PureInsight | February 6, 2006
[PureInsight.org] It is said that there was a dragon king in an era a long time ago, in the immense colossal firmament. He was a true dragon king, that is, a king of dragons and the king of his level. After many many years passed, there existed no low-level emotions in his world. There was no suffering or sorrow, and everyone was happy and cheerful. He has many children and sentient beings in his world. He occasionally called a Fa conference with the lords and kings in other parts of cosmos to discuss how best to govern at their level.
Gradually he discovered that his world wasn't as pure and beautiful as it used to be. Everything is made of gold in the heavens, but he found that the things in his world had become dimmer, even though they were made of gold. He also found that his sentient beings had become less unselfish. (The passage of time may have seemed very short to us, but billions of years had gone by while this change occurred.) They frequently stowed away valuable items and learned to conceal things. Their bodies were not as pure and transparent as they were at the beginning of their world.
The old dragon king was quite sad at this point. The sadness wasn't the human sadness that is driven by emotion. It was worrying for himself and his sentient beings, while feeling somewhat powerless, because he knew that this situation involved too many things and was beyond his capability to reverse. He thus consulted the lords and kings of other worlds at different levels, and each of them felt the same way. Many kings said: "The problem can only be solved by validating the Fa at the very lowest level. But, the lowest level is the worst place, and there are many delusions and much suffering in that world. Besides, it can be a big problem for us to return." As they were discussing this matter, a giant Buddha, accompanied by splendid music, Faluns, and lotuses, gradually descended from the highest heaven, which was beyond where they could ever see before. Many fairies were spreading around flower petals. The scene was magnificent beyond description:
Spinning wheel in hand
Lotus flower beneath his feet
His majesty shakes heaven and earth
His compassion shines for all beings.
All of the kings and lords quickly fell to their knees. (This was the very first time it happened in history. Before this, these kings were honored by their sentient beings and by each other, but they had never knelt down to any Buddha. But when they saw the Holy Law-Wheel King, they knelt down without a second thought.) They heard the giant Buddha say in a clear, loud voice:
The vast universe has gone through thousands of kalpas
All sentient beings deviate from heaven and earth
To save those beings, go forth to the three realms
Fulfill the grand vow everlasting!
The Holy Law-Wheel King said again: "I will go down to the human world to save all sentient beings. Anyone willing to go with me can sign a pledge. After the Fa rectification is completed, everything will become everlasting." The old dragon king said quickly, "I will go with you." Several other lords also expressed their desire to go down to the human world. As those words were being spoken, there appeared a scroll similar to the kind used by an Emperor to make a decree. It recorded everything that they had said. Some of them were hesitating and afraid of going down to the human world. Thus the old dragon king and other gods went down to the human world. In the beginning, they were just observing to decide where and when they would be reincarnated. During their observation period, the old dragon king met the divine being and thus led to the scene described in the previous part.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2005/11/25/34725.html
