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

Chapter 237 This body is not my body, this me is not my true me.

It is said that Zhenren was in a cave and heard that people outside the cave were crying out for justice and offering sacrifices to the green ox, praying to the green ox to seek justice for them. Zhenren wanted to know what was going on and help them, so he asked the Bull Demon King the reason.

The Bull Demon King said, "My Lord, the injustices suffered by the people down here are because there was a corrupt official in the Donglai County down here who took people's lives lightly, causing the people's anger. As a result, the people have grievances but nowhere to appeal, so we offer sacrifices to the Green Bull and borrow the power of ghosts and gods to redress our grievances."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan asked, "Corrupt officials take human lives lightly? Do you have any details?"

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, I don't know the details, but if you want more details, I will go over and check it out."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No need, just send the Earth God to ask and we'll know. Junior Brother, please go there and comfort the people here and teach them to go back."

Zhenjian accepted the order, bowed to Jiang Yuan, and left the cave.

The Bull Demon King stood in the mansion, chanting an incantation and performing a magic spell to 'drive away the gods'. After a short while, dozens of land and mountain gods emerged from the ground to pay their respects.

The land and mountain gods all bowed and said, "The thirteen land and mountain gods of the 800-li Liquan Mountain pay their respects to the Immortal Master and the Ox King."

Jiang Yuan said, "No need to be polite. I heard that the people down here taught corrupt officials to take human lives lightly to arouse public anger. Do you know the details of this matter?"

The land gods and mountain gods looked at each other in bewilderment and said, "Master, we have heard it ourselves."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since you have heard about it, please tell me the details of this matter and how that corrupt official could take human life so lightly."

The crowd said, "Master, that corrupt official is guilty of all kinds of evil, and taking human lives is one of them. His act of taking human lives is related to a Taoist practitioner."

Jiang Yuan asked: "How do you say that?"

The crowd replied, "Master, listen to what we have to say. There is Donglai County at the foot of Liquan Mountain. There is a Taoist temple in the city. The temple is called 'Xuan Di Temple'. There is a cultivator there who worships Xuan Di. However, he has a bad heart and is deceived by the two gods. He often practices evil methods. He drinks the blood of young boys and girls, and uses the bodies of unmarried girls to make red lead. He is in collusion with the corrupt officials in the city, and it is difficult to deal with him."

Jiang Yuan asked again: "There is no way to surrender? Why don't you report it?"

Everyone panicked and said, "No, don't worry. That corrupt official is so powerful that he can cover the sky with one hand, making it difficult for the people to redress their grievances. The practicing judge who has cultivated the Five Thunders True Method has already warned us not to report it, but if we report it, we will be punished, so we cannot disobey him."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan sighed and said nothing.

The Bull Demon King scolded: "Since you are the gods of the land and mountains, you should protect the peace of the area. Why are you afraid of the powerful and not reporting to the authorities, causing the people to suffer and the local area to be in turmoil? You are so afraid of death."

The land and mountain gods trembled in fear, knelt on the ground, and dared not speak a word.

The Bull Demon King asked, "Master, what should we do?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Let's settle this matter and report it to the Heavenly Palace. Ask the officials in the Heavenly Palace to deal with it. You guys can leave now."

The land and mountain gods did not dare to disobey and retreated after paying their respects.

After everyone left, Zhen Jian walked in and said, "Big Brother, I have appeased the people outside the palace."

Jiang Yuan nodded, then recounted what had happened before, and told Zhenjian what the land god had said.

Zhen saw and heard this and became a little angry. He said, "How can such evil people be unforgivable? Since they are practicing, they should cultivate their minds. Even if they have never cultivated their minds and have never turned to the right path, they should not do such evil things. Big Brother, you should take care of them."

Jiang Yuan said, "Let's just go to the city."

Zhen Jian said: "Big Brother, I will lead the deer for you."

Jiang Yuan agreed with a smile.

Zhen Jian then led the white deer over and invited Zhen Zhen to get on the deer's back. After Zhen Zhen turned over and rode on it, they gathered their forces, left the cave, and headed towards Donglai County.

Niu Mowang and Zuo Liang followed closely behind, following the white deer.

The Bull Demon King looked at Zhenjian Qianlu and said, "When my brother came, he snatched the work from my hands. Now that the Buddha of Wisdom has come, he has also snatched the work from my hands."

Zuo Liang smiled and said, "Master Niu, wouldn't it be better if you could relax a little?"

The Bull Demon King said, "What's the benefit? This is my duty, to protect you. I feel a little relaxed now, which makes me feel uneasy."

Zuo Liang said, "Master Niu can rest assured. The two Buddhas will eventually leave. Master Niu is your guardian. Later, Master Niu will have his own place to use his skills."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King said, "Old Zuo, you have changed a lot compared to before. I remember when you first started practicing, you couldn't handle some of the techniques, and you were just an ordinary person. Now your mind is clear and your eyes are bright."

