From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Although the two brothers understood right and wrong, they were still angry. When they were patrolling the mountains before, they secretly followed Pigsy and fought him to a draw... They were still angry!

Jiang Liu knew perfectly well what was going on, but he didn't say it out loud. After all, achieving "the unity of metal and wood and the harmony of temperament" was not something that could be accomplished by just talking about it; it required gradual control over it.

That's how it is.

After discussing with Kui Lang and Bai Hua Ai, they packed up the tent and, before the moon rose, followed Old Fu De into the depths of the forest for nearly three miles. There they saw:

The gate is draped with green cypresses, the house is near green mountains, auspicious clouds hang in the sky, and auspicious mist hangs inside the house.

This is truly the abode of a sage!

It is only common people who rarely see such auspicious clouds and light.

Seeing the lotus-shaped eaves and the painted beams and carved pillars of the gate tower, Kui Lang sighed, "Even the wealthy families in the capital are not this rich. He must be a wealthy hermit who lives in seclusion in the mountains."

"Brother Kui, you're mistaken. Hermits don't need to worry about three meals a day, so how can there be such a thing as a 'rich hermit'? Otherwise, wouldn't the poor people living deep in the mountains be 'poor hermits'?"

Jiang Liu chuckled and then said meaningfully, "Gentlemen, when you enter the sect later, please don't lose your composure."

"nature."

Kui Lang was a natural-born human being, extremely adept at understanding human nature and social interactions, and felt he didn't need any reminders.

Baihua Ai, however, understood the hidden meaning in Jiang Liu's words and decided to be more careful in the future.

Boom boom boom!

Jiang Liu stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The door opened.

A woman emerged, dressed in a green silk jacket with gold patterns, over which was a light red vest, tied with a yellow brocade skirt with colorful knots, and wearing a pair of high-heeled embroidered shoes; her hair was styled in a two-colored round bun, with two red gold hairpins inserted diagonally; she was already a woman of sixteen, yet she was as charming as a young girl.

The woman wasn't afraid when she saw Jiang Liu and his group; she simply asked, "Who are you?"

Her voice was like that of a nightingale, and her appearance like that of a spring peach.

Kyu-long was mesmerized.

The eight laborers were equally stunned.

Even Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, Liang Luzhen, and Lao Fude were stunned for a moment before realizing that there was such a beautiful woman in the world.

As for Pigsy, he seemed to have learned his lesson and dared not act rashly. He put on a fawning smile, cupped his hands and said, "Grandma, do you still remember me? I was once a monk on a journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, and I am now the Clean Altar Messenger... Now I am going west again and will pass through your esteemed place. I hope to stay for another night."

"So it's you, Elder."

Upon hearing the word "old woman," the beautiful woman gave a forced smile, but upon seeing Jiang Liu, she still showed delight and politely invited everyone into the courtyard.

He then summoned two girls, one in green and one in white, to arrange accommodations for the eight laborers. He then invited Jiang Liu, Bajie, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, Lu Zhen, Fu De, as well as Kui Lang and Bai Hua Ai, into the hall and personally served them tea.

Tea time is over.

Jiang Liu spoke first: "Sister, thank you for serving tea."

Upon hearing "sister," the beautiful woman's face lit up with joy, but then Jiang Liu continued, "Sister is so kind, she must have already ordered the servants to prepare food for us?"

"Uh--"

The beautiful woman was no ordinary person; she descended to earth to seek truth. However, Jiang Liu's words rendered her prepared thoughts useless, and she could only utter "Exactly."

“We are just travelers on the road, how could we be worthy of such kindness from you, sister? We are already extremely grateful for the opportunity to stay the night and use your kitchen.”

Jiang Liu spoke earnestly.

The beautiful woman's lips twitched, and she hesitated, speechless.

After being pinched by Baihua Ai, Na Kui Lang regained his senses and realized that something was amiss. He then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, mimicking Jiang Liu's manner, and said, "Madam, there is really no need to go to such trouble. We can just borrow the stove and cookware for the night."

Bajie pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "Looks like there's no way to get this stable boy, whose memories haven't fully returned, to swing on the swing!"

"How could this be?"

The beautiful woman, however, spoke with righteous indignation and composure, saying, "Those who have come from afar are guests, and those who have come to my home are by fate. If we were to make our guests light the fire and cook for themselves, wouldn't people laugh at our family?"

Within a radius of a hundred miles, you are the only one living here.

Who will laugh at us? Who dares to laugh at us?

Bajie was inwardly disgusted, but then he saw the beautiful woman's eyes glancing over. Startled, he quickly recited the Heart Sutra to clear his mind of all distractions, lest the sage hear his thoughts.

Chapter 1423 Meditation and Cultivation are One

"Since you are so kind, sister, it would be disrespectful of us not to agree. We will trouble you and your family tonight." Jiang Liu clasped his hands in thanks.

The beautiful woman raised her lips, held up a palm-leaf fan, covered her mouth with her hand, and laughed, "You really have a sweet tongue. You called me 'sister' as soon as you arrived. How could I not be pleased?"

As the old saying goes, "A child with a sweet tongue gets candy."

Jiang Liu said emphatically, "Now that we are following their example, we can see that the ancients were right."

Upon hearing this...

The beautiful woman was speechless, but she also admired Jiang Liu's honesty. She glanced at everyone in the hall and, apart from the two people, the rest were either monkeys, pigs, or tigers and wolves. Intrigued, she asked, "Where are you going to go to the west?"

"To obtain the scriptures and cultivate oneself to attain the Great Dao."

Jiang Liu told him the truth.

"A pilgrimage to the West?"

The beautiful woman spoke somewhat sarcastically, "What scriptures did you retrieve? Didn't the last Tang Dynasty monk obtain the true scriptures?"

