Shrouded Sky - Chapter 15 - Bodhi Seed

“What’s wrong with you?” Pang Bo’s voice reached Ye Fan’s ears as he shook his shoulder.
Ye Fan awoke as if from a dream. There was no Buddhist chanting, no temple hymns. The ancient temple remained the same, covered in thick dust, and the others seemed unaware of what had just occurred.
“Is this really the Grand Thunderclap Temple?” he murmured. What he had just heard and seen, though brief, felt incredibly real, leaving him deep in thought.
Ye Fan stared at the bronze ancient lamp in his hand, but felt nothing unusual. It bore some engraved patterns, simple and unremarkable, with no extraordinary features.
“A meditation cushion!” A male classmate found an old cushion among the ashes, preserved despite the passage of time.
Soon after, a female classmate discovered a string of sandalwood prayer beads beneath the thick dust. Despite the years, they remained intact, emitting a faint glow after being cleaned.
At the same time, Cade found half of a broken wooden fish drum in the dust before the stone Buddha. It was engraved with three Bodhisattvas, each lifelike in their solemnity and compassion.
Ye Fan was filled with thoughts. If this place truly was the legendary Grand Thunderclap Temple, then it was a place abandoned by the gods, and all the unearthed artifacts must be extraordinary!
Ding!
Wang Ziwen’s foot seemed to have kicked something, producing a metallic sound. Clearing the dust from the corner, he revealed a broken bronze bell, about the size of a palm, missing a section of its wall, and of ancient design.
Ding…
He shook the bell, and a melodious chime resonated, resembling Buddhist chants that brought peace to the mind.
Ye Fan’s thoughts were interrupted, and he looked at the bronze bell. It was engraved with flowing cloud patterns, simple yet imbued with a sense of Zen and Buddhist charm.
Pang Bo muttered softly. He had entered the ancient temple first but found nothing, attributing it to bad luck.
Almost simultaneously, Li Xiaoman found half of a jade Ruyi scepter beneath the stone Buddha’s feet. After brushing off the dust, the translucent jade emitted a soft glow.
Though the ancient temple appeared empty, several people had found artifacts beneath the dust, prompting others to search eagerly.
Ye Fan paid little attention to these items. The only artifact in the temple that remained spotless, undamaged, and perpetually lit was the bronze ancient lamp in his hand, unmatched by the others.
“I can’t believe I found nothing…” Pang Bo grumbled.
“Search carefully here. Collect any artifacts you find,” Ye Fan said, handing the ancient lamp to Pang Bo to aid his search. Though the broken Buddhist artifacts showed no immediate signs of mysticism, he believed that if gods truly existed, these items must be extraordinary!
Ye Fan temporarily gave the bronze lamp to Pang Bo and stepped out of the ancient hall, heading toward the Bodhi tree in front of the temple. He had now set aside his previous mindset, choosing to believe in the existence of gods, at least for the moment.
If the ancient temple was indeed the Grand Thunderclap Temple, then the accompanying Bodhi tree could not be overlooked. If Buddha existed, this withered ancient tree must be extraordinary!
The Bodhi tree is a sacred tree in Buddhism. According to the “Grand Tang Records on the Western Regions,” Buddha once told his disciple Ananda that there are three types of objects in the world worthy of worship: Buddha’s relics, Buddha statues, and the Bodhi tree.
This is because Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree; seeing the Bodhi tree is akin to seeing the Buddha.
The ancient tree before him was gnarled like a dragon, requiring six or seven people to encircle it. Its trunk was hollow, with a single branch hanging two to three meters above the ground, bearing six green leaves that shimmered like emeralds.
Regardless of whether this tree was related to Buddha, the six jade-like leaves alone signified its uniqueness.
Ye Fan approached the tree to examine it closely. Its massive branches nearly covered the ancient temple. One could imagine the canopy it would form if fully leafed.
At that moment, Ye Fan noticed something. The six crystalline green leaves emitted faint green glows, some drifting toward the distant five-colored altar, while most seeped into the tree’s roots.
These green glows, thread-like in shape, continuously emanated from the six leaves, exuding a sense of vitality and boundless life force.
Ye Fan crouched down and dug into the soil at the tree’s roots, curious about what was absorbing the green glows from the Bodhi leaves.
Beneath the soil, he found no mystical object, only a single Bodhi seed. It lacked any luster or aura, dull in color, easily mistaken for a clump of dirt.
Its only notable feature was its size. While ordinary Bodhi seeds are about the size of a fingernail, this dull seed was as large as a walnut.
Ye Fan was astonished. Could it be that the green glows from the Bodhi leaves were being absorbed by this seed? After observing for a while, he noticed that the thread-like green glows vanished about three inches from the seed.
Though he didn’t see the seed absorbing the essence directly, it was almost certain that it was the cause.
Ye Fan held the Bodhi seed in his palm, and upon closer inspection, he was shocked to see that the natural patterns on the dull seed formed an image of a compassionate Buddha!
This Buddha image was naturally formed, not carved, yet appeared as if meticulously crafted.
The dull Buddha figure was simple and natural, subtly emanating a sense of Zen.
“A naturally formed Buddha image… Could it be that 2,500 years ago, Shakyamuni truly attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree?”
The Bodhi tree is also known as the Tree of Wisdom, the Tree of Enlightenment, and the Tree of Thought. It is said to awaken one’s divine nature and self-awareness.
Ye Fan raised the Bodhi seed above his head toward the six green leaves. The green glows immediately intensified, the life force becoming more vibrant, all converging toward the seed, though still disappearing three inches away.
Pop!
A soft sound was heard as one of the crystalline Bodhi leaves released its final green glow, then shattered into ash, drifting down.
At this point, Ye Fan was convinced that the seemingly ordinary Bodhi seed was indeed extraordinary and carefully stored it away.
He then noticed numerous powdery substances on the ground, identical to the ash from the disintegrated Bodhi leaf. Could it be that the entire tree’s leaves had vanished in this manner? This realization greatly surprised Ye Fan.
The naturally formed Buddha image on the Bodhi seed made him feel it was even more significant than the ever-burning bronze ancient lamp beside the stone Buddha!
The Bodhi tree still had five green leaves, but they were not as radiant as before, appearing dimmer. Ye Fan chose not to pick them, believing that obtaining one Bodhi seed was sufficient and wished to avoid drawing attention.
At this time, no one else had exited the Grand Thunderclap Temple. Ye Fan left the Bodhi tree and returned to the ancient temple.
By now, seven or eight more people had found Buddhist artifacts, each unique. Liu Yunzhi discovered half of a golden vajra behind the stone Buddha. Despite being buried in dust for countless years, it still shone brightly upon being unearthed, exuding a sense of weight and solidity. If not for the damage on one end, it would be considered a perfect and powerful crafted masterpiece.
This scepter-like object is known in Buddhism as a Vajra, symbolizing the destruction of enemies, representing invincibility.