Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 118 Bodhisattva borrows people, eighty-one difficulties

In the tower of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, in the Xieyue Sanxing Cave, Master Jiang set up a banquet to entertain Avalokitesvara and the traveler Hui'an.

Guanyin Bodhisattva clasped his hands and said, "Master, why don't you see Brother Bodhi?"

Jiang Yuan was sitting at the front of the table. Upon hearing this, he replied, "My master has been in meditation recently, so he has not come to greet me. I hope the Bodhisattva will not be offended."

The Bodhisattva has a profound wisdom of his own, and he understood it immediately after hearing what was said. He smiled and said, "Master Guangxin has a deep Dharma, so he can handle it on his own."

Jiang Yuan said: "The Bodhisattva here is exhausted from all the travels. Can you go to the East to find someone to obtain the sutra?"

The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "That's right. I have just returned from this place and have found a man who is seeking the scriptures in the East. He is the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi. If you have the good intention to convert to Buddhism and go west to seek the scriptures, I will never make the mistake."

Jiang Yuan said, "It is a great honor for Elder Jin Chan to have regained his dharma. I wonder if Bodhisattva has spoken to Junior Brother Wukong on the way, and if he has subdued a few powerful demons to protect Elder Jin Chan?"

The Bodhisattva said, "There are three people who want to be Jin Chanzi's disciples. The first one is the Great Saint, whose supernatural powers are so great that even a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers cannot defeat him, needless to say. The second one is the former Marshal Tianpeng of the Heavenly Realm, who was demoted for committing a crime and committed evil in Fuling Mountain. Now he is willing to convert to Buddhism, so I will touch his head and give him precepts, and give him the Dharma name 'Zhu Wuneng'. The third one is the former Curtain-Pulling General of the Heavenly Realm, who was demoted to the mortal world for breaking a colored glass cup at a Dharma meeting. The Immortal must know him, and now he has converted to Buddhism, so I will touch his head and give him precepts, and give him the mortal name 'Sha Wujing'. It is these three, and there is also a prince of the Dragon King of the West Sea who will serve as a footman for the pilgrim."

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, "I know both Wukong and Li Xingshi. Wukong has five people in his body who have not yet surrendered, and two gods are coming to disturb him. He has two hearts in one body, which is difficult to deal with. Li Xingshi is difficult to deal with Huang Po. What do you think of Tianpeng and the prince of the Dragon King of the West Sea?"

The Bodhisattva said: "Tian Peng's mortal heart was still there, so the 'wood mother' was causing trouble. The dragon prince is a 'willful horse' with an unstable mind."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Is this in accordance with the destiny of heaven and earth?"

Jin Chanzi responded to the original spirit, Wukong was the monkey in the heart, and he held the golden hoop, which responded to the saying that Jin Gong was the monkey in the heart, Tian Peng responded to the wood mother, Li Xingshi responded to the yellow woman, and the dragon prince responded to the horse in the mind. It is exactly the number of heaven and earth.

The Bodhisattva said, "That's right. The pilgrims are determined to go to Mount Lingshan to obtain the scriptures, and the Dharma protectors are also traveling west along this road to subdue themselves. Therefore, this journey is difficult, the road is long and obstructed, and it is necessary to endure disasters and overcome difficulties before success can be achieved."

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "The Bodhisattva has a compassionate heart."

The Bodhisattva said, "I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. I just hope that the five of us can work together to enter the sacred mountain. This journey is a long 18000 miles."

Jiang Yuan said: "The Bodhisattva is telling me this, is there anything I can help you with?"

The Bodhisattva said: "The five of you will seek the sutra, but there will be disasters that hinder you. You should endure ninety-nine disasters. Only in this way can your quest be complete."

Jiang Yuan said: "This is the number of heaven and earth, eighty-one difficulties, and every difficulty is indispensable. However, heaven and earth will never match the number of difficulties, just like there are often disturbances in the practice of golden elixir, Bodhisattvas must be careful."

The Bodhisattva said, "That is why I came here to ask the True Man to help me solve these eighty-one difficulties."

Jiang Yuan asked, "How can we get there? Do I need to go there myself?"

