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

Chapter 282: Lu Yu's confusion, Ziwei descends to earth

On the mountain road of Wudang Mountain, Lu Yu said that he didn't want to leave. When his father Lu Rang heard it, he became angry.

Lu Rang said, "Yu'er, I often tell you that you should be polite and reasonable. Now you insist on staying here. Tell me why you want to stay here. If you can give me a reason, I will stay here with you."

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "Father, please forgive me for being rude, but I have feelings in my heart. If I listen to you and leave, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

Lu Rang said: "Yu'er, how old are you now? How can you say that you will regret it for the rest of your life?"

Lu Yu said: "Father, if it were in the past, I would never have said this, and I would not know what life is, but now things are different. If I really feel it, I will regret it if I leave."

Upon hearing this, Lu Rang was silent for a long time and looked at his child carefully. He had never known that his child had such an independent side. It made him feel unfamiliar. Perhaps he was too seldom in caring for this child.

Seeing Lu Yu like this, he sighed and said to the Immortal and Emperor Xuan, "I hope you can forgive my child's rudeness."

Jiang Yuan shook his head, looked at Lu Yu, and said, "Since you have come to visit me, you must have something to ask, but you can tell me what it is."

Lu Yu shook his head, somewhat bewildered, and said, "Gentlemen, I don't know why I have come to pay my respects to you, but I have a feeling in my heart, so I should do this. If I don't do this, it would be disrespectful."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "But if you bow to me, there must be something. This is common sense. You bow to me for no reason. How can I accept your bow?"

Lu Yu didn't know how to answer.

When Lu Rang heard this, he also felt that Lu Yu was rude. He shook his head and said, "Gentlemen, it was my child who was rude, but please don't blame me."

Jiang Yuan didn't say anything to Lu Rang, but just looked at Lu Yu without saying a word.

Lu Yu suddenly raised his head and pleaded, "Father, please leave for a while. I want to talk to the two gentlemen alone."

Upon hearing this, Lu Rang pondered for a long time, then stood up and left, taking his servants with him and moving a little further away.

Lu Yu looked at the immortal and bowed again.

The real person did not accept the courtesy, dodged and said: "But you are fine, how can I accept your courtesy."

Lu Yu said: "Gentlemen, although I don't know why I should bow to you, but I have a feeling that it is absolutely right to bow to you."

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he and Emperor Xuan looked at each other and smiled knowingly. They both knew that this was the help from the real master. It was enough to show that Lu Yu, the real master, was spiritual and had not lost his true self. The two gods were weak, so they could not find the real master.

In this life, Lu Yu should find a way to practice cultivation.

Jiang Yuan said, "Since you are worshipping me, you must have your reasons. I have just accepted your gift, which was not right. However, since I have accepted your gift, I should solve your doubts and eliminate your disasters. Tell me what confusions and disasters you have, and I will solve them for you."

Lu Yu said: "Sir, I have no confusion, nor any disaster."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "But any unclear thoughts in your mind can be considered confusion."

Hearing this, Lu Yu timidly asked, "What kind of thoughts are unclear? Can't they all be expressed in words?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "You can talk about it, don't worry."

Lu Yu hesitated for a while, then said, "But I often wonder, what do we want in life?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and asked, "Why do you have such concerns? I see that you have an aristocratic air and an official aura between your eyebrows, so I guess your family must be an official family. If you were an ordinary family, you would have given up on such concerns, but why do you have such concerns?"

Lu Yu said: "But I don't know why I have such thoughts, but I often think about it in my free time. What do people want in life? For money? For an official position? But after a few decades, they will die. No matter what they choose, they can't escape death. Even kings, princes, generals and ministers cannot escape this truth. So what are they looking for?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "You are only ten years old, why are you so worried?"

Lu Yu said: "Although I am young, I have seen my grandfather serve as an official for many years, with countless gold and silver, and power, but in his later years he died with a sigh, without gaining anything. So I have this thought, I don't know what people want, what is the real purpose? If no matter what they want, it will all be in vain, why do people come to this world?"

Jiang Yuan asked, "Does your father know what you are thinking?"

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I dare not speak of this thought, for fear that my father would look at me in a strange way. That's why I have never told anyone else, only to you, sir."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "But it's normal for you to have such thoughts. Life is like a dream, and you can't be free. If you can't escape from the sea of ​​suffering, you will eventually die. That's why there is a saying of practicing. Only by practicing can you be free and avoid life and death."

Lü Yu was still young, so he did not understand what he was saying. He said, "Practice? What does it mean to practice? Are you practicing too, Master?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and smiled, "I am practicing. But I don't know how to explain practice to you. I just wait for you to understand it yourself. When you understand why you practice, you will start practicing. But I can tell you that when I was young, I often had the same trouble as you. I know that life is like a dream and it will all be empty in the end, so I started practicing through practice."

