[Journey to the West] The Poor Monk Xuanzang

"Apprentice, I remember that it has been four or five years since I left Chang'an. How come I haven't reached Xitian?" I sat on the horse and looked around. Reckless and gray, with no end in sight.

Wukong hung upside down on the branch in front of him, turned his head and laughed and said, "It's still early, master, we haven't left the gate yet."

Bajie said: "Brother Hou is talking nonsense again, is there such a big door in the world?"

The monkey said: "according to my old grandson, if the blue sky is the roof tiles, the sun and the moon are the window lattices, the four mountains and five peaks are the beams and pillars, the heaven and the earth are like an open hall."

I smiled and shook my head, this monkey head has such a big tone.

Halfway through the journey, the sky suddenly turned dark, dark clouds surged, a bolt of lightning slashed across the sky, followed by a thunderclap, and in an instant, heavy rain poured down.

I hurriedly stuffed the three treasures into the burden, but the little guy was also well-behaved, holding the bamboo strips with his little paws, his big eyes were open and he didn't move around.

Wukong jumped down quickly, took out an oil-paper umbrella from his luggage and put it on for me.

I bought that umbrella four years ago when I set off from Chang'an, and I didn't keep it well. Now the umbrella surface is rotten, and the ribs are stuck in a mess.

Because I thought it was an old thing, I was reluctant to throw it away. I only planned to buy another one at the market, but as a result, I forgot about it.Those few apprentices of mine were not careful, and they never reminded me.

There is really not much difference between having this umbrella and not having it.After a while, I was completely soaked from the upper body to the trouser legs. I had no choice but to push the umbrella away and walked forward in the rain.

The mountain road was already rugged, but it was even more muddy and difficult when it rained. I walked slowly, trying to walk steadily so as not to fall.

Unexpectedly, even though I was so careful, when I was going down a small slope, I still encountered loose soil and rocks. My foot slipped, and I fell to the ground on my back.

"Master!" Wukong quickly came up to help me. He was originally a monkey with long hair, but after such a heavy rain, he instantly became a monkey fished out of the water.Strands of hair stuck to his body, making him laughably embarrassed.

I was covered in muddy water and struggled to get up, because the ground was full of mud, and although I fell in a mess, I was not injured.

"Master looks like a Buddha with gold paint peeled off like this."

The monkey head was in a mess, so he had the leisure to laugh at me: "According to me, if you paint the master with gold lacquer and put it in the temple, you can also cheat some incense money."

I glared at him angrily, stretched out a muddy hand to cover his face, and said: "Then Wukong must accompany me as a teacher."

Drifting smiled and shook his head.

I coughed lightly, threw the monkey aside, and walked forward.

I saw a huge building complex in the mist and mist in front of me, majestic and majestic, with five large characters written on the door plaque, which said Baolin Temple was built.

"This is such a big temple," Bajie was about to enter happily, "Let's just stay here for one night and leave tomorrow."

I hurriedly stopped him: "I'm afraid your appearance will scare the people in the temple, so I'd better go in."

I wrung out the muddy water on my body, straightened my clothes slightly, and walked into the mountain gate.

There are carved beams and painted buildings inside, and there are groups of Buddha statues, which is very magnificent. I walked while watching, and bumped into a little monk coming out from the back door.

Seeing me, the little monk hurried up to salute and said, "Where did the master come from?"

I returned the salute: "The poor monk is from the Eastern Tang Dynasty who went to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and ask for Buddhist scriptures. It's getting late in Baofang today, so I hope you can stay overnight."

The little monk showed embarrassment: "Master, don't blame me, I can't make up my mind, wait for me to ask the abbot."

I put my hands together and said, "Thank you."

After a while, the abbot came out in a hurry wearing cassock robes and a Pilu hat. He turned to the little monk and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

The little monk pointed to me and said, "That's the elder."

The abbot said angrily: "You kid, don't you know that only dignitaries need me to greet you, how can anyone disturb us when we build Baolin Temple!"

"Such a wandering monk in rags, I think he came here for the night when it got dark. Teach him to squat on the front porch! If you have nothing to do, come and report me."

After that, the abbot flicked his sleeves and walked away.

I was so angry that I wanted to leave in a fit of anger, but at this time the sky was getting dark, and there was no place to stay nearby, so I had to follow along cheekily.

The abbot took off his clothes and sat there angrily, not knowing whether he was chanting scriptures or what.

I didn't dare to go in, so I stood outside, bowed and said: "Old master, the disciple has asked for an interrogation."

The abbot was full of impatience: "Where did you come from?"

I said: "The disciple came from the Tang Dynasty in the east, and went to the west to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. When he passed by Baofang, he asked for a night's stay. He will leave immediately at dawn. I hope the master will make it convenient."

He stood up just now: "Tang Dynasty monk?"

"Exactly."

He said: "Since you are going to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures, why don't you go?" This question is very blunt, but also very inexplicable.

