Chapter Eighteen: Secret News

  The remaining seven people are six men and one woman. The white-clothed woman and another young man with a round head are of different kinds, while the other five are all young people.

  It wasn't until now that everyone felt relieved, the previous selection was tense and strict, it's not easy to be left behind among hundreds of people, besides intelligence, there's also luck.

  "Congratulations to everyone, it ends here today. Tomorrow morning, we will pay our respects to the Upper Clearness and perform the entrance ritual." Gu Yangzi said to the crowd.

  Everyone heard and responded in unison: "It is indeed."

  "Junior brother, you stay behind and teach them the usual etiquette, I'll go report the results to Master." Gu Yangzi said to Qing Yangzi.

  Qingyangzi nodded in agreement upon hearing this, while Guyangzi turned around and left.

  "Sit down, sit down, don't be so formal." Qingyangzi smiled and waved his hand at the crowd.

  "Have we seven passed the test?" Mo Wen asked Qing Yangzi.

  "I've told you before, six gates to enter the door, three gates to spread the way. You are now only considered as entering the door. You need to cultivate in Mount Wuliang for three years, and during these three years, there will be three gates of examination. Only after passing all of them can you obtain the direct transmission from the ancestors." Qingyangzi said.

  "Master Dao, what skills are we going to learn?" another man asked excitedly.

  "The Taoist classics you must have read, meditation and chanting scriptures you must have learned, the method of Feng Shui you should be familiar with, medical skills and alchemy you should also understand, as for physical exercise and martial arts, it goes without saying. Writing talismans and performing rituals also require a lot of time." Qingyangzi smiled slightly, at this moment, the people who remained were truly the disciples of the Upper Clear Gate.

  "What if one fails to pass the assessment in three years?" asked the young man with a round head slowly and calmly.

  "You can stay here to continue your practice, or you can return to your hometown. Cultivation is in the heart, as long as the heart holds the teachings of the Upper Clearness, it's all the same wherever you cultivate." Qingyangzi replied.

  "We don't have names, how will we address each other?" someone asked.

  "You seven fellow practitioners can interact with each other according to your age and generation." Qingyangzi replied.

  "May I ask, Master Dao, how is our generation determined?" The man asked again.

  "You are now practicing in the Wuliang Mountains, but you are a disciple of the Upper Clarity Sect. Your generation is difficult to determine. If we must determine it, you should be equal to the seniors of our sect. In other words, you should be of the same generation as me and Guyangzi." Qingyangzi said with a smile.

  "The road is long, won't there be any more questions to test us?" someone wondered with lingering fear.

  "No, those previous questions were all from the ancestral divine decree, passed down by the sect leader, not something my senior brother and I came up with." Qingyangzi smiled as he looked at the person asking the question, who was none other than Liu Shaoying, the one who had wanted to "run" earlier.

  "A junior has something unclear, and it has been bothering his heart for a long time. Please enlighten him, Master." Mo Xiang interrupted to say.

  "It doesn't matter what you say," said Qingyangzi.

  "Previously, the six exams were all using the method of knowing a leopard by its spots. Young people can't help but be confused for a moment, and many people are discarded just because of a slight difference in thought. The sage said, 'A jade that is not polished cannot become a useful vessel, a person who does not learn does not know reason.' Dao Zhang's previous selection was only to select those with established talent, but all those who needed polishing were discarded. Is this screening method too harsh?" Mo asked.

  "You are all adults now, and your thoughts and behaviors have been shaped and solidified. It's hard to make changes, as the saying goes: 'It's easy to change the mountains and rivers, but it's hard to change one's nature.' Even if you can change your habits, you can't change your nature, and eventually, you will return to your old ways.

  Take that person I debated with earlier as an example. He has a deep-seated prejudice against rich people, thinking they are all tainted by their wealth. However, he only sees the luxurious lives of the wealthy but doesn't realize that most of their wealth comes from years of thrift and hard work.

  But you should also see that not all poor people are despicable. Most of them work hard to make a living, struggling to survive in a harsh world, not because they are lazy.

  A Taoist is someone who follows the great Tao. What is the great Tao? It's about balance and harmony, neither excessive nor deficient. In everything, one must consider both sides, left and right, and cannot be biased or stubborn."

  Qingyangzi took this opportunity to preach his teachings to the crowd.

  "We will remember the teachings of our venerable master." The crowd responded in unison.

  "There's also something unclear in my mind, but I don't know if I should say it or not." A dark-faced young man spoke up hesitantly.

  "What's going on?" Qingyangzi was surrounded by people asking questions but didn't get annoyed, showing great patience.

  "This morning, Senior Guyangzi seemed to have deliberately driven away his disciples and the Buddhist monks. This move tested their loyalty, but it was also not entirely kind. I don't mean to criticize you, senior, I just feel that it wasn't necessary to be so severe." The black-faced youth said cautiously.

  The black-faced youth finished asking, and Qingyangzi furrowed his brow, remaining silent for a long time.

  "Did I say something wrong?" the dark-faced young man asked nervously, all seven of them were like startled birds, afraid that if they weren't careful, they would be chased away.

  "There are some things that will have to be said sooner or later, and it doesn't matter if I say them now. I ask you, which is flourishing at the moment, Taoism or Buddhism?" Qingyangzi frowned and spoke up.

