A mistaken fall into Pansi Cave (43)

Meanwhile, Indra Guardian, departed from the calamity, and his Origin returned to the scattered Gods of the Thunder Department.

The other Bodhisattva, Arhat, deities, Heavenly Deities Guardian, Bhikkhu, and Sangharama all followed suit.

On some Sun Heavenly Deities, the Moon Heavenly Deities Guardian Guardian of the sun and moon stepped out to face death.

Both are native Western Heaven deities. The Sun Heavenly Deities govern light, the Sun, daytime, and order; the Moon Heavenly Deities govern the moon, rhythms, lifespan, and dreams.

The Sun True Lord waved the Sun Flag and unleashed the Sun God Divine Fire, turning all the Sun Heavenly Deities to ashes; the Moon True Lord shot out an arrow, turning Moon Heavenly Deities to dust.

The two then departed in spirit, Origin True Spirit returning to the sun and moon.

Then, three more deities— the Merit Heaven, the Lakshmi, and the Saraswati —died, representing blessings, peace, and knowledge. They were reduced to ashes by the combined Star Deities of the Five Dipper Star Lords, their True Spirit entering the tribulation and Origin to the Host of Stars.

Then, three Durga Bodhisattva — Narasimha Bodhisattva, Tara Bodhisattva— went to their deaths, representing the removal of disasters, protection, and relief from suffering. Their spirits were extinguished by the combined Divine Light of the Five Phases Stars: Mars, Mercury Star, Jupiter Star, Saturn Star, and Taibai, and their True Spirit departed into the calamity.

Then, the Rama Arhat, who possessed an invincible and emperor-like appearance, was killed by Nezha with the Universe Ring, and his True Spirit entered the tribulation.

The remaining dead are not counted individually.

The remaining ones, including the Vajras Scepter Arhat, the Kalika Arhat, the Treasure-Seeking Arhat, the Buddhist Staff Arhat, and the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, all surrendered.

More than 200,000 Sangharama, Bhikkhu Buddhist Soldiers, and other followers entered the calamity, while the remaining 60,000 to 70,000 surrendered.

After the great battle, both the gods and the demons reaped rich rewards.

Ao Tu held banquets at Yellow Flower Temple and Pansi Ridge to celebrate his victory, inviting all the immortals and demons to participate.

The Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and his Bodhisattva were also invited to participate, but they Mahasthamaprapta declined.

Ao Tu did not force the issue. He placed the surrendered Bodhisattva under house arrest in the Yellow Flower Temple. These Bodhisattva Arhat Arhat all Wisdom people, and under the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, they could not escape, so there was no need to make things difficult for them.

It just so happened that they were placed in the Yellow Flower Temple, where they could also recite Scripture to Tang Sanzang when they had nothing to do.

The remaining tens of thousands of Bhikshu Monk were imprisoned in Pansi Ridge.

Ao Tu had built 200,000 Prison Cave in Pansi Ridge beforehand, which was more than enough to imprison the Monks.

At the banquet, the Yellow Flower Temple sang hymns of celebration, while the demons of Pansi Ridge drank and danced wildly.

Everyone benefited from this battle; even the most lowly Little Demon obtained several Kasaya, Buddhist Prayer Beads, and wooden fish from the Buddhist Soldiers, and danced with unbridled joy.

The Bull Demon King and the Host of Stars joined forces to kill an Arhat, and the Bull Demon King received a golden conch shell, which he showed off to Wukong.

Wukong, envious, pretended to want to take a look, but the Bull Demon King was already on guard. Upon hearing Wukong's request, he immediately hid the conch shell in his robes and refused to take it out no matter what.

Wukong had no choice but to pretend not to care, saying, "How petty, who cares about you?" Then, carrying a pot of wine, he walked a few steps and went to talk to Nezha and Ao Tu, but unexpectedly, Nezha was also showing off his treasure to Ao Tu.

It turns out that Nezha killed the Rama Arhat and obtained a divine bow, which he was now showing off in front of Ao Tu.

Nezha held up the precious bow, deliberately showing off the inlaid gems to Ao Tu, and said, "What a divine bow! What a divine bow! Demon Dragon, do you have a bow?"

Ao Tu said, "I have one, better than yours!"

Nezha said, "I don't believe it!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I'll tell you the truth, but you won't believe me. Even if you can wield this fine bow, what use is it? You're not even as tall as the bow, and even with your arms outstretched, you can't fully draw the bowstring. This bow is useless to you."

Hearing this from behind, Wukong couldn't help but laugh.

Nezha turned around at the sound and asked, "Monkey, what are you laughing at?"

Wukong laughed, "Old Sun has drunk some good wine, am I not allowed to laugh?"

Upon hearing this, Nezha knew that the Monkey was mocking him, but he didn't want to say it directly. So, after thinking for a moment, he rolled his eyes and said, "Monkey, after today, we're strangers."

Wukong asked, "How have we become strangers?"

