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

Chapter 17: The Monkey Heart Settles, Jiang Yuan Enters Taoism
Jiang Yuan sat in a quiet room, cross-legged on a cushion. He peered into his heart palace and saw two black and white fish forming a pond in it. The water in the pond was clear, and the black and white fish were swimming in it, looking free and happy.

He could still sense that his mind was just one step away from returning to its original position.

The monkey heart will eventually settle!
Jiang Yuan was happy in his heart and calm on the outside, but he knew that this was an important moment and he must not be careless and let the two spirits penetrate his acupoints and disrupt his meditation.

He jumped up from the cushion with great swiftness. Two black and white fish appeared under his feet and lifted him up into the air. He leaped a hundred meters in one leap. With a light body, he jumped over the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave and went to a higher place.

Not long after.

Jiang Tong'er jumped to the top of a mountain, opened his mouth, and a gust of wind blew past, three-tenths of which entered his throat. He borrowed the spirit of the wind, and then sat down, letting the spirit enter his mind and complete one or two things.

I thought that the spirit came in through the wind, and in the pond in my heart, the black and white fish seemed to be assisted by God, and a spirit appeared in the dull eyes of the fish.

Jiang Yuan stood up and felt a huge force emerging in his body. He could not control it. He mobilized the power from his heart palace and saw a huge golden light rising up, illuminating the sun and the moon, making the night as bright as day. The black and white fish seemed to have achieved the right result and jumped for joy. They swam to his left and right, forming a Tai Chi.

"Now the monkey in the heart has cultivated a positive result, and the heart palace has settled down. We should protect the original spirit and teach it not to be bullied. When the will horse, the golden man, the wood mother, and the yellow woman return to their positions, the consciousness spirit and the desire spirit will disappear."

Jiang Yuan stretched out his hand from under his sleeve and gently stroked the black and white fish.

The black and white fish rubbed their palms together, as if agreeing with what he said.

Jiang Yuan put the black and white fish into his heart palace. He was able to calm his mind and use the monkey's power.

These two fish, black and white, the black one represents fighting and the white one represents tranquility.

Black Fish taught him to be aggressive and not to be inferior to others.

The white fish taught him that the highest virtue is like water, and that he should cultivate the Way through tranquility.

Jiang Yuan just felt happy. Today he entered the Tao, which was the beginning of immortality. He had already felt the wonder in his body, and there was a subtle transformation. When he thought of this, he straightened his body, clenched his fists, and jumped twenty feet, then pulled his body one foot at a time.

During the meal, the rope was pulled to a height of eighty feet, then to a hundred feet, and then fell to the ground again.

Jiang Yuan finally entered the Tao.

When Jiang Tong'er landed, he wanted to tell the news to the master. As soon as he turned around, he saw the master standing not far away, looking at him with a smile.

Jiang Yuan walked up to him quickly and kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Master, I, your disciple, have entered the Dao!"

The master helped him up and said with joy, "Boy, you are not bad! You have practiced for such a short time and you can enter the Tao! Now that you have entered the Tao, I am also happy to say it. Boy, follow me back to the cave and listen to me and I will tell you in detail."

Jiang Yuan responded "yes" and followed the master to the cave.

The master saw it all and praised him in his heart. The boy's mind had calmed down and he was happier than before. He was also less arrogant and more steady. If he could achieve the golden elixir in the future, he would be able to cultivate great magical powers.

The master pulled Jiang Yuan down the mountain.

……

Not long after.

Return to the Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

The master led Jiang Tong'er to the Yaotai in the cave.

Patriarch Bodhi sat on the altar, and Jiang Yuan was the only one listening to his lecture below the altar.

The master said, "My boy, you should be cautious about being proud and impatient when you enter the Dao. I don't need to tell you. My boy, you should understand that calming the mind is the first step on the path to the golden elixir. I have not heard of the wonders of the longevity path. There are still four people who need to be invited."

Jiang Yuan listened and nodded, saying, "Master, I understand that the four are the will horses, Jin Gong, Mu Mu, and Huang Po, corresponding to the kidneys, lungs, liver, and spleen."

