One person above Qing Huang Ting

Chapter 904 Ksitigarbha Steps Down, Reincarnates for Three Lifetimes

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The auspicious hour had arrived, and the bell-ringing monk swung his arms and struck the huge morning bell with the mallet made entirely of a wooden stake.

After nine clear bell tolls that pierced through the entire city of Bianliang, the monks opened the main and side gates of the Dizang Temple. Novice monks, striking wooden fish and jade chimes, lined up in two rows and walked out of the temple, chanting the Dizang Sutra to guide the gods.

The Water and Land Dharma Assembly should ideally continue day and night, chanting scriptures to help the deceased find peace and praying for the living.

However, since there was no precedent for replacing the Buddha statue on the last day of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, the Ksitigarbha Temple had to temporarily close on the second-to-last night of the assembly to work through the night to finalize the preparations for the assembly.

The appearance of the novice monks chanting sutras officially marked the start of the final day of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

Master Siyou, dressed in a purple and gold kasaya, led a group of eminent monks from the Dizang Temple to appear in front of the temple gate.

They were not there to welcome the high-ranking officials and nobles of Bianliang City, but to welcome the six-zhang-tall golden statue of the Buddha of the Three Lives, who was lifted and separated from the crowd by thirty-six strongmen who were skilled in martial arts.

The golden Buddha statue, symbolizing salvation from suffering, departed from the foundry, carried by thirty-six skilled martial artists in a thirty-eight-carried lotus palanquin. High-ranking monks from the Ksitigarbha Temple led the way, sprinkling holy water and releasing lotus lanterns.

One hundred thousand lotus lanterns were set off, and the carriage traveled ten miles. The martial arts warriors dared not let the lotus carriage shake even slightly along the way.

The golden Buddha statue has three faces and six arms, holding a Mani jewel and the Book of Life and Death, forming the Ksitigarbha mudra, and raising the finger to hold a flower. The three faces respectively express the emotions of joy, anger, and tranquility.

Lifelike, solemn and benevolent.

"Homage to the Buddha who saves people from suffering and delivers them from worldly afflictions!"

Led by Master Siyou, the monks clasped their hands together and bowed to welcome the golden statue of the Buddha who saves people from suffering.

"Homage to the Buddha who saves people from suffering and delivers them from worldly afflictions!"

Even the highest-ranking officials and nobles dare not presume upon their status or flaunt their titles before the true God, for this is a world where the true God dwells, frequently manifesting His power to punish mortals.
Even the Empress and the Crown Prince, who were of noble birth, had to bow respectfully and not dare to be careless in the slightest.

The people of Bianliang City were no exception. After the golden Buddha statue was revealed, they kowtowed to it repeatedly, chanting "Namo Amitabha Buddha," hoping that the Buddha, who saves people from suffering in three lifetimes, would bestow blessings and protect them.

Thirty-six martial arts masters and external martial arts experts steadily carried the six-zhang-tall golden statue into the Ksitigarbha Temple. Master Siyou led the way in front of the golden statue, while the other elders and abbots followed around the statue of the Buddha of the Three Lives of Salvation.

The novices on the periphery struck wooden fish and jade chimes, while the elders and supervisors chanted the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

After the golden Buddha statue entered the Dizang Temple and passed through the inner courtyard gate, the high-ranking officials and nobles of Bianliang City straightened their clothes and, led by the attending monks, entered the Dizang Temple through the side gate.

Whether it was the Crown Prince, the Empress, a high-ranking official, or a duke or prince, they all entered the Dizang Temple through the side gate without exception.

Because no matter how noble a mortal's status may be today, it can never surpass that of a deity.

The main gate of the Dizang Temple is open to deities today.

Only the golden statue of the Buddha of the Three Lives, who saves people from suffering, was carried by thirty-six strongmen skilled in martial arts and in a sedan chair carried by thirty-eight men, was worthy to enter through the main gate of the Ksitigarbha Temple today.

After the high-ranking officials and nobles entered the Dizang Temple, the temple was surrounded by Bianliang constables and imperial guards, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter the temple.

The reason why ordinary people are allowed to enter the Ksitigarbha Temple is that the Bodhisattva needs the incense offerings from the people, and the monks need the offerings from the people.

What day is it today? Who are the people who came today?

There is a strong possibility that the Buddha of Three Lives, who saves people from suffering, will descend to earth today and bestow blessings upon the devout believers present.

