Chapter 20 The Theory of Time and Space in Buddhism
"Since Yu Fei'er has broken the vows and confused the views of Buddhism and Taoism on our world, then today I will simply say all the different views I know about Buddhism and Taoism in time and space. Seeing that Wen Yiyang kept urging herself, Yu Fei'er had to continue, "In fact, in Buddhism, there are spells similar to my Taoist stealth technique, and they call this type of spell time and space technique. Unlike my Taoist invisibility technique, which requires the creation of a new space in the present world, the space-time technique can hide the caster in a completely different space from the present world. In Buddhist theory, the world is made up of countless spaces, which are inherently unchangeable by any force, and are arranged in order according to the magnitude of the energy of each space. The present world is not only one of these countless spaces, but also the most powerful of the countless spaces, so the farther away from this world is, the weaker the energy it has. People with different karma can hide different spaces when performing space-time magic, those with deep karma will hide themselves in the space closer to the present world, while those with shallow karma can only hide themselves in the space far away from the present world. ”
Hearing that Yu Fei'er knew so clearly about the Buddhist Space-Time Technique, the white-bearded old Taoist immediately showed a look of surprise on his face, but he quickly regained the expression on his face, stroked his beard and pretended to be puzzled: "According to common sense, the closer the caster is to the present world after leaving the present world, the less mana is consumed to maintain the invisibility state, and the easier it is to return to the present world. Why does the little Taoist priest say that those casters with shallow karma should hide themselves in a space far away from the present world when performing this space-time technique?"
At this time, Yu Fei'er's energy was all focused on his explanation, and he didn't notice this series of changes in the expression on the face of the white-bearded old man, and after hearing the question raised by the white-bearded old man, he immediately replied: "What Xiaodao is talking about now is the space-time technique in Buddhism, not my Taoist stealth technique, if the old gentleman looks at this Buddhist space-time technique with the theory of the invisibility technique in my Taoism, then there will naturally be such a question." Although both Buddhism and Taoism agree that the present world has great energy, the different definitions of emptiness in Buddhism and Taoism doom the two religions to have great differences in their perceptions of time and space. The world that I think of as Taoism is actually the real world we live in, which is what Buddhism calls the present world. After the success of Pangu, the world I know as Taoist is divided into the three worlds of heaven, earth and man, and the human world in these three worlds is the space with the most balanced energy, which is why mortals can live freely in such a space. The world as understood by Buddhism is made up of countless spaces, and the relationship between these spaces has already been discussed, so I will not repeat it here. ”
"Listening to the meaning of Brother Dao's words, isn't it true that the world that Buddhism knows is far greater than the world that my Taoism knows? If we make an analogy, doesn't that mean that the theory in Buddhism is also much higher than the theory in my Taoism?" Wen Yiyang couldn't help jumping when he heard this, and he was very unconvinced.
Seeing Wen Yiyang's reaction so fiercely after listening to his words, Yu Fei'er was not surprised at all, he immediately followed Wen Yiyang's question and asked, "Didn't Brother Yiyang still ask why the relationship between Buddhism and Taoism is becoming more and more tense before? Now you should be able to understand the reason, right?"
"This ......" Yu Fei'er's series of rhetorical questions suddenly made Wen Yiyang feel enlightened. Unexpectedly, he had fallen into this kind of dispute unconsciously, so Wen Yiyang was stunned and didn't know what to say.
Seeing that Wen Yiyang didn't know what to say, the white-bearded old Taoist who was standing on the side hurriedly stepped forward to play a round for him, and said deliberately to Yu Fei'er: "As a disciple of Taoism, you should maintain the reputation of my Taoism, and it is not surprising that this little Taoist priest of the Zhengyi Sect has such a reaction after listening to your words belittling my Taoism." ”
Seeing that the white-bearded old Taoist was secretly complaining that he was a disciple of Taoism but did not protect the interests of Taoism, Yu Fei'er blushed and explained: "It's all because Xiaodao didn't explain the world that I know in Taoism clearly, so Wen Yiyang had such a reaction." Although the world that I perceive as a Taoist seems to be just a space in the Buddhist theory of space, in fact, the world that I perceive as a Taoist is infinite. In the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth and Man, apart from the fact that our human world is surrounded by the two worlds of heaven and earth, and there seems to be a boundary, who can say where the boundary of the heavenly realm is? Where is the boundary of the earthly realm? What is the point of comparing the infinite world as I know it in Taoism with the infinite world it knows in Buddhism? What kind of result can we argue about in the controversy that arises from this?
