Enemy of the Buddha

The Pure Land, Spirit Mountain—it remained a scene of utter devastation, where the earth cracked and mountains crumbled. The ground had split open, and a bottomless chasm ran along the edge of Spirit Mountain. A young monk hurried to the brink of the chasm and peered into its depths. At the bottom flowed sluggish molten lava, and along the pitch-black rock face, something seemed to be slowly writhing. Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, the young monk rubbed them and took a closer look. Only then did he realize that the rock walls were densely covered with bizarre, crawling creatures! They were pitch-black throughout, devoid of any fixed shape, creeping upward bit by bit along the rock face. Without careful inspection, one could hardly distinguish them from the stone. Up this abyss tens of thousands of zhang deep, they had already climbed most of the way, now only a few thousand zhang from the surface. With a cry of horror, the young monk turned and fled. Moments later, he dashed into a small temple halfway up Spirit Mountain. Inside were enshrined three statues of the Buddha, beside which stood an empty lotus throne, leaving it unknown what had originally been venerated there. Trembling, the young monk lit three sticks of incense and prayed, "The sin-beasts have appeared! So many of them!" All three Buddha statues bore bitter, sorrowful countenances, their forms emaciated to the bone. Amidst the rising incense smoke, expressions came over their faces, and they leaned forward to gaze down at the young monk. "From where were the sin-beasts born?" "It is connected to the catastrophe in the Liao domain, and yet unconnected." "With our awakening, has the Dharma-ending age truly arrived?" The three Buddha statues seemed to be speaking to themselves. How could the young monk possibly know how to answer? Just then, a voice came from outside the temple: "It is not the Dharma-ending age. Rather, someone has poked a hole through the heavens." Walking in from outside was another young monk. He looked delicate and refined, yet upon closer examination, ferocity lurked between his brows. The three elderly monks upon the Buddha seats turned their gazes toward him simultaneously, their brows furrowing together. "The Buddha Child born of the era? How have you become like this?" A flash of bitter resentment crossed the young monk's face. "This is all thanks to the Enemy of the Buddha! Not just myself—the entirety of Spirit Mountain, including the sin-beasts, were all drawn here by him!" "Speak in detail." The young monk said, "The Enemy of the Buddha is named Wei Yuan. Ever since he emerged, he has opposed the Pure Land at every turn. He robbed your disciple of a supreme opportunity in this cycle of reincarnation and destroyed my Buddha fruit. Later, he opened paths across the three realms, plundered believers from the Pure Land, and even seized the Buddha lands of Junior Brother Shanle and Senior Sister Baoxing. He then profaned those Buddha lands with filth, attempting to defile the karmic attainments of my junior brother and senior sister. "Recently, he has passed off the false as genuine, employing base methods to establish additional Scenery Command positions under the guise of opening a new Dao path. In reality, it is all fraud; those mindscape worlds still belong to him. Running amok in such a manner, he has sinned against Heaven, and these sin-beasts have arisen in response to the tribulation. "Moreover, this man is inherently shameless and deceitful by nature. This contract signed with the Scenery Command cultivators is proof enough! Honored Ancestors, please look!" The young monk placed a contract upon the offering table. Numerous clauses within it were circled in dense strokes of vermilion ink. Every single one of these terms was unprecedented, yet utterly shocking. "Clause 168: Prohibited conduct for individuals within the mindscape world includes, but is not limited to: engaging in any activity that opposes, sabotages, or subverts Qingming; any act that opposes or defames the reputation of the Realm Lord; and any act that pries into the Realm Lord's privacy..." "Clause 261: Mutual Responsibilities... Should the mindscape world experience instability, displacement, localized damage, sudden disappearance, or similar circumstances, the user must report it immediately and cease using the mindscape world at once. All losses arising from improper use shall be borne entirely by the user. "The user agrees to voluntarily bear all losses and consequences caused by unexpected fluctuations in the mindscape world and compensate for any resulting damages. All expenses incurred during the repair of the mindscape world shall be borne entirely by the user." "Clause 1125: Revocation of the Mindscape World. Qingming shall revoke the right to use the mindscape world under the following circumstances: 1. When the user attempts to damage the mindscape world; 2. When the user attempts to steal secrets of the mindscape world... 