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

Chapter 40: Asking the Wood Mother
There is a saying that goes, "Mists and clouds follow the coming and going, and the cold and heat never invade, and the years are counted." Jiang Tong'er lived in Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, and in the cave of the slanting moon and three stars, he said to Mu Mu, "Before I knew it, time passed quickly, and three years had passed."

In the Sanxing Fairy Cave, most people except Jiang Tong'er left, leaving Tong'er alone to look after the house.

The child did not notice anything unusual and just focused on his practice.

He practiced for three years but could not "speak" of Wood Mother. Wood Mother was like a real demon, with eight forms, and no precepts could be taken. Even if he spoke thousands of words, if he could only speak of one form, Wood Mother would take on another form and his efforts would be in vain.

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to slowly teach him, hoping that one day he could make Mu Mu right.

One day, Jiang Yuan sat in the library of the immortal cave, reading Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, and trying to use the principles in the scriptures to explain the Wood Mother.

Suddenly I heard someone knocking on the door, and I thought someone who was practicing Buddhism had arrived.

Jiang Yuan then went out. He was the only one in the Sanxing Immortal Cave, so he was in charge of all matters. He opened the door of the cave and saw a man outside the cave. The man looked at the "immortal child in the mountain", bowed down and chanted "Disciple is dedicated to the Tao, disciple is dedicated to the Tao".

Jiang Yuan helped him up and said, "How do you bow to me?"

The man said, "Fairy boy, I am a disciple who is seeking to learn about immortality. I heard there is an old immortal in the mountains. Come and pay your respects, come and pay your respects!"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "My master is out today. Please come back to the mountain later."

The man said: "My disciples are devoted to the Way!"

Jiang Yuan said: "It's not that I don't teach you the way. My master went out a few years ago and is not in the mansion."

The man knelt and kowtowed.

Jiang Yuan was helpless. No matter how he tried to persuade the man, he refused to budge. He just wanted to leave in anger.

The man's eyes rolled around, and he took out a piece of gold the size of a fingernail from his sleeve. He thought to himself, "It is said that 'the struggle for fame and fortune is all about money'. Today, the little devil is difficult to deal with. I will give him some money so that he can teach me how to get rid of the trouble. In the future, I will learn a skill and make a lot of money. I will win a lot with a small investment."

Think about it.

He handed the gold to Jiang Yuan and said, "Fairy boy, please take me in. I am determined to follow the Tao!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan was about to go back home when he suddenly felt his liver beating violently. He took a closer look and found that it was the Wood Mother who became greedy and sent her energy rushing into his Mud Palace, arousing his lust and stirring his greed.

After he entered the liver gate, this wood mother often taught him to be greedy, and he was indeed a general of the god of desire.

Fortunately, when the boy was looking for Yi Ma, he used Taoist spells to beat the two gods back and prevented them from trying to stop him. If the two gods had tripped him up when he was talking about Mu Mu, he would have been in great trouble.

Jiang Tong'er thought to himself, "It's time to teach Mu Mu a lesson."

When the man saw that Jiang Yuan did not move, he began to feel worldly for the immortal boy and secretly rejoiced.

Jiang Yuan ignored the man and turned back home.

The man stopped him and said, "My boy, I am devoted to the Way! If that is not enough, I have more!"

Jiang Yuan said, "I told you that my master was out, why didn't you listen? You taught me to strive for fame and fortune, how can I be determined? If I practice the sect, I can't do the side door, let alone the right way. My master left the house, if you want to wait, you can wait in the mountains, if not, then go."

Say it.

The boy ignored him, closed the middle door, and returned to the Sanxing Immortal Cave, letting the man call him.

This time the temptation of gold has made Mu Mu move, so he should be on guard secretly and not really follow Mu Mu's tricks.

The boy returned to the quiet room, sat cross-legged on the cushion, and his mind returned to the liver gate. He saw the wooden mother in the gate.

Mu Mu made a pig-like face and said, "Why don't you want the gold? If you had gold, you could go down the mountain and look for your lover. It wouldn't be a big deal!"

Jiang Yuan said: "I am not looking for you this time to compete with you. Do you really not want to return to the right path, protect your soul, and practice the alchemy together?"

Mu Mu made a tiger face again and said angrily, "No, no! What do you want me to do? I will be your liver and satisfy your desires. If you want me to protect the Yuanshen, then teach me to satisfy all eight desires. Then I will protect the Yuanshen and cultivate the Yuanshen together! Just think that you teach me to kill, steal, commit adultery, be lazy, drink, spend money, lie, and do incense and flowers. Then I will protect you and cultivate the alchemy together!"

