PDLP Chapter 155, the Commentary on the Original Text
Chapter 155, the Commentary on the Original Text
There's always a story waiting for you to uncover.
Yang Silang's memories were unsealed, and he instantly returned to that night when the scriptures were being passed on.
This moment is just like that moment back then.
Grandma Tianjing demonstrated the visualization diagram of the Ruyi Tianzun Sutra in its divided form, and everything was vividly displayed before my eyes.
The first thing that catches the eye is the true form of the Celestial Venerable.
However, it was slightly different from the diagram on the wall that I had studied when I was in meditation and my soul left my body. The previous scroll on the wall was actually a two-dimensional diagram. Although I could feel the majesty of the Heavenly Venerable, I always felt that there was something imperfect about it.
Grandma Tianjing's split-screen display.
It was a vast, dark universe with stars floating in the sky, emitting a faint light, but they could not change the dark background.
A tiny glimmer of light flashed, then suddenly expanded and grew larger, from the size of a pinhead to an immense being that shone with boundless light, instantly illuminating the entire universe and becoming a powerful being that floated in the cosmos, treading on planets and plucking stars from the sky.
Ruyi Tianzun still exuded majesty, with nine interlocking halos behind his head, seemingly overlapping. He was clad in armor, leaning on a heavy sword, standing on a lotus platform, beneath which a river of blood was suppressed.
However, if the image on the scroll is like a meticulous painting, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is lifelike.
And now, I stand there, my spirit overwhelming, my feet treading on the stars, my hands plucking the sun and moon, creating heaven and earth, I am the only one who reigns supreme, every detail of my body is clearly visible.
Yang Silang saw it clearly.
Within those nine halos, countless ordinary people prostrated themselves in worship within the outermost halo, and then layer by layer downwards, various previously unseen races knelt in prayer.
These races have all sorts of strange appearances: some have wings on their backs; some have long tails trailing behind their buttocks; some have animal heads and human bodies; and some have human heads and animal bodies.
Even some that were clearly demons were still converted into them.
Within the innermost halo, there was something different; there stood countless gods and demons, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.
Yang Silang focused on "seeing," and a certain god or demon suddenly magnified in his eyes, also exuding divine might, surrounded by a halo behind its head, possessing supreme supernatural powers.
"This is the Dragon God!"
He felt a chill run down his spine as he saw a divine figure with a dragon's head and a human body. Behind the head was a halo of black water, a cloud-like ribbon around the waist, a robe with water patterns, and auspicious clouds underfoot. In addition, nine small dragons were wrapped around its arms and legs.
Jiangdong Province has a great river, so naturally the Dragon God's incense is very popular. Whether it is the provincial capital Yidu Prefecture or the towns of various prefectures and counties, there are Dragon God temples, and this great god is enshrined in the temples.
In Yang Silang's memory, the annual Dragon God worship ceremony in his hometown was the most important event.
It controls rainfall and navigation, and can protect agricultural harvests and ensure the safety of ships sailing on the river.
Having taken care of two aspects of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, one can understand how widely the belief spread among the people. Yang Silang, unaware of his innate wisdom, worshipped this god in the village. Later, he joined the Sanshui Association, which also relied on the river for its livelihood, and he also worshipped this god in the association.
He is a first-class deity among humans, and along with the God of Wealth who governs fortune; the Goddess of Fertility; the Emperor of Literature; the Emperor of Martial Arts; and the Emperor of Fengdu who governs death, he has a large following, with temples throughout the land and incense burning continuously through the dynasties.
however.
Even the Dragon God is merely one of the gods, standing quietly and worshipping the main god.
Yang Silang gasped.
Within Taoism, the old school worships the great forces of nature, such as gods of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning; the new school centers on gods of incense and fire, combining human sentiments with matters concerning national fortune and production, and thus worships gods such as dragons and various emperors.
However, before the true form of Ruyi Tianzun, they were only worthy to stand in the halo behind their heads and bow in worship. What immense power and overwhelming confidence this was!
