Humans in the primordial world, inscribing the Way of Heaven!

Chapter 202 [Bodhi Awakens to Truth, Lotus Manifests] (Please Subscribe)
For Buddhism, the most important things are undoubtedly the Bodhi tree and the twelve-petaled golden lotus of merit, which are also related to the great path of the two saints.

When they attained sainthood, they saw the Bodhi tree and the lotus flower. They smiled at each other and realized the Dharma from the Bodhi tree and the golden lotus of merit.

Therefore, in Buddhism, there are also the concepts of Bodhi enlightenment and lotus manifestation!

The former emphasizes the word "enlightenment," which means profound wisdom. Once you understand it, it's like having a Bodhi tree constantly helping you to attain enlightenment.

The latter focuses on the concept of "form." While Buddha originally had no form, the World Honored One Tathagata comprehended the thirty-two forms from the origins of Buddhism.

These thirty-two marks are further divided into the outer thirty-two marks and the inner thirty-two marks, totaling sixty-four marks, which ultimately return to the formless and formless realm.

When Xuan Yin first entered the Solitary Garden, Shakyamuni was already talking about the thirty-two marks of a Buddha.

The thirty-two external features are as follows: 1. The feet are flat and smooth like the bottom of a box; 2. The feet have the appearance of a thousand-spoked wheel; 3. The hands and feet are longer than others; 4. The hands and feet are softer than others; 5. The hands and feet are connected like a net; 6. The heels are full and good; 7. The insteps are high and the roots are well-proportioned; 8. The legs are slender and good like those of the King of the Deer.

Nine, hands rubbing knees; ten, yin hidden like a horse king; eleven, body length and breadth equal; twelve, pores growing soft blue; thirteen, hairs turning soft blue and spiraling to the right; fourteen, golden light with subtle appearance; fifteen, body and face each a zhang long; sixteen, thin, smooth skin unaffected by dust, water, or mosquitoes.

Seventeen ounces: full in seven places, including the feet, hands, shoulders, and neck; eighteen ounces: full under the armpits; nineteen ounces: the body is like a lion; twenty ounces: the body is upright; twenty-one ounces: the shoulders are round and good; twenty-two ounces: all forty teeth are present; twenty-three ounces: the teeth are white, even, and deep-rooted; twenty-four ounces: the four whitest and largest teeth.

Twenty-five cheeks like a lion; twenty-six saliva in the throat tastes of superior quality; twenty-seven tongue large and thin, covering the face to the hairline; twenty-eight Sanskrit voice deep and resonant like the sound of the Kalavinka; twenty-nine eyes as golden as gold; thirty eyelashes like a bull king; thirty-one white hair between the eyebrows like cotton wool; thirty-two ushnisha (cranial protuberance) on the top of the head.

The inner thirty-two aspects corresponding to the outer thirty-two are respectively: the aspect of mind, the aspect of external appearance, the aspect of reliance, the aspect of action, the aspect of intention, the aspect of mental arising, the aspect of abiding, the aspect of self, the aspect of common appearance, the aspect of coarseness, the aspect of stillness, the aspect of receiving, the aspect of differentiation, the aspect of coexistence, the aspect of defilement, the aspect of non-defilement, the aspect of right expedient means, the aspect of wrong expedient means, the aspect of light, the aspect of observation, the aspect of virtuous concentration, the aspect of cessation, the aspect of raising, the aspect of observation, the aspect of relinquishing, the aspect of entering concentration, the aspect of abiding in concentration, the aspect of exiting concentration, the aspect of increase, the aspect of decrease, the aspect of expedient means, and the aspect of initiation.

Looking at the lotus seeds of the Golden Lotus of Merit in his hand, Xuan Yin couldn't help but think of the lotus manifestation, and his gaze involuntarily turned towards the Golden Lotus of Merit itself.

The Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus of Merit is a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, and also an object used to suppress the fortune of Buddhism. It has exactly thirty-two lotus petals.

"I see!"

Being in the solitary garden, with the blessing of the Bodhi tree, Xuan Yin's enlightenment surpassed that of the past, and he instantly understood the true mystery of the lotus manifestation.

The Taoist priest who guided the way saw the lotus flower and realized the Buddha's way, believing that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature. The thirty-two lotus petals corresponded exactly to the thirty-two marks of Buddha's enlightenment.

