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

Chapter 236: The monkey knows etiquette, and he is really seen in Qingzhou
It is said that Sun Wukong received the order from the immortal, and went to the heaven with Li Tieguai and the Green Ox. They were walking on the clouds. The Green Ox saw that Li Tieguai was watching over him closely, and one of his hands fell on him.

Qingniu said, "Li Xuan, please stop watching over me like this. I don't want to get away, so I asked you to watch over me. If I want to leave, how can you watch over me? Let go of my hand."

Upon hearing this, Tieguai Li dared not disobey and let go of his hand.

Sun Wukong swung his Panlong crutch and said, "Qingniu, how come you are still so arrogant now that you have been subdued?"

The Green Ox was somewhat indignant, and spoke in human language, saying, "It is not you who defeated me, but I am a real person. You, a monkey, have been defeated by me many times in the past, and you are defeated by me again today, but you are better than me in some sneaky tricks."

Sun Wukong wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, he shook his head and laughed, "Forget it, forget it, forget it. Why should I argue with you? If you say you can beat me, then you can beat me."

When the Blue Ox heard this, he said, "Monkey, since you became a Buddha, your heart has changed."

Sun Wukong said: "If I had not changed, it would be strange just now. It took me a long time to travel westward. Wouldn't it be false?"

Qingniu said: "What you said is very reasonable."

While the two were talking, they were already approaching the South Heaven Gate. When they were about to enter the South Heaven Gate, generals Pang, Liu, Gou, Bi, Zhang, Tao, Deng, Xin and others came forward, bowed on both sides, and saluted to pay their respects.

The crowd said, "We are here to see the Great Sage!"

Sun Wukong stepped forward and said, "Stand up, stand up. No need to be so polite!"

The generals said, "Great Sage, I heard that you have completed your journey to the west and returned with the right result, so you were given the title of Fighting and Victory Buddha. How come you are entering the Heavenly Palace now? Is there any evil spirit in the lower world that requires the help of the Heavenly Palace?"

Sun Wukong said, "No. Although I have accomplished my mission, I have never enjoyed peace. I have been traveling with my elder brother among the people to repair the law. When we arrived at Qingzhou, I met Laojun's disciple Li Xuan and told him about Laojun's Green Bull's escape. My elder brother went to surrender him and sent me here to return the Green Bull."

The generals said, "We know about this. We heard that it was an agreement between the Xuan Emperor and the Immortal, so as to revise the laws and restrain the hearts of the practitioners in the world, but we didn't know that the Great Sage was also involved."

One general said, "Since the Great Sage wants to send the blue bull back to Tushita Palace, he should quickly enter the Heavenly Gate without delay."

Sun Wukong nodded and was about to walk in, but suddenly he thought of something and said, "No need to go ahead. Now that we are in the Heavenly Palace, we should pay homage to the Jade Emperor and then rush to the Tushita Palace."

When Tieguai Li heard this, he said, "What the Great Sage said makes sense."

Sun Wukong and Tieguai Li were heading for the Lingxiao Palace, but the four Heavenly Masters stopped them and asked them the way. Wukong said that he was going to the Heavenly Palace to pay respect to the Jade Emperor, and the four Heavenly Masters went into the palace to report.

The Jade Emperor arrived at the Lingxiao Palace and heard the four heavenly masters report that Sun Wukong had entered the Heavenly Palace to worship him.

The Jade Emperor heard the report and said with a smile: "This monkey is so polite now. There is no need to teach him to come. Just say that I know it and let him go to do the work."

Upon hearing this, the four heavenly masters left the Lingxiao Palace and reported to Sun Wukong.

After Wukong learned what the Jade Emperor said, he bowed in the palace, then turned around and left with Li Tieguai to the Tushita Palace.

The four heavenly masters watched Wukong leave.

Ge Xianweng smiled and said, "The Great Sage is now very polite, much better than before."