The master said with a smile, "My boy, what you said is right. The Heart Monkey is brave and has the greatest magical power among the five. The Consciousness God and the Desire God are afraid of the Heart Monkey and dare not cause trouble. However, the Heart Monkey likes to be distracted and has the same nature. Therefore, the Heart Monkey cannot suppress the Consciousness God and the Desire God. If the two gods find a good opportunity, they will definitely plot to harm your Primitive Spirit and make your hard work in vain."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he felt a chill down his spine.

He now has some magical power, his mind is in his hands, his spirit is strong, and the situation is very good. He is like a tiger coming down the mountain, unstoppable, and he wants to gather five people to wipe out the two gods. Now that he has heard what the ancestor said, he is on guard and alert to the two gods.

I once heard of a book called "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in a dream. Guan Yu was a powerful figure in China and was unparalleled in his glory. However, when he was at the peak of his glory, he was most likely to be careless and end up dead.

There is a saying that goes 'Pride comes before a fall'.

This one is just like him, it is the beginning of entering the Tao, it is easiest to be careless, so you must be vigilant and steady.

Jiang Yuan said, "Master, I understand. I wonder which one I should invite next."

As the founder said at the beginning, the monkey in the heart is brave and courageous, so the first person he invited was the monkey in the heart.

I’m going to invite the other four people today, but I don’t know who to invite yet.

The master said, "Among the five, the Heart Monkey is the most valiant. The next one should be the Will Horse and the Gold Mile. The Heart Monkey is the will horse. The Heart Monkey can control the will horse and act as a bridle for the will horse. If the Primordial Spirit has the will horse, it will travel a thousand miles a day! The Heart Monkey is the Gold Lord. The Gold Lord is the sword. If the Heart Monkey can obtain the sword, its power will increase greatly."

The ancestor explained the uses of the two men. The will horse is used by the primordial spirit, and can help the primordial spirit to make rapid progress. The gold man is used by the mind monkey, and is the weapon of the mind monkey, which can help the mind monkey to be more powerful.

The uses of both of them are completely different from that of the monkey mind.

These five people really each have their own merits.

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time, but could not find the answer, so he asked the master, "Master, I don't know how to choose."

The master lowered his brows and looked at the boy. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Tong'er, please invite Mr. Jin."

Jiang Yuan said: "Yes!"

Jin Gong is used by the Monkey King. It is the Monkey King’s weapon and can increase the Monkey King’s power.

Just like the weapon used by Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, the "Ruyi Jingu Bang", Sun Wukong's power increased greatly after he got the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

His inner monkey is a black and white fish, and he doesn't know what the golden man is. But if he can get the help of the golden man, his inner monkey will be even more powerful.

Jiang Yuan originally wanted to ask the master to teach him some more principles.

The master suddenly felt something was wrong, looked out of the cave, and said, "Boy, if there is someone who has come down from the mountain to settle down, you can go and receive him. If he wants, he can settle down in the mountains and teach the tigers, leopards, snakes and insects in the mountains not to disturb the peace and not to harm his life."

Jiang Yuan stood up and saluted, saying, "Yes!"

After he said that, he walked out of the cave. He didn't know who the master was talking about, but based on the master's words, since he said so, there must be someone at the foot of the mountain.

……

Jiang Yuan walked out of the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave, his body light and lithe, and he jumped a few feet and went down the mountain.

There was no road on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. To go down the mountain, one had to pass through grass, bamboo forests, and pass a mountain spring. After he had walked about thirty or four feet, he saw a white deer coming from afar. The deer leaped in front of him, knelt down, and sincerely invited him to come up.

Jiang Yuan smiled without saying a word, gently stroked the white deer, and jumped onto its back. Now that he had entered the Tao, he had spiritual energy in his body. If there were any spiritual beings in the mountains, they should approach him.

"Go down the mountain."

Jiang Yuan patted the white deer.

The white deer cried, moved its body, and went down the mountain as fast as a rabbit.

When Jiang Tong'er went down the mountain, there were fairy cranes coiled above him, black monkeys roaming in the woods, and a golden lion hidden in the grass, as if to protect him.

It didn't take long before Jiang Yuan, surrounded by the mountain spirit beasts, came down from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

He rode on a white deer, looked around, and saw nothing unusual at the foot of the mountain. His heart was as calm as water, and he did not move. He sat on the back of the deer, quietly waiting...

(End of this chapter)