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

Chapter 229: The Lead Cauldron is Opened and the Tiger and Dragon are Subdued

Sanxing Fairy Cave, behind the Yaotai Trail, in front of the Patriarch’s Quiet Room.

When Chongyang arrived here, he knelt down in front of the quiet room and bowed, "Disciple Chongyang, I pay my respects to the Grandmaster."

After a while, a gentle breeze blew and the door of the room opened.

"Chongyang Festival, please come forward."

Upon hearing this, Chongyang did not dare to make any mistake and walked in. When he reached the door of the room, he performed great rituals and bowed down to it with great piety and courtesy.

The master was sitting cross-legged on a cushion. When he saw Chongyang coming in and saw his appearance, he sighed and said, "Chongyang, you are anxious."

Chongyang bowed and said, "Grandmaster, there is something I don't understand."

The master said, "If you have any questions, since your master is not here, just come and find me. There is no need to think so hard that your mind will be filled with distracting thoughts and a hundred demons will arise."

Chongyang said, "But I'm afraid of disturbing Master's meditation."

The master said, "You are my disciple, how could I disturb you? Do you know the saying of two gods in the body?"

Chongyang bowed and said, "Master, I know it myself. Master once taught me that there are five people in my body. These five people are for my own use. There are also two gods. The two gods are the God of Desire and the God of Consciousness. These two gods were born to hinder the Tao. If the Tao is achieved, the two gods will die. Therefore, if there is a chance to hinder the Tao, the two gods will definitely do it."

The ancestor nodded and said, "How do you know that the disturbance you feel is not what the two gods taught you to think?"

Chongyang was horrified when he heard this, and he knelt on the ground and said, "Grandmaster, it is because my disciple's cultivation is not up to par."

The ancestor shook his head and said, "The Golden Elixir righteous path is difficult to practice, and it is common to encounter such difficulties."

Chongyang bowed and said, "Please, Master, help me solve my confusion."

The master replied, "Your confusion is nothing more than not being able to see the five people in your body. It is very difficult for you to see the five people in your body, because two gods are blocking your way, covering your eyes and mind, and it is also very difficult to subdue the five people."

As he spoke, the master half sang and half chanted, saying: "Difficult, difficult, difficult! The Tao is the most mysterious, don't take the golden elixir lightly, if you don't meet a wise man to pass on the secret, it's useless to talk about it and your mouth will be dry!"

The master waved his sleeves and pointed at Chongyang's Niwan Palace.

Chongyang only felt a sense of clarity between his brows, his worries were instantly relieved, and his mind became clear. He knew that this was the help from his master, so he was paying homage to him, expressing his gratitude for his master's kindness.

The ancestor said, "Chongyang, you must be aware of the difficulty of the golden elixir path. Do you really not want to change your path? If you are willing to change your path, I can make the decision for you and discuss it with Guangxin. You can choose any of the 360 ​​side paths in the Dao Sect."

Chongyang shook his head and said, "Grandmaster, I am unwilling to abandon the righteous path of the Golden Elixir."

The master asked, “Why?”

Chongyang said: "My disciple doesn't know, but my disciple has a righteous mind. Whenever he comes across a book on the Golden Elixir Righteousness, he feels happy and is unwilling to give it up."

The master praised: "This is the help of my true self."

Chongyang didn't understand its meaning.

The master smiled and said, "I won't talk about this for now. Do you know how your master started practicing in the past?"

Chongyang shook his head and said, "I don't know. Master never told me about this."

The ancestor said, "In the past, your master started to practice cultivation because he got the help of a treasure, obtained the predestined law, and his heart of Tao was unshakable. He just learned about the five people and then practiced hard to subdue his mind. This is the beginning. You are different now. You don't have the predestined law like your master. Although you have the heart of Tao, it is not as unshakable as your master's. Therefore, it will be more difficult for you to practice the golden elixir path."

Chongyang heard this and asked, "Grandmaster, is it true that my disciple has no chance of achieving enlightenment in this lifetime?"

The ancestor said, "You have the opportunity to succeed, but if you want to succeed, you must go through a more difficult journey than your master."

Chongyang bowed and said, "I am not afraid of difficulties, but if there is a chance to succeed, I will never give it up. I only wish to seek the right path and I am not afraid of death. Please enlighten me on the way forward, Grandmaster."

When the master heard this, he seemed to see Jiang Guangxin's appearance in the past. This disciple and the boy were so similar. It was just as the boy said, 'Those who hear the Tao are the same person'. It is truly passed down from generation to generation.

He said, "Just live peacefully in your mansion. Get up at the hour of Yin during the day and clear the dust in your mansion. When the dust in your mansion is cleared, you will have a good opportunity. You must know that it will take decades or even a hundred years to clear the dust. If you can't endure it, then there is no hope for you to achieve the golden elixir path."

Chongyang accepted the order and dared not disobey it. He just insisted on doing so and would never disobey it.

The master then asked Chongyang to leave.

The master watched Chongyang leave for a while, then called Zhenjian into the mansion.

After truly understanding the master's instructions, he soon entered the master's quiet room and met him.

Zhenjian bowed and said, "Disciple greets Master."

The master helped him up and said, "Zhenjian, go ahead and head east until you reach Qingzhou in the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. Your eldest brother is there. Go find him and tell Guangxin to finish his business in Qingzhou and then return to the palace."

Shinjian smiled and replied, "Yes, Master."

The master said no more and only taught people to go forward with true vision.

Zhenjian took the order and left.

……

Time flies, and before I know it, ten days have passed.

