The Tathagata read The Story of the Stone in a single glance. He sighed and said, “So this stone tells the story of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.
“Sun Wukong’s soul, refined in the furnace, and this stone are both remnants of the stone Nuwa used to mend the sky. The Story of the Stone can serve as a guide, gathering the spiritual essence that nearly survived the tribulation.
“Spiritual essence can exist only within a person. Your Reverence need only write one more scripture and have someone from the Eastern Land retrieve it. Let this stone accompany the Pilgrim through the Eighty-One Tribulations, storing the spiritual essence of the journey. Ten years from now, put the stone in the furnace, and the pill will be complete.”
“Excellent, excellent.”
Venerable Ananda bowed deeply, then slowly vanished.
The Tathagata ordered someone to bring paper and brush. In just one day, the brush began writing on its own, producing three million words of The Lower Volume of the Mahayana Teachings, divided into 300 volumes numbered 1 to 300, which covered the floor.
He ordered Guanyin Bodhisattva to deliver a message to the Eastern Land and arrange for another scripture-seeking journey. He also stipulated that Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu were to be chosen for the task.
