Chapter 41: Universal Salvation of Buddhism

  Yuanshi saw Laozi in the Kunlun Mountains and understood that he had established his teachings and become a saint, so he raised the Pangu flag and followed Laozi's example to establish his own teachings. Tongtian also did the same thing to establish his Juejiao teachings.

  In the vast wilderness, three saints appeared in one day. The creatures of the wilderness were worshipping one after another, and their hearts were filled with boundless shock. Only two from the Western side had not yet become saints, and for a time, all eyes were focused on Mount Sumeru in the West.

  "Virtuous younger brother, what do you think of these three becoming saints?"

  "The ancestor took advantage of the human world, this is clearly a clever trick, enjoying the luck of humanity without spending any effort, it's truly a clever calculation that shakes the heavens."

  "That's right."

  "The teachings set up by Yuanshi and Tongtian seem to be inconsistent in doctrine. It seems that Yuanshi wants to expound the great Tao on behalf of heaven, while Tongtian wants to intercept that one line of heavenly machinery, looking like a pair of arch-enemies."

  "Brother Xian has overlooked one thing." Jie Yin smiled as he looked at Zhun Ti, who was slightly puzzled.

  "Brother, haven't you realized that the Three Pure Ones are supposed to teach and transform humanity? What method will they use to teach and guide us? The Three Pure Ones haven't mentioned a single word about it, nor have they clarified their specific teachings. How can they possibly teach and transform humanity then?"

  "Brother, you're right, so what should we do now?"

  "You and I have already discussed this, just proceed accordingly."

  The Western world rang out with the sound of chanting, extremely pleasant to the ear, and suddenly calmed the minds of countless beings. On Mount Sumeru, two enormous illusory figures appeared: one sat on a lotus platform, and the other leaned against a tall Bodhi tree.

  Two people asked and answered each other, proclaiming the supreme law of the West.

  "If all living beings knew that everything is like an illusion, then the body and mind would also be illusory. How could one use illusions to cultivate illusions? If all illusory phenomena were completely destroyed, there would be no mind, who would practice cultivation? Why would one again speak of practicing cultivation as if it were an illusion? If all living beings originally did not practice cultivation, they would always dwell in the cycle of birth and death, deluded by ignorance. How could their minds be liberated from the illusory realm? I wish to provide a method for all living beings in the end times to gradually cultivate and enable them to forever depart from all illusions."

  "Good sir, all sentient beings, various illusory transformations, are born from the Tathagata's round and wonderful mind. Like a flower in space, they arise from emptiness. Although the illusory flower is destroyed, the nature of emptiness is not harmed. The minds of sentient beings still depend on the destruction of illusions. When all illusions are destroyed, the awakened mind does not move. To speak of awakening based on illusion is also called illusion. If one says there is awakening, it has not yet departed from illusion. Saying there is no awakening is also like this. Therefore, when illusions are destroyed, it is called non-movement."

  "Good sons, all Bodhisattvas and sentient beings of the latter age should depart from all illusory and false realms. Because of firmly holding onto the mind that departs, even the mind that is like an illusion also departs. Departing from illusions is also an illusion, departing from this departure is also an illusion. When one attains to no departure, then all illusions are eliminated. It is like drilling for fire, where two pieces of wood depend on each other and when the fire comes out, the wood is exhausted and the ashes fly away. Practicing with illusions is also like this. Although all illusions have been exhausted, they do not enter into annihilation."

  Jie Yin and Zhu Ti elaborated on the Western teachings in detail, explaining various methods of cultivation. Afterwards, the two took out two treasures that had been refined earlier - a golden bridge and ten precious boats.

  Jie Ying gently put down the Golden Bridge in his hand and landed it in front of Mount Sumeru.

  "This is the Golden Bridge of the Red Dust, containing three thousand feet of red dust energy. Those who wish to enter my Buddhist gate must cross this bridge with a clear mind and see their true nature, recognize their true self, put down all kinds of delusions, transcend themselves, and attain supreme enlightenment."

  "This is the Treasure Ship of Supreme Bliss, specially designed to welcome all beings from the ten directions who aspire to Buddhahood. Whoever wishes to enter my Buddha's gate, silently recite my Buddha's sacred name in their heart, and with sincere faith, the treasure ship will naturally appear before them, and they can reach the Holy Realm of Mount Sumeru in an instant."

  Zhun Ti also released the Blissful Treasure Boat in his hand, and the two of them again extensively spoke about the various wondrous aspects of Ultimate Bliss. At this time, the sky had already brewed out a huge amount of profound yellow virtuous energy, which was far superior to that of the Three Purities.

