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

Chapter 188: The Buddha of Meditation and Wisdom, Arrives in India
It is said that Zhenjian and Manjusri Bodhisattva had been waiting in front of the Great Leiyin Temple for a long time. The Eight Vajras were guarding the temple and no one could enter.

Zhenjian talked with Manjusri Bodhisattva for a long time. Zhenjian asked again: "Manjusri Bodhisattva, I still don't know which eight Vajras they are. Can the Bodhisattva tell me?"

Upon hearing this, Manjusri Bodhisattva smiled and nodded, then stepped forward and said, "The Eight Vajras, the Zen Master is asking for your names. Please tell me your names."

The eight Vajra men immediately stood up, with golden light bursting out from their bodies.

"I am Dhritarashtra."

"I am the Increasing Vajra."

"The Vajra of Broad Eyes is here, all evils will retreat."

"That is the Vajra of Many Knowledge."

"The Vajra with great magical powers is here."

"The power of the Dharma is immeasurable and surpasses that of the diamond."

"Vairocana Vajra."

"I am the indestructible king, the eternal Vajra."

The Eight Vajra stood in front of the door, looking very majestic.

After truly seeing and hearing this, and bowing to the Eight Vajras, one can be considered to have gotten to know these Eight Vajras.

Not long after the group arrived at the mountain gate, two venerable monks, Kasyapa and Ananda, came and conveyed the Tathagata's will and welcomed Zhenjian into the Main Hall.

Zhenjian and Manjusri Bodhisattva followed the two venerables into the main hall.

Manjusri Bodhisattva stepped forward and said, "I, the disciple, went to Lingtai Fangcun Mountain in accordance with the golden order to invite Master Zhenjian to come. Now I am here to hand over the order."

Tathagata looked at Zhenjian and said, "Master, do you really want to enter Lingshan?"

Zhenjian put the leaf fan on his waist, and a sense of Zen appeared in his mind. He put his hands together and bowed, saying, "I am grateful to the Venerable Sakyamuni for not abandoning me and sending a golden order to invite me. I dare not disobey and have come to Lingshan specially."

Tathagata was somewhat pleased, so he said solemnly: "Master, please come forward."

When you truly see, hear and hear, you will arrive before the lotus throne of the Tathagata.

Tathagata said: "Master, you were born in Jambudvīpa. You were predestined to be with Bodhi Patriarch and became his disciple. However, you did not think about cultivation and were obsessed with playing. Fortunately, you suddenly woke up and practiced with all your heart. You saw your true nature and now you have returned to Buddhism. You have realized the meaning of Zen and have made great contributions. You have been promoted to a higher position and achieved the right result. You are the Namo Zen Samadhi Wisdom Buddha."

Say it.

Infinite light appeared, and a lotus platform appeared behind Zhenjian. The energy was fanning, as if to make Zhenjian sit down.

Zhenjian did not resist and sat down on the lotus platform. A sense of Zen emerged in his body. He gently waved a leaf fan with a smile on his face.

Manjusri Bodhisattva stepped forward and bowed, "I am meeting the Buddha of Meditation and Wisdom."

The two venerables came forward and bowed together: "I have seen the Buddha of Meditation and Wisdom."

The Buddhas in the hall said, "We are here to pay our respects to the Buddha of Meditation and Wisdom."

Zhen Jian said: "I have now been blessed by the Venerable and have sat on the lotus platform and have been crowned as a Buddha. However, my power is very weak. I hope you will discuss the Dharma with me in the future so that you can teach me how to cultivate power."

The Buddhists said, "We dare not."

Manjusri Bodhisattva smiled and said, "I know very little about Zen, but the Buddha of Zen meditation and wisdom will not abandon me. I will always discuss the Dharma with the Buddha of wisdom."

Zhenjian readily agreed.

The Tathagata was overjoyed when he saw the true vision and accepted Buddhism.

……

The story tells about the Qingsong River and the Dragon Palace in Jizhou.

The Dragon King invited the immortals into the Water Palace and offered them fruit-scented tea. After the offering was finished, he had a long conversation with the immortals in the main hall.

The Immortal learned many things about cultivation from the Dragon King. This is the way of transforming a snake into a dragon. It is extremely difficult for a snake to transform into a dragon, and for a dragon to transform into a dragon by walking in the water. It is not the right way to make the golden elixir, but it is also life-threatening. If you make a mistake, you will die.

