Chapter 3: Chapter 003: The Treasure Box Passes Away at Five Hundred Years Old
Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque fought all the way to the Underworld. The Ten Kings of Hell were shocked to see two identical Sun Wukongs. They stepped forward to ask questions, but the two did not pay attention to them. They kept clashing with staff and stick, sometimes using the Seventy-Two Transformations with divine skills. It was fierce. The Ten Kings of Hell could only tuck their tails and retreat, letting the two fight from the outside to the very center of the Underworld.
Ksitigarbha King is the foremost among the Four Great Bodhisattvas and possesses great boldness and wisdom. He once made a grand vow, "Not until the Hells are emptied will I become a Buddha!"
But how could Hell ever be emptied? Hundreds of thousands of souls enter every day. Ksitigarbha King knows it's impossible, yet he still made such a grand vow. Truly a being of great courage! When Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque saw Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, they immediately ceased fighting and each somersaulted to a side.
After they explained their purpose, Ksitigarbha King opened his Wisdom Eye, but even he could not discern the true from the false. He then gently patted Di Ting, who was asleep, and said, "Stop sleeping. Come, take a look. Among these two Great Saints, which is real and which is false?"
Di Ting is Ksitigarbha King's mount, a pair of ears that can hear any matter within the Three Realms and Six Paths, far more powerful than the Ears that Reach Around the Corners atop the Southern Sky Gate, by hundreds of times. Di Ting concentrated for a moment then shook his great head and said he couldn't tell. Hence, the Six-Eared Macaque requested Sun Wukong to follow him to Mount Meru to see the Rulai Buddha, certain that the boundless mana of the Buddha would surely differentiate the real from the fake.
Ksitigarbha King was about to speak when the two monkeys started fighting out of the Underworld again, all the way towards Mount Meru.
Seeing them leave, Ksitigarbha King couldn't help but pat Di Ting's head and ask, "Can you really not tell?"
Di Ting yawned and said, "How can there be something I can't tell? One of them is the Six-Eared Macaque, one of the Four Great Divine Monkeys, adept at transforming and very clever, but his origins are not simple. Who am I to spoil his plans? I'm afraid that if it came to it, you wouldn't be able to become a Buddha even if you wanted to."
Of course, Ksitigarbha King knew who "they" were, and he joined his hands together, murmuring softly, "Amitabha Buddha! It seems Sun Wukong can't escape his fate. However, the Sect Hierarch Li Er Daozu has made thorough preparations. He gave Tang Sanzang the Rebirth Box crafted by Amitabha Buddha. When the Rebirth Box reverses time, returning to five hundred years before, the whole affair will start anew. However, the monkey will retain the memories of this life and, having gone through life and death, he will surely gain great wisdom and won't make the same mistakes."
Di Ting yawned again and said, "But with the reversal of time by the Rebirth Box, even saints would find it hard to retain their memories. Tang Sanzang is indeed willing, for he fed all of his vital essence, Qi, and spirit condensed into a piece of flesh to it. Otherwise, it would just be replaying the conspiracy laid out by the Rulai Buddha."
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque continued to fight all the way to the Great Thunderclap Monastery on Mount Meru. They saw the Buddha Light shining resplendently around them with three thousand Buddhas seated in tranquility, Infinite Bodhisattvas standing in attendance, eight hundred Arhats as protectors, Twenty-Four Heavens turning in cycles, and the Tathagata seated on the central lotus platform with hands joined, expounding a section of sutras.
"Buddha Ancestor, this demon, whose origin I do not know, has impersonated your disciple, injuring my master, and stolen the Travel Pass and the kasaya. It is truly despicable! We have sought help in discernment all along the way, but to no avail. I beseech the Buddha Ancestor to provide justice for your disciple," cried the Six-Eared Macaque, immediately prostrating upon seeing the Tathagata and calling out loudly.
"Buddha Ancestor, don't listen to the nonsense spouted by this demon. I am the real Sun Wukong!" Sun Wukong shouted.
However, the Tathagata just smiled faintly and serenely said, "There are Four Great Divine Monkeys in the world, and among you two monkeys, one is the Six-Eared Macaque. I can see through all under my Wisdom Eye, yet you dare to show off your skills in front of me!"
