After a long while, Chen Xuanzang finally set down his chopsticks and raised his head blankly.
Despite all the explanations, he had still broken his precepts.
His heart churned, and he could not calm himself for a time.
After all, he was not a Buddha. He could not let wine and meat pass through his body untouched, nor could he achieve no perception of self, no perception of others, no perception of sentient beings.
"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. All things are empty! You have not broken your precepts. You merely ate some emptiness. Why make such a face?"
Ming Shang shook his head. "The world is vast. In the blink of an eye, countless billions of living beings perish. If you cannot even see through that, forget Buddhist teachings—even the demonic path would reject you."
"Amitabha Buddha..."
Chen Xuanzang pressed his palms together, lowered his head, and softly recited the Sutra of Ten Rebirths. "If any sentient being deeply believes in this sutra and recites Amitabha Buddha, wishing to be reborn, then Amitabha Buddha of that Land of Ultimate Bliss shall dispatch..."
"Twenty-five bodhisattvas shall protect the practitioner. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, day or night, at all times and in all places, they shall not allow evil ghosts or evil gods to take advantage..."
"If any sentient being deeply believes in this sutra and recites Amitabha Buddha..."
Chen Xuanzang's voice gradually rose, and with a solemn expression, he recited the Rebirth Sutra over and over.
After a long, long while, Chen Xuanzang finally raised his head again. Two streams of tears ran down his cheeks, falling to the ground and shattering like crystals.
"You are crying because you broke your precepts?"
Li Qingshan asked.
Chen Xuanzang's expression gradually calmed. Hearing this, he sighed softly. "All