Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 896: Altar Purifier Fruit
"Now that you've seen it, what do you think?"

"What do you think? Of course, I will eat when I am supposed to, sleep when I am supposed to, and continue to work with you. I, the old pig, may not have as much wisdom as you, but I also know that I can have a good life if I follow the right people."

Zhu Bajie smiled very naively, but his nonchalant answer made Sun Wukong frown.

Zhu Bajie, who had been paying attention to Sun Wukong, immediately knew that the other party was not satisfied with his answer. He sighed, and waved his hand when Sun Wukong was about to speak.

"Brother Monkey, you know, I saw many versions of myself, and I also saw many interesting things in many versions of myself."

"I have discovered that in the past, present, and even in the future, many people are being influenced by the outside world and are at a stage where they don't know what to do."

Hearing this, Jin Chanzi's eyes changed slightly. His Buddhist name is Sandalwood Merit Buddha, which symbolizes that the Buddha nature is like a fragrant tree that infects all living beings. He has the great supernatural power to eliminate the sufferings of past lives and prevent the sins of monks.

At this moment, after hearing what Zhu Bajie said, he could not help but have an epiphany and said, "What should I do? Bajie, you seem to have gained some extraordinary epiphany."

"Master, you flatter me. I, Old Pig, only gained a little enlightenment through the light of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and other buddhas."

Zhu Bajie felt a little embarrassed, but he did not stop talking and continued to explain his feelings.

“The so-called “what should be done” is to listen to the guidance of others and accept the orders of others, so that you know how to do a thing well.”

"These people are the majority of human beings. They have no opinions of their own and have even given up on themselves. Most of the time, they are willing to be influenced by the outside world because it is the easiest way to live. For example, I was a typical example of this in the past."

Maitreya thought for a moment and said, "You are better than many people because you can understand this. Bajie. But since you said the majority, what do you think of the remaining minority?"

"Hehe, the big belly knows how to speak. As for the small part, it can be divided into two groups. The majority of them know what they should do. But there are also some people among them who only know what to do to make sense for themselves, but do not have the courage to take the step, because they know that once they make a decision, they will lose the right to make excuses, and even if they regret it in the future, they cannot complain."

Zhu Bajie finished speaking and pointed in the direction of the Heavenly Palace. He said, "In the Heavenly Realm, many celestial officials and immortals belong to this category. They know that there is a problem and they know what to do, but they are afraid of making changes and the responsibilities after the changes. Therefore, most of these people are silent or waving flags and shouting, but are unwilling to take action themselves. They will only move forward when they see the hope of success."

Miroku thought for a moment after hearing this, still smiling, and said, "It sounds like I should be at this stage as well."

"That's not the case. Big Belly, you belong to the minority of this group of people. Even if there is not much hope, you will take practical actions and choose to take responsibility for yourself. By the way, in my opinion, Master and Erlang Zhenjun also belong to this group of people."

After saying that, Zhu Bajie looked at Sun Wukong and Chu Tai.

"One step further is the stage where you and the Buddha are at. You have understood who I am. You are no longer bound by past experiences. You maintain a complete acceptance of the current state, whether good or bad. You look at the world simply and purely, and take practical actions, hoping that you can make it move in a better direction."

"In fact, Master, Big Belly and Erlang Shen, if you three don't have some resentment towards the current world, you are also at the stage of Monkey King and the Buddha. In fact, Monkey King also has some of your current problems. Only the Buddha has truly broken free from the shackles of the past, um..."

Zhu Bajie paused, then shook his head and said, "No, no, the reason why the Buddha was able to jump out is probably because he himself has little connection with our world. So, he doesn't seem to be completely at this stage, but closer to the stage where you, Big Belly, are at..."

Zhu Bajie scratched his head, thought for a long time, and finally gave up.

"Forget it, forget it. I am just a lazy guy who just wants to eat and wait for death. Why should I think so much? I won't say it anymore. I won't say it anymore."

Sun Wukong, who was waiting for Zhu Bajie to think about the result, saw this scene and was so angry that he picked up the Ruyi Jingu Bang and stared at him: "Fool, if you don't make your point clear today, don't even think about resting! Tell me, what's my problem?"

"Brother Monkey, I said before that the final stage requires a pure and innocent view of the world we live in now, and full acceptance of both good and bad. But have you really done it?"

Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong looked at each other and asked, "How much of your heart do you want sentient beings to catch up, and how much of your heart do you want to help sentient beings as much as possible?"

"Isn't this wrong?"

Jin Chanzi was a little confused, and Zhu Bajie shook his head and said, "It sounds like there is no problem, but in fact it is a big problem. Are these things what Monkey Brother needs to do? Or do he want to do them?"

Everyone present understood Zhu Bajie's thoughts. If helping all living beings is what Sun Wukong should do, then where should this come from? If it comes from outside, he should not be disturbed. If it comes from himself, then that is what he wants to do.

But the problem you need to face if you want to do this is, why should you ask others to follow what you want to do?

If others follow, should they do it, or do they want to do it?
“Unless all sentient beings realize their true nature and want to do it, what you are doing, Brother Monkey, is forcing all sentient beings to do so.”

"Then the question arises again, Brother Monkey, are your previous actions completely consistent with what you want to do?"

“Not consistent.”

Sun Wukong understood Zhu Bajie's idea and said with a smile, "I never thought a fool like you could be so wise."

"What great wisdom is? It's just a clearer understanding of one's own path."

After hearing this, Chu Tai's gaze towards Zhu Bajie changed significantly.

"It's not easy to understand your own path and be able to do this."

As he spoke, he was also silently sensing the location of the original body outside the sky and told Zhu Bajie about his insights. Unexpectedly, he saw a brand new third-grade Taoist fruit on the Donghuang Bell.

It is still based on the previously alienated Mountain Ghost Dao Fruit system.

The Dao Fruit fragments of that system, from bottom to top, are [Farmer], [Wandering Physician], [Living Dead], [Plague Ghost], [Filthy Demon], and [Bodhi Tree God].

The abilities are to establish a connection with the land at the very beginning, improve one's own resistance, gradually develop the ability to coexist with filth, ruin and extreme environments, and then further transform into a source of pollution itself.

Later, with the help of True Lord Qingshi, he was able to turn back from the path of alienation and return to the right track.

Of course, in terms of the Bodhi Tree God's system of guiding plagues, viruses, filth and illnesses in the body, endowing them with spirituality and wisdom, and using this as the foundation to relieve suffering and provide help to all living beings, in the eyes of most people, the Bodhi Tree God is actually not that biased towards the right path.

After all, many of the treatment methods of the [Bodhi Tree God] are actually to activate organs and drive them to split. Even if this ability is placed on the holder himself, it is very terrifying to outsiders, not to mention that all the holders of the [Bodhi Tree God] are themselves a collection of a large number of activated viruses and filth. Once a problem occurs, it will cause great harm.

But as Zhu Bajie's insights were integrated into it, his Taoism and legal principles gave the [Bodhi Tree God] a completely new direction for transformation.

The third level of the Tao fruit after transformation is called the "Altar Purifier". Literally, "purify" means to sprinkle purity and "altar" means the altar. The so-called altar purification is to cleanse the dust and filth, and to prepare for the invitation of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other saints.

But this altar cleaner is somewhat special. Its source, Zhu Bajie, once heard a sentence "All Buddhist affairs require you to clean the altar" when he was conferred the title by Tathagata Buddha. Therefore, Zhu Bajie's altar cleaner involves the scope of all Buddhist concepts.

Of course, some people also think that this sentence means that Zhu Bajie should deal with the leftovers after the sacrifice.

This statement cannot be said to be wrong, but Buddhist offerings include not only fresh fruits, steamed buns and vegetarian food.

There are also lotus, fragrant oil, precious candles and seven treasures including gold, silver, glass, coral, clam, red pearls and agate.

The final incense and vows are indispensable, and Zhu Bajie can get a hand in all these things.

All in all, it's a good job.

Together with the meaning of cleansing the altar, it also means cleaning up the filth afterwards.

This is consistent with Zhu Bajie's pig body after reincarnation and the Tianhe magic method he practiced in his previous life.

When he first met Chu Tai, he already had the urge to combine the three, and the means he used made Chu Tai quite praiseworthy.

Now, with the help of the [Venerable] status, the guidance of the wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and the assistance of the Donghuang Bell, Zhu Bajie successfully brought these principles together, reorganized them based on the Buddhist system, and helped Chu Tai advance the [Bodhi Tree God] and derive the third-level Tao fruit [Purifier of the Altar] above it.

The power of this fruit can be roughly divided into three parts.