Such a wonderful day, such a distinguished guest.

How could ordinary people in Bianliang City be worthy of entering the Ksitigarbha Temple, breathing the air of the Ksitigarbha Temple with high-ranking officials and nobles, and feeling the glory of the Buddha who saves people from suffering in three lifetimes?

The fact that the gates of the Dizang Temple were not closed, allowing ordinary people to faintly hear Buddhist chants and smell the incense wafting from the temple, is already a great act of kindness from Master Siyou.

After all the devotees who were able to participate in the Water and Land Dharma Assembly entered the Ksitigarbha Temple, the assembly reached its climax.

The statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva will be taken out of the main hall.
The Buddha, who saves all beings from suffering, will ascend the shrine and sit firmly on the lotus throne!
"Master, is the Buddha who saves people from suffering in three lifetimes really Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?"

A young Taoist boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, who came with his master to observe the ceremony from Shangqing Temple, looked at the Buddha of the Three Lives of Salvation and salvation on the shrine and a question arose in his mind.

The faces of the Buddha who saves people from suffering and delivers them from worldly troubles are completely different from those of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The only similarity between them is that they both hold a Mani jewel.

Master Siyou did not mistake the Buddha, did he?

"Keep quiet! How dare you call out my name in the Buddha's Dharma assembly? Do you want to see the scenery of Avici Hell?"

When Master Xuanguang of Shangqing Temple received the message from his youngest disciple, his lips twitched. Even after years of meditation, he almost couldn't hold back and immediately used the handle of his whisk to hit his youngest disciple hard on the head.

In his anger, the young apprentice's hair produced the same crisp sound as the wooden fish in the hands of the novice monk beside him.

The young Taoist priest immediately burst into tears, his forehead red and swollen, round like half a persimmon growing on top.

But the young Taoist rubbed his forehead without making a sound, not because he was particularly resolute.

Instead, his master placed a gagging spell on him, so he can no longer transmit his voice or speak.

Fengqin, the abbot of Xuanzhen Temple, who was wearing a yellow Taoist robe, smiled meaningfully and said, "Brother Xuanguang, why did you hit your disciple so hard?"

Master Xuanguang of Shangqing Temple sighed: "The younger generation is ignorant."

'Qingxuan truly doesn't know his place. How dare he address the gods and Buddhas by their names in the Dizang Temple? Do you think you can fool them with telepathy?'

After reprimanding his young apprentice Qingxuan, Xuanguang didn't even dare to explain the reason to him in the Dizang Temple, and his other disciples dared not say anything more.

He was afraid that if he said another word, he would be punished by the gods.

But in reality, it was just an innocent boy expressing the doubts in his heart.

Those present were all accomplished practitioners and Zen masters; who among them did not have doubts about this?

How could the major event of replacing the statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at the Ksitigarbha Temple not be communicated to the Taoist and Buddhist monks of various sacred mountains and temples?

Upon receiving Master Siyou's invitation letter, many sect leaders and abbots immediately thought that Master Siyou had gone mad.

However, the invitation letter was written in a clear and logical manner, and the monk from Dizang Temple who delivered the letter spoke in a complete and detailed manner, without any omissions, which made them somewhat skeptical.

Since it's impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood in such a significant matter, it should naturally be treated as such.

Each sect selected a representative of considerable influence, or even the sect leader or abbot, to personally visit the Dizang Temple in Bianliang with generous gifts to investigate.

However, as people outside the secular world, these fellow practitioners were arranged to stay in guest rooms by the Ksitigarbha Temple.

They had already settled in the Dizang Temple, which is why they didn't enter through the side gate like other dignitaries.

At the same time, they also watched the entire Water and Land Dharma Assembly in a comprehensive and intuitive way.

You are all accomplished cultivators. Tell me, who hasn't memorized the Book in Your Pillow and recorded the lineage of immortals and the seating arrangement on Mount Ling?

No one doubts the Buddha's status as the Buddha who saves people from suffering in three lifetimes. After all, although it is unknown why Mount Ling has been closed, the one in the South China Sea is still in the Purple Bamboo Grove.

Since the Guanyin Temple in the South China Sea didn't say anything, the identity of the Buddha who saves people from suffering in three lifetimes must be true.

but,

Is this Buddha statue truly the former Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?
The experts present all began to have doubts.

(End of this chapter)