What kind of Journey to the West is this?

Bai Shu: "???"

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Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Since leaving Qing'anju, Monk Fa Rong has not returned to his residence in Cangzhou City. Instead, he went to Tieshi Temple with many doubts to pay a visit to Fashun.

A dark cloud hung over his heart, causing him to doubt the precepts he had previously adhered to, and he urgently needed guidance from an elder.

——Why do monks have to beg?

Avoid greed? But it is entirely possible to earn a living through work.

Accumulating good karma? Everyone’s food is hard-earned.

Spreading the Dharma? Sitting on the street for free is fine.

The Bodhisattva path consists of six perfections, the first of which is generosity, requiring monks to donate money, food, and scriptures to the public. Wouldn't begging for alms be the opposite of this?

Although the little girl was not a Buddhist, she gave me some advice from a Buddhist, which showed that my practice was not diligent enough.

After returning to the Iron Lion Temple, Monk Fa Rong told Monk Fashun about this matter.

Monk Fashun was surprised at first, and then amused.

He sent a capable junior to convert An Yanxia, but An Yanxia's conversion failed, and his junior was about to be converted first!

He did not answer the monk Fa Rong's question, but just said:

"Probe again and report again!"

It's a Good Place to Cultivate in the Mortal World: Chapter 233 [Fooled]

After bidding farewell to the old monk Fashun, Monk Farong rested for a night in the Iron Lion Temple. The next day, he returned to Cangzhou City with his bamboo stick, intending to convert An Yanxia.

He had already made up his mind that the mission was the most important thing no matter what. The elders had placed high hopes on him, and he must not let them down.

Every failure makes one wiser. Before leaving, Monk Fazhong repeatedly chanted "Amitabha" and recited the Prajna Sutra all night long. He didn't care about the precepts of pure cultivation and the heart of a bodhisattva, and only wanted to save An Yanxia.

But he does not seek doubts, but doubts seek him.

When he arrived in Cangzhou City, Monk Fa Rong subconsciously wanted to raise his monk's bowl to beg for food, but before he could open his mouth, he put it down in disappointment.

He said to the person who opened the door, "Amitabha, is there any work for me? I just want food, no money."

When people saw that he was a famous monk, they wanted to hold a banquet to entertain him, but Monk Fazong quickly refused.

This grain of rice seemed as big as Mount Sumeru to him, pressing him so hard that he couldn't breathe.

A well-chosen sentence will serve as a donkey's peg for all eternity.

Monk Fa Rong was tied to the donkey post and could not move. He threw down his monk's bowl as if he was escaping.

His stomach growled with hunger as he knocked on Qing'anju's door. Not long after, Cangyue opened the door and poked his head in, "Why are you here again?"

"Are you here to beg for food?"

Monk Fa Rong was starving, but he still shook his head, "Amitabha. Could you please take me to see Master An?"

"That won't work. The young lady is in seclusion. Um... come in first."

Cangyue was kind enough to take Monk Fa Rong to the front of the study to wait.

On the way, I happened to pass by the kitchen and saw Snow Lion being fed by the maids and cooks with sleepy eyes. The girls smiled and stuffed all the delicious food and drinks into her hands. It was not a delicacy, but it was delicious.

In a stone pot, pound the poria cocos, simmer the yam, and cook the polygonatum until soft. Mix the taro with sugar, and pat the cucumber with vinegar. The pepper and ginger are spicy and delicious, and the salty and light flavors are balanced.

The tempting aroma made Monk Fazhong's appetite whet, and his stomach suddenly rumbled with anger.

I'm hungry!

Cang Yue didn't know that there was an extremely evil monk next to him. He asked for a handful of roasted chestnuts, and when he peeled them apart, he found a ball of golden agate.

She hesitated for a moment, then handed over a handful of chestnuts. "Here."

Monk Fa Rong swallowed his saliva and said, "How can you get something for nothing?"

