Obstacle Mara

Lu Feng asked a few questions about traveling, and the monks endured their intense pain to answer him. In the Secret Dharma Region as it was now, inhabited places were few; far more of the land was uninhabited.

The uninhabited regions the monks spoke of were not like those of the present day. Today, the term meant sparsely populated areas; what the monks meant were regions where no people existed at all.

Many villages near the Endless White Pagoda Temple were under its protection.

The official fortresses of many Tusi, along with nearby dzongs (counties), had been established around temples. There was no need to worry about encountering wandering Wild Gods, or an "inconceivable Great Terror" on the road to a temple. Across the vast lands beyond the temples, however, things were different.

The "Dakini's breath" Lu Feng asked about was merely a very natural phenomenon.

It was a kind of "ghost" that appeared on the wilderness every morning and at noon.

Those familiar with it could see the Dakini's wrathful figure in the sky. Then, in a very short time, sand and stones would fly through the place where they stood. A fierce wind would rise between heaven and earth, mingled with sand, sweeping cattle, sheep, people, and horses into the sky.

This was the Dakini's wrath.

Lu Feng listened carefully. By ordinary reasoning, what the monks told him sounded very much like a dust devil or a tornado, but he dared not be certain. This really could be the Dakini's wrath, something different from the natural science he understood. In a world with ghosts, ghosts were science too.

The Dakini's wrath in the sky stirring up sandstorms and tornadoes was also perfectly normal.

However, the Dakini's wrath mostly appeared in places without Buddhist temples, Attendants, or great estates, and only in the morning and at noon. Thus, to avoid encountering the Dakini's breath, one only needed to travel in the afternoon, when the sun slanted westward. That would prevent a collision with the Dakini and ensure a safe passage.

Before these winds encountered people, they were the Dakini's breath. Once they encountered people, the winds would attack them: that was the Dakini's wrath.

Lu Feng chanted a mantra as he listened to their account.

When traveling through the Secret Dharma Region, besides the Dakini's breath, one also had to pay attention to the dates, calculate the distance to be traveled each day, and ascertain whether those dates were the birthdays of the local Mountain God, Land God, renowned Dharma Protectors, or Malevolent Ghosts.

If they were, extra care was needed to prevent mishaps. Certain special places had particular Malevolent Ghosts entrenched within them, and one had to beware of their sudden appearance. There were also circumstances in which certain Outer Gods would grow angry; these, too, had to be known in advance and avoided.

All this applied to ordinary journeys. If one strayed beyond ordinary routes and wished to cross uninhabited regions, there were many more taboos, beyond what these monks could know. Some things had to be asked of the untamed tribespeople living beside those regions. Even the temples, however, could do nothing about those people.

"What are untamed tribespeople?"

Lu Feng asked.

"Lord Buddha, tribespeople one cannot communicate with are called untamed tribespeople."

It was the old monk who had come from outside. He prostrated himself on the ground and humbly invited Lu Feng to bathe.

Hearing this, Lu Feng asked no more. He called on no one to attend him, instead having the six eminent Malevolent Ghost monks protect him while he bathed in hot water. He also took out the Ancient Scroll. Seeing his new gains on it-the "Hide-Head-and-Show-Tail Ghost" and three additional days-he fell into thought.

After washing himself clean, Lu Feng noticed that all the monks were particularly eager to receive the task of "emptying his bathwater."

Lu Feng frowned slightly, and they immediately dropped to their knees. He told them to speak the truth. They said they wished to ask the Lord Buddha to bestow this nectar upon them. Someone in the village had fallen ill with a fire illness, and they wanted to use the "nectar" to treat it.

Hearing this, Lu Feng glanced at his "nectar." Could his "nectar" cure illness? He felt it could not. Perhaps some people could do so, or perhaps those whose cultivation had reached a certain realm could, but he could not do it now. Lu Feng had merely attained "Divine Power Perfection," not great perfection of the body.

Of course, drinking his nectar would not cause any trouble either. Still, Lu Feng said, "Enough. You two."

He pointed to two large, fat monks and motioned for them to pour away his bathwater before his eyes. Then he said, "You do not have the good fortune to receive this, but seeing me today is another kind of good fortune.

"Have you prayed for your Lama's blessings day and night?

"Have you made offerings to the monks with all your hearts?"

Those people knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation, bowing in reverence to the great monk before them, their lips trembling so badly that they could not speak.

At the Endless White Pagoda Temple, Lu Feng, dressed in red monastic robes, a hat, and cowhide boots, might not have counted as any particularly remarkable personage.

Here, however, in the eyes of these people, Lu Feng was a monk of the highest possible standing, a true Lord Buddha. Even though he would not give them the "nectar," they dared entertain no thoughts about it. They merely let the large, fat monks pour the water from the bucket and watched it seep into the ground.

Lu Feng did, however, chant mantras for them as he circled the village. In the eyes of many slaves and herders, monks like Lu Feng were good people, because monks like him would not even deign to direct malice at the slaves in the distance. Slaves usually had no chance even to see a Lama's face.

It was the tralpa and attendant monks who were bad people. The attendant monks were always the ones who took action. Sometimes, when a Lama was in a good mood, he would even intervene to stop an attendant monk. Or, when the Dzongben Nobles and Tusi exploited people too harshly, some great monks would step in to stop them. This was not because kindness had stirred in their hearts, but because such excessive exploitation would leave them unable to gather enough materials for major Dharma assemblies.

And much of the time, some Lamas also needed the slave population to remain at a certain level.

For certain special Dharma assemblies, the materials had to meet particular requirements. As for the slaves who died, they could no longer speak. Only the living slaves remained to sing the Lamas' praises, so in some places, Lamas enjoyed excellent reputations.

When they heard that Lu Feng was willing to chant mantras for them, every one of them bowed in worship. Lu Feng felt no such thing; he merely treated it as practicing the "Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra." In any case, the mantra needed to be recited at all times.

He began circling the entire village, reciting the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra. He made a large circuit around the village, while the six senior Malevolent Ghost monks within made small circuits. Lu Feng's great compassion resonance also linked with the Stone Pillar in the temple, and through this connection, the great compassion resonance upon it poured into his body.

Within Lu Feng, at the site of his first perfection, great compassion resonance and "fire" coursed in fine strands throughout his body. To open his second chakra, he needed to find its bindu, use that bindu as a foundation to open the second chakra, and ignite tummo. He was also continually empowering himself with the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra.

Whatever the reason, the great compassion resonance the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra brought him was a tangible benefit. After he had made more than thirty circuits, it was already afternoon. Everyone had finished packing and began to set out.

Their next stop was Wula Station.

"Wula" on its own meant corvée labor performed for a Dzongben.

Wula Station was a relay station, but it had long been abandoned, and no one knew what awaited them there.

Even Elder Mingli was no exception. He glanced at the vigorous Lu Feng and sensed that the great compassion resonance surrounding his disciple was even denser than it had been that morning. He knew his disciple had gathered the temple's great compassion resonance into his Mind Treasury. Now compassionate resonance suffused his entire body, so Elder Mingli said, "Yongzhen."

Lu Feng said, "Lama."

Elder Mingli said, "Yongzhen, you can now subjugate an 'Obstacle Mara' of your own. Subjugate it and use it as a mount. This symbolizes your overcoming the first obstacle on your stages of the path to Buddhahood. You must keep this in mind and delay no longer."

Lu Feng asked, "Lama, where can I find an Obstacle Mara?"

Elder Mingli said, "There is no need to seek one deliberately. Keep walking forward, and you will naturally encounter one. Perhaps your first Obstacle Mara awaits you at Wula Station not far ahead. Who can say!"