Rescue the Bhikshu Kingdom (Sixteen)

Now, let's talk about the Great Thunderclap Temple on Spirit Mountain.

The Tathagata Buddha asked the Golden-Headed Guardian:

Where are the Pilgrim now?

The Golden-Headed Guardian said, "Reporting to the World-Honored One, the Pilgrim are currently staying in the Bhikshu Kingdom."

The Tathagata Buddha asked, "How many years have you stayed?"

The Golden-Headed Guardian said, "It's been four years."

The Tathagata Buddha asked, "Why have you stayed for four years?"

The Golden-Headed Guardian said, "Because I've been drawn into the struggle for the rise and fall of dynasties."

The Tathagata Buddha nodded and pointed a finger, saying, "This is the will of Heaven." He then addressed the assembly, "The Pilgrim is trapped in the struggle between the rise and fall of dynasties. You should all go down the mountain, assist a wise ruler, strive for the right to rule, and help the Pilgrim escape this predicament and continue his journey Journey to the West."

The Monks listened and agreed.

The Monks dared not descend the mountain if the Golden-Headed Guardian had not spoken the whole story, only mentioning a dynastic struggle without uttering a single word about Ao Tu Demon Dragon.

Manjushri Bodhisattva left his Lotus Throne and asked, "Does the World-Honored One have any further instructions?"

The Tathagata Buddha said, "Dynastic changes are always fraught with danger. If you assist Wise Ruler, your fortunes will naturally rise, and you will become generals and ministers; if you assist Tyrant, you will surely perish and your spirit will be ruined. Not only will you not gain wealth and honor, but you will also be embroiled in lawsuits. If you expose me, people will come to attack me, adding to the conflict. Therefore, after you leave, I instructed Kasyapa to close the Treasure Mountain and not open it easily. I also give you four lines of verse."

The bell of Jetavana Monastery, telling us that all things in this world are impermanent.

The flowers of the Sala Trees have lost their luster; the most vibrant have faded like the vicissitudes of life.

Extravagance and debauchery are fleeting, like a dream on a spring night.

The tyrannical and domineering will eventually perish, like dust rising in the wind.

Upon hearing this, Manjushri Bodhisattva clasped his hands in reverence, accepted the offer, and departed from the mountain.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva left the mountain.

The Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva left the mountain.

The Vishnu Bodhisattva left the mountain and departed.

All the Bodhisattva Arhat left the mountain.

On the other side.

As time passed, the Old King saw that many of his people had fled, and he also learned that there was a new king in Willow Grove Slope. He panicked and pretended to do a few good deeds to make amends, but to little avail.

The people don't trust him, so even if he does good deeds, it's difficult to achieve quick results.

Seeing that his efforts were in vain, the Old King became enraged and knew he could not allow the new king to continue his advance. He mobilized his entire army of two thousand to launch a punitive expedition.

At that time, Manjushri Bodhisattva and his entourage arrived in the Bhikshu Kingdom.

The Monks changed their appearances, inquired about the deeds and opinions of the people on both sides, and quickly learned which side had Tyrant and which side had Wise Ruler.

The Monks then fled to Willow Grove Slope.

Upon arriving at Willow Grove Slope, the the Monks revealed their Golden Body in the air.

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "We are monks from Spirit Mountain, here Tathagata the golden decree of the Tathagata, following the will of Heavenly Dao, to assist your Great King. Please invite him to come out and meet us."

The person inside heard this and went in to report it.

Just then, the White Bone Spirit was on duty at the Heavenly Gate. Hearing that Bodhisattva Arhat had appeared to assist her Great King, she was filled with doubt and uncertainty. So, she led a few Demon and peeked out to watch.

A Horse-Head Arhat saw this and exclaimed in surprise:

"This is not one of the Demon Dragon under the dragon's command! I lost an arm to him back then, and he fled here! The Demon Dragon must be recuperating here!"

Upon hearing this, all the the Monks were greatly alarmed.

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said in fear, "The Demon Dragon is here! We must leave quickly and not enter!"

The Monks all agreed.

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "No. The World-Honored One instructed us to descend the mountain to assist the wise ruler. Now that the wise ruler is here, where are you going?"

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "That's not necessarily true. How can someone who colludes with the Demon Dragon be considered a wise ruler? I see that the Old King is decisive and resourceful; he is the true wise ruler!"

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva said, "The Old King is cruel and immoral, and the people are all afraid of him. He is not a wise ruler."

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "You say I lack virtue, I say I Youde, how do you know you are right?"

The Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva said, "That Old King is wicked, as everyone can see. Otherwise, why would we have come here together? Do not go against the tide of history because of your own personal grudges, lest you fall into calamity and regret it too late. Have you not heard the verse given by the World-Honored One: 'The tyrannical and domineering will eventually perish, like dust in the wind.'"

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "We also know that 'all things in this world are impermanent.' If you enter this place, you will truly be entering a calamity and dying!"

Having said that, the Vishnu Bodhisattva turned and fled.

Many monks also fled.

