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

Chapter 12 The Tao is Always There

The master and his disciple went towards Luoyi.

Half a month has passed.

Jiang Yuan looked into the distance and saw the outline of a city emerging in the distance. Purple air was swaying above the city, and it looked indescribably precious.

This should be called Luoyi.

Jiang Yuan said to the master in front of him, "Master, we are here."

The master stopped, looked back and asked with a smile: "My boy, you have been on this journey for a long time. Are you feeling tired, exhausted, hungry or hungry?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "Disciple is not tired, not exhausted, not hungry, not hungry."

Time is like floating clouds, and the year ends without knowing it. This is the norm, so how could it be any different now?

The master nodded in appreciation and said, "Very good, boy, keep trying."

After saying this, the master walked forward.

Jiang Yuan followed closely behind, looking at the purple air of Luoyi from time to time.

As you approach Luoyi, you can see peddlers and peddlers everywhere, and the city is thriving.

Jiang Yuan ignored everything and just walked inside with the master.

When he arrived at the front of Luoyi City, he saw an old man standing at the gate waiting for him. It was Laozi.

The purple air was spreading out from behind Laozi. Ordinary people stepped into the purple air without feeling anything strange and passed through it freely.

The wonder of Tao is before our eyes, yet it cannot be heard. How sad!

Jiang Yuan saw the mortals walking away in silence, and he thought that his Mud Palace had a spiritual inspiration and felt the purple air, so he was about to go out and hear the truth, but he was blinded by the spirit of consciousness and the spirit of desire, so he missed the opportunity.

If it is just as the ancestors said, the people born in Jambudvīpa have conscious spirits and desire spirits that are greedy for power and do not cultivate their primordial spirits.

The master saw this and asked, "Tong'er, what do you think?"

Jiang Yuan replied: "The Tao is always there."

The Tao is beside us, the Tao is always there. Those who hear the Tao are happy, yet not one in a hundred actually hears it.

The master laughed loudly, feeling very happy that Jiang Yuan understood it so quickly.

"You two, master and disciple, how can you say that? I'm waiting here. If you don't come, I'll leave."

Laozi's voice came from far away.

The master said, "Go, go, go! Don't let the host dislike you."

He walked towards Luoyi with a smile.

Jiang Yuan quickly followed.

Laozi picked up the master and his disciple and walked towards Luoyi.

Not only did they walk through the streets and alleys, they came to a small house and I welcomed the master and his disciple into the house.

A young man came out and said, "Master."

Laozi nodded and said, "You two are honored guests, so you should be treated with courtesy. You go now. If there is anything important, I will call you."

The young man retreated upon hearing this.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the young man and thought there was something mysterious. If he was not mistaken, there was a talisman in the young man's body. The talisman was exactly the same as the Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman on his waist, so he had a certain sense of it.

The master joked, "Why is Boyang still hiring people?"

Laozi took out three cushions and let him sit, saying, "I am a low-ranking official, a 'treasury official'. My house is poor and I have to hire someone to do odd jobs. Don't accuse me of cheating. I will give him a hundred dollars a day. If he is in danger, I will give him a Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman, which is not unfair."

Jiang Yuan waited quietly for the master to take his seat, not daring to overstep his authority. He waited for the master to take his seat before he moved the cushion to the position behind him and sat down.

The master said: "If you, Boyang, show your hand, you will definitely be promoted to a high position. How can you talk about the history of the treasury?"

When Laozi heard this, he stuck out his tongue, and was surprised by the words of the ancestor. He said, "I am not an official, so why do I want to be a high official?"

The master said, "Boyang, what are you doing with the purple air? The boy and I were originally heading for Lingtai Fangcun Mountain in Xiniu Hezhou. After walking for seven or eight days, we saw the purple air coming from Luoyi. We knew it was you, so we came to see you."

Laozi stroked his beard and said, "Go see the Zhou royal family and see if there is anyone who has heard of the Dao. You, a boy, have entered the Dao, so why are you so anxious to go to the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain in Xiniu Hezhou?"

