"You brat, you're making fun of me again, aren't you?"
After holding Qin Xuanbing's wrist for a while with three fingers of his right hand, Dean Zhou looked up and scolded Ouyang Jun, saying, "Try another hand..."
Zhuang Rui looked on with curiosity and asked, "Dean Zhou, why do you need to take the pulse in both hands?"
"Hehe, the pulse in the left hand corresponds to the heart, liver, and kidneys, while the pulse in the right hand corresponds to the lungs, spleen, and kidneys (life force). Of course, you have to feel both hands..."
After explaining the situation to Zhuang Rui with a smile, Dean Zhou began to focus his attention on Qin Xuanbing's pulse. A few minutes later, he removed his hand.
After taking her pulse, Zhuang Rui asked anxiously, "Dean Zhou, how is it? Is Xuanbing pregnant?"
Dean Zhou smiled and nodded, saying, "Young man, congratulations! This young lady's pulse is strong and smooth like a rolling bead; it's a pregnancy pulse..."
"real?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui was overjoyed, but immediately asked a foolish question: "Dean Zhou, is it a man or a woman?"
“Zhuang Rui…”
Even Qin Xuanbing couldn't stand it anymore. She had only just started experiencing pregnancy symptoms. Let alone taking her pulse, even an ultrasound wouldn't be able to determine the sex of the baby.
"Hahaha……"
Dean Zhou laughed loudly upon hearing this, patted Zhuang Rui on the shoulder, and said, "Young man, don't rush. Go back and get some rest, and be careful not to catch a cold. Also, try not to do any strenuous aerobic exercise..."
"Thank you, thank you Dean Zhou..."
Actually, Zhuang Rui didn't really care much about gender; he just asked casually.
After saying goodbye to Dean Zhou and getting into the car, Ouyang Jun looked at Zhuang Rui with a mischievous grin and said, "Wu'er, remember, don't do strenuous aerobic exercise..."
"No, Xuanbing only does yoga, which isn't that strenuous, is it?"
Zhuang Rui didn't understand Ouyang Jun's meaning at first, but when he saw his smiling face, he immediately understood. This older brother was actually being disrespectful to his elders.
Qin Xuanbing was more perceptive than Zhuang Rui and understood the situation as well, her pretty face turning bright red.
"Okay, I'll go back and tell my sister-in-law that you've been doing a lot of intense aerobic exercise lately..."
Zhuang Rui's words made Ouyang Jun's face fall. He was only interested in getting his tongue off, but he forgot that his younger brother had a lot of dirt on him.
The two brothers bickered as they returned to the courtyard house. Once Zhuang Rui confirmed Qin Xuanbing's pregnancy, she immediately started enjoying the treatment of the famous star Xu. Now, there were actually three pregnant women in Zhuang Rui's courtyard house.
After lunch, Qin Xuanbing, who wasn't used to taking naps, was pulled onto the bed by Zhuang Rui, just so she could rest.
After Qin Xuanbing fell asleep, Zhuang Rui carefully released a wisp of spiritual energy into her body. However, fearing something might go wrong, Zhuang Rui ensured that the spiritual energy entered Qin Xuanbing's body, but not her lower abdomen.
Just as Zhuang Rui finished his work, Hao Long's voice came through the walkie-talkie in the outer room: "Boss, those guys from this morning are here again. Do you want to see them?"
Chapter 717 Reincarnation Process
“Take them to the living room in the front yard…”
Zhuang Rui's courtyard house has a living room in the front, middle and back courtyards. The back courtyard is where he and Qin Xuanbing live, the middle courtyard is for entertaining relatives and friends, and people who are not very familiar with him are entertained in the front courtyard.
"Hello, I'm Zhuang Rui. May I ask what brings you here?"
Upon entering the living room, Zhuang Rui discovered that these people were not what he had imagined. There were lamas and monks among them, and they were all ordinary people like himself. Judging from the demeanor of one of them, he should be a leader.
"Mr. Zhuang, hello, I am Dai Chenghao from the Religious Affairs Bureau. This is my identification. I have something I'd like to consult with you about..."
Upon seeing Zhuang Rui enter, all four people in the living room stood up, and the middle-aged man at the head of the group extended his hand to shake hands with Zhuang Rui.
"Deputy Director Dai?"
Zhuang Rui looked at the certificate. According to what Ouyang Jun had told him before, the State Administration for Religious Affairs was not a low-level agency. It not only directly handled various religious affairs, but also the Buddhist academies were under its jurisdiction.
The State Administration for Religious Affairs is at the vice-ministerial level, meaning that this deputy director is at least a department-level or higher cadre.
Zhuang Rui was somewhat puzzled. Although there were many officials in Beijing, what could a powerful department-level cadre possibly want from him?
Although puzzled, Zhuang Rui still made way for him and said, "I wonder what business Deputy Director Dai has with me? Please sit down and talk..."
Deputy Director Dai nodded and got straight to the point: "Mr. Zhuang, no need to be so polite. It's like this, I wonder if you received a string of dzi beads as a gift from the Living Buddha of Jokhang Temple in Tibet last February?"