After a while, Ao Tu came out with the Hunyuan Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity. He looked around and saw Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, the Eighteen Arhats, and others. But there was no enemy that the White Bone Spirit had mentioned.

Ao Tu then put away the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity and asked, "Why have you all come here?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "I have come here by the Buddha's decree to assist the wise Wise Ruler and help the Pilgrim escape."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "You Bodhisattva have come to the wrong path. This place is full of Demon, where is there any Wise Ruler? Tathagata Monk is instructing you to assist the old Monarch in the city."

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "Whether a ruler is wise or not depends on whether he Youde or not, not on whether he has Demon. In the past, the three Monarch Yao, Shun, and Yu, and Yu all had Demon Clan assisting them, yet they were wise kings of Ancient Times because of their Youde. Di Xin also had Demon Clan assisting him, but because he lacked virtue, he became King Zhou."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I'm afraid the Great Monk doesn't think that way. You all came here to help me, but you'll be punished by having to burn Incense Offerings when you get back!"

The Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva said, "The World-Honored One has always been based on compassion; Benefactor greatly misunderstood World-Honored One."

Ao Tu said, "Whether I misunderstand or not depends not on whether I am compassionate or not, but on whether Ananda is present. I have heard that Ananda's True Spirit has been reincarnated and is still near Spirit Mountain. Judging by the time, he should have grown up by now. If you tell me about his reincarnation, most of the resentment will be resolved; otherwise, the old hatred will be hard to quell."

The Bodhisattva were quite helpless upon hearing this and didn't say much. They were secretly relieved that it wasn't someone they had offended in the past.

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Alright, let's set this matter aside for now. Since you Bodhisattva have come here with genuine intentions to help, please come in."

Manjushri Bodhisattva joins his palms in reverence.

All the Bodhisattva Arhat paid their respects together.

The group then entered the Cave Heaven.

Ao Tu led the Bodhisattva Arhat into the hall. On the table was a Formation Diagram, and a banner with six tails hung in the hall. On the left were written three Tathagata Monk, and on the right were written three Shakyamuni.

Manjushri Bodhisattva asked, "This is...?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I'll offer my prayers to the Great Monk, hoping for good fortune and longevity!"

Everyone kept their mouths shut and remained silent.

Ao Tu led everyone to the table, displayed the Formation Diagram, and asked, "Does anyone recognize this array?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva exclaimed in surprise, "The Shangqing Sage's Ten Thousand Immortals Formation!"

Ao Tu said, "Exactly! It's a pity I don't have the ten thousand immortals under the command of the Shangqing Sage! There are three Encampments outside this formation. I heard that the Old King has mobilized a large army to attack. I would like to ask the Three Bodhisattvas to go and repel them. Would you be willing to go?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva said, "We dare not disobey your command." So they went to refuse them.

Meanwhile, the Vishnu Bodhisattva and his followers fled back to Spirit Mountain, only to find that Spirit Mountain was already closed.

The Tathagata Buddha set up a Golden Lotus outside, the Monks were not allowed to enter.

The Vishnu Bodhisattva and others cried and begged outside, but no one responded.

A Bhikshu Monk at the gate said, "Since you have nowhere to go, why not listen to what this old monk has to say?"

The Vishnu Bodhisattva, "What does the old monk have to say?"

The Bhikshu Monk, "The only way to avoid this calamity is to go Eastern Lands."

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "Nonsense! How could we, the gods of the Western Heaven, go to the Eastern Lands?"

The Bhikshu Monk shook his head helplessly.

The Vishnu Bodhisattva cried out, "Tathagata! You have deceived us! You tricked us into leaving the mountain so that you could use the Demon Dragon to eliminate us. You want to take your Belongings and move Eastern Lands. Open the Mountain Gate immediately, or we will go to Amitabha Buddha to file a complaint against you!"

The Monks called out in unison several times, and Kasyapa came out from inside and said:

"What are you shouting for! What are you shouting for! Don't you even know where you are? How dare you address the World-Honored One so loudly!"

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "That Demon Dragon is in the Bhikshu Kingdom. The Tathagata is Tathagata sending us to our deaths. How can we do as he wishes? Kasyapa, go quickly and inform the Tathagata open the Mountain Gate. Otherwise, we will all go to Amitabha Buddha and file a complaint against him!"

Kasyapa said, "What's all this fuss about! What's all this fuss about! The World-Honored One already knew, which is why he sent me out to the Southern Sea to invite Guanyin Bodhisattva Guanyin Bodhisattva to go to the Jade Void Palace on Mount Kunlun to borrow the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, which can ensure your safety!"

Hearing this, the Vishnu Bodhisattva and the others felt somewhat relieved, but then they remembered that it was also Guanyin Bodhisattva had gone to the Tushita Palace to borrow the Southern Earth-Leaving Flame-Light Banner, which was ultimately stolen by Demon Dragon, leading to the calamity of Great Brahma King. How could they repeat the same mistake now?

The Vishnu Bodhisattva said, "Wait a moment, do not let Guanyin Bodhisattva borrow it, I will go and borrow it myself."