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

Chapter 173: One thought brings forth hundreds of demons, and cultivation is the most painful. What can he do?
In the Lion Cave, after the Green Lion explained again and again, Dapeng finally believed what he said.

Dapeng said: "If my three brothers leave, the demons in the Lion City will probably suffer disaster."

The blue lion said, "Don't worry, my dear brother. The demons in the Lion Camel City are not here. You still have this place. All the demons, big and small, in my Lion Camel Cave can serve you."

Dapeng pondered for a long time and said, "There are tens of thousands of demons in my city. The Bull Demon King can't kill them all."

The green lion said, "Don't worry about those little demons. If they can survive, wait until Tang Monk leaves, and then go and gather them all. There is no shortage of these little demons in Lion Camel Mountain."

Dapeng was furious when he heard this and asked, "Brother, are you going to let Tang Monk go?"

The blue lion said, "What if we don't let them go now? We were defeated in the Lion Country, and they have already left. Besides, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven has great magical powers, and he has brothers and nephews. We are no match for him."

Dapeng said angrily, "How can we bear such humiliation? After Tang Sanzang passes Lion Camel Mountain, there will be many obstacles ahead. We just need to find a place, wait for Tang Sanzang, and catch him again. When we catch Tang Sanzang again, we will eat him alive, and then we will have our revenge. The Bull Demon King Niu Shengying is not Tang Sanzang's disciple, so why would he follow Tang Sanzang? The Great Sage Equaling Heaven is definitely not a match for the three of us brothers."

Upon hearing this, the Green Lion was startled and said tremblingly, "My dear brother, the road ahead is close to the Holy Mountain, and it is definitely not easy to walk on. If we get close to the Holy Mountain and do evil again, then the Great Sage Equal to Heaven only needs to go to the Holy Mountain, and won't we be in trouble?"

Dapeng shouted, "Why should we be afraid of him? As long as we all move forward together, what will happen if the Tathagata of Lingshan comes? We may be able to stab the Tathagata with our spears and swords, seize his Thunder Sound Temple, and even become a Buddha. I am determined to eat this Tang Monk's flesh."

After hearing what Qingshi had taught him, he became timid and dared not fight again.

Dapeng saw this and said, "I must capture Tang Monk. If you two brothers are unwilling, you can hand over the soldiers of Lion Camel Mountain to me. After I capture Tang Monk, I will come back to share with you the taste of the flesh of this good man who has lived ten lifetimes."

The Green Lion was about to say something else, trying to persuade the Great Peng not to start a war again.

Suddenly, a little demon came to report in a panic: "My king, my king! It's bad! The monk with the hairy face and thunder mouth and the Bull Demon King are coming back with their troops."

The blue lion was surprised and asked, "What did you say? The Monkey King has fought back?"

The little demon panicked and said, "My lord, that's right. The Bull Demon King is leading his troops to search the mountain. If he finds my brothers, he will kill them. He is heading towards the Lion Cave."

The Green Lion cursed, "Why didn't Bi Ma Wen let us go? He and his disciples had already crossed Lion Camel Mountain, why did he turn back? Why does he have such a grudge against us?"

Dapeng said, "My two brothers, now it is not a question of whether we should let him go or not, but he is unwilling to let us go. We should gather all the troops in the mansion and fight them to the death. With the troops in our mansion, we will surely win."

The white elephant hesitated and looked at the blue lion, waiting for him to explain the trick.

Just as Qingshi said earlier, Qingshi and Baixiang were the original owners of the mansion, and Dapeng was the one who later became sworn brothers with them and entered the Lion Cave. If we talk about the closeness, there is a difference.

The Green Lion groaned for a long time, then said, "Forget it, forget it, forget it! Since you don't want to let us go, gather your troops and kill the Bull Demon King and his men."

Dapeng said happily: "Brother, you should have done this a long time ago. If the three of us brothers can work together, why should we be afraid of the Bull Demon King and his two companions?"

The old demon Qingshi said, "My dear brother, you have always had a plan. Now that the Monkey King and the Bull Demon King are leading their troops to attack us, what should we do?"

Dapeng said: "Brother, how can you talk about strategy now? Since they have gathered troops to fight, search the mountain and subdue the demons, they want to flatten the Lion Camel Mountain. All we have to do is to gather our troops and fight him. How can we be weaker than them?"

The blue lion gnashed its steel teeth and said, "Since that's the case, go and gather the troops, go out of the palace and form a battle line. When he comes, we will fight him."

Dapeng was overjoyed and ordered all the monsters in the palace, big and small, to gather their troops and prepare to fight the Bull Demon King.

The Bull Demon King and the Great Sage also led their troops to the Lion Cave, but we will not mention them for now.

……

Talk about the Huaihe River.

Jiang Yuan came back here from Wudang Mountain. He was waiting in the water palace for the return of Bull Demon King.

He waited in the water palace for a long time, and in his spare time he would discuss some matters of cultivation with the Water Ape Great Sage, but he mostly spent time in meditation and self-cultivation.

In the Water Palace, Zuo Liang and the Water Ape Great Sage were talking in the palace.