Yang Silang looked closely and saw that, apart from some familiar deities, there were many others whose imposing aura was no less than that of the gods, but who looked fierce and menacing, and whose clothing and magical implements were completely unlike those of the Central Plains.
Some are just strange-looking, with a majestic and solemn aura, and can be considered among the righteous gods; others are completely evil, wearing skull crowns, necklaces with human heads, holding blood bowls, and stepping on countless corpses, and by any measure they belong to the demons.
Now, gods and demons alike stand solemnly as subordinates within the halo of the Heavenly Venerable Ruyi.
Yang Silang knew that no other religion would be like this.
The reason why the Ruyi Tianzun Sutra forms this halo is actually because the great creator of the sutra looked down on the world with confidence—I only believe in myself!
All gods and demons are merely my subordinate thoughts, products of my fleeting ideas.
When Yang Silang visualized the image of the Ruyi Heavenly Venerable by dotting the dragon's eyes, he had already passed this hurdle.
But he never expected that in the real scripture diagram, this great being was so powerful that he regarded all the gods and Buddhas as creations of his own thoughts and ranked them as subordinates!
What's this called?
Strategically negate the opponent, tactically dominate the opponent.
Hmm, this is a remarkable person.
Yang Silang continued reading.
Within the halo was a righteous deity with a kind and benevolent face. He was bowing his head in prayer when suddenly black mist emanated from his body, his eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he leaped straight out of the halo.
When he descended into the universe, he was also a giant of ten thousand feet tall, and in terms of size alone, he was no less than the Heavenly Venerable Ruyi.
But now that their viciousness has been fully revealed, where is their compassion?
With a shake of his arms, they transformed into hundreds of arms, each as large as a mountain, and together they smashed down on Ruyi Tianzun!
Its overwhelming divine power shook the universe, even affecting and influencing stars. Some planets simply blocked its path, offering no resistance; a single palm strike would crush them to dust!
However, the Heavenly Venerable Ruyi didn't even look at him directly, but simply reached out and grabbed him.
When the palm first appeared, its proportions seemed normal, but when it was halfway out, it already covered half the sky, stretching for countless miles. When it squeezed down, the colossal god, who was tens of thousands of feet tall, became as small as an insect in the palm, and was suppressed with a single palm.
Ruyi Tianzun withdrew his arm and threw it downwards.
The great god let out a miserable cry, his fierce flames vanished, and during the fall, the halo behind his head collapsed, the auspicious light around his body dissipated, his layers of immortal robes were stripped away, all his magical artifacts disappeared, and the halos around his body were stripped off—that was the disintegration of his supernatural powers.
Once he landed beneath the lotus platform, where was the trace of divine majesty?
However, he was naked. A man with an ugly face.
thump!
He fell into the river of blood, and from then on, another demon was added to the river.
at the same time.
The river of blood trembled repeatedly.
A large cocoon emerged from the bottom of the river. When the cocoon floated to the surface, it was surrounded by demonic energy and piled up with wronged souls, making it an ominous sight. However, a golden light rose from inside, purifying all the strange phenomena outside.
The cocoon struggled to rise into the air, then split open above the river of blood, revealing a body that had been curled up inside.
This "person" has red hair and fangs, his body is covered with strange totems, and he is surrounded by fierce flames. Black ropes are wrapped around his shoulders, from which countless wailing ghosts are hooked.
However, after his birth, he discarded the black rope in his hand and threw it into the river of blood without any hesitation, then knelt down and worshipped upwards.
Ruyi Tianzun slightly opened his eyes and uttered only one word, "Yes."
The word was uttered by a point of golden light from his mouth. After falling, it transformed into countless golden rays that enveloped the red-haired demon's body and lifted it into the air.
In mid-air, the red-haired demon underwent a transformation. A golden vertical eye appeared on his forehead, his red hair turned black, his fangs disappeared, and the totems on his body transformed into majestic divine patterns, intertwining to form a golden armor. He held a long golden rope in his hand, a halo appeared behind his head, and he stood on auspicious clouds.
