Chapter 14 Great Thunderchant Temple
An ancient temple calmly appeared at the end of the ruins. The temple was small, with one shrine as the only room. A stone Buddha covered in thick layers of dust sat inside. Beside it was an ancient bronze lamp whose light flickered.
In front of the temple was an ancient Bodhi tree. It was so thick that even six or seven people wouldn’t be able to wrap their arms around it. Its trunk was hollow, and if it weren’t for the fact that it was adorned with five or six green leaves that flickered with light, it might appear to be dried up and dead.
The ancient temple and Bodhi tree seemed to be connected to each other. The ancient aura around it caused people to feel the vicissitudes of time, bringing with it endless serenity.
No one could hide how surprised they were when they saw this. The majestic and vast structure behind them had long since turned into ruins, but this small ancient temple still continued to exist just as before.
“How could there such an ancient temple?”
“That ancient Bodhi tree’s green leaves seem to be translucent and circulate light!”
The Bodhi tree was called Buddha’s tree, due to its deep relations.h.i.+p with Buddhism. It was said that fifteen hundred years ago, Siddhartha Gautama sat under an ancient Bodhi tree, where he achieved enlightenment and became Buddha.
The ancient Bodhi tree and ancient temple in front of them seemed to give rise to one another, as if one could not survive without the other.
Their extraordinary existences amazed everyone.
“Why do I feel like the flow of history has rushed forward? All of this appears exceedingly old, like it has experienced the tides of ages. Why is it here?”
Fifty meters was an extremely short distance, so they quickly traversed it. A strange feeling bubbled up within each person’s heart. The scene before them seemed to be an old-fas.h.i.+oned historical scene, and the weight of ages past filled the air.
“Could it be that this is a temple where a G.o.d resided?”
“Is there actually a Buddha in this world? Although the ancient temple was neglected, it still causes me to feel that Zen feeling of nothingness.”
It was completely silent within the ancient temple. It was a completely tranquil place.
“There’s a copper plaque there with words on it.”
Within the neglected ancient temple was a copper tablet with splotches of green rust. Four ancient characters were carved on it. The characters were as complex as before, with the bell-cauldron script appearing like a writhing dragon. However, the first word ‘Great’ was very easy to identify. People who didn’t even understand bell-cauldron script could still recognize it.[i]
“The last word is ‘temple.’” Zhou Yi had a good understanding of bell-cauldron script.
“The four words are ‘great,’ ‘thunder,’ ‘chant,’ and ‘temple,’” Ye Fan read out the whole thing at this moment.
Completely astonished expressions appeared on everyone present.
“Great Thunderchant Temple[ii]…did I hear wrong?!”
“How could that be possible….”
Within legends, the Great Thunderchant Temple was Buddha’s residence, a supreme holy land. But the neglected ancient temple in front of them was so small; it didn’t have even the slightest bit of majesty. Just one small shrine, how could it be called the Great Thunderchant Temple?
Having already personally seen nine dragon corpses pulling a coffin, everyone was already mentally prepared for something like the existence of G.o.ds. But they were still somewhat dubious. An ancient temple on Mars was called the Great Thunderchant Temple. Just what did this mean? Perhaps the various histories and legends would create new explanations that could lift off a corner of the mysterious veil that covered the destroyed ancient history.
‘The chant of Buddhist enlightenment is as shocking as thunder.’ The meaning behind the name of the Great Thunderchant Temple!
Was the ancient temple in front of them really the temple of legend?
If their conjecture was correct, then it would definitely be extremely sensational; on the russet-colored soil and sand of Mars, a dust-covered ancient temple actually had such an earth-shattering history.
The more they observed the temple, the more extraordinary it felt.
The Heaven Temple behind them was extremely grand and vast, but in the end still ended up becoming rubble. However, this ancient temple might have declined, but it was still standing as before. It truly was a bizarre contrast…
An accompanying Bodhi tree, an ancient bronze lamp, a bean-sized lamplight….
Ordinary and indifferent, quiet and calm. Only what remained after the grinding and sharpening of time was the ‘true’ part which lay beneath the superficial.
A lamp, a Buddha, a temple, and a tree… they all appeared archaic, and yet as if they could endure eternity.
