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

Chapter 28: The Great Sound is Silent, the Great Elephant is Invisible

But when Laozi heard Yin Xi's request to write a book and leave his name behind, he remained silent.

Yin Xi bowed down and said, "I beg the saint to leave a letter to teach those who hear the truth. I wish to spend the rest of my life passing on the saint's wisdom and teaching those who hear the truth to not be trapped by the two gods!"

Laozi remained silent, sitting on the green ox and pretending to close his eyes.

Jiang Yuan stood nearby, thinking in his heart how this "Tao Te Ching" should appear in the world, and how this should be the vitality of Jambudvīpa.

As Yin Xi said, there are many people in the world who have heard the Tao but do not move forward, but there are also many who have heard the Tao. Now the saints are in front, and those who hear the Tao later have no chance to see it. If there is a scripture written by a saint to teach those who hear the Tao later, they will not stop moving forward because the Tao is unclear and dark. This would be a kindness.

There is a saying that goes 'those who hear the Tao become one'.

Therefore, Yin Xi was one who heard the Tao first, and also one who heard the Tao later.

Yin Xi bowed again and asked again: "Please welcome the Saint!"

After three invitations, Laozi opened his eyes, looked at Yin Xi, and said, "During these three days of March, you have treated me as a disciple, and I have also taught you the Dharma. This is a fair deal. Now I accept your three greetings and leave a book here for those who come after me to read."

Yin Xi was overjoyed, so he bowed and said, "Please write a book, sage!"

Jiang Yuan calmed his breath and concentrated his mind, listening to Lao Tzu's lectures in the hope of gaining some insight into the truth.

Maybe he saw the guard of the pass performing the ceremony, or maybe he saw Laozi riding a green ox upside down. The people and soldiers of the pass came recently, but none of them took their lives seriously. So let's just see some good things.

Laozi pondered for a long time, got off the blue ox, looked at Jiang Yuan, and said with a smile: "Guangxin, why are you carrying a bag?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Mr. Boyang, there is a family living in the mountains. I have a good relationship with them. When they saw me going down the mountain for a long journey, they took the grains from their fields to feed me."

Laozi smiled happily and said, "I haven't tasted the grains from the fields for a long time. Can Guangxin give me some to fill my stomach?"

Jiang Yuan handed over the baggage: "Mr. Boyang, please!"

I took off my bag, took out the grain without thinking it was raw, put it in my mouth and chewed it, smiling, "Good food, good food!"

Say it.

A grain of rice fell between his fingers and landed on the ground.

Hey!
The grains fell to the ground without any sound, but they were as resounding as the sound of a huge bell in Yin Xi's heart. He suddenly saw words in front of him, which seemed endless and great. He was surprised and calmed his mind. He tried to write down the words, knowing that this was the wisdom of a saint.
It is said that 'great sounds are soundless, great elephants are invisible'.

The wisdom of a sage is not common sense.

When Laozi saw Yin Xi like this, he nodded with a smile. He was about to turn around and say something to Jiang Yuan, but he saw that Jiang Yuan was in a trance. It was really a blessing.

Laozi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I forgot that you, a boy who has learned the truth, are here."

When I saw the people and soldiers at the pass again, none of them knew what was going on. Seeing that there was no hope, they scattered like birds and beasts.

Just like in Luoyi, the purple air is always there, but there is no chance to see it.

The Tao is always there. The Tao has never left. The Tao welcomes everyone who comes.

When Yin Xi saw the Tao, he wrote down some words to memorize what was in his mind, and asked him to remember more words. When Jiang Yuan saw the Tao, he felt something different. He saw in front of him something like a furnace, with a low fire under the furnace simmering slowly, and two beads in the furnace.

This is the other lung palace.

When Jiang Yuan saw that he was here, he blew air towards his lungs as if possessed by a ghost.

With one breath of air, the fire started to burn vigorously, and two beads appeared in the furnace.

Jiang Yuanjue made some progress in his practice and was delighted. He followed the wonderful method of controlling the fire taught by his ancestors and controlled the fire, making the fire big and small at different times, so that the lung furnace would be red everywhere and the Golden Buddha would take shape sooner.

The boy became a fire-burning boy.

After an unknown amount of time, a sound suddenly arose.

