Fangzheng was determined not to participate regardless of what happened.
Fangzheng said, "Thank you for explaining it to This Penniless Monk. This Penniless Monk will have to refuse participation."
"Abbot Fangzheng, there should be a reason why you are rejecting it, right?" someone pressed.
Fangzheng answered as though it was a matter of fact, "Just as Venerable Yi Xing said, rules are rules. How can it be ignored because of This Penniless Monk? There's no point fighting for that spot. Besides, This Penniless Monk has read very few books and has even less insight. There's probably nothing This Penniless Monk can say." Fangzheng did not plan on hiding the truth. It was not terrifying if one was uncultured. What was terrifying was the insistence on being cultured despite in actuality lacking it.