Everyone was peaceful and quiet, causing people to feel like they were being cleansed by spring winds. A Buddhist chant seemed to be faintly audible.
“If this really is the Great Thunderchant Temple from the legends, then wouldn’t that tree be ancient Bodhi tree that Shakyamuni achieved enlightenment under?”
“How could that be possible? That’s just some religious myth. Do you really think that twenty-five hundred years ago, Shakyamuni sat on Mars beneath a Bodhi tree for seven days and seven nights, in the end becoming Buddha?”[iii]
“From what we’ve experienced, nothing is impossible!”
With what everyone had gone through today, they felt as if they were living in a dream or fantasy. But what was in front of them was indisputable.
At this moment, Ye Fan suddenly walked forward. With Pang Bo keeping up with him, the two of them strode directly into the ancient temple. At that moment, Zhou Yi also quickened his footsteps and w.a.n.g Ziwen followed closely behind, both entering the ancient temple as well.
In the rear, Liu Yunzhi seemed to suddenly realize something. His face changed color, and he quickly rushed over. The others also seemed to have woken from a dream; if this really was the Great Thunderchant Temple, then the inside would be the residence of a G.o.d. Although it had long since been neglected and covered in thick layers of dust, it would forever be an extraordinary land.
The ancient temple was very small, the only room being a shrine. Inside, it was completely empty. Ye Fan went straight to the stone Buddha, grabbing the bronze ancient lamp beside it.
The bronze lamp appeared completely ordinary, simple and modest. But instead of feeling like cold metal, it was pleasantly warm, as if it was warm jade. What most amazed people was that this ancient temple was completely covered in dust, but this bronze ancient lamp lacked even one speck; apparently it was able to repel dust.
It had definitely been many years since anyone had come to clean this temple. Dust had acc.u.mulated in thick layers, but the ancient lamp was still as bright as it ever was. Ye Fan and the others couldn’t help but be astonished. Could it have been like this since ancient times?
“It really has been cleaned out. Other than the stone Buddha and bronze lamp, nothing else remains.” Pang Bo swept his gaze all around, but he hadn’t seen anything else.
Just at this moment, the people tightly following behind them ran in. When Zhou Yi stepped into the thick dust, a loud clanging noise rang out. At the same time, Liu Yunzhi and the others also entered into the ancient temple. No one spoke any words, only silently searching.
At the beginning, everyone hadn’t broken away from the thinking that had been ingrained into them on Earth. When they saw the ancient temple, they were still stuck overthinking about it and being bewildered. Only when Ye Fan took action did they suddenly remember that now they were on another planet, and very possibly facing the Buddha’s residence from the legends, the Great Thunderchant Temple. It was possible that there were things left behind by a G.o.d!
Within the ancient temple, Ye Fan was rubbing the dustless bronze lamp. The soft light spilled out into the temple, lighting up the interior.
Suddenly, Ye Fan heard a kind of hidden Buddhist chant that seemed to come from outside the heavens. At the beginning, he thought he was just imagining it, but it gradually became vaster. It seemed to linger within the temple. Just like church organs, it shook the whole temple. It was dignified and vast, masterly and abstruse….
In its wake, the dust in the whole temple was completely repelled. The temple became completely clean, without a speck of dust or dirt. Unexpectedly, a Buddhist mantra rang out, “Om, mani, padme, hum…”[iv]
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[i] Bell cauldron script refers to an ancient type of Chinese writing. The word ‘Great (大)’ in this case is written extremely simply so it is easy to identify, even though its writing in bell-cauldron script might be a bit different.
[ii]大雷音寺 (Da Lei Yin Si) Great Thunderchant Temple is from Journey to the West, one of China’s Four Cla.s.sic Novels, written during the Ming dynasty. The name comes from how the chanting of Buddhist enlightenment was as shocking as thunder. In Journey to the West, the Great Thunderchant Temple is where Buddha cultivated.
[iii] Shakyamuni was said to be a prince who was deeply aware of human suffering. After sitting under a Bodhi tree for seven days and seven nights, he gained enlightenment and became Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
[iv] "Om mani padme hum" is a Sanskrit mantra. Om is a word signifying sacredness, mani means jewel, padme refers to the sacred lotus flower, and hum refers to the spirit of enlightenment. However, the meaning is not set in stone and is very liberal.