Huabiao Zhenren and his entourage walked along the Huai River and entered the territory of Qingzhou. They saw the north wind howling in the sky and light clouds that looked like snow floating in the sky, which made people feel cold.

The Bull Demon King shivered and said, "Master, the weather here is not right. It is autumn now, but why is winter coming first, making people feel cold."

Zuo Liang said with a smile: "Master Niu, you are joking. How can you, a man with such great magical powers, be afraid of such cold weather? Even I am not afraid, let alone you."

The Bull Demon King said, "Although I am not afraid of the cold, I don't like it either." Jiang Yuan looked ahead and said, "Don't talk nonsense, let's go a little further. There seems to be a family ahead. Wukong, you go ahead and ask. If the family is willing to let us stay overnight, we can go there. If not, we will hurry on our way."

Sun Wukong responded, leaped forward, and walked to the front door of the house in front of him. He called out, "Is there anyone in there? We are from the West, practicing Buddhism. We are sorry to disturb you. Please open the door."

There was an old man in his fifties or sixties who came out with a cane and opened the door. When he saw Sun Wukong, he was a little surprised but not afraid. He asked, "Where are you from?"

Sun Wukong said with a smile: "My hometown was originally in Dongsheng Shenzhou, but I went to Xiniuhezhou to practice. Now I have come all the way to your place. The wind and snow are getting stronger, so I want to stay for one night. Are you willing, old man?"

The old man said, "Since you have come from afar, I am willing to come here, but my home is simple. If you don't mind, you can come in and stay the night."

Sun Wukong said: "But I still have my senior brother who is traveling with me, my sworn brother, a cultivator who is following me, and a white deer."

When the old man heard about the crowds, he looked around and said, "Why aren't there so many people here?"

Sun Wukong pointed to the road and said, "Old man, look at those people on the road, aren't they people?"

The old man looked in the direction Sun Wukong pointed, and sure enough, he saw a man of extraordinary bearing riding on a deer on the road, and a big man wearing thin clothes, not afraid of the wind and cold. Behind the deer, there was an old man standing there, looking energetic.

The old man knew that this group of people were true practitioners, so he said, "My family is poor and I only have two houses. If you don't mind, you can invite us here. I will definitely treat you with courtesy."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "No problem, no problem."

The old man was about to go with Sun Wukong to meet Jiang Yuan and his group.

Sun Wukong hurriedly said it was not necessary, and walked over quickly to meet Jiang Yuan and explain what was going on.

When the old man saw Jiang Yuan, he welcomed him into the hall and brought out a brazier to keep warm.

Seeing the old man busy and the house deserted, Jiang Yuan asked, "Brother, what's your name and how old are you?"

The old man sat down beside him and said, "Excuse me, my surname is Li, and I am fifty-seven."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Why is there no one at home?"

The old man shook his head and said, "My wife died early, so there is no one at home."

Jiang Yuan asked again: "No offspring?"

The old man said, “Never before.”

Jiang Yuan said: "Thank you for your hard work."

The old man shook his head and said, "It's not that hard. Just live one day at a time. Gentlemen, do you have any dietary restrictions? I will go and prepare some food for you."

Jiang Yuan said: "For those who practice cultivation, it is enough to have a bite to eat."

Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and told Jiang Yuan and others to wait for a while, then he got up and left.

After a while, he came back with some tea and food.

True people and others benefit from it.

Elder Li said with some embarrassment: "Gentlemen, my family is poor, so I only have two rooms, but please don't despise me and live in one of them."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Brother, you gave us two rooms. Where will you sleep?"

Li Laodao: "I can find a place to sleep anywhere."

Jiang Yuan was moved by this and said, "Brother, you are kind and righteous."

Li Lao said, "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. But we are different. You are cultivators, and I am a rough old man. Don't let the wind and snow hurt your body, but it won't hurt me."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "How can you say that cultivation is precious? That's nonsense."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Li was silent for a long time, and then said, "I have met Taoist priests who practice cultivation before, and I know that they are precious, but I don't know that you are different."

Jiang Yuan said: "There is no such thing as gold."

Old Li bowed to Jiang Yuan and said, "Now I know that true cultivation should be like this. But I have a doubt. I wonder if you can answer it for me."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Brother, you have allowed us to come in, which is a great favor. If you have any questions, you can ask us and we will definitely answer them for you."

Mr. Li asked, "I have always known about practitioners, but I don't know what they are practicing. But if there is a secret, I can't tell you, so you don't have to answer."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Why not answer? There are thousands of ways to practice cultivation, but if we talk about true cultivation, only the Golden Elixir cultivation is used."

Mr. Li asked again: "What is the golden elixir?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head, half singing and half chanting, and said: "When the lead tripod was first opened, the tiger and dragon were subdued, the lotus was hidden deep in the mud palace, the rootless tree was planted in the crimson palace, and the nightless bell was hung in the purple palace. This is a little bit of the golden elixir."

Mr. Li was confused and didn't understand, but he had something to gain in his mind.

Jiang Yuan said, "There are only two rooms left in your house. You can use the guest room with us. You can stay in the room at ease. There is no need to be modest."

Mr. Li was afraid of being impolite and was unwilling to do so, but under Jiang Yuan's strong request, he had to agree.

Jiang Yuan smiled and went into a room with Bull Demon King and others to rest, waiting to continue their journey tomorrow.

Old Li had no choice but to welcome Jiang Yuan and others inside, repeatedly telling them that they could wake him up if they had any instructions.

(End of this chapter)