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

Chapter 190 Meeting the Tathagata

At this time, Han Yun had already arrived in Ganzhou.

Through divination within the inner vision, Han Yun learned that there was a hidden opportunity within the Great Buddha Temple in this place, which had never been obtained by anyone.

Dafosi Temple, originally named Kasyapa Tathagata Temple, is also known as "Reclining Buddha Temple" because it houses a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in Nirvana. It was built by imperial decree of successive dynasties.

Inside the temple is a reclining Buddha statue of Shakyamuni in Nirvana, which is the largest indoor clay sculpture reclining Buddha in China, measuring over 34 meters in length and 7.5 meters in shoulder width.

The wooden clay sculpture is painted with gold leaf, the face is gilded, the head rests on a lotus pedestal, the figure lies on its side, the eyes are half-closed, and the lips are slightly parted.

On either side of the Buddha statue are standing statues of a female layperson and a male layperson, while on the back is a portrait of the ten disciples mourning the Buddha. On the north and south sides are groups of eighteen Arhats, each with a different posture and vivid image.

Nirvana refers to the passing away of Shakyamuni Buddha on the fifteenth day of the second month of the lunar calendar in 486 BC under the twin Sala trees in Kushinagar, symbolizing the end of his cycle of rebirth and the attainment of a state free from suffering.

According to records, before his death, he accepted Subhadra's refuge and left behind teachings such as "take the precepts as your teacher." After his body was cremated, his relics were distributed among eight kings to build stupas.

At this moment, Han Yun stood before the Nirvana image, gazing at the enormous reclining Buddha, his eyes half-closed, his expression a mixture of sorrow and joy. The hall was filled with the smoke of incense, yet it was empty; only the ever-burning lamps cast flickering shadows deep within the Buddha's eyes.

He stood still for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand to form a mudra, a point of spiritual light condensing at his fingertips. The opportunity revealed in the inner vision pointed directly to this reclining Buddha, but on the surface, it was just an ordinary clay sculpture with gold accents, huge and solemn, yet devoid of any spiritual energy.

Han Yun frowned slightly.

Throughout his spiritual practice, he had witnessed many hidden opportunities, often concealed beneath the ordinary. He slowly walked around to the back of the Buddha statue, his gaze sweeping over the ten disciples' mourning figures.

The statues are all different in form, some beating their chests and stamping their feet, others clasping their hands in silent mourning, all of them lifelike.

When his gaze fell upon a disciple's statue with his hands covering his face, the inner scene suddenly stirred. Han Yun stopped, staring with his Heavenly Eye at the gaps between the fingers covering the face, where a barely perceptible golden light flowed.

"So this is where it is."

He spoke softly, gathering Qi at his fingertips, reaching out to touch it.

Just as the fingertips were about to touch the statue, the entire hall suddenly trembled slightly. The masked disciple's hands slowly moved away, revealing a pair of hollowed-out eye sockets, from which golden light shone brightly!
An aged voice resounded directly within Han Yun's palace: "How can I see the Tathagata?"

Han Yun withdrew his hand, stood behind him, and calmly replied, "Seeing nothing, one sees the Tathagata."

The voice then asked, "If you see nothing, how do you know it is the Tathagata?"

Han Yun smiled and pointed to his heart: "The Buddha is not a clay statue, but resides in the hearts of all beings. If the mind has no attachment, then one sees the Buddha."

After a moment of silence, all the Arhat statues in the hall seemed to subtly shift their orientation, and all eyes were focused on Han Yun.

The masked disciple lowered his hands completely, revealing a face tinged with both compassion and joy, his eyes gleaming with a soft golden light: "Excellent! Excellent!"

The golden light, like dew and lightning, transformed into countless specks, weaving eight-treasure glazed patterns in the void. It gradually spread out in the air, seemingly transforming the surrounding scenery into another view.

Han Yun felt the blue bricks beneath his feet turn into soft soil, and the sandalwood scent was replaced by a bitter, grassy aroma. When the light faded, he found himself standing under a grove of sal trees.

The moon, like a disc, hung high in the sky, its clear light spilling onto the earth. Two trees, one withered and one flourishing, their branches intertwined like an archway, beneath which lay a person.

