The Tathagata returned to the Western Heaven and shared his idea of establishing Mount Camel with everyone. He wanted all the Bodhisattvas to send their mounts to the mortal realm in the form of monsters, gathering all the monsters in the world and establishing Mount Camel for the convenience of the future Heavenly Court's extermination. After hearing this, everyone remained silent. Both the Western Heaven and the Heavenly Court operated under a leadership responsibility system. As long as the Tathagata agreed, whether Mount Camel was good or bad, it would eventually be established. It was better to remain silent than to voice opposition and risk displeasing the Tathagata in the future.
However, Guanyin couldn't help but speak, saying, "Buddha, although we can send our mounts to the mortal realm to cause trouble, what is the significance of doing so? Why should we do the Heavenly Court's bidding?"
Guanyin looked at the Tathagata and asked, "Although it may seem like our mounts are the ones causing the bad reputation, there's no guarantee that someone won't see through the situation and accuse us of incompetence and mismanagement. Why should we take the risk of tarnishing our reputation and do the Heavenly Court's work?"
The Tathagata smiled and looked at his beloved disciple, Jinchanzhi. At that time, Jinchanzhi hadn't yet posed the question that angered the Tathagata, so the Tathagata always liked to have Jinchanzhi answer questions on behalf of everyone.
Jinchanzhi sighed and said, "Bodhisattva, it's simple."
"Elder Jinchanzhi, how is it simple?"
"By establishing Mount Camel, we gain control over it and can set the rules. We can make the monsters stay away from temples and frequent Taoist temples. They will fear monks but kill Taoist priests. They will show respect for Buddhist artifacts but criticize the Three Clearances and Eight Trigrams. By then, ordinary people will stay away from Taoist temples, build their own temples, distrust Taoist priests, and show great respect for monks. When Mount Camel becomes powerful enough that the Heavenly Court has to send troops to exterminate it, ordinary people will believe that the Heavenly Court is foolish and lacks insight. The reason the Heavenly Court wants to exterminate Mount Camel is because Mount Camel threatens its rule. Therefore, even if the Heavenly Court sends troops and suffers losses, the hearts of the people gained will be far inferior to the Western Heaven's."
The Tathagata nodded and praised, "So, do you still think that what I'm doing is serving as a scapegoat for the Heavenly Court?"
Although Manjusri and Samantabhadra also had the same thought as Guanyin just now, after hearing Jinchanzhi's explanation, they immediately stepped forward. One said, "I want to send my mount, the Green Lion, to the mortal realm."
The other said, "I want to send my mount, the White Elephant, to the mortal realm."
Seeing this, Guanyin unwillingly said, "I also want to send my mount, the Golden-Haired Lion, to the mortal realm."
"The Green Lion and White Elephant have always been well-behaved and their teachers are willing to pass on their abilities, so they can go to the mortal realm..." The Tathagata glanced at Guanyin, "But let's forget about the Golden-Haired Lion; it hasn't cultivated enough."
The Tathagata's words were extremely severe. Although he was seemingly talking about the Golden-Haired Lion, he was actually implying that Guanyin "hadn't cultivated enough." Which Arhat Bodhisattva present couldn't hear the reproach in the Tathagata's words? For a moment, Guanyin felt extremely embarrassed, standing there with a bright red face.
"However, relying solely on the Green Lion and White Elephant is far from enough to control the various demons in the mortal realm. Let me arrange another one."
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