Seventeen Heavenly Courts Discuss
Now, in the Eastern Continent of Divine Victory, overseas lies a country called Aolai. Near the sea, in the middle of the sea, stands a mountain called Flower and Fruit Mountain. This mountain is the ancestral vein of the ten continents and the source of the three islands. At its very summit lies a celestial stone. This celestial stone is arranged according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, and corresponds to the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
This stone is no ordinary stone. It is one of the extra stones that Nuwa, the goddess of the underworld, forged when she mended the heavens after the great war between the witches and demons. This five-colored stone, left behind, fell onto the East Sea. Born from Nuwa's great merit in mending the heavens, this five-colored stone has absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and moon, over countless millennia. Eventually, it has acquired a spiritual nature.
On the day the goddess Nuwa mended the sky, she received assistance from six sages of the four religions. This stone is meant to repay the karmic debt for Nuwa. The two sages of Buddhism seized the initiative and were the first to act. Now, Buddhism is destined to flourish. Thus, this stone was born.
On this day, the stone suddenly exploded with a "boom," transforming into a luminous stone monkey. This stone monkey learned to crawl as soon as it was born. It imitated some birds and beasts, bowing to the four directions. Strangely enough, two golden beams shot from the stone monkey's eyes, piercing the heavens and earth, instantly startling all the great powers of the Three Realms.
When the Queen Mother of the Azure Sky saw this stone monkey in the Azure Sky Mirror, her expression was complicated, and it was unknown what she was thinking.
After consulting with the Buddhas of Buddhism for a while, the Buddha said with delight, "Everyone, it is time for Buddhism to move eastward!" With that, he flashed and headed straight for the Heavenly Court.
Xuan Tian sat upright on the light futon and laughed, "The show is about to begin. I never thought that my casual act back then would now have fulfilled his wish."
The sage Nuwa, however, wore a kind smile as she watched the monkey hopping around...
Jieyin and Zhunti smiled. Jieyin chanted a Buddhist prayer and said to Zhunti, "Junior brother, this monkey is very wild. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to go and see him!" Zhunti smiled and said, "Senior brother is right!" After saying that, a flash of golden light appeared, and Zhunti disappeared.
Among the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, the Supreme Pure Sage, Tongtian Jiaozhu, wore a cold smile. The Jade Pure Sage, Yuanshi Tianzun, remained expressionless, while the Grand Pure Sage, Taishang Laojun, murmured, "I didn't expect to be a step too late..."
Heavenly Court.
Haotian and the Queen Mother exchanged a glance and said, "They've arrived!" At this moment, a palace official came to report that the Buddha Tathagata from the West had come to visit.
Haotian smiled and said to the Queen Mother, "Since the Buddha himself has come, why shouldn't we go to greet him ourselves?"
Immediately, he and the Queen Mother went to welcome the Buddha in. After the greetings were exchanged, the Buddha chanted a Buddhist prayer and said, "Just now, golden light from the eastern lands shot straight up to the Dipper, and I, the Buddha, could not restrain myself and thus disturbed the Jade Emperor!" Haotian laughed and said, "Not at all. It is because the Buddha has long resided in the pure land of the West, and now that he has traveled to the Eastern Land, our Heavenly Court is truly honored!" The Buddha laughed and said, "The Jade Emperor is too kind. It was I who caused the disturbance."
Haotian also laughed and said, "Buddha is too kind. It is my Heavenly Court that is truly honored."
"You're too kind, Jade Emperor."
"Buddha, you are too kind."
"You're too kind, Jade Emperor."...
After talking for a long time, the two of them hadn't uttered a single serious word, just spouting nonsense, which made the Queen Mother secretly chuckle. These two clearly had important matters to discuss and had both agreed in their hearts; otherwise, they wouldn't have come in person, and Haotian wouldn't have personally come to greet them. Both were extremely anxious, but they were both concerned about saving face and gaining the upper hand in the negotiations, so neither was willing to speak, and they remained there spouting meaningless drivel.
The Queen Mother said, "Buddha, your esteemed presence in the East is surely not for sightseeing. Since it is just the three of us here today, please speak frankly!" The Buddha secretly admired the Queen Mother's shrewdness and went straight to the point: "I have come here with important matters to discuss with the Heavenly Court. The birth of the Spiritual Stone Monkey has just occurred; I presume you two already know the reason. It is truly a blessing upon Buddhism!" Haotian laughed, "Then congratulations, Buddha! However, the journey is fraught with tribulations; it will likely be long!" The Buddha sighed, "Our great sects contend for the destiny of Heaven and Earth. I truly believe in the Dao..." "The Heavenly Court, personally appointed by Zu Hongjun, is indignant!" Although Haotian knew that Tathagata was using a provocation tactic, he couldn't help but sneer, "Buddha, please speak plainly. Why mock my Heavenly Court like this?" Tathagata thought the time was right and pondered, "The Jade Emperor is the ruler of the Three Realms, but the Underworld and the Five Lakes and Four Seas are not under the control of the Heavenly Court. Now, even the minor demons and monsters of Xiniu Hezhou have dared to bully the Heavenly Court. Buddhism is indignant and should help the Jade Emperor reclaim what is rightfully his!" Haotian naturally understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Haotian asked, "But what are the conditions, Buddha?" The Buddha replied, "The West is barren, and the development of Buddhism is extremely difficult. Therefore, Buddhism should go to the underworld to deliver some lonely ghosts. When Buddhism spreads eastward, Buddhism should help the Heavenly Court to wipe out those great demons currently entrenched in Xihe Niuzhou! When Buddhism flourishes, it will be the day when the Heavenly Court takes over the five lakes and four seas!" Haotian pondered for a long time and said, "But I wonder how Buddha will deal with this..." After saying this, he looked towards the East Sea and then towards the Kunlun Mountains in the west.
The Buddha laughed, "The rise of Buddhism is the great trend of the Daoist Ancestor's Heavenly Way. The Heavenly Court is the ruler of the Three Realms, personally appointed by the Daoist Ancestor. As the saying goes, those who follow Heaven live, and those who defy Heaven suffer calamity. Our Buddhism has two great sages above and many Buddhas below, so naturally we must act on behalf of Heaven!" Haotian thought to himself, "You make it sound so nice, talking about liberating the people of Hell and pacifying the demons. Liberating the people of Hell is to seize the fortune that Buddhism lacks, and pacifying the demons is to open up the path for your Buddhism to spread eastward. All the benefits go to you. But my Heavenly Court will have to wait a thousand years until your Buddhism flourishes before we can rely on you to deal with the Five Lakes and Four Seas. By then, your Buddhism will be powerful, and you'll be in control. I'd better cut off your retreat now, so you won't be indecisive."
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