Chapter 729: The Journey to the West!
Xuanzang shook his head slowly, then turned and left resolutely.
With firm steps, he walked out of the bustling Chang'an City step by step and headed towards the Jinshan Temple outside the city.
When Xuanzang finally came to the gate of Jinshan Temple again, the sight before him shocked him.
It turns out that the dilapidated Jinshan Temple has turned into a huge Buddhist temple. The once peaceful and peaceful temple is now occupied by a group of strange monks.
To make matters worse, before he could react, he was surrounded by these people and trapped in place.
In front of the majestic and solemn gate of Jinshan Temple, stood the first monk of Bodhidharma Monastery wearing cassock, holding a tin staff and wearing a monk's hat. The first monk looked directly at Xuanzang with burning eyes.
"You want to say that you have attained supreme Bodhi and truly invented nature. Then I ask you, why are you still unwilling to go west? Where is your heart? Where is your heart going?"
His posture was as tall and straight as a pine tree, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and he was asking Xuanzang, who was obsessed with understanding, step by step. His voice was as loud as a bell, resounding throughout the mountain temple.
"If people know how to create the world, I want to travel around the world and seek to realize the Buddha's Dharma!"
Facing the first monk's questioning, Xuanzang showed no fear. I saw him clasping his hands together, saluting the Buddha respectfully, and then responded in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.
"How can he travel all over the world if his mind is unsteady and vain and takes on different appearances?"
Hearing Xuanzang's answer, the abbot frowned slightly and asked again,
"You trapped me in the temple and forced me to go west. What's your purpose?"
Xuanzang did not answer the abbot's questions directly, but cleverly answered them with questions.
In this way, the two people went back and forth, quarreled, each held his own opinions, and started a fierce dispute and debate in front of Jinshan Temple.
They quoted scriptures, spoke sharply, and refused to give in to each other.
For a time, the atmosphere was extremely tense.
However, in the final analysis, the core focus of the fierce debate between these two men is actually very clear and unique, whether they should embark on the journey westward to learn the scriptures.
The head of Bodhidharma Academy held a firm view. He felt that since the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva came at the Waterway Dharma Assembly and issued a decree asking the King of Tang to select people to collect scriptures,
Master Xuanzang happens to be the host of the Waterway Dharma Assembly, so there is no doubt that Xuanzang is the most suitable candidate to learn the scriptures.
However, Master Xuanzang had a completely different view on this.
He firmly believes that only through his own understanding and penetration of the true Buddhist scriptures can he become his own Dharma. Only this kind of Dharma is the most suitable for him and can lead him to eventually achieve Buddhahood.
Even though they went through all kinds of hardships to obtain the true scriptures from the West, after all, those scriptures only came from the West, not from the mainland of China and the Tang Dynasty.
How can these foreign scriptures guarantee that people can successfully achieve Buddhahood?
Master Xuanzang has always firmly believed in his heart that everyone in this world is a Buddha and everyone is a demon.
The purpose of spiritual practice is to control one's own mind: ultimately becoming a Buddha or a demon depends on one's own mind and virtue.
In this case, why go all the way to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures and rely on others to teach you how to become a Buddha?
Ever since, surrounding the question of "go" or "not go", the two insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in to each other, and the dispute became more and more intense.
While the two sides were arguing endlessly, the abbot of Jinshan Temple finally slowly walked out of the temple.
I saw that he had a steady pace, a calm expression, and an otherworldly temperament in his every move.
The abbot first waved gently to the audience of monks and said, "Let's all disperse!"
After everyone dispersed, the abbot waved slightly to Xuanzang, gesturing for him to follow him.
Xuanzang was full of doubts, but he still acted as he was told. After all, the abbot in front of him was his teacher who had never returned: Patriarch Jin Chan!
"Master?"
Xuanzang looked at Patriarch Jin Chan in astonishment, and his heart was filled with turmoil.
He originally thought that his master had passed away long ago, but what he saw before him was that not only was his master safe and sound, but the former glorious Jinshan Temple had also been rebuilt.
"Amitabha, Xuanzang, since you have returned, you must have understood the true meaning of Buddhism. In this case, it is time for you to know some things."
Patriarch Jin Chan has his hands clasped together, with a majestic appearance, and dazzling Buddha light emanating from his body.
As the string of soft rays of light shone, Patriarch Jin Chan's body gradually became insubstantial, and finally turned into a spirit.
What is shocking is that the appearance of this spirit is exactly the same as that of Xuanzang.
"I am not only your master in this life, but also the incarnation of your nine previous lives!"
Patriarch Jin Chan's words echoed in Xuanzang's ears like a bell.
"Ah? The first nine lives!"
Xuanzang's eyes widened, his face full of doubts and confusion.
"That's right, in the previous nine reincarnations, you died on the way to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Just because you wanted to go to Lingshan Mountain, pursue the true Buddhism, and understand it clearly!"
Although Patriarch Jinchan's voice is slightly old, the power contained in it is shocking.
As Patriarch Jin Chan spoke eloquently, scenes and scenes seemed to gradually emerge in Xuanzang's mind.
The memories that had been lost in reincarnation began to fit together like a puzzle, and various past experiences surged in his mind.
Finally, he slowly moved to the foot of a Bodhi tree and whispered thoughtfully:
"In this life, I suddenly realized that the so-called 'one flower, one world, one leaf, one bodhi' means that Buddhism is everywhere in the world!"
"If that's the case, what do you see now?"
Golden Cicada Patriarch stared at Xuanzang with a sharp gaze, and continued to ask in a leisurely voice.
Xuanzang raised his head slightly, met the gaze of Golden Cicada Patriarch, and responded without hesitation: "Nine generations are nothingness!"
His tone was firm and resolute, as if he had experienced countless vicissitudes of life.
Golden Cicada Patriarch nodded slightly to show his approval, and then said slowly:
"Well... If you know the cause of the previous life, you are the one who suffers in this life; if you want to know the result of the next life, you are the one who creates in this life!"
After saying this verse, he smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
When Xuanzang heard this, his heart was shocked, and a flash of enlightenment flashed in his eyes, but he soon regained his composure and resolutely said: "So, I want to travel all over the world!"
However, Master Jinchan shook his head and softly argued: "Nine lifetimes of determination to travel west, in exchange for traveling all over the world in this life, are actually due to obsession. Doesn't Lingshan count as the world?"
Hearing this, Xuanzang's face changed slightly, and a trace of hesitation finally appeared in his originally firm eyes.
He fell into deep thought, as if trying to understand the deep meaning of Master Jinchan's words.
Seeing this, Master Jinchan smiled slightly and struck while the iron was hot:
"You only used Lingshan as a result to prove what you thought in your heart. In this life, you travel all over the world to prove what you thought in your heart.
What is the difference between the two?
What is the difference between traveling west and traveling everywhere? In this case, why not go?"