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

Chapter 185: Re-establishing the Law: Respecting Teachers

But Qingxu closed the door of Jiang Yuan's room and was about to leave, but he bumped into his eldest disciple.

Qingxu tightly grasped the paper, pulled his eldest disciple out, and said, "Why are you stumbling around? It's so disgraceful."

The eldest disciple said, "Master, yesterday you said that the Western Saint was in the temple. I saw that he was somewhat similar to the statue, so I was very curious and wanted to come and take another look."

Qingxu shouted, "How can you be so rude? That is the Western Saint, a deity. How can you disturb him out of curiosity? This is a crime of great disrespect."

The eldest disciple touched his head and said, "Master, if I must say it, it should be our ancestor. I looked around out of curiosity, so he shouldn't blame me."

Qingxu said: "No matter how close we are, we must still have a sense of awe. All practitioners should be humble, not curious."

The eldest disciple yelled, "Master, I am not a cultivator either."

Qingxu patted his eldest disciple and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you are not a cultivator, then who is a cultivator?"

The eldest disciple said, "Master, if I really have no intention of practicing, I can't sit still. You should let me go early and teach me to marry and have children."

Qingxu scolded, "How come you have no intention to practice cultivation after meeting the master today?"

The eldest disciple said, "Master, it is difficult for me to sit for one or two hours in the past. With this kind of mentality, Master, you also said that I can't succeed in cultivation. If I can't succeed, I might as well give up early and don't waste my time."

Qingxu replied: "The present is different from the past. Here is a method that the master has personally given me. You can take a look at it first. If it really doesn't work, it won't be too late to give up."

Upon hearing this, the eldest disciple had no choice but to take the paper and start reading it.

He took a closer look and found it difficult to understand, which made him feel bored and he could not get into it at all.

As soon as he loosened his grip, the paper was suddenly blown up by the wind and fell to the ground, stained with a lot of water.

Qingxu panicked and hurried to pick it up, but he saw that part of the paper was stained by water and the words were invisible. The already incomplete method became even more incomplete. He said anxiously: "You traitor, how could you be so careless as to wet this paper."

The eldest disciple said, "Master, I didn't mean it."

Qingxu said: "I told you long ago that you should be respectful, why didn't you listen!"

The eldest disciple was annoyed by what he said and shouted, "Master, the paper is wet, so it's wet. Why don't you just ask the master to write another one? Why do you have to say that to me?"

Say it.

The eldest disciple turned and left.

Qingxu was silent for a long time, holding the paper with only half of the words left on it, not daring to disturb Jiang Yuan, but walking towards the main hall.

In the house, Jiang Yuan watched Qingxu leave and sighed secretly. He stood up and walked to the Bull Demon King. It turned out that Qingxu's eldest disciple was not a cultivator.

The Bull Demon King was sleeping soundly. When he saw Jiang Yuan coming, he stood up and bowed, saying, "Master."

Jiang Yuan said, "I have something to do and I need to go to Wudang Mountain. You wait for me here. If Qingxu has any questions, you can answer them. With your practice, you are more than enough to answer his questions."

The Bull Demon King replied, "Yes, Master. Do you really not need me to go with you?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No need, I will go and see Emperor Xuan."

The Bull Demon King sang a deep "yes".

Jiang Yuan no longer hesitated. He walked outside, used the Qingyun spell, and rode the auspicious cloud to Wudang Mountain.

In a moment, the Immortal rode on a cloud to Mount Wudang. When the Lingguan saw the Immortal coming, he hurried into the palace to report to the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable, who then came out of the palace to greet him. The two met in the Taihe Palace and exchanged greetings.

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable asked, "You are here today, but what illegal things are happening in the human world? If you know anything about it, please tell me."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "There is something that I have come to talk to Tianzun about."

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable asked, "Master, can you tell me what this is about?"

Jiang Yuan then narrated the story of the scholar and the Dragon King, as well as the abbot of Xisheng Temple and his eldest disciple.

Upon hearing this, the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable pondered for a long time and asked, "Master, what do you think?"

Jiang Yuan was sitting cross-legged on a cushion. When he heard Emperor Xuan ask a question, he answered, "From the perspective of practitioners, the one who saves people from the sea of ​​suffering should be the teacher. The one who teaches and resolves doubts should be the teacher. When worshipping a teacher, one should respect him as one respects one's parents. One should show respect to him while he is alive and offer sacrifices to him after his death. This should not be violated."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable nodded and said, "What the Immortal said is very reasonable. It can be included in the Black Book and regarded as a law. If anyone violates it, his Dharma lineage will be destroyed and he will no longer be able to practice."

Jiang Yuan said: "I shouldn't have come here for this matter, but I have seen this happen many times in the human world, so I must be on guard."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said: "This is also a big deal."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "In the past, my master showed me mercy and accepted me as his disciple. I am grateful and will never forget it. Such things should be stopped in the world of Jambu."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable smiled and said, "That's right. By the way, does the Immortal know that the group of people seeking scriptures will soon arrive at Lingshan?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know when I'm walking in the human world, but if I calculate the time, it's almost time for us to reach Lingshan."

The Immortal usually didn't pay attention to the group of people who were seeking the scriptures, but he knew about the last incident at Lion Camel Mountain, which meant they were already close to Sacred Mountain. Now, judging from the time, even if they weren't close to Sacred Mountain yet, they should be getting close to it soon.

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "In the past, the Buddha selected believers to go to Lingshan Mountain to obtain the scriptures and return to the East. His original intention was to spread the Dharma and preserve the Nirvana Dharma, but he also wanted to save the sentient beings of Jambudvīpa. Therefore, there is no god who cannot protect him, no heaven who cannot bless him, the three realms who are informed, and the ten directions who support him, all of which are to help save sentient beings. Now that the scriptures are about to be obtained, do you think the Buddha can save sentient beings?"

The Immortal shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about whether we can cross it or not, but if we want to cross it, you and I must help him."

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "The Immortal is betting with the Buddha, so why doesn't the Immortal go to Lingshan?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Emperor Xuan, I left the true scriptures in Lingshan a long time ago. The Buddha will definitely put the true scriptures in front of the pilgrim. If he recognizes it, he can just take it. If he doesn't recognize it, then he can just give up. It doesn't matter whether he wins or loses."

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "The Immortal has a good heart."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Mysterious Emperor, do you know how many difficulties the group of people who are seeking the scriptures have gone through? Is it ninety-nine?"

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said: "There is not even a number of ninety-nine. There are more than seventy difficulties. There must be a few more difficulties to complete the task."

Jiang Yuan stood up and said, "If that's the case, I should go to the human world as soon as possible and walk around more. When my junior brother returns after completing his mission, I will welcome him well."

Emperor Xuan knew what Jiang Yuan meant and did not stop him. He asked Jiang Yuan to stay in Taihe Palace to eat some green lotus roots and drink two cups of fragrant tea, and then let Jiang Yuan leave. Before leaving, he told Jiang Yuan that if they encountered unstoppable difficulties, they should send people to Wudang Mountain to mobilize troops.

The immortal agreed to all the requests and left on a cloud.

……

The words show the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, the slanting moon and the three stars in the cave.

A Bodhisattva was riding a cloud to the Sanxing Cave, wanting to see Zhenjian.

(End of this chapter)