After Jiang Yuan learned about it, he exclaimed: "The Dragon King has a very good character. He can achieve the goal of becoming a dragon. This difficulty is no less difficult than the golden elixir path."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King panicked and said, "Master, you are not worthy of such words. How dare you compare it with the Golden Elixir Path? I have heard that the Path is difficult, but for my Path, doing good deeds will be of great help. The Path cannot be obtained without hard practice."

Jiang Yuan was about to say something else when he suddenly felt something in his heart and looked towards the direction of Lingshan.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and asked, "Master, what's the matter?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know. I felt that my junior brother seemed to have entered the sacred mountain, but I don't know why. I have to go there for a visit."

The Bull Demon King was shocked and asked, "Master, did you really see the Zen Master teach the people of Lingshan to capture him?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Don't talk nonsense. I don't know why Junior Brother Zhenjian went to Lingshan. Please wait for me here for a while. I will go to Lingshan and see how Junior Brother Zhenjian is doing."

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, I will go with you and be your guardian."

Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment and said, "In that case, you should come with me."

He added, "Dragon King, I will let this deer and this man stay in your palace for a while, but please don't deprive them of their food and drink."

The Dragon King bowed and said, "The Immortal has been kind to me, so I should respect him. I dare not neglect tea and food, and I will definitely entertain him well."

Jiang Yuan also asked Zuo Liang to wait for him in the Water Palace. After Zuo Liang knew about it, Jiang Yuan left the palace with Bull Demon King and left on a cloud.

In the water palace, the Dragon King saw the Immortal leaving and served tea and food to Zuo Liang, not daring to make any mistakes.

After Zuo Liang finished his tea and meal, he thanked the Dragon King again and again.

The Dragon King smiled and said, "No need to thank me. I saw that the old gentleman was an ordinary man, but I never thought about where I got the predestined Dharma to follow the immortal to practice." Zuo Liang bowed and said, "I was originally an ordinary man from a border county. I have been confused for more than 60 years without knowing it. I have been seeking freedom without self-reflection. Fortunately, the gentleman entered the city. I heard the gentleman talking about freedom at the edge of the city, so I stopped the gentleman and begged him hard. Only then did the gentleman allow me to follow him."

The Dragon King was surprised and asked, "Just because you beg me so hard, will the Immortal allow you to follow me?"

Zuo Liang heard this and pondered for a long time before saying, "Master, you made me put aside all worldly things before you allowed me to follow you."

The Dragon King said, "What is the value of earthly gold and silver? Did you really get the promise from the Immortal in this way?"

Zuo Liang said: “That’s right.”

The Dragon King stood up and walked back and forth, saying, "I don't know what karma you cultivated in your previous life that the Immortal Master allowed you to follow him so easily. There are countless people in the world who envy you for your karma. Even the emperor of the human world cannot have such a karma."

Zuo Liang felt a little ashamed when he heard this. It was when he entered Jizhou that he heard the Immortal say that Jizhou had the aura of a king. He was shaken. He said, "I am blessed to have the mercy of the Immortal."

The Dragon King nodded and said, "That's true. You are blessed, but the real person allowed you to follow him for a reason. Old sir, since you have this blessing, you must cherish it and don't wait until it's too late to regret it."

Zuo Liang nodded and said, "I understand what the Dragon King said from my own reflection."

The Dragon King said, "If I had been as lucky as you in the past, how wonderful it would have been. It's really a matter of time and fate."

Zuo Liang said: "Now the Dragon King has also seen the real person."

The Dragon King shook his head and said, "But I have never been blessed to follow the True Man."

Zuo Liang said: "If the Dragon King sincerely pleads, the Immortal will certainly agree. The Immortal has a compassionate heart."

The Dragon King sighed and said, "If I were not the Dragon King, I would kneel before the Immortal and beg him to let me follow you. But I am the Dragon King now and have responsibilities to fulfill. How can I leave?"

Zuo Liang remained silent. If he had been taught twenty years earlier, he might have just laughed it off even if he had seen the Immortal Master. How could he have talked about following the Immortal Master to practice? This was because at that time, his offspring were not yet able to become the pillar of the family or the head of the family. For him to follow the Immortal Master to practice, the timing was right and everything was essential. It was indeed the law of fate.