The inner and outer appearances are simply different perspectives on the true nature of the lotus!
At the same time, Xuan Yin couldn't help but think of the Five Dreams and Seven Minds, a mysterious method that was similar to the lotus manifestation in Buddhism.

Furthermore, since both the True Man of Nanhua and the Daoist Guided One practiced the Dao of Dreams, it's hard to guarantee that the Daoist Guided One didn't offer any guidance to the True Man of Nanhua!
"The relationship between the People's Church and Buddhism seems to be more complicated than I imagined!"

“When the future Buddha Maitreya went to Tushita Palace to avoid disaster when the demonic calamity came, the Nan Hua Zhenren who transmitted the Five Dreams and Seven Hearts to me through the remains of the Mirage Dragon was also closely connected with the Buddhist guide Daoist! Could it be that Taiqing Laozi and the two Western Saints reached some kind of deal in a certain era?”
Xuan Yin pondered incessantly. Under the blessing of the Bodhi tree's Daoist aura, countless causes and effects were constantly combining and arranging in his mind, seemingly trying to break through the chaotic fog and glimpse the hidden truth.

Furthermore, looking at the golden lotus seeds of merit in his hand, he couldn't help but ponder, "Now there are thirty-five Buddhas ahead of me. Does that mean that if they die, I will become Shakyamuni?"

Although he knew that those ahead of him were all individuals of great destiny from the Primordial True World, pillars of the Buddhist system, and unlikely to perish without a great calamity, he was still destined to bring calamity upon the Buddhas in the Solitary Garden because he had inherited Rahu's karma.

But he didn't want to be pushed along by the general trend of Heaven, so he began to think about whether it was possible to maintain a balance between the Buddhist forces and the demonic forces.
For example, they could stage a charade with Daoist Duobao, using the demonic calamity to strike at the power of Buddhism, thus giving it more say in the Lonely Garden!

When Daoist Duobao no longer wants to be Buddha, then perhaps I can succeed him in order of succession, and at the same time, I can test the true nature of that Maitreya!

However, after thinking about it, he realized that the Buddha-Demon Calamity was something that would happen many eons later, so thinking about it now didn't seem to make much sense!

"Why bother?"

Xuan Yin's heart stirred: "If I want to find out his background, why not just have someone take action against him? That way I can uncover the cause and effect between him and Taiqing."

"The best place to take action is in the east, or in the Heavenly Court, so that Haotian can observe Maitreya's abnormality in time!"

"Or, let's put him in a place where the two Western Saints can't come to his rescue in time, and see if Taiqing Laozi will step in to save Maitreya!"

If Maitreya could reveal the innate Ren water essence within him, it might create some discord between Haotian and the two Western Saints.

Similarly, if Taiqing Laozi could take action, it would indirectly confirm some things.

However, the act of taking action must not be linked to oneself or the Jie Sect in any way.

"Magic way!"

Xuan Yin couldn't help but think of Luo Hou.

Although the demonic path is almost extinct in the Primordial True Realm now, there are still many beings in the Demon Realm who can rival Quasi-Saints.

Although Luo Hou was defeated in the great battle between the Dao and the Demonic Path, he still managed to secure a glimmer of hope for the Demonic Path.

As the dark side of the primordial Heavenly Dao, the Demonic Path is indispensable. Since Hongjun is one with the Heavenly Dao, he must balance the Yin and Yang aspects of the Heavenly Dao.

He could not eradicate the demonic path. Therefore, after he became a saint, he did not kill those powerful demonic figures, but simply banished them all to the demon realm.

Although the Dao is now rising and the Demon is falling, there are still many weak spatial nodes in the Primordial True Realm that can connect with the Demon Realm.

For example, the Dark Abyss near Mount Sumeru, the Asura Realm opened up by the River Styx, and the Lonely Garden, the sacred land of Dao Source where Xuan Yin is now located.

"Senior Rahu, please show yourself!"

After leaving the Lonely Garden, Xuan Yin did not hesitate and immediately tried to communicate with Luo Hou, preparing to have him send several powerful demonic cultivators from the Demon Realm.

Communicating with Rahu is quite simple: just find a space-time where his mark exists.

Luo Hou quickly responded to Xuan Yin: "Weren't you so resistant before? Why are you contacting me now?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yin immediately laughed and said, "I just suddenly feel that the future of the demonic path is bright!"

