Chapter 663: Solemn Treasure Appearance (Extra update for Silver Alliance member Qilixiang Chang Xiaozhi 1820)

"Then why are you so stubborn and unyielding!"

"Stubborn and unyielding?"

Master Kongheng smiled and shook his head, saying softly:

"The next day, when I returned to the temple, the words of those few Maha from that day had been forgotten completely. I opened the scriptures to read, but every single book was a dizzying blur; the characters leaped off the pages one after another, heading toward the lands of Zhao and Yan in succession."

"I looked back and saw the entire courtyard densely packed with characters, like refugees fleeing a famine, holding hands and running wildly. A sea of characters flowed down the mountain and vanished into the boundless horizon."

"That night, all the classics in my Liaohua Temple turned into blank paper."

His words echoed slowly in the air, and only then did Li Xieming reveal a look of realization. Master Kongheng laughed at himself twice and replied: "That is why I am least skilled at debating the Dao."

Fu Xia finally stopped speaking and sat quietly. Master Kongheng said gently: "That year, I was only eighteen. I had just finished reading the cultivation techniques, classics, and secret anecdotes, preparing to study the scriptures, but from then on, there were no books left to read."

"Old Senior, the cultivators of the Seven Daos all yearn for the ancient Buddhist Dharma and often aspire to the position of the World-Honored One, hoping to find the true scriptures from me. Yet, I have nothing to give you. This humble cultivator has never read those things; I have relied solely on my original heart to attain enlightenment since I began cultivation."

A look of sudden understanding appeared on Fu Xia's face; he finally understood why Master Kongheng often remained silent in the face of his refutations. His voice lowered slightly:

"Ancient scriptures were never suited for the Dao of the present day!"

"Correct."

Master Kongheng said warmly: "I have read all the classics of the Seven Daos. 【Great Desire】 is boundless; one gains first and loses later to seek solemnity. 【Wrath】 manifests an appearance, leveling evil into good to mold a treasure appearance. 【Yearning for Dharma】 seeks a realm, releasing the earth into the present world to ferry all living beings."

"【Precepts】 are bitter and cold, knowing the sea of suffering, thus there is a boat to ferry. 【Good Joy】 clarifies the heart, joy, anger, sorrow, and obsession, using existence to seek non-existence. 【Compassion】 is in the belly, nurturing all living beings, and all living beings nurture me. 【Emptiness】 focuses the mind, letting go of self-attachment to seek liberation..."

Master Kongheng said softly: "You all use the Pure Land to contain people."

"Old Senior, it is not that I do not understand the fundamental Dharma. I have also entered the Pure Land. Whether the joy of the people there is real or not, we shall not discuss for now."

"But the Noble Dao uses the suffering of the mundane and the joy of the Pure Land to edify the masses, making them forget objects to seek various solemn, peaceful, and empty realms. But have they truly arrived? Has a single great supernatural being ever emerged from the Maha's Pure Land? Is the Pure Land ultimately the private property of the Maha's supernatural powers, or is it liberation untethered by suffering and joy?"

Master Kongheng became solemn for the first time. He had no look of anger, nor did he rebuke; there remained only deep contemplation and worry. His fair face was infinitely bright under the shroud of five-colored radiance:

"None... Old Senior, none at all."

Fu Xia stared at him in disbelief. This old monk showed a look of contemplation for the first time. Once this look appeared, Fu Xia's aura withered for an instant. He said coldly:

"There are those who have achieved in the Pure Land, such as the practitioners of 【Ferrying Grace】 and 【Six Pendulums】... You..."

Master Kongheng shook his head and said softly:

"Have you ever seen them?"

Fu Xia's eyes lit up, and he seized upon his words, saying in a deep voice: "Just because I have not seen them, does that mean they do not exist?"

"You have seen them."

Master Kongheng did not give him a chance at all, answering softly. Seeing Fu Xia stunned, he pointed lightly at the sky and smiled: "【Six Pendulums】 is right above."