Nezha laughed and said, "We are all people who have treasures, but you are the only one without treasures. From now on, when we talk about treasures, you will have nothing to talk about. Aren't we strangers then?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong grinned and shouted things like, "The Golden Cudgel is also a treasure," "He doesn't care about other treasures," and "His Flower-Fruit Mountain has many treasures," which made everyone laugh.

On Ao Tu's side, the gods rejoiced and celebrated their victory.

On the other side, at the Great Thunderclap Temple on Spirit Mountain.

Facing the the Monks, the Tathagata Buddha shed three tears of great compassion, Three Thousand the entire world to tremble.

Kasyapa asked the reason.

The Tathagata Buddha said, "I have cultivated for Infinite Kalpas, wishing that all sentient beings may attain Attaining Buddhahood. Now that this Great Calamity has begun, the Bodhisattva Arhat do not heed my advice and insist on fighting, thus entering the eon. It is like parents seeing their child die, unable to save them."

Upon hearing this, all the the Monks burst into tears.

The three Ancient Buddha Vipassī Buddha, namely, Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, along with their disciples and attendants, bowed before Shakyamuni and said with sorrow:

"World-Honored One, today Demon Dragon is wreaking havoc, and the fortunes of the Western Heaven are about to decline. The Mahakala Bodhisattva and twenty-four other Bodhisattva have lost Buddhahood attainments and their True Spirit have entered a calamity; the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and twelve other Bodhisattva have been captured and are in danger, and countless other beings in the Western Heaven are also suffering. How can we, who have attained complete mastery, stand idly by and do not save them? We beseech the World-Honored One to have great compassion and rescue all the Bodhisattva."

After paying Tathagata Buddha, the three Buddha paid homage to the Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light, then to the Maitreya Buddha, and finally to the Randeng Ancient Buddha.

These three Buddha attained Buddhahood in the past Attaining Buddhahood. Randeng Ancient Buddha was born before these three Buddha, so in terms of seniority, he can be considered their Teacher. Therefore, the three Buddha paid homage to Randeng Ancient Buddha at the end to show their closeness.

The Tathagata Buddha looked at the three of them with an expression of boundless compassion, but remained silent.

Randeng Ancient Buddha, seeing that Tathagata Buddha had not spoken, also remained silent.

Maitreya Buddha and Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light remained silent.

The three Buddha had no choice but to bow again. After bowing to the Four Buddhas, they then bowed to Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva have long since Attaining Buddhahood Buddhas, and their seniority is even higher than that of the three Buddha. However, they have humbled themselves to become Bodhisattva in order to save all sentient beings and walk their own the Path. Therefore, no one has said anything when the three Buddha, in their Buddha form, pay homage to the Three Bodhisattvas.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva remained silent.

Only after the three had bowed nine times did the Tathagata Buddha speak:

"The Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and his retinue should not be abandoned."

The three Buddha were delighted upon hearing this and quickly said:

"Please, World-Honored One Honored One, use your great power to save us."

The Tathagata Buddha nodded and said, "Kasyapa, go to the Snow Mountain and meet the Mahamayuri Bodhisattva Kasaya. This Kasaya has been passed down by ten Buddhas from the Glorious Kalpa to the Bhadrakalpa, and it is a treasure of our Western World."

Kasyapa listened, bowed, and left. After some time, he returned with the Kasaya.

The Monks saw that this Kasaya was indeed extraordinary, woven by ten Buddhas, and made from clothes chewed by cows, gnawed by rats, burned by fire, soiled by infants' vomit, soiled by postpartum women's blood, used as a temple banner, hung in the forest, discarded in burial mounds, discarded in the streets, and rotten and broken clothes.

Wearing this Kasaya brings ten benefits: it fosters a sense of shame, protects against cold, heat, poison, and insects, displays dignity, promotes respect, discourages extravagance, reduces afflictions, makes faults easy to recognize and correct, eliminates adornment, aligns with the the Path, and strengthens Diligence.

Upon seeing this, the three Buddha respectfully bowed and said, "Please, World-Honored One, change your robes, slay the Demon Dragon, and save the the Monks."

The Tathagata Buddha shook his head and said, "This Kasaya is not for me."

The three Buddha were stunned, and after a moment asked, "Does the World-Honored One mean that we should wear it?"

Tathagata Buddha shook his head.

The three Buddha were then puzzled by his meaning.

The Tathagata Buddha said, "Kasyapa, bring the sandalwood box and put the Kasaya inside."

Kasyapa, upon hearing this, acted accordingly.

The Monks, upon seeing this, were all filled with doubt.

After the Kasaya was put on, the Tathagata Buddha said, "Venerable Guanyin."

Guanyin Bodhisattva said, "Disciple is here."

The Tathagata Buddha said, "Take my Kasaya, leave Spirit Mountain, ride the clouds and mist, and redeem the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and the others. You must not refuse. No one else can do this; only the Venerable Guanyin, with her great Supernatural Ability, can go."