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

Chapter 391 Acquiring Knowledge: Immortals and Buddhas?

Time flies, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Now, Wang Chongyang, guided by a shepherd boy on a mountain path, headed towards Mount Xiyi. After traveling for three days, he indeed saw a 'fairy mountain' ahead, which was Mount Xiyi, making him very happy.

Looking at the horse beneath him, Wang Chongyang sighed and said, "Although I have not approached this mountain, I know it is extraordinary. However, that shepherd boy is also extraordinary. He said I could reach Mount Xiyi in three days. He did not know I had a horse. I did not believe him, thinking that with a horse, I could reach it in a day. I never thought that even with the help of a horse, it would still take three days to reach this sacred mountain."

Wang Chongyang urged his horse forward, and before long they approached Mount Xiyi.

He saw a mountain path ahead and was about to ride his horse up the mountain.

However, when Wang Chongyang urged his horse to the foot of the mountain, the horse stood still and refused to go forward. No matter how much Wang Chongyang urged it, the horse dared not move and neighed in place.

Wang Chongyang had no choice but to dismount and watch. As soon as he dismounted, he saw the horse's front hooves bend and it knelt down in front of Mount Xiyi, as if worshipping the immortals.

Wang Chongyang was secretly amazed. This mountain was so mysterious. It was said that there was an immortal there who was proficient in three schools of thought. He had not yet met the immortal, but he had already seen his extraordinary abilities.

His horse, however, dared not approach the mountain and instead knelt on the ground.

Without further thought, Wang Chongyang picked up his bundle and headed towards the mountain path. As he walked along the path, he suddenly felt as if each step he took was like carrying Mount Tai, making it extremely difficult for him to proceed.

But after taking three or four steps, his legs became numb and he could no longer continue.

Wang Chongyang was puzzled. He looked around and after a long time, he realized that the reason he felt heavy was because of the bundle in his hand. He put the bundle down and immediately felt light.

Wang Chongyang exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on? How can this bundle be so heavy? It seems to weigh as much as rivers and seas, and as heavy as mountains."

He opened his bundle and looked at it carefully. After searching for a while, he finally discovered that his dry food and his change of clothes were, for some reason, as heavy as mountains, and his water bottle was, for some reason, as heavy as the ocean.

Wang Chongyang thought to himself how strange this was, but he knew that if he carried his bundle forward, he might not be able to climb the mountain.

Wang Chongyang had no choice but to abandon his bundle and pick up the Heavenly Canopy Ruler. Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Canopy Ruler was light and did not become heavier.

He took the Heavenly Ruler and walked on the mountain. After walking for a long time, he still could not see the summit. Fortunately, there was a path that he could follow without having to go through the thorny thicket.

Wang Chongyang climbed the mountain for several hours, until midnight when he reached the deep pool, his stomach growling with hunger. Having found no trace of the immortals, he showed no sign of giving up. Instead, he quickened his pace, determined to find them.
However, he was ultimately just an ordinary person. After a long period without food or water, he was at his limit and could hardly walk.

Just as Wang Chongyang was about to sit down and rest because he could no longer walk, a sound suddenly came from the forest.

Wang Chongyang looked closely and saw a black ape leap up and down to him, offering him a spiritual fruit with both hands.

Wang Chongyang was very surprised when he saw it and asked, "Is this fruit mine?"

The black ape nodded without making a sound.

Wang Chongyang accepted the spiritual fruit in a daze.

Upon seeing Wang Chongyang accept it, the black ape turned and left, disappearing in a few leaps.

Seeing the black ape leave, Wang Chongyang swallowed the spiritual fruit in his hand. However, after consuming the fruit, he felt full instantly and no longer felt thirsty. This spiritual fruit was truly a divine object.

He sighed inwardly, thinking that this immortal mountain was truly extraordinary, with countless strange phenomena. Horses knelt in front, heavy bundles followed behind, and now even black apes were offering fruit. If there were immortals here, he would believe it.

After swallowing the spiritual fruit, Wang Chongyang felt better and continued on his way to the mountaintop.

The journey continued for several more hours, and it was only at dawn that he finally reached the summit.

As Wang Chongyang approached the mountaintop, he suddenly discovered a cave dwelling there. He walked towards the cave, and upon getting closer, he found it unguarded. As if possessed, he walked into the cave.

Before long, Wang Chongyang entered the cave. He saw that the cave was simple, but it had a hidden spiritual quality that made those who entered feel refreshed and relaxed.

Wang Chongyang walked further in and suddenly saw a person sitting cross-legged deep within the cave. The person wore a crown of gold and jade, a purple robe embroidered with the sun and moon, carried a celestial sword, had a jewel hanging at his waist, and wore cloud-patterned boots. His appearance was elegant and refined, his eyes held the stars, and he sat with a whisk in hand. He was truly a celestial being of the Dao.

"Danqiu is not a place beyond the world; a single thought can yield the golden elixir."

"When the mind is at ease, the clouds drift freely; when the wind is still, the water leaves no trace."

