"Therefore, I wish to find a person with great magical power, and go to the East to find a virtuous believer, and teach him to endure hardships across thousands of mountains and rivers, to come to me to obtain the true scriptures, so that they may be passed on to the East forever and enlighten all living beings. This would be an immense blessing and auspicious occasion!"
"Which of you is willing to make this trip?"
At that moment, Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped out of the line, bowed, and said, "This humble disciple wishes to go to the East to find a person to retrieve the scriptures."
Hearing the voice, everyone looked up and saw that the person was none other than Guanyin Bodhisattva. What a magnificent Guanyin! She possessed the four virtues of perfect reason and wisdom, and her golden body was full of wisdom. Her tassels were adorned with pearls and jade, and her fragrant garlands were adorned with precious gems.
Dark clouds cleverly coiled into a dragon's hair bun, embroidered ribbons fluttering lightly with colorful phoenix feathers; jade buttons, plain silk robe, enveloped in auspicious light;
A brocade skirt, adorned with golden ribbons, her auspicious aura shrouded her; her eyebrows like crescent moons, her eyes like twin stars; her jade-like face radiant with joy, her lips a touch of red.
The nectar in the vase is abundant year after year, and the willow branches inserted at an angle remain evergreen. It relieves the eight difficulties, saves all living beings, and has great compassion. Therefore, it guards Mount Tai and resides in the South Sea. It rescues those suffering from their cries and responds to all requests. It is a thousand saints and a thousand spirits. Its orchid-like heart rejoices in the purple bamboo, and its fragrant nature loves the sweet vine.
It is Mount Luojia, the master of Chaoyin Cave, and Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Upon seeing this, the Buddha was overjoyed and said, "The Venerable Guanyin possesses great supernatural powers and profound magical abilities; it is just right for her to go to the Eastern Land."
Hearing the praise, Guanyin was slightly pleased and replied, "When I go to the Eastern Land, does the World Honored One have any instructions?"
The Buddha said, “On this journey, you must carefully observe the path. You are not allowed to travel in the heavens. You must travel through half-clouds and half-mist, crossing mountains and rivers. Remember the distance of the journey carefully. I urge the pilgrim to take these five treasures with you. I fear that it will be difficult for the faithful to make the journey.”
Then he ordered his two attendants, Ananda and Kasyapa, to bring out a brocade kasaya and a nine-ringed tin staff.
The Buddha admonished Guanyin, saying, "You may give the robe and staff to the one who is on his pilgrimage. If he is sincere in his pilgrimage, he will not fall into the cycle of reincarnation if he wears my robe and will be spared from harm if he holds my staff."
Guanyin gladly accepted, but then Tathagata took out three more headbands and handed them to Guanyin, saying, "These are the Tightening Headbands. Although they are three of the same type, their effects are different. I also have three incantations: Golden, Tight, and Forbidden. If you encounter powerful demons on the road, you can persuade them to do good and become disciples of the pilgrim."
"If he is unwilling to submit and disobey, you can put this headband on his head. Immediately, you will see flesh take root. Recite the incantation I taught him, and his eyes will bulge, his head will ache, and his forehead will crack. No matter how great his magical power is, he will have no choice but to join my Buddhist sect."
Upon hearing this, Guanyin was startled. She took the three hoops, carefully hid them, thanked the Buddha, and then withdrew.
After leaving Mount Ling, Guanyin only took Huian Xingzhe with her.
That Huian Xingzhe was Muzha, the second son of Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King of Heaven. He was skilled with a thousand-pound iron cudgel and obediently followed Guanyin, acting as her little attendant carrying her bags.
Guanyin packed up the brocade kasaya and had Huian carry it on his back. She herself took her staff and headed straight for the southern continent of Jambudvipa in the east.
On their journey, the two encountered the Flowing Sand River, where they subdued the former Heavenly Court's Curtain-Raising General, now known as Sha Tongtian, and ordered him to wait there for the pilgrims to accompany them on their journey to the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures.
Then, in Gaojiazhuang, they encountered a pig demon whose previous life was Marshal Tianpeng, who commanded 300,000 naval troops in Heaven. Guanyin subdued him and ordered him to wait in the same place.