Jiang Tong'er was furious when he heard this. If Mu Mu said so, wouldn't it allow the two gods to ruin his practice, and all his hundreds of years of hard work would be in vain?

He told his monkey heart to bring Jin Gong, and his horse to hide outside the pass.

Seeing such a commotion, Mu Mu was frightened, because the monkey in mind and Jin Gong were the strongest opponents of him. Mu Mu bluffed and said, "What are you going to do?"

Jiang Tong'er stood up and pointed at Mu Mu, saying, "Today, are you going to return to the right path? If not, I will ask the Monkey King to subdue you!"

Mu Mu was terrified and trembling. She showed a lustful look and said, "We are one, one! Don't hurt our relationship! I will practice the alchemy with you. If I am not convinced, what can you do?"

Even if he had the help of the three monkeys and taught Wood Mother to obey, but Wood Mother could not keep her commandments, sooner or later disaster would come upon her. If, by the time he had achieved elixir, Wood Mother refused to obey, he would kill her and her soul would be destroyed.

Jiang Tong'er didn't know what to do, so he had to let the three monkeys leave. He looked at Mu Mu and said, "How can you keep the precepts and return to the right path?"

When Mu Mu saw the three men leave, she became more courageous and said, "When you teach me to satisfy the eight desires, I will return to the right path!"

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to leave.

in the room.

Jiang Yuan opened his eyes, and he didn't know when he got the Dharma, and returned to Mu Mu.

This Wood Mother is really hard to convince. She bullies the weak and fears the strong, takes advantage of her strength to bully the weak, is greedy for money and lustful, likes to kill and talk nonsense. All kinds of bad deeds are embodied in this Wood Mother.

Among the five people, the monkey in the heart is hard to tame, the golden man is hard to burn, the willful horse is hard to tame, and the wooden mother is hard to talk to. Each of them has their own difficulties.

Jiang Tong'er thought to himself, "How can I make Mu Mu sincerely convinced?"

He still had no idea, so he had to go to the library and look for clues in the scriptures.

……

Spring goes and summer comes, and a year passes.

Jiang Tong'er devoted himself to "persuading" Mu Mu, so that she could achieve the Dao of Elixir as soon as possible.

He looked through the scriptures but couldn't find the key, so he had to go into the room to meditate.

One day, the boy couldn't find the key to the scriptures, so he searched for it in a dream.

Jiang Tong'er recalled that in Journey to the West, Mu Mu was supposed to be Zhu Bajie. Why did Zhu Bajie come? He was enlightened by the Bodhisattva and taught to go west to seek scriptures. Where could he find a Bodhisattva?

You can't teach Mu Mu to correct her mistakes by talking. Mu Mu is the place of desire, and you can't get rid of her by talking. Mu Mu repeatedly said, "Teach people to do their best to kill, steal, commit adultery, be lazy, drink, spend money, lie, and use incense and flowers." If you don't do your best, you will definitely not correct your mistakes.

How should he respond to this call? If he answers, the two gods will rise again and he will die sooner or later. If he doesn't answer, the Wood Mother will not agree.

"Mumu is hard to talk about and difficult to deal with!"

"Out of five people, three have been obtained. Mu Mu has not returned yet. When will she be able to cultivate the golden elixir and see the secret of immortality?"

"Spirit, why don't you show me the way."

Jiang Yuankan sighed helplessly.

Just as he was feeling sad and resentful, he suddenly felt a huge earthquake in his mud palace. It was as if his soul knew what he meant and an idea came to him. He had a plan in mind.

"beat?"

"That guy is really a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water. What's the point of beating him? Can't you beat him into submission and then teach him a lesson?"

"Can the soul receive the commandments?"

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized, and an idea came to him.

The ancestor said, "Please ask the Wood Mother to 'talk'. You cannot hit the Wood Mother before you talk to her. If you teach your mind to subdue the Wood Mother and then 'talk' to her, this talk is from the primordial spirit, not teaching him to talk. The primordial spirit has the ability to receive precepts."

Jiang Yuanfang knew how to invite Mu Mu. He even said that the Yuan Shen Ling was better than before. He invited three people. The Yuan Shen Ling was much better than before. Now, after hearing what he said, he actually showed him the way...

(End of this chapter)