The reason this Kapala rosary was called living was that rosaries of this kind were often built up to a certain number by adding one bead every many years.
After all, the brow bones of eminent monks were not easy to find.
The brow bones of Sutra Student Monks like them were not worthy of being made into such Kapala rosaries, especially ones engraved with these mantras.
Holding the rosary, Lu Feng felt a jade-like warmth and smoothness through his hand. His fingertips pressed lightly against the inscriptions as he softly recited the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra engraved on them. Reciting this mantra required no visualization or blessing; one needed only to repeat it hundreds of millions of times to attain supreme wisdom.
Lu Feng's chanting drifted through the shrine room.
Over and over.
"Om mani padme hum."
"Om mani padme hum."
"Om mani padme hum."
He did not know whether it was an illusion, but as Lu Feng recited the secret mantra and turned the beads, the rosary grew smoother and warmer. Even the shrine room seemed to gain a gentle warmth.
Without looking, Lu Feng would have had difficulty knowing this was a Kapala rosary. It actually seemed to carry the body heat of eminent monks, beginning to feel as warm as a human body.
Lu Feng could even feel what seemed to be people beside him, reciting the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra along with him.
Layers upon overlapping layers.
There was even human breathing.
Human body heat.
Human scent.
But Lu Feng did not turn to look behind him. Ignoring every sound at his back, he simply lowered his brows and eyes and chanted. Whatever appeared beside him had nothing to do with him.
This was a lesson he had distilled from his many years in the Secret Dharma Region.
Lu Feng reached out and opened another scripture sheet-this was another skill he had learned during his ten years as a student monk.
Dividing his attention between two tasks.
He could perform other activities while chanting scriptures and mantras without neglecting either, so he unfolded the paper as well.
Yet even though Lu Feng had already anticipated something of the sort,
his eyes still lit up when he actually unfolded the paper.
It was an examination sheet. Its many topics were all subjects that eminent monks would ask about during the scripture debate.
He had seen these questions in advance.
That amounted to having advance preparation.
Lu Feng had not expected such an unexpected delight. The scripture master setting the questions this time was Master Zhiyun.
He sat before the Buddha statue, all the scriptures he had studied flowing through his mind like running water.
Very soon, he found ways to debate the scriptures and answer the questions.
The various commentaries he had studied before automatically "popped" out of his mind, forming strand after strand of rigorous arguments and weaving a vast web of knowledge.
A look of joy appeared on Lu Feng's face.
But the secret mantra on his lips never stopped.
"Om mani padme hum."
"Om mani padme hum."
"Om mani padme hum."
His mouth and mind each did their own work. Lu Feng leafed through the scriptures while recalling everything he had learned and thought about.
As for Master Zhiyun, he should already have been at the Abbot Venerable's residence, discussing the annexation of the Gaqila Tusi's property with the monastery's Abbot Venerable.
The sooner this matter was handled, the better.
The abbot needed to set out now.
To catch the other side unprepared.
But before leaving, he returned once more and specifically warned Lu Feng about certain things he must not do.
It was clear that, after much hesitation,
he wanted to place a secret mantra on Lu Feng.
Unfortunately, Lu Feng bore the mark of a great noble from the north.
Master Zhiyun weighed it over and over.
In the end, he still did not dare act.
He merely kept Lu Feng in his courtyard, forbidding him from coming into contact with anyone. Someone would naturally bring him his daily meals, and he would have no shortage of food or drink.
Lu Feng could not have wished for anything better.
There were only three or four days left before the scripture debate.
Now was an even better time to study.
At this point, even if Master Zhiyun told Lu Feng to leave, he would have been rather reluctant to go!
Master Zhiyun repeatedly told Lu Feng:
In this courtyard,
whether it was day or night, as long as he had not seen what the person calling him looked like,
no matter how they called to him or what they said,
he must not answer.
At night, he was especially forbidden from moving away from the cushion he sat on.
Even if he needed to shit or piss,
he had to do it on this cushion.
