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

Chapter 81 Sun Wukong

Back at Yaotai, the Patriarch said something to Jiang Yuanfen, then looked at the monkey and said, "Since you are from Dongsheng Shenzhou, please tell me your name as well."

The monkey in the audience heard this and shook his head, saying, "God, I have no surname or name."

The master asked, "What were your parents' original surnames?"

The monkey shook his head and said, "God, I have no parents."

The master said, "Since you have no parents, you were born from a tree?"

The monkey replied, "The gods don't know that I was not born on a tree, but in a rock. I only remember that there was a rock in the mountain, and when the rock broke, I was born."

When everyone in the class heard that this was a stone monkey without father or mother, they all found it funny, while some also looked down on and felt disgusted.

When the master heard this, he knew that this was the creation of heaven and earth, so he said, "Get up and walk around so I can see."

The monkey then stood up and took two steps, because his body was rough and ugly, like a monkey.

The master looked at Jiang Yuan in the class and asked, "Guangxin, since this practitioner has no surname, what surname do you think is best?"

Jiang Yuan heard this and left the class. He said, "Master, since the cultivator's body is like a monkey, if we take the word 'monkey', it will not be beautiful. It is better to take the word 'monkey', let the animal heart go, and leave the word 'grandson', which is in line with the original theory of infants."

The master smiled and said, "As you said, then let's call it 'Sun'."

Upon hearing this, the monkey bowed to Jiang Yuan, and then kowtowed to the master, saying, "Master, I am willing to be your disciple! Now that you have given me a surname, I hope you will be merciful and give me a name, so that I can succeed in your teaching!"

The master said, "Now that you have come to worship with a sincere heart, you will be accepted as my disciple. My disciples have twelve generations, which are 'great wisdom, true nature sea, brilliant enlightenment'. When it comes to you, it is the generation with the character 'Wu'. The demons in your heart are rampant because you are attached to appearances, so I will teach you to be 'Wukong'."

The monkey was overjoyed and agreed.

The master then asked Sun Wukong to join the class. After Sun Wukong joined the class, he began to preach the great principles and the wonderful methods of the three schools.

When Jiang Yuan heard the wonderful sound again, he felt intoxicated. This wonderful sound of preaching was the difference between the boy and the master. The boy had profound magical powers, but he could not preach the Tao. He could easily quote the three masters' theories.

After preaching for two days, the master stopped, dismissed the class, and asked Zhenjian to take Sun Wukong to the quiet room.

In Yaotai, there were only two people left, the master and his disciple.

The ancestor smiled and said, "I didn't expect that this practice was created by heaven and earth."

Jiang Yuan was sitting in the class and said, "Master, this junior brother is very polite."

The ancestor nodded and said, "It is indeed polite. The etiquette here is comprehensive, but his heart is blocked by demons. It is not too late to teach him to cultivate his nature and practice Taoism before practicing."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, this world is created, if you practice the golden elixir, success will be imminent."

The master replied, "That's right. This is not a blessing. Every bite and every drink has its own destiny. If you make it easier now, you will suffer more in the future."

Jiang Yuan recalled the story of "Journey to the West" in Huang Shu's dream. This junior brother was not the kind of person who could practice peacefully. He would face many hardships in the future, all of which were obstacles from demons. However, this had nothing to do with him. He knew that this was "Journey to the West" hundreds of years ago. All these things could not disturb his mind or affect his way of practice.

Jiang Yuan asked: "Master, let's not talk about Wukong for now, but I feel that my cultivation is shallow. Why is that?"

Upon hearing this, the master fetched a ruler from somewhere and scolded him with a smile, "You have just achieved the immortal body and you want to attain the Tao? You are too ambitious! Practice hard, and when your destiny comes, I will pass it on to you."

Jiang Yuan looked at the ruler, but he was not afraid. He smiled and said, "Master, I will ask you a question."

