and attract people who like your style, make them your disciples, and do the same good deeds as you.

And what about the "comprehension" you mentioned? Does being able to meditate and chant scriptures mean you have comprehension? Does being able to thoroughly understand the mysteries of scriptures mean you have high comprehension?

Let me tell you, the true God doesn't need to be profound, and the true God's disciples don't need so-called enlightenment.

Regardless of the school, a master may have high comprehension, but their heart may not be pure; they might show a completely different face when the lights are off. An apprentice, on the other hand, may have lower comprehension, but they are more likely to be the most devout.

Therefore, the true god of the new era gains the recognition of all beings through practical actions. Even if you are faking it, you can pretend for a lifetime and still gain recognition through practical actions.

In short, this is an era where virtue reigns supreme!

"Good, well said!"

The bespectacled man was so excited by what he heard that he couldn't help but raise his arms and applaud.

But he soon discovered that everyone around him, except for himself who was clapping, looked completely bewildered.

His applause gradually faded, then disappeared.

"it is good."

Old Xu, who came from behind, calmly clapped his hands.

He couldn't let the conversation fall flat since he finally had someone who understood everything.

"Stand up! What are you doing not standing up after all this time? Are you trying to scam me?"

Seeing that the monk leading the group was just sitting on the ground rubbing his stomach, Green Pepper shouted an order.

The monk leading the group quickly gritted his teeth and stood up, swaying unsteadily.

"Do you know why it's so hard for you to get up?"

Qingjiao and the others quickly walked up to him. Because they were taller than him, they crouched down and asked face to face.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, my stomach is rumbling..."

The monk leading the group answered truthfully, but before he could finish pronouncing the word "ache" in "stomach ache," he was interrupted by Green Pepper.

"Because you're malnourished from eating vegetarian food every day!"

The green pepper hit the nail on the head.

If everyone hadn't seen him nearly kick someone away, the audience would have actually believed it.

Old Xu felt guilty for him, glanced at the people around him, and quietly covered his face with his hand.

"May Buddha have mercy. We monks are not allowed to kill. Eating meat is equivalent to killing in disguise."

The monk leading the group couldn't understand how the Holy King could say something so contrary to common sense.

Even the surrounding spectators couldn't help but whisper among themselves, discussing something.

Little did they know that what Qingjiao was waiting for was precisely these words from the leading monk.

Looking at everyone's reactions, a sly glint flashed in Green Pepper's eyes. "Eating meat is killing, so eating vegetarian food isn't?"

Are leeks, scallions, watermelons, and pears not living beings?

Is it that fruits and vegetables are unworthy of being considered living beings, or is it that your Buddha has high standards and doesn't regard fruits and vegetables as living beings?

"Your Majesty, animals are made of flesh and blood and have souls."

Destroying a soul's body is killing.

Green plants contain only rudimentary spiritual energy, not a soul. They were created by the Creator to transform the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish all things.

The monk leading the group looked at the ground and said, afraid that if he did something that didn't please the Holy King, he would get kicked again.

Before he could even catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, Green Pepper immediately rolled up his sleeves and quickly moved to the side in fright.

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, I'm just dissipating heat.

Green Pepper shook his arms, using body language to tell him.

Then, Green Pepper said, "Who told you that plants don't have souls?"

Is it because it can't take steps, or did your Buddha head tell you this in a dream?

It's not like we don't have the means. Spend more time watching science videos on your phone. Various scientific studies have shown that plants also have emotions and thoughts, just that they are expressed differently from animals with flesh and blood.

We won't delve into that issue today; let's just talk about the fact that monks don't eat meat.

If you look back in history books, you'll see that monks were allowed to eat meat in the beginning. It wasn't until an emperor issued an edict forbidding monks from eating meat that the saying "monks don't eat meat" came about.

Do you know why that emperor forbade monks to eat meat? It was because productivity was low in ancient times. The common people already didn't have enough to eat, and they still had to support a group of monks who did nothing.

Why not find a reason to cut off their profits and allocate them to the farmers and the army?

Ultimately, it's because that emperor was so clear-headed and genuinely looked down on you bunch of sutra-reciting people.

Today I'm here to elevate your status; from now on, you'll be allowed to eat.

A balanced diet of meat and vegetables is essential for nutrition; only by eating well can one have the strength to "behave with virtue" throughout the world.

You haven't even studied history properly and you're already a Buddhist? Isn't that superstition?

Then I'll talk about not eating meat from a metaphysical perspective.

Its original intention was to allow believers to cultivate good hearts and reap good results without shedding blood.

So here's the question: can one cultivate a kind heart by not eating meat?

The answer is definitely no. If you give a person with a filthy heart nectar, they will still be filthy. They are already a crooked tree. If you don't uproot them and replant them, can you straighten them out?

So regardless of the sect, those who don't eat meat are just pretending to be aloof.

Goodness lies in the intention, not in the lack of physical strength. The intention behind intentionally killing an animal is different from the intention behind killing an animal for cooking.

As long as your intentions are righteous and kind, what's wrong with eating raw meat and drinking blood to ensure good health!

"Whoosh"

Immediately, enthusiastic applause erupted from the surrounding area.

Some people have realized this, while others have long thought about it: I am inferior to you who do not eat meat just because I eat meat, why should I?

The man with glasses quickly joined in the applause because he had been hesitant about whether to continue cheering, fearing that he would stand out like he did earlier.

This time, everyone was clapping, but he was late; he only raised his hand after everyone else had finished clapping.

He remained "different from others," which made him quite embarrassed.

Cough cough~ cough cough!

After the applause, Lao Xu hinted that the young teacher had gone off-topic.

oh oh oh!

Green Pepper woke up as if from a dream, only then remembering what she had come here for.

So he asked the monk leading the group, "I've asked you so many questions, is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

"These days I've seen the Holy King's social media account criticizing the shortcomings of several religious sects."

The only thing missing is the sage king criticizing Taoism.

You're often accompanied by a Taoist priest, and there are rumors that you're the founder of Taoism, so this is biased and unfair.

The monk leading the group was thoroughly disappointed and had a lot of complaints.

However, the problem he pointed out is an indisputable fact.