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

Chapter 18 Where is Jin Gong?
But Jiang Tong'er was riding a white deer, waiting at the foot of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain for the "settled home" that the ancestor had mentioned. He looked left and right, and finally saw a figure.

Jiang Yuan looked into the distance and saw a family of three running hurriedly at the end of the road, as if they were fleeing a disaster. Their bodies were full of holes and they were covered in dust and dirt, and it was unclear where they came from.

Among these three people, there is one old one and two young ones.

The old man is in his fifties, and the two young ones, a boy and a girl, become husband and wife.

When the three men approached, they saw Jiang Yuan riding a deer. They felt as if they were a god, so they hurried over to pay their respects.

The man came over, knelt in front of him and said, "Master! The three of us from the Zuo family have fled here and are here to see you! Master, please show us the way so that we can survive."

The old woman and the woman at the back also knelt down.

Jiang Yuan, who was riding the deer, was surprised and puzzled. He got off the deer and said, "Brother, what are you doing?"

The man said, "Master, listen to me. My family is in the west of Jambu Continent. Originally, there were five people living in my family. We chopped firewood every day and asked the head of the family to carry it to the market. We bought a few coins for the goods and bought a few liters of rice. We cooked and made our own food. We were quite comfortable. Later, the princes caused chaos in the country. There was chaos and war. There was no peace. The head of the family took the five people to flee the disaster. My father and brother died on the way. I was left with three people. I came here in a daze. I saw the sun and moon shining here, and the master was riding a white deer. So I asked the master to show me a way to survive so that my mother and wife would be safe."

The man bowed again, performed a great ceremony, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Jiang Yuan nodded suddenly, helped the man up, and said, "I am not a master."

The man shook his head: "If you are not the master, then who is the master?"

Jiang Yuan pointed to the mountain and said, "This mountain is called Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. There is a cave in the mountain called Xieyue Sanxing Cave. There is an old immortal in the cave, whose Dharma name is Bodhi. I am worshipping the old immortal as my master and practicing with him. I was listening to the master's lecture in the cave, and I heard the master say that there is a person living in seclusion at the foot of the mountain. I think it is you three."

The man was shocked when he heard this, and he pulled the old woman to her knees in the mountain, kowtowed countless times, and muttered something.

"Thank you so much for the rescue, old immortal. Thank you so much for the rescue, old immortal!"

Jiang Yuan helped the three people up one by one and said, "Since Master said that we should live in peace, you should go up to the mountain and live there. Are you willing?"

After hearing this, the man nodded and said, "Yes, yes!"

Jiang Yuan smiled and patted the white deer gently.

The white deer understood and lowered its body.

Jiang Yuan said, "The mountain road is difficult to walk on. Your mother is old, so let her get on the deer and follow me."

The man burst into tears and kept thanking his mother, then asked her to get on the deer's back.

Wait until the old mother climbed tremblingly onto the back of the white deer.

Jiang Yuan just led the way and walked towards the mountain.

The couple followed him up the mountain together.

The mountain road was rugged and walked along the grass and trees. It was difficult for even the young and strong to walk. The woman was exhausted and panting before she had walked far. Fortunately, she was supported by the man and was able to move forward.

On the other hand, the white deer walked as if it were walking on flat ground, and the old mother on it did not notice anything unusual.

After entering Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, there is still seven or eight miles of mountain road to walk.

Wait a long time.

Jiang Yuan led the three people to the vicinity of the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave. He originally wanted to teach the man to build a small house, but the man insisted on taking the three of them to kowtow in front of the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

After the kowtow and the ceremony, Jiang Yuan taught the man to build a hut before returning to the cave.

Jiang Yuan returned to the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave, walked inside to the Yaotai, and saw the ancestor sitting on the altar. He immediately reported and explained everything.

The master nodded and said: "Teach the Zuo family to live in the mountains."

Jiang Yuan didn't know why the master cared about the refugees, so he just said, "Yes, Master."

The master said again: "Boy, take this man to the mountain for you, and you can see it when you get out of the cave one day."