The Bodhisattva was surprised and asked, "If the real person were to go there in person, how would he survive?"

Jiang Yuan said: "How can I explain this?"

The Bodhisattva said, "I came here to borrow someone."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he understood that the Bodhisattva intended to borrow someone to help him deal with the calamity, so he asked, "Who?"

The Bodhisattva said: "There are three people who borrowed it. One is the Immortal's mount, another is the Immortal's junior fellow disciple, and the third is the Bull King."

Jiang Yuan said, "I can't borrow it. If it was just a deer, it would be fine, but this junior brother and I are from the same sect. The Bull King is my guardian in name, but he is actually practicing with me. How could he do this?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva said: "This is also his practice. Please listen to me in detail."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since the Bodhisattva said so, I will listen carefully to what the Bodhisattva has to say."

The Bodhisattva said: "To make up the number of kalpas is one way of saying it. By using the three, one can also correct his mind. Then we can see how his mind is and how his practice is."

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "I can't make the decision in this case. Let me ask the three of you. If you wish, you should go with the Bodhisattva and make the disaster in the west."

The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "That's right."

Jiang Yuan originally wanted to go there in person, but the Bodhisattva asked the monk Hui'an to go there on his behalf and call the three people over.

Traveler Hui'an took the order and left the tower.

Jiang Yuan thanked the Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva said, "No need to thank me."

The two of them were talking on the rooftop, talking about their experiences in spiritual practice. Not long after, the Bull Demon King, Zhenjian, and the White Deer arrived here.

The traveler Hui An turned around and bowed, saying, "Master, True Man, the three have been brought here."

The Ox King and the other three all bowed.

Jiang Yuan stood up and told him what happened, then asked him if he was willing to go.

The white deer said, "I will go wherever the master tells me to go."

The Bull King said, "Since you want to embarrass that monkey, sir, I will go and take a look."

Zhen Jian said: "I haven't left the house for a long time. This is where Junior Brother Wukong is practicing, so I should go there."

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he knew that all three of them were willing to go, so he agreed.

The Bodhisattva was delighted and said, "Since this is the case, we should go on the road to the west and make good arrangements. We must have a plan to block the road before we can create disasters."

Jiang Yuan said, "I will go with the Bodhisattva. Please wait for a while. I will say goodbye to my master."

The Bodhisattva clasped his hands and said, "It should be so."

Jiang Yuan said no more and asked Zhenjian to entertain the Bodhisattva on his behalf. He then got up and went to the quiet room behind the Yaotai.

After a while, the immortal walked to the quiet room, but saw that the door was half open and half closed. The ancestor must have known that he was coming, so he entered the room.

The real person bowed and said, "Master."

The master said, "What the boy has said is true. I already know everything about the deer and the bull king. From now on, you will be the master of the cave. You don't need to discuss these matters with me. Just make the decision yourself."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, no matter how old I am, I am still your child, and the etiquette cannot be abolished."

The master smiled and said, "As you wish, boy. Since you have agreed, take Zhenjian, Lu'er and Niuwang with you. This will be of some benefit to your cultivation."

Jiang Yuan bowed deeply and left the quiet room.

……

Jiang Yuan returned to the tower again, and left the cave with the Bodhisattva and others, heading west. They rode on the clouds, not very fast, and after more than half a month, they arrived at a forest. The forest was not far from the Liusha River. After crossing the Liusha River, they had to pass this place before heading west.

Everyone looked at the forest and saw that it was beautiful. There were green locust trees, spotted bamboos, green pines, and everything else. They also saw white plums, red peaches, and green willows. The bright spring scenery was everywhere. On the way to the west, this forest was a good place to go.

Guanyin Bodhisattva held down the auspicious cloud, pointed to the forest, and said, "This forest is a good place, Immortal. I intend to place your mount, the white deer, here."

Jiang Yuan looked down from the clouds and asked, "Why let this deer block the way? The deer has some skills, but how can it defeat Wukong? If they fight, it will die within ten rounds."

Hearing this, the white deer trembled with fear and said in panic, "I would never dare to fight against the Great Sage."

