NOVEL WEB Chapter 17 - Śarīra Buddhist beads!
Chapter 17: Śarīra Buddhist beads!
Taking in a disciple was definitely necessary.
However, there was no rush for now.
Lu Jin left the temple and took the subway toward the city center.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived in the downtown area.
He found the nearest market and purchased enough daily necessities to last a month.
Then, he rented a car and had everything delivered directly to the temple.
As for himself, he headed to a well-known flea market nearby.
There were many flea markets in Japan, mostly selling second-hand goods and antiques.
If one was lucky, they could even find valuable jewelry for just 10–20% of its original price.
Because of this, flea markets were quite popular among ordinary people.
The old man had always loved shopping in places like these, and over time, Lu Jin had also developed a habit of treasure hunting.
Items that were 70–80% new could be bought for just 10–30% of their original price, saving a lot of money over the course of a year.
Save where necessary, spend where needed.
Even though he wasn’t lacking money, good steel should still be used on the blade’s edge.
Lu Jin swept his gaze over the stalls and noticed that all the items emitted a faint glow.
The brighter the glow, the more valuable and intact the item.
Conversely, if something was damaged, the glow would appear dimmer.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, a particularly bright glow caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
His gaze landed on a stall displaying various Buddhist items and a small shrine.
Lu Jin’s eyes were locked onto an ordinary-looking string of prayer beads.
In his vision, these beads shone like a beacon, just slightly inferior to the vajra prayer beads in his own hands.
It wasn’t a Dharma artifact, but it was close—halfway there.
Lu Jin walked up to the stall and picked up the prayer beads, instantly recognizing the material.
Kylin-Eye Bodhi Seeds!
Since the Buddha, Shakyamuni, attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree, the term “Bodhi” in Buddhism symbolizes awakening and the attainment of Buddhahood.
Prayer beads made from Bodhi seeds naturally carry the meaning of enlightenment.
Among them, Kylin-Eye Bodhi seeds were an exceptionally rare variant.
Along with Phoenix-Eye Bodhi and Dragon-Eye Bodhi, they were collectively known as the Three Sacred Eyes of Bodhi beads.
Phoenix-Eye Bodhi got its name because its surface patterns resembled beautiful eyes, symbolizing auspiciousness. Beads made from them were considered essential Dharma artifacts for Vajra practitioners, ranking among the finest prayer beads.
Dragon-Eye Bodhi and Kylin-Eye Bodhi, on the other hand, were rare mutations of Phoenix-Eye Bodhi.
On average, one Dragon-Eye Bodhi seed would appear in every hundred Phoenix-Eye Bodhi seeds.
A Kylin-Eye Bodhi seed, however, would only appear once in tens of thousands of Phoenix-Eye seeds.
Due to their extreme rarity, there was a saying: “A hundred carts of Phoenix-Eyes, ten carts of Dragon-Eyes, one cart of Kylin-Eyes.”
Although rare, ordinary-quality Kylin-Eye Bodhi bracelets weren’t particularly expensive.
But the one in Lu Jin’s hands was different.
Seventeen Kylin-Eye Bodhi seeds—each perfectly round, uniform in size, and all bearing a six-pointed star pattern.
Even among Kylin-Eye Bodhi beads, this was top-tier, the absolute best of the best.
A single one of these beads alone would be worth over 200,000–300,000 yen.
The entire bracelet would easily be worth at least 5 million yen.
And yet, even this wasn’t what made it extraordinary.
Lu Jin’s eyes flickered. Normally, a prayer bead bracelet contained eighteen beads.
On this one, seventeen were six-pointed star Kylin-Eye Bodhi beads.
The last one, however, was a relic pearl (Śarīra).
In Buddhism, Śarīra are treasured remains found after the cremation of high monks, believed to embody their spiritual power and Dharma blessings—a true sacred object.
Such an item’s value transcended money.
Any temple that possessed one would enshrine it as a holy relic.
And yet, here was a Śarīra, polished into a prayer bead and strung into this bracelet.
No wonder something that appeared so ordinary was nearly on par with a Dharma artifact.
[Kylin-Eye Bodhi Relic Prayer Beads]
[Infused with the Dharma blessings of a high monk’s relic and strung together with Kylin-Eye Bodhi seeds. Wearing them aids in cultivating wisdom, enlightenment, and advancing in the study of Buddhism.]
Lu Jin’s face remained composed, maintaining his usual calm and indifferent expression.
His gaze shifted to the stall’s owner—a 200-pound otaku wearing an anime-themed shirt.
“How much for this string of beads?”
“1,000 yen.”
The chubby guy, who had been engrossed in his handheld game console, barely glanced up before replying impatiently.
All the old antiques at his stall were left behind by his late grandmother.
She had been the only religious person in the family, and these things were just taking up space.
That’s why his father had told him to bring them here to sell.
He vaguely remembered these prayer beads—his grandmother had worn them since he was a child, never letting anyone touch them.
Out of curiosity, he had once snuck a look at them.
But they were just some plain old prayer beads.
Nothing special.
People die, and their things lose meaning.
Since these belonged to someone deceased, they carried a bit of bad luck anyway. So, he figured he might as well get rid of them.
Lu Jin didn’t say a word. He simply tossed the money onto the stall, took the prayer beads, and walked away.
“What an idiot—spending 1,000 yen on a piece of junk.”
The chubby guy scooped up the money and happily stuffed it into his pocket.
To him, the beads weren’t even worth 100 yen.
If not for the fact that this guy was a monk, he wouldn’t have even charged that much.
After all, monks always had money.