Jodo Shinshu

It was precisely because of the extraordinary nature of Bai Sui's journey that the Daimyo Mansion held him in such high regard.

Otherwise, even if a doctor possessed exceptional skills, it would not warrant the entire capital's nobility coming out to welcome him.

After all, Bai Sui had decided to stop concealing his existence; while he did not go out of his way to show off, he inevitably revealed various supernatural traits.

Bai Sui traveled according to his whims, often arriving at villages and towns in the middle of the night, where he would encounter those seeking medical aid.

Since Bai Sui could see clearly in the dark, he often displayed feats that others found remarkable.

Because the lighting at the time consisted only of torches and candles, visibility was often poor; while Bai Sui was indifferent to light or shadow, the villagers frequently struggled to see.

Thus, at times, Bai Sui would simply manifest the radiance of his primordial spirit, instantly illuminating the dark room. Seeing Bai Sui glowing all over, many villagers mistook him for a god or Buddha descended to earth, and quite a few began to worship him on the spot.

Furthermore, ever since Bai Sui began refining his elixir, his physical body had been undergoing a passive sublimation, often exuding a strange, pleasant fragrance. Anyone who caught a whiff felt refreshed and at ease, and minor ailments would heal instantly.

In truth, Bai Sui simply found it unhygienic; otherwise, he could have followed the example of Ancestor Chen Nan or Monk Daoji, using mud as a medium to roll this fragrance into pills. Perhaps there would even be a legend of "Bai Sui rolling mud pills" in the future.

As mentioned before, the cultural ideology of this world was heavily influenced by Shintoism, so there were countless gods and deities of various sizes. Moreover, in his past life, Bai Sui had seen many gods appear in the original Naruto series.

The most famous among them were the Death God, the Evil God, and Yama.

In a complete pantheon, how could there only be a few such deities?

It was just that Bai Sui had not seen any on his journey and thus had not paid them much heed, until people began worshipping him as a deity, which finally brought the matter to his attention.

Bai Sui had originally intended to go searching for them, but upon learning that the Daimyo Mansion had a shrine, he decided to wait and investigate later.

Soon, Bai Sui's party arrived at their destination. Pushing open the sliding door revealed the layout inside: the entire floor was covered in tatami mats, with a thin carpet laid over them.

There were over thirty low tables in the hall. Behind each table knelt a noble, with the Daimyo seated at the head and the others divided on either side.

There was clearly an empty table prepared for Bai Sui, and he took his seat without making a fuss.

Bai Sui did not care how others sat, but he simply crossed his legs and sat on the floor.

Later, feeling the table was a bit too high, he simply levitated a few inches, making the position just right.

Although Bai Sui did not deliberately seek out Taoist robes, his current attire consisted of wide sleeves and a loose gown that completely enveloped him, hiding his true form from the eyes of others.

Bai Sui declined the food provided by the Daimyo and, to show his gratitude, diagnosed everyone present.

The crowd witnessed Bai Sui's methods firsthand; aside from injuries like severed limbs, Bai Sui could treat everything else, which made them all the more convinced of his abilities.

In truth, what they did not know was that Bai Sui could have healed severed limbs as well, but he was unwilling to do so, as he did not consider that to be within the scope of medicine.

After all, using Taoist arts to help others would deplete his own merit, and he felt it was not worth it for these people.

Soon, the banquet concluded. Bai Sui was led by an attendant to a residence outside the Daimyo Mansion, which would serve as his lodging during his stay in the capital.

After all, Bai Sui had already stated that he would continue to travel the Ninja World and was only staying in the capital for a short time.

Learning that Bai Sui would be staying for a while, the Daimyo and his associates did not rush to keep him. They believed there was plenty of time to build a relationship and that being too hasty might prove counterproductive.

As for Bai Sui, he did not refuse; he wasn't staying for free, after all, as he had diagnosed everyone present, which he considered his lodging fee for the time being.

Upon reaching the residence, his carriage had already been parked there. After diagnosing the attendant who had led the way as a token of thanks, Bai Sui beckoned with his right hand, and his precious sword flew out from the carriage and landed on his back.

Out of respect, Bai Sui had not brought his weapon to the banquet, leaving it in the carriage instead. With the mark he had left on the blade, it had essentially served as a tracker.

Thus, Bai Sui had known all along that the carriage had arrived, though he had not revealed it during the journey.

Now that he was in the capital, Bai Sui did not rush to act, for some things could not be hurried.

Therefore, Bai Sui spent the day meditating in the house, summarizing his journey thus far.

The next day, Bai Sui went straight to the shrine in the capital. The shrine contained no statues; while it was said to be a place for worshipping deities, it was actually just for people to pray for blessings, with no specific deity in mind.

Bai Sui saw no spiritual light in the shrine. Either the gods they worshipped did not exist, or their worship was insincere, resulting in no divine manifestation.

Finding nothing, Bai Sui headed toward his next target.

Even without using his spiritual sense, Bai Sui could feel people following him; he didn't need to guess to know it was arranged by the Daimyo's group.

Since he had nothing to hide, Bai Sui did not mind; after all, he was a guest in someone else's home, and it was normal for them to keep an eye on him.

The destination of Bai Sui's journey was a Buddhist temple. From afar, he could see the words "Hongan-ji Temple" on the mountain gate.

Bai Sui entered and spoke with the abbot, learning that this temple was a lineage of Jodo Shinshu, which believed in the doctrine of "Other-Power" (Tariki).

This doctrine stated that one's own cultivation was the "Original Vow," while "Other-Power" referred to the grace of the Buddha. Only when both conditions were met could one attain Buddhahood, and they followed almost no precepts.

Bai Sui had some understanding of Buddhist thought from his past life, but he knew more about Zen than this Jodo Shinshu. Moreover, he felt a sense of discomfort whenever the abbot spoke of "Other-Power."

After all, in his past life, the spiritual thoughts of the Chinese people were heavily influenced by Zen.

Zen advocated that the mind is inherently pure, that Buddha-nature is innate, that enlightenment does not require seeking outside oneself, and that one should abandon written interpretations to reach the source of the mind directly. It held that "within one's own nature, all things are seen; the self-nature of all phenomena is called the pure Dharma-body."

All Prajna wisdom arises from one's own nature, not from without. If one recognizes their own nature, "a single word can lead to great enlightenment and an immediate vision of the true, original nature," further proposing the idea of "sudden enlightenment" to "attain Buddhahood in this very body."

Looking at the philosophy of Jodo Shinshu now, Bai Sui discovered the differences.