It flew into the air and landed in the halo behind the head of the Ruyi Tianzun, becoming one of the gods worshipped. How could one tell that it was born in the Blood River?
Yang Silang seemed to understand after reading it.
Even ordinary people can have countless righteous and evil thoughts in an instant. If one can suppress evil thoughts and consistently maintain good thoughts, then one can be called a good person.
Furthermore, those who have the ability to extend their good intentions to all beings are great philanthropists; those who can educate the world and influence an era can be called saints.
in turn.
If one cannot suppress evil thoughts and is controlled by them, one may become a lazy person, a vulgar person, or a mediocre person. If one goes further and harms others for personal gain, then one becomes a bad person. If one is not ashamed and takes pride in evil, then one becomes an even more wicked person. If one takes advantage of power and influence to spread poison throughout the world and harm the common people, then one becomes an unparalleled villain.
In the original scripture of the Heavenly Venerable Ruyi, the halo and the sea of blood are not absolutely isolated, but can be transformed into each other by a single thought of good or evil, which is somewhat similar.
When Yang Silang realized it.
The Celestial Venerable leaned on his heavy sword, and golden scriptures appeared on it. He quickly focused all his attention on them.
This passage is titled "The Sutra of the One-fold Protection of the Way," and it begins with a few seed words that form the general outline.
"My heart is one, my God is one."
"All gods and demons are but thoughts; they arise with a single thought and vanish with a single thought. Since they are born of thought, there is no distinction between high and low, superior and inferior."
"Gods and demons are separated by a single thought. A god, though a god, can fall into demonic possession; a demon, though a demon, can also have merit."
"Whether one becomes a god or a demon, one must never forget one's original heart and original spirit; both gods and demons are techniques of the Tao."
Yang Silang understood that by cultivating this scripture, one could use both divine and demonic methods, which were merely tools to protect the scripture. Hence the saying, "Use thunderous methods to act with the heart of a bodhisattva."
Conversely, in the eyes of this Ruyi Tianzun, there is probably no distinction between good and evil, or between left-hand and heretical paths, because in his eyes, they are all merely means and tools to protect the true self and the true god.
Just like killing, any of the eighteen weapons can be used, some long and some short, some beautifully designed and some strangely shaped, and they can even be distinguished in terms of high and low status.
Yang Silang continued reading the scripture. The general outline was only a few hundred words long, concisely explaining the original meaning of the scripture: that one must cultivate a seed of true self to form the foundation of the scripture.
It was followed by a text titled "The Sutra of Transforming the Barbarians into Our Own".
By transforming the barbarians into our own, and adopting the principle of "the sea accepts all rivers, and greatness lies in tolerance," we can make other schools' unique skills available to us, and unify them under the Heavenly Venerable's command.
Then several thousand more words are displayed below.
It consists of only three volumes.
These are the Yellow Turban Warrior Scroll of the Wandering Soul Realm, the Vajra Warrior Scroll of the Out-of-Body Realm, and the Guardian Heavenly King Scroll of the Possessed Realm, but they only have a few dozen words at the beginning before there is no follow-up.
The practice of this sutra is quite unique.
The Yellow Turban Warrior Scroll is of low status, only appearing in the list of supplicants within the outer halo behind his head. Cultivators use breathing techniques combined with the essence of the sun and moon to materialize him, granting him supernatural abilities such as entering dreams, communicating with spirits, and suppressing evil.
The Vajra Warrior scroll corresponds to the Out-of-Body Realm, and its status is above that of the Yellow Turban Warriors. It holds a vajra pestle and roams the human world. All evils retreat. It is good at fighting head-on between souls. Its soul is strong, like an indestructible vajra. It is also good at carrying heavy objects.
As the text of the two scrolls of scriptures flowed, two powerful figures, each a hundred feet tall, emerged from the halo behind the head of the Heavenly Venerable Ruyi, demonstrating the secrets of cultivation.