The first is naturally the ability to purify the altar, to construct a pure Dharma realm, and to constantly cleanse away filth, illness, plague, and even suffering.

This effectively solves the problem of the Bodhi Tree God itself containing a large number of viruses, filth and plagues, and can clear up all the problems that arise in the rescued sentient beings.

The second is the ability of self-purification, which creates a pure Dharma body that can continuously digest filth, illness, plague, and even suffering.

This point directly deals with the problem that the [Bodhi Tree God] itself is also a source of pollution. However, it should be noted that the concepts of filth, illness, plague, etc. in the body of the [Purifier of the Altar] are only purified conceptually.

As a fruit derived from the Buddhist system, living things will not be dealt with by the Altar Purifier, but will be converted by his last ability, or symbiotic influence.

Simply put, all the viruses, fungi, parasites and other living individuals accumulated during the period of the [Bodhi Tree God] will become the followers of the [Altar Purifier]. These lives can clean up filth, plague and viruses very well.

From a certain perspective, this Tao fruit is very, very suitable for the current world.

After all, the power of the Bodhi Tree God is still limited to concepts such as the natural environment, filth, plague, and viruses.

But the [Altar Purifier] is different. Its core concepts are actually [Altar Purification] and [Assimilation], which are very capable of handling the many alienated situations in this world.

Chu Tai, who understood this, also understood the original Buddha's thoughts. He looked at Zhu Bajie and said, "I have conceived a new fruition that was born from your enlightenment. I wonder if you are willing to accept it?"

Zhu Bajie heard this and said with a smile: "Since the Buddha is willing to give it to me, how can I refuse? I just don't know what level it is?"

"You are also familiar with this fruit position. It is the Altar Purifier."

When these words were spoken, Zhu Bajie was stunned for a moment, and so were Jin Chanzi and others beside him.

But Chu Tai did not give them time to react. He raised his hand and released a emerald green Buddha light. Layer upon layer of light spread out, and a virtual image of a Bodhisattva that looked like it was made of jade appeared.

His appearance is exactly the same as the Bodhisattva of the Altar Purifier who stood behind Zhu Bajie before, but whether it is Jin Chanzi, Erlang Shen, or Maitreya, they all feel a sense of weirdness.

Golden light appeared in Sun Wukong's eyes. He took a look at the Bodhisattva and immediately realized that it was not jade at all. It was clearly a polymer of countless fungi, bacteria, viruses and algae, which was emitting a vitality that was completely different from that of normal life.

If this Emerald Bodhisattva had not been born from Chu Tai's palm, and contained a lot of the same aura as Zhu Bajie's Taoist fruit, Sun Wukong would have taken out the golden cudgel and destroyed this Dharma image directly.

But even though he knew in his heart that there was no big problem with this Dharma image, Sun Wukong still protected Zhu Bajie with some concern.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Bajie walked to the front and stretched out his hand to touch the Bodhisattva.

In an instant, many insights automatically flowed into Zhu Bajie's mind. He felt a huge will, and green lotus flowers gradually grew under his feet.

Without the protection of the Bodhisattva's Dharma image, Jin Chanzi, Erlang Shen and Maitreya all saw the true nature of the lotuses and could not help but take two steps back.

But soon they discovered something was wrong. Although these lotuses were aggregates of countless fungi, bacteria, viruses and algae, their seemingly blooming changes were actually the result of the wriggling of countless fungi, bacteria, viruses and algae, giving people a strange sense of distortion.

But these lotus flowers did purify the surrounding environment during the blooming process, and even alleviated some of the problems of alienation between heaven and earth.

Jin Chanzi squatted down and carefully observed the emerald lotus, with some amazement in his eyes. He looked at Chu Tai and said, "The Buddha is so compassionate and wise that he can come up with such a wonderful method to solve the problems that may exist in the future."

After saying this, Jin Chanzi looked at Sun Wukong and said, "Wukong, with Bajie's help, the continuation of heaven and earth will be greatly guaranteed in the future."

Sun Wukong remained silent upon hearing this, but Chu Tai shook his head and said, "Although I have some wisdom, without Bajie's enlightenment, I would not have achieved this level of wisdom. This is all thanks to Bajie."

"Your words, World Honored One, really embarrass me, an old pig. I can see that there are many other fruit levels before this fruit. Those things are obviously your insights. Without them, my little idea would not have produced such a mysterious effect. The World Honored One has done more."

(End of this chapter)