Just as Wukong saw Tathagata flip the alms bowl in his hand downward, it fell and struck right on top of Wukong's crown, shattering his Muddy Pellet Palace. Wukong was both shocked and furious. He cast a spell and was about to let his Primordial Spirit escape from his body, but the alms bowl hovered in midair, its golden light enveloping everything below and making it impossible to fly out. Wukong realized that something was amiss and feared that Tathagata intended harm. Since he had started his journey, he had never encountered such danger. At this moment, Tathagata's alms bowl had struck his Muddy Pellet Palace, and not only was his physical body gone, but his Primordial Spirit could not escape either. Then, the Six-Eared Macaque let out a loud roar and suddenly swung his staff at Wukong's Primordial Spirit...
"Tathagata you old fool, how dare you harm me!" Wukong cursed loudly.
"Buddha ancestor, slow down!" Guanyin shouted from outside as she rushed in, but it was already too late. The Six-Ear Macaque's staff rose and fell, fatally striking Wukong's Primordial Spirit.
Tathagata looked at Guanyin with a profound and inscrutable gaze, causing Guanyin to tremble all over. She quickly came forward to pay her respects, not daring to say much, and could only stand to the side waiting for the decree.
Tathagata reprimanded, "Excellent, excellent! Wukong, heaven possesses the virtue of cherishing life, you should cease your senseless killing."
The Six-Ear Macaque nodded in agreement. Tathagata then ordered Guanyin to take the Six-Ear Macaque to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the Western Heaven to obtain the sutras. Guanyin dared not disobey and had to take the Six-Ear Macaque to find Tang Sanzang. In a true case of the substitute, it was Wukong who ended up being killed as the Six-Ear Macaque, and it was the Six-Eared Macaque who replaced him on the quest for the sutras. They flew off together, with Guanyin's face ashen and silent, while the Six-Eared Macaque let out a cold laugh, indifferent to Guanyin. With the Buddha's backing, he naturally did not need to grovel to a mere Guanyin. Once they found Tang Sanzang, the macaque became all smiles and
pleaded for forgiveness.
Tang Sanzang silently sighed in his heart, aware that Wukong had met with disaster, and held the Rebirth Box tighter in his grasp.
The master and his three disciples once again set out on the journey to the West, and on this day, they finally saw the Great Thunderclap Monastery at Mount Meru in the Western Heaven.
Upon reaching the great Da Xiong Palace, they saw a host of Buddhas standing solemnly, which made them all slightly tense.
"San Zhang, where sincerity lies, even metal and stone will open. After overcoming the eighty-one trials, you have finally arrived at Mount Meru in the Western Heaven and can obtain our Buddhist Sect's True Mahayana Sutras to spread across the world, letting all know the mysteries of our sect," said Tathagata with joy in his expression. With the success of the Journey to the West, the Taoist Sect no longer had any reason to interfere. Once the True Mahayana Sutras were spread, the incense power and wishes would increase manifold. With that, Tathagata's grand plan would move one step closer.
Tang Sanzang, his expression unwavering, pointed at Tathagata and shouted, "If the Buddha says all beings are equal, then why sit high on Mount Meru, commanding and controlling? If the Buddha says all beings are equal, then why manipulate all creatures at will? If the Buddha says all beings are equal, why then would you readily kill to achieve your goals? Tathagata, for those who walk different paths, there is no planning together!"
This statement shocked all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats present; none of them expected that Tang Sanzang's first act upon arriving in the Western Heaven would be to scold Tathagata.
Tathagata's face darkened as he said, "San Zhang, cease your nonsensical talk! Now that you have achieved True Fruition, you should spread the Buddhist scriptures."
"There are serious problems with your Mahayana Buddhist Sutras. The true Mahayana Buddhist Sutras have long since been hidden away by you! How dare I spread them?" scoffed Tang Sanzang as he pulled out a dark treasure box from his chest.
Tathagata's expression changed as he said angrily, "Amitabha Buddha really is untrustworthy! He actually refined the Rebirth Lotus Dais into the Rebirth Box. How could he bear to use such a significant resource!"
Stepping forward, Tang Sanzang shouted, "Tathagata, your schemes have been thwarted!"
Overcome with rage, Tathagata nonetheless regained his composure and said indifferently, "Tang Sanzang, since you have gained spiritual wisdom, it too is part of the Mandate of Heaven. However, even if Amitabha Buddha has crafted the Rebirth Box, it is of no use. At worst, I can simply delay my plan for another five hundred years and carry it out anew."