Zhang Tianshi replied: "Great Sage, this is because you have achieved success in your practice, so there are differences."

Ge Xianweng said: "The Great Sage's practice is probably much better than ours."

Hearing this, Master Xu laughed and said, "What are you talking about? When will we ever be able to defeat the Great Sage? The Great Sage is quite skilled in martial arts. If the four of us fight him together, I'm afraid we won't be able to last more than fifty rounds."

Ge Xianweng said: "What we are good at is a supernatural power. What does it have to do with martial arts?"

Master Xu Tianshi said: "Even with supernatural powers, we can hardly surpass the Great Sage. Now that the Great Sage has become a Buddha, his abilities after his repentance are far beyond our reach."

Zhang Tianshi laughed and said, "How can you compare yourself with the Great Sage? The Great Sage was created by heaven and earth. You cannot compare yourself to him. Don't say more, don't say more."

The four of them stopped talking and each went about their duties.

……

Sun Wukong and Li Tieguai brought the green ox and soon arrived at the Tushita Palace.

Sun Wukong saw two fairy boys standing there.

Two fairy children stepped forward to stop him and asked, "Who is coming?"

Sun Wukong did not intrude without permission, but only asked Li Tieguai to go forward and talk to the two fairies.

When the two immortal children saw Tieguai Li, they bowed and said, "We are honored to meet you, Senior Brother."

Li Tieguai smiled and helped the fairy boy up, then told him what had happened.

The fairy boy hurried inside to report to Laojun.

Upon hearing this, Taishang Laojun walked out of the Tushita Palace and welcomed Sun Wukong, Li Tieguai, Qingniu and others into the Tushita Palace to meet them.

Entering the central hall of Tushita Palace, Laojun ordered an immortal boy to fetch the green lotus pill and present it to Sun Wukong.

Laojun said, "I have already told you, monkey, that when you come to my Tushita Palace, I will give you some pills. These pills will help you practice, so use them."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Thank you, Laojun. Thank you, Laojun."

Sun Wukong sat there and used Danwan Biou.

Laojun laughed and said, "Monkey, you and Li Xuan both came here to lead the ox, but did you help Li Xuan to subdue the blue ox?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "No, no. This is the work of my senior brother, I dare not steal it."

Lao Jun said, "How is it related to Guangxin? Tell me now."

Sun Wukong then explained the matter to Laojun.

When the old master heard the story, he pointed at Tieguai Li and said with a smile, "How did you get Guangxin's help? No wonder you were able to bring the cow back so quickly."

Tieguai Li bowed and said, "Master, I am useless. Green Ox is very powerful and has great magical powers. I cannot subdue him. So I asked for your help, and I was able to subdue Green Ox."

Laojun nodded, then looked at the blue ox in front of the main hall door, pointed at the blue ox, and scolded with a smile: "You cow, why are you so obsessed with the mortal world? You always go to the lower world. Isn't my Tushita Palace boring?"

The blue ox prostrated himself on the ground and said, "I won't dare to do that again. I won't dare to do that again."

Laojun asked, "Have you been causing trouble in the lower world?"

Qingniu shook his head and said, "Master, I have never been a haunted person! I will find some food in the lower world. If anyone is in trouble, I will also help them. It is true that I have never been a haunted person."

Laojun said: "If this is the case, I don't blame you, go down and rest, don't think about the mortal world anymore."

Qingniu was overjoyed, responded, and left the hall.

When Sun Wukong saw this, he ate a piece of lotus root and said, "How could Laojun let him go so easily?"

Laojun shook his head and said, "He didn't do any harm, he was just having fun."

Sun Wukong said, "Laojun, the green bull is fine, but why do you keep losing things all day? The green bull holds a diamond chisel and swings a coiled dragon crutch, which makes me suffer a great loss."

Say it.

Sun Wukong handed the Panlong crutch to Laojun.

