Volcanic Age

Dawn broke the next day. There was no wind, and hardly any clouds. The weather was surprisingly good considering that they were on the Great Snowy Mountains.

As they approached the Chomolungma, the monk stopped suddenly.

"Benefactor, I thank you for bringing me this far."

The usually chatty Lama Monk fell silent. They stood near a diagonally protruding rock. There were a few corpses around them.

"This is…"

Perhaps because they were near the summit, the corpses were completely frozen, without the slightest signs of decay.

Zhou Xuchuan could tell even through the snow, all the bodies had bald heads and wore familiar attire. Although the robes were white instead of red, they were unmistakably Buddhist robes.

"The Lama Buddhists have a Mercy Meditation Method called the Tonglen. To translate, it is the exchange of words."

The Lama monk sat down on the rock's edge. Although it looked precarious, he did not fall.

"It is the opposite of breathing methods of the Central Plains, where you take in the good energy by inhaling and let out the bad energy by exhaling."

The Lama monk widened his eyes a bit.

"Tonglen absorbs others' pains, in other words, the bad energy, and sends out one's good energy, or in other words, happiness."

The Lama monk breathed in slowly before breathing out

"Healing others is the same as healing myself."

I am you, and you are I. Remove the distinction between self and others and show mercy. That is the Bodhicitta.

Healing others. That is the Bodhicitta of Lama, or in other words, the Buddha.

"No way, you…"

Zhou Xuchuan glanced at the corpses around them. They were all in meditative poses or something similar.

"The Great Snowy Mountains is also called the mountain of death. It is filled with pains, resentments and regrets." The Lama monk slowly turned. "I climbed the mountain to feel those emotions. I hope this answers your previous question."

The old monk's mouth curved into a smile.

"I will be waiting here, so you should handle your affairs, Benefactor. You'll reach the summit if you continue in that direction." He pointed in a direction.

Zhou Xuchuan wordlessly stared at the monk for a while before giving a short nod and heading upwards.

*

Halfway up the mountain, a group of men trudged through the snow. These men all had prayer beads on their wrists, fingering the beads and chanting prayers as they climbed upwards.

Although they all wore Buddhist robes, there were two different colors, red and white.

Still, their attire indicated that they were Lama monks.

"Among the bright clouds, in the east of the crimson gorge, a towering statue stands tall. It leaps up from among the luscious mountains to reach the side of a little peak…."

The figures of nearly a dozen Lama monks chanting Buddhist prayers looked almost sacred as they climbed up the snow.

"The lion comes running, and its appearance is bright."

Near the top of the Great Snowy Mountains, on a diagonally protruding rock diagonally, an old monk recited Buddhist texts with his eyes barely open. His eyes, once buried beneath his wrinkles, gleamed intensely.

"Hur hur hur. You have arrived already." The old monk laughed calmly, seated like the Lama monks that had frozen to death around him.

Despite the frost in his eyebrows and the howling wind, he remained unmoved. He observed the world below from the top of the rock as if he had become a statue of the Buddha.

The Lama monks that arrived frowned disapprovingly at the old monk, hastening their pace to meet him.

"Tsongkhapa!" A man wearing snow-white Buddhist robes called out the old monk's name.

"I applaud your efforts to come find this old one in this freezing, precipitous mountain. I would love to offer you some tea, but I request your understanding in not being able to do so."

The old monk, Tsongkhapa, welcomed the monks with a respectful smile.

"That glib tongue of yours is as sharp as ever, I see!" the Lama monk snapped, his face reddening like a ripe persimmon.

However, Tsongkhapa remained unmoved and continued the conversation with a benevolent smile.

"From your appearance, you seem to be from the Kagyu school or the Sakya school. What brings you to this old monk?"

"What brings us here? Hah!" The monk laughed, flabbergasted.

"Tsongkhapa. Have you gone mad from cold? Or have you not understood Buddha's teachings properly and gone crazy from the fear of having to attain ascension?"

"Oh, please don't make someone ascend just yet. This monk may be old, but I am still alive and kicking."

Tsongkhapa stood up, his back cracking loudly as he straightened.

"No, this place will be your grave." The Lama monk's eyes turned cold, filling with murderous intent.

A monk harboring murderous intent for another monk!

"So why have you rejected the will of the temple? Had you understood and accepted the criticism you received and repented, things would not have come to this."

Despite the stillness of the air, the Lama monk's sleeves began to flap. Internal qi, invisible to the eye, started flowing out.

Tsongkhapa sighed, lamenting the moment he was told to reflect on his wrongdoings.

"Something is deeply wrong with the Potala Palace, and indeed, with Lama Buddhism as a whole. You are all struggling with the Three Poisons, and have succumbed to the unseen darkness. How am I supposed to follow the will of the temple?"

In Buddhism, there were three primary obstacles in reaching enlightenment, namely greed, hatred, and delusion, and these were called the three poisons.

"The Sakya School has been in decline since Phagspa, the fifth leader, became the Great Precious Dharma King of the Yuan Dynasty. How do you not realize this?"

