The Seven Sorrows

The Buddha says life has seven forms of suffering: birth, aging, illness, death, meeting those we resent, parting from those we love, and longing for what we cannot have. Du Li is a spirit ferryman on the River of Forgetfulness. Clad in black, with a red lotus flame tattooed between the brows to suppress resentful spirits and wicked thoughts, Du Li has done the same work day after day for a thousand years. Yet who would have thought that constant exposure to resentment would cast Du Li into the mortal cycle of suffering and joy? Later, a tree spirit beguiles Du Li into falling into demonic ways, and the countless resentful spirits of the Underworld heed Du Li's command, bringing about a scene of world-destroying might. The gods step in to suppress the rebellion, awaken the Nine Heavens Demon-Subduing Formation, and seal the tree spirit away. Du Li is also wounded by the formation, loses all cultivation, and lies on the brink of death. Later, the Bodhisattva Manjushri takes Du Li in and immerses Du Li at the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness, where Du Li sleeps for a thousand years...

Theme: Obsession