Lu Yu was surprised and asked, "Sir, can practicing Buddhism help you escape the cycle of life and death?"

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Lu Yu was intelligent when he was young and already understood something.

Jiang Yuan said, "You have this doubt now, but I cannot explain it to you clearly, so you have never been able to resolve it. So, I will tell you an interesting method. If you are predestined, you may be able to understand what cultivation is."

Say it.

The immortal reached out and gently stroked Lv Yu's forehead, and passed a text on meditation to him.

Lu Yu was greatly surprised. He didn't know why French words appeared in his mind. He was about to look up and ask the immortal for details.

But the immortal smiled and shook his head, then left with Emperor Xuan, and disappeared from Lu Yu's sight in a short while.

Lu Yu stared blankly at the real person leaving, not knowing what to imagine.

Lu Rang and a group of servants came over and asked, "Yu'er, is he injured?"

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "Father, no."

Lu Rang said: "Since he has never been injured, why is he so dull?"

Lu Yu said, "Father, I just discussed this with the teacher, and I was unable to react for a while."

Lu Rang asked, "What did those two tell you?"

Lu Yu shook his head and didn't answer.

Seeing this, Lu Rang said nothing more, only saying: "Those two are really fast, but in such a short time, we can't find any trace of them."

Lu Yu suddenly raised his head and asked, "Father, do you know what cultivation is?"

Lu Rang was stunned and said, "Practice? Yu'er, what you are talking about is that kind of bluffing trick. In which sect are these people practicing?"

After hearing this, Lu Yu fell into deep thought and stopped talking. The group then continued along the mountain path, going to burn incense and worship Emperor Xuan. After walking for a long time, they arrived at the palace and worshipped the gods enshrined in Wudang Mountain.

After being reminded by Lu Rang, Lu Yu came back to his senses and focused on the worship.

The group joined thousands of pilgrims and visited the palace in order.

When they were worshipping in the main hall and offering incense to Emperor Xuan, Lu Yu held the incense and worshipped. Suddenly, he looked up at the statue of Emperor Xuan. He pointed at the statue of Emperor Xuan and said, "Father, isn't that the statue of one of the two gentlemen just now?"

Lu Rang was just about to tell Lu Yu to be more sincere and not to act foolishly, but when he looked up, he saw the face of the statue of Emperor Xuan, which was indeed somewhat similar to one of the two people he had just seen.

When Lu Rang saw it, he was horrified and said to the servants behind him: "Look carefully, does this statue look the same as the one of the two people we saw earlier?"

When the servants saw the statue of Emperor Xuan, they had already knelt on the ground and kowtowed sincerely. Now when they heard the master's question, they dared not not answer and said, "Master, it is the same, it is the same!"

How could Lu Rang not know that he had met immortals today? Those two must be immortals. One of them was the Xuan Emperor, and the other one could travel with the Xuan Emperor, so he must also be an immortal.

He couldn't help shaking with excitement. What a blessing it was to be able to enter Wudang Mountain and see the immortals.

Lu Rang was excited and pulled Lu Yu to pay homage. He also repeatedly asked what the immortal had said to Lu Yu.

Lu Yu said nothing and kept his mouth shut.

Lu Rang had no choice but to give up, and Lu Yu kowtowed to express his gratitude to the gods.

……

But in Taihe Palace, the Immortal and Emperor Xuan returned here again.

Emperor Xuan smiled and said, "Why don't you teach him to practice with you? This way, he can save himself with half the effort."

Jiang Yuan said, "He has not yet understood the principles of cultivation. Even if he follows me, it will be very difficult for him to save himself. It is better to teach him to understand on his own. There is a saying that goes, 'It is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish.' He is still young and does not understand the truth. We should not rush him. I believe that when he grows up, he will understand on his own and know what cultivation is."

Emperor Xuan said: "It is enough for the Immortal to know this. I see that the child has spiritual energy. If he can understand it one day and get the help of the Immortal, he will be able to save himself."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "This person is destined to learn from Lao Jun, but if he practices hard and does not forget his original intention, he will succeed in his practice."

Emperor Xuan deeply agreed with this.

The two of them talked for a long time in the Taihe Palace. Most of their discussions were about the Dharma of spiritual practice. How could one know how long time is in the human world?

Time flies, and before I knew it, another year has gone by.

Jiang Yuan was very happy to talk with Emperor Xuan, but he knew he could not stay here for long, so he had to say goodbye to Emperor Xuan and wanted to travel among the human world to repair the laws.