The Water Ape Great Sage stayed with Zuo Liang for a long time and looked up to him. He did not regard him as an ordinary mortal. He had never seen an ordinary person who could walk calmly and freely with blisters all over his feet.

The Great Ape Sage asked, "How many years do you have left, old man?"

Zuo Liang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am sixty-three years old this year."

The Water Ape Great Sage laughed and said, "As for your life span, I think you are too young to be my great-grandson."

Zuo Liang asked, "Then, my king, how many years do you have this year?"

The Great Ape Sage counted on his fingers. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "It is too long to count. When Dayu was controlling the floods in the past, I opposed him. Who was above Dayu? I don't remember. My life span is too long to count."

Zuo Liang was filled with admiration and bowed to the Water Ape Great Sage again.

The Great Water Ape Sage was somewhat arrogant. Compared to ordinary people, he lived a very long life. In Jambudvīpa, it was considered a great achievement if people lived to be fifty. However, for him, living fifty years was very short and passed in a flash.

"One thought can give rise to a hundred demons. Cultivation is the most painful. What can we do about it? You, don't talk too much. When I taught you cultivation, I told you to talk less and calm your mind."

But the immortal was seen walking in from outside, going to the central hall of the water palace and sitting down.

The Water Ape Great Sage and Zuo Liang stepped forward to pay their respects.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "No need to be so polite. Great Sage Ape, I told you long ago that cultivating your mind is the right path. Why are you so arrogant?"

The Great Ape Sage shouted, "Master, please don't speak. This is so difficult."

Jiang Yuan said: "There is a saying in spiritual practice: 'When the mouth is open, the spirit is scattered; when the tongue is moved, trouble arises.' It does not mean that you cannot open your mouth, but you should be careful with what you say and do."

The Great Water Ape Sage said, "Master, what do you mean by being cautious in what you say and do? Although you have taught me how to practice, I still don't quite understand it."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "If you could understand, you wouldn't be like this."

The Great Water Ape Sage said, "Master, I have recently listened to you talk about cultivation, and it is not without gain."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Now that you have gained something, please tell me about it."

The Ape Sage replied, "The Immortal often tells me to practice meditation. I have also tried to meditate as the Immortal taught me, but I don't know why I always have thoughts when I meditate."

Jiang Yuan asked, "What are you thinking about?"

The Aquatic Monkey Great Sage replied: "A true man always has thoughts. If he can really calm his mind, he can be like a stone, letting all thoughts pass by without moving, without speaking, without feeling happy or sad. Isn't that a stone?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Thinking without moving is an evil thought, not the true self. Not happy or sad is not happy or sad for the two gods, Wood Mother. Great Sage Water Ape, if you talk too much, you will definitely be in trouble."

The Immortal was about to say something, but suddenly he felt something in his heart and went out of the water palace. Seeing this, the Water Ape Great Sage did not dare to ask any more questions and went out of the water palace with the Immortal. When they reached the water palace,

Jiang Yuan saw a cloud of auspiciousness coming from afar, and he said, "Junior brother."

Upon hearing the sound, the auspicious cloud fell directly in front of the immortal. After the clouds and mist dissipated, the immortal's figure appeared.

Zhen Jian bowed and said, "Big Brother, how are you these days?"

Jiang Yuan responded, "I'm fine. Why did you go out, Junior Brother? Are you here to look for me?"

Zhen Jian nodded and smiled, "I am here to look for my elder brother. I am here on the orders of my master. My elder brother, I am confused as to why my master told me to go east to find my elder brother. I went east without knowing where to go. When I reached the Huai River, I heard my elder brother's words and stopped."

Jiang Yuan said, "I was originally in the residence of the Great Water Ape Sage. I felt something in my heart and knew it was you, so I left the residence to see you."

Zhen Jian said: "Master knows that my eldest brother has deep magical powers. As long as I go east, my eldest brother will definitely feel it, so he told me this just now."

Jiang Yuan said: "I still don't know what you mean by coming here at the order of Master."

Zhenjian said, "Big Brother, Master has told me that I need you to go back to the mansion."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan did not ask any further questions. He explained the situation to the Water Ape Sage and asked him to look after Zuo Liang and the White Deer for him. Then he and Zhen Jian returned to the Sanxing Immortal Cave.

The two of them rode the clouds back to the Sanxing Immortal Cave. Zhenren deliberately slowed down his cloud journey and drove side by side with Zhenjian. In less than two or three hours, the two of them returned to the Sanxing Immortal Cave.

Walk into the Sanxing Immortal Cave.

Zhenjian went to the quiet room, while Jiang Yuan went to pay homage to the master.

When he entered the master's quiet room, he saw the door was wide open. Jiang Yuan walked in, bowed deeply, and said, "Master, I am going home."

The master looked him up and down and said with a smile, "My boy has made great progress in his practice recently."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "It's nothing. I don't know what Master needs me to do, but please tell me what you want me to do, and I will do my best."

