The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 307 - 269: The True Transmission of the Buddhist Law by the Five Saints

Chapter 307: Chapter 269: The True Transmission of the Buddhist Law by the Five Saints

The Scripture Seeker journeyed westward, and after passing the Flame Mountain, he encountered no major calamities.

With Wukong’s ability as a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal of the First Layer of Heaven, there were naturally no more obstacles along the way, and they were invincible in all their encounters.

Upon reaching Mount Meru in the Western Heaven, they paid homage to Tathagata and obtained the True Mahayana Sutras, completing their merit.

Tathagata said, "You have earnestly faced the eighty-one trials and have finally achieved True Fruition and reached Mount Meru. Sanzang, take these Great Vehicle Sutras back to the Celestial Dynasty to translate and spread, to promote the true laws of our Buddhist sect! This is indeed a great merit, a great compassion. Although the journey was fraught with hardships, fortunately, you had the help of Wukong and others, and now you too can achieve True Fruition."

Tang Sanzang received the Great Vehicle Sutras and could not help but be joyful. The journey had been incredibly hard, lasting over ten years, sometimes almost shaking his faith, but still, he persevered. His determination to follow Buddha was unwavering, and now having reached Mount Meru, seen the World Honored One, and obtained the scriptures, his merit was complete.

"Sun Wukong, your Havoc in Heaven was a grave sin, but by aiding Tang Sanzang in obtaining the scriptures from Western Heaven, you have earned great merit. Now you may attain True Fruition and join our Buddhist sect. Would you like to convert?" Tathagata asked solemnly.

Wukong’s eyes twinkled. He had participated in obtaining the scriptures precisely to infiltrate Buddhism, to see through the tricks and methods of Tathagata, and incidentally to learn the details of the Buddhist sect, searching for the whereabouts of The Two Saints of the West.

Although The Two Saints had assured him not to worry, not having seen them for many years still caused him concern, and he must find a way to rescue them.

Wukong joined his palms together, bowed to Tathagata, and said, "Namo Amitabha Buddha! The Buddha Ancestor is merciful. I, your disciple Sun Wukong, wish to convert."

Unknown to Tathagata about Wukong’s true intentions and considering him just a simple macaque, he was overjoyed when Wukong expressed his wish to convert, saying, "Excellent, excellent! I hereby decree that you are to be known as Victorious Fighting Buddha, for along the way, you have vanquished demons and overcome all, truly earning the title of Victorious in Battle!"

Wukong felt that the title "Victorious Fighting Buddha" was indeed domineering and mighty, and he was inwardly pleased. To Tathagata, he said, "Good, good, good, Tathagata is truly a good person. This name suits Old Sun’s temperament! From today on, I shall be the Victorious Fighting Buddha!"

He leapt up and a lotus platform appeared beneath his feet, upon which he sat down cross-legged, joined his palms together, and a kasaya draped over him, radiant with the appearance of a Buddha.

"To achieve Buddhahood, one must tame the mind. You are also known as the Mind Monkey, and now that you have tamed your own mind, this is truly commendable," said the Ancient Lamp-Burning Buddha, joining his palms together with a smile.

It is not easy to become a Buddha. It requires great merits, great wisdom, great fortitude, and great courage. Many Bodhisattvas do not even attain Buddhahood. Wukong protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West and has shown great wisdom, fortitude, and courage in vanquishing demons along the way. Now that he has become a Buddha and an ancestor, it is as it should be.

Buddhism emphasizes the mind while Daoism values the physical body. Buddhism views the physical body as a mere vessel, while Daoism treats it as a treasure, valuing and emphasizing life.

Wukong, following the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating, practiced the Unified Method of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Naturally, he focused on both life and essence—essence here does not refer to "sexual desire" as commonly spoken of by people, but to the spirit, while life refers to the physical body esteemed by Daoism. Cultivating both spirit and body, his foundations were naturally much stronger than ordinary people’s.

He had long realized the Law Realm of integrating Heaven, Earth, and Human from the Three Teachings. Now that he had achieved Buddhahood, his understanding broadened, and he felt the workings of the Heavenly Dao close at hand, as if he might grasp the details of the Heavenly Dao Laws.

"Excellent, excellent! I, a monk trained in the ways of Daoism, have studied the art of dual cultivation of life and essence, and now I have finally achieved True Fruition and can comprehend the ultimate truths of the Heavenly Dao," Wukong said with a smile.

Tathagata saw Wukong’s boundless potential and was overjoyed at his conversion to Buddhism. With Wukong’s help in the future against the Daoists, he would have a powerful ally. He said, "Very good, very good! Victorious Fighting Buddha has a profound foundation, capable of understanding the Heavenly Dao Laws, which is truly commendable."

The Second Layer of the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal is known as the Law Realm, which one can only attain through comprehending the Heavenly Dao Laws and connecting with the Heavenly Dao. Wukong, with his accumulated potential, was now finally touching the Heavenly Dao, feeling the Laws, and would soon become a master of the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal Second Layer. When that happened, his other two bodies would naturally also ascend. Then Wukong would be able to execute the "Nine Heavens Thunder Movement" divine skill from the "Shenxiao Torrential Rain," by invoking and worshipping the Heavenly Dao to bring down the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, consolidating it into one to slay powerful enemies!

