Under One Person: My Inner Realm Connects to All Worlds!

Chapter 171 Golden Millet Tathagata
Maiji Grottoes, named for its resemblance to a stack of wheat, is one of the four major grottoes in China. Although not as famous as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, it is still a scenic spot.

These caves are cleverly carved into the cliffs on the southwest, south, and southeast sides of the mountain, and are connected to each other by layers of interconnected walkways, resembling a magnificent three-dimensional corridor.

At this moment, Han Yun and Jing Ling looked up from the foot of the grotto and saw thousands of Buddhas like millet grains and tens of thousands of niches like stars, scattered in a well-organized manner on the steep cliff.

The "ten thousand" here is not a figurative number, but a real number.

It looks like a densely packed pile of wheat, no wonder it's called Maijishan (Wheat Mountain).

The Mirror Spirit looked up at the Buddha statues that had weathered a thousand years of wind and rain, and suddenly said softly, "Master, the styles of these Buddha statues seem to be slightly different."

Han Yun nodded: "The grottoes here were first built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and have been carved and constructed for more than 1,600 years through the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties, resulting in such a beautiful landscape."

“The styles of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Vajras, etc., vary from dynasty to dynasty, which is normal.”

Upon hearing this, Jingling couldn't help but exclaim, "A thousand Buddhas gathered together, ten thousand Buddhas arrayed like mountains—it is truly a magnificent sight!"

Han Yun shook his head and said, "Is it spectacular?"

"maybe!"

"But all these Buddhist shrines are nothing but useless things!" Han Yun said meaningfully.

The Mirror Spirit, puzzled, asked, "Master, why do you say that?"

Han Yun smiled slightly, a golden light emanating from between his brows, and opened his third eye, saying, "All the splendor and ornaments are mere puppets and clay sculptures; what you seek is not real, and all the troubles are contained within."

The Mahāvaiṣā-tāra Sūtra states: "It is like all kinds of rice grains, whose outer skin and pulp have not been removed. The poor still despise them, thinking they are worthless. Although they seem useless on the outside, they are not actually damaged on the inside. Once the outer skin and pulp are removed, they become the food of a king."

"This is a metaphor for how sentient beings are covered by afflictions, just as rice reveals its pure Buddha-nature only after the chaff is removed."

"These myriad Buddhist shrines were mostly expanded by rulers or gentry families throughout history for purposes such as praying for blessings and longevity. They are the root of afflictions, not the root of purity."

“True believers seek to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and to receive good results through practical actions, rather than placing their hopes on these puppets and clay sculptures.”

"If we compare this mountain to the head of the Buddha, then these grotto statues are like the fleshy protuberance on the Buddha's head. Relatively speaking, each additional statue adds a strand of affliction to the true Buddha, rather than a meritorious act."

No matter how magnificent a Buddha statue is, to the true Buddha, it is nothing more than a speck of dust.

In Han Yun's third eye, one can see that at the core of the entire Maijishan Mountain lies a pure and compassionate golden land, containing boundless light of wisdom.

The Buddha statues on the mountainside were covered with shimmering colors, as if concealing a perfectly good Buddhist sanctuary.

So, is praying to gods and Buddhas truly a way to escape the sea of ​​suffering, or is it just a way to continuously accumulate and satisfy one's various selfish desires?

There is a story about Guanyin Bodhisattva that says it's better to rely on yourself than on others. The Buddha can save all sentient beings, but sentient beings also need to save themselves.

Buddha is also one of the masses of sentient beings.

Han Yun took Jing Ling's hand: "Let's go, let's go up and take a look."

The two climbed the winding plank road, with sheer cliffs beneath their feet and drifting white clouds above. Though narrow, the plank road was remarkably sturdy, having withstood a thousand years of wind and rain to support travelers. The road twisted and turned, and Han Yun and Jing Ling ascended slowly. On either side, Buddha statues adorned the cliff faces, some solemn, some benevolent, some glaring, silently surveying all living beings in the dappled light and shadow.

