Shakyamuni Tathagata of Shrouding the Heavens attained the Dao, and the emperors emerged together
The half-withered, half-flourishing Bodhi Tree arrived through the void, bathing everything in Buddhist light. The monk manifested within its trunk seemed to exist yet not exist, seemed empty yet not other than empty, fully revealing the meaning of transcendence over life and death, and of purity and sinking into worldly existence.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha!" Beneath the Bodhi Tree, the Buddha sat cross-legged on the ground, draped in gauze robes, a fleshy protuberance atop his head, his hands forming the lotus mudra.
Beneath two Bodhi Trees, alike yet different, two monks, alike yet different, exchanged a glance. The next moment, the Buddha imprinted within the half-withered, half-flourishing Bodhi Tree extended a finger and touched fingertips with Sakyamuni.
In an instant, a world of light manifested around the Bodhi Tree, revealing a boundless bitter sea, and countless insights into Buddhist principles surged into the monk's mind.
The monk's expression shifted from sorrow to compassion, from solemnity to gravity. At times, he manifested a sixteen-foot golden body; at others, he towered between heaven and earth, displaying all manner of wondrous phenomena.
Countless golden Brahma Flowers drifted down from midair. Springs bubbled up from the ground, and golden lotuses bloomed everywhere.
Withered and Flourishing Bodhi swayed gently, as though sheltering the being beneath it from wind and rain. Half withered and half flourishing, its verdant half grew ever more vibrant, while its yellowed half became ever more restrained and profound, reenacting the Buddha's enlightenment of old.
"So that was it!" Sakyamuni murmured in a daze. Through that Withered and Flourishing Bodhi Tree, he seemed to see traces of another self, another Sakyamuni.
That man had originally been the prince of a small kingdom. Seeking purity, he had abandoned wealth and glory, seeking not supernatural power but only an understanding of Buddhist Dharma.
Through great