The Monkey King

On a dark night, the monkey came to the introspection stone in the dark.

It looks like a stone from a distance, but it looks like a stone up close. It is like this during the day, and there is no change at night.

"Is this an ordinary stone? Then why did the old man designate this place to cultivate his mind?" Thinking about it, the monkey tiptoed onto the introspection stone and continued to meditate using various methods.

At this time, in the grass in the distance, two young Taoist priests were already looking extremely impatiently.

"Xidu, what do you think this monkey wants to do? Come here to meditate in the middle of the night? Is he crazy?"

Xudu next to him covered his mouth and yawned: "How can we understand the thoughts of beasts? The master asked us to come, and we just followed. I thought I wanted to do something shameful, but I didn't expect to come here directly. Xudu. Jin, tell me, could it be that he discovered that we were following you?"

"It's possible." Xu Jin nodded and lay down lower in the grass.

That night, the breeze was caressing the green leaves, insects and birds were chirping in the woods, the waterfall beside them was running forever, and two Taoist priests were covered in pimples from mosquito bites in the grass.

The monkey tried various methods on the stone, but still found nothing.

"Is cultivating the mind... simply to make the mind peaceful?"

It was not until dawn that the monkey went back in despair, leaving behind two sleepy Taoist priests in the grass.

After returning to the room and eating the breakfast brought by the wind chime, the monkey went to give Subhuti an early treat according to yesterday's schedule.

This time, Subhuti simply lay down with his back to the monkey, still studying the scriptures with gusto.

"Did you see any progress in your practice yesterday?" Subhuti asked lazily.

"My disciple is stupid and has made no progress." The monkey bowed deeply and slowly raised his head to glance at Subhuti. The old man still had his back turned as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Cultivation takes many years and months, so disciples must not slack off."

"Follow your master's instructions."

"Go down." Subhuti waved his hand.

"yes."

The monkey stood up and turned around. After taking a few steps, he couldn't help but turn back and kneel down: "Master, my disciple is confused."

"But it doesn't matter."

Taking courage, the monkey opened his mouth and said: "The master asked the disciple to cultivate his mind, but he still doesn't know what cultivation of the mind is and what progress is. Could it be that he just meditated in the back mountain? What level of cultivation does the disciple need to reach? Practicing magic? Please ask the master for instructions."

After saying this, the monkey kowtowed and remained motionless.

Subhuti slowly turned back, stood up and said with a smile: "You monkey head are so eager to learn Dharma? The road to practice is long and long, and it can take hundreds of years to achieve anything. It only takes one day, and you can't stand it?"

"It's not that my disciple can't bear the pain of practice, nor is it that I'm afraid of the long practice... It's just that my disciple is confused!"

"My teacher once said that you, the monkey head, have violated all three of the three. Even if you don't care about the third one, how can the other one and two be ignored? With such a mind, even if you succeed in cultivating immortals in the future, you will definitely cause great disasters. . Let you cultivate your mind in order to calm your mind. The back mountain is just a secluded place. If one day you enter samadhi and there is nothing in your mind, I will teach you the method of reaching heaven!"

"Disciple understands."

"Since you understand, let's go." Subhuti turned around and continued to read the classics.

The monkey didn't even raise his head, he just stood up slowly with a bow and exited the door.

This cultivation of the mind, after doing it for a long time, actually means cultivating the mind and cultivating the nature!

"What's wrong with you? You look so ugly?" Feng Chime was stunned for a moment when he saw the monkey: "Master, did you train you?"

The monkey gritted his teeth and replied: "The old man... actually wants me to cultivate my mind and character..."

After saying this, Feng Chime suddenly laughed.

"What do I think I am? I am cultivating immortality instead of cultivating my mind and nature. Are you still thinking about extravagance and lust?" After thinking about it, Feng Chime said again: "But... most of this cultivation of mind and nature is about daily life, very few You have to go specifically to meditate and practice.”

The monkey went straight to the back mountain with a dark face: "I think the old man is just playing tricks on me. He just wants me to squat in the back mountain for three to five years."

The wind chime hurriedly caught up and hit the monkey's back with a whisk: "Monkey, don't talk nonsense. Do you still want to kneel outside the door?"

Another day, the monkey returned to his residence at dusk, and in Feiyun Pavilion, three people were whispering.

"The monkey just went to the back mountain to meditate last night?" Qingyunzi gently stroked his long beard, which was very unbelievable.

Xudu said in a low voice: "My disciples and Xujin found it incredible last night, so they went to inquire today. They heard from Feng Chime that Master asked him to go to the back mountain to meditate and cultivate his mind since yesterday. It's no wonder he didn't come to listen to the lecture. I missed the monkey. If your mind is unstable, you must have accomplished nothing yesterday, only last night..."

