Chapter 11- Buddha Nature

On the Holy Continent, was the famous Chan School.

Although they weren't considered the top power on the continent, given the fact that they're the oldest institute on planet Daiyu, with thousands of years of history, even if the major sects and clans had a hundred guts they wouldn't dare think of going against them.

They were able to survive as long as they have while watching hegemon sects and clans, rise and fall. This led to people believing that under their seclusive nature there must be a terrifying force, one that has been building up for thousands of years.

It was even rumored that long ago the continent was named by them.

On the Holy Continent, in the Hundred Mountain Range, was where the Chan School disciples secluded themselves to focus on their Buddhist doctrines within their three divisions, namely, the Sila, Dharma, and Dhyana divisions.

The Sila division disciples mainly focus on learning virtue and self-discipline, the Dharma division disciples focus on learning and understanding the school's Buddhist texts, and the Dhyana disciples focus on training their minds through meditation to achieve enlightenment.

The Chan School was different from a clan or sect as their disciples don't need to cultivate to join a division. However, that doesn't mean they lack cultivators.

Out of the close to a million disciples, 70% of them were cultivators, all of which were in the Dhyana division.

Why is that you might ask? It's because it was the only division that teaches martial arts techniques to their disciples, just from this only one could tell that the Chan school was an anomaly in the cultivation world.

The Chan School itself was a large temple located in a valley in the Hundred Mountain Range. Each of the divisions' had its own section where their disciples train.

Currently, in the section allocated to the Dhyana division, was a closed-off courtyard spanning a hundred meters in diameter. Inside the courtyard was a plain building made entirely out of stone.

Walking up the steps to the entrance, one could see faint traces of the ground being swept clean.

After entering the build and walking a little further in, the sight of a long corridor appeared, at the end of the corridor was a single door that led to a chamber.

Inside the chamber, a bald old man was sitting on a chair wearing grey traditional monk robes. He had his eyes closed, while his hands rested on top of a broom situated between his feet.

He was the person currently in charge of the entire Dhyana division and one of the three leading figures of the Chan School. Dhayana master Lou Zhou

Sat on a cushion in front of him, with closed eyes, was a youth no more than seventeen years old.

His legs were crossed in a lotus position, while his upper body was exposed, showing off the many bandages on his chest and torso. His chest was moving up and down, as he used a breathing technique of the Chan School that induces a calm state of mind.

But every so often, the youth's breath would become ragged while his entire body would start to spasm uncontrollably. Every time that occurred, the old man would lift the broomstick and poke a spot on the youth's chest once or twice.

After some time of this happening repeatedly, the youth let out a long breath and open his eyes.

Looking at the old man in front of him, the youth wore a depressed expression as he lowered his head. This action caused strands of his uncut hair to spill over his shoulders.

Which was strange because one of the temple rules states that a disciple's hair should be cut before it grows beyond two inches.

The youth's voice softly echoed in the silent chamber.

"Grandpa, this child is useless. I wasn't able to get first place."

The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at the youth.

"Zen Chi, do you know why you've lost to that girl from the Blood Sect?"

The youth named Zen Chi still had his head lowered as he answered.

"It's because her Karma Physique counters my Buddha intent." Gripping his knees in anger and frustration he continued, "If I had comprehended my Buddha intent to a higher level, I could've overpowered her."

A bit of disappointment flashed past the old man's eyes as he heard that.

Shaking his head, he said, "No your wrong. Even if your Buddha intent had been twice as powerful, you still wouldn't have beaten her."

Zen Chi raised his head showing a confused expression as he wondered why his answer was wrong.

When the old man saw the look of confusion on his face, the disappointment in his eyes deepened, however, it had been hidden deep within his eyes, away from Zen Chi's perception.

"Zen Chi, you have read all the scriptures and teachings of the Chan School, but you do not put them to practice."

"Master I.."

Before Zen Chi could finish his sentence the old man poked one of the bandages on his torso, causing pain to shoot through his body.

Letting out a groan he fell onto his back, which caused another round of pain to shoot through him.

"I'm not done speaking." After the old man said that he continued talking as if nothing happened.

"Our Chan School doctrine states that transcending the mind and body will lead to the non-defilement of our knowledge and perception of the world. This can allow us to gain sudden insight into our true nature and gradually purify our intentions. Only with these steps can we reach our ultimate goal of achieving Buddha Nature and then gain Buddha Intent."

As the old man paused his speech, he looked at Zen Chi who was slowly sitting up, then he said, "Your Buddha Physique allows you to bypass all of that and comprehend Buddha intent with relative ease. Something that hasn't been done by anyone in Chan School's history. However, do you know what it means to achieve Buddha Nature?"

Without waiting for a response from Zen Chi, the old man continued.

"To achieve Buddha Nature means to sever all forms of 'Karma' from oneself. No forms of Karma would've been effective against you then."

The old man let out a long sigh before speaking again.

"Your Physique is both a blessing and a curse. You've been ignoring the teachings of our school, and instead focusing on comprehending your Buddha intent. If you had put half the effort into practicing our doctrine as you did in comprehending your Buddha intent, you wouldn't have been beaten in such a spectacular fashion with only three moves."

