If Everything is Predestined, Why Practice Buddhism

That day, the monks of Zen Forest Temple waited outside the gate for a long time.

It wasn’t until nightfall that the abbot finally emerged from the side room.

The abbot wore a relaxed smile and gently waved his hand to the worried monks at the door, signaling that all was well.

Seeing Yuan Jing’s calm expression, the monks also breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuan Jing reassured them, “Go back, everyone. It’s just a minor cold. Let him rest for a while, and he’ll be fine.”

The monks of Zen Forest Temple thought this was just a small episode in the growth of their Ancestral Master Uncle.

After all, the next day, they indeed saw the Ancestral Master Uncle, sniffling and cursing the abbot for being unreliable.

In the past, when the Ancestral Master Uncle made such rebellious remarks, the abbot would usually respond with a set of Arhat Fist techniques.

But today, the abbot simply looked at the Ancestral Master Uncle with a warm smile.

The Ancestral Master Uncle was so creeped out that he immediately apologized.

The Ancestral Master Uncle was back to normal, but the abbot seemed like a completely different person.

In the past, the abbot would only go down the mountain to take on jobs if the monks were on the verge of starvation. After all, the abbot preferred peace and quiet, and the noise of gongs and drums during funerals was too much for him.

As the abbot once said, “I chant sutras for half a day, only for the sound to be drowned out by the suona.”

But ever since the Ancestral Master Uncle fell ill, the abbot began frequently going down the mountain to take on jobs.

He took on any job, even helping young girls with their love lives.

Moreover, the abbot actively sought out work, leaving early and returning late each day, then sitting alone on the cushion before the Buddha in the main hall, looking utterly exhausted.

He would meticulously calculate the money he had earned that day, sighing as he did so.

Some monks asked the abbot why he was earning so much money.

The abbot would smile and point at the old, worn-out Buddha statue, saying, “The Buddha statue is too old. It needs a renovation.”

But even after earning a lot of money, the abbot never actually used it to renovate the statue.

However, the abbot’s character was beyond reproach in the temple, so while there were many questions, no one pressed him seriously.

That was until the abbot suddenly began to lose his principles…

In the past, the abbot usually took on jobs alone, but later, he started dragging the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle along with him.

The reason was that the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle earned more money.

This was the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle we’re talking about!

He was so thin that his bones were practically sticking out, his eyes sunken, looking almost like a mummy. If he stood next to a corpse in a funeral hall, no one would be able to tell who was the dead one.

People would think he had risen from the coffin.

What was even stranger was that the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle, who had long been preparing to enter seclusion, actually went out with the abbot every day to take on jobs, and he did so willingly, rain or shine.

It was during this period that the famous Zen Forest Temple festival began.

Things like the Water Forest Dharma Assembly, buying flowers and spirit tablets, expanding roads, and renting out stalls to merchants all started at this time.

The abbot indeed made a lot of money from the festival, but in reality, he hardly spent any of it.

The larger Buddha statue in the main hall was actually made of stone, with a layer of copper paint to deceive the eye.

The original copper Buddha statue had been dismantled and sold piece by piece, and in the end, the abbot even made a profit by replacing it with the stone statue.

The daily meals didn’t improve despite the increased income, so where did all the money go?

Over time, some monks couldn’t hold back their curiosity and asked the abbot why he was doing this.

The abbot would act like a child who had done something wrong, mumbling incoherently, his weary eyes looking pleadingly at the questioning monk. He would apologize repeatedly but never explain.

Eventually, the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle also stood up to support the abbot.

From then on, the abbot and the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle, using their long-standing prestige, finally silenced all the monks’ doubts.

Time passed, and now, at the Water Forest Dharma Assembly…

Yuan Jing’s trembling hand covered Yuan Kong’s eyes. A relieved smile appeared on his face, as if he had finally let go of something.

He whispered, “The suffering of all beings gives rise to wishes.”

“Child, you were born a Buddha… but you must understand that today, it is the beings who are helping you attain Buddhahood.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Kong suddenly reached out and grabbed Yuan Jing’s hand, which was covering his eyes. But after a single word from Yuan Jing, Yuan Kong let go.

Yuan Jing simply said softly, “Child, don’t be afraid.”

Yuan Jing’s gaze swept over the two white-bearded monks standing on either side of Yuan Kong, nodding slightly with a smile.

The monk on Yuan Kong’s left, holding a purification vase, suddenly raised his arm and poured out the contents of the vase.

A stream of profound yellow energy gushed out of the vase, pouring toward Yuan Kong.

Yaoqin stood up in shock at the sight.

Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian also stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Only Li Yingling remained clueless, looking at their reactions in confusion.

Chu Xingchen muttered in disbelief, “What the hell… is that wish power?!”

How much wish power must it take for it to flow like water from the jade purification vase?

But that wasn’t all.

The white-bearded monk on Yuan Kong’s right, holding an eight-treasure canopy, raised the canopy over Yuan Kong’s head and gently shook it. From the eight colored glass beads, streams of wish power also began to flow.

The two streams of wish power quickly merged.

Under the canopy, the wish power transformed into a series of images.

In times of famine, Yuan Jing spent thousands of taels of silver to buy food and distribute it to the starving.

Before a flood, Yuan Jing gave everything he had to stop the breach and save the victims.

Yuan Jing and the Grand Ancestral Master Uncle went out every day to save lives and heal the sick.

They held purification vases, collecting tiny bits of wish power, bit by bit.

They gave away every penny they earned.

All the monks of Zen Forest Temple trembled as they watched the images formed by the wish power.

Yuan Jing spoke softly, “Thus I have heard.”

The wish power trembled and began to swirl rapidly around Yuan Jing.

The scene fell silent, and then two foundation-level monks holding ritual instruments suddenly shouted, “Thus I have heard!”

The other monks, realizing what was happening, followed suit, chanting, “Thus I have heard!”

Yuan Kong’s voice trembled as he also began reciting the Buddhist scriptures he knew by heart.

As Yuan Jing continued to chant, the wish power surrounding him surged into Yuan Kong’s body!

First, it shattered the life-preserving seal placed within Yuan Kong by an Arhat.

The immense wish power instantly flooded into Yuan Kong’s body.

Yuan Kong felt a clear, penetrating force fill his entire being. Although the power would slowly dissipate after entering his body, the sheer volume of wish power ensured that it continued to pour in, bit by bit, filling him up.

The wish power was consumed quickly, and the once dense mist of energy thinned to a mere haze.

But fortunately, there was just enough.

Yuan Kong suddenly felt that the power entering his body no longer dissipated but began to accumulate steadily.

He quickly absorbed the remaining wish power.

After completing this, Yuan Jing finally relaxed, a smile of relief on his face as he removed his hand from Yuan Kong’s eyes.

But at this moment, Yuan Kong was still absorbing the power and remained motionless.

Yuan Jing looked at Yuan Kong and remembered the words the Arhat had spoken to him that day.

“This seal will last at most ten years. You can’t save him. It’s fate.”

At that time, Yuan Jing had countless words to refute the Arhat, but he said nothing.

Now, years later, Yuan Jing whispered to himself the rebuttal he had held back for so long:

“If everything is predestined, then what’s the point of cultivating Buddhism?”

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