The man lay on his right side, ankles crossed, left hand on his left thigh, and right arm bent to support his chin—the very image of the Buddha's Nirvana as described in the scriptures. However, his face was shrouded in a soft halo, making it difficult to discern clearly.

Disciples sat around him, some bowing their heads in sorrow, others silently shedding tears.

Han Yun's gaze swept across the scene, finding a perfect match to the ten mourning figures behind the Buddha statue. Only one figure, with his face hidden behind his sleeve and his shoulders trembling violently, was the original form of the masked disciple. "Where do you come from, layman?" someone suddenly asked from behind.

Han Yun turned around and saw an old monk standing there, holding a tin staff, with deep lines etched on his forehead. The voice from the hall just now belonged to this man.

"I come from the place I came from." Han Yun put his palms together in greeting. "Is the Venerable One Subhadra?"

The old monk nodded and tapped the ground lightly with his staff: "The World-Honored One is about to enter Nirvana. Your arrival here must be due to some karmic connection."

He led Han Yun to the shade of the twin trees and pointed to the disciple who had covered his face, saying, "The Venerable Anuruddha dared not look at the holy face of the World-Honored One for three days, saying that seeing it would break his heart."

Han Yun focused his gaze and saw that golden light was emanating from between the disciple's fingers, exactly the same as what he had seen from the statue in the main hall. He immediately understood: the opportunity was not in the Buddha statue, but in the moment when Venerable Anuruddha dared not see the Buddha yet saw the Buddha, the moment he realized the seeing of no seeing.

Suddenly, a strange fragrance filled the air, and the voice of the one lying under the tree sounded like the chanting of Brahma: "Take the precepts as your teacher, take the Dharma as your refuge, and take seeing your true nature and understanding your mind as the ultimate goal."

This is a dying instruction.

After he finished speaking, a great light emanated from his body, illuminating the three realms.

All the disciples prostrated themselves on the ground and wept bitterly, but Venerable Anuruddha suddenly raised his head, his eyes empty, for he was blind!
Yet tears welled up from her empty eye sockets like golden nectar, condensing in the air and forming a crystal pearl.

"Though my eyes are blind, I see the Buddha with my heart." The Venerable One held the pearl and wept. "To see all forms as non-forms is to see the Tathagata!"

Han Yun's heart trembled violently. It turned out that the reason why the statues of later generations covered their faces with their hands was not to hide their sorrow, but to symbolize seeing the truth of reality without eyes! That golden light was not some kind of magic treasure, but the wisdom light of Prajna left behind by Venerable Anuruddha when he realized his true nature and enlightened his mind.

Just then, the entire scene began to ripple like a reflection in water. Subhadra placed his staff in front of Han Yun: "Sights cannot linger. Now that you have attained profound understanding, you should take this seal of mind with you and return home."

Han Yun shook his head: "Bodhi has no tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Originally there is nothing, so where can dust settle?"

After speaking, he ignored the crystal pearl and bowed to the void.

With this bow, the twin sal trees, the holy assembly of Nirvana, and the flowing moonlight all transformed into countless golden specks, flowing into Han Yun's brow like rivers flowing into the sea.

When I opened my eyes again, I was still standing in the Great Buddha Hall, the eternal flame of the lamps flickering slightly, as if nothing had ever happened.

However, he had a new book in his mind called "The True Scripture of No Seeing," which begins: "If you see all forms as non-forms, it is not about seeing or not seeing, but about seeing without dwelling. The mind is like empty space, which can contain everything but is originally devoid of anything."

It is quite similar to the lineage of the Buddha of Emptiness, and it even includes two volumes of the lineage of the Divine Eye and the Treasury of Vision as appendices.

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall. The old abbot pushed open the door and entered, seeing Han Yun standing alone before the Buddha, and asked with a smile, "Have you gained anything, benefactor?"

Han Yun pointed to the masked disciple's image: "To see the Venerable One illuminates the ten directions even when blind."

He then pointed to his own heart: "I can see even more of my own treasure."

Finally, I bowed to the giant reclining Buddha and said, "So Nirvana is not birth and death, every day is a good day."

The abbot was stunned upon hearing this. Looking at the masked statue again, he noticed that its hands had naturally fallen down, revealing a face filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy.

Han Yun had already turned and left the hall, his robes fluttering in the breeze.

(End of this chapter)