Great Love for All Heavens Begins with Huang Yaoshi

Chapter 288 Only the clear breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains can be heard as sound and seen as color.

"Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, your Buddha-nature is profound; why be so stubbornly persistent?" The Buddha lowered his eyes and said:

"Is Buddha-nature hidden deep within?"

Zhuang Buran chuckled softly:
"Hehe, Buddhists all take it as their responsibility to save all sentient beings, and you even went so far as to cut off your own flesh to feed an eagle."

He spoke slowly:
"Instead of trying to save all sentient beings and being willing to be their beasts of burden, I might as well just take on this calamity for Zhuang. Perhaps my hidden Buddha-nature will then manifest, and I will enter the Buddhist path, becoming compassionate and willing to save all sentient beings in the sea of ​​suffering."

"Benefactor, are you truly willing?" The Buddha's eyes narrowed slightly.

Zhuang Buran radiated Buddhist light, revealing the great vow of Buddhism to empathize with the suffering of all sentient beings and actively rescue them.

This includes not only deep empathy for suffering, but also the intention and will to help all beings escape the sea of ​​suffering through spiritual practice and cultivation.

When the boundless compassion and universal empathy of the Buddha filled the Mahavira Hall, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats present looked on with suspicion, wondering if they had been cursed by demons.

While activating the Buddhist essence of the half-fruit of the Buddhist path within his inner world, Zhuang Buran casually said:
"The so-called great compassion is the mindset of relieving suffering, referring to the spiritual realm of a Bodhisattva who is willing to bear all suffering in order to eliminate the pain of sentient beings."

"The first stage is compassion arising from conditions, which is compassion arising from specific suffering, from ordinary people to those who have just started to develop the Bodhicitta. The next stage is compassion arising from phenomena, which is compassion without attachment after realizing the emptiness of all phenomena, from Arhats to Bodhisattvas."

"Finally, there is the Great Compassion Without Limits, which refers to the ultimate compassionate vow that transcends all distinctions and equally saves all beings, the state of Buddhahood."

The Buddha's tone softened slightly, and he seemed somewhat pleased as he said:

“You truly possess Buddha-nature, and have now reached the stage of compassion for all beings, hence your desire to devour demons to save all sentient beings.”

"However, since one can become a demon or a Buddha in a single thought, there is also the intention to destroy the three realms and the ten directions."

The white-haired, red-eyed youth withdrew his Buddhist aura and lazily spoke:
"It's so easy to talk to smart people. I wonder if Buddha would be willing to sacrifice himself to save me from this calamity?"

The Buddha pondered for a long while, a glint of light flashing in his eyes:
“Amitabha Buddha, the path to the West has been cut off in this world. You have a karmic connection with the Buddha. Guiding you into the path is no less than saving sentient beings. With your abilities, you will surely be able to enlighten Buddhism and make the Dharma flourish in the world.”

"Therefore, why should this old monk cherish this body?"

Zhuang Buran smiled gently, but a deep look of wanting to explore flashed in the depths of his eyes. In the depths of his heart, he felt a great aversion to Buddhism, and also a strange feeling that Buddhism should be like this.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the main hall tried to dissuade him, but were rebuked by the Tathagata in an unquestionable manner.

“Benefactor, if you can let go of the attachments in your heart, our Buddhist community will open the door of convenience for you.”

The Buddha radiated great light, and his physical form collapsed into nothingness, disappearing without a trace.

At the moment of Buddha's death, the Buddhist scroll on the Five Elements Mountain shattered, and Sun Wukong in the stone box at the foot of the mountain was stunned. He felt the Five Elements Mountain loosen and no longer felt the restraint and suppression.

He gathered his strength and stood up, instantly breaking through the Five Elements Mountain. A loud sound rang out in the sky, showing signs of the earth cracking and mountains collapsing.

The Heavenly Court also sensed this, and countless gods had a thought: Could it be that even the all-powerful and boundless Buddha Tathagata could be harmed by demons?

The atmosphere inside the Lingxiao Palace was unusually heavy and oppressive. Even the Jade Emperor's face grew increasingly grim. If something were to happen at the Western Paradise, his Heavenly Court would likely suffer as well.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Sun Wukong has escaped from the Five Elements Mountain and is fighting his way up to Heaven again!" a heavenly general hurriedly reported.

The Jade Emperor suddenly stood up and shouted:
"Li Jing, Nezha, the Four Marshals, the Five Qi True Lords, the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Nine Luminaries, the Twelve Yuan Chen, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, hurry up and subdue the demon!"

After the immortals received their orders, he further instructed:
"Lord Taibai, hurry and send him to Guanjiang Estuary, and have Erlang Shen ascend to heaven to save the emperor immediately."

"According to the order."

