The Taoist Zhunti instructed his attendant to invite Amitabha Buddha in.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists."
Amitabha Buddha bowed to the two of them.
"Fellow Daoist, please have a seat."
The guide pointed to the opposite side, and a lotus platform rose up.
Amitabha Buddha lifted his monk's robe and sat down.
"Fellow Daoist, I wish to change the name of my Western Sect. What do you think?" asked Daoist Zhunti.
Amitabha Buddha nodded, "Our religion is about to flourish. The name 'Western' is indeed somewhat inappropriate. A different name would be better."
"Does that fellow Daoist have any ideas?" asked Daoist Zhunti.
“Since the Three Pure Ones have the Mysterious Gate and the Mysterious Image True Man has the Dao, my teachings can obtain the word Buddha.”
The Buddha is an enlightened being, and Western religions refer to him as the highest attainment.
The two religious leaders exchanged a smile upon hearing this.
"This name is excellent!"
The three leaders reached a consensus, which was immediately manifested in the Heavenly Dao.
The entire Mount Sumeru was suddenly bathed in boundless auspicious light, and countless rays of auspicious energy filled the sky.
The three leaders simultaneously hovered tens of thousands of feet in the sky, bathed in auspicious light, and announced the news to all the saints of the primordial world...
As the auspicious light dissipated, the three of them landed back on Mount Sumeru and sat down beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.
The guide said, "Laozi is coming to the West this time to transform from Xuan to Buddha. From this point on, the fortunes of Buddhism and Jiejiao will merge. Now, you are the leader of the three religions. In the future, the Amitabha Buddha that all sentient beings will chant will be in charge of this matter."
As sages of the Primordial Chaos, he and Zhunti Daoren should reside high above the Thirty-Three Heavens, and their religious affairs should be gradually transferred to Amitabha Buddha.
This descent to the mortal realm, to Mount Sumeru, is merely to announce to all beings the renaming of the Western Religion.
Now that they have done all this, the two should return to the heavens.
"Rest assured, fellow Daoists, leave this matter to me!"
Amitabha Buddha agreed, and then watched the two leaders leave for the Chaos Realm.
Next, he summoned a group of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats on Mount Sumeru.
As the Buddha of the past, the Taoist Ran Deng is the most revered figure in the entire Mahavira Hall, second only to Amitabha Buddha and Maitreya Buddha.
Therefore, on behalf of all the Buddhas, he asked, "May I ask, Master, what are your instructions for summoning us here?"
Amitabha Buddha sat serenely on a forty-nine-petaled golden lotus platform, his expression indifferent, and said calmly, "Now that Buddha Shakyamuni has come from the East and is about to return to his position, you shall all come with me to welcome him."
The Taoist Master Burning Lamp—no, he should now be called the Buddha Burning Lamp.
Dipankara Buddha proclaimed the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, I respectfully obey the teachings of the Master."
Next, led by Amitabha Buddha, the group left Mount Sumeru in a grand procession and flew eastward...
Laozi (Li Dan) left a scroll of the Tao Te Ching inside Hangu Pass, and then led Duobao Daoren (Taoist Master Duobao) on a journey to the west.
On this day, the two arrived in the west, and suddenly a towering Bodhi tree appeared before them, reaching into the clouds.
Laozi sat atop a green ox and looked out to the heavens. He saw the sky filled with auspicious light, and countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats stood in the clouds, rising and falling amidst the auspicious light.
Laozi and Duobao Daoren arrived under the Bodhi tree and sat facing each other on futons.
Laozi then began to expound some scriptures.
Although he was the senior disciple of the Xuanmen sect and the leader of the Renjiao sect, he was also extremely proficient in Buddhism.
After all, he was the Primordial Saint, in charge of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements and the Four Symbols, and this Buddhist Dharma was also within the Heavenly Dao.
As the saying goes, if you understand one method, you can understand all methods, and you can understand all things.
