PureInsight | February 29, 2024
[PureInsight.org]
Before the tower was built, there was a nursery rhyme circulating in Bishi City, the capital of the Motian Kingdom, "The monkey has courage, the eagle has a stick. These two treasures are different, and all the glory of the world belongs to the king. Fortune, prosperity, and longevity will be yours." Although people did not understand the first two sentences at first, a soon-to-happen event solved the mystery.
In the south of the city of Bishi, more than a hundred miles away on a mountain, there was a large tree that required three adults to encircle it. One day, there was a loud thunderbolt on a clear day, and the tree was broken in half. At the scene were several hunters on the mountain who witnessed this. After the tree fell, a golden stick-like object was revealed in the middle of the remaining half of the tree. Hunter Han Ying (the character “Ying” has a meaning of “eagle”) led a few people to surround the tree and look at the object, feeling strange. Han Ying climbed up the tree and found a golden stick in the center of the tree, which was extremely hard but beautiful. After Han Ying came down, he and everyone else worked together to cut and shape the broken tree, taking out the golden stick in the middle. The stick was 3.66 meters long and approximately 15 centimeters in diameter, extremely hard, and could easily break a thick tree when swung. Everyone was delighted and regarded it as a priceless treasure, so they quickly returned to the capital to present it to the king. When Mo Le held it in his hand, he felt a shock throughout his body, and his heroic spirit increased greatly. He liked it very much and named it the Golden Cane.
At the same time, there was another change in Motian Kingdom. Four hundred miles away from the capital, there was a recess in a mountain, and one day it suddenly collapsed, forming a deep pit. A hunter known as Nao Yuan (the character “Yuan” has a meaning of “monkey”) went into the pit and saw a dark irregular circular object, about the size of a basketball nowadays. When he touched it, it was elastic, and when he pressed it with his finger, it left an indentation, but quickly returned to its original shape. Nao Yuan was puzzled and could not figure out what it was, so he put it in a bag and brought it back to show everyone. However, no one knew what it was for. Some older people thought there might be treasures inside, so Nao Yuan decided to offer it to the king in the capital.
Mo Le could not identify it even after having people examine it. One day, a person with a strange appearance named Di Chou came and claimed to know what it was. Mo Le had him brought in and he bowed to Mo Le before saying, "This object is called 'Wusun' and it contains a golden gall inside. This gall is a sharp weapon that can cut through anything in the world without losing any of its sharpness. This object has been hidden in the mountain for many years and has been guarded by the Heavenly Hero Boy. Anyone who obtains this gall will become a hero. Please break it open and take out the gallbladder, cover it with yellow silk and do not let it see the light. This item can increase the sharpness of the king's weapons, shock the enemy, and congratulate the king." Mo Le asked, "Who can break open this item?" Di Chou said, "Meng Gang can do it." After speaking, Di Chou suddenly disappeared. Mo Le bowed to where Di Chou disappeared to thank him.
Mo Le entrusted Wusun to Meng Gang, who took the object to a secret room and used four and a half crescent-shaped knives to break it open. After breaking it open, the golden gallbladder was exposed. Meng Gang placed the gallbladder on a plate and covered it with yellow silk, then put it in the secret room. While sweeping the temple, Meng Gang saw a child who was very cute, innocent and carefree, wearing a yellow bellyband, with a tuft of hair tied up high on his head. In his left hand, he held the gallbladder of Wusun, while his right hand pulled at the corners of the yellow silk, playing around. During playtime, he ran to the feet of the God of War Li Tian, looked up at him, and then lay contentedly at the foot of the statue. He even poked his head up and made a mischievous face, sticking out his tongue at Meng Gang who couldn't help but laugh. Meng Gang realized that he should place the gallbladder of Wusun at the feet of the God of War Li Tian. He went to see Mo Le and told him about it. Mo Le said, "This object was given by the immortals, and you have received their guidance, so just do as you were told."