Just last month, the State Administration received a report from the Tibetan Religious Affairs Bureau stating that they were preparing to search for the reincarnation of the Jokhang Temple Living Buddha Jampa Lodro, but were still missing some of the relics worn by the Living Buddha during his lifetime.
The report states that Jampa Lodro Rinpoche has already reincarnated three times and enjoys extremely high prestige in Tibet. He was also the guru of the previous Panchen Lama. Methods such as government conferment of titles are absolutely not applicable to him; the only way to determine his status is by drawing lots, the most ancient method.
This method is very systematic and complicated. Preparations often begin within a few months of the Living Buddha's death, and the process of searching for the reincarnation of the Living Buddha may last for several years or even more than a decade.
Before his passing, Jampa Lodro Rinpoche indicated the general direction of his reincarnation.
Jokhang Temple has now selected highly respected monks from the temple, as well as the Living Buddha's former stewards and close disciples, to disguise themselves as people of various identities and prepare to go to the directions designated by the Living Buddha to begin a secret investigation.
However, in the process of finding the reincarnated child, it is necessary for the child to identify the personal belongings of the Living Buddha during his lifetime. This involves having a young child who might be the reincarnated child identify the Living Buddha's belongings and the people he spent time with. Among many objects, the child must be able to pick out something belonging to the Living Buddha, or among many people, he/she must be able to identify the person he/she spent time with. This step, called "suspicion" in Tibetan Buddhism, is quite important in the process of finding the reincarnated child. Many children who are initially selected as reincarnated children are often eliminated at this stage. However, in order to be certified at this stage, one must have the ritual implements or personal belongings used by the Living Buddha during his/her lifetime.
Generally speaking, a Living Buddha usually only has about a dozen personal items. However, the Living Buddha Jampa Lodro was a man of simple and quiet nature. When his belongings were sorted out later, it was discovered that he only had a prayer wheel that he used frequently and two other items.
It should be noted that the direction pointed out by the Living Buddha before his passing was only a general direction. The Jokhang Temple sent out at least seven or eight search teams for this purpose. Relying solely on the personal belongings of these three Living Buddhas to select the reincarnation child would be far too inefficient.
But there was nothing that could be done. Just as the high monks of Jokhang Temple were preparing to send out a search team, the temple's law enforcement officer, Gegu, mentioned that the Living Buddha had once bestowed a dzi bead bracelet upon a young man.
Although it was just a personal item, it would undoubtedly lighten the workload of the search team. Upon hearing about this, the people at Jokhang Temple immediately checked the records of the Living Buddha during his lifetime.
Jampa Lodro Rinpoche held an extremely high position at the Jokhang Temple. His words and actions were recorded by the young lamas who served him closely. The process of Zhuang Rui's contact with the Rinpoche was also recorded in its entirety.
That's why Deputy Director Dai came to our door today.
"Director Dai, if I may ask, the Living Buddha bestowed this bracelet upon me, and quite a few people knew about it at the time, but how did you manage to find me?"
Zhuang Rui was puzzled. He was just a tourist at the time. There were countless tourists visiting Lhasa every year. How did they manage to find him?
Deputy Director Dai chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Hehe, Mr. Zhuang, after you were taken to the Jokhang Temple by the Gegu Lama, your friends went there to look for you. They registered on a form and left your phone number and home address. We found you through that..."
"Oh, it really is..."
Zhuang Rui slapped his forehead. He remembered that he had spent the entire afternoon in that strange room filled with Thangkas, which had almost made Liu Chuan and the others go to the police station to report him missing. He must have left the information when he asked the lamas of Jokhang Temple to help him find him.
"Director Dai, please tell me, what do you need me to do?"
Zhuang Rui was unaware that these people had come to take back the dzi bead bracelet. He didn't know much about Tibetan Buddhism and wasn't familiar with the procedures for the reincarnation of a Living Buddha.
"Yes, that's right. Because the relics left by the Living Buddha Jampa Lodro are too few, and these things are necessary in the process of recognizing reincarnation, we are thinking..."
The search for the reincarnated Living Buddha is a major event concerning national unity and unification. Deputy Director Dai didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the purpose of his visit.
"What? You want me to give you the dzi bead bracelet?"
Zhuang Rui was initially listening with great interest, but the more he listened, the more something felt off. Was this guy coming to ask for something?
"Yes, Mr. Zhuang, this matter has a great impact on Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan people. Because the Jokhang Temple has requested the search for this dzi bead bracelet, we must handle this matter with great care. We hope you can understand..."
Deputy Director Dai was also smiling bitterly to himself. If it were someone else, would he have needed to come in person? He could have just sent someone else and Zhuang Rui would have handed it over, and the other party would have even had to deliver it to him.
However, after learning that the person was Zhuang Rui, an investigation was immediately launched against Zhuang Rui. As for the result of the investigation, Deputy Director Dai condescended to come in person, and he was very polite and did not dare to put on any official airs.