"What a unique opinion, I said the little Taoist priest of Putuo Mountain, where do you think the root of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism?" asked the white-bearded old Taoist.
"From the perspective of Xiaodao, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism is actually a dispute between the two religions over the 'Dharma' and 'Tao' in their own teachings. ”
Before Yu Fei'er's words fell, Wen Yiyang on the side jumped out and interjected: "Although Wen Yiyang has never been exposed to the theory in Buddhism, I know that there is a theory of Theravada Buddhism in Buddhism, which shows that there are big and small 'Buddhism', and there is also a difference between the 'Dao' in my teaching, I don't know which 'Dharma' and 'Dao' are higher or lower?"
Yu Fei'er replied with a smile: "Brother Dao, you have made the same mistake as before. There is a Tao that 'the Dharma is boundless, and the Tao is natural', and if you insist on comparing the two together, it is equivalent to comparing the infinite with the invisible, where can we distinguish which is higher and which is lower?"
I can't imagine that this long-standing dispute between Buddhism and Taoism has become so ridiculous under the explanation of Brother Dao. Wen Yiyang suddenly realized after listening to Yu Fei'er's explanation, and then said, "Wen Yiyang now thinks carefully about what Brother Dao said, and he doesn't think that it is very profound, even if the people in the two sects are really fans of the authorities, then there should be a sect like your Putuo Mountain to make a corresponding explanation, why have the two sects always held their own words for so many years and refused to make any concessions?"
"There is no dispute about Buddhism, and people's hearts are always the same. The dispute between Buddhism and Taoism can not be resolved by one or two truths. Let's talk about the controversy between Buddhism and Taoism, let's continue to return to Taoist stealth and Buddhist space-time techniques. Yu Fei'er suggested.
The white-bearded old Taoist hurriedly responded: "Yes, yes, little Taoist, you haven't answered the question raised by the old Taoist before." ”
Xiaodao began to explain the old gentleman's question. Yu Fei'er began to explain again, "Although I also agree in Buddhist theory that the present world is the most powerful of all spaces, I do not agree with the fact that the present world is a space of energy balance as my Taoism. They believe that the present world consumes energy all the time, so they need to constantly draw energy from the space outside of this world, which is why the farther away from this world is, the weaker the energy of the space, and the less affected it is by this world. After knowing this reason, the old gentleman should understand why people with weak karma hide themselves in a space far away from the present world after casting time and space, right? First, they are afraid that their weak karma will not be able to resist the attraction of this world and be brought back into the present world, breaking their invisibility state. The second is that the farther away from the present world, the weaker the energy of the space, and the caster can reduce the consumption of his karma by staying in such a space. ”
"Well, that makes sense. The whitebeard man stroked his beard and nodded his head constantly. Seeing that Yu Fei'er didn't seem to have any intention of continuing after finishing this sentence, he immediately reminded, "Little Daoist, you have only answered half of the question that Lao Dao raised before. ”
"Isn't Xiaodao already answering all the questions raised by the old gentleman?"
"Is there one? Could it be that you, a little Taoist priest, have forgotten that the old Taoist also asked before, wouldn't it be more difficult for those casters with weak karma to return to the present world after hiding themselves in a space far away from the present world?"
As Xiao Dao said in his previous answer, the present world according to Buddhism draws energy from the external space all the time to maintain the balance of its own energy, and the space outside the present world is subject to the strong gravitational pull of the present world, so the person who performs the space-time technique must constantly consume karma to fight the strong gravitational pull from the present world after hiding himself in the space outside the present world. For those with weak karma, once karma cannot resist the attraction of this life, then his body will immediately be brought back to this world by the strong gravitational pull from this world and break through the invisibility state. From this, we can see that this Buddhist space-time technique is a spell used by the practitioner to fight against the powerful gravitational pull of the present world, and for those who have space-time magic, returning to the present world from their hidden space is an inevitable process, and there is no difficulty. ”
"Doesn't staying away from the present world make it more difficult for the caster to be discovered?, why do people with high karma hide themselves in the space close to the present world when they perform the space-time technique?" Wen Yiyang and the others immediately raised their own questions after answering the question of the old man of Whitebeard.
In response to Wen Yiyang's question, what kind of explanation will Yu Fei'er make? Please continue to pay attention to the second half of the Buddhist Taoist Theory of Time and Space.