"Too much is too little."

Laozi's voice rose.

Jiang Yuan woke up as if from a dream. He opened his eyes to see the sky was bright and saw Laozi sitting on a green ox, looking around with a smile. He asked, "Mr. Boyang, are you late for the journey west?"

Laozi shook his head: "During the meal."

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized that he had been making fire for many years, but he only had time to eat a meal, which really made his life feel like a year.

He saw two beads in his lungs, one black and one white. He was so delighted that he did not even think about entering into a state of meditation during a meal, thus saving himself many years of hard practice.

Laozi laughed and said, "How come you, Guangxin, have been in the Dao for so long, yet you still want to live forever? How come you don't forget to practice after hearing the Dao?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Mr. Boyang, I have entered the Dao but have not yet achieved immortality."

Laozi said: "Entering Taoism is half immortality. You have the Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman given by Bodhi on your body, so why don't you achieve immortality?"

Jiang Yuan said again: "Half of it has never been a long-lived magic. The Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman is a side door. Now I am holding the right path, but I have gained a side door and lost the right path. I deserve to die."

Laozi raised his palm and said, "The right path is difficult, but if you keep walking, you will reach your destination! Broaden your mind and get going!"

Say it.

He pretended to close his eyes.

Jiang Yuan glanced at Yin Xi, who was still in meditation. Knowing that Laozi didn't want to talk to him anymore, he patted the green ox lightly.

The blue ox mooed, walked slowly, and left the pass.

……

At dusk, Yin Xi woke up and saw that Laozi and Jiang Yuan were gone. He was very anxious and asked the servants, only to find out that they had already gone west.

Yin Xi had to give up, because when he heard the Tao, he remembered a lot of words, but he only remembered 3,000 words. Before he could remember the rest, he woke up.

How could he not know what an opportunity this was? He only wished to remember two more words so that those who heard them later would understand them more clearly. However, Laozi had already passed away.

"What can I do? What can I do!"

Yin Xi sighed and only wrote down the three thousand words, adding everything he had learned to complete the five thousand words to form a book.

……

Purple air comes from the east for thirty thousand miles, and the sage travels west through Hangu Pass.

Jiang Yuan and Laozi set out on their journey westward, walking in the desert for many days. However, the journey was not like the one they had taken with their master in the past. The road was made of golden light, going straight to the end. They just let the green ox walk, and no one knew where it was going.

Although Jiang Yuan didn't know where he was going, he knew that this direction was not the same as Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. This road was "scorching hot and filling the sky, and the ground was covered with red and majestic", and the heat was much worse than before.

Jiang Tong'er was quite relaxed and at ease. He heard that by making fire, his practice would improve. Now the fire in his lungs was too strong, so he should take a break and make gradual progress so that the fire would be stable and his spirit would not be damaged.

Laozi rode upside down on a green ox and saw Jiang Yuan walking under the scorching sun. He said, "Guangxin is protecting me. Don't you feel bored?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "I am lucky to be able to protect Mr. Boyang."

Laozi laughed and said, "Guang Xin knows, why am I riding backwards without pointing the direction?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "I heard my master talk about the truth. When he was teaching the sutras, he said that the truth is natural. Mr. Boyang rode upside down and the blue ox ran freely, which is exactly in line with this truth."

Laozi nodded and said, "If you can get the true teachings of Bodhi, Bodhi is proficient in both Taoism and Buddhism. Guangxin knows what to do on this journey to the west."

Jiang Yuan heard this, thought about it and said: "My master said that Master Boyang was born to bring life to the Southern Continent and the Western Continent. Earlier, Master Boyang asked Yin Xi to be the lifeblood of the Southern Continent. This trip must be to bring life to the Western Continent."

Laozi said: "Yes! This trip should be to convert the barbarians into Buddhas and educate them."

Jiang Yuan asked: "There is a Buddha in Lingshan. The Buddha Mr. Boyang is talking about is not the Buddha of Lingshan, but the Buddha of education."

Lao Tzu smiled without saying a word, feeling relaxed and contented.

Jiang Yuan also said nothing, but just went forward to protect the law, holding the Yu Ding in his hand. If there were any demons that offended him, he would definitely not tolerate it...

(End of this chapter)