Shanghuo County of Youxiang Prefecture in Zhao State.6

The bitter winter had arrived, and the vast world was covered in white. Youxiang Prefecture had once been under the governance of Qinling Temple. But, the monastery collapsed over time and fell into neglect. Later, a Master Monk returned from the south after attaining Dao and assumed the title of The Merciful One, restoring Qinling Temple and raising it anew.0

This Merciful One, Liaokong, behaved in unusual ways. He believed that without studying the scriptures, deliberate suffering did not truly accumulate blessings for the next life. The people of Shanghuo County no longer overworked themselves or maimed themselves to death. Instead they read sutras and recited sacred names. Thus they no longer needed to brave the wind and swallow snow to prove their piety in winter, and one ritual fell away.3

Of course, fewer people from Shanghuo County had ascended to the Pure Land in recent years. The common folk dared not resent the Buddhist cultivators. They could only blame their own lack of devotion. Now and then someone would crush a finger or break a leg and rejoice wildly, believing that they would surely accumulate merit through suffering and hardship.0

Within this tranquil land, streaks of multicolored light suddenly rose into the sky. More than a dozen Master Monks rode the wind as they arrived, mingled with numerous cultivators. The leader barked...0