The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 206 - 201: Seeking Bodhi and Awaiting the Right Opportunity

Chapter 206: Chapter 201: Seeking Bodhi and Awaiting the Right Opportunity

Hui Zhi recited scriptures and practiced Buddhism within Bodhi Temple, and before he knew it, a month had passed.

In this month, Yu Gui had not come again; perhaps after the last incident, she had become disheartened.

Hui Zhi gradually forgot about the matter, diligently cleaning the statues of Buddha, reciting scriptures, and practicing Buddhism every day, meticulously. However, not seeing her for so long made him feel as if something was missing.

Hui Zhi sat in front of the statue of Amitabha Buddha, holding a string of sandalwood prayer beads, lightly striking the wooden fish, and chanting a portion of the scriptures.

At that moment, a woman entered, but she was not Yu Gui, she was a servant girl dressed very simply.

"Master Hui Zhi, my miss has sent me to tell you that she is going to get married. She is to marry a prince and the wedding will take place in the prince’s mansion soon," the servant girl said, offering an invitation which Hui Zhi did not answer, so the servant girl placed the red invitation on the desk.

"Snap!"

A Buddha bead was crushed into powder between his fingers, scattering onto the ground.

"Snap!"

Another Buddha bead was pinched into powder by his thumb and forefinger, the string holding the beads broke, and the expensive purple sandalwood Buddha beads scattered on the ground. His eyes remained tightly closed, but the sound of him hitting the wooden fish became louder and louder. Then there was a crisp sound, and the wooden fish turned into powder. The sound of him chanting the scriptures grew more and more hurried, and faintly from his nostrils sprayed Samadhi True Fire. "Puff," blood from his mouth sprayed out unknowingly, falling on the invitation on the desk and the incense, extinguishing the incense flames.

Standing up, Hui Zhi murmured, "Thus have I heard! Eternal past, unmoving like a mountain..."

"Snap!"

The floor tiles where he stood shattered into pieces, and the scriptures he chanted became increasingly rapid, almost incomprehensible.

The Buddha statue slowly opened its eyes and reached out a hand to press on his crown. Hui Zhi felt as if struck by lightning, collapsing to the ground, his legs slowly crossed, the Dharma Seal in his hands dissipating and the scripture chanting gradually ceased.

Looking up, he saw Amitabha Buddha pressing on his head and couldn’t help but cry out in shock, "Forgive me, Buddha Ancestor, your disciple is ashamed for harboring anger!"

Amitabha Buddha withdrew his hand, saying softly, "Hui Zhi, you have deviated into madness."

Hui Zhi bowed, "Your disciple has harbored anger, I have sinned, I have sinned!"

Amitabha Buddha couldn’t help but smile and say, "Human emotions are only natural, where is the sin in that? The Daoist has Three Thousand Great Daos, does not our Buddhist sect also possess the Three Thousand Great Daos? To experience hardships is to gain enlightenment, after seeing through them, there is emptiness."

Hui Zhi sighed, "Buddha Ancestor, what if I cannot see through them?"

Amitabha Buddha replied, "Not being able to see through is also human nature. How many in this world can achieve Supreme Right Enlightenment? How many have turned to our Buddhist sect after experiencing life, old age, sickness, death, love, hate, and various emotions? A Buddha is an Enlightened One, one who has cultivated Great Wisdom through these calamities. The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitterness of cold; the sharp edge of a sword comes from continual grinding. Without experiencing the mixed thoughts of greed, anger, and delusion, how could one relinquish them? Hui Zhi, Buddhism teaches about fate, it seems your ties to the mortal world are deeper than those to Buddhism."

However, Hui Zhi said, "Your disciple wishes to wield the Sword of Wisdom like the Buddha Ancestor to sever worldly attachments!"

Amitabha Buddha shook his head, "That is not the way, not the way! Our sect seeks enlightenment, you do not seek, but attempt to sever directly, how then can you achieve Supreme Right Enlightenment? Escaping into the monastic life is not merely about evasion."