  Everyone present shut their mouths, for it was obvious that Buddhism was flourishing. The majority of the people in Jin State in the south and Zhao State and Liang State in the north believed in Buddhism, while Daoism had already declined.

  "Do you know when Buddhism was introduced to China?" Qingyangzi asked again.

  "The Han Dynasty." someone replied.

  "Yes, Buddhism has been in China for less than three hundred years since its introduction. At the beginning of its transmission, they only had scriptures and teachings, with few cultivation methods. My Taoist school had already taken shape during the Honghuang period, and by the Han Dynasty, it had many followers. The Buddhist cultivation methods were mostly borrowed from my Taoist school, and even their rituals were modeled after ours. Initially, when performing rituals, Taoists and Buddhists shared the same stage, with Taoists as the main performers and monks as secondary assistants. Only later did they learn our cultivation methods and various rituals, which were then recognized by the world." Qingyangzi's face was solemn.

  Many people did not feel surprised when they heard this, because the Buddhist rituals were indeed very similar to those of Taoism, and the etiquette was also based on Taoism. Anyone who has some understanding of history and is not self-deceived knows this point. Moreover, the most direct evidence is that some high-ranking Buddhist monks are proficient in physiognomy, but Buddhism originated in India, and the facial features of Indians are different from those of Chinese people. India does not have the art of physiognomy, so this can only be borrowed from Taoism.

  "Do you know why Buddhism is spreading more and more while the followers of our Taoism are becoming fewer and fewer?" Qingyangzi asked with a bitter smile.

  Everyone shook their heads upon hearing this. Most of what they had learned came from Confucian classics, which promoted Taoism and did not record Buddhist teachings, so these people didn't understand much about Buddhist doctrine.

  "There are many reasons, but two obvious ones. Firstly, my Taoist school believes that people have different social statuses, while Buddhism preaches equality among all living beings. In this world, there are many poor and suffering people who resent the rich even more, and no one wants to admit that they are inferior to others. Therefore, they flock to believe in Buddhism, seeking peace of mind. However, the distinction between high and low social status is indeed real. A fine horse can run a thousand miles a day, while an ox can only walk tens of miles, which is determined by their innate abilities and cannot be ignored. Fortunately, yin and yang are balanced and transform into each other. If an ox knows its own limitations compared to a fine horse, it should work several times harder to make up for its shortcomings. But if it thinks it's equal to the fine horse and tries to run the same distance every day, it will never be able to surpass it. Alas, people are ignorant and close their eyes, refusing to face reality." Qingyangzi shook his head and sighed deeply.

  Qingyangzi's words brought Mo Xiang a lot of gain. People are unwilling to admit that they are inferior to others, and thus become complacent and ignorant of the fact that later efforts can make up for earlier shortcomings. Only by recognizing the gap can one strive to catch up with others and even surpass them.

  "Two things, the Taoist values life, cultivators of the Tao like life and hate death, pursuing immortality in this world. While Buddhism advocates for people to place their hopes on the next life, enduring hardships and difficulties in this life, which makes officials happy and widely promotes it. There are also wind-blown scholars who fabricate false words, when ordinary people hear these words they will be content with their lot, even if they suffer or go hungry they won't ask for fairness.

  Qingyangzi shook his head and continued, "Taoists need to take medicine, refine elixirs, practice breathing exercises, learn spells, drive out evil and accumulate virtue in order to achieve longevity. These things are hard to endure, ordinary people can't bear them. While Buddhists don't need these, they only need to chant Buddha's name at home, and in the next life they will enjoy wealth and nobility. It's so simple, which commoner wouldn't like it? But few know how many people have a next life, who has seen the Western Pure Land, and who can gain without labor."

  "What the elder said is absolutely right, but I have personally seen the relics of a high monk." The black-faced youth still had doubts in his heart.

  "You will soon learn the art of refining your Qi. If the spiritual energy in your body is gathered, it will turn into a spiritual crystal after cremation. My disciples would have had spiritual crystals all over the place if they didn't care about leaving their remains behind." Qingyangzi said calmly.

  "A loyal minister does not serve two masters, a chaste wife does not attend to two husbands. All things in the world follow the same principle of reason. Since you have entered the Upper Clarity sect, you absolutely must not be double-minded or wishy-washy, for if you sit on the fence and go with the wind, you will end up being unable to take a stand either way." Qingyangzi said again.

  Everyone heard and responded in unison.

  "Dare I ask, Master, if we were to encounter Buddhist monks in the future, how should we conduct ourselves?" Mo asked, raising his hand.

  "Treat everyone equally, don't harbor hostile intentions or seek to provoke and bully. It's just that I absolutely cannot let them learn the Upper Clarity techniques again, among the Three Purities, only the Upper Clarity sect's techniques they have not learned." Qingyangzi slowly shook his head.

  Mo Wen nodded repeatedly upon hearing the words. The young monk had saved him before, and it would be unreasonable to fight as soon as they met.

  "Your Taoist robes are already prepared, wear them today and practice the rituals, so as not to be busy and disheveled tomorrow. " Qingyangzi led the crowd out of the East Hall...

  Chen's youth birthday extra update