Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 570 That's not the Great Sage Equaling Heaven! Sun Wukong satisfying his selfish desires!

It's not surprising at all that Sun Wukong steals things.

This guy wasn't ashamed of his identity as a thief; on the contrary, he was proud of it and countless times boasted that he was the ancestor of all thieves.

However, he was quite straightforward in front of Luo Fu, admitting to stealing the ginseng fruit and even promising to compensate Luo Fu.

However, the main point in Sun Wukong's words was clearly still about cleaning up the house.

If Luo Fu's prediction is correct, this must be the reason why the red-robed bodhisattva was accused of bullying his disciples.

"When I, Old Sun, escorted my master to the Spider Cave, I found it to be a beautiful and blessed place, but it was occupied by a group of demons. Not only that, these demons even dared to spout nonsense, demanding that my master give them some of his flesh. So I, Old Sun, simply killed those demons to prevent them from tarnishing the Buddha's reputation!"

Although the Spider Cave was the former abode of the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva, since attaining enlightenment in Buddhism in Luofu, the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva has rarely returned to the cave. The original cave was entrusted to the care of the few adopted sons he had taken in during the Spider Demon era.

Clearly, these adopted sons, though not yet attaining enlightenment due to the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva, still have a promising future, but ultimately they have not shed their demonic nature.

For some unknown reason, I developed the delusion of wanting to taste the flesh of Tang Sanzang.

They were clever enough not to harbor any intention of directly harming Tang Sanzang's life, but they were even more cruel, demanding that Tang Sanzang cut off some pieces of his flesh as payment for his journey.

It's likely that these delusional words were spoken in front of Sun Wukong.

Given Sun Wukong's temperament, the fate of these demonic creatures was predictable.

Not only was his own life in danger, but he was also sent into reincarnation by Sun Wukong's staff. Even the Spider Cave was probably completely destroyed by Sun Wukong.

In this respect, Sun Wukong is indeed capable of doing it.

Even familiar with the process.

After all, Sun Wukong has a long history of offenses.

Sun Wukong acted so decisively, even destroying the Spider Cave completely. Those few lesser demons must have been thoroughly enraged by their verbal conflict.

Luo Fu looked at the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva on the other side and said, "Can you all discern what Wukong has said?"

The Seven Emotions Bodhisattva certainly knew what kind of people those so-called godsons were.

However, when they were banished to the mortal realm, those insect spirits were quite obedient. It's not like the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva could just turn her back on them after clearing her name and coming ashore.

They had already attained enlightenment with Luofu, so they decided to let those few minor demons occupy the Spider Cave for the time being and cultivate in peace.

The Seven Emotions Bodhisattva, who had attained enlightenment, was too busy with his own cultivation to properly discipline those few little demons.

It's not hard to imagine what a little monster might do once it's out of control.

The key to why demons are demons lies in the fact that their primal wildness and bestiality dominate their nature.

There's no doubt that without the restraint of the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva, and having heard about the benefits of Tang Sanzang's flesh, it was perfectly logical for them to covet it and even take action.

Even Lion Camel Ridge, next to the Ruzhen Zen Temple in Luofu, was once the Lion Camel Kingdom, which was devoured by monsters and turned into a living hell.

It's only natural that those few minor demons, who aren't even considered disciples of Luofu Sect, would do some heinous things.

But now, in front of Luofu, even if the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva wanted to argue, he couldn't utter a word.

After a moment's hesitation, the eldest sister, the red-robed Bodhisattva, finally said, "Buddha, we disciples have failed to discipline our disciples. Please forgive us."

Sun Wukong, however, was quite pleased with himself and said, "I, Old Sun, did help out."

At this moment, Luo Fu finally understood why Sun Wukong was disliked.

Even after experiencing the true and false Monkey Kings, Sun Wukong's nature remained unchanged.

During their journey westward, Sun Wukong angered Tang Sanzang countless times, resulting in the Tang Sanzang reciting the Tightening-Headband Mantra as punishment. He was even banished several times.

This monkey's nasty mouth is even more annoying than the monkeys on Mount Emei.

The monkey in front of Luo Fu was not the Monkey King who had been given a rebellious spirit before he transmigrated.

He was more like someone who relied on his own strength to vent his unruly and beastly nature, without any so-called righteous resistance. Everything he did was to satisfy his own selfish desires, just like raising the banner of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and putting on an ochre-yellow robe on Flower Fruit Mountain.

Even his so-called resistance did not bring much positive significance.

Luo Fu's eyes flickered slightly.

Luo Fu couldn't really rebuke Sun Wukong for killing the monsters in the Spider Cave. He even had to suppress his dissatisfaction and thank Sun Wukong for cleaning up the mess for the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva.

This became the helpless situation of the leader of a certain power.

"Those few demons, who harbored malicious intentions, died under your staff, which was a matter of fate. They sowed evil seeds and reaped evil fruit. However, you monkey, you stole my ginseng fruit and peaches of immortality, and you must give me an explanation." Luo Fu made the final decision with his hammer.

