Ordinary Abyss

A voice tells him he can leave if he has reputation Gu. Reputation Gu, saved when he lifts a rock, helps him cross and repay that rescue. ^{ch. 287} Later retellings say he caused an incident while drunk, was trapped in the depths, obtained chrysanthemum-like reputation Gu, and escaped alive. ^{ch. 357}

Self Gu tells Ren Zu that the ordinary marsh is the lowest level of ordinary abyss. Ren Zu knows the place because Verdant Great Sun was once trapped there. Self Gu says all living beings enter ordinary abyss for various reasons, that all living beings are ordinary, that the absolute majority remain trapped for life, and that only a small portion leave through their own efforts. ^{ch. 733}

In a fuller telling of the legend, wisdom Gu tells Boundless Forest Samsara and a miniman that using a predecessor’s achievements is not enough: to leave ordinary abyss, each of them must build a ladder of their own and finish it alone, or neither can leave. The telling adds that time inside ordinary abyss runs at a different rate from the world outside it. ^{ch. 1276}