"And I also wouldn't have to spend nearly three months in this room helping you to remove the karmic blade intent left in your body."

Even though the old man's words were calm and even, Zen Chi could still tell that he was very angry, especially because of his early answer.

"Master I was wrong." Zen Chi lowered his head and admitted his fault.

The old man shook his head and said,

"You live here but this is not your home."

"You've learned our Martial Arts and studied our doctrine, but you are not a disciple."

"I teach you but I... am not your master."

Zen Chi had his head lowered so the old man was unable to see the mixed emotions flashing past his eyes, with sadness being a prominent one.

However, even though the old man didn't directly see his mixed emotions, he still asked a question that made it questionable whether he did or not.

"Do you want to know why such is the case?"

When Zen Chi heard the question his body quivered.

He had wanted to know this answer for the longest of time, but every time he asked, he would get nothing in response.

Now as he heard those words, his desire for the answer burned even more.

"I want to know."

The old man looked at Zen Chi before he turned his gaze to the ceiling. His eyes were filled with nostalgia as he spoke.

"Nearly a thousand years ago, when I was only a disciple. I was in my room meditating when I felt something wash over me with no indication or warning. When I open my eyes I realized that I was no longer in my room. I was in a void-like space filled with darkness. My entire body was frozen, and I couldn't move."

"I didn't know how long I stayed like that in that place, but it felt like hundreds of years had passed. It wasn't until I felt like I would go crazy that a figure shrouded in golden light suddenly appeared before me. I couldn't make out his features, but his voice resonated in my ears loud and clear, and he said the words 'You will be faced with a decision that could bring about your School's decline, or its prosperity. Choose wisely'."

"After the figure said that he disappeared. I open my eyes to realize it was all a dream. Well, that's what I had convinced myself at the time. Nearly a thousand years have gone by, and the dream occurred again. Nothing had changed, even with my cultivation having reached the peak of the Sage realm, I still felt the same dread as I did the first time. The first time I was only a disciple so I could just brush it off as a dream, but the second time, I was one of the leaders of the Chan School. The thought of Buddha himself giving me a warning started to cross my mind, but even then what should I do? The figure only said I would have to make a decision that could make my school decline or prosperous, he didn't state what or when I would face it."

The old man lowered his head and looked at Zen Chi.

"Seventeen years ago I was seated in this chamber meditating when I heard the cry of a baby..."

Zen Chi's body shook.

"...When I exit the chamber and came outside, I saw a baby laying on the steps of the entrance with only a thin blanket wrapped around him. His cries weren't loud but they had somehow managed to pass through the thick stone walls and enter my chamber. Someone had left you there without me detecting them, meaning they either had a higher cultivation than mine or they had a high-level technique that concealed their presence."

The look in Zen Chi's eyes showed the complex emotions he was feeling. He didn't know what the story told before had to do with him but when he heard the old man's last words, he started putting pieces together and realized that the story had everything to do with him. Because he had recently turned seventeen this year.

When Zen Chi was growing up he treated this old man as his only family member and master. He didn't know who his parents were, and to be honest he didn't care. Why would he care about people who had abandoned him as a child? He would rather have his master pat his head and praise him when he made progress in his cultivation.

In the cultivation world, a bond between a master and a student was considered to be closer than a parent and their child. So when the little Zen Chi had called the old man his master for the first time he had been utterly devastated by his response, "Don't call me master" It was four simple words but to Zen Chi, it was like having a boulder dropped onto his heart.

Ever since he had settled to just call him grandpa, but now and then he would accidentally let master slip from his lips. Sometimes he would even find it hard to calm himself down to cultivate because of the old man's reason for why he didn't want to be called master and why he wasn't recognized as a Chan School disciple.

But now he knew. Even though the answer was somewhat unbelievable, the old man wouldn't lie to him.

"I didn't know what to do when I found you, whether to care for you and treat you as my disciple or to keep you at arm's length from the School. The figure only said to make the right decision, and every day since I found you I constantly wonder whether my decision to keep you at arm's length was the right one."

The old man shook his head and stood up to go through the exit. When he was half a step outside Zen Chi's resolute voice echoed in the chamber behind him.

"Master, whether you acknowledge it or not I still considered myself your disciple, as well as the Chan School to be my home."

The old man ignored Zen Chi's comment and he said, "The Karmic blade intent is almost completely removed from your body, you should be able to handle the rest without my help."

Even though the old man ignored Zen Chi's comment, one could hear a faint trace of happiness in his voice.

As the old man closed the door behind him, Zen Chi's steady breaths could be heard in the silent chamber as he forced out the remaining karmic blade intent within his body.

Afterward, he lowered his head and stared at his clenched fists.

With eyes flashing like lightning he swiftly raised his head and said in a freezing tone.

"Yang Yuyan just you wait, I'll make you pay for the humiliation you've brought to me a hundredfold."

********

~Fun Fact~

The Chan School is actually a real Buddhist school, and they indeed have three divisions; the Sila division, Dharma division, and the Dhyana division. The monks in charge of teaching each division are known as Vinaya masters, Dharma masters, and Dhyana masters respectively.