When Emperor Xuan heard the immortal's farewell, he could not stop him and personally saw him off.

After they left Taihe Palace, they left Wudang Mountain. Emperor Xuan personally escorted them for a hundred miles. When they reached the top of a mountain, he asked the immortals to stop them. Only then did Emperor Xuan stop.

The Immortal dismounted the white deer, supported Emperor Xuan with his hand, and said, "Emperor Xuan, there is no need to see you off, but you must stay at Mount Wudang. We are now some distance away from Mount Wudang, so Emperor Xuan can go back now."

Emperor Xuan said: "I am very happy to talk with the Immortal. Now that the Immortal is leaving, I will see him off. The Immortal does not need to persuade me."

Jiang Yuan said, "I know what the Emperor Xuan meant, but he has a duty and cannot stay for long. You can go back. I will be supported by you on the way forward. Please rest assured. Besides, if the Emperor Xuan sets out again, it may be thousands of miles away. If he sets out again, we will not be seeing him off, but traveling with him."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​continuing to see him off and said, "Since it is as Immortal said, I will not see you off any more. But please take care of yourself and don't get hurt by the demons along the way."

Jiang Yuan replied with a smile.

Zhu Bajie came forward with his load on his shoulders and said with a smile, "You should be at ease. I am here with you, as well as the Bull King and others. No demon along the way would dare to hurt you. If they dare to get close to you, we will subdue them and never let them hurt you."

Emperor Xuan looked at Zhu Bajie and said, "If it was said by any other person, I would not believe it, but if it was said by Marshal Tianpeng, I would believe it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie burst into laughter, but he also seemed to be talking nonsense.

He was about to say something else when he suddenly felt a pain on the back of his head. He turned around and saw the green bull throwing an orange at him, as if the green bull would hit him as soon as he said something. Zhu Bajie was so scared that he dared not say anything.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to leave with everyone else, Emperor Xuan stopped and, in accordance with Immortal's wishes, decided not to see him off.

The two were about to separate.

Zhenren and Xuan Emperor both felt something in their hearts and looked up at the sky. It was broad daylight now, but they could see with their Dharma eyes that there seemed to be a purple star falling from the sky. Along with the purple star, there were several stars surrounding it, which seemed to be guarding the purple star and were falling at the same time.

Several stars fell from the sky and disappeared in a short while, leaving no trace.

The Immortal and the Emperor Xuan both knew what this was about. It must be the Purple Star Emperor who came down to earth and wanted to personally save the world. The Immortal had entered the Purple Star Palace in the past and heard the Purple Star Emperor talk about reincarnating in the world, but he never thought that the Purple Star Emperor would act so quickly and had already reincarnated in the world.

Emperor Xuan said: "I never thought that Emperor Ziwei would be reincarnated in the human world. The Emperor is so merciful."

Jiang Yuan agreed with him and said, "What Emperor Xuan said makes sense. If the Emperor really has a compassionate heart, he would like to come down to the mortal world in person to save the world. This is great compassion. I am far inferior to the Emperor."

Emperor Xuan said: "What the Immortal said makes sense. I am not as good as Emperor Ziwei. His great compassion makes me respect him. Although I have some compassion, I am definitely not as good as the Emperor who came down to the mortal world in person to save the world."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "I wonder what kind of waves the Purple Star Emperor will stir up in the human world. If I have the chance to see the Emperor, I will definitely lend a helping hand."

Emperor Xuan said: "What the Immortal said is very true, but the Immortal has a predestined relationship with the Emperor. If the Emperor wants to help, I will also lend a helping hand to the Immortal."

Jiang Yuan replied.

The two chatted for a while on the top of the mountain, and then parted ways.

Emperor Xuan returned to Wudang Mountain, while the immortals went outside.

As Zhu Bajie was walking, he stepped forward to ask about the Purple Star Emperor.

Jiang Yuan did not hide anything and told Zhu Bajie and others everything that Emperor Ziwei had done.

Zhu Bajie and others who did not know what Ziwei Emperor had done were all shocked when they heard these words.

Zhu Bajie was puzzled and asked, "Master, even if the Purple Star Emperor has great magical powers, if he enters the human world, if he is not careful, he will fall into the sea of ​​suffering and it will be difficult to escape. If this is the case, why does he want to enter the human world? It would be better to enjoy freedom, eternal peace, and receive thousands of offerings?"

Jiang Yuan said: "The Emperor has great compassion, and his thoughts and ideas are different. Zhu Bajie, you have not yet achieved success, and your practice is insufficient, so you are not clear. But if you achieve success in the future, your thoughts and ideas will be different."

(End of this chapter)