In the Buddha Hall, Uchiha Tonan and Chigo were sitting facing each other. Special incense sticks were burning in the room, and green smoke was curling up in the air, filling the room with an unusual smell, very similar to the fragrance of sandalwood. The two people had their eyes closed and were relaxed.
“The Buddhist philosophy propagators are human. If you want to lead people on the right path, you should understand human nature. Doing good deeds or doing evil deeds are both the representation and the result. When a monk enlightens a believer, he must begin from human nature.”
“Why do people do good deeds? Most people who do good yearn to obtain the goodwill of others from their hearts. Why do people do evil? Because they aren’t satisfied with what they have. They cannot obtain what they want on merit and within the rules. But they are unwilling to let it go. So, they break the rules and get the thing they want by hurting others.”
Tonan shared his thoughts. His words made Chigo ponder for a while, and with a look of doubt, he asked, “Your words make sense. But what if we cannot satisfy what they want? Wouldn’t we be powerless to stop their evil hearts?”
Tonan adjusted his glasses, “There are two aspects — suppression and redemption. Use severe punishment to restrain them. The fear of punishment can restrain most people’s behavior. Even if they want to do evil, they can only endure. And redemption is what monks ought to do. Since they’re not satisfied with the present reality, let them understand how good their situation actually is. It’s just that they haven’t noticed it.”
“Most people’s dissatisfaction comes from comparing themselves with those around them. In war times, people will be satisfied with just being alive. When war is over, they’ll be satisfied with being able to eat until full. In peacetime, they start to pursue a quality of life. And when material achievement reaches a certain level, it’s about the pursuit of spiritual satisfaction. Faith is also spiritual satisfaction.”
Chigo seemed to understand Tonan’s explanation but also seemed to not understand anything. He frowned and thought for a while, trying to explore the meaning of Tonan’s words. But in the end, he could only blame himself for being too stupid.
He sighed, “Tonan, you’re truly intelligent.”
Chigo felt that Tonan’s words were broad and profound. But due to the limitation of his cognition, he was unable to fully comprehend it. The theme of this world was peace, kindness, and restraint… Anything beyond that was complicated.
Tonan smiled humbly, “Master is overpraising me. It’s just a personal opinion, and it’s just good to listen. It’s not necessarily the truth.”
Chigo said with a serious look, “No, although I don’t understand it well, I can feel these words contain the profound nature of Buddha. I must note this.”
Chigo walked to the table and wrote down what Tonan had just said in a notebook. Tonan’s expression changed. He got up and said, “Master Chigo, our discussion here is nothing more than theory. Why don’t I go to the main hall as you enlighten the believers? Let me experience it, and open my eyes.”
Chigo paused for a moment and nodded, “Right away, but let me record the last sentence first.”
Not long after, Tonan and Chigo came to the main hall together. The hall was as crowded as a marketplace, and all were this temple’s believers. They knelt in front of the Buddha statue, and prayed, hoping that Buddha would bless them and their life would be better.
When many believers saw Chigo, they rushed over and surrounded him.
“Abbot is here.”
“Master Chigo.”
“Master Chigo, my mind is full of questions now.”
Chigo put his palms together and lightly said, “Don’t be anxious, come one by one.”
“Master, I’ve been very unlucky recently, did I get bad luck?”
“Abbot, the doctor said that I’m seriously ill and need to take medicine. But since you said that I have the Buddha’s blessing, can I avoid medicines?”
……
After dispelling the doubts of several believers, it was Tomaru’s turn. When Chigo saw his haggard and weak appearance, he asked, “Young benefactor, you seem to have something on your mind.”
Tomaro nodded repeatedly, “Master Chigo, my imagination runs wild all day long recently. At night, I cannot fall asleep, and at daytime, my heart is flustered.”
Tomaru was very excited to see Chigo. He was eager to unravel the confusion in his heart and find a solution. He couldn’t endure his current situation, but he couldn’t control the direction of his imagination either.
Chigo nodded, “What exactly is it? Has anything special happened?”
“I…”
Tomaru was a little embarrassed to mention it. He hesitated for a long time and couldn’t speak. After all, this was something too awkward to mention out loud. Chigo pondered for a while and guessed his difficulty. He smiled a little and brought his ear closer, “Go ahead, I can hear you.”
Tonan looked left and right, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered the events of the past few days in Chigo’s ear.
In the end, he looked ashamed and his ears were red. He had his head lowered, not daring to look straight at Chigo, and asked in a low voice, “Abbot, what should I do?”
Chigo couldn’t help chuckling after hearing Tomaru. “It turned out to be this. This is normal. At your age, everyone thinks about these things.”
Tomaru looked entangled as he said, “But, I haven’t been able to sleep for several nights.”
“Is it that strong?” Chigo was a little surprised. He thought of something and turned to Tonan, who was beside him, “Tonan, this young benefactor has been having insomnia. I just recalled the healthcare products you gifted me.”
Only at this moment did Tomaru notice Tonan, and he instantly recalled how he had offended him the last time. Seeing Tonan have a good relationship with Master Chigo, he understood that Tonan was someone he couldn’t offend.
However, Tonan appeared broad-minded and not the kind of person who held grudges. “Master, since I’ve given it to you, you can do anything you like with it. You don’t need to ask my opinion.”
Chigo nodded kindly towards Tonan. He then called, “Chiriku.”
A monk who was a few years older than Tonan walked over to Chigo, and put his palms together, “Abbot.” Chigo instructed, “Go to my room and bring the box from the third shelf in the cabinet.”
“Yes.” After a while, Chiriku handed over the products that were brought by Tonan for Chigo, and Chigo handed it to Tomaru, “This is a healthcare product. Eat a pack every night before going to bed. It should help you sleep.”
Tomaru quickly thanked him, “Many thanks, Master, many thanks.”
He carefully took the products and his eyes finally had some light. At that time, Tonan added from the side, “Remember to take just one pack at a time. If the dose is too much, you’ll lose consciousness.”
Tomaru was stunned, and asked carefully, “Will it cause death?”
Tonan smiled and shook his head, “No, it won’t.”
“That’s good.”
Tomaru nodded repeatedly and carefully hugged the box in his arms. He bowed to Chigo and ran down the mountain.