The master said, "My boy, I called you back this time because of the matter at Lion Camel Mountain. Do you know what Lion Camel Mountain is like?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Of course I know, Master. I was in the Huai River area of ​​Southern Continent and felt something in my heart. I knew that Junior Brother Wukong was in trouble. The Bull King once said that Junior Brother Wukong was hard to find in Lion Camel Mountain. It happened that the Bull King and Junior Brother Wukong became sworn brothers, so I sent the Bull King to help. This time, the Bull King has not returned, so the mission was not accomplished."

The master smiled and said, "There is a Yu Ding in the body of the Bull King, so I know it was you who instructed him to go there. There is a demon in the Lion Camel Mountain, and he has some close relationship with the Buddha. Now the monkey and the Bull King want to fight and kill, you should go to Lingshan and talk to the Buddha in person."

Jiang Yuan heard this and said, "Isn't it that Dapeng and Buddha are related to Lion Camel Mountain?"

The ancestor said, "That's right. The Dapeng has a history. It was during the time of the division of chaos that the sky opened in Zi, the earth was created in Chou, and human beings were born in Yin. The sky and the earth intertwined again, and from then on, all things came into being. The phoenix was born from then on, and was called the leader of flying birds. The phoenix also got the energy of intercourse and gave birth to two spirits, one was the peacock, and the other was the Dapeng. The peacock once swallowed up the Buddha, and it was the Buddha who cut open the peacock's spine before he got out. Later, he named the peacock the Great Peacock King Bodhisattva. The Dapeng and the peacock are brothers, so he has some kinship with the Buddha."

Jiang Yuan said, "Master, if that's the case, I will go to Lingshan. But Master's Peacock King, can he swallow the Buddha?"

The ancestor said: "There are many relic species in the world of Jambu. Those relic species have their own abilities, so it is difficult to subdue them. Most of them still exist in Beijuluzhou. The Peacock King is not a relic species, but he has some similarities and has his own magical powers."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, I have heard that Emperor Xuan is stationed in the north, and I am afraid that there are still so many descendants in Luzhou."

The master smiled and said, "If you are willing, why don't you go to Beijuluzhou someday and you will understand? Don't ask too much. Just go to Lingshan. When you succeed, you don't need to tell me. Just go to the world of Yamafu and do what you should do."

Jiang Yuan responded, bowed three times to the master, then left the cave and went out.

Jiang Yuan left the cave and used the Qingyun spell to go to Lingshan. In a moment, he was riding on the auspicious cloud until he reached the foot of Jiufeng Peak. When he pressed down the cloud, the Four Vajra came to stop him.

The four great Vajra glared angrily and shouted, "Who is coming?"

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and said, "Xiniu Hezhou Lingtai Fangcun Mountain Xieyue Sanxing Cave Guangxin, I have something to ask to see the Tathagata."

When the four great Vajra saw that it was Jiang Yuan, they stopped their anger and bowed, saying, "I never thought it was Master Guangxin. I am sorry. But Master, please wait a moment. We will go inside and report to the Buddha."

Jiang Yuan said: "Please report to Tathagata. I will wait here."

The four Vajras rushed inside to report.

At this time, the Buddha was in the palace, sitting on a lotus platform, preaching to the Arhats. He heard that the four great Vajras had come to report that True Man Guangxin was coming to visit him.

The Tathagata said, "Ask Kasyapa and Venerable Ananda to lead the True Man into the Palace."

As soon as the golden decree was given, two venerable ones came out, leading the Arhats and two groups of banners, canopies and precious flags to lead the way. The True Man did not dare to accept the banners, canopies and precious flags, and went straight to the Main Hall.

Jiang Yuan entered the main hall, praised the Tathagata, and paid homage to him.

Tathagata invited the Immortal to sit on the cushion and said, "Is there anything you can do for me? The bet between you and me has not yet come to a conclusion, and the group of people seeking scriptures have not yet arrived."

Jiang Yuan said: "Venerable, I am not here for gambling, but for Lion Camel Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Tathagata immediately focused his mind on the three realms and soon understood what had happened. He said, "I have already understood what happened at Lion Camel Mountain. The real person came here because of the matter of Dapeng."

Jiang Yuan said: "The Venerable really has magical powers."

The Tathagata said, "Truthless, you can rest assured. Dapeng and I are somewhat close, but he has committed many sins. If I hurt him, I cannot bear it. If I do not hurt him, he will create many sins. If you can teach me to subdue him, then it is fine."

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Please be merciful, sir."

Tathagata shook his head and said, "True Man, since you have come for this matter, why not wait a little longer? I will ask the two venerables to bring Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas with you. This matter is also related to the two Bodhisattvas."

Jiang Yuan readily agreed.

The Tathagata sent the two venerables, Kasyapa and Ananda, to look for the two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Samantabhadra.

Jiang Yuan was waiting for Tathagata in the hall.

Tathagata looked at Jiang Yuan and said with a smile: "Master, I haven't seen you for a while. Your magical powers will become stronger and your magic power will become deeper."

Jiang Yuan said: "I don't deserve your words, Your Excellency. My magical power is shallow and I am nothing compared to yours."

Tathagata said: "You only need to cultivate for another one or two kalpas to catch up with me. Brother Bodhi has indeed accepted a good disciple."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing. He then talked about Buddhism with Tathagata and waited for the two Bodhisattvas to arrive.

(End of this chapter)