Hui Zhi frowned deeply, with a slight gesture, the scattered Buddha beads on the ground flew back into his palm, the broken string also reconnected, except two Buddha beads were missing.

"Do you know what she said in my presence?" Amitabha Buddha asked.

"Please enlighten me, Buddha Ancestor," Hui Zhi said with his palms together and bowing.

"Great compassionate Amitabha Buddha, I pray and make offerings with sincere heart, just hoping you can protect him, keep him safe. If he truly is unmoved by emotions, then bless him to attain true enlightenment. I do not read Buddhist scriptures to cultivate Buddhist Law, but to read the books he has read; I do not come to Bodhi Temple to pray, but just to see him. Buddha Ancestor, I am going to marry, if there is a next life, I hope you can make me his wife."

Yu Gui’s voice echoed in the Buddhist Temple, causing Hui Zhi to be stunned as if turned to stone.

"The Buddha was once a man, and man will be the future Buddha. When Buddha is in the Human World, any movement is human; when man is on the Lotus Platform, stillness is Buddha. The reason why Buddha could attain enlightenment is merely because of the many experiences he had endured, gaining Great Wisdom through suffering," Amitabha Buddha spoke slowly. Not everyone is born a Buddha; Buddha is attained through being human.

"Humans are naturally human, why forcefully strive to be human? Buddha is simply Buddha, why then force oneself to attain Buddhahood? Fate is fate, why cling to it intentionally?"

Amitabha Buddha brought his hands together, embodying compassion for the world, and said softly, "Go."

After hearing this, Hui Zhi couldn’t help but laugh and say, "Fate arises and then dissipates, lasting just a moment, why cling to it? Buddha Ancestor, I have comprehended."

Amitabha Buddha gently touched his brow and sighed, "If you truly have comprehended, come see me at Mount Sumeru."

Hui Zhi’s heart was free of joy and sorrow, and a glimmer of light twinkled on his brow, saying, "Could it be that I have not comprehended?"

Amitabha Buddha spoke softly, "If you have comprehended, then seek me out at Mount Sumeru. Well said, well said!"

Hui Zhi, puzzled, was about to speak when the statue of Amitabha Buddha fell silent again, as if it had never come to life, its countenance was compassionate but slightly rigid. This made Hui Zhi feel as if all that had transpired was but a dream. He touched his brow, finding a cinnabar mole. He sat down cross-legged, held the Buddha beads, and silently chanted the scriptures.

He did not go on the day of the great wedding.

The ancient Buddha under the dim light, the stormy Bodhi Temple, the winds fierce, the rain heavy, yet someone ran into the temple, the same servant girl as before.

"Master Hui Zhi, my young lady has taken poison and committed suicide. The master and mistress beg you to come and conduct the soul-releasing ritual," the maid said in sobs.

The Buddha beads in his palm crumbled into powder, not one remained, trickling slowly through his fingers like sand, unable to be grasped tightly.

Hui Zhi slowly stood up and said, "I understand. I will change my clothes and be on my way. You may leave first! I will follow shortly!"

The maid turned and left, opening her oil-paper umbrella. Hui Zhi turned his head for one last glance. The figure in the rain was no longer clad in startling red like last time... He turned back again, facing the Buddha statue. The ancient Buddha was silent, fingers forming a Dharma Seal, as raindrops from the leaking roof fell into the statue’s eyes, like tears streaming down. It seemed even the Buddha Ancestor lamented over the suffering of all beings.

In this Saha World, beings suffer; the Buddha possesses limitless mana, but how can he ferry across all creatures?

Hui Zhi slowly brought his hands together in prayer and said softly, "Amitabha Buddha..."

He returned to the Zen room, donning the kasaya, wearing the white socks and cloth shoes she had sewn for him, and putting on the monk’s hat. He picked up the oil-paper umbrella he hadn’t used in many years. The umbrella was worn out, just like his heart at this moment, full of holes. He held the umbrella against the rain, stepping out of Bodhi Temple. The raindrops were repelled from his body, and even the muddy ground couldn’t sully his shoes and white socks, as he walked through the mire like a lotus flower.

