Chapter 187: Three religions merge into one, and the great way is unique
"To die with attachment, to live with attachment, is for all living beings."
"Zhugu and I are both in this world, as living beings, and we are formed by the five aggregates. Although I have practiced for half my life, I am still tainted by the joys, anger, sorrows, greed, hatred, ignorance and resentment of the world, and I am entangled by the karma of suffering. This is the limitation of living beings like us."
"As for the Dharma that Zhugu is seeking, in Zhugu's own mind, we disciples have a shallow understanding of Buddhism, and our vision may not be higher than yours. If you want to let go of your obsession, you must start from the heart. Zhugu can recite this Mahaprajnaparamita Heart Sutra more often."
“With Zhugu’s practice, he must have gained more insights from reading this sutra often than disciples like us.” After the old lama said this, he stood up and bowed, took a yellowed sutra from the bookshelf in the wing room, placed it on the kang, and left the wing room.
Seeing this, Chen Jue did not speak, but picked up the Heart Sutra and read the contents: "When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva practiced the profound Prajna Paramita, he saw that the five aggregates were empty and was able to overcome all suffering..."
The five aggregates here refer to the Buddhist "form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness". As long as one is a person, he or she cannot be separated from the accumulation of these five aggregates. If the five aggregates are empty, it means that one has reached the highest level of Buddhist practice, that is, the state of no form and no appearance.
Chen Jue first obtained the Taoist golden elixir, then practiced Tai Chi with his boxing skills, and finally obtained the Buddhist relics with the help of the Tantric Mahamudra. He achieved the true "indestructible" state of the body through fasting and body purification.
It's just that all these practices are on the physical body, combining the strengths of Taoism, Buddhism, and Martial Arts. However, Chen Jue's mind is still not firm enough, and his earthly heart has been affected by the impact of the earth-shaking worldview.
This is what Buddhism often says: "It only has the appearance but not the substance", the only thing lacking is the subsequent spiritual practice.
You know, no one can escape obsession while living in this world, just like Zhao Zhen. Although he has practiced Yoga Mahamudra to a very advanced level, he still has an unparalleled obsession and fanaticism for "eternal life".
Another example is the emperors in history. They were full of vigor and vitality when they were young and strong in power, but when they got old, they began to miss the imperial power and wealth, and could not let go of the prosperity of this world. In the end, they made countless ridiculous behaviors in their later years. This is why there are such famous sayings as "It's a pity that the seat in front of me is empty in the middle of the night, and I don't ask about the people but about ghosts and gods."
Of course, the reason why Chen Jue stopped in this temple was also a coincidence. He passed by the temple and saw the seven bowls of water on the altar and had some enlightenment. He combined his own experience to create a new method of fasting and body cleansing, and by the way, he wanted to use Buddhism to make up for the deficiencies in his spiritual practice.
Unfortunately, obsession is not so easy to eliminate, let alone the obsession of a master who has cultivated to the level of Chen Jue.
Reciting the Heart Sutra can also have a temporary calming effect on the mind, but the real way to let go of obsessions is, as the old lama said, that one must figure it out and realize it on one's own.
…
For the next three days, Chen Jue spent time peacefully in this temple.
During the day, he would sit cross-legged in front of the ancient Buddha with a green lamp, chanting scriptures and practicing exercises to continue deepening his practice of the Mahamudra of Tantric Buddhism. At night, he would read Buddhist scriptures in the room.
All the lamas in the temple respected him very much and did not bother him. Only the old lama would talk to him.
Of course, when Chen Jue was practicing the "Om Ah Moo" purification mantra in the temple these days, he was surrounded by these Buddhist disciples. Under the effect of the Sanskrit sound that vibrated the marrow, all the lamas in the temple felt comfortable all over. Normally, they would feel drowsy after sitting for a long time, but those who practiced with Chen Jue were becoming more energetic day by day, and therefore they were more devout and convinced of the magical powers of this living "Zhugu".
This situation is just like the Buddha preaching to thousands of disciples, Confucius teaching three thousand disciples, Master Chongyang founding Quanzhen Taoism, and so on. These saints among human beings in history all attracted the pursuit of disciples and followers because of their high level of self-cultivation.
Unfortunately, Chen Jue had no intention of preaching and accepting disciples. He stayed in the temple for three days, completed the practice of fasting by drinking water, and then embarked on his journey again.
Before he left, all the lamas, both big and small, in the temple respectfully saw him off as he walked out of the temple gate. The old lama, who had been discussing with Chen Jue for three days, took a set of thick velvet robes and put them on Chen Jue. He also bowed 90 degrees to him and presented him with a khata with both hands raised above his head.
Chen Jue did not refuse, knowing that the old lama regarded him as "Zhugu". He put on monk's robes, took the white Hada with both hands and wrapped it around his neck, bowed and said goodbye to everyone, turned around and walked into the snow-covered grassland, slowly disappearing from everyone's sight.
…
Since he left home in a hurry, Chen Jue basically did not bring any heavy clothes. He happened to get a set of thick robes from the old lama, which helped him keep warm a lot.
The Qilian Mountains were already covered with snow in December, and the grasslands were covered with snow. Everywhere Chen Jue looked was white.
Unlike the life-forbidden zone of Antarctica, the glacier grasslands near the Qilian Mountains still vaguely show the life of human beings. From a distance, Chen Jue could see several tents emitting steam and smoke on the grasslands cut by the wind.
Those were temporary residences for nearby herdsmen to graze their livestock. Chen Jue had been to this grassland before and knew the customs here.