They made a decisive and unquestionable decision.

Although Sun Wukong was being unreasonable, he knew that he had been greedy and had stolen something from Luofu, the Buddha, and he couldn't leave without making amends.

Sun Wukong is indeed not a good person, but his title of "Great Sage Who Takes the Blame" is not just empty boasting.

It should be noted that this is just the loss calculated by the Bodhisattva of Seven Emotions.

Five 9,000-year-old peaches, a dozen 6,000-year-old and 3,000-year-old peaches, plus four ginseng fruits.

Obviously, this couldn't have been eaten by just one monkey.

Pigsy, Sandy, and even the White Dragon Horse must have all gotten a share of the profits, and even Tang Sanzang probably got a piece of the action.

But now the monkey didn't even mention Pigsy, Sandy, the White Dragon, and the others standing to the side, clearly intending to take the blame alone.

Sun Wukong made a firm claim to compensate for the ginseng fruit, a claim that Luo Fu did not doubt, after all, Zhen Yuanzi was Sun Wukong's sworn brother.

As the ancestor of all earth immortals and the owner of the ginseng fruit tree, if Sun Wukong were to come to him asking for a few ginseng fruits, Zhen Yuanzi would most likely not refuse.

But the peaches are different.

Even Sun Wukong himself only mentioned that he would compensate with ginseng fruit, but didn't mention the peaches of immortality at all.

Scratching his ear, Sun Wukong grinned and said, "I, Old Sun, can't afford any peaches. Buddha, please have mercy and let me use ginseng fruit to replace the peaches, how about that?"

Luo Fu asked with a half-smile, "So, how many ginseng fruits do you plan to use to offset these peaches?"

Gritting his teeth, Sun Wukong braced himself, clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect, and said, "Disciple will obey the Buddha's commands." At this moment, the monkey became clever again.

Luo Fu, however, was both amused and exasperated, and said, "You and Tang Sanzang are all disciples of my Buddhist sect. Although we cultivate different lineages, I cannot be petty. You can use nine ginseng fruits to make up for it!"

Sun Wukong was overjoyed and readily agreed.

By having Sun Wukong use nine ginseng fruits to replace those peaches of immortality, it's clear that Luofu Temple was giving him a break.

After all, to be precise, the ginseng fruit is at best only slightly better than a nine-thousand-year-old peach.

However, in terms of quantity, the number of peaches ruined by Sun Wukong and his companions was overwhelming.

Sun Wukong was clearly aware of this as well.

That's why he readily agreed to Luo Fu's request, as if afraid that Luo Fu might change his mind.

"Buddha." Sun Wukong bowed and scraped, saying in a fawning manner, "Since I have agreed to exchange nine ginseng fruits for the peaches of immortality, when will you release my master? We, master and disciple, still need to go to the Western Paradise, to the Great Thunder Temple, to pay homage to the Buddha and seek the true scriptures."

Luo Fu laughed and glanced at Sun Wukong, saying, "You monkey, are you trying to use the World Honored One to intimidate me?"

"This disciple wouldn't dare, this disciple wouldn't dare," Sun Wukong said with a forced smile.

Even Pigsy, Sandy, and the White Dragon knelt down immediately, begging Luofu to calm down.

Undeniably, Sun Wukong did have this thought, after all, he knew exactly what he had done in the Real Wonderful Dharma Heaven.

In the current Journey to the West tribulation, although it is not like the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, where the secrets of heaven are in chaos, it is still no ordinary thing to try to know the information of the westward journey team by calculating the secrets of heaven.

Even the Buddha himself could not do that.

Luofu is naturally out of the question.

Moreover, he had no idea how audacious Sun Wukong was.

It wasn't just a simple matter of stealing a few ginseng fruits and ruining a lot of peaches at Ruzhen Temple.

Luo Fu, still unaware of what Sun Wukong had done, made a witty remark to the monkey, then asked the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva, "Is Tang Sanzang in the temple now?"

“Reporting to the Buddha,” the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva hurriedly explained, “Tang Sanzang is currently staying in the temple. Although we disciples are arguing with this thieving monkey, we dare not harm Tang Sanzang.”

He had a real background. The Seven Emotions Bodhisattva knew very well what Tang Sanzang's existence meant. Don't underestimate him just because he was a mortal. He was involved in the tribulations of the Journey to the West and the eastward transmission of Buddhism.

It should be noted that the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva is now also a member of the Buddhist lineage, so of course he wouldn't undermine his own position.

Although the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva and others had just fought a real battle with Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon.

But Tang Sanzang was treated with utmost courtesy and was never made difficult in the slightest.

Nodding slightly, Luo Fu said to Sun Wukong, "Did you hear that? Your master is currently a guest in the temple. Although I am the founder of Mahayana Buddhism, I am not entirely ignorant of Hinayana Buddhism. Go and fetch nine ginseng fruits. When the time comes, I will allow you and your master to continue your journey west."