Laojun took the Panlong Cane and said with a smile, "Panlong Cane? I didn't know that. I also asked Niu'er to take this treasure to the lower world. This cane is a treasure I picked up when I climbed a mountain in the lower world in my early years. I later took it and put it in the palace. I really didn't expect Niu'er to take it away. It's my fault for not paying attention. It's my fault for not paying attention." Sun Wukong asked, "How many treasures do you have, Laojun?"

Upon hearing this, Laojun pointed to Sun Wukong and asked, "You monkey, why are you asking me this? Are you planning to steal my treasures?"

Sun Wukong waved his hands and said, "What are you talking about, Laojun? I won't do such things for a long time."

Laojun said: "If that's the case, why are you asking such questions? Do you have anything to do now? If not, you can come to my palace. I have a pill that needs to be prepared. You can watch and learn a thing or two."

Sun Wukong said, "I still need to go and protect my elder brother. Laojun, please don't teach me this alchemy skill. I can't learn it. I can't learn it. Why don't you wait until my elder brother is free and ask him to come. He is the right person to learn this skill."

Laojun shook his head and said, "Forget it, forget it, forget it. In this case, you go and protect the Dharma in Guangxin."

After Sun Wukong finished eating the pills, he bowed to Laojun and went out.

……

The story begins in a cave residence in Quanshan, 800 miles away from Qingzhou in the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. Jiang Yuan was resting there. He rested for two days and was about to leave when he suddenly met Zhenjian coming towards him.

Jiang Yuan was overjoyed to meet Zhen Jian, so he set up a banquet in his house and treated Zhen Jian with courtesy.

On the high platform in the mansion, Jiang Yuan used local ingredients and picked some tangerines for Zhenjian to enjoy.

Zhen Jian looked at the oranges in his hand, then at the plates of oranges on the table, and said in confusion, "Big Brother, where did you find so many oranges? I don't see many fruit trees in the mountains."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "This is what King Si left behind. I am resting here and don't have anything to share with you, so I took these oranges for you to enjoy."

Say it.

The Immortal told Zhenjian the story of the Green Ox. After hearing what he said, Zhenjian understood why there were so many oranges.

Zhen Jian laughed and said, "How come the blue bull of Laojun likes to come down to earth and play so much? It's really surprising."

Jiang Yuan said, "The cow did not cause any trouble. It came down to earth, but I am afraid it will delay Laojun's trip. Junior brother, I haven't asked you yet, why did you come to see me?"

Zhenjian replied, "Big Brother, I came here today because Master ordered me to do so."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan stood up and asked, "Master, do you have any orders? Junior brother, you can tell me, but if Master has any orders, I will definitely obey them."

Zhen Jian shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. Master ordered me to come and find you. I will go back home after Senior Brother finishes his business in Qingzhou."

Jiang Yuan said, "You're only going back after you've finished your business in Qingzhou? Junior Brother, is this really okay? If it's urgent, I can go there right away."

Zhen Jian said: "This matter is related to Chongyang, but it is not urgent, so Master just told Senior Brother to return only after the matter in Qingzhou is completed."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Chongyang? Chongyang is practicing in the mansion. Could it be that Chongyang's practice is wrong?"

Zhen Jian nodded and said, "Chongyang made some mistakes in his practice and couldn't find the way for a long time, so he was a little anxious and was disturbed by the two gods. Now the master is teaching the eldest brother because of this matter."

Jiang Yuan said: "This is my fault. I am always out and about and have never paid attention to Chongyang's practice. When I finish my work in Qingzhou, I will return to the mountains and teach Chongyang how to practice."

Zhen Jian said: "It is enough for Senior Brother to know this matter, but I don't know what Senior Brother is talking about in Qingzhou?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "I once saw the Water Official Emperor, who told me that there are places in Qingzhou where the laws need to be repaired, and there are also the Nine Cauldrons there, so I came here to firstly repair the laws, and secondly to see if I can find the Nine Cauldrons."