99. Any other circumstances under which Qingming deems it necessary to revoke the mindscape world." The three old monks looked at one another. The Buddha Child, meanwhile, was brimming with righteous fury. "If this is not the work of a rogue, what is?" One of the old monks remarked, "The clauses are somewhat overbearing, but what he provides is indeed of high quality. Does this act not also seem to hold merit toward Heaven and Earth?" Hearing this, the young monk grew frantic and hurriedly said, "The Enemy of the Buddha has committed monstrous crimes; whatever merit he gained was mere happenstance. Furthermore, your disciple has discovered that the fall of Senior Brother Guangzhi was also connected to him." The old monk seated in the center slowly raised his head. "Guangzhi was once the disciple with the greatest hope of attaining the Dao. Alas... but he perished in the Middle Ancient Era. How could it be related to someone of the present day?" "Senior Brother Guangzhi's merit rivaled the heavens, making it difficult for him to truly perish. For many years, your disciple searched tirelessly through the cycles of reincarnation, and perseverance paid off—I truly discovered Senior Brother Guangzhi's reincarnated form. "I originally intended to ferry him back to the Pure Land to resume his cultivation, but never did I expect that the Enemy of the Buddha would interfere even there, causing Senior Brother's reincarnated form to perish and severing the karmic ties. Who knows when or where his reincarnated form can ever be found again? In the tens or hundreds of thousands of years in between, that wisp of Senior Brother's true spirit can only wander through ignorant reincarnation, sinking into the Sea of Bitterness." "Is there proof?" "I hold in my hand a sarira from Senior Brother's reincarnated form, which is sufficient to prove that the reincarnated form's death has a direct karmic link to the Enemy of the Buddha. The Enemy of the Buddha knew this person was Senior Brother's reincarnated form, and the reincarnated form died because of him." The old monk seated to the side nodded. "Every word of this is true." The monk in the center took the sarira and caressed it gently. After a long while, he let out a sigh and said, "Since he is the Enemy of the Buddha, he must possess doctrine. Bring forth his scriptures for me to inspect." At that moment, the old monk on the other side suddenly opened his eyes. Two trails of blood trailed down from the corners of his eyes as he spoke: "I have just seen that the sin-beasts were indeed born from the Enemy of the Buddha, and it is because of him that they have found their way to this realm! If they are not stopped and the sin-beasts break through to the surface, Spirit Mountain will surely shatter even further." "Why would the Enemy of the Buddha lure the sin-beasts here? What benefit does it bring him?" The old monk weeping bloody tears shook his head. "Right now, the tribulation of this realm hangs in the heavens; even I cannot divine it clearly, nor see it through." The central old monk pondered and said, "Since the sin-beasts have come, there must be a Heavenly Dao governing their arrival. Moreover, slaying sin-beasts also yields merit. Why do we not follow the way and wipe them out right here on Spirit Mountain?" The young monk hurried to interject, "Spirit Mountain has already been damaged to such a state; how could it withstand the onslaught of the sin-beasts? All the Buddhas are currently beyond the heavens, and hardly any great Bodhisattvas remain on Spirit Mountain." Seeing that the three old monks seemed somewhat persuaded, the young monk added urgently, "If trading the damage of Spirit Mountain would ensure the safety of the common people under heaven, your disciple naturally would not utter a single word. But to trade it for the safety of the Enemy of the Buddha? Even if Spirit Mountain were to lose a single stone, your disciple would deem it utterly unworthy!" The old monk shedding tears of blood seemed to harbor deep revulsion toward the sin-beasts. He spoke slowly: "All those connected to the sin-beasts are outer demons. Today, all manner of karmic conditions are complete. I shall forsake this body to rid the Pure Land of this great enemy." The remaining two old monks chanted a Buddhist invocation together. The monk on the left asked, "What do you intend to do?" "Only the Buddhist Dharma I cultivate can accomplish this matter. I intend to reverse the karma of the sin-beasts entering this realm, sending them back to wherever they came from. Since they were born of the Enemy of the Buddha, they should return to his side." With that, the old monk uttered a Buddhist invocation. Immeasurable light radiated from within his body, and in an instant, he transformed into an ancient Buddha towering between heaven and earth, chanting an unsurpassed, profound method that reverberated across the entirety of Spirit Mountain! Countless sin-beasts shrieked in agony, turning around to scramble back down into the churning lava. The Buddha Child immediately sat down and chanted scriptures without pause. The other two old monks could see that he was using a secret art to reinforce the karma of the sin-beasts; when the creatures returned, their numbers would inevitably multiply greatly.