Chapter 88: A Chance Encounter in the Two Monkey Caves, Obtaining the True Transmission at Bodhi Cave
Unlike Sun Wukong who was delayed in entering the cave, Sun Yuan arrived early outside the cave. Although he was affected by the illusion and didn't see Sun Wukong receive any inheritance during the day, Sun Yuan, who is familiar with the story of Journey to the West, especially the part about becoming a disciple, didn't think that the Monkey King really didn't get any instructions. So he came early to see what's going on.
Sure, here is the translation:
As expected, a moment later, a figure emerged from the inner cave, quietly sneaking over, taking advantage of the faint moonlight shining down from the top of the cave, Sun Yuan recognized the person at a glance, it was indeed Sun Wukong!
"Sure enough, there's a problem!" Sun Yuan thought for a moment and suddenly understood the reason why he felt a bit awkward during the day. "Could it be that I unknowingly fell into an illusion? It seems that this is the only explanation. However, it's still better to go up and greet the monkey first. I reckon Bodhi Patriarch won't mind." Sun Yuan muttered to himself, then revealed his figure and slipped out.
As soon as Sun Wukong saw Yuan Lao, he took a rare step back, and the fearless Monkey King seemed to be slightly embarrassed for the first time.
"Brother, what brings you here?" Despite feeling a bit awkward, the Monkey King still couldn't hold back his curiosity, and he pulled Sun Yuan over, asking in a low voice.
"Exactly! This is exactly what I wanted to ask you, what brings you here?" Sun Yuan pretended to be extremely surprised, his voice even trembling as he pointed at Sun Wukong and asked repeatedly.
"Hmm, this matter is a bit tricky." The Monkey King rubbed his head, without giving a direct answer.
As the teasing was almost over, Sun Yuan didn't want to make things difficult for Monkey King. He saw him thinking for a moment, then suddenly looked enlightened and said, "Master made a cryptic message for me to come here at the third watch, to pass on the art of longevity. I happened to meet you here, could it be that you also received Master's cryptic message?"
"What!" The Monkey King was shocked, almost shouting out loud, and then realized where he was, forcibly lowering his voice, saying "So you also received the Dark Language? I thought it was only me!"
"I'm the same, or else I wouldn't be so shocked after seeing you. It seems that our ancestors had already made arrangements, let's hurry up and go in!" Sun Yuan's face gradually faded from shock, looked up at the sky and suggested.
"It's just as I secretly calculated, the moment is not far from the third watch. Since you and I have both obtained the secret language and seen through the mystery in the disk, let's enter together!" The Monkey King came back to his senses from his surprise, "I think our ancestors are already waiting for us inside, let's hurry up!"
Sun Yuan nodded in agreement, took the lead and stepped forward, Monkey King followed closely behind. The two monkeys proceeded with caution, trying not to make a sound, and advanced in this manner until they reached Bodhi's resting place.
Two monkeys familiar with the door and road, along the old path to the back door outside, stopped their footsteps, Sun Yuan fixed his eyes to observe. Indeed, under the faint moonlight, the wooden door made of rattan was not closed tightly, but half-opened and half-closed, swaying slightly in the night wind, hitting the surrounding stone wall, making a series of clanging sounds, occasionally some nocturnal insects playing on the wooden door, sometimes jumping up and sometimes hiding, blinking, suddenly jumped away, unknown where to go, leaving only the faint hum of the quiet night.
The Monkey King saw this and was indeed delighted, saying "Master, you really meant to pass on the teachings to me. Otherwise, how could this door have opened at night? This is our destined opportunity."
Sun Yuan nodded, and immediately stepped forward, lightly pushing the half-open wooden door aside, and slipped in. Inside, he saw a high cloud bed opposite the door, on which lay a crane-haired, child-faced person, who was actually Bodhi Patriarch. At this moment, the patriarch seemed to be fast asleep, curled up with his face towards the inner wall, motionless.
The Monkey King followed Sun Wukong's footsteps, and upon seeing this scene, he also dared not make a sound. He knelt down beside Sun Wukong, eyes observing nose, nose observing mouth, mouth observing heart, calming down, quietly waiting for the Bodhi Patriarch to wake up.
However, after a brief moment, the Bodhi Old Ancestor finally relaxed his body, lifted his legs, and muttered to himself, "It's difficult, it's difficult, the Tao is the most mysterious. Don't take the Golden Elixir lightly. Without meeting the right person to pass on the wonderful trick, empty words will get your tongue tangled and dry!"
The two monkeys looked at each other, Wukong understood the look in Sun Yuan's eyes and immediately responded, "Master is merciful, his disciple has been kneeling here for a long time, only now has the ancestor awakened."
In his heart, he had long expected the Bodhi ancestors to immediately stand up and sit cross-legged, opening his eyes to glance at the two monkeys kneeling on the ground, nodding slightly, but with a hint of surprise in his heart.
Sun Wukong is easy to say, this monkey is extraordinary by nature, belongs to the favorite of heaven and earth, with a rare wit, cannot be mentioned together with ordinary people, but Sun Yuan made Bodhi somewhat surprised.
No matter how you look at it, Sun Yuan is just a little demon monkey after all. Whether it's Bodhi or Zhun Ti Dao people, I never thought that the other party would actually break through the puzzle in the plate and really come to seek the Tao at midnight, suddenly feeling a little surprised in my heart.
But since things have come to this, An Qi is not reluctant to do that kind of thing. Moreover, the Golden Elixir Great Path is extremely profound and not something that anyone can practice just by saying so. Even if one succeeds in practicing it, there are three kinds of dangers. Therefore, passing on this path to Sun Yuan is no big deal.