"Meditate to cultivate the mind?" Qingyunzi's eyes narrowed slightly: "I have never heard of asking new disciples to meditate to cultivate the mind. Although it can be done like this, it just depends on the monkey's mind. It may take ten or eight years. It's hard to achieve anything... I'm afraid trouble may arise over time. You must pay more attention in the future. If the monkey head makes any rash moves, don't do anything lightly. Just let me know and be your teacher."

After that, Qingyunzi took out a piece of bamboo slip from his sleeve and put it in Xudu's hand: "This slip is a treasure that my teacher got by chance. It's called 'Lian Shou'. You and I each have one piece. If there is an emergency, just use it." Write it on the bamboo slips with your fingers, and the teacher will know it."

"I will obey my master's orders!"

That night, the monkey sneaked away to the back mountain to examine the stone again, and the two brothers, Xiuxu Xujin, naturally followed him.

A month passed like this, and the monkey still made no progress in cultivating his mind. He was very irritable, and Subhuti ignored him again. On the other hand, two senior brothers, Xiduxujin, couldn't bear it and fell ill at first, so they had to take turns following him.

The wind chime knew that the monkey was in a bad mood, so he still brought him meals every day, no longer mentioned the matter of cultivating his mind, and just talked about him.

"Monkey, the temple has been very lively these past two days. Yesterday Erlang Shen Yang Jian sent someone to send some agates and jade, saying that he wanted to celebrate the master's birthday."

The monkey bit the steamed bun and asked, "Master's birthday yesterday?"

"I don't know. We don't know Master's birthday, and Yang Jian doesn't know where he got it from. Maybe it's just a name."

"Agate jade?" The monkey thought for a moment and said with a smile: "What do you want, master? I think the relationship between Yang Jian and Heaven is tense, so master must have retreated to avoid getting into trouble."

"Then you guessed wrong." Feng Ling shook his head and said with a smile, "Master accepted everything according to the order, but I just told the guests before leaving not to spend such money in the future."

"Oh." Monkey's brows frowned slightly.

"Erlang Shen's people have just left, and the special envoy of the Jade Emperor of Heaven arrived today. They sent them fine wine and flat peaches, saying they were for Master's birthday. Master also accepted them all according to the order."

"Both sides take it all!" the monkey couldn't help shouting.

"Then you don't understand." Feng Ling shook his head and pretended to be serious: "I heard that the Jade Emperor of Heaven was gathering an army to conquer Yang Jian. Unfortunately, all the generals in Heaven knew that they were not strong enough and could not avoid the battle. Only Marshal Tianpeng asked to fight. Although there are soldiers, there are no generals. I am afraid that it will be difficult to achieve anything in the campaign against Yang Jian."

"Marshal Tianpeng invites you to fight?" The monkey was stunned for a moment.

Zhan Yang Jian, does Zhu Bajie have this ability?

"Well, Yang Jian was born in the teachings and was the chief disciple of the third generation. His Majesty thought that he had expected this to happen and had been in seclusion for a long time. At this time, all the generals in the sky were either fellow sects or defeated generals. How could anyone dare to mess with him, Yang Jian. I miss my master. Zun Nai is an ancient immortal, and Yang Jian must have been afraid that the Jade Emperor was desperate and asked the master to come out of the mountain to give him the gift. The Jade Emperor was also afraid that Yang Jian would get there first... As the saying goes, 'If you are not afraid of the gods being greedy, you are afraid that the gods will not accept the gifts.' It would be fine if both sides accept it, but if they don’t accept it, I’m afraid someone will take it seriously.”

The monkey smiled and said: "The Jade Emperor can invite Tathagata Buddha."

Wind Chime chuckled and said, "How can the Buddha care about my uncle beating my nephew?"

After another long silence, the monkey suddenly asked: "Wind Chime, does Yang Jian seem to know the seventy-two changes?"

"Yes." Feng Ling nodded and said: "The seventy-two transformations belong to the Way of the Walker, which is a profound Taoist method. What Yang Jian cultivated is the Way of the Walker. Now he has overcome the murderous calamity, and with his extremely high talent, he has reached the level of transcendence. His realm is unparalleled by anyone in heaven or on earth."

"Oh?" Monkey narrowed his eyes and said thoughtfully: "Wind Chime, I remember you once mentioned the 'Path of the Walker' and the 'Path of the Enlightened One'. What is the difference between the two?"

"Those who practice the 'Way of Enlightenment' can gain a glimpse of the mysteries of heaven and earth, and learn the methods of alchemy, divination, and weapon smelting. It takes hundreds of years to achieve success, so the character of the mind is extremely important. Those who practice the 'Way of the Practitioner' can tap into their own potential. If you are familiar with the number of changes and are good at conquering, you can achieve it in a few years, but there is no danger. Master has not told you about it yet, and he has asked you to cultivate your mind. He must have chosen the 'Enlightened One's Path' for you."

The monkey's eyes suddenly opened wide.

"I see!"

That night, the monkey did not go to the back mountain in the dark but lay down on the long-lost couch. It's just too pitiful that I didn't dare to leave after wasting a whole night outside.