If the Buddha statue before him showed any unusual movement, he need not pay it any attention either. He should simply keep chanting scriptures and invoking the Buddha.
Lu Feng had no objections.
He sat cross-legged on the cushion.
Making use of the mental development brought by the ancient scroll, he felt as though he had been separated into three people.
One was leafing through the scriptures, recalling what he had learned.
Another was going over everything that had happened these past few days in his mind, incident by incident, detail by detail.
In particular, every word Master Zhuogedunzhu had spoken lingered in his mind: "Immovable Mind," "Stainless Mind," "Demon of Fate," "suppressing Malevolent Ghosts," "treating them as household gods"...
Within these ordinary words,
great secrets lay hidden.
Vast amounts of information gathered in his mind. Even the lingering sensation from when the "form of great terror" had appeared in his mind remained there, becoming a "soul-shaking glimpse."
He savored it carefully.
The hand seals and incantations he had long forgotten began to emerge in his mind, but the instant they appeared, Lu Feng felt his hair stand on end. Fortunately, the warmth of the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra instantly rose in his heart, dispelling that imminent great terror. Lu Feng immediately came to his senses and knew he must not recall this-he had received neither an empowerment nor performed an "offering." Visualizing that great terror now was no different from courting death, facing White Vajra directly.
Another self was reciting the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra. As he chanted, the light and shadows around him grew ever deeper and more obscure. The glow beneath the oil lamp became as thick as butter tea with too much milk added, viscous yet sharply distinct in color. Even the voices chanting with him grew obscure and indistinct, like a demonic incantation.
Lu Feng still paid this no mind. His thoughts turned to the rituals he would have to undergo during the scripture debate.
The entire scripture debate ritual was divided into two categories, two kinds.
In other words, to become a "Kalyāṇamitra" and pass the scripture debate ritual, one had to undergo two trials.
The first trial was the "scripture debate beneath the tree."
This was a scripture debate ritual between student monks, divided into two forms.
Questions and answers, and interrogation.
In questions and answers, two people sat cross-legged, one asking and the other answering, until one side could no longer answer.
The student monk who could not answer was the loser.
The winner would then step forward and begin another scripture debate.
There was another form: interrogation.
Compared with questions and answers, interrogation was much more passionate.
One person sat while another monk stood and questioned him. The standing monk could also put pressure on the other through such means as stamping his feet and slapping the back of his hand to make noise, trying to leave the seated monk unable to answer, while also mocking him.
In plain terms, if a student monk was confident in his ability,
he could choose interrogation and take on challengers one after another, debating countless others alone until no one dared step forward. Then he would pass.
After that came the examination, the other of the two kinds.
During the scripture debate, there were generally five Dharma seats beside the tree.
Seated upon them were the monastery's abbot, the college dean, the head of the Discipline Hall, the Leading Sutra Master, and a scripture master.
Since this monastery's college dean and Abbot Venerable were the same person, it had only four Dharma seats.
These four monks would each ask questions.
As long as one passed the trial of these four monks,
one could obtain the "Kalyāṇamitra" degree, cultivate an "Immovable Mind," and undertake "empowerment" and "offerings."
One could then formally practice visualization and mantra recitation, be addressed as a Lama, wear red monastic robes, and go to certain small temples to obtain a Dharma seat.
In his mind, Lu Feng continuously simulated the scripture debates, topics, and questions from eminent monks that he had encountered over the years. He truly built a "scripture debate arena" in his mind and began simulating debates!
Gradually, he forgot the sun and moon.
Meanwhile, elsewhere,
several elders sat together in a monastic room.
Those sitting in the room at this moment were all monks selected from Tusi Lineages.
They were all Lamas and elders capable of bestowing empowerments.
Moreover, two among them held high positions and great authority, far beyond the ordinary.
One was a Leading Sutra Master entitled to sit in meditation in the Tsokchen Great Hall. His right shoulder bare, he wore a deep red monastic robe and sat alone to one side, saying nothing.
He quietly watched the other monks debate, without uttering a word.
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