Chapter 293 — Why Must We Have Met Before We Meet?

When he reached the golden summit, he found it solemn and austere; the abbots of every hall had gathered there, some bearing sorrow on their faces, and Master Qiong and others were present as witnesses to the rite. The Old Tathagata was presiding over a great ceremony. He had taken off his cassock, set aside his straw sandals, and removed every treasure from his person; his whole body was light. The white-browed monk Jingming stood behind him in silence. "This. .

.

" The sallow-faced monk was deeply shaken.

The Old Tathagata turned and looked at him, and smiled. "Junior Brother Nanye, my time draws near. Today I resign the seat of the Tathagata, and my body is light.

I mean to go out and walk a while, and quietly await the Great Enlightenment and the Great Quiescence.

When I have perfected the Great Enlightenment, Jingming will bring my body back, and this bag of skin of mine will go on guarding the Great Tingming Temple and spreading the Buddha's Dharma. " The sallow-faced monk was stricken in his heart, but did not let it show. "The Tathagata is a state. It cannot be pushed aside; it cannot be resigned.

" The Old Tathagata laughed. "What I resign is the World-Honored One of the Great Tingming Temple. " The sallow-faced monk Nanye asked, "Who succeeds to the Tathagata?

" The Old Tathagata pointed to the seat of the World-Honored One and laughed.

"Whoever is the Tathagata sits in that seat.

Whoever is not the Tathagata cannot hold that seat. Rest easy; there will be a Tathagata to sit in it. My friend has come for me. I am going! " Nanye would have asked more, but the Old Tathagata strode off and went down the mountain. Nanye stared, dumbfounded, at the seat of the World-Honored One. At the foot of the mountain, two Daoists, one old and one young, came walking up and sat beneath the gate to rest their feet.

"Dao Lord. Dao Heir," the Old Tathagata and the monk Jingming said, stepping forward to salute them.

The Dao Heir Lin Xuan and the Old Dao Lord rose hurriedly to return the courtesy.

The Old Dao Lord laughed.

"Light of body now? " The Old Tathagata nodded and laughed. "Light of body. Let us be off.

" The heads of the two great orthodox holy places looked at each other and smiled, and said together, "You have grown old too!

" The Old Dao Lord sighed.

"I want to go and see Little Jade Capital.

They say there are immortals there, carefree and at ease, truly men who have attained the Dao.

" The Old Tathagata said, "I want to go to the Barren Ruins first. " The Old Dao Lord shot him a glance.

"You are no longer the World-Honored One, and yet you still cannot let go of the Great Tingming Temple.

" "And are you any different? " The Old Tathagata laughed.

"Since you have resigned the seat of the Dao Lord, why bring the young Dao Lord with you? Is it not that you wish to guide and nurture him a while more before you ascend? " The Old Dao Lord sighed.

"The Barren Ruins first, then.

" The four of them walked into the Barren Ruins. Not long after they had gone, a young master came with four young women.

The four girls wore dresses of different colors, and each carried or cradled a jade vase, a qin, a sword, a pipa, and the like.

They came to the gate and said to the receiving monk who kept watch there, "Young Master Xu Shenghua of the Upper Heaven has come to pay his respects to the Tathagata. " "The Upper Heaven? " The receiving monk was greatly shaken and hurried up the mountain to report.

When the word reached the top, Nanye and the others turned pale and fell into confusion.

"Someone from the Upper Heaven.

What is to be done? The seat of the Tathagata stands empty. Who among us is fit to receive such a guest? " "Let us not panic. " Nanye said, "Invite this Young Master Xu Shenghua up first, and we will see. Wait, we shall go down to meet him ourselves.

We must not stint on courtesy!

" The monks came down the mountain in a crowd. At the foot they saw a young master and four beauties standing beneath the gate, all of them extraordinary. Nanye stepped forward. "Amitabha. .

.

" "You are not the Tathagata? " Xu Shenghua's gaze was like lightning as it fell upon his face.

He shook his head. "The Tathagata need not chant the Buddha's name. Where is the Tathagata?

" "This.

. .

" Nanye said, "The World-Honored One has just stepped down.

At present the Great Tingming Temple has no Tathagata. .

. " Xu Shenghua turned and walked away. The four women hurried after him, leaving the crowd of monks behind.

Yu Liu, in green, said, "Young Master, why do you not go into the Great Tingming Temple? " Xu Shenghua shook his head. "The Old Tathagata stepped down without naming a new Tathagata. It is clear he believes no monk on that whole mountain is fit to be Tathagata, and so he simply left. If even the Tathagata is dissatisfied with the monks on that mountain, why should I trouble myself to see what they can do?

" Qingying laughed. "So the Young Master looks down on them. Young Master, we went to the Golden Palace of Loulan and saw the shamans there, and found no one worth meeting either. Their Great Venerable was nothing to speak of; he avoided meeting you, fearing the fight before it began. This time at the Great Tingming Temple there was again nothing worth our eyes. Should we go to the Daoist Sect now?

" Xu Shenghua nodded. "The Daoist Sect has its fourteen Dao swords.

My master says those Dao swords are quite extraordinary; they are certainly worth a look. " They came to Fangzhou, upstream on the Jin River, and found a boat, meaning to go down the river. But there in midstream was a youth measuring the depth of the water.

The youth used his vital energy as a ruler. With a wave of his hand, strands of energy dropped straight down into the river, and he called out the depth of the water at each place, while an official beside him wrote it all down. Xu Shenghua stopped the boat and looked at the youth, standing in silence.

The youth seemed to sense something and looked his way, and gave him a brilliant smile that showed eight white teeth, a smile that made one's heart warm in spite of itself.

Xu Shenghua felt his own mood carried along by it, and smiled back. Beside him, the four girls saw his smile and felt their hearts go drunk.

"The Young Master actually smiled!

" Xu Shenghua saluted the youth in the river.

"Brother, might you come aboard for a brief talk?

" "One moment, brother. Let me finish the hydrology.

" Xu Shenghua waited a while.

When the youth had finished his measurements of the river, he came aboard. The two greeted each other and sat down.

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