An ill-fated fall into Pansi Cave (44)

Meanwhile, the Tathagata Buddha instructed Guanyin Bodhisattva to use her Kasaya to redeem the the Monks.

Upon hearing Vipassī Buddha, the three Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, were filled with anger and spoke:

"World-Honored One! This Kasaya is a treasure passed down through our Western Heaven tradition. Why do you give it to the Demon Dragon Demon Dragon of using it to slay it?"

The Tathagata Buddha faced the assembly and said:

"If I, as the World-Honored One, were to lead the the Monks against Heaven's will during Great Calamity, thus incurring disaster, I would not Tathagata a Tathagata; but leading the the Monks to conform to Heavenly Dao's will and avoid disaster, that is the Tathagata. If I, as the World-Honored One, were to lead the the Monks the Monks retaliate with resentment during a calamity, resulting in their deaths, I would not Tathagata a Tathagata; but leading the the Monks to resolve resentment and quell the calamity, Tathagata is the Tathagata. If I, as the World-Honored One, were to encounter a time when treasures could be used to quell disaster, but instead, out of attachment to the treasures, caused the the Monks to lose their lives, I would not Tathagata; but relinquishing the treasures to save the the Monks' lives, that is the Tathagata."

Guanyin Bodhisattva and the others joined their palms in reverence to receive the teachings.

However, the three Buddhas —Vipassī Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha— refused to accept it.

Vipassī Buddha, said, "The Demon Dragon has brought disaster upon us, the Monks are suffering. How can we retreat and flee?"

Śikhin Buddha, "Our religion is declining, Western Heaven is in ruins. How can we ignore this?"

The Viśvabhū Buddha, "In the struggle for destiny, retreat means loss, advance means growth; how can there be any reason to retreat?"

The Tathagata Buddha said, "If you do not heed my words, you will only have names in the eons."

The three Buddha said, "For the sake of the destiny of our Western Heaven, we are willing to enter this calamity."

After speaking, the three stood up. Knowing that the Tathagata Buddha could not possibly intervene, they stopped bowing and instead bowed to Maitreya Buddha.

Maitreya Buddha, with tears in his eyes, said, "It is inevitable that we should weep when a Buddha is about to die."

Upon seeing this, all the Monks under Maitreya Buddha wept bitterly.

Seeing this, the three realized that even Maitreya Buddha was unwilling to intervene, and they felt a deep sadness. Instead, they turned to worship Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light.

The Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light remained silent.

The three had no choice but to bow again to the Randeng Ancient Buddha.

Randeng Ancient Buddha sighed, and out of consideration for their shared lineage, bestowed three Ancient Buddha Jewel upon the three, saying, "If it cannot be accomplished, retreat as soon as possible."

The three were overjoyed, accepted the Jewel, and gathered their Monks and disciples to prepare to attack Yellow Flower Temple, slay the Demon Dragon, and rescue the the Monks.

On the other side, Ao Tu lived in Pansi Ridge, occasionally teasing the Little Spider Demon, and did nothing else.

With many Bodhisattva and Arhat around Tang Sanzang, Ao Tu no longer offered instruction. He heard that Tang Sanzang often sat and discussed the Dao with Gandhahastin Bodhisattva, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, and others, either asking questions or debating; in short, he was always busy.

Almost a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Wukong approached and said, "Dragon Brother, you said a while ago that you would let us, master and disciple, Journey Westward in four or five years. Now it has been almost six years. When will you let us, master and disciple, Journey to the West?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "There are mountains and rivers here, the Stars of the Heavenly Cycle, and Bodhisattva and Arhat. Why should the Great Sage and his disciples be in such a hurry? After I defeat the Tathagata, I will sit on Spirit Mountain Tathagata. You disciples won't need to Journey to the West the Scripture to you. Wouldn't that be better?"

Wukong listened and thought that made sense.

Ao Tu then said, "If you Journey Westward now and reach Spirit Mountain, there will be no one to see you off, and you won't be able to obtain the True Scriptures, wasting a lot of effort. Once I sit on Spirit Mountain, I won't need your gifts, saving you money, and I'll even grant you all Attaining Buddhahood. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong exclaimed happily, "Good! Good! But I wonder how much longer we'll have to wait? If it's any longer, I'll go back to Flower-Fruit Mountain to have some fun!"

Ao Tu looked Western Heaven and said, "They've arrived."

Just then, three Ancient Buddha appeared outside the formation.