  This also made Laozi, Yuanshi and Tongtian's faces turn iron-green as they stared in the direction of Mount Sumeru.

  The two of them have accumulated enough merit to become saints, and I've already cut off the three corpses. The merit is just a catalyst, but it seems that it's still not enough to guarantee the elimination of attachment. At first, I thought that making vows and accumulating merit would be a constraint on myself, and depleting merit wouldn't be a good thing. However, after confirming the teachings of universal salvation, I realized that my great vow was indeed this way. Even if I didn't make a great vow, I would still have to find a way for the liberation of all beings, so what's the harm in borrowing some merit?

  The two gazed at each other, and in unison recited: "If I attain supreme enlightenment, and become a Buddha, my land will be fully adorned with infinite merits, and there will be no hell, hungry ghosts, animals, or any of the lower realms. All beings from all quarters, including those from the Avichi Hell, the three evil paths, who are reborn in my land, will receive my teachings and attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and never again fall into the evil realms. If I obtain this wish, I will become a Buddha; if not, I will not take supreme enlightenment..."

  The forty-eight great vows of Amitabha Buddha are recited in succession, and countless merits gather in the sky.

  "We, Jieyin (Zhunti), have witnessed the suffering of all living beings today. We hereby establish the Buddhist teachings to transform and deliver all those who are destined to be saved. May all living beings forever leave the sea of suffering and transcend all evil karma. With the twelvefold golden lotus and the seven-jeweled wondrous tree, we suppress the evil influences on Buddhism and establish the Buddhist teachings!"

  As soon as these words were spoken, countless merits from the heavens descended at once. The Dao of deliverance rapidly improved, and the great Dao's operation became exceptionally clear before one's eyes, dispelling many previous doubts.

  Some people have doubted that relying on Hongmeng's purple energy to attain the Tao is risky, and some even say that there is a huge conspiracy behind it. Now, of course, no one believes that there is any conspiracy involved. However, using Hongmeng's purple energy does indeed have great disadvantages. The Hongmeng purple energy itself is part of the Heavenly Way, and by relying on it, one can naturally communicate better with the Heavenly Way and entrust their primordial spirit to become a saint.

  However, there will be the greatest trouble that when wanting to transcend the Heavenly Way in the future, it will increase countless obstacles, making it easy to enter but difficult to exit. Hongjun Laozu's body merged with the Dao, and wanting to transcend the Heavenly Way is even more difficult than all the saints by countless times. Hongjun stabilized the heaven and earth, giving up the great opportunity, which is indeed a great virtue for the multitude of living beings in the vast expanse.

  Jie Yin has the ability to possess a direct path, so he is unwilling to be restricted. He will materialize his obsession and infuse it with a vast purple energy of Hong Meng.

  "Thanks for your trouble."

  "You and I are one, what distinction is there between us? May fellow practitioners soon attain the supreme Tao." After finishing speaking, my own attachment transformed into a golden light, merging into the Heavenly Tao.

  Can such a speculative and deceitful act be recognized by the Heavenly Way? In fact, self-attachment is oneself, which is usually referred to as "I". This is also why it's hard to kill the third corpse. One has to kill oneself, transcend oneself, which is an enormous test for any cultivator. What is attachment, what is true self? These are the most difficult questions to answer.

  Why is it said that the primordial spirit of saints lodges in the void? In fact, these saints who have attained enlightenment still have attachments and can only use their primordial spirit to replace the self, merging with the Heavenly Way. Laozi relied on great virtues to eliminate attachments, but because he was about to attain enlightenment and had not yet refined it to perfection, he could only lodge his primordial spirit in the Heavenly Way together with other saints. However, this is also why Laozi's Daoist practice surpassed that of other saints.

  The Way of Heaven does not need these primordial spirits, it only needs a cultivator to understand the concept of "I", to recognize one's true nature in order to clearly comprehend external things, and thus be able to assist Heaven in its work. Such a cultivator can make the Way of Heaven even more perfect. And as for an ordinary being, there are countless things that transcend the self, which constitutes a kind of life force in a certain sense. If one's cultivation is not sufficient, they can only hand over their primordial spirit to the Way of Heaven and let it find the true self on its own behalf, thus falling into a lower level of attainment.

  Accumulating merits and virtues can also cut off attachments, achieving the noble status of a saint. The two saints from the Western Pure Land ultimately attain Buddhahood, marking the arrival of the era of saints. The great calamity between heaven and earth is not far away.

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  It's almost 9,000 now, first time receiving a ticket from Cui, so nervous, haha.