Therefore, he slowly revealed the various mysteries of Buddhism.
Daoist Duobao knew where his own opportunity lay, so he remained calm and composed, sitting under the Bodhi tree and listening attentively to the lecture.
Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.
The sermon of Laozi came to an abrupt halt.
Daoist Duobao opened his eyes, and his long black hair fell down, instantly turning him into a bald man. Auspicious light gathered beneath him and transformed into a thousand-petaled golden lotus in the blink of an eye.
An aura unique to Buddhism emanated from him.
Wisps of Buddhist light gathered above his head, gradually transforming into a cloud of auspicious light.
Above the auspicious clouds, the Buddha's light flowed, and the scenery changed in countless ways.
At that moment, a divine light shone forth in the sky, and auspicious energy enveloped the heavens and earth.
Many Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other eminent Buddhist figures appeared.
Various Buddhist chants flowed from their mouths, echoing endlessly between heaven and earth.
Amitabha Buddha stepped forward, bowed to Laozi from a great height, and then took out a blessed pestle from his sleeve and threw it out.
This treasure is a creation of Buddhism, refined over many years by two religious leaders, and contains their insights into Buddhist teachings.
The Amitabha Buddha obtained it from the two holy leaders precisely to help the Daoist Duobao achieve Buddhahood at this time.
The blessed pestle transformed into light and fell, eventually landing directly within the auspicious clouds of Daoist Duobao.
Countless profound Buddhist principles suddenly appeared in Daoist Duobao's spiritual realm.
Originally, he intended to condense the Dharma form of the Buddhist path.
At this moment, with the blessing of the sacred pestle, he instantly attained the Buddhist path.
As the Buddha's light rapidly gathered on the auspicious clouds above, it transformed into a thousand-foot-tall Bodhi tree amidst the changing mist.
And hanging on that Bodhi tree are round, golden relics.
This Bodhi tree was transformed from his own spiritual foundation and will continue to grow in the future. The deeper his understanding of the Buddhist path, the taller and more magnificent this tree will become.
The relics hanging on the tree were formed from countless supernatural powers, both large and small, of Buddhism...
When the Bodhi relics were both completed, Duobao stood up from the ground, took seven steps, and seven lotus flowers appeared under his feet; he pointed one finger to the sky and one finger to the earth, and shouted loudly: "Above and below the heavens, I alone am the honored one!"
In an instant, the former chief disciple of the Jie Sect vanished, and the Buddha appeared in the mortal realm.
When all the Buddhas saw Shakyamuni Tathagata attain enlightenment, they all exclaimed in praise, "Excellent! Excellent!"
Amitabha Buddha, standing on a golden lotus, floated down from the sky to the Tathagata's feet, put his hands together in a gesture of respect, and said with a smile, "Congratulations on the Tathagata's enlightenment."
The Buddha bowed to Amitabha Buddha as a disciple, saying, "Amitabha Buddha! Excellent, excellent!"
Amitabha Buddha smiled gently, and suddenly a jeweled canopy appeared in his hand.
He held up a canopy and covered Shakyamuni Buddha. These canopies from the ten directions eventually merged into one canopy, covering the three thousand great chiliocosms of the ten directions, emitting incomparably subtle light. This net of light illuminated countless worlds.
At this moment, Dipankara Buddha led a group of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas down from the sky, and after standing still, bowed to Tathagata.
"We disciples pay our respects to the World Honored One!"
The so-called Three Buddhas refer to the past (which is already past) and the future (which is still in the future), with only the Tathagata Buddha being the present Buddha, possessing immeasurable Dharma power and supernatural abilities, reigning supreme in the present...
The Buddha smiled and gestured for them to rise, then sat back down under the Bodhi tree and began to explain Buddhist teachings to his disciples.
"I am leaving."
Seeing this, Laozi did not linger any longer. He bowed to Amitabha Buddha, then rose and mounted the blue ox, from which four auspicious clouds rose...
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