Monks of the Sakya school could get married and even have children out of curiosity. However, they could not stay close to women after having children. Essentially, they could embrace as many women as they wanted, as long as they did not get married or have children.

This reached its peak when Phagspa formed a regime centered around the unification of politics and religious teachings and took power. This became the source of Lama Buddhists' violence and debauchery.

"Don't the teachings of the Sakya school state that one can only attain Nirvana by renouncing earthly passions and striving to obtain all-encompassing wisdom? Its purpose is to do away with the extravagant life of the world. How could you walk the opposite path?"

"Shut your mouth," said the Lama Buddhist, his voice gurgling like lava.

"What of the Great Palm Seal Method?"

Great Palm Seal Method referred to a training method used by Buddhist practitioners that shifted the heart to focus on oneself so that it does not stray. It was based on Tianzhu's Madhyamaka, and became a martial art with influence from Indian martial studies.

This was the Potala Palace's top-tier martial art, the Mahamudra.

"That line of teaching reached its peak when Yuan fell, and it barely managed to stop the Sakya School's debauched tyranny. Why do you not let that path go to extinction and is trying to succeed it instead? That is absolutely wrong."

The problem was that the teachings had become corrupted and misinterpreted over time, leading the temple down the wrong path. Their "new" interpretation stated that they must shift their heart's focus to cultivation. It also stated that they would naturally reach Nirvana as long as they focused on it, and that nothing else mattered.

The strongest force in Tibet, as well as a powerful Lama Buddhist temple, the Potala Palace, became drunk on its power to rake in money from all over the country, and even combined forces with the former administration, the Sakya School, to worsen its debauchery.

"I have already asked you to be quiet, Tsongkhapa!"

The Lama Buddhist imbued his maximum qi into his palm, his sleeves flapping like he was in the middle of a storm. The snow beneath his feet melted instantly, revealing how much heat he was putting out.

"Like the monks of the Central Plains, we monks in Tibet must strictly abide by the rules and study the Buddhist scripts!"

With red eyes, the Lama Buddhist lunged forward, clearly intending to attack Tsongkhapa.

The hand, filled with pure power unique to Buddhism—no, of an unknown attribute, became larger. This was the Great Palm Seal Method of the Potala Palace.

"At times, forceful measures are required. Otherwise, future generations may view Lama Buddhists unfavorably!"

Tsongkhapa continued speaking, his voice loud and clear, causing even the tranquil peak of the Great Snowy Mountains to tremble slightly.

"Die!" The Lama Buddhist's palm struck toward Tsongkhapa.

Suddenly, an outsider's voice filled with annoyance interfered, followed by a sword.

"For god's sake. You're not the only ones here, keep it down, will you?"

The Lama Monk's eyes widened in surprise. He halted his palm, which was inches away from Tsongkhapa, abruptly.

"Who is it?!" he shouted, hurriedly falling back.

Tsongkhapa, who looked resolute just moments ago, was now smiling again.

"A passing Daoist, fucking monk!"

Zhou Xuchuan charged at the Lama Buddhist who fell back, swiftly closing in and thrusting his sword into the center of the Lama Buddhist's chest before he could react.

"Urgh!"

The angry Lama Buddhist's eyes widened, full of disbelief.

"Wait, Benefactor. Didn't you say you have business above? Did you lose something?" Tsongkhapa asked exaggeratedly. "More importantly, you are a Daoist? No wonder you were so particular about everything I said. But don't blame me too much. Although Daoist and Buddhist teachings are different, we can understand each other, can't we?"

"I think I get how the Lama Buddhist I just killed felt. This is the first time I've wanted to slap a monk so badly," Zhou Xuchuan said honestly.

"A man from the Central Plains?" The other Lama Buddhists noticed something after hearing Zhou Xuchuan. "A cultivator from the Central Plains!"

Their faces changed in an instant. They were up against a man from the Central Plains, and from what they just saw, this man was a cultivator.

"Tsongkhapa! You rejected the teachings of the Lama Buddhists, and now you've brought in a man from the Central Plains?"

"You traitor!"

The Lama Buddhists shouted furiously.

Zhou Xuchuan picked his ears with his pinky finger. "You're noisy. Keep your voice down. Are you trying to get us all killed by causing an avalanche?"

"Ugh!"

The Lama Buddhists tried to speak but remained silent.

Zhou Xuchuan sighed before turning to Tsongkhapa behind him, "I did expect it to an extent after seeing your weird personality, but I never knew you'd be targeted by your own fellow monks."

"Hurhurhur!" Tsongkhapa laughed pleasantly.

"Do you need help?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, his back facing Tsongkhapa again.

"Weren't we just passing each other by?" Tsongkhapa asked slyly.

"Monk," Zhou Xuchuan asked again, still looking forward. "Do you need help?"

Tsongkhapa looked dazed for a moment before nodding, his smile gone.

"I need help."

"Okay."

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