The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism - Chapter 226

Chapter 226: 226


Fangzheng found Wang Yougui waiting for him at the foot of mountain . He went over when Wang Yougui greeted him .

In One Finger Village, the Wang family was the one of the bigger families with the most family members . In Wang Yougui's words, the village was originally called Wang Family Village which eventually changed . Although the Wang family did not dominate the village, it still occupied half the village's population . The remaining families had other surnames .

The Wang family had their own ancestral graves and once someone departed, they would be buried there . The other families would find auspicious lands themselves . . .

Wang Yougui had arranged early on that Fangzheng went to the Wang family's ancestral grave first .

Wang Yougui was excited and waved Fangzhen over . "Let's go!"

Fangzheng remained motionless despite everyone standing up . Instead, he glanced calmly at a woman in a flowery dress . Although the weather had turned warm, the north was not as warm as the south . It was rare to see people wearing a dress in early April . This was the first he encountered today .

"Fangzheng, is something wrong with me?" Wang Yanan lowered her head and looked at her dress .

Wang Yougui added, "Yeah, Venerable Fangzheng, is there a problem?"

Fangzheng shook his head . "Patron, wearing a skirt up the mountain is showing disrespect towards the ancestors . The act of honoring ancestors is a very solemn matter . You are dressed too brightly . It will make the ancestors believe that you think lightly of this matter . "

Wang Yanan was appalled . "Is that true?"

Wang Yougui smacked his forehead . "That's right . . . There is such a saying . I once heard a story of a woman that always wore a dress to visit the graves . Later, her daughter would always attract the birds and the bees and act promiscuous . A master was sought out . The reason was that she always dressed too colorful and bright whenever she visited the graves . It displeased her ancestors which caused trouble for her child . Of course, that's only a story . . . "

"Grandpa, what era is it? Is there a need to be so particular things like this?" Wang Yanan rolled her eyes in complete disbelief .

Fangzheng said solemnly, "The story might be fabricated but think about it . The act of honoring ancestors is a solemn manner . If you dress brightly and treat it lightly, then what's the point of honoring one's ancestors? Honoring our ancestors is a way to show respect towards them . It's to promote filial piety . When the young watch their elders being filial, they would emulate that . If everyone learns to act like you, generations will think nothing of it thousands of years later . Eventually, what would the outcome be? Do you think people would still honor their ancestors? This is a tradition but it is also a form of education . "

Wang Yanan blushed slightly and grinned . "Fangzheng, I never expected you to change so much after you became an abbot . You've even begun reprimanding me . "

"So what if he reprimands you? Did Fangzheng say anything wrong? Did you go to college for nothing?" Go home and change your clothes!" Wang Yanan's father berated .



Wang Yanan pouted . "Got it . I'll change . . . It's not like I said that he wasn't right but . . . it feels . . . odd to be reprimanded by a peer . "

"I think you find it odd that a college student like you is being reprimanded by a school dropout, correct?" Wang Yanan's mother understood her after all . Wang Yanan blushed and ran off .

Wang Yougui paid attention to such matters . Shortly after, a pregnant woman was sent back .

Monkey asked puzzled, "What's wrong with that person?"

Fangzheng whispered, "She's pregnant . "

Monkey was baffled . "Can't she go if she's pregnant? We monkeys go everywhere even when pregnant . "

"According to tradition, the places the ancestors are buried are heavy in Yin energy . It's easy for that to affect the fetus . For example, ghosts might possess the fetus, causing ghost babies, etc . You probably would not understand most of that . But the true intention behind it is that mountains are steep and dangerous . Furthermore, there are many snakes and critters on the mountain . A pregnant woman might even lose her balance and fall on a normal path, much less on a mountain trail . If she were to fall on the mountain trail and causes a miscarriage, or something worse, not worth it . As for the honoring of ancestors, all she needs is someone to offer incense on her behalf and explain the situation .



Only then did Monkey understand the rationale behind such superstition . However, he could not figure out the need to use complicated reasons to scare people when the underlying rationale was that simple .

When Fangzheng saw the perplexed Monkey, he whispered, "This is the wisdom of the ancients . By involving the gods, it instills fear in people . That will prevent them from acting out of bounds . By the same logic, the ancients believed in ghosts and deities . So by involving everything with the supernatural, it would make people of ancient times fear them and treat it seriously . If it was not put like this, many people might risk themselves due to sheer bravado . "

Monkey scratched his head . Although he understood, his mind was still filled with all sorts of questions .

Fangzheng wasn't anxious . Monkey had only just come into contact with human society . It was only normal that he did not understand .

Not long later, everyone was done with their preparations . The men carried the items while the women followed . The group of people went up the mountain .

Going around Mt . One Finger, there were countless mountains behind it . They were part of the Changbai mountain range . There were small hills beneath the towering mountains . Some of the hills were named while others were nameless . As for the Wang family's ancestral grave, it was built on a hill called Mt . Wang Prosperous .

The group walked for more than two hours before they arrived at the Wang family's ancestral grave .

Wang Yougui knew the entire process . He was even more particular than Fangzheng himself, Fangzheng did not have to interject at all . Everything proceeded smoothly . Even children were held by the adults to prevent them from running around .



Fangzheng was in charge of reciting the sutras . This was the only thing he needed to do .

After he was done with the Wang family's side of things, he headed to the other families to help . Dog Song's family, Yang Hua's family, Yang Ping's family, Tan Juguo's family . . . and finally Sun Qiancheng's family .

Sun Qiancheng's family grave was situated beside their family field . It did not take long to reach .

Sun Qiancheng looked up into the sky . "Venerable Fangzheng, we haven't been here that long . We have only three members to our family . The remaining brothers and sisters have headed south for work . They can't make it back in time . This is my parents' grave . The graves of my grandparents and the older generations aren't here . There are some that can't even be found . It also makes honoring the ancestors difficult . "

Fangzheng shook his head, "Patron, there's no need to feel vexed . When it comes to honoring of the ancestors, it does not mean you have to go to a certain place . Since your parents' grave is here, everything is settled . "

"Oh?" Sun Qiancheng looked at Fangzheng in astonishment . There was a way to settle the problem?

"You have three incense sticks in your hand but they are not to be used together . Hold one incense stick . When bowing, say: 'All ancestors of the Sun family, please come forth to receive the extension of my offered incense . ' That will be equivalent to showing respect to all the ancestors of your entire family .

The second incense stick is the main one . It is used to honor your parents . Just say: 'Father, Mother, today is the day I'm honoring you . Please enjoy the offering . ' That would do . "

Fangzheng pointed to the third incense stick, "The third incense stick is done on behalf of your family . Your brothers and sisters are away and unable to return . You will explain on their behalf the reasons of their absence . Ask the ancestors to not place any blame on them and offer the incense on their behalf . At the same time, recite the names of your brothers and sisters, as well as their offspring once . Ask your ancestors to protect them, praying for a smooth career, healthy life and peace . This way, you will settle everything with these three incense sticks . "