Herders like to enclose their own pastures with fences and barbed wire, firstly to distinguish their own pastures, and secondly to prevent the captive cattle and sheep from escaping.
In addition, there are colorful to avoid confusion and to make it easier to identify which one is theirs.
Chen Jue's roommate Jiang Fan's family also has a large grassland left by their ancestors, covering several hills. This is what is often referred to on the Internet as having "mines" and "grassland" at home. However, the descendants no longer graze, but instead settle in the city. Jiang Fan himself gave up everything in his hometown and rushed to Hangzhou, thousands of kilometers away.
The sacrifice and giving up involved not only the comfort of hometown and relatives and friends of the old times, but also giving up one's own past. It required a great determination. Fortunately, the ending was good. Chen Jue, the roommate, had his own career, love and offspring in Hangzhou.
In Chen Jue's opinion, small towns have their own comfort and melancholy, while big cities have their own convenience and resources for upward mobility. Everyone has different pursuits.
Just as he embarked on the journey of spiritual practice, from the initial confusion and hesitation to becoming more and more determined on his path of spiritual practice, he took one step at a time with firm steps.
Just like his feet now stepping on the ice and snow on the grassland, making a creaking sound, surrounded by the continuous Qilian Mountains, above his head is blue sky and white clouds, occasionally with some snow and cold wind.
Although the temperature was cold, Chen Jue felt that as he walked in such an open space, his heart began to become more and more peaceful, with a sense of being in a foreign land, walking alone on a great road.
After walking for about dozens of kilometers, the sun was getting higher. When passing by a herdsman's grassland, Chen Jue took the liberty of entering the herdsman's tent and chatting with the owner for a while.
He asked for a bowl of hot water to warm his stomach, and took out the cash that had been in his bag for a long time to buy some beef jerky and milk skin from the other party. He planned to go deep into the Qilian Mountains, hoping to use the nature to condense his mind and will.
As for the mobile phone, it had long been frozen and out of service in this extremely cold place, and the battery could not be guaranteed, so it remained turned off.
However, this herdsman family, especially the dark and thin male host who wore a small felt hat and had gentle eyes, confiscated Chen Jue's money when they saw that he was wearing a cassock and a white Hada around his neck. Instead, they enthusiastically offered him food, obviously treating him as an ascetic monk in the temple and wanted to establish a good relationship with him.
Most of the herdsmen nearby are devout in their faith and have honest and simple personalities. After chatting with Chen Jue in very unmarked Mandarin for a few words, they stuffed a lot of dry food and meat into Chen Jue's backpack.
Chen Jue smiled and thanked them. When he was about to say goodbye to them, he heard a commotion in the cowshed next to the tent.
When everyone looked in the direction of the sound, they discovered that a yak covered with brown and black fur had pushed over the fence of the cowshed and was colliding with several yaks in the cowshed. The fight was very fierce.
"Messenger of the mountain god!" the man shouted when he saw the wild yak.
According to Tibetan legend, when the first ray of sunlight shone on Mount Kailash, the first yak appeared. In order to gain a foothold on the plateau, their ancestors sought help from the mountain god of the Great Snow Mountain, who divided the wild yaks into two groups: one group went down the mountain to help herders and became domesticated yaks, while the other group stayed on the mountain and retained their ancient wildness.
After seeing this wild yak, the herder and his family felt helpless, because in their eyes these wild yaks were messengers of the mountain god and could not be slaughtered easily, so they could only let it run wild in the cowshed.
The domestic yaks were obviously smaller than the wild yaks. After being knocked over, several of them retreated to the corner of the cowshed and trembled.
As for the wild yak, it started to eat the grass in the cowshed. Not satisfied after eating, it kicked the shelves in the cowshed a few times and damaged several fences. It was obvious that it was wild and difficult to tame.
Seeing that the wild yak was bulky and had thick and sharp horns, Chen Jue estimated that it would be difficult for several adults to subdue it. In addition, the herdsmen revered the wild yaks as mountain gods and did not dare to be violent with them. So he smiled and walked forward, squatted down, reached out and grabbed the two legs of the yak, and carried the wild yak weighing thousands of pounds directly on his shoulders as if he was carrying a load.
Then, under the horrified gaze of the herdsman's family, they carried it out of the cowshed, slowly walked out of the pasture, walked more than a hundred meters, and placed it steadily on the hillside outside the pasture.
What was surprising was that after meeting Chen Jue, the wild yak no longer got angry, but instead looked docile, bent its head and rubbed against Chen Jue, and even licked Chen Jue's palm with its tongue.
You know, Chen Jue is now practicing fasting to purify his body. The body odor he exudes can make people feel peaceful at heart. The same is true for the wild yak, which smells like "fairy air" and naturally wants to get close to Chen Jue.
In addition, Chen Jue was blessed with the [Harmony between Man and Nature] and could live in harmony with natural creatures. Even if he interrupted the wild yak's fun, the yak was still as docile as a domestic puppy and stuck to Chen Jue, just like the tiger he met in Gongshan Forest.
"You have finally understood human nature!"
"Where is that stubborn temper just now?" Chen Jue patted the wild yak's head, stroked its fur, and said with a slight smile.
As they were heading to the Qilian Mountains, Chen Jue planned to take the wild yak with him and send it back to the place where it was supposed to live and reproduce.
As for the herdsmen and their families behind him, after seeing Chen Jue dressed in a monk's robe and subduing the wild yak with great power, they all bowed and saluted, shouting: "Mahakala!"