Cang Yue said, "Since you have nothing to do, go to the kitchen and add some firewood to the fire. My sister said the kitchen is always short of staff."

Only then did Monk Fa Rong agree.

He worked in the kitchen for the whole morning. Seeing that he was so hungry that he felt dizzy, the chefs in the kitchen quickly served him some food.

How come this monk looks like a starving ghost reincarnated?

I ate four bowls of rice in one meal!

After a hearty meal, Monk Fa Rong heard that An Yanxia was about to come out of seclusion, so he asked the chef for leave and went to visit An Yanxia with Cangyue.

In front of the study.

The door of the study was open, and Monk Fa Rong saw at a glance that An Yanxia was not meditating, but lying on a chair with a book covering her face, as if she was sleeping.

Is this some special way of meditation?

Monk Fa Rong was filled with awe.

He heard that among the Eighteen Arhats there was a Sleeping Arhat, so he called him the Hand-Reaching Arhat or the Venerable Banduojia. This Arhat used the common Banduojia sitting posture when meditating, and at the end of his meditation he would raise his hands to the sky and let out a long sigh, as if he had just woken up.

I think what Master An did is similar.

Over there, An Yanxia opened her eyes drowsily and yawned.

She had been studying the Golden Crow Egg all night and had just woken up. When she opened her eyes, she saw Monk Fa Rong and asked in confusion, "Who is this?"

Monk Fa Rong clasped his hands together and said, "I am Fa Rong, a humble monk, honored to meet Master An."

"Oh. So it's you. Please come in. The study is a bit messy, and I'm sorry for the hospitality."

Yanxia rubbed her eyes and asked Cangyue to make a pot of tea to wake her up.

Monk Fa Rong sighed, "Master An is meditating in his study, observing his mind. He is truly leisurely and elegant."

"Observe the mind? Observe what? What is the mind?"

Yanxia smiled and threw the question to Monk Farong.

"What you observe is pure and wonderful existence, and your mind is still and still."

"Master, do you know how to meditate and observe your mind?"

"I studied Confucianism in my childhood, Taoism in my youth, and at the age of nineteen, I practiced the Prajna Sutra and entered the Buddhist monastic life. Naturally, I know how to meditate."

"I asked you if you can observe your mind."

"Sure."

"That's strange."

Yan Xia took a sip of tea and pointed to her heart, saying, "Since there's this act of observation, how can the mind not be still? If the mind is moving, where does the pure and wonderful existence come from? Do you really know how to observe the mind?"

"Of course it is true..." Monk Fa Rong hesitated and swallowed his words.

He was led astray by An Yanxia, and before he could react, he heard An Yanxia say:

"I see you're practicing a false Dharma. You haven't even learned to observe your mind. I also heard you're begging for alms everywhere, which isn't what a Bodhisattva practitioner does. This shows you're definitely practicing a false Dharma."

"impossible!"

Monk Fa Rong rejected it outright.

Yan Xia patiently coaxed him, "How is that impossible? Since you've practiced true Buddhism, have you cultivated compassion?"

"Of course..." Monk Fa Rong thought of begging yesterday and said silently, "No."

Yan Xia continued, "Since you have cultivated the true Dharma, have you cultivated a pure mind?"

"This... is not available either."

"You lack both compassion and purity. This shows you are practicing false Buddhism. Practicing false Buddhism without realizing it means you lack wisdom. False Buddhism doesn't teach you great compassion, great actions, great vows, great wisdom, great courage, and supreme purity. You have been deeply deceived."

A thunderclap exploded in my heart.

Monk Fa Rong was shaken and said, "Please enlighten me, Master."

An Yanxia stood up, walked to the bookshelf and tapped the four sutras: the Shurangama Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

"Buddhism has four great virtues: great wisdom, great compassion, great courage, and great aspiration. You lack compassion, wisdom, and aspiration. Right now, you must demonstrate great courage to break through the barriers of delusion. I have received the teachings of the founder, Zhengyangzi, and the guidance of Manjushri Bodhisattva, the teacher of the Seven Buddhas. I can help you unravel the mystery."