Zuo Liang smiled and said, "Master Niu, I have been practicing with you for some years. If there is no change, then wouldn't it be a waste of time to practice for so long?"

The Bull Demon King asked, "What changes do you feel today?"

Zuo Liang heard this and pondered for a long time before saying, "Master Niu, I can't answer what has changed, but I feel at ease in my heart. No matter how painful my body is, I don't feel any pain. But I have the thought that this body is not mine, and this me is not my true self."

This body is not my body, and this self is not my true self.

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King was shocked and asked again, "Why do you think this?"

Zuo Liang smiled and replied, "Sometimes when I walk, I see the vastness of the world and reflect on my body. I think about it and realize that the reason why I was born with a life span of thirty to fifty years is because I am in my body. When I walk with pain, it is also the pain in my body. Is this body really my body?"

The Bull Demon King admired Zuo Liang's understanding. This old fellow had been practicing Buddhism and his understanding was great, but it was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Zuo Liang was talking with the Bull Demon King when he suddenly heard a voice.

"Zuo Liang, how do you know that what you think is right?"

Zuo Liang looked up and saw Jiang Yuan turning around and looking at him with a smile.

Zuo Liang bowed and replied, "Sir, I am just imagining things, but I don't know if what I am imagining is true."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "When you have free time, you can spend more time to feel the space between your eyebrows, maybe it will be helpful to you."

Zuo Liang didn't understand what he meant, but he still responded by saying yes.

The group went to Donglai County.

……

Time flies, and before I knew it, three days had passed.

The group of immortals arrived at Donglai County at a leisurely pace. When they were close to Donglai County, Jiang Yuan stopped the white deer and said, "Junior brother, Niu'er, where is the Xuan Emperor Temple? Do you know?"

The Bull Demon King shook his head and said, "Master, I don't know. How about I go find someone to ask?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded. The Bull Demon King then transformed into a big man and walked forward, but saw an old man in front of him who was going to the city.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward to stop him.

The old man was frightened by the burly figure of the Bull King and asked, "How dare you, a rough man, block my way?"

The Bull King smiled and bowed, saying, "Old sir, I am a cultivator who has traveled from the west. I am confused when I arrived here, so I stopped you to ask you a question."

The old man returned the greeting and said, "You are from a foreign country? Tell me your confusion. Since you are from a foreign country, I will explain it to you."

The Bull King asked, "Old Sir, I am new to the city. I have heard from other places that there is a Xuan Emperor Temple in this city and that there are people practicing in the temple, so I want to go there to visit. However, I am new here and I don't know where the Xuan Emperor Temple is. I wonder if you can explain it to me?"

When the old man heard that Bull Demon King was going to the Xuan Emperor Temple, his face changed and he said, "You are a foreigner, why do you want to go to the Xuan Emperor Temple? It is a place that cannot be visited. You should return home as soon as possible."

The Bull Demon King asked, "Why can't I go?"

The old man whispered, "There is no one practicing there. It is just a demon in human skin. But everyone in the city knows that Xuandi Temple is a demon temple."

The Bull Demon King was puzzled when he heard this, but he wanted to get the answer, so he said, "Please tell me where the Xuan Emperor Temple is. I am not afraid of any evil spirits. If the Xuan Emperor Temple is a place where people practice cultivation, then I will do as I wish. If the Xuan Emperor Temple is a demon temple, I also have some skills to subdue demons. Please believe me, old sir, I am a true cultivator."

When the old man heard what Bull Demon King said, he became a little angry and said that he had no good intentions. He then told Bull Demon King that Xuan Emperor Temple was in the west of the city and left.

The Bull Demon King turned back, walked in front of the real person, and said what the old man said.

After saying this, Niu Mo Wang looked around the city and said, "Master, the old man said that the Xuan Emperor Temple is haunted, but I don't see any evil spirits in the city. It doesn't seem like there are evil spirits in this city."

Jiang Yuan said with a smile: "Niu'er, you must know that humans can also be monsters."

Upon hearing what the Immortal Master said, the Bull Demon King immediately understood and said, "The cultivator in the Xuan Emperor Temple has indeed committed many evil deeds. Although he is a human being, he is regarded as a demon by others."

Jiang Yuan said, "Let's go into the city and take a look at the Xuan Emperor Temple."

Zhen Jian said, "Big Brother, should we go in openly or use a trick to deceive people?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Let's use a trick to see if it's just one person doing evil in Xuandi Temple, or if the whole temple is doing evil."

He really saw, heard and listened, so he took out the leaf fan from his waist and waved at him and the others, chanting a spell to create an illusion.

Jiang Yuan and others only felt a divine light flash around them, and then they walked into the city. After entering the city, they did not look at the scenery in the city for long, but went to the Xuan Emperor Temple in the west of the city.