For the next two days, from time to time, Meng Gang could see the boy busy doing something under the yellow cloth. While meditating, Meng Gang saw the boy divide the Wusun gallbladder into ten parts and kept injecting something into it. Meng Gang wanted to know what was happening, so he had an idea. Suddenly, he saw the boy transform into a vajra image with a golden face and a golden armor. It turned out that this boy had three different transformations: the golden, silver, and bronze armors. The golden armor protected the ruler of the human world and achieved different results in battle. When the golden armor appeared, it helped the ruler conquer the world and become the supreme ruler. When the silver armor appeared, it protected the ruler's territory from being invaded. When the bronze armor appeared, it helped the ruler quell the rebellion and bring peace to the country. What Meng Gang saw was the golden armor. The golden armor said, "This gallbladder can increase the sharpness of weapons. I have divided it into ten parts. Every time the ruler goes to battle, I will turn one part into sharp energy and cover it on the ruler's weapon, diffusing it above the heads of the soldiers, making the enemy tremble without fighting. When used together with another treasure, the Golden Cane, the enemy can be defeated without fighting. However, every time it is used, the Wusun gallbladder will be reduced by one part, and after ten uses, it will be exhausted."
Meng Gang thought of the Golden Cane and immediately the Purple-Eyed Vajra appeared. The purple-faced Vajra wore purple-gold armor and said to Meng Gang, "The Golden Cane is the highest scepter in the world, and I will present it to the king on this occasion. When people see this scepter, they will know where the authority lies. This Cane can only be used by the king, and no other prince shall have this honor in the future." Meng Gang told what he knew to Mo Le, and Mo Le was both thrilled and inexplicably solemn.
Early in the morning, Mo Le got up and stood on a high point of the palace, gazing into the distance where the land was lush and green. Suddenly, he noticed a protrusion in the southeast of the palace where the ground used to be flat. Mo Le was surprised and thought of the stones used for building the tower, so he immediately led his attendants to investigate. Soon they arrived at the protrusion and found that there were stones inside the cracks. Mo Le was overjoyed and believed it was a gift from the gods, so he immediately knelt down to pray to the heavens and earth. Then, he ordered people to guard the site and not allow anyone to move the stone layer randomly.
Next, Mo Le commanded famous craftsmen from all over the country to come to the capital. The craftsmen included Ban Tuo, Shu Ruo, and Zuo Lun, who were all famous craftsmen in the Motian Kingdom. Some of them were experts in building palaces, constructing internal structures with grand designs and exquisite craftsmanship. Others were skilled in the connection between celestial phenomena and architecture, with extreme accuracy in their correspondences. Moreover, the sculptor Kunlun started to carve large Buddha and deity statues with his team. They discussed the construction of the tower after Mo Le showed them the tower's design.
At this time, the guards of the stone layers reported that they sometimes heard a "popping" sound. Mo Le went to the site and also heard the sound, which surprised him, but he did not know why.
Mo Le chose an auspicious day, bathed, fasted, and made offerings to the gods and Buddhas before leading people to open the stone layers. Inside, they found blocks of stones that were flat and natural. Mo Le was amazed and knelt down, saying, "Gods and Buddhas of heaven and earth, protect this endeavor and reveal your divine power. I, Mo Le, will do my utmost to build a Buddhist pagoda and fulfill your will."
Upon seeing the stones, Mo Cai was also very pleased. Near one of the stones, there were some black and shiny stones that caught Mo Cai's attention. She touched them and found them very hard, and suddenly she remembered a dream she had in the morning. In the dream, she was sweating profusely while stirring a kind of molten liquid. Flames were rising from the bottom of the pot, and her sweat droplets fell into the molten liquid. There were also some black and shiny things waiting to be put into the pot beside it. She also saw a girl in a pink dress applying the molten liquid to the stones. The black and shiny things waiting to be put into the pot in the dream were exactly the same as the stones she saw before her. Therefore, Mo Cai had a sudden inspiration: these stones should be used for smelting.