"What he obtained was merely a written scripture, full of theory but lacking in practice. Therefore, he alone was able to transcend and go to Mount Ling, while the beings of Jambudvipa were still struggling in the sea of ​​suffering, unaware of the path of cultivation."

Jiang Liu shook his head and sighed, then chuckled, "Sister, I see you've lived here for many years, isn't it boring to just waste your time? Why don't you come and cultivate with us?"

Bajie was stunned, and for a moment he had no idea what Jiang Liu was up to.

“I’m just a woman, I can’t walk that far.”

The beautiful woman refused, then added, "Coincidentally, my family owns thousands of acres of fertile land, herds of cattle and sheep, countless bolts of silk and satin, an inexhaustible supply of delicacies from the mountains and wild game, and countless bottles of fine wine..."

However, I am just a woman and cannot keep this wealth. I want to find a son-in-law to live with me.

"Among the elders, is there anyone willing?"

The familiar taste, the familiar recipe.

Bajie had already been fooled once. When he took the open-book exam, he focused on his nose, then his heart, circulating his energy throughout his body, and practicing the Heart Sutra, but he ended up practicing closed-mouth meditation.

The brothers Hu Yuan and Hu Jue were originally tigers who had become spirits in the mountains. What delicacies hadn't they tasted? Now that they had followed Jiang Liu, the restless monkey, onto the righteous path, their will was naturally firm and unwavering.

Old Fude is an old man who was once a local deity. Even if he were still in Black Wind Mountain, let alone now that he has truly embarked on the path of cultivation, he would be wary of such a benefit falling into his lap.

Kyulang immediately stood up and said, "I am already married."

Baihua pinched his waist and said quietly, "They were asking about these elders, not you."

Kyu-lang was immediately extremely embarrassed.

No one paid any attention, but Liang Luzhen, upon hearing that there was "countless fine wines," was already tempted by the wine and his mouth watered.

Seeing this, the beautiful woman continued, "My family has been doing business with Baoxiang Kingdom for many years, and I have collected all their fine wines. Why don't the elders have a taste?"

Seeing that Liang Luzhen was about to lose her composure, Jiang Liu asked, "Is what you said true, sister?"

But I see only three or five houses in the mountains and forests outside. The rest of the land has never been cultivated. Where did the thousands of acres of fertile land come from?

I did not hear any sounds of cattle, sheep, chickens, or dogs. Besides, this mountain forest is not suitable for raising too many cattle and sheep, so how could there be herds of cattle and sheep?

And there were countless fine wines—

Although we are not monks or Taoist priests, we are still practitioners of spiritual cultivation. We do not abstain from alcohol, but we will not let it cloud our judgment.

These words were both a rejection of the beautiful woman's good intentions and a reminder to Liang Luzhen.

Don't believe it!

In "Journey to the West", the trial of the Four Sages testing the mind of Zen was not a test of the sincerity of the pilgrim, but a test of Tang Sanzang's ability to use the Five Elements in reverse. Guanyin asked Manjushri, Samantabhadra and the Old Mother of Lishan to test the pilgrim and his disciples.

However, in this ordeal, Tang Sanzang's performance was not ideal...

Why do you want to explain?

The original text clearly states the theme of the test at the beginning of this chapter: the path to enlightenment is inseparable from the path of self-cultivation.

On Confucian principles—

Madam Jia wanted to find a son-in-law, but Tang Sanzang refused. He even wanted to keep Wukong to marry into the family. Wukong was the only one who had "opened the book," so he naturally refused and pushed Bajie forward. Bajie said, "Let's discuss it further." Tang Sanzang then wanted to keep Sha Wujing, but Sha Wujing also refused.

As a master, Tang Sanzang didn't act like one. He couldn't stand Lady Jia, and he wasn't willing to follow the Buddha's example of "cutting off his own flesh to feed the eagle." So he decided to send his three disciples to replace them.

Such behavior is truly unbecoming of a master.

How does the Bodhisattva view him?

What do his three apprentices think of him?

Even if he directly asked Madam Jia for his resignation and spent the night in the woods, he would still be a qualified teacher, which is to be practical.

On Taoist Cultivation

Having taken in Wukong, Longma, Bajie, and Sha Wujing signifies that the primordial spirit has already acquired the unity of the Mind Monkey and the Golden Duke (Wukong), the Will Horse (Longma), the Wood Mother (Wuneng), and the Yellow Woman (Wujing). However, this primordial spirit fails to hold on tightly at crucial moments and instead relaxes.

The monkey, the golden lord, the wooden mother, and the yellow woman were all abandoned, but only the horse represented his unwavering determination to go to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures. It grazed outside the door and thus escaped the calamity.

Although he had gathered the five elements, Tang Sanzang had never truly embarked on the path of cultivation. He remained obstinate and only felt that having a firm will to obtain the scriptures was enough. In the end, he was still just an ordinary monk.

On Buddhist Concepts

The holy monk possesses virtue yet remains untainted by worldly concerns; Pigsy lacks Zen and remains worldly. From this day forward, one must calm the mind and correct one's faults; if laziness arises, the path ahead will be difficult!

The last four lines of the eulogy left by the Old Mother of Lishan reveal the true purpose: it is not only advising Pigsy, but also contains no praise for Tang Sanzang.

It's because although he has a Zen mind, it is not pure.

at the moment.

Although this beautiful woman is different from the one in "Journey to the West", she is still the ancient Lishan Old Mother, a rare virtuous saint.

Therefore, Jiang Liu not only had to help his junior brother and disciple to gather the five elements, but also had to persuade the Old Mother of Lishan to stand on his side.

as predicted.

After listening to Jiang Liuyan, and with Jiang Liu's influence as a shaman, Liang Luzhen suppressed the nine insects with reason and patience.