Luo Hou, however, did not believe it and immediately snorted coldly: "Then why is it that you have broken through to the Heavenly Yi realm in the Divine Path and achieved the Great Enlightenment Golden Immortal realm in the Buddhist Path, while in the Demonic Path you are still stuck in the Six Desires Heavenly Demon realm and have not broken through to the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon realm?"

Xuan Yin's demonic cultivation level was achieved through direct empowerment, but since the last empowerment, Xuan Yin's demonic cultivation has not improved.

He was naturally somewhat dissatisfied.

Xuan Yin didn't care about anything else and directly stated his purpose: he wanted Luo Hou to send out a few Heavenly Demon Kings to test Maitreya.

"interesting!"

Luo Hou immediately laughed: "As expected of the second-generation Luo Hou that I value, you actually dare to provoke the wrath of three Heavenly Dao Saints at the same time!"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yin's heart stirred: "Could it be that the Demon Ancestor knows the secrets of Maitreya and his connection with the Supreme Saint?"

"I'm not entirely sure!"

Luo Hou did not hide anything, but shook his head and said, "But I still have a general guess about the cause and effect between Maitreya and Taiqing Laozi! If I am not mistaken, their relationship is actually the same as our relationship!"

The two of us?

Xuan Yin was immediately startled: "You mean Maitreya might be the second Supreme Elder? How is that possible? Shouldn't the second Supreme Elder be Xuan Du?"

Luo Hou scoffed, "Things in this world are never as simple as they seem. Take you, for example. You were clearly Tongtian's disciple, but you didn't become a second-generation spiritual treasure. Instead, you established a karmic connection with me and almost inherited the mark of Yuanshi Tianzun!"

"Who told you that a second-generation Supreme Being must be a disciple of the Human Sect?"

"Is it possible that Xuandu is just a target in the open, while Maitreya of Buddhism is the second-generation Supreme Being chosen by Laozi of Taiqing?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yin fell into shock and silence. Although Luo Hou's guess was crazy, it was undoubtedly the most likely one.

Given Taiqing Laozi's calculations, he might not necessarily bring the second-generation Taishang into the open!

If this is the case, it is not difficult to understand why the two Western Saints reached an agreement with Laozi, and even allowed Laozi to use the method of converting barbarians to Buddhism in order to obtain the fortune of the flourishing of Buddhism!
Because those two, or the Buddhist community, can gain more benefits.

If Maitreya becomes the second Supreme Being and inherits the Dao Fruit of Taiqing Laozi, then a Heavenly Dao Saint will appear out of nowhere in Buddhism!
Although the Buddhist Three Buddhas system can help Buddhism stand on equal footing with the Xuanmen (Taoist sect) in the endless river of time by relying on the status of saints, it is still inferior to three true saints in the end!
Among the two saints of Buddhism, the Daoist Jieyin mainly cultivates Nirvana, aiming to emulate the Heavenly Venerable Lingbao, while the Daoist Zhunti focuses most of his energy on the Dao of Cause and Effect, undoubtedly aiming to emulate the Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi.

If Maitreya can inherit the Dao fruit of Taiqing Laozi, Buddhism will have a foundation for survival and can suppress the Xuanmen in the endless river of time and space.

This explains why Maitreya was able to enter Tushita Heaven to avoid calamity!
Maitreya descended to earth from Tushita Heaven 5.67 billion years after the Buddha's passing, which means he stayed in Tushita Heaven for 5.67 billion years, or one Yuanhui. If we calculate it as 129,600 years, then he stayed there for 4,375 Yuanhui.

During such a long period of time, Maitreya in Tushita Heaven could not have done nothing; he may have quietly inherited the karma of Taiqing Laozi.

Only in this way could Maitreya, who was suppressed by Tathagata Many Treasures in Buddhism, possibly turn the tide in the face of the demonic calamity.

Even if he didn't inherit all of Laozi's karma, but only half of it, he could still be invincible below the level of a sage.

"Whether it is or not, we'll just have to test it out!"

Upon seeing this, Rahu immediately revealed a smile: "Your request is granted! If Maitreya is truly the second Supreme Being chosen by Laozi of the Supreme Purity, I wonder if the Primordial Heavenly Venerable will still be able to sit still?"

Xuan Yin seemed to be deep in thought: "Then, does Xuan know about this matter?"

(End of this chapter)