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

Chapter 53: Theory of Weight
But Jiang Tong'er didn't know the concept of "jinliang", so he asked the master.

Upon hearing this, the master laughed and said, "My boy, don't you realize that this pound is the pound used in the market? No, no! This pound refers to the number of hours. There are different theories here. Some say that one pound is equal to a quarter of an hour, while others say that one pound is equal to two quarters of an hour. In my method, one pound is equal to one year."

Jiang Yuanfang suddenly realized that the pound was a measure of time, and one pound was one year. He said, "Thank you, Master, for clearing up my confusion!"

The master nodded and said, "For the four herbs, take three liang of 'black essence', three liang of 'rabbit marrow', two liang of 'wood liquid', and finally two liang of 'gold essence', a total of ten liang. Remember, boy, one year is counted as one year after the north wind passes."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan knew that it would take more than ten years to collect the herbs. He suddenly wondered how the heaven and earth could create the elixir in several years.

The master saw that the boy was confused, so he asked him what he was confused about.

Jiang Yuangu expressed his confusion.

The master laughed several times when he heard this and said, "My child, the way of alchemy created by heaven and earth is very different from your practice. If they practice the way of alchemy, they can achieve success in a few years, but there is a flaw. You have spent many years to refine the golden elixir, but if you compete with me, I am not your opponent. Don't worry too much, every bite and every drink has a destiny."

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Thank you, Master, for clearing up my doubts."

The master waved his hand and taught the boy to practice.

Jiang Yuan bowed again before leaving.

The master watched the boy leave, stroked his beard and said nothing. After a long while, he looked at the Cao Huan Dan in the elixir plate, shook his head and said, "It's here to quench your thirst. When you are free, exchange it with Laojun for a magical pill. If you have a magical pill, it will be more useful than the boy's."

……

Jiang Yuan left the tower and headed for the quiet room, to rest for a while before collecting herbs and putting them into the cauldron, which was the second step in making the elixir.

Before he reached the quiet room, he met Zhenjian on the road and was stopped.

Zhen Jian bowed deeply and said, "Big Brother, Master has not taught the Great Dao for more than 20 years. Could Master be wrong?"

Jiang Yuan returned the greeting, holding up the whisk in his hand and said, "Don't worry, Junior Brother. Master didn't start talking about the Dao because a friend came to visit. Master is right."

Zhen Jian felt much more at ease, and then said: "Big Brother, you don't know, the disciples in the mountain don't hear the master, and some of them have gone down the mountain. I can't persuade them to stop."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "It's a long way to go. Don't worry, Master will not punish you."

Zhen Jian nodded and said, "I know that Master is just a passerby to us. Only our eldest brother has the true teachings. When Master was our disciple, he often tested us with various tests to test our hearts. Apart from our eldest brother, no one else has succeeded."

Jiang Yuan said: "Junior brother, you must know that the Tao is always there, the Tao will not abandon anyone, the Tao is always there."

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "Big Brother, I understand this principle, but I like your Zen book, which says that all living beings are Buddhas, even more."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since you like Zen, why not awaken to it? When you are awakened, you will become a Buddha."

Tao is the law, Buddha is still the law, if you don't practice the golden elixir, you can keep your mind and practice Taoism, and you may get the right result in the future. This junior brother let the alcohol, money and sex damage his foundation, and it was even more difficult to get the right result, but the right result was still there.

Just like him, it was extremely difficult for him to correct his path in the past, but he still had a chance to succeed, and now the elixir is about to be completed.

Zhen Jian nodded, thought for a while, and asked, "Brother, what is the enlightenment?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "How can words fully describe the word 'enlightenment'? Just say that the moment of 'awakening' counts. You have accumulated a lot of experience here, and one day, when the clouds and fog clear, you will realize it."

Seeing the voice of "I will accept your instruction", I dared not to stop my brother any longer.

Jiang Yuan returned to the quiet room and rested for a long time.

……

Half a year later, the boy came out of the Three Stars Immortal Cave and walked to the mossy stone. He sat cross-legged on it and called five people to come.

