Hou Wenjie looked coldly at the monk in front of him and said casually, "Suppress him if you will. Judging from your words, I think suppressing you would be the right thing to do!"
When Hou Wenjie saw that the white-robed monk's first words to him did not mention the giant fish that killed people, but instead questioned him about suppressing the giant fish, Hou Wenjie's attitude of treating human life as worthless made him already consider the monk a demon.
The white-robed monk, with a compassionate expression, said, "Your murderous aura is too strong, which may be inappropriate in this degenerate age!"
Hou Wenjie chuckled: "Since you won't speak human language, I'll suppress you first and then see what kind of person you are!"
The white-robed monk shook his head and sighed, "Have you ever heard the proverb, benefactor? 'At the end of the Dharma-ending Age, Maitreya will descend to earth!'"
Hou Wenjie opened his third eye and discovered that the other crew members in the Buddhist hall were only affected by the Gu poison, and that they were living Gu poison, not strange creatures.
They were merely blinded by the Gu, but they were still alive.
Hou Wenjie wasn't in a hurry; he also wanted to hear what secrets were hidden inside!
So he said, "I want to hear what you have to say!"
The white-robed monk clasped his hands together again and said, "The World-Honored One once said that at the end of the Dharma-ending Age, Maitreya Buddha will descend to earth. At that time, all those who recite the Buddha's name in the world will be able to attain immortality!"
Now, at the end of the Dharma-ending Age, Maitreya Buddha has been born!
He is me, and I am the future Buddha!
Hou Wenjie no longer wanted to listen to a madman.
The white-robed monk realized that Hou Wenjie didn't believe him, so he continued:
“I know you don’t believe me, but how do you know this isn’t my first life!”
My Dharma name in this life is Kukai! You should have heard of my name; the sect I founded on Wajima is called the Shingon Sect!
Hou Wenjie became interested again. He had heard of Kukai's name; he was considered a famous monk from the island.
The white-robed monk said, "When I was young in this life, I visited famous temples in the Central Plains, hoping to attain enlightenment."
I visited the White Horse Temple in Luoyang and also studied under Master Huiguo, a great master of Esoteric Buddhism, at the Qinglong Temple in Chang'an, where I received the true teachings of Esoteric Buddhism.
At that time, I had already visited the three famous temples in Chang'an: Qinglong Temple, Da Ci'en Temple, and Famen Temple.
Of the four famous temples in China, I have visited all of them except for the Hanging Temple!
At that time, I felt that the world was so vast that no one could teach me anymore, and I was quite proud of myself, calling myself "All-Illuminating Vajra".
Everything changed when I moved into the temple that was originally called Hongfu Temple, but had since been renamed Yunfu Temple.
At that time, I was already quite famous in Chang'an, and a Zen master accompanied me to visit the temple's scripture pavilion.
The temple doesn't have a large collection of scriptures, and I've already studied most of them, until I came across a scripture that felt like it was made of a very unusual material.
At that time, I had already achieved some success in my practice, and as soon as I picked up that scripture, I realized something was wrong.
Then I realized what was wrong: the book cover was made of human skin. I turned the pages and discovered that not only the cover, but the entire book was made of human skin.
I was very curious at the time about what would be written on such a scripture.
However, when I studied it, I found that the writing in this book was messy and disorganized, and the Buddha's words were incoherent and difficult to understand.
The Zen master who accompanied me told me that this was brought back from Nalanda Monastery by the monk Xuanzang many years ago.
The Zen master said that all the other scriptures had been transferred to the Great Ci'en Temple for collection, and only this one was left. The sentences were incoherent and the words did not express the meaning, so it was not collected.
I suggested at the time that this scripture might contain hidden meanings, and that I wanted to study it.
The Zen master smiled and said to me, "Many people said the same thing before me."
Hou Wenjie remained vigilant while listening to the monk, who called himself Konghai, recount his past.
Seeing Hou Wenjie's behavior, Qian Jiaming quietly remained inconspicuous, trying to stay close to Hou Wenjie to prevent himself from encountering any accidents.
The rest of the crew remained in a world of complete isolation.
Kūkai continued speaking:
"At that time, I took that Buddhist scripture to my meditation room and studied it carefully. It was late at night by the time I finished reading the entire scripture."
I discovered that after I carefully read through all the chapters, the scroll came to life! It gained the warmth of human skin.
Then, I saw a butterfly vaguely fly away from the pages of the book.
The words on this Buddhist scripture seemed to have changed as well. I watched as each word took flight like an insect and entered my mind.
Then I understood a lot of things.
I realized that the skin used in this Buddhist scripture was the very skin that the Medicine Buddha of the East personally cut off before his passing.
This Buddhist scripture was also copied by him personally, the "Maitreya's Descent Sutra".
At the same time, my memories of past lives also awakened.
I learned about my first life. In my first life, I was a queen on an island, and people called me Himiko.
At that time, the competition between Buddhism and Taoism for offerings to sentient beings was particularly fierce. Sun Wukong, the Great Sage of Taoism, possessed the Flower Fruit Mountain Grotto-heaven, which allowed him to integrate many strange and supernatural powers, making his cultivation level extremely high. This made it difficult for Buddhism to spread its teachings in the East.
Therefore, the World-Honored One Tathagata left the Saha Pure Land, personally suppressed him, and used the six-syllable mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" to activate the nine orifices of his body, preventing him from cultivating Qi.
When I was born in that lifetime, it was many years after this great sage had been suppressed.
Because I mistakenly entered the Five Elements Mountain, I was able to comprehend the Six-Syllable Mantra and gained many supernatural powers.
Later, in pursuit of immortality, I fled to the island and established myself as king. I named myself after the last three syllables of the six-syllable mantra, "Padme Hum," which is pronounced as Himiko by the world.
Because of the offerings of all living beings, I am able to live forever in the Pure Land with a single thought.
Centuries later, my mind was gradually corrupted by incense offerings, so I had no choice but to pass away and choose to be reborn to start anew.
This is my second incarnation. My Dharma name is Daojing. I awakened my innate wisdom by studying the "Ten Stages of Bodhi" at the Faxiang Temple of Master Xuanzang, and became the Dharma King of Hedao. Later, I wished to ascend the throne again, gather incense offerings, and return to the Pure Land.
Unfortunately, he ultimately failed and had no choice but to reincarnate.
This is my third incarnation, the monk Kukai!
Hou Wenjie was surprised that this monk Kukai could connect his ramblings to Sun Wukong and the Tang Monk Xuanzang, which piqued his curiosity even more.
"Oh, then tell me, how did you come to be associated with Maitreya Buddha?"
Kukai said, "Now is the end of the Dharma-ending Age. All Buddhas have passed away, and all gods no longer exist. The Heavenly Court, the Underworld, and the Pure Land of Vulture Peak are all gone!"
"And the fact that I have lived through three lifetimes alone, doesn't that prove that I am the Maitreya Buddha of this lifetime?"
Hou Wenjie smiled enigmatically. Kukai's statement was quite intriguing, much like another prophecy he had heard: "The one who will replace the Han dynasty is Dangtu Gao."
During the Three Kingdoms period, Yuan Shu believed that Dangtu Gao referred to himself, and Cao Cao also thought so.
Prophecies are always interpreted in a far-fetched way.
Seeing Hou Wenjie's expression, Konghai smiled mysteriously: "The reason I say this is because I have a shocking secret about Buddhism that I haven't told you yet."
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