Red clouds signify the highest attainment in Daoist cultivation, akin to the blood transforming into azure qi upon ascension, a manifestation of "Dao Qi." Correspondingly, Buddhist cultivation reaching profound realms manifests as halos of different colors, known as "Buddha light."
The nameless Ji Xiang's surrounding red clouds began to spin, spreading across the cosmos. At this moment, they even extended from the future, growing denser under the gaze of the Five Directions Buddhas. Accompanied by a nascent thought, he began to return from the future to the past.
"The Heavenly Heart is not in the future, but in the past and the future."
The Great Sun Tathagata murmured, repeating Ji Xiang's words, experiencing a profound realization.
To be the Heavenly Heart, one's thoughts are vast. Some seek to become Buddhas, some gods, some immortals; some wish to devour all, others to save all sentient beings; some remain detached, some govern the heavens with celestial laws, and some arrive at the Heavenly Heart for reasons unknown.
To initiate a thought without knowing why.
To achieve the Demon King? The pleasure of a single will. To achieve a Monarch? The joy of a moment. To achieve the True Realm of the Heavenly Dao? The delusion of a single perception.
Those who achieve the Heavenly Heart employ different methods, and these are kept secret. Only those with profound cultivation, or those who, like Ji Xiang, have experienced extraordinary events, dare to proclaim their path to the Heavenly Heart to the world.
For instance, making a great vow. This is also a common method in both Buddhist and Daoist traditions. In essence, it is borrowing strength from the future. If a great vow is made now, the future might be altered by this vow, leading to the achievement of the Heavenly Heart in the future, which then reflects back upon the past.
"But, without making a great vow, the future self already exists in the future."
This point contradicts the Great Sun Tathagata's understanding. Therefore, what is being witnessed now is the nameless Ji Xiang projecting the present future into the past. What changes will occur, and what variables will arise in the past as a result?
The gazes of the Five Directions Buddhas spanned this not-so-long stretch of time, observing the spreading red clouds.
The power of heavenly resonance also extended, descending from the heavens, merging with Ji Xiang, and then returning to the heavens.
The nameless Ji Xiang asked:
"How does the future answer the past?"
"How did the past become the Heavenly Heart?"
Above the heavens, a vast emptiness vibrated loudly.
[How does the past question the future?]
The response from the heavens descended!
The Five Directions Buddhas remained silent, quietly observing everything.
The problem is thrown to the future self, and then the future self informs the past self. The past and future are one, meaning "I am, therefore I answer."
When the nameless Ji Xiang posed the question, the heavens provided a seemingly useless response, but this was the answer.
"How does the future answer the past?"
"How did the past become the Heavenly Heart?"
"How does the past question the future?"
The Great Sun Tathagata was lost in thought. The discussion of past and future has always been a shortcut to enlightenment in Buddhism. If one can comprehend their own perception of past and future, extraordinary phenomena will arise, leading to profound transformations.
He felt a deep sense of awe, thinking that the avatar of Primordial Beginning was indeed extraordinary. As karma continuously intertwined, the perception of past and future was taking shape, pointing towards "the original one."
One.
In some schools of Daoism, it is the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning; in others, it is the Supreme Old Lord. In immortal lore, it is the Great Unity God; among alchemists, it is the Five-Colored Heavenly Auspice; in the Warring States period, it was the ghost and god in the heavens; in the Five Pecks of Rice School, it was the Green Ram; in the Way of Great Peace, it was the Yellow Heaven; in Mongolia, it was the ninety-nine Tengger celestial gods; in Korea, it was King Dongmyeong; in Japan, it was the Heavenly Parent God; in Tibetan Buddhism, it was the Primordial Buddha; in other Buddhist schools, it was the Buddha of Infinite Sound; and in Confucianism, it was the most ancient Emperor of Heaven who manifested as absolute "Reason."
Accompanying the initial "one," accompanying the thoughts of different peoples across different lands, and accompanying the birth of their cultures, numerous primordial deities emerged. They held the most ancient and powerful authority, and they themselves were the personification of their followers' aspirations for the initial "one" and the ultimate philosophy of the past.
Therefore, whoever can attain this "one" becomes the true progenitor of these primordial deities, signifying the attainment of "Dao" or "Buddhahood." This is not a goal achievable merely by obtaining a divine tablet; the divine tablet is merely a visible vessel for these primordial deities, personified by human aspirations, carrying a portion of their power.
"Has he found the answer?"
The Eastern Akshobhya Buddha inquired of the other Buddhas beside him. He felt an indescribable change in the nameless Ji Xiang. Although the heavenly resonance received was itself an extremely rare occurrence, something that could only be witnessed during the opening of the Dao and the creation of heaven.
"Hush... something is coming."
The Western Amitabha Buddha sensed something more profound. The Northern Amoghasiddhi Buddha stated, "To comprehend, I am already vaguely comprehending."
The Five Directions Buddhas were all manifestations of the Great Sun Tathagata. When one Buddha had an insight, the other Buddhas' minds trembled.
Indeed, something was coming. Observing the nameless Ji Xiang, it felt as if they too were about to...
"Why did I become a Buddha?"
"Why am I Buddha?"
"The Great Sun Tathagata is me, I am the Great Sun Tathagata, and I am also the Southern Precious Appearance Buddha. Is my origin Buddha, or am I?"
"Did I become Buddha, or did Buddha become me, or am I originally Buddha and Buddha is originally me? If so, then I am here, where has Buddha gone?"
