Consciousness-Only School!

Time flies, and June 6th is just around the corner.

The fifth quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM).

The Ice Platform blows out cool air, dispelling the stuffy, humid air.

Liang Qu got up, dressed, and opened the window, letting in the sunlight.

Xia Tian is here.

I still remember the last time he got up at the same time during the River God Sacrifice, when it was barely dawn.

In another month, the Great Heat will arrive, at which time the cicadas Feather Transformation as adults and will no longer be as quiet as they are now.

Liang Qu looked down at the courtyard.

"Oolong!"

The black dog in the yard sat on the ground, tilting its head to stare at the white butterfly on the jujube tree branch. Its ears drooped naturally. When it heard its name, it tiptoed and turned around.

"Woof!"

"Come over!"

The black dog crouched down, its Liang Qu sticking up, and leaped and bounded back and forth as it peered out the window. It slowly moved to the base of the wall, finally climbing onto the top, barking twice, its little tail wagging as if it were about to fly.

Liang Qu reached out and vigorously rubbed its head.

The Little Black belonging to the Black Fang family is thirty-four days old. He brought it home yesterday, named it Oolong, and is raising it in his own yard.

It wasn't shy at all; it had explored the entire three-courtyard compound and garden in just one day and was familiar with every corner. It's a qualified watchdog.

"Come on, let me take you to have breakfast."

Liang Qu opened the door and led Little Black to the kitchen. As soon as they entered, they saw a long-lost figure enjoying a meal. Aunt Zhang handed them several steaming baskets of vegetarian buns.

"Master?"

The Old Monk put his hands together in prayer and continued his work, eating vegetarian buns one after another, quickly and efficiently, as if he hadn't eaten for many days.

Indeed, it was true. Ever since he received that scroll of scripture, the Old Monk had not stepped out of his room for seven days!

Let alone eating!

Of course, for Perfected Elephant Grandmaster, going seven days without food is nothing; he can make up for the deficit later.

"Aunt Zhang, could you please make some extra vegetarian buns this morning? You'll get an extra thirty coins at the end of the month."

"Okay."

Aunt Zhang kept stuffing firewood into the fire, setting up a new steamer, wiping away her sweat, tired but not annoyed.

Liang Qu quickly moved a stool and sat down in front of the Old Monk.

"Master, what exactly is in that scripture that makes you so engrossed in it that you forget to eat and sleep?"

"Have you ever heard of the Dharma Characteristics School, Benefactor?"

Dharma Characteristics School? Liang Qu shook his head.

"The Consciousness-Only School?"

Liang Qu's eyes lit up. "I've heard of this."

He had read quite a few Buddhist commentaries and knew the status of Master Huiyuan in Buddhism as a whole, including the Consciousness-Only School he founded.

The story of Master Huiyuan is very simple, and it is very similar to that of a high monk in Liang Qu's previous life, even leaving behind the same name for the lineage.

That person's name is Xuanzang!

Master Huiyuan also had another name, Chandana Venerable.

Unfortunately, the two seemingly unrelated individuals had similar experiences in the first half of their lives, and their later lives were also quite similar. The Consciousness-Only School was cut off after only three generations.

Not only is this the case with Yogacara, but the Huayan School is similar.

These sects, with their lofty doctrines, almost all met the fate of dying out after only a few generations.

There's no other reason than that it's too difficult.

It is said that the Consciousness-Only School originated from Maitreya Bodhisattva, and the first patriarch of the Huayan school was an incarnation of Manjusri.

It was the peak right from the start.

Second-generation disciples, who followed their master and were personally taught by him, were still doing well, but third-generation disciples began to find it like reading a book written in heaven.

In the long river of time that followed, various wars, fires, and man-made disasters occurred, and even the complete book was lost, leaving only fragmented pieces.

"That scripture is..."

"The complete 《Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise Conclusion》!"

"Handwritten?"

"A copy".

Liang Qu was slightly disappointed.

The Martial Dao Divinity Da Shun are divine, and many things are not the same just because the content is the same.

The Hunting Tiger Realm allows one to kill with their will, and the True Image is even more mysterious and profound.

If it is written by a high-ranking monk himself, it will surely leave behind his beliefs, which will be of great benefit to later generations.

It wasn't handwritten, and it's known for its difficulty.

It's probably hard for someone like the Old Monk to understand, no wonder he locked himself in his room for seven whole days.

Is this scripture really useful? It only contains the meaning of the scriptures, but no Cultivation Method arts. At most, it fills a gap in the history of Buddhism.

It was a priceless treasure to the Old Monk; for him...

