Chapter 109 Master Hongren

I was stunned, but in contrast, Jueyuan and Huigen had completely different expressions.

At the moment he heard the bell, Hui Gen suddenly stood still in the middle of the street, then closed his eyes, and his expression became compassionate as the distant bell sounded.

Jueyuan’s reaction was even more exaggerated. At the moment he heard the bell, he burst into tears. Surrounded by senseless lunatics, amidst the cries of pain and the sounds of frantic fighting, Jueyuan stood in the street in a white robe, his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face. The scene was like a timeless freeze frame in a movie, deeply etched in my mind.

I didn’t know what had happened to Jueyuan and Huigen, and my concern for them made me forget to ask Zhu Zhuo anything. Instead, when the bell stopped ringing, I asked Huigen, “What’s wrong with you?”

Hui Gen’er looked solemn and said to me very seriously, “Brother, I have never heard such a compassionate bell.”

Can compassion be heard in the sound of the bell? Before I could say anything, Jueyuan had already dried his tears and said to me, “Chengyi, this bell must have been rung by a very great monk, one who was about to become a Buddha. The sound of the bell contains his personal will, a kind of great compassion, a feeling of pity for the world and for people, a willingness to sacrifice oneself to save others. Listening to the sound of the bell, I can feel the sorrow that comes from his inability to save the evil here. I can’t help but cry.”

In fact, the key point that I did not understand was how the soul could shed tears. I could only guess that the entire city was a dream, and Jueyuan really wanted to shed tears to express his feelings, so we saw such a scene.

I think I don’t need to ask Zhu Zhuo anything to know what this bell represents. To be sure, I said to Zhu Zhuo, “But Master Hongren?”

Zhu Zhuo nodded excitedly and said, “It’s Master Hongren! You’re so lucky. Master Hongren rarely makes exceptions like this, and it’s happening back to back.”

Was it luck? I was a little skeptical, but I didn’t have time to think about it. I said to Zhu Zhuo, “Take us there quickly.”

Zhu Zhu was naturally willing, because it also wanted to go to Master Hong Ren. According to it, experiencing Master Hong Ren’s salvation and listening to Master Hong Ren’s explanation of the Dharma could alleviate its pain and make its soul sober.

The place where Master Hongren preached the Dharma every time he performed the liberation ceremony was fixed, in a square in the new city, so when we rushed there, we found that the ghosts on the road were all heading there.

On the way, I saw the most lucid ghosts, and even some ghosts who were not very lucid and whose eyes were red instinctively rushed in that direction.

Seeing all this, I couldn’t help but sigh. In this place full of all kinds of negative emotions and lacking in warm positive energy, it is not easy for a person to achieve such a reputation and prestige here.

As we moved forward with the crowd of ghosts, Jueyuan said to me, “This is true compassion. The power of compassion that comes from the bottom of your heart is infectious. It’s not possible to fake it or be selfish. It doesn’t matter if they’re good or evil, they’re all spirits. And spirits are the most sensitive of all. Your kindness and malice are always direct in their eyes.”

This is probably the case, because I saw this in Zhu Zhuo’s inexplicable trust in us. If it weren’t for the sensitivity of the soul, how could it trust a few strangers in such an environment?

Even in the world of the living, a good person would not have risked so much to trust us.

The square where Master Hongren was located was not far from the neighborhood where we were originally located, just three blocks away. Zhu Zhu told us that if it weren’t for this, even if she wanted to see Master Hongren, she would never have dared to go out.

I nodded, and at this moment I was already in this square. The name of this square is quite grand, called Jijun Square. You can imagine how shocking it is to see thousands of troops gathering in this vast place.

You can feel the ambition of the person who named the square, and you can also feel the shock of the gathering of thousands of ghosts at this time. What would it be like if it were replaced by an army?

The square is surrounded by sculptures and statues, all of which are the images of evil generals, and they are full of the tragic feeling of fighting. The ground of the square is also covered with sculptures. Looking down, it doesn’t feel very good. It’s actually a sculpture of floating corpses.