Then, at Eagle's Sorrow Stream in Snake Coil Mountain, he subdued Ao Bing, the third prince of the West Sea Dragon King, and ordered him to wait in the same place.
Then, the two traveled eastward, eventually arriving at the capital city of Chang'an from the territory of the Great Xin Empire in the Southern Continent.
Along their journey, everything they saw and heard saddened Guanyin and Muzha. In such a vast empire with a huge population and expansive territory, they had not encountered a single decent temple.
What worried the two even more was that Guanyin revealed her true form as a Bodhisattva, intending to spread the teachings of Buddhism in the Western Paradise and to spread her teachings widely, but the people regarded her as a demon and drove her out of the city by throwing stones at her.
This situation was not limited to one city or county, but was prevalent throughout the entire Great Xin Empire. The veneration of Taoism and suppression of Buddhism was so extreme that even Guanyin (the Bodhisattva of Compassion) was helpless and had no way to deal with it.
Faced with the overwhelming tide of humanity and the prevailing trend of human morality, how could the two dare to use their supernatural powers to kill? They could only admit defeat with grim faces and use their transformation techniques to turn into an old man and a young man, which improved the situation somewhat.
Upon entering Chang'an City, they walked to the main street and saw a shrine to the Earth God. The two went straight inside, startling the Earth God and causing his ghost soldiers to tremble with fear.
Only after Guanyin revealed her identity did he realize that it was a Bodhisattva who had arrived, and he hurriedly kowtowed to welcome her inside.
Afterwards, the local earth god reported the matter to the city god of Chang'an City.
The City God rushed to see Guanyin and apologized, saying, "Bodhisattva, please forgive my lateness in receiving you."
Guanyin replied, “You must not let this news slip. I have come here on the orders of the World-Honored One to find the person who will retrieve the scriptures. I will stay in your temple for a few days. Once I have found the true monk, I will return to Mount Ling.”
The City God said with trepidation, "It is my good fortune that the Bodhisattva has taken a liking to my dilapidated temple. Please, Bodhisattva, do as you please. I will move out and stay for a few days!"
Subsequently, the City God vacated the City God Temple, allowing Guanyin and Muzha to reside there, and then went elsewhere.
Over the next few days, Guanyin and Muchi wandered around Chang'an City, searching for the person who could go to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures.
However, what I never expected was...
Faced with this enormous city of tens of millions of people, its magnificent and prosperous scene almost made the two of them lose their way, let alone find the person who was on the pilgrimage.
On this day, Guanyin said, "Muzha, this humble monk has decided to take a risk. I will leave my body and enter the palace at night to dream of the emperor. If I can influence his mind, that would be good. If not, I can still report back to the World Honored One!"
When she said this, Guanyin was filled with grief and indignation. She never expected that, with her divine powers, she would not be able to find a single person with wisdom in this vast city of Chang'an.
This is a tragedy for Buddhism, and also a tragedy for Guanyin.
When Guanyin received the Buddha's order, she was overjoyed, for it showed the leader's high regard and trust in her.
It's just finding a pilgrim to retrieve the scriptures, it's a piece of cake.
Although he did put in some effort in subduing the various monsters, the process was smooth sailing and uneventful.
But to everyone's surprise, what was thought to be the simplest step turned out to be the most difficult. In the vast new empire with hundreds of millions of people, not a single person with the potential for enlightenment could be found.
What the hell is this?
In desperation, Guanyin, after much painful reflection, decided to take a desperate gamble, risking injury from the dragon's aura, to infiltrate the palace and strike at the emperor.
Her thinking was very simple.
To influence a country's policies, one must influence its leaders from top to bottom to completely reverse the decline of Buddhism in Jambudvipa (the southern continent of the Eastern Lands).
Then, things progressed fairly smoothly.
At the third quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45 AM), when the Yin energy between heaven and earth is at its peak, Guanyin's spirit left her body, sneaked into the imperial city, and entered Emperor Wang Jianguo's dream. She pretended that his lifespan was not long and ordered him to worship Buddha.