[Journey to the West] Tucao Emperor who was delayed by Buddhism

Probably because I was afraid that I would be too miserable, Tathagata has been coming to Nanhai very frequently in the past two days.

After Shancai's burial, the South China Sea was very quiet. After he came, he almost saw no one but me. He was surprised and said, "Is that disciple of yours still having conflicts with you?"

I just nodded tiredly at him and didn't say anything.

Tathagata sat down beside me and said to me: "I know, you want to protect them, just like I did back then."

I asked him, "Why did you choose that monkey at that time? Who is not good to choose?"

I don't think there is anyone more suitable to learn from than Sun Wukong, I'm just curious about this matter: why must he?

If it is still possible for me to make this decision, why would Tathagata make such a choice?

We've walked side by side for so long that I thought I knew him well enough, but there's only one thing I can't figure out.

Tathagata looked at the eternally calm water in the lotus pond, and said, "I thought he could remind me of something special. He is very special. There is no one like him in the sky full of gods and Buddhas for thousands of years." Living beings that remind us of what we have lost."

"I have been a god for too long, and I have long forgotten the feeling of being alive. This monkey reminded me too much. I was afraid that I would become a failed god one day, so I released him from the Five Elements Mountain. I hope he can change something."

He suddenly turned his head to look at me, and said with a wry smile: "But now I realize it's too late, I don't think the things he reminded me are actually correct."

Seeing that I didn't answer, he continued: "It was my decision to demote the golden cicada back then. It wasn't because he fell asleep at the sermon. It's just that what he said to you was also said to me." Thinking of his former apprentice, he couldn't help laughing lowly, as if that little joy had always been hidden in his memory, a speck of color in the black and white world: "Can you think of it? A guy like him wants to subvert the whole world. Order, to do something 'right'."

The smile on his face slowly disappeared, and his eyes dimmed: "But how does he know what is right?"

"So I made up my mind to erase all his memories and let him go down to the world to experience suffering, life and death again and again, hoping that he can forget that extremely dangerous thought."

When he said this, I finally sighed deeply and replied, "Yes."

This sentence seems to weigh a thousand catties. We have long known it, but we have never broken it.

I said, "They always think we're different, but that's not the case."

Tathagata said: "Avalokitesvara, you and I have already become one of the orders that you and I support. We are not darker than anyone else, but we are never brighter than anyone else. The only difference between us and the Jade Emperor is that we still wear a layer of blood I dare not tear off the skin, but under this layer, what is the difference between us gods?"

"The Jade Emperor is a madman. He has lived too long and doesn't care about anything. He has the keenness of a madman. His sense of smell is sharper than that of animals, so he has long understood that we are no different from him, but before that, you and I Nobody wants to admit it."

He stood up suddenly, looked deeply at me, and said, "I hope that this is the end of the matter. That monkey was my mistake. He has already caused too much influence on you, and I don't want this influence to continue."

I looked up at him: "You want me to keep silent? Keep silent about Shancai's death? He was beaten to death, who knows what those soul collectors will do to his scattered souls!"

Tathagata asked me again: "Do you want to seek justice for him? But the matter has come to an end, will justice make him better?"

I sadly: "No."

Tathagata said again: "You also said that if one piece is missing, he is no longer the person he used to be. Do you want to send his scattered soul into reincarnation?"

No, it would be better to let him rest in peace in the world, and it would be considered a clean walk.

Tathagata lowered his voice and said to me: "Then you should know that he is just another victim of the iron law that you symbolize. One more person is not much, and one less person is not much."

I fell silent again.

Silence is not terrible, but admitting that I have already merged into the shadow, that I am one of them is terrible.

What's even scarier is that I personally thought it was true.

If the monkey had never appeared, I would have fallen into that shadow long ago, and one day I would become a lunatic like the Jade Emperor.That lunatic is so keen, he knows so clearly how similar we are to him, I even suspect that he let the six-eared macaque kill Shancai not to force Sun Wukong away, but just want to get a conclusion: a proof that I and he are of the same kind in conclusion.

...as monsters recognize each other in the dark.

But I am still unwilling, maybe it was the monkey who appeared suddenly, he was stubborn and unreasonable, but kept my foot in the world, so that I have not fallen into the abyss so far.

Tathagata stopped suddenly, turned around and asked me, "Why did you put a hoop on him?"

I followed his line of sight and looked at the red boy sitting on the lotus with folded hands. He wore a hoop around his neck and tied hoops on his hands and feet, as if he had grown a hundred years in one day. , already looks like a young man.

I said, "That's what he wanted."

It's amazing.

That Jin tightly restrained three hoops, except for Sun Wukong, which I coaxed him to put on, and the two monsters in the South China Sea, which I willingly wore on my body.

Trapping that bondage within oneself but willingly, perhaps it is the ladder to step into the gods.

Tathagata frowned and said, "Why is your apprentice doing something wrong these days? Have you ever been ordained for him, have you ever been disturbed by Yin Qi?"

I said: "Shancai died, he was terrified. He had nightmares every day, saying that he saw Shancai turned into a monster. I wanted to drive away evil spirits for him, clear his mind, but suddenly refused. Recently, every day Dreaming, I don’t know what kind of dream I had, it’s probably the first time I’ve experienced life and death, and I’ve incorporated all the ghost stories I’ve heard before, and I’m very afraid of mirrors recently, so it’s useless for me to persuade you.”

After all, Tathagata was still young when he saw him, so he didn't ask any more questions, so he just left.

I saw Red Boy chanting a mantra with his eyes closed, so I walked over and asked, "What's the matter?"

He opened his eyes suddenly, looked at me blankly for a while, and then whispered: "Scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

He whispered: "Afraid of mirrors, even foxes are afraid. There are also dead people and monsters. They are all afraid."

I patted his head and said, "Shancai told you too many stories to scare you before. Not all of those stories are true, so don't think too much about it."

He looked up at me, hesitated to speak, and finally fell silent again, nodding his head.

I asked him, "Do you want to be a god?"

His eyes suddenly brightened, and he nodded quickly: "I think so! I want to be a good god!"

I said, "You are a good boy. It is not easy for a good boy to become a god, so you have to work hard."

Hong Haier drooped his head, as if he was struggling for something, raised his head several times and wanted to speak, but seemed to be choked by something invisible, and finally fell silent.