Some of the carvings are already skeletons, while others are people who are dying but not yet dead. It feels as if they are all making a final cry under the trampling of people.

Everything in this square was not very comfortable, but with the sound of the ghosts cheering, a figure finally appeared in the square, in a place similar to a platform for generals.

It was too far away for me to see the person clearly, but I could vaguely see that it was a hunched figure wearing a gray monk’s robe. It was very ordinary and very inconspicuous, but as he walked step by step to the point of the stage, I felt a sense of benevolence in my heart that slowly spread throughout the square.

This square is a tragic place. I stood here and felt like I was standing on a battlefield that had just ended a war. But when this Master Hongren appeared, he used his own aura to dispel the murderous, cruel, violent, and desperate aura of the battlefield, making people feel at peace.

I suddenly thought of the comment that Jueyuan had just heard from the bell, that he was already a high monk who was almost a Buddha, and that he definitely wasn’t just talking nonsense. Such a great monk is qualified to go to bliss, but he chose such a place of great suffering.

Hui Gen and Jueyuan looked at that figure with eyes full of admiration, but I had already begun to think about one question: in this square full of ghosts, how could we possibly squeeze to the front to speak with this legendary master?

I whispered my thoughts to Zhu Zhuo, but he shook his head and said, “There’s no way. No one (ghost) will give up a single inch of space. They all want to be as close to Master Hongren as possible, so that they can get more when Master Hongren bestows pure yin energy. And it’s rumored that the closer you are to Master Hongren, the more ‘comfort’ and ‘pleasure’ you get. Who would give up their space?”

Hearing Zhu Zhuo’s words, my face became a little ugly. Could it be that I still have to fight my way in? But how is that possible? So I had to ask Zhu Zhuo, “Why is it a rumor?”

Zhu Zhu was embarrassed and scratching his head, and said to me, “Because I have never fought for a front-row position, and the last time I got a donation was also because of luck.”

I was helpless. Chengxin, who was standing next to me, also heard everything and said to me in a rather helpless tone, “After the Master Hongren has finished the liberation, see if there is any way to get close to him?”

This is the only way to go now. I nodded and was about to say something, but I didn’t expect that Master Hongren, who had already walked to the front of the stage, spoke up. His voice was not loud, but it spread throughout the square: “I am not here to help people pass over, nor to explain the Dharma. I am only here to meet a few destined people. Everyone can go now. Those destined people will come to see me.”

His voice was calm but full of compassion. Somehow, even though we were almost a square away, I felt that when Master Hongren said these words, his gaze fell on our group.

After Master Hongren finished speaking, he sat in meditation on the platform, and I was worried that the ghosts would not disperse. After all, these words were vague, and everyone could think that they were destined to be here.

I didn’t expect the ghosts to disperse without any complaints, without any entanglement. Only some ghosts hesitated to come forward. Master Hongren didn’t say a word, just smiled and shook his head, and the ghosts left of their own accord.

Seeing this scene, Jueyuan said with a sense of enlightenment: “It is not difficult to win the name of a master in the hearts of people who are originally good-hearted. It is rare to gain the respect and a little trust of evil-doers, and he has done so.

Jueyuan’s words made me agree from the bottom of my heart, and at the same time, I admired this Buddhist even more. How many people in the world can achieve such a level that even a high monk like Jueyuan can admire?

The crowd of ghosts dispersed in less than 15 minutes. We had been standing still in order to be low-key, but we realized that we couldn’t be low-key anymore.

There were only two groups of people left in the large square, us and Master Hongren, looking at each other across the square.

“Those who are destined to stay will stay. It’s you, come over here!” Master Hongren suddenly spoke, his voice coming from far away, still peaceful and compassionate.

This was the result we had long expected, and we were not shocked. But since Master Hongren had said it, we walked towards him. Compared to our calmness, Zhu Zhuo was excited. He was so excited that he almost fainted. As he walked, he trembled and said in disbelief, “Will I also have a connection with Master Hongren?”

We didn’t answer Zhu Zhu’s question, but when we got to Master Hong Ren and looked at him carefully, we were shocked and shouted in unison, “It’s you?”