After a moment, the ancestor scolded loudly, "These two monkeys, why didn't they go to sleep in front, but instead came to my back? In the middle of the night, it's extremely unreasonable, what kind of logic is this?"
Before Monkey King could speak, Sun Yuan bowed his hands and said: "Master, please calm your anger. Do you remember that yesterday in the grand hall, you promised me in front of everyone to teach me the Golden Elixir Great Way at the third watch, and I would enter through the back door from then on? That's why I dared to come straight here and prostrate myself before our ancestor's shrine, without any intention of offending you."
When Sun Wukong finished speaking, the beautiful monkey king hastily nodded his head and said: "The Master is kind and compassionate. The disciple is also like this, but he dare not offend without reason. Except for my brother and me, there are no more six ears here. I hope the Master will show great compassion and satisfy our desire to seek the Tao, and teach us the way of longevity. The teacher's kindness, we will never forget for generations!"
Sun Yuan also fell to the ground and said, "We beg for the Master's mercy and the kindness of transmitting the Tao. We will never forget it for all eternity!"
Seeing that the play was almost over, Bodhi Dao Ren waved his sleeves and stroked his long beard, let out a sigh and said: "Alright! You have good fortune today, I am also delighted. Since you can recognize the hidden mysteries in my cauldron, it's no harm to pass on the Golden Elixir Great Way to you two. Come closer and listen carefully, this Golden Elixir Great Way is not ordinary, there are many obstacles within, you need to concentrate and listen attentively, don't waste my intention of passing it on this time."
The two monkeys immediately knocked and bowed, saying "Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I will definitely work hard with all my heart and not betray the teachings of our ancestors."
"Ah," nodded Bodhi Patriarch with a satisfied expression, "come closer, and I shall impart to you the wonderful way of longevity."
The two monkeys thanked again, stepped forward, knelt down under the eaves, and listened carefully to the ancestor's teachings.
"Behold, the two monkeys are ready. The Bodhi Patriarch invites you to sweep away the dust and says loudly: 'The true and wondrous secret of manifesting and concealing is that there is no other way to cultivate one's nature and life; all come from the essence, energy, and spirit, carefully stored and not leaked; do not leak, store in the body, and you will receive my transmission and prosper. Remember this oral formula, it has many benefits, eliminate evil desires and attain clarity and coolness; attained clarity and coolness, bright and clean, good to ascend to the cinnabar platform to appreciate the bright moon; the moon hides the jade rabbit, the sun hides the crow, freely entwined like turtles and snakes; entwined, nature and life are strong, yet able to plant golden lotus in the fire; gather the five elements, reverse their use, complete the work, then become a celestial being or Buddha."
"You two remember this key point, the foundation of the Golden Elixir Great Path lies in this. If you understand and grasp this trick, other changes and spiritual paths will also have extraordinary gains." After saying the key point, Bodhi Old Ancestor broke through the root source of cultivation and said in a light tone.
But in a short while, the two monkeys memorized the incantation and recited it fluently, without any mistakes.
"And listen carefully, I will pass on to you the great Tao oral secrets." Seeing the two monkeys obeying orders and memorizing the overall decision, Bodhi Patriarch slightly nodded his head and accepted the ultimate principles of the Golden Elixir Great Tao one by one.
For these profound and abnormal things, Sun Yuan naturally couldn't understand them for the time being. He simply relied on his memory as a great demon in the Condensation Period to forcibly memorize these word-for-word memories, waiting to slowly comprehend them later. The Beautiful Monkey King was also like this, although its roots were deep, but its foundation was still shallow, and it only had a superficial understanding of these Daoist incantations, at this moment simply relying on memory to hard-remember.
After several periods of time, the eastern sky was slightly white, and the golden light of the western road was clearly visible. It was the fall of the Taiyin star and the rise of the sun star. The moon fell and the sun rose, a new day arrived. At this moment, the ancestor closed his mouth and pointed to the outside of the door, indicating that the two monkeys could leave.
Having obtained the key to cultivation, the two of them naturally thanked and left. Seeing that the sky had already brightened, they each went their separate ways to find a place to rest. From then on, Sun Yuan and Sun Wukong appeared to be carefree and without worries on the surface, spending their days climbing mountains and crossing ridges, hunting rabbits and digging ginseng, and in their free time, fighting with Long Xuzi for fun, with an air of nonchalance about them. However, secretly, the two monkeys were quietly cultivating, regulating their breath morning, noon, and night, and every evening at the third watch, they would go to listen to the teachings of Bodhi Patriarch.
One year later, Bodhi Patriarch thoroughly ended his transmission of the teachings. One day before his demise, the patriarch said in a deep voice: "All the crucial points of the Golden Elixir Great Path have been clearly explained by me. If you have any doubts in the future, you can come to ask me at any time. As for the teaching, it will stop here. From now on, the cultivation of the Golden Elixir Great Path mainly relies on your own efforts. You must work hard and not waste my intention of transmitting the teachings once."
"Obeying the teachings of our ancestors!" The two monkeys both kowtowed, and in a year's time, they had already become completely different from their fellow disciples in the Slant Moon Three Star Cave. The Golden Elixir Great Way was profound and unfathomable, and although a year's time was only enough for the two monkeys to grasp some superficial knowledge, it also greatly boosted their cultivation.
"Go! Go! Cultivate diligently, don't give rise to lazy thoughts." The old Bodhi swept his robes and a gust of clear wind blew by. The two suddenly felt a gentle yet extremely powerful force appear around their bodies, and they were immediately enveloped and carried out of the door, disappearing into the distance.
