These people gazed at the Buddha statue on the altar, their eyes filled with anomalous hope and madness.
They kowtowed without pause, praying, their lips murmuring constantly.
"Merciful and compassionate Heart Lamp Buddha, please bless me to be born a noble in my next life."
"Merciful and compassionate Heart Lamp Buddha, please bless me to become an Arhat before the Buddha after I die."
"Merciful and compassionate Heart Lamp Buddha, please bless me to become a monk or disciple of the Buddhist Sect in my next life."
"Merciful and compassionate Heart Lamp Buddha, please forgive my laziness, forgive my slowness at work. My body is too frail. I am about to die. In consideration of all my hard labor, Buddha, let me be reborn into a good life."
One subdued prayer after another echoed through the air as Li Qing's Future Body listened in silence.
As the knocking of the wooden fish came to an end, the monk's voice slowly rang out.
"This afternoon's prayers are concluded."
"You may return tonight. The Buddha remembers the labor of every one of you."
"Every bit of your hardship is a blessing for your next life."
The many believers in the lotus pond kowtowed devoutly.
"Thanks to the merciful and compassionate Heart Lamp Buddha."
"..."
The believers' faces were full of satisfaction. Then they returned to their work and continued their grueling labor.
Li Qing's Future Body frowned tightly. "So that's how it is—control through faith."
"They make them place their hopes in the next life."
"They turn the pain of this life into blessings for the next. It forms a complete logical loop, preventing resentment, anger, despair, and other negative emotions from arising in their hearts at all."
"Even every prayer serves as a release and catharsis for the mind. In the