As the saying goes, 'a man's name resembles the shadow of a tree'. The Monkey King rebelled against Heaven time and again, stealing the peaches from the heaven, stealing the imperial wine, stealing the golden elixir, and falsely passing on the emperor's edict. A hundred thousand heavenly soldiers were powerless to do anything to him, and he caused the Heavenly Palace to close its doors. The thirty-seven divine powers fought in front of the Ming Palace, but were unable to capture them. All these deeds made him famous in the three realms, and he was a well-known evil demon.

Compared with this, the name of the Immortal is not as fierce, so he is known for his enlightenment, Bodhi robe, and undefeated Dharma. The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "You can rest assured. You can learn a lot from the Immortal. You will get a lot of good things and be familiar with the Dharma. I will not let you fight against the Great Sage, but let you live in this forest as a Taoist priest, and debate with passers-by. If someone cannot win the debate, you cannot let him go. Only those who can win the debate can pass through this forest."

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, "Wukong, Li Xingshi, and Tianpeng are definitely not good at debate. Does the Bodhisattva want to see the Buddha's heart of Elder Jinchan?"

The Bodhisattva said, "That's exactly what I meant. If your heart is not hard, the journey to the west will be difficult. Behind this forest, there is another difficulty to test your heart. I am ready."

Jiang Yuan said, "In that case, Lu'er, you stay here, in this forest. If Elder Jinchan comes, you can argue with him. He won't win, so don't let him go."

The white deer transformed into an old Taoist priest and said, "Master, the Great Sage's stick is neither high nor low. If he does not argue with me and hits me with the stick, how can I defend myself?"

Jiang Yuan handed the whisk in his hand to Bai Lu and said, "This treasure is for you to protect yourself. If that monkey makes trouble, just tell him my name and he will not dare to hurt you."

Bai Lu took the whisk and said with a smile, "I will definitely follow the master's instructions and will not make any mistakes."

Jiang Yuan said: "Then you go."

The white deer received the order, took the whisk and pressed down the cloud, entered the forest, bowed three times to the cloud where Jiang Yuan and the Bodhisattva were, and then found a good place to stay.

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he looked at the Bodhisattva and asked, "Bodhisattva, where should this cow and my fellow apprentice go?"

The Bodhisattva said, "Master, please follow me."

Say it.

The Bodhisattva went forward on a auspicious cloud.

Jiang Yuan and his group followed on clouds.

Not long after, the Bodhisattva stopped the cloud, pointed to a mountain in the distance, and said, "Truthless man, look, that is Fuling Mountain. The reincarnation of Tianpeng is in the mountain. Would you like to meet him?"

Jiang Yuan looked around for a while, then shook his head and said, "I don't have any friendship with Marshal Tianpeng anymore, so there's no need for us to meet."

The Bodhisattva said, "Since this is the case, there is no need to climb the mountain. You can ask the Immortal Junior Brother to build a temple not far from this mountain. If the pilgrim comes, please pass on one or two Buddhist scriptures to him and help him. If he is willing to listen, then it's fine. If not, then forget it."

Zhenjian stepped forward and bowed, saying, "As you command."

Say it.

I really saw him descending from the clouds and entering a path outside Fuling Mountain.

Jiang Yuan said: "If this is the case, seeing this place is not a difficulty, but a test of one's heart."

The Bodhisattva said, "It is just a test of your heart."

The Bull King came from the cloud and asked, "Master, Bodhisattva, the Deer and Zhenjian are gone, where should I go?"

The Bodhisattva replied, "I heard that the Bull King lives in Mount Cuiyun and has a wife who is a Rakshasa woman. Is that true?"

The Bull King said, "That's right, that's right! I have another son, whose nickname is Red Boy and whose real name is Bull Holy Infant. We are a family of three."

The Bodhisattva asked, "Is there a Flame Mountain not far from the Cuiyun Mountain?"