Zhen Jian bowed and said, "In this case, I will help you here, and when you are done, I will go back to the mountain with you."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "If you can help me, I will be grateful, but I am afraid that it will be too much trouble for you."

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "It is my honor to be able to help you, Senior Brother. Besides, practicing with you is very beneficial."

Jiang Yuan looked Zhen Jian up and down for a long time, and saw that there was an infinite light hidden in his body. He said, "Junior brother, your practice has made great progress since you became a Buddha, and you are much better than before."

Zhenjian said, "I was inspired by my elder brother's Zen books and have been a Buddha ever since. I have often gone to Mount Lingshan to study the Dharma of Nirvana and have learned from each other. As a result, I have gained a lot and my power has increased. However, compared with my elder brother's power, my power is very small."

Jiang Yuan said: "Brother, don't say such things, but I am happy that you have made progress in your practice."

The two talked at the table.

Zhen Jian was somewhat surprised when he saw Zuo Liang, and asked, "Big Brother, who is this person who can practice with you?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "This is Zuo Liang, a descendant of the Zuo family in the mountains in the past. He is now practicing with me."

Zhen saw, heard and stood up to bow to Zuo Liang.

Seeing this, Zuo Liang panicked and returned the greeting, saying, "I dare not accept the gift from you, sir."

Zhen Jian shook his head and said, "You can bear it, but you can bear the courtesy of all the disciples who came out of the Three Stars Immortal Cave."

The Zuo family lived in the mountains for a long time, but many of the disciples who went into the mountains benefited from their kindness. To put it in a broader sense, it was like a real person who received their guidance unintentionally. To put it in a narrower sense, it was like Sun Wukong who received their guidance.

I truly saw that I had received kindness from the Zuo family in the past, and now that I see their descendants practicing, I would like to pay my respects to them.

Zuo Liang asked, "Sir, are you talking about something related to my ancestors?"

Zhen Jian laughed and said, "Do you know anything about your ancestors?"

Zuo Liang said, "I once heard Grandpa Buddha tell me about this."

When Zhen saw and heard the word "Grandpa Buddha", he was confused and asked, "Who is Grandpa Buddha?"

The Bull Demon King replied: "The Buddha of Wisdom, he is talking about Wukong."

As he spoke, he looked at Zuo Liang again and said, "Old Zuo, the one in front of you is also the Lingshan Buddha, also known as the Buddha of Meditation and Wisdom."

Zuo Liang was shocked when he heard this, and immediately bowed to Zhen Jian and said, "Greetings to Grandpa Buddha."

Zhenjian said, "No need to be polite. You are practicing with my senior brother, so you don't need to greet me."

Zuo Liang still insisted on bowing.

A group of people were talking in the mansion.

Suddenly, I heard crying sounds coming from outside the house.

Jiang Yuan and his companions were all puzzled, so they sent Bull Demon King out of the mansion to ask where the crying sound came from.

The Bull Demon King took the order and went out.

Not long after, the Bull Demon King came back and reported to the Immortal Master, saying, "Master, the crying sound came from outside the palace. I went forward to ask, and he said that it was the people living down the mountain who had suffered injustice, so they went up the mountain to sacrifice to the blue bull and pray that the blue bull would make a decision for them."

Jiang Yuan heard this and said with a smile, "Then King Si is really kindhearted, otherwise the people living under this mountain would never have suffered injustice and offered sacrifices in exchange for King Si's protection."

The Bull Demon King said, "That Green Bull is a good demon, and has never done any evil since it came to the mortal world. I heard that when my dear brother Wukong was traveling west, many demons from heaven came to the mortal world and did all kinds of evil. They are far inferior to the Green Bull."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "May I ask what kind of injustice we have suffered? Since King Si ordered us to surrender, we should take care of the sacrifice now to avoid damaging King Si's reputation."

The Bull Demon King then told the story.

(End of this chapter)