Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Even in Chang'an, where princes and nobles were everywhere, the abbot would not neglect the young lady of the prime minister's mansion to come and pay incense. When Wen Jiao arrived, the idle people inside and outside the Jingye Temple had been cleared out. The abbot came to the temple gate with a few young monks with good looks to wait. When the incense carriage stopped, a group of maids came out to see a beautiful woman with skin as white as cold jade and a willow-leaf yellow skirt. Her hairpins, earrings, and necklaces were all made of jasper, white with a slight yellow and light green, soft and elegant, like a green-calyx plum swaying in the blue sky and sunlight.

Seeing her face to face, the abbot was startled. It was said that Prime Minister Yin had only one son and one daughter, and the eldest daughter was over thirty years old, while the beautiful woman in front of him was no more than twenty years old. Could it be that the Prime Minister had a little daughter that no one knew about?

Just as he was wondering, the beautiful woman approached him and saluted with her hands clasped together: "I came here on a whim without informing you in advance. I am deeply troubled by the disturbance of your peace and quiet." Her voice was very gentle, but there was a calm and dignified demeanor that was inconsistent with her young appearance, which was not what a young girl should have.

It seems that Miss Yin has a secret to keep her youthful appearance. No wonder she looks so young and beautiful. The abbot suddenly understood and clasped his hands together in greeting: "What are you talking about, lady? I am honored that the prime minister's family is willing to come to my humble temple to express our congratulations. I only regret that my monks' home is so simple and poor in hospitality."

The words were very sophisticated. Wen Jiao thought of Su Xin's words "monks are the most snobbish", and couldn't help but glance at Su Xin behind her with a smile. Su Xin secretly stuck out her tongue, and took a plate of silver coins prepared when she came up. A rough glance showed that there were about fifty taels of silver. The eyes of the little monk behind the abbot lit up, and he hurried over to take it.

"It's just a small gift, as a donation, I hope the abbot will accept it." Wen Jiao smiled, "To be honest, I came here, in addition to burning a few incense sticks in front of the Buddha, I also want to ask a monk to recite a few scriptures for me."

It seems that burning incense is just a side job, and inviting someone to chant the sutra is the real thing, and this donation is the down payment for inviting someone. The abbot understood and said, "Who would you like to invite to chant the sutra?"

"It is Master Xuanzang from your temple." Wen Jiao said. Seeing the abbot's expression froze, as if he was very surprised and embarrassed, she asked curiously, "Could it be that Master Xuanzang is not in the temple now?"

The abbot accepted the donation, but could not get the job done, so she could only smile and say, "Lady donor, you may not know, Xuanzang had a sudden realization yesterday, and he said that he would go into seclusion for 49 days and not see any outside visitors."

What a coincidence, why did he close his door the day before my mother came? He didn't see any outsiders, so was my mother considered an outsider? Wen Jiao felt it was strange, but she couldn't just rush to the meditation room to find someone. After a little thought, she said, "The hot summer is coming. I want to donate a piece of fine gauze to each monk in your temple to make clothes."

The ramie cloth is thin and breathable, and the clothes made of it are most suitable for wearing in the hot summer. The court even stipulated that ramie cloth should be used as summer clothes for officials. The high-quality ramie cloth is very expensive, and few monks in Jingye Temple can afford it. The value of this donation is ten times more valuable than the plate of silver. If Chen Guangrui saw it, he would be so distressed that he would spit out blood.

The abbot knew that if he accepted this donation, he would have to drag Xuanzang out to see the crowd, and the dignity of Buddhism would be gone. But if he refused... the abbot glanced to both sides, and saw the young monks who were attending him looking at him eagerly. Although Buddhism is used to the four elements being empty, who can resist the temptation of wearing a light hemp robe in the hot summer?

The abbot's expression changed repeatedly. Thinking of the miserable scene of the whole temple being drenched in sweat during the hot summer in previous years, he gritted his teeth and said, "Jingfa, Jingkong, you two take the female donor to the abbot's room to rest for a while. I will personally invite Master Xuanzang to come out of retreat and preach to the female donor."

Jingfa and Jingkong were the Buddhist names of the two little novice monks. They were only twelve or thirteen years old, smiling like a bunch of children, and looked very lovable. The two of them served Wen Jiao on behalf of the abbot. Seeing that the abbot and Xuanzang were still nowhere to be seen after refilling the tea, a trace of panic appeared on their chubby faces. Seeing that they were so nervous, Mingxin deliberately talked to them to relieve their stress: "Do you Buddhists retreat like this for dozens of days?"

"In Buddhism, there are seven days, twenty days, and forty-nine days of retreat. Don't underestimate the number of days, there are many tricks involved. As the saying goes, 'Don't stay in the mountains until you have achieved enlightenment. Don't retreat until you are enlightened.' But how can enlightenment be so easy? Since the founding of our Jingye Temple in the first year of the Kaihuang reign of the previous dynasty, there have been a few people who have retreated for seven days every year, a few who have retreated for twenty days every twenty years, and the first time in history that someone has retreated for forty-nine days. Everyone admires them very much." Jingfa said.

It turns out that our young monk is so amazing! Mingxin's face was very bright, and he gave Wen Jiao a look with joy, deliberately leading the two young monks to praise him: "I think this Master Xuanzang must be an old monk with many years of practice, a great monk of age?"

Jingfa shook his head like a rattle: "No, Master Xuanzang looks only a few years older than us. He was ordained as a monk two years ago..."

"What is a bhikkhu? Aren't they all monks?" Mingxin asked curiously.

"Only monks who have received full ordination can become bhikkhus. As novice monks, we only need to observe ten precepts, which are not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to drink alcohol, not to put on makeup, not to sing and dance or listen, not to sit on a high and wide bed, and not to eat at inappropriate times..." said Jingfa Dao.

"What is not eating at the wrong time?" Su Xin also became interested.

“It means not eating after noon,” explained Jingkong.

Mingxin put the trap on herself. She eats meat, so it is impossible for her not to kill; if her superiors agree, it is not impossible for her to be taken in by the male owner, so it is impossible for her not to be promiscuous; it is inevitable that she tells a few lies, occasionally drinks a few cups of wine, puts on makeup every day, hums a few songs when she is happy, and is also greedy for a comfortable bed, and every day after dinner... She has violated all ten precepts.

"It's so difficult." She said sincerely.

Jingfa looked proud and said, "Is this difficult? There are 250 precepts in the full precepts! And you can't just accept them if you want to. You must be an outstanding novice monk who is well versed in the Dharma and dedicated to spreading the Dharma to receive the full precepts and become a bhikkhu monk."

Jingkong also had an admiring look on his face: "Master Xuanzang's understanding of Buddhism seems to be innate. Take meditation for example. If I sit for an hour, my waist and back will ache, but Master Xuanzang does not move at all. According to him, if he closes the gate of life and death, he can sit for two or three years without any problem."

Isn't that right? Passing by Chechiguo, he competed with Huli Daxian in meditation, forcing Yangli Daxian to cheat. This meditation skill must be perfected. Wen Jiao thought.

Mingxin praised: "Wow, sitting for two or three years? I can't stand it if I don't move for half an hour. It seems that Master Xuanzang must be a hero in Buddhism."

Jingkong nodded, his face tense and solemn, "Our abbot said, 'The prosperity of Buddhism lies in this child.'"