After saying that, he looked at Jiang Yuan and saw that Nigong was full of spirit, calm and full of energy, not like a person in the mortal world. His movements were light and graceful. He was indeed a wonderful person who was about to enter the Tao. Laozi was surprised and said, "You, boy, are really wonderful. You are close to entering the Tao, but you are just a little short of the right time. Bodhi, you are seeing the chaos in the southern continent, so you just take the boy away and do some water grinding on the way."

The master nodded with a smile, and he was also satisfied with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan stood up and bowed deeply to Laozi.

Laozi asked: "Guangxin, why do you perform this ceremony for me?"

Jiang Yuan said gratefully: "Mr. Boyang gave me the Yu Ding in the past, which helped me achieve great success. I should thank you."

Laozi shook his head and said, "People who are good at business will pretend to be poor even if they are rich. A wise gentleman is full of virtue, but he will act like a fool, with great virtue but foolishness. If you got the Yu Ding and were arrogant, and made the two gods drill, you should thank me. Now that you are not arrogant, the two gods have no holes to drill, you should not thank me."

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan felt that Laozi was a god again. He wanted to worship him again but it was unreasonable, so he had to give up.

The master smiled and said, "Boyang, if you don't thank the boy, it will be difficult for the boy to understand his thoughts."

Laozi thought for a moment, and looked at the chessboards on the table not far away. He clasped his hands and said, "How about this? Bodhi often said that Guangxin is a great chess player. This chess and go were created by Guangxin. How about this, Guangxin and I play a game?"

Jiang Yuan didn't dare to answer and looked towards the master.

After the master nodded in agreement.

Jiang Yuan just agreed.

Laozi immediately welcomed the master and his disciple to the side of the table.

Jiang Yuan sat down at the desk and saw a chess piece on it. He stretched out his hands and opened it.

If it is a game of Go, he has to be careful and hold out for more rounds. If it is a game of chess, the offensive and defensive situations are different.

Lao Tzu said: "This is not the whole picture, but the endgame."

As he finished speaking, a golden light flashed, and most of the chess pieces on the table disappeared.

Jiang Yuan stared. He was sitting on the brown side, with only a few pieces, looking shabby and shabby. On the other hand, the white side of Laozi was intact, with not a single piece moved.

What's the endgame like? He is the only one left but the enemy is not?

This was the first time he had seen this endgame.

Jiang Yuan was dumbfounded and said, "Mr. Boyang, why do you have so many chess pieces?"

Laozi smiled and said, "When playing chess, no matter whether you win or lose, you don't need to worry about it."

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to agree. He looked down and saw that he still had two soldiers, a chariot, a cannon, a horse, and an elephant beside him.

There are also ways to play endgames.

Laozi said, "Tong'er, how about I take the first move?"

Jiang Yuan nodded: "Mr. Boyang, please!"

I hold a cannon with two points and five arms, and use it as a 'front cannon'.

Jiang Yuan was not afraid and raised his elephant to block.

The two sides fought in the chess game.

Jiang Yuan is close to enlightenment, his mind is clever and his chess skills are three points better.

If he had few chess pieces, he would pull them together, using the enemy's chess pieces to block the enemy's road, using the enemy's soldiers to block the enemy's chariots, and using the enemy's horses to block the enemy's artillery.

After trying various moves, Jiang Yuan really made the chess game come alive. He also felt that Lao Tzu did not seem to be playing chess seriously, and his moves were generally loose.

Finally, Yu Jiangyuan saw the good opportunity and ended the game with a surprising move of "afterthought".

When the chess game was over, Laozi was neither angry nor annoyed, but asked with a smile: "Guangxin, how was this game?"

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "A chess game starts with a correct combination and ends with a surprising victory."

Lao Tzu raised his palm and said something wonderful. He waved his sleeves lightly, and the scene on the chessboard changed again. The white piece became a "Hou" and the brown piece became a "Wang".

Jiang Yuan was shocked when he saw this. He asked what endgame it was. It turned out to be a chess game between the Zhou Dynasty and the vassal states.

Today is the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty still has a third of its foundation, with only a few pieces left. The vassal states are becoming increasingly powerful, just like the white pieces in a chess game, in full bloom...

(End of this chapter)