The master asked, "How is your practice of the Hundred and Eight Great Dharmas going?"

Jiang Yuan replied: "Master, it will take some time to refine three or four of the Earthly Evils. If you want to learn all of them, it will take at least one or two years."

The master said, "Go and practice. When you have mastered everything, come back and learn another skill from me."

Jiang Yuan nodded, and after serving the master back to the quiet room, he was about to return to the quiet room to practice.

However, before he returned to the quiet room, he saw Zhenjian waiting for him outside. When Jiang Yuan saw him, he knew why Zhenjian came. It was because the two gods blocked the way and he could not find the way, so he came to find him. He welcomed Zhenjian into the room.

In the quiet room.

Jiang Yuan took a cushion and invited Zhen Jian to sit down. He asked, "I know that you are here, Junior Brother. Can you explain the Niwan Palace?"

Zhenjian sat cross-legged on the cushion and said, "Big Brother, I have understood your teachings in the past. Big Brother taught me that the other person in the heavenly spirit is the true self, the primordial spirit. I read in Big Brother's book that the primordial spirit resides in the Niwan Palace. However, I looked between my eyebrows but could not find the Niwan Palace. I have sought help from my master, but I did not understand what he said, so I have not gained anything so far."

Jiang Yuan asked again: "What did the master say to you?"

Zhenjian replied, "To be honest, Senior Brother, my master taught me to cover my eyes with my hands and asked me what I saw. I was stupid and didn't know what he was talking about."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan sighed, "I really see that you, Junior Brother, once hurt yourself because of alcohol, sex, money and anger, but thanks to your good fortune, you were able to save your life and finally see your true nature. You have the predestined method to see your true self. Now the two gods are blocking your way, but I don't know why. Even the master's advice is incomprehensible. How can you explain the mystery on the plate this time? Even the mystery of the two gods cannot be solved."

He looked at Zhen Jian and said, "Junior brother, can you read all my books?"

Zhenjian shook his head and said, "No."

Jiang Yuan said, "Come on, come on, come on! Junior brother, come out of the cave and get a leaf."

Zhen Jian didn't understand what he meant and asked, "Big Brother, what is this for?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Don't ask too much, just bring it."

Zhenjian asked again: "Brother, which tree's leaves do you want?"

Jiang Yuan just said, if it’s a leaf, it’s fine.

Zhenjian had no choice but to go out of the quiet room and get the leaves.

Jiang Yuan thought to himself, "Brother Zhen, you are so conservative and lack spirituality. It is very difficult for you to practice this time. If one day, Brother Zhen can 'be enlightened', he may be able to obtain the true fruit of the side door. The difficulty lies in 'enlightenment'."

This is the way to true insight, but it cannot be explained. One needs to realize it by oneself, just as the great immortal Zhen Yuanzi said, "If you know, then it is not a calamity."

Jiang Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet room, waiting for a while, and then he saw Zhen coming back again.

But I saw that the man really took a leaf in his hand. The leaf was as big as a palm and looked like the leaves of fruit trees in the mountains.

Zhenjian handed the leaves to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan did not take it. He said, "Junior brother, place this leaf in front of you."

Zhen Jianwen did as he was told and covered his face with leaves.

Jiang Yuan asked: "Junior brother, what did you see?"

Zhenjian replied: "Big Brother, I see Yiye."

Jiang Yuan said: "Junior brother, do you understand?"

Zhen Jian shook his head and said, "Big Brother, I don't understand."

Jiang Yuan said, "Junior brother, hold this leaf in your hand and go to the library. Just read. When you understand, you can put this leaf down."

Say it.

He sent the true vision out of the room. This was all he had to say. If the true vision was not clear, he would be unable to do anything about it. This was a matter of one’s own karma.

Jiang Yuan sent Zhen Jian out of the room, and then he sat cross-legged in the quiet room to practice the Hundred and Eight Great Methods.

(End of this chapter)