"Well... Deputy Director Dai, it's not that I'm unwilling to hand over this bracelet, it's just that I've worn it for almost two years, and I've gotten a bit attached to it..."
Seeing that the other party was quite polite and didn't try to pressure him with any talk of national righteousness, Zhuang Rui frowned.
To be honest, Zhuang Rui no longer values the economic worth of this string of dzi beads. He wouldn't care even if he gave it to the country; it's just an item worth ten or twenty million.
However, this dzi bead is truly beneficial to the body, and since it has been blessed by a living Buddha for decades, it can almost be considered a sacred object.
Zhuang Rui had just received the news that Qin Xuanbing was pregnant. Last night, he was thinking about passing this on to his child so that he (or she) could be safe and sound.
Therefore, Zhuang Rui was in a dilemma when Deputy Director Dai asked for it. It wasn't about the money. The key was that no matter how much money he had, he couldn't buy such a thing. "Do you have the ability to bring the Living Buddha back to life and bless you with decades of Buddhist teachings?"
Seeing Zhuang Rui's hesitation, Deputy Director Dai assumed he wanted money and quickly said, "Mr. Zhuang, this bracelet was a gift from the Living Buddha, and legally speaking, it's already yours. However, if you return it to us, we can compensate you for any economic losses incurred, based on the market value of this dzi bead bracelet. We hope you can understand and support our work..."
The Tibetan issue has been a headache for the central government since the Qing Dynasty. Almost the entire population there are Buddhists, and they have a fervent faith in Tibetan Buddhism.
Coupled with the activities of foreign separatists, successive governments have handled the Tibet issue with great caution, providing as much policy support as possible.
Don't underestimate the seemingly small matter of getting a dzi bead. Even a deputy ministerial-level bureau chief couldn't make that decision on his own. It was only after the matter was reported to the core leader in charge that they came to Zhuang Rui.
"No, that's not what I meant, Director Dai. You've misunderstood. I wanted to leave this dzi bead to my child, it's not about the money..."
Seeing that Deputy Director Dai had misunderstood him, Zhuang Rui quickly explained, and then said, "I can lend this string of dzi beads to the country temporarily, but after the reincarnated child is found, can it be returned to me?"
Since everyone had already said they wanted to buy it with money, Zhuang Rui couldn't be too unreasonable. However, he was still a little unwilling, so he simply used the word "borrow": "I don't want the money, but after I find the person, please return the item to me."
"Of course, of course. This bracelet originally belonged to you. I assure you, once the reincarnated child is found, I will definitely return it to you..."
Deputy Director Dai was surprised that Zhuang Rui was so easy to talk to. He stood up happily and unconsciously used honorifics when speaking to Zhuang Rui again.
"It's nothing. I wonder if Director Dai needs it now?"
Since he had decided to give it to her, Zhuang Rui decided to be generous and simply took the bracelet off his left wrist.
Deputy Director Dai waved his hand and said, "No rush, no rush. How about this, Mr. Zhuang, next Monday, the Jokhang Temple will hold a ceremony to find the reincarnated child. If you have time, you can attend..."
Next Monday?
Zhuang Rui calculated that there were still five days left until today.
Chapter 718 Journey to Tibet (Part 1)
Zhuang Rui hesitated for a moment and said, "This... I might not have time, Director Dai. How about you send this string of dzi beads over?"
The museum has just opened, and as the owner, Zhuang Rui has an obligation to make more trips. In addition, Qin Xuanbing has just found out she is pregnant, and the wedding should be planned as soon as possible before it is too obvious. Although they have already obtained their marriage certificate, they should still have a wedding that they can remember in the future.
As for the ceremony at Jokhang Temple, it wouldn't make much difference if he weren't there, so Zhuang Rui didn't really want to go.
As for the dzi bead bracelet, handing it over to Director Dai and the others might temporarily disrupt the magnetic field inside, but once I get it back and wear it for a while to adjust it, the strength of the magnetism inside will match my body, so it's not a problem.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Director Dai's face showed a slight hint of unease. He said, "Mr. Zhuang, I think... you'd better go..."
"Why do I have to go? Just give you the things, isn't that enough?"
Zhuang Rui was puzzled. Wasn't their purpose to use the dzi bead bracelet to identify the reincarnated spirit child? This shouldn't have anything to do with whether he went or not, right?
"Mr. Zhuang, Buddhism teaches about cause and effect. The high monks at Jokhang Temple believe that the Living Buddha giving you the dzi bead is the cause, and the effect will fall upon you. They believe that your journey will be of great help in finding the reincarnation of the Living Buddha..."
Deputy Director Dai gave a wry smile. As a high-ranking official, although he was in charge of religious affairs, he had no religious beliefs. In his opinion, these words were somewhat absurd. However, since the other party had made a clear request, he still had to try his best to fulfill it.
"Buddhist concept of cause and effect?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. If it were a few years ago, he might not have believed in these things at all, but ever since his eyes began to change inexplicably, Zhuang Rui couldn't say how many unknown things there were in this world.