What brings you here?

The immortal approached with lowered eyes and a beaming smile.

When Wang Chongyang saw the immortal, his heart trembled uncontrollably. Normally, no matter what happened, even if he was on the verge of death, he would remain calm. But here, the wind was blowing and the water was rippling, the momentum was unstoppable and his mind was restless.

Wang Chongyang had not seen him for a long time. Suddenly, he knelt down and kowtowed to the immortal. He did not know why, but once the thought arose in his mind, he could not suppress it and had no choice but to kowtow.

The immortal smiled and asked, "Why are you kneeling before me?"

Wang Chongyang said, “I am Wang Chongyang, a mortal, and I bow to the immortal. I hope the immortal will forgive my ignorance. I do not know why I bow to the immortal, but upon seeing the immortal, I cannot help but perform this great bow.”

For some reason, he felt that this immortal seemed familiar, as if he had seen this immortal somewhere before.

The immortal said, "Rise and sit down in front of me."

Following his instructions, Wang Chongyang walked up to the immortal, bowing his head and looking down with utmost respect.

The immortal said, "Since you are a mortal, why have you come up my mountain? It is said that immortals and mortals are separated, and you should not have climbed this mountain path."

Wang Chongyang said, “Please, Immortal, understand that I am indeed a mortal, but I have loved learning since childhood. In order to obtain the teachings of the Three Schools of Thought, I have traveled far and wide, and I don’t know how many years I have spent studying. Perhaps I have devoted nearly half my life to it. I have no regrets for my pursuit of knowledge. Now I have heard that you, Immortal, are proficient in the teachings of the Three Schools of Thought, so I have come here, rudely climbing the mountain, but I beg you, Immortal, to teach me the teachings of the Three Schools of Thought. If I can learn all three schools of thought, I will have no regrets until my death!”

Upon hearing this, the immortal said, "Since you know I am an immortal, why don't you come to me to learn some supernatural powers, instead of studying the three schools of thought? Do you know that the three schools of thought are just knowledge after all? If you learn supernatural powers, you will have immense divine power within them."

Wang Chongyang shook his head and said, “Immortal, I know that my supernatural powers and immortal techniques are extraordinary, but as the sage said, ‘If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening.’ If I could obtain the teachings of the three schools, I would have no regrets even if I died. How could I give them up? Even if they gave me supernatural powers, I would not exchange them for them.”

The immortal laughed and said, "Do you really have such thoughts?"

Wang Chongyang bowed and said, "Nothing has changed."

The immortal said, "Let me show you his supernatural powers first, and then we can talk about this later."

Say it.

Suddenly, the immortal took a piece of paper, and with a gentle shake in his hand, it formed a circle in a short while.

The immortal gently blew on the round piece of paper, and suddenly it shone brightly, transforming into a moon that shone brightly within the cave. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, the immortal made the cave suddenly hot, like summer; with another flick of his whisk, the autumn wind howled; with a thought, winter snow fell; and with a movement of the immortal, a gentle spring breeze arose.

The scenery of the four seasons is as if it were nothing before the immortal, and the sun and moon are at his fingertips.

Upon seeing this scene, Wang Chongyang's eyes widened in astonishment.

But such supernatural powers were only known in books, and seeing them with his own eyes now naturally astonished him.

The immortal laughed and said, "Such supernatural powers are nothing more than minor skills, nothing special. What do you think of them?"

Wang Chongyang bowed and said, "To immortals, this is a minor supernatural power, not worth mentioning, but to us, it is an unparalleled true supernatural power."

The immortal said, “This is of little importance to me, but with the supernatural power I have gained, it can move heaven and earth. Your ability to enter the mountain and meet me today is truly a matter of fate. Since you have met me, I should impart great supernatural powers to you. Why don’t you forgo the teachings of those three schools and instead learn supernatural powers from me? What do you think?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongyang did not hesitate and said, "Please forgive my rudeness, Immortal. I do not wish to learn supernatural powers, but only to learn the doctrines of the three schools. I have no other desires."

Upon hearing this, the immortal smiled and nodded, saying, "It is rare to find someone as resolute as you. In that case, as you said, I can teach you the teachings of three schools."

Wang Chongyang asked, "Forgive my boldness, but may I ask how much the Immortal knows about the doctrines of the three schools? And to what extent?"

The immortal laughed heartily and said, "I can teach you as much as you can learn."

Wang Chongyang said, "Is what you say true, Immortal? To be honest, I know many doctrines, and I'm afraid I've already mastered the common ones."

The immortal said, “Now you can rest assured. The three schools are nothing more than Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. But the Taoist patriarch is my teacher, and I can also be considered the patriarch of Buddhism. As for Confucianism, no sage has yet emerged. Do you think you can possibly have learned it all?”

Wang Chongyang was dumbfounded and said, "The immortal is so extraordinary. May I ask your name?"

The immortal laughed and said, "My Dharma name is Guangxin."