Fu Xia had long forgotten all disputes by now. He slowly raised his head, trembling. Above 'Jinyang Huangyuan Pass', the six-armed Vajra was solemn, its six arms firmly pressing down on the Bright Pass.

"You... how is this possible! Don't think you can deceive me with demonic words!"

Master Kongheng shook his head slowly, his voice very light: "This is the solemn treasure appearance, this is the realm of purity, this is the person in the Pure Land who has forgotten both object and self. When I was eighteen, he came from the manifestation of wrath to assist me, and he has not uttered a word since."

Fu Xia did not know how to answer, lost and at a loss. Master Kongheng said softly: "I know what Senior Brother means. The 【Four Demon Emperors of Wrath】 have fallen, and the lineage of wrath is waning. He wants me to give birth to anger in my heart and specialize in the manifestation of wrath, so as to achieve Maha and re-establish the lineage."

"Isn't that so!"

Fu Xia was silent for a moment and replied:

"Yes."

Master Kongheng's expression was gentle, and the light on his face grew more intense. He said in a good-natured way:

"That is the problem. You think the manifestation of wrath is good, so you want me to become the manifestation of wrath, and thus you came to fetch me."

"You think all living beings suffer, so you want to ferry all living beings, to create a Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, letting all living beings suffer to the fullest first, then putting them all inside, so that you may be thanked with gratitude."

He asked: "You stand high above, wanting to ferry all living beings, but have the living beings ever wanted to be ferried by you?"

"Why wouldn't they!"

Fu Xia's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice:

"How great is the suffering in the world, and how great is the joy in the Pure Land! In the lands of Yan and Zhao, if you were to grab any hundred commoners, all of them would be thinking day and night about entering the Pure Land!"

Master Kongheng said softly: "That is because the present world is too bitter, and they only seek pleasure. As for the boundless peace, boundless purity, and boundless stability of the solemn treasure appearance, that is not what the commoners seek. They suffer the bitterness of the seven emotions and enjoy the pleasures of the seven emotions. The boundless solemn treasure appearance is a boundless death appearance. Only when they are so bitter they want to die, and no longer want the pleasures, are they willing to enter the Pure Land."

"You think everyone wants to enter the Pure Land, but in reality, everyone is being tortured and cannot help but want to enter the Pure Land."

Fu Xia rebuked:

"Nonsense! Who doesn't want the solemn treasure appearance? It is only because their realm is insufficient that they don't want it!"

Master Kongheng stood up. He said in a soft, gentle voice:

"The solemn treasure appearance is boundless, ultimate purity. They are all one treasure appearance. When encountering various things, they all make the same reaction. They are all the same person. If ten thousand people achieve it, it is actually one person occupying the bodies of ten thousand people. Old Senior Fu Xia, the World-Honored One is not cultivated in this way."

"You use the name of cultivating the World-Honored One to bewilder millions with a vast land of joy, hoping to use the puppet of the solemn treasure appearance to occupy all their souls! You yourselves retain the seven emotions and six desires, sitting high above, laughing at the world, and calling it ignorant!"

"There are even more foolish ones who, in the end, also use the solemn treasure appearance to occupy themselves! Millions of people become one boundless peace, boundless purity, and boundless stable death appearance!"

Fu Xia looked at him heavily, his voice hoarse, and said:

"Is that what the ancient Buddhism says?"

Master Kongheng looked at him quietly and said warmly: "That is what I say."

As Master Kongheng's words fell, the scorching separation fire had already climbed onto his body. Li Xieming's urging voice rang out again and again. Fu Xia suddenly put away all his expressions and looked at him quietly.

"Since that is the case, why does Master Kongheng not become Maha?"

His old face was full of sincerity, and even clear tears flowed down: "Since the Seven Daos are all wrong, Master Kongheng should ascend to Maha, self-verify a Pure Land, teach the world the method of infinite liberation, turn the world upside down, and achieve the First Pure Land!"

"My lord, return to the Northern Demon-Subduing Temple! We are willing to be driven by you!" ===== CHAPTER 664 =====