The first account states: The Vipassī Buddha Attainment of the Dao under the Pippala Tree, preached the Dharma at three assemblies, and converted 348,000 Bhikkhu to the Arhat Fruit. He was 60 yojanas tall, with one yojana being 40 li, which is 2,400 li. He manifested in a beam of light, possessing 84,000 marks of a Buddha, and was surrounded by countless Heavenly Deities.

Verse:

The body is born from the formless, just as various forms are illusory.

The illusory mind is originally nonexistent; sin and blessing are both empty and have no abiding place.

Secondly, it is said that the Śikhin Buddha under the White Lotus tree, Attainment of the Dao the Dharma at three assemblies, and converted 250,000 Bhikkhu to the Arhat Fruit, Purple Gold the thirty-two marks and eighty minor marks of a Buddha, radiating great light that illuminated the ten directions.

Verse:

All good deeds are illusions, and all evil deeds are illusions.

The body is like foam, the mind like the wind, creating illusions without roots or substance.

Thirdly, it is said that the Viśvabhū Buddha under the Bodhi tree, Attainment of the Dao the Dharma at two assemblies, and converted 180,000 Bhikkhu to the Arhat Fruit. His entire body radiated light for 250 yojanas, and he was protected by a thousand saints.

Verse:

It borrows the four elements to form its body, but the mind is originally unborn; it arises only because of external circumstances.

If the external world is absent, so too is the mind; sin and blessing are like illusions, arising and ceasing in an instant.

Three Ancient Buddha led countless disciples and attendants into the formation.

Ao Tu appeared and said, "Tathagata Buddha isn't coming, why did he send the three of you to suffer this calamity and die?"

The three Vipassī Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, Human Way, "Today's achievements are merely a contest of destiny; why speak further?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu praised the three for their insight and laughed, "Alright, let's test the formation."

Upon hearing this, the three men did not hesitate and led the the Monks straight into the within the Sun Star.

The Sun Star Lord, holding the Sun Flag, summoned the Solar True Fire to block the three.

The three men each took out an Ancient Buddha Jewel and placed it in the air. It emitted five-colored light, which was invisible to the eye and unclear to the eye. They then struck down, one pearl hitting the Sun True Lord Sun True Lord on the head, one on the chest, and one on the leg, causing the Sun True Lord Sun True Lord suffer a broken head, broken ribs, and cracked legs.

Disregarding everything else, the Sun True Lord hurriedly cried out for help, "True Lord, save me!"

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu immediately stepped in to help, throwing out the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity, which spun in the air and collected the three Ancient Buddha Jewel.

Then he took a large bow, the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, drew it fully with both arms, and shot it into the sky, hitting Vipassī Buddha squarely between the eyebrows. Vipassī Buddha's True Spirit then entered the tribulation and departed.

The two Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, were about to leave in grief when Ao Tu used the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity Bucket to collect them both.

Since the names of these three Buddha were not on the list presented by the Nine-Headed Bug, Ao Tu did not know whether these two could be persuaded to surrender, so he first captured them with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity and would deal with them later.

After the battle ended, Nezha approached and said with a smile:

"You Demon Dragon, you really do have a divine bow! Let me see it."

Ao Tu said, "No."

Nezha said, "Stingy."

Ao Tu said, "I saw you practicing archery by kicking the bow with your foot the other day. If I were to give you this precious bow, you would have trampled on it too."

Upon hearing this, Nezha felt embarrassed and anxiously said, "I always practice secretly at night. When did you see me? Tell me! Tell me!"

Ao Tu smiled and said, "Alright, I'll give it to you later. I have important things to do, so stop fooling around."

As he spoke, Ao Tu rushed to the Sun Star, helped up the seriously injured Sun Star Lord, and fed him several Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir Pills.

After eating it, the Sun Star Lord recovered most of his injuries and stood up to express his gratitude.

Ao Tu said, "Star Lords is injured, please don't stand on ceremony. I will have Sun Wukong take Star Lords back to the Heavenly Realm to recuperate."

Upon hearing this, the Sun Star Lord wept and said, "My magical powers are insufficient, and I have implicated you, True Lord."

Ao Tu said, "Star Lords, why belittle yourself? Magical power is not something acquired overnight. As the ancients said, 'Those who are severely wounded in battle possess great strength.' If you don't mind the bad luck, Star Lords, when you return to the Heavenly Realm, please take the corpse of Vipassī Buddha with you to test the attitudes of all parties."

The Sun Star Lord was overjoyed upon hearing this.

How could he possibly dislike something considered unlucky? That corpse was a valuable treasure!