Before long, the group arrived at Xuan Emperor Temple in the west of the city. They saw that Xuan Emperor Temple covers a very large area, about a hundred acres. In front of the temple was a stele with three characters "Xuan Emperor Temple". Looking inside, they saw layers of palaces and pavilions, stacked corridors and rooms, and a dazzling array of things. On both sides of the road, they saw two rows of pine and bamboo and a forest of cypress. It was exactly "quiet and pure without age or rules, and proudly beautiful with color and appearance".

Seeing this, the Bull Demon King said, "Master, this is a good place to go."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "It's a good place to go, but I wonder if Emperor Xuan knows that he has such a temple in Donglai County. Let's go in and take a look, and then go to worship in front of the statue of Emperor Xuan."

Zuo Liang stepped forward and asked, "Sir, we are going to go inside and worship before the statue of Emperor Xuan. Will Emperor Xuan know about this?"

Before Jiang Yuan could answer, the Bull Demon King said, "If you are just an ordinary pilgrim, but you are sincere, you will know it. If you are not sincere, it is useless to worship. But you are different. You and the Emperor are friends, so the Emperor will know when you worship."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Don't say anything more, and go in quickly."

The group walked in and followed the road until they were close to the main hall. They saw smoke rising from the hall and a statue of Emperor Xuan was enshrined on it with a few pilgrims among them. There were five or six Taoists sitting cross-legged on both sides of the hall with their eyes closed, chanting scriptures as if they were doing their homework.

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, there are pilgrims here, and it is not convenient for us to worship."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "It's okay. You can stay here for a while. After the pilgrims leave, we will go forward to pay our respects. But I don't know what sutra those Taoists are chanting. I have never heard of it."

The Bull Demon King listened attentively and said, "Master, I don't know what scriptures these Taoists are chanting."

Zhenjian said, "What they are reciting sounds familiar."

Zhenjian listened attentively for a long time and said in confusion: "Big Brother, what they are reciting is not the Taoist scriptures, but the Buddhist scriptures, the scriptures of the law of nirvana. However, what these people are reciting are all different scriptures, and the scriptures they are reciting are a sentence here and a sentence there. They are not doing their homework, but fooling around."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "They worship the Emperor Xuan but recite Buddhist scriptures. People who don't know would think that these people are disciples of my Sanxing Immortal Mansion and would like to see 'the three families united as one' the most."

Zhenjian said: "These people are disrespectful to the gods and immortals. I'm afraid they are here to seek personal gain by using the Taoist temple."

Jiang Yuan said, "Let's go somewhere else and see what else he has in his temple."

Everyone responded, changed direction, and headed towards the attic behind the main hall.

As I walked along, I saw many Taoists in the attic, but most of them had no magical powers, so how could they see through the real people's tricks.

On the other hand, the Immortal and others were walking together from the attic, which gave them their first glimpse of the absurdity of this Taoist temple. They saw a Taoist defecating in the First Lingguan Hall under the main hall of Emperor Xuan, and they also saw a Taoist in formal clothes doing indecent things with a woman in the back hall of Emperor Xuan. They also saw many Taoists talking nonsense about immortals and gods, and were very disrespectful.

Along the way, there was not a single place that was filled with kindness.

The group walked to the outside of the Taoist temple's abbot's house and stopped.

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, this Taoist temple does not have any goodness in it."

Zhenjian said: "It makes sense to teach people to talk about the place of evil spirits here."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Wait and see the master of this temple."

The group walked closer to the room. When they were near the door, they saw an old Taoist with white hair and beard sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the room. He had a kind face and benevolent eyes, like a person doing good deeds.

The Immortal knew at a glance that this person was an evildoer. He had a divine eye and could see that he had deep sins. His kind eyes were nothing but a pretense.

The Bull Demon King asked, "Master, do you want to show up and ask him a question?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No need. This place is a place to worship Emperor Xuan. Niu'er, Junior Brother, let's go back to the main hall and invite Emperor Xuan to come and punish this place."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "Master, do you remember the Jinyang Temple in the past? It was also a place to worship the Xuan Emperor, but he was not determined in his cultivation and did not know the true number. How could he worship the Xuan Emperor and do many illegal things?"

Jiang Yuan said, "Niu'er, you can't talk like that. Emperor Xuan has great merits in the lower world. Many people know his name, and those who worship him are countless. The heaven and earth have numbers, the sun and the moon have regularities, and it is common for people to break the law and do evil."

The Bull Demon King thought for a moment and agreed, then asked, "Master, when I first started practicing with you, the master gave me a talisman to enter my stomach, but I did something wrong in my practice, and I had constant stomach pain. I should have been careful with my words and actions. However, since then, I have sometimes talked a lot, but I have never had stomach pain. Why is that?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "After Wukong wore the golden hoop himself, it no longer bound him. But since you are determined to practice and keep the precepts, how can the talisman give you a stomachache? Even if it is a golden hoop, the talisman is not used to harm you, but to help you practice."

After saying this, the Immortal went to the main hall of Emperor Xuan.

(End of this chapter)