It can be said that Khenpo Renxingye, Master Xu Yun, and the others greatly underestimated the influence of the Vidyārāja Hall.
Khenpo Renxingye may be able to rally many people, but the Vidyārāja Hall has more supporters, many of whom are wealthy and influential.
No matter what the outcome of the Buddhist debate is, Khenpo Renxingye will not be able to move against the Vidyārāja Hall.
If he persists, he will definitely be suppressed by all parties, but it will be to his detriment and the reputation of the Vidyārāja Hall and Buddhist Monastery will also be affected at that time.
The following day, in the morning, the Saza Temple was already crowded with people.
The troublemakers from the previous day, as well as those who supported Khenpo Renxingye, came in large numbers, while those who supported the Vidyārāja Hall and Buddhist Monastery also came in large numbers.
The chubby middle-aged man who had been deeply influenced by Acala (Fudō Myō-ō) came, as did Tian Zhongyi, and media reporters also arrived.
In addition to the reporters invited by Khenpo Renxingye, there were also a few who came on their own initiative. Khenpo Renxingye was considered a semi-celebrity, and Su Jing was a big star who had recently entered the list of first-line stars.
This kind of Dharma Debate was worth covering.
However, what puzzled many people was whether Su Jing understood Buddhism.
“Didn’t Su Jing paint the Vidyārāja Buddha statue portraits and weren’t they all sold at a high price? Doesn’t that mean he understands Buddhism?”
“And the Prajñā Meditation Sutra and Acala (Fudō Myō-ō) Buddha statue were all written by Su Jing, so he must have been deeply influenced by Buddhism, right?”
“This is not necessarily the case. The Buddha statue he painted may just be a copy. It can only be said that he is a skilled painter. The fact that he brought out the Prajñā Meditation Sutra and Acala (Fudō Myō-ō) Buddha statue only shows that he has a large collection of Buddhist treasures.”
“That makes sense. Su Jing may just be here for the sake of it. The Vidyārāja Hall was established by him, so of course, he doesn’t want it to be demolished.”
“Don’t worry, there are Abbot Xu Yun, Grandmaster Shengyan, and the others at the Buddhist Monastery.”
Amidst the discussions, Su Jing, Abbot Xu Yun, Grandmaster Shengyan, Zhou Hongyuan, Xiao Zhi, and the others arrived. They walked through the crowd, climbed onto the podium, and sat on the east side.
A group of monks sat on the opposite side, with Khenpo Renxingye, a sallow and thin monk in his fifties or sixties, as the leader. The way he looked at Su Jing and the others was very kind, without any hostility at all.
This made some people wonder if they had misunderstood Khenpo Renxingye, and if maybe he didn’t incite believers to cause trouble, but rather the believers acted spontaneously on their own.
“Welcome, Abbot Xu Yun, and all the masters,” Khenpo Renxingye smiled as he greeted everyone.
Xu Yun, Grandmaster Shengyan, and the others all smiled and nodded, appearing calm and collected without showing any hint of anger on their faces.
However, Xiao Zhi and the other young monks couldn’t hide their hostility, it was as if they were ready to start a physical fight if they didn’t agree with each other.
The lecture began, with Khenpo Renxingye giving a lengthy speech on Buddhism. When it came time for the debate session, Xu Yun surprised everyone by remaining silent and just sitting there with his eyes closed.
Despite their expertise in Buddhism, Grandmaster Shengyan and the others struggled to keep up with Khenpo Renxingye’s clever and articulate arguments.
It wasn’t that their understanding of Buddhism was necessarily inferior to Khenpo Renxingye, but rather that they were not as skilled at expressing their ideas.
“I’m not sure what’s being said, but it seems like the Buddhist Monastery is not winning based on the tension in the room.”
“What’s happening? Why isn’t Abbot Xu Yun speaking up?”
“Hmph, the Buddhist Monastery is just a fake with questionable practices. Khenpo Renxingye is always right.”
“If the Abbot can’t even speak about Buddhism then what’s the point of having a temple?”
The atmosphere in the room became tense. Tian Zhongyi and other supporters of the Buddhist Monastery were visibly anxious. However, Abbot Xu Yun remained calm, with his eyes closed and a serene expression on his face, showing that he had no intention of speaking at all.
Su Jing couldn’t help but watch Abbot Xu Yun more closely. No wonder he had been so annoyed by his smile the previous day. It seemed that Abbot had seen through him and knew what Su Jing was thinking.
It was clear that Xu Yun was a worthy Abbot and a highly respected monk who had lived for decades, with a deep understanding of Buddhism and the ability to speak about that understanding in front of people.
Su Jing saw that the debate is nearing its end and after refuting the rebuttal, he casually spoke a paragraph in Zen language to reinforce his arguments.
…
Yesterday, after Su Jing returned, he continued to make preparations for the debate. The Supreme Heavenly Dragon Bodhisattva Scripture cannot be widely distributed and the well-known Prajñā Meditation Sutra cannot be used to refute it.
However, fragments of Buddhist scriptures from Yang GodUniverse can be utilized, as well as existing Buddhist scriptures and Zen teachings on Earth.
Although it is only a temporary solution, Su Jing’s nearly photographic memory allows him to retain a large amount of information in a short period of time.
Su Jing followed the opponent and used Zen phrases to try to refute their argument. However, his refutation was only mediocre and did not effectively gain the upper hand or convince the other party. It was only considered to be adequate at best.
Despite the fact that Su Jing’s refutation was only mediocre, it had a powerful impact on the listeners.
Khenpo Renxingye and the others on the opposing side were surprised by Su Jing’s words, as were Grandmaster Shengyan, Zhou Hongyuan, Xiao Zhi, and Tian Zhongyi. Even Master Xu Yun, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was startled by Su Jing’s words and opened his eyes.
At this moment, Su Jing is using the azure beads that he recently discovered in the trash to make his argument.
He intentionally directed his Zen speech towards Khenpo Renxingye and the others on the opposing side, causing a strong impact on them while minimizing the effect on others.
It appears that Su Jing is trying to weaken the arguments of Khenpo Renxingye and his group while making his own argument seem more persuasive.
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