"Fa Rong is fortunate to have met a renowned teacher. I sincerely ask for your guidance."

"Well, okay, go out."

This time, he couldn't figure out how to do it. He said in confusion, "Didn't the Immortal want to guide me?"

"The Dharma is not to be easily passed on. Go and water the vegetable garden for me."

Fa Rong left in a daze and went to the vegetable garden to fetch water.

...............

Here, An Yanxia was trying to trick Monk Fa Rong into working as a laborer for her family, while Bai Zhu hurried over.

Bai Zhu found Cang Yue and asked, "Miss, are you done with your work?"

Cang Yue said: "It's lame."

Baizhu: “….”

Although she was not quite sure what her sister was talking about, she probably knew that An Yanxia was free at the moment, so she went to the study with a letter.

In the study, Yan Xia was meditating and concentrating her mind. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind, but she ignored it.

Bai Zhu walked in and Yan Xia opened her eyes.

"Sister, what's the rush?"

"A letter has arrived from the Three Mountains and Ten Islands, the Xuanyuan Sect of Penglai."

The Good Place for Cultivation in the Mortal World: Chapter 234 [The Mind is the Buddha, the Mind is the Tao]

"A letter from Penglai Fairyland, delivered by the three sea immortals, Fu, Lu and Shou."

"Sister, read it for me first."

An Yanxia was holding the "Nanhua Sutra" in her hand and had just turned to the "Grand Master" volume, which talked about the way of leaving the body and knowing, and sitting in forgetfulness.

She had previously dismissed Daode and Nanhua as outdated, but now, flipping through them, she discovered that the texts in all the volumes were the same, encompassing the principles of the Seven Transformations and Nine Returns, refining Qi into Spirit, and refining Spirit into Void, all in one, concise and comprehensive text.

Sitting and forgetting is a method of refining the spirit and returning to emptiness, and is the final step in alchemy practice. Before sitting and forgetting, one must listen to the breath and be humble.

In the chapter of the human world in "The Grand Master", Confucius is used to talk about listening to the breath and being humble. It sounds mysterious, but in fact it is something similar to the "flow" in psychology, a special psychological experience.

As the saying goes, "focus on one thing," this is exactly the experience it provides.

But the strange thing is that after studying for a long time, An Yanxia always felt that there should be another level between "being humble" and "sitting in oblivion", otherwise the two would be a world apart - just like in fairy tales, the next step in practicing Qi is the Nascent Soul, which is very strange.

But what's the difference?

An Yanxia was concentrating on reading the article, and was also in a state of humbly listening to the breath. However, as soon as Bai Zhu spoke, she was immediately broken.

Bai Zhu opened the envelope, glanced at it briefly, and said:

"The Three Mountains and Ten Islands will open their caves on May 5th. Immortal Zhongli asks you to hurry back to Penglai Fairyland before the opening to formally pay homage to your master and become acquainted with the elders within the sect."

Yanxia counted on her fingers and it was May 5th, the day of the last month, so there was still more than a month left.

Taoism has "Tian La" and "Di La", which are on the first day of the first lunar month and the fifth day of the fifth lunar month respectively. On these two days, fasting and offering sacrifices to ancestors and heaven and earth are held.

"Is the Master coming?"

“It was not mentioned.”

"It seems that life in Chang'an City is not easy either." Yan Xia chuckled a few times, but she was not worried about Luo Suchang.

After all, this is the emperor's territory, how much more chaotic can it get? Oh, the Turkic army is at the gates of the city...

The Turks were powerful and frequently invaded the border, so Li Er even stationed himself in Shanxi to defend the border - but no matter how bad it was, it was not to the extent that the capital was captured six times and the emperor had to move nine times.

Bai Zhu added, "Shangxian Zhongli did mention a certain person in his letter.

"His name is Zhen Yuanzi."