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

Chapter 21: The Hidden King Appears

When the master heard about this person from Hezhou, he was neither happy nor surprised. He said, "Liujie Country is very far away from here. How did you come here just to learn etiquette?"

The young man 'Ram' said, "Old immortal, I see that there is no manners and no rules in my country, and I want to learn some etiquette so that I can teach it back home, so that the elders can learn and the young can understand."

The master nodded and said, "Since you are here for the country, what kind of etiquette do you want to learn?"

Ram was at a loss, and after thinking for a while, he said, "I have been searching for etiquette to teach the elders and the young, but to no avail. Now that I have seen the old immortal, I know that etiquette is here."

The master raised his hand, pointed at Jiang Yuan and said, "My disciple has great talent and has written many books. They are stored in a room. You can go there and learn etiquette."

The master waved his hand, explained the way, and taught Ram to learn.

Ram bowed randomly, not daring to say anything more, and walked into the cave.

Jiang Yuan saw Ram leave, and then asked: "Master, is this person born in Hezhou, Xiniu? Why doesn't he have sixteen cubits as recorded in the records?"

The master laughed and scolded, "You boy, you just look at this man's height, but you are rude, rude! People born in Xiniu Hezhou were sixteen cubits tall, that was in the old days. In recent years, Xiniu Hezhou has long been inferior to the past, so it is no longer the case."

Jiang Yuan suddenly understood what he said and bowed, "Thank you, Master, for clearing up my doubts. This person seems to be restless. Master, can this person really be patient and learn etiquette?"

The master said, "My boy, you once said, 'The Tao is always there.' You can also say that in front of this person."

Jiang Yuan understood.

The Tao is always there.

Therefore, before Luoyi, he saw sentient beings seeing the Tao before them, but they did not hear or ask anything, and were still aware of the spirits and desires that were causing trouble, so he said, "The Tao is always there."

This person has a restless mind, he came to learn etiquette, but he has no heart to learn it, so he will leave sooner or later. The master had predicted this person, so he did not say much.

There are twelve words in the master's teachings: 'vast wisdom, true nature, sea of ​​​​nature, and enlightened and perfect enlightenment'. If the master wanted to keep this person, he would definitely give him a Dharma name.

Jiang Yuan didn't ask any more questions and continued to practice with peace of mind.

……

Ram had just started learning etiquette, and this was known to Jiang Yuan and the master.

Less than ten days into his study, Ram could not stand the silence in the mountains and sneaked down the mountain at night.

Neither Jiang Yuan nor the master tried to stop her, as they had expected Ram to leave.

Just as Jiang Tong'er said, Ram's mind was restless. After entering the cave, he was fine for three or four days and followed the rules. But after a while, his true colors showed up. He couldn't concentrate when listening to the scriptures, couldn't sit or sit still, had no manners for sleeping or eating, and often asked Jiang Tong'er if there was any fun place in the mountains.

To Zushi and Jiang Tong'er, Ram was just a traveler on the road. He came if fate allowed him to, and left if fate did not.

Practice in the mountains was not affected.

Jiang Yuan is still calcining the lungs so that Jin Gong can take shape as soon as possible.

A hundred years really flies by like flowing water, and twenty years have gone by without me noticing.

Jiang Yuan swallowed and exhaled heavenly fire every day, and used the civil and military fire to forge Jin Gong. He did not dare to make any mistakes, and finally today, there was some progress.

Jiang Tong'er sat cross-legged on a mossy stone and looked inward at his lungs. He saw two objects vaguely appearing in the big furnace.

He could not see through the purpose of the two objects, and only thought that the two objects were a "mixed original body", like a bead, with indescribable mystery.

Jiang Yuan was touched. When Jin Gong finished his work, he would definitely make a great breakthrough, which would greatly increase his power.

He secretly speculated in his heart: "How can this kind of pearl be used as a weapon? How strange, how strange! Forget it! Forget it! Wait until the gold is calcined and I take a look at its appearance, then I will know what the gold is."

Jiang Yuan was delighted to see some progress, so he returned to the cave to report the good news to his master.

