Maitreya Buddha smiled slightly, his smile was full of deep meaning, and he smiled and said: "The benefactor's Buddha nature is very good, but it is a pity that I am not a buddhist person who can cross but cannot cross."
Ye Chen's heart moved slightly, and he looked at Maitreya Buddha with some caution, and said, "What does this mean?"
"Haha..." Maitreya Buddha smiled without saying a word, then turned and left.
Ye Chen wondered whether he could or could not cross, why could he not cross
Ye Chen left the Kaiguang Temple with doubts, and then left the Buddha City, continuing to travel westward.
One day later, Ye Chen walked in a desolate place, where there were no people and it was difficult to see a person.
"Donor, we met again." At this moment, a voice came, and Ye Chen was shocked in his heart. Turning to look around, he saw Maitreya Buddha approaching with a stone statue of Amitabha.
Ye Chen folded his hands together and said, "Is Maitreya Buddha looking for me?"
"This road is open to everyone, why does the donor say this?" Maitreya Buddha said with a smile.
Ye Chen said: "Why can I cross but not, please let Maitreya Buddha make it clear."
Maitreya Buddha smiled and said: "A few days ago, I heard that someone showed up holding a Buddha or a monster. He is a cultivator."
Ye Chen was shocked, and he became vigilant at the moment, but said without showing off, "Who is Maitreya Buddha talking about?"
Maitreya Buddha didn't answer, he laughed, he looked a little free and easy, and said: "Before answering the question of the donor, let me tell the donor a story first."
Ye Chen frowned. Maitreya Buddha began to look at Ye Chen, and then said: "In ancient times, Amitabha Buddha appeared and used powerful Dharma to help all living beings. Finally, he established his own heritage in the Western Regions. From then on, the entire Western Regions Gradually enveloped by Dharma..."
"The Buddhism of Amitabha Buddha is boundless. Everyone believes in Amitabha. Many temples and statues of Amitabha have been built in various parts of the Western Regions. The Dharma passed down in ancient times and flourished."
"Amitabha Buddha sat down with a disciple who was talented and intelligent. He was born to be predestined with the Buddha. He was very strong in nature and regarded as the most proud disciple of Amitabha. However, at the end of the ancient times, the gods were disrupted and catastrophes occurred in the six realms. Amitabha For the sake of sentient beings, ascending to the immortal realm, what do you want to do."
"After Amitabha Buddha ascended to the immortal world, there was a huge crisis in the human world. However, no invaders dared to enter the pure land of the Western Regions, and the most proud disciples of Amitabha Buddha, for the comfort of sentient beings, stayed away from the Western Regions, promoted the Dharma, and resisted foreign enemies."
"During the era of the Great Disappearance, he crossed many people and sent many invaders to the Western Heavenly Paradise, making countless people jealous of Buddhism. He once crossed the Jiuyou Lake and Weiwei Lake, leaving behind an eternal reputation. , He used to run around and spread the Dharma into the other three realms."
"After the end of the Great Destruction Period, he returned to the Western Regions. However, because of the ascension of Amitabha, he preached the Dharma outside. Buddha Shakyamuni and the Bodhi tree became the new Buddha of the Western Regions and established his own heritage. Few temples have begun to worship Shakyamuni Buddha."
"Buddha Shakyamuni is believed by countless believers, becoming stronger and stronger. He is called the Buddha, and is worshipped by countless people in the Western Regions. However, Buddha Amitabha is still revered by people and has formed two inheritances. This is unchangeable. It is the right way of Buddha Shakyamuni, and it cannot change the greatness of Buddha Amitabha."
"After the disciples of Buddha Amitabha came back, they did not get angry, but devoted themselves to cultivating the Buddha, continued to promote the Dharma, teach the Dharma everywhere, and gradually formed their own Buddhist philosophy. During this period, someone built a temple and enshrined his stone statues."
"This is tantamount to the emergence of three lines of inheritance in the Western Regions, dividing the believers in the Western Regions into three parts. In this way, over time, the power of faith of Buddha Shakyamuni will be reduced and one more opponent will be created."
"Since then, in the Western Regions, rumors spread that Amitabha's disciples were Buddhas and demons. Countless followers of Shakyamuni Buddha were filled with righteous indignation, and the entire Western Regions were shrouded in a revolution."
"After hundreds of years, the inheritance of Amitabha's disciples has almost disappeared in the Western Regions, and he has also disappeared. No one knows where he went. This is the origin of the Buddhas and Demons."
Maitreya Buddha looked at Ye Chen after speaking, and said: "The disciple of Buddha Amitabha, named Bodhidharma, was honored as the ancestor of Bodhidharma by the people at the time. Even Buddha Shakyamuni should call him that."
"Master Bodhidharma?" After Ye Chen heard the words of Maitreya Buddha, there was a stormy wave in his heart. It turned out that the whole thing was like this.
"Patriarch Bodhidharma used to face the walls of a cave for nine years and enlightened Dao. If he did not go out to preach the Dharma, the current Buddha should be the Patriarch of Bodhidharma." Maitreya Buddha said.
Ye Chen couldn't calm down, and there was such an unknown thing in this peaceful Western Region.