I have benefited a lot from listening to the immortal and the ancestor master's teachings. My spirit has relaxed and it is a good time to practice.

The four herbs need to be collected one by one, namely, the monkey heart, the will horse, the wood mother, and the gold father. Don't be careless. The ancestors said that one centimeter should be accurate, so the weight should not be more or less. Three taels of the monkey heart and the will horse means three years, and two taels of the wood mother and the gold father means two years.

But he was not allowed to practice. He had to wait until the gentle wind started to blow before he could practice. When the north wind stopped, he could do one or two taels of silver.

"I'm collecting herbs from Xinyuan, and I've taken three ounces of black essence."

"Can the monkey in your heart get the order?"

Jiang Yuan looked at the two black and white fish that appeared around him.

The black and white fish swam around him, as if responding to him.

The boy stroked the two fishes gently and said with a smile, "The mind monkey loves to be distracted, so the most important thing this time is to get what you want, without a single centimeter's error."

The two fish were happy and swam faster, as if they were playing and laughing, or they seemed to have received orders from the children.

Jiang Tong'er knew that the monkey's mind had extraordinary powers. Although he was distracted, he knew the important things and never hesitated. He was worried that when he collected two taels of wood liquid, the Wood Mother would become unstable. He just hoped that the Wood Mother would not take the wrong path.

Jiang Yuan meditated quietly on the mossy stone, waiting for a gentle breeze to blow, and then he began to practice the second step of the Taoist secret, "collecting herbs".

He sat cross-legged in meditation, cultivating his nature and practicing Taoism. He didn't know the time, but thought that the golden wind had just started, and it was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

He sat cross-legged for a long time, and one day, a child approached him from the mountains.

Jiang Yuan woke up and looked into the distance, where he saw a woodcutter leading a child into the mountains. There were no woodcutters or travelers in the mountains, and the only place that could live was the Zuo family.

He had not been to the Zuo family for many years, probably because he was in the key of cultivation and did not realize that so many years had passed, and the Zuo family might have changed for several generations.

Jiang Yuan sighed in his heart and stood up to greet him. Since he was the descendant of an old friend, he should not be impolite.

The woodcutter came with his son, and seeing that Jiang Yuanyin had an immortal look, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Old Immortal, your disciple will help you!"

Jiang Yuan stepped down from the mossy stone, helped the woodcutter up, and said, "How do you recognize me?"

I don’t know how many generations have passed since the Zuo family came into being, so how come this person couldn’t recognize him?

The woodcutter shook his head and said, "My ancestors said that there is a fairy palace in the mountains, and there are many fairies in it. The old fairy has a fairy look and sits cross-legged here. Birds dare not fly over his head, and beasts dare not howl. He must be a fairy."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "I am not an immortal. Your ancestors knew me many generations ago. You are the head of the Zuo family now? Why are you taking this path? I remember that few people take this path."

The woodcutter said, "That's right, that's right! Master, I am now the head of the Zuo family. This road is two steps closer to the old forest. But when my father took me there in the past, it seemed like there was fog and we couldn't go in, so we took the long way around. Recently, I saw that this road is passable, so I took this road."

Jiang Yuan asked, "It's impossible to go through, but it's also possible to go through? How do you say it?"

The woodcutter said, "More than twenty years ago, this road was blocked. Now it is passable again. This is a strange thing."

Jiang Yuan was confused when he heard this. He said that when he was practicing, few people came. It was because the ancestor protected him and separated him from this path, so that he could practice peacefully. More than 20 years ago, it was when he established the tripod. This was the ancestor's deep kindness.

The boy remembers the kindness of his ancestors in his heart.

Jiang Yuan asked, "How is your family?"

The woodcutter said that everything was fine. There were three or four people in his family, and they had enough food and clothing to take care of their old mother and young children. Although he had troubles from time to time, as long as he had the scriptures, it was not a big deal.

Jiang Yuan nodded, greeted the woodcutter with a smile, and played with the children. He was completely unpretentious and made people feel comfortable.

After the woodcutter and the child left, he bowed to the Three Stars Cave and waited for the gentle wind to come...

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(End of this chapter)