Jiang Yuan went back to the cave and learned that Zuo's family was nearby and had been practicing for a long time. He also hadn't seen them for a long time, so he took a detour to go there and saw a woodcutter from the Zuo family and expressed his joy.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Zuo's house, he saw that the head of the family was not at home, and the young man was left outside. It was the son of the woodcutter. Jiang Yuan approached and asked. The son of the woodcutter recognized Jiang Yuan and knew that he was a master who was meditating in the mountains, so he explained to him.

Jiang Tong'er then learned that the original woodcutter Zuo had died. Three years earlier, Zuo's mother had died. The woodcutter was so sad that he fell ill and died within half a year. Now, only two people were left in the Zuo family, and Zuo's son was taking care of his mother and becoming the new head of the family.

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he was shocked. He didn't expect that after such a short period of practice, he had already died for two generations.

Zuo's son said, "Before my father's death, he said that the master was a good person and taught me to kowtow a hundred times in front of the master to fulfill my father's wishes. Now that the master is here, please accept my greetings."

After saying this, Zuo Zi knelt on the ground and pretended to kowtow.

It's really like 'kowtow to your father'.

How could Jiang Yuan bear this? He helped Zuo Zi up and said, "You don't have to do this."

He was so strong that Zuo Zi was unable to resist him and had to be helped up.

Zuo's son refused and said, "Master, please teach me the heart of my father!"

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to let Zuo's son kowtow.

Bang bang bang!
Zuo Zi kowtowed sincerely, and within a moment, blood oozed from his forehead. He was truly a good man.

Jiang Yuan saw Zuo's son kowtow countless times and his body was shaking, so he supported him again and tapped him lightly with his finger to stop the bleeding.

He said, “A hundred poems have passed.”

Zuo's son was dizzy and didn't remember how many times he had asked for kowtow. Only after hearing these words did he stop.

Jiang Yuan asked Zuo to sit down and said, "Now that your father is dead, do you have any thoughts?"

Zuo's son said, "Master, before my father died, he told me to chop firewood. One day I would return to Jambudvīpa and be rich."

Jiang Yuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry and said, "Brother, how could I let you inherit my family business? How could I? You should know that I am a cultivator. Do you want to cultivate with me?"

Zuo's son shook his head and said, "Now that my father has passed away and my mother is a widow, I am the only one left. I have to serve her day and night and make sure she has enough food. I dare not leave her even for a moment. In the early years, my father Kaidi was by her side and took care of her all the time. I can't leave, I can't leave!"

Jiang Yuan stopped talking and chatted with him for a while, telling him that if there were tigers and leopards in the mountains attacking the place, he should shout out the Dharma name "Guangxin" and the tigers and leopards would retreat on their own and he could save his life.

Zuo's son agreed.

Jiang Yuan just left and went back to the Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

Wait until you return to the Xieyue Sanxing Cave and go to the Yaotai to see the master.

The master saw this and smiled, saying, "The boy has made some progress in his practice."

Jiang Yuan replied: "Master, my disciple Jin Gong has a form that is hard to see, so it must be because I am not in the right position."

The master said: "That's right, it's just the right time. When the fire is full and the spirit is satisfied, the Golden Master will be accomplished."

Jiang Yuan responded with a "yes", absent-mindedly.

The ancestor asked, "Tong'er, are you worried because of the Zuo family?"

Jiang Yuan said, "Master? Exactly. Seeing Brother Zuo die of illness today, I am sighing about life, aging, sickness and death. I am also grateful to Master. Without Master, I would have a hard time escaping."

The master shook his head and said, "This is your fate. The Zuo family, living in the mountains, will sooner or later experience birth, aging, sickness and death."

Jiang Yuan said again: "Master, I once invited Brother Zuo and Brother Zuo to practice, but I didn't expect that they were unwilling."

The master smiled and said, "My child, I have said before that the people of Jambudvīpa have consciousness and desire, and they are greedy for power. They do not cultivate their primordial spirits, so how can they easily cultivate? There is a saying that goes, 'If you only worry about food and clothing, you will be busy and toil, so why worry about the Lord of Hell taking you away?' This saying describes everything about Jambudvīpa. My child, you have asked with all your heart, and the Tao is in front of you. If you cannot move forward after hearing the Tao, you do not need to worry about the Tao."

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized and thanked the master for answering his questions...

(End of this chapter)