The corners of Lu Yang’s mouth twitched. The rise of Kaihuang Temple has truly been full of twists and turns.

“Xitian Temple is the Buddhist Kingdom’s orthodox lineage. Surely they wouldn’t resort to murder...”

Master Duanchen stroked his white beard. “We who have left secular life do not slaughter. The abbot’s life shouldn’t be in danger, but beyond that is uncertain. Our temple has no ties with Xitian Temple, and we have no way to inquire about his whereabouts.

“After that abbot vanished, Kaihuang Temple never grew, nor did they have the ambition to improve.

“When I became the abbot, I made a grand wish to have incense offerings at Kaihuang Temple flourish, with an average of ten million visitors every year.

“To fulfill this grand wish, I have worked tirelessly to find ways to raise our Kaihuang Temple’s renown, make Kaihuang City comparable to large cities, and improve the lives of its people.”

“Master...your grand wish is rather specific.”

“Of course. Benefactors, you probably haven’t visited our Buddhist Kingdom, so you’re unaware of how grand wishes are made here. Our grand wishes are always precise. If one can simply make a grand wish to ‘have incense offerings flourish,’ which judgement criteria should be used?

“What counts as flourishing incense offerings? If a million benefactors suddenly arrive one day, does that count? If one benefactor buys all the incense for the entire year, does that count? If the temple catches fire and burns all the incense, does that count?

“Without clear criteria, a grand wish is just empty words, forever unachievable.”

“Master, your dedication to Kaihuang Temple is truly admirable.”

Master Duanchen chuckled. “Monks do not speak of falsehoods. I’m not so noble. If Kaihuang Temple’s incense offerings flourish, I will naturally reap benefits as the abbot, and I will fulfill my grand wish in the process. Why not do it?”

From what Lu Yang understood, of the incense offerings collected by each temple, fifty percent went to the temple itself, thirty percent was used to build the golden bodies of Buddhas, and twenty percent was submitted to Xitian Temple.

Cultivation could not be separated from “wealth.” The more Kaihuang Temple’s incense offerings thrived, the more spirit stones Master Duanchen received for his cultivation.

Originally, Master Duanchen saw it was late and had intended to show Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to their guest quarters, but Lu Yang thought this was a rare opportunity and suggested visiting the Mahavira Hall instead. He had only seen the one built by the Everlasting Immortal Fairy in his mental space, never one in the real world.

Meng Jingzhou had never visited the Mahavira Hall either and agreed with Lu Yang’s proposal.

Master Duanchen led them inside. At the center stood a statue of Vairocana[1] cast in gold. The statue held a flower and smiled, radiating compassion and mercy. Although it was already night, the Mahavira Hall was brightly lit. The statue reflected the candlelight, appearing especially sacred.

“What is there to see in the Mahavira Hall? The one I built for you is the most authentic.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy pouted. According to Buddhist texts, as she was the founder of Buddhism, wherever she stood was the Mahavira Hall, sacred and inviolable.

Inside the mental space, at the other end of the desert, a Mahavira Hall rose from the ground, even more magnificent than Kaihuang Temple.

In the hall’s center, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy half-crouched on the lotus platform with one leg, the other draped over her thigh. She wore crimson eye shadow and was clad in garments from the Western Regions. Her palms pressed together, she exuded a beguiling charm that mesmerized all.

Lu Yang compared the Mahavira Hall in his mental space to the one before him in the real world and concluded the real one was far more authentic.

“Great master, I heard that the Buddha Bathing Festival celebrates the birth of the World-Honored One?”[2] On the way, Lu Yang had carefully studied the festival’s origins, lest he arrive in the Buddhist Kingdom ignorant, looking just like a tourist.

“You are right, Benefactor Lu. Legend has it that in the ancient era, the World-Honored One could walk from birth. With a lotus flower beneath each foot, he pointed one hand to heaven and one to earth and declared, ‘Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored.’

“To commemorate his birth, that day was designated as Buddha’s Birthday, celebrated with Buddha bathing rituals.”

Meng Jingzhou interjected. “‘Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored.’ What a bold and domineering statement.”

Master Duanchen chuckled and said unhurriedly, “It’s no surprise that you have this misunderstanding, Benefactor Meng. Many misinterpret this statement, finding the World-Honored One arrogant. But that is not the case.

“The deeper meaning of ‘I’ here refers to the ‘Buddha-nature’ inherent in every living being—the original form of fundamental essence that pervades all things, the complete, perfect, and pure ‘true self’. It is also the ‘I’ spoken of in the Nirvana Sutra as ‘eternity, joy, self, purity.’

“The Auspicious Omens Sutra says: ‘Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am honored. All three realms are suffering; what joy is there to be found?’ It can thus be seen that the ‘honored’ here primarily refers to the heavy responsibility of liberating the common people from suffering.

“Therefore, the true meaning of this statement is that the World-Honored One was born with the mission to save all beings and guide them out of the sea of suffering. And when all beings attain Buddhahood, they too must do the same.”

Hearing Master Duanchen explain the phrase by quoting classics, including Buddhist scriptures that even Meng Jingzhou had never heard of, the latter nodded repeatedly. I’ve indeed misunderstood the World-Honored One.

In the mental space, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, who was still on her lotus platform, scratched her head.

“Ah? Isn’t this what I said after defeating the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the other three? I had a flash of inspiration and imitated the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s tone.

“I thought it sounded impressive and domineering, really capturing my abilities. Hence, I told the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the others that they must put it in the sutras when they wrote them. That would show that this immortal was the foremost of the Five Ancient Immortals.

“I didn’t realize this line could be interpreted this way as well.”

Meng Jingzhou pressed his palms together. “I hadn’t expected the World-Honored One to carry the whole world in his heart.”

Master Duanchen smiled. “The World-Honored One possessed great wisdom, great perseverance, and great compassion. Benefactor Meng, have you heard that when the World-Honored One sought enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Diabolic Buddha Poxun sent three diabolic maidens to seduce and distract him? Yet he remained unmoved. In seven days, he attained enlightenment, achieving great perfection in comprehension and cultivating great wisdom.

“After the World-Honored One comprehended the Dao, his Buddhist radiance shone for ten thousand zhang, illuminating the ten directions. Even the Four Ancient Immortals came to offer their congratulations.”

“To think something like that happened.” Meng Jingzhou had little contact with Buddhism before. Listening to Master Duanchen recount these stories, he found the World-Honored One truly admirable.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy remarked, “Speaking of the Bodhi Tree, when I felt I had achieved major success in culinary arts, I wanted to write a Comprehensive Culinary Compendium to benefit all eras. I worked on it under the Bodhi Tree, but Little Ling, Lianyi, and Qing He kept distracting me. They buzzed around me and wanted me to play with them.

“Now that I think about it, it was pretty strange. I remember the three of them had left to attend to something. They shouldn’t have been there. Was it an illusion someone conjured? Or was it some kind of heart devil?

“Anyway, with my steadfast will, I was hardly affected by their interference. I finally finished the Comprehensive Culinary Compendium after seven days.

“Afterward, the Nine-Layers Immortal came, carrying several jinwu golden crows. They were so bright that they nearly set my newly written book ablaze. Later, the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the other two came one after another to congratulate me. I saw they were so happy that they cried tears of joy.”

Lu Yang watched Meng Jingzhou and Master Duanchen chatting amiably together and wondered whether he ought to tell his good brother the truth about the World-Honored One.

1. Vairocana is also known as the Great Sun Buddha. ☜

2. The most revered figure in Buddhism. ☜