Tathagata secretly said, "This monkey has grasped the Laws, and his future cultivation will be rapid indeed! Truly worthy of being born from the Five-Colored Stone that Mends the Heavens left by Nu Wa, how ingenious, how marvelous!"

The Buddhist sect suffered greatly during the battle at Flame Mountain, losing the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon Bodhisattva and Maitreya, the Future Buddha, which was a significant blow. Now, by bringing a Buddha with profound roots into the sect, his future achievements would be boundless. As long as they cultivated him well and taught him the Buddhist scriptures thoroughly, he would be utterly devoted to the Buddhist sect.

Wukong also found that he felt a kinship with the Heavenly Dao, for he was originally a piece of the Five-Colored Crystal Stone left by Nu Wa when she mended the heavens, possessing heaven-mending merits. In his previous life, at the moment of his passing, with Tang Sanzang’s help, his soul was entrusted to the Heavenly Dao, which brought him even closer to it. Now, as he comprehended the laws, it was natural that he felt this deep affinity with the Heavenly Dao.

For the Buddhist sect to bring in someone with such a connection was indeed a great thing. Although they had suffered losses along the way, the Buddhist sect was now in a position to spread the Buddhist Law openly throughout the Southern Toad Continent.

Having obtained the True Mahayana Sutras, Tang Sanzang thought to himself, "This Buddhist Law has many methods of indoctrination; I wonder what the Buddha Ancestor intends! When I return, I must carefully revise them to prevent the scriptures meant for liberating all beings from causing harm and giving rise to a host of madmen. That would be unfortunate."

Tang Sanzang was nothing more than a creation of the Heavenly Dao to adapt to its own needs, not the Tang Sanzang of the previous lifetime, who had already vanished into thin air.

Although their cauldrons and outer shells were identical, their souls were different, and with different souls, naturally, they were not the same person.

Wukong thought, "The inertia of the Heavenly Dao is indeed too strong. Although in this life, Flame Mountain, Wuzhuang Temple, and Golden Helmet Mountain have all caused significant losses to the Buddhist sect, to the point of affecting their very bone marrow, the Buddhist sect will still succeed in spreading to the East."

"I was once entrusted to the Heavenly Dao and witnessed the development of its history. Now that the Nine Heavens have returned, there’s no longer any possibility of acting against it. Otherwise, I would be subject to retribution!"

Although he had the desire to prevent it, it was unstoppable. After all, with the return of the Nine Heavens, they would not show favoritism. Anyone who violated the Heavenly Dao would face execution! They were the controllers of this world, and there was no escape from a hunt by existences at the Sage-level of the Nine Great Saints of Heaven, not even for a Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch, who would ultimately meet a tragic end.

Zhu Bajie was conferred the title of Altar Cleanser, Monk Sha the Golden Body Arhat, White Dragon Horse the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, and Tang Sanzang the Sandalwood Buddha.

All the scripture seekers attained True Fruition and received their titles. With this, the Journey to the West was complete in both its mission and virtue.

Wukong said, "We must continue to escort the Sandalwood Buddha back to Great Tang to spread the true scriptures, and we hope the Buddha Ancestor approves."

The Buddha Ancestor said, "Granted!"

With a spell, Wukong lifted the True Mahayana Sutras, leading Tang Sanzang and the others onto the cloud, steering the VLOOKUP(A1025,[1]Sheet1!$A:$B,2,0) towards the Southern Toad Continent.

"Excellent, excellent!" the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Vajra of Mount Meru placed their hands together and chanted in unison.

Tathagata was also in high spirits. Although the western journey was fraught with endless hardships, it had ultimately been successful, and now they could spread the Buddhist Law throughout the Eastern Land.

"When the Buddhist Law is spread, it will dilute the influence of Confucianism and Taoism, leading to more chaos in the Heavenly Dao, which will bring boundless uncertainty, eliminating the concepts of going against or along with the Heavenly Dao! When the great calamity comes upon heaven and earth, the Heavenly Generals will open the gates between the two worlds, and then we will see whose fist is the mightiest." Tathagata sneered inwardly, remembering all the losses the Three Pure had caused him, and naturally sought an opportunity to settle the score.

Now that Maitreya had been slain, the title of Respectful Ruler of the World had fallen to the Medicine Buddha, the future Buddha of the Buddhist sect.

The Medicine Buddha was also formidable, having established the Lapis Lazuli Pure Light Realm, where he saved and transformed sentient beings, allowing them to live free of worry about food and clothing, disease, and vexations, where a mere thought could conjure wealth and food.

Yet Tathagata had his own concerns, pondering, "The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are not dead, and who knows whether the ancient powers, even Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas, truly perished! If they return, a bitter struggle awaits! However, this time, with the Heavenly Dao Laws fully collapsed and two worlds at war, let’s see who can transcend!"

Medicine Buddha said, "With this departure, our Buddhist sect will naturally flourish, and temples will be everywhere! All Buddha Ancestors will receive endless incense offerings."

By spreading into the Eastern Land, the Buddhist sect would dilute the luck of Confucianism, Taoism, and even that of the human ancestors, reaping multiple benefits.

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