Before long, Sun Wukong appeared wearing a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown, a golden chainmail armor, lotus-silk cloud-walking shoes, and a Ruyi Jingu Bang as thick as a bowl. With one blow, he forced the Nine Luminaries to shut their doors and the Four Heavenly Kings to vanish without a trace.

Then, he used his iron rod to beat Li Jing, Nezha, the Four Marshals and other gods into retreat. Fortunately, when they reached the Tongming Hall and were about to enter the Lingxiao Palace, Erlang Shen arrived in time.

However, facing a powerful enemy eager to avenge his previous defeat, Sun Wukong had no heart for fighting. After feinting with Erlang Shen, he disappeared into the Lingxiao Palace and shouted again:
"You old Jade Emperor, I, Sun Wukong, have no intention of causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace or seizing your throne today. Where is my disciple now?"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor and the many gods were taken aback, looking as if they did not understand what he meant.

"The post on Five Elements Mountain suddenly disappeared. Could it be that he went to the Heavenly Court and threatened you to release me, Old Sun?"

At this moment, Nezha said thoughtfully:
"Monkey, you're not talking about the Great Sage Who Devours Heaven, are you?" "The Great Sage Who Devours Heaven?" Sun Wukong leaped to Nezha's side.

"What an impressive name! Is his surname Zhuang and his given name Buran?"

“I don’t know his exact name, but his surname is definitely Zhuang,” Nezha replied.

"Where is he now?" Sun Wukong asked impatiently.

“Since his birth, he has been heading west, devouring any evil demons he encounters.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately said:

"Did he go to Mount Ling?"

"That's right. After devouring more than 100,000 demons in Lion Camel Ridge and killing Guanyin Bodhisattva, Maitreya Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, he went up to Mount Ling not long after."

Nezha spoke with an indescribable expression:
"Then, not long after, you came out with five."

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Wukong leaped up and headed west, leaving many immortals standing there looking at each other in disbelief. They never expected that the previously unruly Devouring Sage was actually Sun Wukong's disciple.

Inside the Mahavira Hall.

"Gentlemen, your Buddhas have already passed away and entered the cycle of calamity, why don't you quickly end your own lives?"

A Bodhisattva stepped forward and said:
"Devouring Heaven, you truly are a shameless monster."

Zhuang Bu Ran clapped his hands and laughed:
"Hahaha, a long time ago, when I was three years old, I could recognize all colors, but at thirty I could hardly distinguish black from white. I also learned to walk very young, but as I grew older, I didn't know how to walk."

He conjured a divine axe that could split the heavens and earth in his hand:
"I have no enemies along the way, only teachers, who have taught me lesson after lesson."

As the white-haired, red-eyed youth finished speaking, he unleashed a powerful axe strike, annihilating the five Bodhisattvas without a trace.

"Sever my innocence, kill my naivety!"

Another dazzling axe light burst forth, and the four Vajra Kings and five hundred Arhats were annihilated, body and soul.

"To temper my mind and strengthen my body!"

The three thousand Jiedi, the eleven Great Luminaries, and the eighteen Garan were once again cleaved into ashes by a single axe beam.

"From then on, Zhuang learned to be ruthless and not to feel sorry for anyone. He had to make sure that others treated him well."

“The karma between you Buddhist sect and me is too deep. If I don’t cleave you into pieces thousands of times, how can I be worthy of all the things I have been through in the past?”

Having said that, he overturned the Great Thunderclap Temple with a single axe stroke, hanging it above Mount Ling. With a thought, the sacred Mount Ling was engulfed in raging flames.

"Zhuang boy!"

"Monkey, after more than ten years of getting along, what is most precious to me is not the various insights and experiences of cultivation, but your incredibly stable, optimistic and positive temperament."

Zhuang Buran put away the Heaven-Opening Divine Axe and smiled brightly:
"Even after being trapped under the mountain for many years, his personality remained unchanged. Even when he suffered hardships, he was still a sunny and cheerful young man with no dark thoughts whatsoever."

“From now on, I must follow your example. If I encounter an enemy, I will not wait overnight. I will report it on the spot and not think about it again.”

After saying this, his figure became ethereal and vanished without a trace, leaving only the following sentence:
"Only the clear breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains can be heard as sound and seen as color; they can be taken without restriction and used without exhaustion!"

"Monkey, the heavens are vast, and we will meet again someday!"

Sun Wukong was taken aback, and then he realized something. No wonder he couldn't foresee someone's secrets before. It turned out that the person was from outside the Heavenly Realm. He hadn't gone to the Heavenly Court to cause trouble, but only to ask for some information. Who knew that the Four Heavenly Kings would start shouting and spreading rumors as soon as they saw him?

They didn't give him a chance to explain, so when facing Erlang Shen, they just kept avoiding the fight, looking for an opportunity to speak.

Now that I see this scene at Lingshan, I can guess that besides my own factors, someone probably has some karmic grudge against Lingshan.

Then, Sun Wukong stood there silently for a long time.

(End of this chapter)