Jiang Yuan was puzzled, but still agreed.

The master stepped down from the altar and walked towards the quiet room.

Jiang Yuan was puzzled and went back to the quiet room. When he returned to the quiet room, holding the Yu Ding, he was now a person who had cultivated some magic power and had a monkey mind, which was different from the past.

However, although he obtained the beginning of immortality, he could not obtain the wonderful sound of the great way. He needed all four to be together.

We should invite Jin Gong to serve the monkey mind and help increase its power. Where is Jin Gong's position?

Jin Gong corresponds to the lungs, so you should look for it in the lungs.

Jiang Yuan sat cross-legged on a cushion, closed his eyes and entered into a state of meditation, and taught the two black and white fishes to do their job, helping him enter into a state of meditation quickly.
The boy entered into a state of meditation and looked for Mr. Jin, but he found nothing after searching for a long time.

……

Time flies like an arrow, and before you know it, a year has passed.

Jiang Tong'er searched for Jin Gong in vain. No one knew where Jin Gong had gone, and he could not find him anywhere.

For one year, he went out during the day to visit the Zuo family, listened to the master's lectures on Buddhist scriptures, and went to look for Jin Gong at night.

He wanted to ask the founder where Jin Gong was, but the founder said he didn't know, saying that "five people are originally one body", so he should find it and no one else could help.

Jiang Yuanzi devoted himself to searching for 'Jin Gong'.

During this day.

As usual, Jiang Yuan would visit the Zuo family during the day.

The man from the Zuo family was mysterious. He led him to an old forest in the mountains and told him secrets.

Jiang Yuan was somewhat interested and wanted to know what the man from the Zuo family was doing.

When the man from Zuo pointed to the rows of old trees in the mountains and said that these were his secrets, Jiang Yuan became dazed.

Jiang Yuan asked, "Brother, what is the secret of this wood?"

The Zuo family man grinned and said, "Master, you don't know, this is old wood, it's sold at a high price when used as firewood in the market!"

Jiang Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Brother, you are now living in Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, why do you want to do old work and become a woodcutter?"

The man from the Zuo clan said happily, "Master, if I can chop down one old tree a day, ten old trees in ten days, a hundred old trees in a hundred days, a thousand old trees in a thousand days, then one day, I will carry the wood back to Jambudvīpa and I will not have to worry about food and clothing, no worries about food and clothing!"

When the man talked about the wonderful things, he danced and shook his head.

Jiang Yuan said, "Brother, you are now living outside the old immortal's house. Why don't you think about cultivating your ways, but instead become a woodcutter?"

The man from the Zuo family just said, "I should be supporting my mother and carrying on the family line every day. How can I have the time to do that?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head, not knowing what to say. He saw the man every day and knew that he and his wife picked fruits to make a living. He had always wanted to wait until the days were better and return to Jambu Continent to find a job.

However, Patriarch Bodhi was right before his eyes, and he did not bow down to see the true truth.

It is the same as what Laozi did in front of Luoyi back then.

When Laozi’s purple aura descended upon Luoyi, no one had heard of his Tao.

The Tao is right in front of you, and it is always there.

The man from the Zuo clan said, "This old tree is precious. I see that the master is a good man, so I tell you this from my heart. I want the master to know that this is the truth, from the bottom of my heart."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he wanted to persuade him again, but suddenly he remembered what the man said, "words from the heart."

He suddenly remembered a word in his dream, called "words from the heart", which means speaking the truth.

Lungs, lung palace.

Lungs and heart.

The truth.

Jiang Yuan's mud palace was shaken, his mind became clear, and he had an idea. He seemed to understand what 'Jin Gong' was doing.

Jiang Yuan bowed and thanked the man: "I have gained some enlightenment from this, thanks to you, brother. Thank you very much. Now that I have gained some enlightenment, I should go and practice in silence. Please take your time, brother. I will be happy!"

After saying that, he leaped ten feet and headed towards the Three Stars Cave...

(End of this chapter)