Down the mountain, with the dim mist and rain as his guide, he arrived at the home of Yu Gui.

The girl in the fiery red wedding dress lay in her boudoir, serene and still as if merely asleep.

Her wedding dress was worn for him.

Hui Zhi’s Sword of Wisdom was raised again and again, yet he could not bring it down. Eventually, he put it away, dejectedly. He settled down on the floor, chanting scriptures to liberate her soul.

The sounds of Sanskrit rose and fell, but his heart, despite all efforts, could not calm down. Tears pitter-pattered onto the kasaya like raindrops. Although the rain couldn’t wet his robe, his tears did. It turned out he hadn’t achieved enlightenment but had deceived himself. No wonder Amitabha Buddha had said, "When you have truly awakened, come find me on Mount Meru."

Hui Zhi slowly stood up, left the room, and without concern for the pouring rain, he set off straight for the Western Heaven.

On his journey through wind and dust, he finally arrived at the foot of Mount Sumeru and bowed deeply, saying, "Buddha Ancestor! Your disciple has come."

Golden lights twinkled on the mountain as a ladder from heaven descended. Hui Zhi stood up, climbed the ladder, bowing deeply every five steps, a total of ten thousand layers.

"Buddha Ancestor," Hui Zhi said when he saw the Buddha Ancestor again, having regained his composure.

"Have you enlightened?" asked the Buddha Ancestor.

"You can achieve Buddhahood now, but do you still cling to your desires?" Amitabha Buddha asked.

"If she could come back, I would rather not achieve Buddhahood! I beg the Buddha Ancestor for great compassion!" Hui Zhi implored, bowing deeply.

"Good, good! Perhaps you must suffer for a thousand years. Are you willing?" Amitabha Buddha asked.

"Disciple is willing!" Hui Zhi said with a bow, no regret in his heart. A thousand years, even ten thousand years, seemed insignificant without regret.

"She waited for you to awaken; this time, you must wait for her to awaken. What do you think?" said Amitabha Buddha.

Hui Zhi smiled, nodded, plucked up a flower with a smile, and then brought his palms together, "Amitabha Buddha! Disciple is willing."

Amitabha Buddha gave a gentle nod and smiled, "Then you shall be a Buddha for a thousand years. Only when you have a temple in the mortal world to be worshipped can she be reincarnated. This, too, is a part of karma."

Hui Zhi nodded in agreement, bowed to Amitabha Buddha again, and said, "Disciple understands. I shall wait for a thousand years then! She has waited for so long; a thousand years is but a brief moment in comparison."

"Her wait was not long," Amitabha Buddha said.

"It was long!" Hui Zhi earnestly replied.

Amitabha Buddha did not say more, only smiling faintly. With a wave of his hand, a Lotus Platform appeared. Hui Zhi sat down on it, dignified and serene.

Hui Zhi devoted himself to diligent cultivation and strived to comprehend the Buddhist Law throughout those thousand years.

During that millennium, he saw many mortals like his former self. He sometimes wandered the Human World, experiencing life’s flavors of sweetness and bitterness.

A thousand years seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The Bodhi Temple in Jiangnan was destroyed in the fires of dynastic change, but Buddhism thrived, and the temple was rebuilt. Within it stood an efficacious Buddha statue, to which many prayed, and often their wishes were fulfilled shortly after. Thus, the temple bustled with endless streams of visitors.

Finally, the day came when a woman visited the temple. She was a well-bred lady, devout in Buddhist Law, pursuing fate. She remained unmarried into her adult years, waiting for her destined one. Two years prior, at the temple, she had brushed past a man in a fleeting moment that set her heart racing. Alas, with too many visitors, she could not find him despite her efforts, leaving her no choice but to come daily to the temple, praying.

Her name too, was called Yu Gui.

Peach blossoms blooming brightly, radiant with beauty. The daughter returns home, suited for domestic life.

A woman as splendid as described in the Book of Songs.

To find out what happens next, please wait for the following Chapter. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Tickets at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)