As he spoke, his hand reached out, attempting to seize Tang Sanzang.
Bajie and Sha Wujing were terrified, their faces ashen, while the Six-Eared Macaque had long since retreated to one side, quietly watching the developments.
As Tathagata's enormous hand reached down, Tang Sanzang had already uncovered the dark Rebirth Box. Joining his hands together, he softly declared, "Thus have I heard! The light of that Buddha is immeasurable, shining throughout all directions without obstruction, hence he is called Amitabha Buddha; thus have I heard! Boundless and infinite, for countless asamkhyeya kalpas, hence named Amitabha, now and for ten kalpas."
The Rebirth Box burst forth with golden radiance, and a great Buddha materialized, draping his hands over Tang Sanzang, slowly chanting Buddhist scriptures as the laws of the Heavenly Dao thundered.
The hand of Tathagata was suddenly stopped in its tracks, unable to advance an inch. He roared, "Amitabha Buddha, you dare ruin my plans! Tang Sanzang, even using this Rebirth Box, you can never live again. Is it worth it?"
The great Buddha and Tang Sanzang acted as if they could not hear Tathagata. Surrounded by the Buddha's hands, Tang Sanzang's body glowed goldenly, blending with the Rebirth Box to become one. His physical body then slowly began to burn, a Buddhist Karmic Fire capable of incinerating all karmic obstructions.
Tang Sanzang's eyes closed, his countenance serene, he said softly, "Tathagata, I have been reborn nine times, and while they were lives of goodness, have I not been merely a pawn in your hands? Tathagata, I am weary, I am tired, I leave the future and everything else to Wukong. Let's see whether he truly attains the understanding that 'all is void' and retreats into your Buddhist Sect, or if he sees through the emptiness of your dharma!"
"Prajna Paramita, Om Mani Padme Hum!"
Chanting a passage of the scriptures and reciting the Six Syllable Mantra, Tang Sanzang's voice boomed like thunder, and the laws of the Heavenly Dao echoed. For a moment, heaven and earth darkened, as if they were about to merge into one.
"Let time return to the moment of Wukong's birth!" Tang Sanzang whispered. A monkey hair floated down from the heavens, and within the domain of the Heavenly Dao, eyes brightly ablaze were witnessing everything.
The Rebirth Box absorbed the Primordial Spirit of Wukong, who had left his body after eating Tang Sanzang's flesh, lodging itself within the laws of the Heavenly Dao. Then, with a loud bang, as if heaven and earth had collided, the world was destroyed, and once again, there was nothing but darkness between heaven and earth.
Daylight slowly returned, illuminating the whole world.
And the light reached Mount Meru.
Tathagata, slightly taken aback, asked Kasyapa, "Kasyapa, where did I leave off?"
Kasyapa nodded slightly and said to Tathagata, "Buddha Ancestor, you just spoke about the enlightenment of the Flower-Smiling Zen."
Tathagata nodded indifferently and continued his lecture.
Up in the Heavenly Court, the Jade Emperor ordered Ears that Reach Around the Corners and Thousand-Mile Eyes to keep watch over a nine-orificed crystal stone atop Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Ao Lai Kingdom of Dongsheng Immortal State.
Laozi summoned Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and the Venerable Spiritual Treasure to convene with the Three Pure Ones in the Doulu Palace, seemingly to discuss some secret matters.
At the great hall on Mount Meru, Tathagata calculated and suddenly called out, "Golden Cicada."
The Golden Cicada stepped forward and asked, "What instruction does the Buddha Ancestor have for me?"
This Golden Cicada no longer bore the visage of Tang Sanzang, nor was he the original Golden Cicada. The Golden Cicada had been utterly obliterated due to the Rebirth Box; this one was simply another person destined to comply with the Mandate of Heaven, a substitute of sorts.
"It is time for your reincarnation. In just over five hundred years, the Tang Dynasty will emerge. You must hasten to cultivate the body of a being of nine generations of goodness. In the days to come, you will fulfill my grand plan."
"I shall heed the Buddha Ancestor's decree."
Everything seemed to be unfolding along its original trajectory but is it truly so?
As for Wukong's fate, please listen to the next part for the resolution.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone