Chapter 453: The True Scripture Was Given Long Ago

"If my Buddha cannot clear my disciple's doubts, then this scripture…"

Xuanzang knelt before the lotus platform, meeting the gaze of the Tathagata Buddha, which seemed all‑encompassing yet unfathomably deep:

"…then I will not take it."

He gave a slight nod, his face showing no trace of resentment or impulsiveness, only a calm that came from seeing through it, as if it were truly so.

The moment those words left his mouth, the Mahavira Hall, which had been silent after Xuanzang's questioning, suddenly erupted like a pot about to burst!

"Xuanzang! You… you're being foolish!" a compassionate‑looking yet furrowed‑browed Bodhisattva could not help speaking first:

"This is the true scripture personally bestowed by the Buddha, concerning the liberation of billions of Eastern souls; how can you, because of your own confusion, so readily abandon it? Quickly repent before the Buddha and retract your words!"

Immediately after, an Arhat whose voice rang like a great bell tried to persuade with the logic of cause and effect: "Dharma Master Xuanzang! Do you not know that those who perished in calamities were ungrateful in past lives, never sowed good causes, and thus now reap this retribution!"

"Now their sins have vanished with their bodies, their souls return to the cycle of rebirth, and future lives will bring their own merit! This is the Heavenly Path's cycle, beyond human force, and not because the Buddhist Sect refuses salvation! Keep your eyes on the great undertaking of spreading the Great Vehicle Buddhist Dharma eastward; do not lose the forest for the trees by clinging to a fleeting, local appearance!"

Another Vajra, eyes blazing, spoke sternly: "Tang Seng! Do you still remember the grand vow you made in Chang'an? 'I, a poor monk, will not take the true scripture, and I vow not to return east.' Now the scripture lies before you, yet you would abandon it over a little confusion?"

"Such conduct is not befitting a practitioner. Do not betray His Majesty's great trust, the hardships endured along the way, nor the Buddha's compassion!"

"Indeed! The great undertaking of acquiring the scripture tolerates no child's play!"

"Quickly admit your fault to the Buddha and receive the true scripture!"

"Do not let a moment's temper jeopardize a millennial undertaking!"

In an instant, the voices of Bodhisattvas urging, Arhats reasoning, and Vajras rebuking rose and fell, filling the hall with urgent, puzzled, even angry clamor.

Almost every deity and Buddha deemed Xuanzang's "I will not" at that moment impulsive, foolish, and a betrayal of the entire scripture‑seeking mission!

Yet, amid this near‑one‑sided barrage of blame, a slightly lazy voice suddenly rang out, sounding especially grating and out of place:

"If you want me to speak…"

"Hm?"

The voice came from the line of Arhats. The deities turned their heads; the speaker, the Dragon‑subduing Arhat, scratched his ear and said leisurely:

"…If he doesn't want it, let him not want it. Forcing someone to do what he refuses is no different in essence from road‑blocking bandits or forced‑sale robbers on the road, is it?"

"Oh, right, we might have added another big label of 'for your own good' and 'immeasurable merit'. Heh…."

"Dragon‑subduer! Stop spouting nonsense!" an Arhat who usually clashed with him immediately rebuked sternly:

"This is the Mahavira Hall of Ling Shan, before the Buddha's Dharma carriage! The matter of acquiring the scripture concerns the qi of the three realms and the welfare of all beings; you cannot indulge in frivolous words here. If you ruin the great undertaking, can you bear that guilt?!"

The Dragon‑subduing Arhat glanced at the angry Arhat and shrugged indifferently:

"Whether I can bear it is a later matter; I was merely voicing my own view."

"What, in this Great Thunder Temple, even a truthful sentence is forbidden? If you're dissatisfied," he curled a provocative smile at the corner of his mouth:

"When this matter is settled, you can come challenge me one‑on‑one, or debate the scripture, whenever you wish."

"I, the Dragon‑subduer, will accompany you to the end."