"Where is Buddha?"
The Southern Precious Appearance Buddha suddenly spoke, his expression dazed as if caught in a delusion. The other Buddhas were similarly affected. For a moment, the Five Buddhas fell silent. They looked back at their pasts, which were clearly visible, even their own selves reflected within them. But this true form, they pondered, was it inherently self-existent because they became Buddhas, or did they become Buddhas because they had a self?
The Five Directions Buddhas fell into a loop and suddenly vanished, perishing from this future without a trace, their whereabouts unknown. Only the voice of the Great Sun Tathagata descended from the void:
"The stream of karma, I have witnessed..."
The stream of karma, also known as the Twelve Links of Causation, is the supreme truth that the Buddha once attained. It refers to the twelve stages from "ignorance" to "old age and death." Cause and effect follow each other, continuing through three lives without interruption, causing beings to cycle through the sea of birth and death, unable to escape. Therefore, worldly existence has no beginning, or rather, every point is a beginning!
........
The Great Sun Tathagata witnessed the stream of karma. At this moment, he was also qualified to ascend the Buddha's seat, but he himself transformed into the Twelve Links of Causation and disappeared within this causal retribution. Even in the reflected history, the Great Sun Tathagata vanished.
At this instant, the reflection of history caused a great stir. Countless Heavenly Heart experts discovered the peculiar demise of the Great Sun Tathagata, but only the Buddha, situated in an unknown place, let out an exclamation.
"To witness the Twelve Links of Causation means that within the Great Universe, from the grandest world to the smallest particle, there is no substantial self-nature. Every existence is its own cause and effect, all are within the Twelve Links of Causation. Entering the stream of karma means you have transcended the concept of Buddha."
"So-called Buddhahood."
"The karma of Buddha."
"The Dao of Daoism."
"Is also like this."
"This kind of thing exists fixedly, but not many people can attain it. Therefore, merely to witness it and gain some insight is already an immeasurable opportunity."
........
Returning to the future, only the nameless Ji Xiang remained.
Past events were vivid, but those were the transient affairs of the mortal world. Finally, the red clouds spread to a long expanse of the past, the Great Floating Li Land, where countless divine tablets stood erect, and incense smoke permeated this vast Dharma realm.
That once long past, the self that was unhonored, even beginning to forget its own name and identity, was the nameless celestial god.
"If I am the Heavenly Heart, then at this moment, I am also the Heavenly Heart."
The nameless Ji Xiang spoke, but the one truly speaking was not the nameless Ji Xiang, for the past mind and future mind had vanished, leaving only one eternal mind. Thus, tracing back to this moment within the hundred years in the Great Floating Li...
The nameless celestial god had already become the Heavenly Heart!
Ji Xiang seemed to retrace his original path, passing through those divine tablets. As the incense diminished, the names of the deities became ancient and obscure. Yet, in such a profound depth, there was a place where the incense burned strong and unceasing, and that was the divine position of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning.
The nameless Ji Xiang passed the divine position and went behind it.
There should have been a blank divine tablet, but now it was empty. Ji Xiang did not hesitate and walked to that spot and sat down.
No past self arrived, because the past self did not exist.
No blank divine tablet, because the blank divine tablet was also the only one.
"This is modifying the past."
"I have no name, before Primordial Beginning, before all things."
Empty—
A vast, indescribable sound emanated outwards from Ji Xiang's own existence. Ahead, the divine tablet of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning slowly turned. According to the original historical trajectory, at this moment, the nameless celestial god should have been sent down to the mortal realm and saved by the Sutra of Universal Salvation.
But this time, the divine tablet of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning made no sound, only a vast, empty intention observing the nameless Ji Xiang.
So, who is the Innate Venerable now?
So, who is before the Innate now?
The Venerable can be named yet un-named, comprehending reason in the realm of absolute speech. The Great Image is formless, ascending the profound amidst nothingness.
"Primordial color un-cleaved, its light profound and profound."
The voice seemed to come from Ji Xiang's mouth, but in the direction the divine tablet of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning faced, there was no Ji Xiang.
Only a blank divine tablet.
Primordial, Profound.
Profound, meaning distant and obscure. Black with a reddish hue is the profound image, entering and covering in obscurity.
In Daoism, Primordial Profound, or Profound Primordial, if they are one, refers to the state before the origin of all things. The ancients observed the celestial phenomena, looking to the farthest reaches, where it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. They saw something distant, unknown, and nameless, which is "the profound of the profound."
The Gate of Myriad Wonders.
The divine tablet of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning changed. This time, viewed from the direction it faced, the blank divine tablet disappeared, and Ji Xiang appeared.
The Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning also changed, manifesting form and spirit, but his appearance was identical to Ji Xiang's. He looked towards the nameless Ji Xiang as if he were a believer.
The nameless Ji Xiang also saw this and recalled what a Daoist from the mortal realm had once said.
You believe in the Heavenly Lord, and the Heavenly Lord believes in you.
Corresponding characters also appeared on the blank divine tablet.
[Innate Heart: Revered by the Heavenly Lord, glimpse the Profound Image!]
........
Ten thousand feet into the Yin City, above the ghost capital, the Eastern Hua Celestial Maiden was summoned here. She saw Ji Xiang, still in his black attire, beckoning to her. This relieved her, and her mood also became lighter.
It seemed he had not encountered anything insurmountable.