"Master, look!"

The spirit suddenly pointed to a severely weathered cave. Inside, the main Buddha's left arm was missing, but his right hand still held a flower-holding posture, and several clusters of pale purple wildflowers had sprouted from the broken lotus stem, swaying gently in the wind.

Han Yun stopped and sighed, "When the craftsmen of the Northern Wei Dynasty carved the mountain, did they ever imagine that a thousand years later, the Buddha's palm would bloom into a flower in the human world?"

"Let's go, this isn't our destination!"

Han Yun and Jing Ling finally arrived at a mural depicting the "Vimalakirti Sutra: Chapter on Fragrant Accumulation".

"Vimalakirti, Golden Millet Tathagata!"

Han Yuntian slightly opened his eyes and saw the hidden realm in Maijishan through the mural. It was the place where the relics of the Golden Millet Buddha were enshrined!
Vimalakirti was a wealthy merchant elder in Vaishali, as well as a lay Buddhist practitioner and a famous lay bodhisattva. He enjoyed worldly wealth and was also skilled in Buddhist teachings, earning the deep respect of the Buddha. He was also a role model for the poet Wang Wei.

He had a beautiful wife and two children, a son named Shansi Tongzi and a daughter named Yue Shang Nu, both of whom possessed good karma from past lives. The family of four entertained themselves with Buddhist teachings in their daily lives.

In Sanskrit, "vi" means "without," "mo" means "dirty," and "jie" means "balanced." Thus, it means "immaculate."

Ironically, the place where the relics of this immaculate Bodhisattva were enshrined became filled with "filth" after thousands of years!
Sometimes, things are just that dramatic.

Those grottoes were carved and sculpted after countless hours of blood and sweat. People often say that they wish to use this merit to adorn the Pure Land of Buddha.

But does the Buddha's Pure Land really need the so-called merit offerings of these people?
Han Yun gazed at the mural, his fingertips lightly touching the mottled paint.

In an instant, the alms bowl in Vimalakirti's hand glowed faintly, and the stone wall rippled like water. Before the Mirror Spirit could finish her exclamation, the two of them were already swept into the vortex of golden ripples.

When I opened my eyes again, the scene before me had changed abruptly.

This is a Buddhist paradise, a miniature grotto-heaven, also known as the Buddhist Realm. Above the sky, golden lotuses bloom and chanting fills the air; on the earth, there are eight treasures and glazed tiles, and pagodas stand tall.

In the center is a nine-tiered lotus platform, upon which sits a golden Buddha statue covered in dust, with eyes slightly closed, a solemn and dignified appearance, and holding tightly a precious pearl that emits a pure white luster.

However, countless colorful threads of cause and effect, like spider webs, are intertwined, each thread connecting to a Buddha statue outside the mountain, with the greedy wishes of the donors floating on the threads.

People seek wealth, children, blessings, official positions... and so on, each with its own color.

The golden body on the nine-tiered lotus platform was wrapped in layers of these silk threads, like a firefly trapped in a cocoon, and the light of the white urna inlaid between its eyebrows flickered.

Han Yun brushed aside the silk threads hanging in front of his eyes, using the emptiness of Buddhism to disperse countless causes and effects. Then, he slowly wiped away the silk threads on the golden body, revealing the original appearance of the Golden Millet Tathagata's golden body.

To cleanse the mind and purify the heart, one must sweep the tower; to subdue demons and return to righteousness, one must cultivate oneself!
In Journey to the West, during the tribulations of Jisaguo, Tang Sanzang encountered Buddha and worshipped him, and swept the pagoda he encountered. This pagoda was not just any pagoda, but a metaphor for the pagoda of one's inner self.

The Buddha is not far away on Mount Ling, for Mount Ling resides only in your heart. Everyone has a pagoda on Mount Ling, so cultivate yourself beneath it.

(End of this chapter)