"You…!" The Arhat, choked, flushed red, pointed at the Dragon‑subduer, trembling with anger:

"Arrogant! Buddha! I, your disciple, earnestly request that this disorder‑causing, reckless‑tongued Dragon‑subduer be temporarily removed from the hall! Do not let him continue babbling here and jeopardize the proper business of acquiring the scripture!"

Facing the sudden, almost farcical dispute below, the Tathagata Buddha atop the lotus platform remained majestically serene, his expression calm, as if all the turmoil beneath were merely illusory reflections, fleeting clouds.

Only after the Arhat's earnest plea fell silent did the hall quiet for a moment, and the Tathagata Buddha slowly spoke, his voice low:

"Silence."

Those two words seemed like an invisible spring washing over them; every Bodhisattva, Arhat, and Vajra—whether urging, rebuking, or merely watching like the Dragon‑subduer—instantly fell silent, and the hall returned to stillness.

"You argue in the Mahavira Hall like this; what decorum is this?"

No one dared to answer.

When the hall fell utterly quiet, a pin could be heard dropping; only then did the Tathagata Buddha's gaze return to the still‑kneeling, composed Xuanzang.

"Xuanzang," the Buddha's voice regained its earlier grandeur and compassion, now tinged with an ineffable nuance:

"Since you are unwilling to receive these scriptures, then… go."

He paused, offering a seemingly ordinary yet subtly cryptic directive:

"Descend the mountain."

He gave neither the answer Xuanzang sought, nor an explanation of the demons' ties to the Buddhist Sect, nor a response to the questions about the current state of Western Niuhe Continent, nor any regret or anger over Xuanzang's "abandonment."

He simply told him… to go down the mountain.

Xuanzang seemed not to expect a direct answer either.

Hearing the Buddha's words, his expression remained unchanged; he pressed his palms together and bowed deeply toward the lotus platform once more:

"Yes. Disciple… takes leave."

Having spoken, he rose slowly, smoothed his slightly wrinkled monk robe, turned, and walked with steady steps toward the open Mahavira Hall doors that seemed to lead to endless light.

Inside, the various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats watched his silhouette, their expressions complex.

A Bodhisattva seemed about to speak, but Sun Wukong, trailing behind Xuanzang, suddenly turned his head; his fiery eyes and golden pupils flashed a terrifying glare, glaring fiercely at those about to speak, baring his teeth and growling:

"What are you staring at?! My master does whatever he pleases! How dare you point fingers? If anyone dares to entertain any crooked thoughts toward my master, or gossip behind his back, first ask whether my old Sun's Golden Cudgel will permit it!"

He then waved at Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng: "Bajie! Wujing! Let's go! This laborious scripture, if the master won't take it, we won't either! Back to our Flower‑Fruit Mountain, Gao Lao Village, and Flowing Sand River, living carefree as ever!"

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Sun Wukong turned and took large strides to follow Xuanzang.

Zhu Bajie hoisted his rake, muttering incomprehensibly, yet also followed.

Sha Seng silently lifted the luggage, staying close behind.

The four master‑and‑disciple figures passed through the towering hall doors, following the path they came, step by step, heading down from Ling Shan, their backs fading into the brilliant Buddha light and swirling auspicious clouds.

Only when their silhouettes vanished completely at the horizon's edge did the oppressive silence inside the hall finally break.

Guanyin stepped forward, moving to the side beneath the lotus platform, clasped her palms and asked softly: "Our Buddha… Xuanzang's action—could it be the final 'Eighty‑first Trial'? The trial of inner demons, the test of faith?"

"After he descends, undergoes this inner journey, comprehends the Buddha's profound meaning, and is summoned back to receive the true scripture?"

She tried to find a logical explanation, consistent with the logic of "calamities", for this unexpected scene.

However, atop the lotus platform, the Tathagata Buddha, who had always been solemn and serene, showing no emotion, now slowly let a faint smile appear on his face.

He gently shook his head, his voice still calm, yet it caused Guanyin Bodhisattva, and indeed every deity and Buddha in the hall who had perked up to listen, to feel a jolt in their hearts:

"No. The eighty‑one hardships have long been fulfilled. This is not a calamity, but …"

The Buddha paused, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of the hall, looking down toward Ling Shan, then toward a certain direction, and slowly uttered a few words:

"This is the 'eighty‑two hardships' that I, the benefactor, sent to Ling Shan …"

"As for the True Scripture …"

The Buddha withdrew his gaze, looking at Guanyin Bodhisattva and also at all the puzzled Bodhisattvas and Arhats in the hall, the hint of a profound smile on his face deepening slightly:

"I have already given it to Xuanzang."

What?! Already given? When? Where? How was it given?

Everyone looked at each other, completely at a loss.

Just now, Xuanzang came empty‑handed and left empty‑handed!

"Xuanzang traveled onward, seeing demons rampant, his heart filled with great compassion; hearing the teachings of cause and effect, his heart filled with great doubt; experiencing myriad illusory forms, his heart filled with great wisdom."

"This compassion, this doubt, this wisdom are not obtained from outside; they erupt from his own nature. What he questions is not the Dharma itself, but the 'forms' cloaked in the Dharma; what he discards is not the true scripture for saving all, but empty words and false statements."

"Our Buddhist Sect is vast, like the void, capable of containing the sun, moon, and stars, and also the tiniest speck of dust."

"Xuanzang's heart harbors doubt, which is the sincerity of seeking truth; daring to question is the courage of discernment; abandoning the established scripture without taking it is the wisdom of breaking attachment. These three are certainly practice, certainly prajna."

"The Dharma has no fixed form; all phenomena are mind‑only; the True Scripture is not on palm‑leaf pages, but in the mind's space; rescuing beings is not by boat or oar, but by a compassionate vessel."

"What Xuanzang sees and doubts is not an obstacle, but a mirror; it reflects where we must examine ourselves; his actions and pursuits are not departure, but return, pointing toward the original path of Bodhi."

"Now it is finally the pointer of the moon; the eighty‑one hardships are also the dust that polishes the mirror; now the pointer has been shown, the dust brushed away, the moon shines bright in the middle of the sky, and the mirror shines before the platform."

"Xuanzang takes this bright moon and bright mirror down the mountain; wherever he walks becomes a sanctuary; whatever he speaks is the true exposition; this is not discarding the scripture, but attaining its essence; not betraying the Buddha, but approaching the Buddha's truth."

"Our Buddhist Sect does not cling to rigid forms, but values the openness of mind; it does not rely on strict rites, but upholds the substance of compassion."

"To tolerate questioning reveals wisdom as vast as the sea; not fearing self‑examination allows one to see the straight path. Xuanzang's journey has not stepped beyond our courtyard a single step, nor has it left even a drop of our Dharma's rain. Yet look at the clouds and winds below the mountain, the lotus will bloom; listen to the words of the Human World, and there will be Brahma sounds."

The Tathagata Buddha ceased his explanation and slowly closed the Buddha eyes that seemed able to see past and future.

"Let him go, let him come; the Dharma is unchanging, unmoving."

"All of you, having taken on forms, now disperse."

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the hall, hearing this teaching, were first shocked and bewildered, then moved, and finally many faces showed a look of sudden realization and even shame.

It turned out that the "giving" in the Buddha's eyes had long surpassed the handing over of tangible Scrolls; it turned out that the "capacity" in the Buddha's heart was so vast and profound.

"Yes, we receive instruction."

"The Buddha is compassionate."

The group of Bodhisattvas and Arhats departed, leaving only the Tathagata Buddha seated in the Great Hero Hall; after a long, long while, the corner of his lips barely lifted, showing a faint smile:

"I must also thank Yu Lin for teaching this disciple for me… hmm? What will he do now?"

The Tathagata Buddha's eyes opened slightly, landing on the figure that had appeared before Xuanzang and the others.