Honghuang: The Long, Peaceful Evenings

Thus have I heard. At one time, the World-Honored One dwelt at Jeta Grove in Shravasti, at the monastery donated by Anathapindada. He bestowed teachings on the causes and conditions of the Buddha Dharma, while the solemn assembly gathered around him, drawing near to listen and setting their hearts on nirvana.

The Buddha said: The assembly gathers in emptiness, and all are contained within the Tathagata.

Emptiness contains nothing; all samadhi is suffering.

Where does the beginning of this karmic connection lie?

In the vast and distant Auspicious Aeon, the pure and glorious jeweled temples stand empty.

A thousand venerable Dharma Kings, their deeds praised in countless millions of verses.

All who attain nirvana receive the prophecy of unsurpassed, complete, perfect enlightenment;

All who endure suffering cultivate the samadhi of patience, the stages, and the many levels of realization.

The world knows the suffering of sentient beings; all dharmas are but repentance and recitation.

Those who fail to strive bring forth the karma of calamity; those who shrink back destroy the Dharma body.

Therefore, all sentient beings should manifest here the glorious Dharma forms of boundless light, perfect enlightenment, great compassion, and solemn majesty, and praise all wholesome conditions in this great ocean.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.