Wang Chongyang immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Immortal Guangxin, please allow me to stay here and follow you to learn the complete teachings of the three schools. But I have no other requests. I do not want to learn supernatural powers or immortal techniques. I only ask for the teachings of the three schools."

The master said, "In that case, you shall follow me and learn the teachings of the three schools in this mountain."

Wang Chongyang repeatedly expressed his gratitude to the True Man.

……

Meanwhile, amidst the clouds and mist, Pigsy and Monkey King were watching this scene. Seeing that Wang Chongyang had stayed in the mountains to learn the teachings of the three schools from the immortal, both of them were relieved.

Pigsy said, "Brother, with the Master personally guiding us today, I believe Zhengwei will surely return to his rightful place."

Sun Wukong said, “That’s right, that’s right. Nephew Zhengwei can finally return to his place. But you fool, when I asked you to guide Zhengwei, you almost led him astray. Fortunately, I was there to save him.”

Pigsy said, "Brother, you should know that I'm not very capable, but I've done my best, so don't blame me."

Sun Wukong said, "How can I blame you? You fool, you'll only realize your mistake if things go wrong."

Pigsy covered his face, ashamed to face him. He looked down at Wang Chongyang, who was receiving instruction from the Master, and pondered for a moment before saying, "Brother, what do you think of me reincarnating and following Zhengwei in cultivation? I've seen that after Zhengwei's reincarnation, he seems to have emptied his mind of all worldly affairs and severed all ties. Why don't I reincarnate? I might even be better off than Zhengwei is now."

Sun Wukong said, "You fool, if you were to be reincarnated, you might just bring trouble to your mother again."

Pigsy said, "This is also a way to sever ties with worldly ties."

Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie by the fan-shaped ear and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? How can this be considered severing worldly ties? You bit your mother to death, leaving you without parents, does that mean you've severed all worldly ties? If it were true that everyone in the world could kill their father or mother to sever worldly ties, then you've never truly severed your worldly ties. Sooner or later, this karma will affect you."

Pigsy shouted, "Brother, I know I was wrong, but I won't do it again. Brother Monkey, please don't bring up such things again."

Sun Wukong could only shake his head and say no more. He pointed down and said, "The two of us will protect our senior brother here and prevent the demons of this mountain from invading."

Pigsy said, "Of course, Brother Monkey, you can rest assured. With me carrying my nine-toothed rake, I will guard this mountain gate and ensure that no evil can invade."

Sun Wukong said, "In that case, you should be careful and guard the mountain gate. I will wait outside if you can guard the gate well. If you cannot guard it, I will personally descend upon you."

The two, Zhu Bajie and Zhu Bajie, talked for a long time.

……

Time flies, and more than two months have passed.

In the Xiyi Mountains, Wang Chongyang and Jiang Yuan learned the teachings of three schools of thought. The True Man explained the essence of each school to Wang Chongyang.

Wang Chongyang was extremely intelligent, but he was able to absorb all of the Master's teachings and make them his own. In just over two months, his knowledge improved by leaps and bounds, far surpassing what he had achieved before.

When Wang Chongyang learned the doctrines of the three schools, he also deeply realized that the true man possessed profound knowledge, which was not of this world, and such a person could absolutely not be found anywhere else in the world.

It is a great honor for him to learn from him.

Wang Chongyang felt extremely honored, and therefore studied even more diligently during his studies.

One day, Wang Chongyang was in his cave dwelling discussing the doctrines of the three schools of thought with a Taoist master.

Wang Chongyang bowed deeply and said, "I am extremely grateful to have the honor of learning the complete teachings of the three schools from the Immortal Guangxin."

The master smiled and said, "No need for formalities, but the best way to repay your kindness is to have you mastered all three schools of thought. You have been studying them for more than two months now, how do you feel?"

Wang Chongyang said, "I have been practicing for more than two months and have gained some knowledge, all of which is due to the work of immortals."

The master nodded and said, "Since you say you have gained some insights, could you tell me about them in detail?"

Wang Chongyang pondered for a moment, then spoke, saying, "I can speak with the immortal. But what the immortal taught me is the doctrine of three schools: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Now I will tell the immortal what I have learned."

"It is said that before heaven and earth took shape, chaos was unified, and after the beginning of human culture, Taoism was the foundation. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are of the same root but different branches, and of the same source but different streams. In their beginnings, they all had the intention of helping the world and guiding people, and in their ultimate goal, they all aimed at understanding human nature and attaining the Tao."

"Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, advocated benevolence and propriety to rectify human relations, cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. The essence of this lies in 'practicing one's form and fulfilling one's nature.' Laozi, the founder of Taoism, followed the natural way to understand the Way of Heaven. He advocated non-action and tranquility, nourishing life in harmony with the Great Void. The mystery of this lies in 'returning to one's original nature.' Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, attained enlightenment through Zen to save all sentient beings. He realized his true nature and showed compassion to the world. The wonder of this lies in..."

Wang Chongyang had just spoken of the Buddha's Way when he suddenly paused, realizing that the immortal's title was exactly the same as that of the Buddha.

(End of this chapter)