"Buddha Maitreya, why do you want to tell me this?" Ye Chen clasped his hands together.
Maitreya Buddha said: "I'm not talking about Buddha Shakyamuni. In the Western Regions, there should not be many kinds of Dharma inheritance. In this way, the pure land of the Western Regions will be split, and then it will be separated from the Taoism of the other three regions. It’s actually not a good thing if the law becomes messy and there are many factions."
"I'm just feeling that Patriarch Bodhidharma has worked so hard for the Dharma, and the final result is indeed the case. If you get the things of Patriarch Bodhidharma, it is equivalent to the recognition of Patriarch Bodhidharma. You also came to the Western Regions for this?"
Now that the words have reached this point, Ye Chen no longer concealed anything, and said: "Indeed, I got the reed of Grandmaster Bodhidharma in Jiuyou Lake. I came here because of this, but I didn't expect such a thing to happen."
Maitreya Buddha said: "Master Bodhidharma is still missing. I don't know if he has ascended or disappeared. For so many years, no one has seen him again."
Ye Chen frowned. In that case, why did Grandmaster Bodhidharma let him come to the Western Regions
"However, since Patriarch Bodhidharma invited you to the Western Regions, there must be a reason." Maitreya Buddha said.
Ye Chen said, "Does Maitreya Buddha leave Daleiyin Temple to promote Amitabha's Dharma?"
"The Buddha Amitabha's Dharma does not need me to preach, because his Buddha Dharma is boundless and has been everywhere in the Western Regions. Even Buddha Shakyamuni can't change it." Maitreya Buddha said.
Ye Chen said: "Why does the Maitreya Buddha carry the Amitabha statue?"
"This is my personal habit. I feel at ease when I see Amitabha Buddha." Maitreya Buddha said.
"It's said that even if you don't see a Buddha, as long as you have a Buddha in your heart, you are still cultivating a Buddha. Is it true that you have reached the realm of Maitreya Buddha and haven't reached the Buddha in your heart?" Ye Chen said.
"Even if there is a Buddha in my heart, it will not prevent me from carrying Amitabha statue." Maitreya Buddha said with a smile: "Follow your heart and you will meet Dharma Master."
"What does Master Bodhidharma look like?" Ye Chen asked.
"I will know when I see it." Maitreya Buddha smiled slightly, and then left with the Amitabha statue.
Ye Chen stood there, silently watching Maitreya Buddha leave, silent.
"Follow the heart..." After a long time, Ye Chen muttered to himself. He felt that his heart was moving towards the west. Could this be the power of Master Bodhidharma
Ye Chen continued to move forward. A few days later, he came to the foot of a mountain. The bell came from the mountain. Ye Chen walked up the path and came to the mountainside. He saw a temple that was not very large.
This temple does not have much incense, and it is extremely quiet here. It can be said that there are no people to see, there is naturally no incense, but some people in the mountains occasionally come to worship the Buddha.
"A temple is built in such an unpopulated mountain. Why is this?" Ye Chen wondered. Wangkong was the same before, guarding a dilapidated temple in the mountain, but now Ye Chen saw another such temple.
It's just that the scale of this temple is a bit larger, not so dilapidated.
The temples Ye Chen saw along the way were all in densely populated places and received incense from countless believers. Such temples are extremely rare, and only two have been seen in total.
Ye Chen walked to the temple. There was no name at the entrance of the temple. Ye Chen was surprised again. Why didn't he have a name
With the temple door open, Ye Chen walked in. There were monks cleaning the fallen leaves inside, and other monks were busy, and there were waves of chanting sounds, and the Buddha's voice curled up.
"Is the donor here to pay homage to the Buddha?" At this time, a monk appeared in front of Ye Chen and asked with his hands folded.
Ye Chen replied, "Little Master, why does this temple have no name?"
"The name is nothing more than a symbol. There is a difference between the temple and the temple. We focus on practicing Buddha and Zen, not for some fame." The monk said.
Ye Chen thinks it makes sense. Since he is a Buddha, he can cultivate Buddha everywhere, so why cling to a name.
Ye Chen walked to the entrance of the hall. Several monks in the hall were knocking on wooden fish and chanting sutras. However, there was no Buddha statue in the hall, which surprised Ye Chen again.
"What exactly is going on?"
This is so similar to Wangkong, it can be said that the style is exactly the same, why not enshrine the Buddha
"Why are there no Buddha statues in the temple?" Ye Chen asked curiously.
The monk said: "The Buddha is in his heart. It doesn't matter whether there is a Buddha statue or not. The Buddha in his heart is more important than the outside Buddha."
When Ye Chen heard this, he couldn't help thinking about the connection between Wangkong and this place. There are too many similarities between the two, and even the concept is the same.
"Don't enshrine the Buddha... Is it really because the Buddha is in his heart?" Ye Chen muttered to himself.
"Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, there is no Buddha statue here, so I can't worship the Buddha. I hope to forgive me." At this time, the old monk who was chanting just now stopped and said to Ye Chen.
"Master, why don't you offer Buddha statues? Even if the Buddha is in his heart, not everyone can do it." Ye Chen wondered.