The Bull King said, "I have heard that the distance between our Cuiyun Mountain and Huoyan Mountain is more than 1,400 miles, which is not close. The mountain wife has a banana leaf fan in her hand. One fan extinguishes the fire, two fans create wind, and three fans bring rain. People from the Huoyan Mountain area often come here to offer sacrifices to the mountain wife and ask her to bring down rain. Strangely enough, this Huoyan Mountain was formed by falling fire from the sky. There was no such mountain a few years ago."

The Bodhisattva said, "This mountain was built by the great sage."

The Bull King was surprised and said, "Why does the Bodhisattva say that? Why did that monkey bear a grudge against me, the Bull King, and set fire to my house?"

The Bodhisattva smiled and said, "No, no! This fire was caused by the Great Sage being burned by Laojun's Eight Trigrams Furnace in the past. When he opened the furnace, he kicked it over, and bricks and fire flew out of the furnace and fell on this mountain, thus forming the Flaming Mountain. This is the Great Sage's fate, and he must do it himself to put out the fire on this mountain. Therefore, the Ox King can go home. When the Great Sage comes to invite you that day, you can challenge him once or twice, which will be considered a calamity."

The Bull King said, "If that's the case, can't I return to the mountains every day?"

The Bodhisattva said: "If there is nothing else, you can return to the mountain. I think it will take years to get the scriptures back."

The Bull King was delighted and said, "This is very good."

Jiang Yuan said: "If this is the case, these three people have been decided."

The Bodhisattva clasped his hands together and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Immortal."

Jiang Yuan responded with a salute, "How dare you say 'trouble'? If there is nothing else, I will return to the mountain. Where should the Bodhisattva go? Can you return to Lingshan?"

The Bodhisattva said: "We still need to go to Tushita Palace once."

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, "Why does the Bodhisattva want to see Laojun?"

The Bodhisattva said, "I will borrow one or two people from Laojun to go down to the human world to fulfill the calamity."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Bodhisattva, let's gather the calamities to prepare for the worst. If we are not here, there will be hundreds of spirits to stop us. We can borrow one or two from here and one or two from there. If the hundreds of spirits don't show up, the calamities will be filled."

The Bodhisattva said, "I am afraid something might happen."

Jiang Yuan said: "If you need any help, Bodhisattva can come find me again."

The Bodhisattva said, "Of course."

The two talked for a long time in the clouds. Jiang Yuan said goodbye to the Bodhisattva and rode the cloud back to the mountains with Niu Wang. It would take some time for the pilgrim to reach Cuiyun Mountain, so there was no need to stay in Cuiyun Mountain. He could just wait until the pilgrim arrived and then go to Cuiyun Mountain.

……

A cloud of auspiciousness covered an area of ​​240,000 miles, and in an instant Jiang Yuan and the Ox King returned to the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and the Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

Returning to the cave, the Bull King was delighted.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan called the Bull King to a stop and asked, "What brings you so much joy, Bull?"

The Bull King said, "My Lord, I am just laughing at the misfortune that the monkey has suffered."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Why are you laughing at him?"

The Bull King said, "You laugh at him for not knowing the true numbers. When he became my disciple in the past, he never practiced and only gained a few skills. He boasted that he was invincible in the three realms. Now he has been subdued for five or six hundred years and still needs to go through ninety-nine calamities. How difficult it is."

Jiang Yuan said: "What's so funny about this?"

The Bull King said, "Just like a person, if he does not work hard when he is young, he will only regret it in his old age. If that monkey had devoted himself to cultivation and made corrections at that time, how could he have suffered such a disaster now? If that monkey had devoted himself to cultivation for such a long time, I wonder how great his abilities would have been."

Jiang Yuan said: "When one is young, one's ambition is higher than the sky. Without knowing the world, how can one know how vast it is? In old age, one's fate has passed, and one regrets that one did not concentrate in the past."

The Bull King said, "It's too late for that monkey to regret now."

Jiang Yuan said: "Don't say that. Your ability is not as good as that monkey. So, I will lend you a treasure. You can use it and take it away."

The Bull King asked, "What treasure is it?"

Jiang Yuan said: "It is Yu Ding."

The Bull King was overjoyed when he heard this, thinking that with Yu Ding's help, no matter how powerful the monkey was, he would not be able to defeat him...

(End of this chapter)