……

The story goes that the group of people who were seeking the scriptures had traveled to many places, experienced many hardships, and were now on their way west. They had all made progress and were now approaching a city.

Tang Seng saw a city ahead and said, "My dear disciple, there is another city ahead. Check it out to see if there is any danger."

Upon hearing this, the Monkey King opened his eyes wide and used his 'qi-seeing' ability to look over there. After looking for a long time, he shook his head and said, "Master, the place ahead is a good place. There is absolutely no evil spirit."

Tang Monk said, "My disciple, you have magical powers. Since you said there is no evil spirit, you can rest assured. Let's go into the city quickly and exchange the pass so that we can continue our journey west."

The Monkey King said, "Master, please don't be anxious. We still don't know where the road ahead is. Now we have entered the territory of India, and the sacred mountain is right in front of us. But even at this moment of success, we must not relax. Master, please stay here for a while. I will go ahead and find out what the road ahead is."

Tang Seng nodded and said, "Disciple, what you said makes sense. Go and find out."

Zhu Bajie yelled, "Brother, why are you harboring evil intentions?"

The traveler did not understand what he meant and asked, "Why do I have evil intentions?"

Zhu Bajie said, "You don't know how heavy my burden is. If you ask Shao Dai to go and find out, I will have to spend more energy."

The Monkey King said, "Don't make a fuss, you fool. Our mission is almost accomplished. It would be a good thing if you put in a little more effort."

Zhu Bajie asked, "What good news is this?"

Tang Seng said, "Bajie, don't bother your brother."

Zhu Bajie laughed and said no more.

The traveler just went forward to inquire about the news.

After a while, the traveler came back and told the news he had gathered. He said, "Master, I met an old man up ahead and asked him for directions. We are now in a lower county of Tianzhu, called Yuhua County. There is a prince here who is very wise. We can go to Yuhua County."

Upon hearing this, Tang Monk was delighted and said, "If it is such a place, then we can go there. Disciple, if there are demons in the city, you can subdue them, and the king will certainly treat you with great courtesy. But if there are no demons in the city, we will have to pay for it with our own money. Although it is good to be treated with great courtesy, I would rather pay for it with my own money. I just hope that there will be no demons in the city, the people will not be harmed, and the country will be peaceful and prosperous."

The traveler bowed and said, "Master, your practice is becoming more and more successful."

Tang Monk bowed back and said, "Thank you for your support, my dear disciple."

The traveler smiled and said, "Let's support each other."

The group then went to Yuhua County.

Before long, the group walked into Yuhua County and told the officials. Someone then led the group to meet the prince of Yuhua County. The prince was very respectful to the group of people seeking scriptures and treated them with great courtesy. He set up a table in the main hall to entertain them and observed all the etiquette.

The prince saw the graceful figure of Tang Monk and praised him, "I have heard that the East is a good place. It is truly amazing that a monk like you can be born here."

Tang Seng clasped his hands and said, "I don't deserve it."

The prince turned to look at the three travelers and said, "These three disciples of the elder may look ugly, but since they are from the East, they must have something extraordinary."

Tang Seng replied, "Your Highness, my three disciples have strange looks, but they are kind-hearted. I have come a long way, through thousands of mountains and rivers, and encountered countless obstacles. Fortunately, I have these three disciples who have brought me here."

The prince asked, "Elder, I wonder how far it is from the East to here?"

Tang Seng replied: "Fourteen times of winter and summer means fourteen years, but I don't know how far I will travel. I just need to endure a lot of suffering along the way, as there will be thousands of demons blocking my way."

The prince said, "Fourteen years is a long time. Since the elder has come this far, I believe the elder's three disciples must be quite capable."

Tang Seng smiled and said yes.

The prince continued, "To be honest with you, Elder, I have three sons who would like to learn from a master, but I don't have a famous master. If your three disciples have such skills, I wonder if you can pass them on to my three sons."

Upon hearing this, Tang Monk pondered for a long time and did not dare to answer. He only asked the three Monkey Kings whether they were willing to become his disciples.

When the three travelers heard this, they were delighted and responded.

(End of this chapter)