I frowned: "How do you say that?"

He pointed casually: "Going west, only four or five miles away, there is a thirty-mile shop, and there are people selling rice in the shop, you can go there and stay overnight."

After that, the abbot put his hands behind his back and said arrogantly: "It's not convenient for me to stay here, so it's not easy to keep your monks from afar."

I clasped my palms together and said: "Master, there is a saying in the ancients that Anguan temples are all posthouses for our masters. When you see the mountain gate, you will get three liters of rice. Why don't you keep me, but what is your heart?"

The abbot immediately became angry, and jumped up and said: "You monk is so glib, I am not related to you, so why should I keep you!"

"There are three liters of rice when you enter the door? I owe you!" The abbot waved his hands angrily and began to chase people away, "Hurry up! Wherever you call me, whether you sleep outside or stay overnight, whatever you want Why, the poor monk doesn't serve me!"

"You..." I was choked by him and couldn't speak for a moment.

He stood for a while, and then said: "It's not because I have a bad heart, but I have suffered from a traveling monk like you."

"A few years ago, there was a monk who came to sit at the entrance of the mountain." He recalled.

"I saw him with torn clothes and no shoes, bare head and bare feet, and I sighed for his rags, so I hurriedly invited him to the temple to entertain him, and lent him one of the old clothes, and let him stay for a few days."

"How did you know that monk was so greedy for food and clothing that he would stay with me forever. Later, that monk met the lord and asked him for money. There were many collisions between his words."

"The lord was furious, tied him with a rope, sent him to the Yushui River, and soaked him for three days and three nights. Since then, the lord and my Baolin Temple have had a rift." He sighed and waved his hands. "Go away, I won't keep you."

I couldn't, so I had to swallow my anger and walk out the door quickly.

Seeing me coming out, the monkey jumped over and asked, "Master, did the monk hit you here?"

I avoided him and said coldly, "No."

The idiot Bajie followed suit: "It must have been beaten, otherwise, Master would almost cry."

"Is that scolding you?" the monkey asked again.

Impatient, I pushed him away: "No."

"Neither beat nor scold, master is homesick?" The monkey was indomitable.

I was so entangled by him that I couldn't help it, so I sighed and said, "It's not convenient for him to come here."

The monkey laughed nonchalantly, and said nonsense, "I think this is a Taoist priest?"

I glared at him: "There are only Taoist priests in temples, and monks in temples."

"Since they are all monks, it is fate. My old grandson goes in to reason with him." The monkey took out his golden cudgel and jumped in to reason with him.

After a while, the four doors opened, and about [-] monks lined up in two rows, all neatly dressed.

"Master Tang is welcome." The abbot greeted him with outstretched sleeves.

The two rows of monks said in unison: "Master Tang."

Ba Jie happily walked ahead: "Master, you are too helpless. When you entered, you were tearful, and you could hang a bottle of oil on your mouth. Why did you teach them to come out to greet you?"

I sighed: "The master doesn't have to be like this, it's a poor monk."

"Where did Elder Tang say anything? It was the young monk who did not know Mount Tai and offended Elder Tang." The head of the house ordered the monks to lead the horses, and the one who carried the burden, to meet the four of us, the master and the disciples. Enter the main hall.

"Dare to ask the elder, are you a vegetarian on the way? Are you a meat eater? We can go to cook." The head of the courtyard asked bluntly, sweeping away his previous arrogance.

I only sigh that in this world, hard words really work.

After finishing the supper, I said, "Master, I'm sorry."

The host quickly waved his hands and said, "Don't dare, be negligent." Then he ordered: "Two of you go to arrange forage, feed the horses with Mr. Tang, and go to the front to clean the three meditation halls, lay them Bed curtain, please rest in peace, Master."

After dealing with many chores, it's not over yet.Those monks stood on the left and right one by one, standing neatly, refusing to leave.

I sighed: "Everyone, go to rest." No one dared to move.

I had no choice but to say to the dean: "Let them all go to rest."

At this point, all the monks left one after another.

The monkey snickered aside.

I glared at him and said helplessly, "You."

On the contrary, he looked extremely proud: "If it weren't for my grandson, these monks would be so thoughtful."

As I fell into a drowsy sleep, I heard the sound of the wind blowing outside, and I heard someone calling faintly outside the meditation hall, "Master!"

I got up and looked out, only to see heavy rain pouring out of the window, and black water flowing straight in from the crack of the door.

I ran out in a hurry, but couldn't open the door. I watched the water grow higher and higher, reaching waist depth in the blink of an eye. The water was so cold that my legs and feet were numb, but I couldn't move.

Ink stains like water plants flashed in the water, and I fished them subconsciously, but it turned out to be a handful of slippery hair!

A pale face slowly emerged from the water.

I was so frightened that I almost lost my breath, and asked tremblingly, "What the hell are you?"