Sun Wukong's eyes darted around. Although he was genuinely worried that Luo Fu would discover what he had done at Ruzhen Temple, he was even more aware that the Ruzhen Buddha in front of him was no ordinary being, and certainly not someone he could act recklessly towards.

Just from seeing how easily Luo Fu dealt with the One-Horned Rhinoceros King outside the Golden Gourd Cave, including the Vajra Bracelet that could cover anything, Sun Wukong knew that if he dared to act wildly in front of Luo Fu, a mid-level Buddha, even the Buddha Tathagata himself might not be able to make a difference.

Anxious, Sun Wukong could only nod in agreement, and then gave some instructions to Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing and the others beside him.

After that, he made a hand seal, leaped into the air, and rode the somersault cloud directly towards Longevity Mountain in the east, heading towards Wuzhuang Temple.

Pigsy and Sandy clearly knew what they had done at Ruzhen Temple.

They all put on an air of great curiosity about the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and a look of sincere desire to learn from Luofu.

Luo Fu had no doubts about this, after all, the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, before the appearance of the true Buddha, was definitely a very small minority within Buddhism.

In Buddhism, there is a saying about the three vehicles of Buddhism, but most of the time, Buddhist disciples are familiar with the two vehicles, namely Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism. Especially now, before Buddhism has flourished, the Hinayana Buddhism that truly prevailed in the three realms and the four continents of the human world was the Buddhism of the time when the sage Taiqing converted the barbarians into Buddha.

The Theravada school of Buddhism is the Śrāvakayāna, which teaches that one attains enlightenment through hearing the Buddha's teachings. Hence the name Śrāvaka. They understand suffering, eliminate its causes, aspire to cessation, and cultivate the path. They take the Four Noble Truths as their vehicle, and can liberate themselves, but cannot liberate others.

Mahayana Buddhism is also called the Bodhisattva Vehicle. The Bodhisattva Vehicle is complete in benefiting oneself and others, hence it is called Mahayana. However, in terms of the way to attain enlightenment, the two are quite similar, that is, both require hearing the Buddha's teachings.

The Mahayana Tripitaka scriptures that Tang Sanzang and his companions are now seeking at Mount Ling in the Western Paradise are also Buddhist scriptures, belonging to the category of the Śrāvakayāna.

The Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, however, appears particularly obscure and mysterious.

If it is the orthodox Xuanmen sect, then the Yuanjue Cheng sect can be considered as a group of wandering immortals who attain enlightenment on their own and ascend to immortality.

One can attain enlightenment on one's own within the Buddhist community, and realize the true meaning of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. This solitary path of enlightenment can be quite perplexing and difficult to understand.

Even without intending to delay Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, the White Dragon, and others were also quite curious about the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle.

Seeing this, Luofu said, “Since you are interested in Buddhism, I will not be stingy. However, my Middle Vehicle Buddhism begins by observing ignorance and then old age and death, and then by observing the cessation of ignorance and then the cessation of old age and death. From this arising and ceasing of causes and conditions, one realizes that there is neither arising nor ceasing. Therefore, this Twelve Links of Dependent Origination is the vehicle. If one speaks it or puts it into writing, one will not be a Pratyekabuddha, but will enter the path of Hinayana or Mahayana.”

This is actually why, after Luofu became a Mahayana Buddha, his disciples had no fundamental teachings at all.

Aside from the wondrous method of the Golden Body, there is only the means of controlling desires through the seven emotions in order to seek the Tao.

Indeed, the Middle Way of Buddhism can be considered a place similar to the Three Islands and Ten Continents, a place that shelters enlightened immortals.

It's like giving these cultivators, who lack a clear lineage but possess extraordinary comprehension, a space to entertain themselves. Even Luofu, the Buddha of the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, can only preach, not expound the Dharma.

Because the Middle Vehicle of Buddhism has no scriptures at all.

Whether spoken or written, it is equivalent to entering the lineage of Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism.

This is somewhat awkward. If we say it out loud, it's not the Middle Way of Buddhism; if we don't say it out loud, how can we prove it?
Even from the perspective of the Pratyekabuddha of Luofu, the so-called Middle Vehicle Buddhism is like Schrödinger's cat, a state of quantum superposition.

Open the box, and quantum decay occurs; the cat is either dead or alive. You can't see it if you don't open the box.

When others seek his advice, Luo Fu can only talk about the methods and techniques.

As for the true Pratyekabuddha vehicle, it is probably even more mysterious than the Buddha's smile while holding up a flower.

When the Buddha held up a flower to the assembly, Kasyapa smiled. It seemed to transcend words and transmit the teachings from heart to heart, but in reality, this was also within the teachings of the Śrāvakayāna.

The Śrāvakayāna is not just about listening to the Buddha preach; the Śrāvakayāna encompasses almost all experiences of sound, color, smell, taste, and touch.

(End of this chapter)