Mo Cai told her brother seriously, "In my dream, I saw that the molten liquid of this kind of stone should be used to coat the stones and give them an extra layer of protection."
"This must be a sign from the gods, and they have chosen you to stir the molten liquid," said Mo Le, also speaking seriously to his sister.
On the day of the opening of the stone layer, the temple priest Meng Gang came to tell Mo Le that the green bottle left by the former king as an offering in the temple was making earth-shattering sounds. Meng Gang invited the king and the princess to the temple to investigate. Mo Le and Mo Cai hurried to the temple. As soon as they entered, the sound from the bottle intensified, and Mo Le was stunned. He quickly knelt before the Buddha with Mo Cai. After the prayer, the sound stopped, and the green bottle suddenly exploded. Two rays of light, one yellow and one green, emerged as if chasing each other. The yellow light bound Mo Le's right wrist before disappearing, and the green light flew straight to Mo Cai's forehead and disappeared after forming a U-shaped mark on her forehead. The siblings were surprised but did not notice anything unusual. They thanked the Buddha and turned to leave.
At this moment, Meng Gang saw that the three statues of the gods all had smiles on their faces. He knew in his heart that the country's fortunes were bound to prosper, so he knelt in front of the statues for a long time, praying for the early completion of the pagoda while keeping his mind pure.
On ordinary days, every ten days, Mo Le would personally pick fresh fruits and have them washed by Mo Cai before offering them in front of the statues of the gods. When preparing to build the tower, Mo Le chose an auspicious day, bathed and fasted, and personally picked fresh fruits to be washed and offered at the temple, where he knelt and paid his respects to the gods, saying, "Great gods, I am your son. I feel that my talent is ordinary, yet you have given me honor. The people support me, and the world's treasures belong to me. You have entrusted me with the responsibility of building the pagoda, and I know the weakness of human strength and the power of divine strength. Therefore, I humbly ask for the protection and blessing of the gods, and may the pagoda be successfully built. I also ask the gods to keep me vigilant, perfect my character, and educate the people, so as not to disappoint the will of the gods." After paying his respects, Meng Gang invited Mo Le into the meditation room (Meng Gang's place of meditation) and asked Mo Le to sit down, but Mo Le refused to sit down and said, "Honorable priest, please sit down and accept my respect. I have something to say to you, please do not refuse." Meng Gang's face showed a serious expression as he sat down solemnly. Mo Le knelt on one leg in front of Meng Gang and said, "Honorable priest, please listen to me. I have always considered myself a confident person, but these days, I have had doubts. Regarding the building of the tower, is it true that I am the person chosen by the gods? The treasures of the world are gathered here with me, and I will become a king that the world will admire and enjoy the glory of the world. However, I have examined my heart and feel that I have not reached the purity and strength that the gods expect of me. For this reason, I feel very uneasy and fear that the gods' instructions may be delayed by me, so I am very nervous. I regard you as a fatherly figure, not only because you are kind to people, but also because you understand the will of the gods and are the messenger of the gods in the world. I have great respect for you and ask for your guidance and help. I hope your teachings will give me enough strength and purity to fulfill the will of the gods."
Meng Gang listened and then stood up, walked towards Mo Le, and put his hands on Mo Le's shoulders, saying, "Since you trust me so much and treat me as a father, then I will treat you as a child! In fact, we are all God's children. In this world, everything operates under the will of God. If God has chosen you, it may be because you voluntarily chose God's arrangement a long time ago. However, with the changes of the world, we have already forgotten. Everything that is happening now is a reminder and help from God to fulfill our initial choices. Because of your initial choice, God has already made your life different from others, and your life already contains factors endowed by God. Therefore, your heart must be pure and strong, without any doubt. Turn your doubts into the motivation to pursue perfection! Do your best, and I believe that God is protecting everything and it will go smoothly." After finishing his words, he helped Mo Le up. Mo Le was still immersed in deep thoughts of Meng Gang’s words and remained silent for a while.
(To be continued)
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/118539