The Old Monk smiled slightly, "You are attached to appearances, Benefactor."

"What do you mean by that, Master?"

"What this humble monk spoke of is the 《Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise Conclusion》 *, not the * 《Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise》 * itself!"

"Hmm, what's the difference?"

The meaning of the "《Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise》" is said to have been personally transmitted by Maitreya. It is profound and difficult to understand, and contains ten different commentaries. Only Master Huiyuan in the world has been able to truly comprehend it.

Legend has it that when Master Huiyuan's disciples advised him to combine the commentaries of the ten schools and create his own, Master Huiyuan insisted on leaving behind the commentaries of the ten schools so that future generations could understand the original meaning.

For an ordinary person, learning to study even one family is already extremely difficult.

Ten such individuals could only be chosen by those with exceptional talent.

In retrospect, it seems that Master Huiyuan, in his later years, realized the decline of the population and, in order to ensure the continuation of the Dharma lineage, wrote this "《Completion of Consciousness-Only Treatise Conclusion》" so that people could understand and learn it.

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, it was never passed down to the world, but now it has been brought back to light.

The Old Monk looked delighted.

He truly never imagined he would have such an opportunity, and then he looked at Liang Qu.

This child truly possesses great fortune and fortuitous opportunity!

Liang Qu was taken aback.

So, after all that, Master Huiyuan simply summarized it again, making Consciousness-Only Theory easier to understand and learn? He asked expectantly, "Are there any Cultivation Method or martial arts techniques included?"

"This humble monk's knowledge is still shallow, and I dare not make a definitive statement, but perhaps it exists."

A lineage that was lost because it was too difficult, even though it was a summary by Chandana Venerable, is clearly not enough to fully understand in seven days. It's only enough to get a glimpse of the basics, no, not even a glimpse.

Don't even mention days, months, or years! Okay, okay.

It's always good to have hope.

The Consciousness-Only School has a broken lineage is that some people spend their whole lives studying it and still can't understand it, and then when their lifespan comes to an end, they die.

Chandana Venerable himself said that one must thoroughly study the scriptures to enter the path of enlightenment.

Liang Qu is a complete novice in Buddhism, with a general understanding of Buddhist history and vocabulary, but he has never read a complete Buddhist scripture.

Unless one were to renounce worldly life and enter the Buddhist order to devote oneself to research, it would likely take until the age of sixty, making it a complete loss. It all depends on whether the Old Monk is willing to help.

Perfected Elephant Grandmaster must be a great master of Buddhism! Get started, my external brain!

After breakfast, the Old Monk went back into his room and continued his pilgrimage.

Liang Qu practiced the Ape Fist once and trained in the Fubo.

At 3:45 AM, the villagers came and dragged away the three beasts.

"Plump" and "cute" are debatable, as it's not too heavy.

The Crimson Beast was clearly too heavy for an ordinary person to move, so Liang Qu helped out and carried it to the dock together.

"Thank you, Lord Liang."

Several villagers thanked them repeatedly and then turned to arrange the details of the ceremony.

Liang Qu looked around.

The altar stands majestically facing the Great Marsh, still consisting of thirteen steps, just as it did last year.

However, the span between each level doubled, making the entire altar twice as tall and even more magnificent.

The horizontal panels on both sides even have carvings, all of which are wave patterns.

On both sides in front of the altar, there are several large drums. Outward from the drums are various seats for wealthy families to rest.

"Water Bro!"

Chen Jiechang, Li LiBo, and Lin Songbao ran over, each carrying a different sharp knife.

Their cold, sharp light was palpable; they were all precious swords.

Liang Qu borrowed the tools from Senior Brother Lu temporarily, and he has to return them later.

Li LiBo saw the Crimson Beast lying flat beside him, still blinking, and shuddered.

The three drew lots, and he happened to draw the job of killing the Crimson Beast.

"I'm so nervous, are we really going to kill that big guy?"

Chen Jiechang glanced at him sideways.

Are you scared?

"Afraid? What's there to be afraid of?" Li LiBo puffed out his chest.

He was feeling guilty; even if he killed Crimson Beast, it would be a unique and glorious feat! "Then why are you trembling?"

"Excitement, excitement, do you understand?"

"The sacrifice begins at Noon Three Quarters. Instead of wasting your time, you should think about where to start the knife."

Wu Hour One Quarter.

A huge crowd gathered at the wharf, Perfected Person.

After donning his Sacrificial Robes, Liang Qu asked in surprise, "Yi Xing Town... has so many people?"

Chen Zhaoan explained in a low voice, "Many of them come from other villages. Some villages couldn't hold River God Sacrifice, so they came here!"