Chapter 79: The Ten Oxen of Buddhism; Tripitaka's "Ten Good Deeds of the Lion"! [Subscribe]

And everything that is happening before our eyes seems to be this situation.

"Master, since Master Gongjin has returned to Shaolin, why did he run away?"

Lin Xuan then asked curiously.

"He thought that his master was a traitor. He not only killed Abbot Tianlong, but also stole the position of abbot of Shaolin."

Abbot Sanzang shook his head helplessly, looking a little confused:
"Moreover, he actually thought that I sent people to hunt him down in order to keep my position as abbot. How is that possible?"

"Master and he had a deep friendship in the past, otherwise we would not have gone down the mountain with him to venture into the martial arts world when we were young. He must have gone astray in his practice of the Sixth Patriarch's Ten Bull Kung Fu and is somewhat insane..."

After saying this, Lin Xuan couldn't help but smack his lips:
"Master, how can one go astray when practicing the Sixth Patriarch's Ten Ox Skills?"

Lin Xuan was not clear about "The Sixth Patriarch's Ten Oxen Skills".

But when it comes to the Ten Oxen Painting, Lin Xuan can understand it.

The idea of ​​the Ten Oxherding Pictures originated from the method of seeing nature in the "Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch".

This kind of thinking emphasizes that the true nature of every living being (or Buddha nature, self-nature, Tathagata-garbha mind) is truly, constantly pure, and endowed with infinite merits and virtues.

Since time immemorial, sentient beings have been indulged in delusion and forgotten their true nature, and ultimately have lost the ability to recognize themselves.

Therefore, the most important goal for practitioners is to discover this original "nature".

To thoroughly realize the original completeness of one’s own nature is to be enlightened and to become a Buddha.

The infinite merits it possesses will naturally be revealed.

That is to see the nature and become a Buddha.

Among them, the cows in "Ten Oxen Picture" represent the Buddha nature of all living beings.

The ten pictures illustrate the ten stages from starting to practice to attaining enlightenment and liberation.

"Xiao Xuan, do you know the "Ten Oxen Picture"?"

Abbot Sanzang asked meaningfully.

"The disciple understands."

"The Ten Oxen Picture is derived from the method of seeing the nature in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. It expounds the ten processes of seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha, from confusion to enlightenment," said Lin Xuan.

Upon hearing this, Abbot Sanzang nodded:
"That's a good answer. The Sixth Patriarch's Ten Ox Skill is an internal skill created based on this."

"Looking for the cow, finding the trace, seeing the cow, getting the cow, herding the cow, riding the cow home, forgetting the cow but keeping the man, forgetting both the man and the cow, returning to the origin, and entering the shop with hands down are the meanings of the Ten Oxen Pictures, which are divided into four stages."

"Among them, looking for the cow, seeing the traces, and seeing the cow is enlightenment; getting the cow, herding the cow, and riding the cow home is enlightenment; forgetting the cow and keeping the man, and forgetting both the man and the cow is seeing the nature; returning to the origin and the source, entering the shop and lowering the hands is the Mahayana."

"Back then, although Senior Brother Gongjin was a bit dull and honest, he had good aptitude. Abbot Tianlong thought he was suitable for this inner skill, so he taught it to him."

"I thought that after he attained enlightenment, he would soon see his true nature. I didn't expect that he would still lose his true nature. He forgot about the cow and forgot about the man. His mind was troubled and he became possessed. To be honest, this is also my fault..."

"Why would you blame the master?"

Lin Xuan looked at Abbot Sanzang in confusion.

Abbot Sanzang's tone suddenly became somewhat sad. He thought about the past and reminisced:
"You don't understand. When my senior brother practiced this technique and achieved enlightenment, he was only about 30 years old, and he was invincible in defeating all the Shaolin monks."

"When Abbot Tianlong saw this, he originally intended to pass the position of abbot to him, but Senior Brother felt that he had not made any achievements, so he wanted to make some achievements before taking over."

"So, he asked Abbot Tianlong to search the whole world within three years and bring back the second volume of the Book of Power. He also wanted to travel around the world and spread Buddhism."

"Abbot Tianlong will naturally agree to this."

"Since my master is on good terms with him, my senior brother asked me to go down the mountain with him to look for the second volume of the treasure book."

"It just so happened that I was not doing well in my practice of the Ten Good Deeds of the Treasure Lion, and I also wanted to go out for a walk, so I agreed to my request, Senior Brother."

"In the two years since we came down the mountain, we have performed countless heroic deeds, punished evil and encouraged good; in order to find the second volume of the treasure book, we have traveled through mountains and rivers, experienced many hardships and dangers, but we have never seen the second volume of the treasure book."

"Once, I heard that someone had seen the treasure book in the Great Snow Mountain of Beiyuan, so my brother and I rushed there. However, during the rock climbing process, he accidentally fell into the abyss. I searched for his body in the snow valley for several days and nights, but I couldn't find it."

"Without any help, I returned to Shaolin in despair."

"At the same time, because of the success of my good deeds in those two years, I successfully broke through to the Yuqi realm. Naturally, I was valued by Abbot Tianlong. When he passed away, he passed the position of abbot to me." "..."

After listening to what his master said, Lin Xuan was stunned for a long time.

It took a while before he came back to his senses.

Unexpectedly, Abbot Sanzang and Gongjin had such a past.

If Gongjin had fallen into the abyss and returned to Shaolin before, perhaps the position of abbot of Shaolin would have been his.

But unfortunately, he didn't come back.

Really good fortune.

It is very likely that he fell into the abyss and survived by chance.

However, due to the severity of his injuries, and thinking that the three-year deadline was approaching, Gongjin was anxious to use his internal energy to heal his wounds. However, he lost his mind and nature along the way, which led to his madness.

So, his biggest obstacle is the second volume of "The Book of Power"!
Therefore, even though his injuries had healed, he was still trapped by this obsession.

I have spent half my life searching for the second volume of the treasure book.

Now that he is back in Shaolin, he thinks he has found it, and he has come to find Abbot Tianlong to fulfill his promise.

Who knows.

The sea has changed, the sun and the moon have changed.

In the blink of an eye, many years have passed. Not only has Abbot Tianlong passed away, but even his former junior fellow apprentice is now gray-haired.

For this reason, how could Gongjin accept it?

Afraid of going crazy again!
Lin Xuan even doubted whether Gong Jin could still face him even if he woke up.

Or, how should he view the relationship between himself and the abbot?

Just thinking about these gives me a headache.

But after listening to Abbot Sanzang's respectful words, Lin Xuan felt that he was a little pathetic.

It is difficult to judge whether he is lucky or unfortunate.
Lin Xuan knew that his master must be feeling upset at the moment, so he remained silent.

He didn't speak for a long time.

It was not until Abbot Sanzang recovered that he heard his master say in a deep voice:

"No matter whether it's true or not that Senior Brother has the second volume of the Book of Power, we must send someone to find him!"

"If the Black Fox King gets there first, Senior Brother will be in danger!"

As he spoke, Abbot Sanzang instructed Lin Xuan:

"Xiao Xuan, take Xiao Long, Xiao Hu and the others back to rest."

"Master is going to go find Elder Longchuan and Elder Xuanfeng."

"Yes, master."

Lin Xuan nodded.

After watching Abbot Sanzang leave, he couldn't help but look back at the two young men who were peeking out of the door, and said helplessly:
"Didn't I tell you to stay in the dormitory?"

"Brother, if I didn't come with you, how would I know that we have an uncle-master?" Xiaolong said indifferently.

Then, he asked Lin Xuan:
"Did Master really find the second volume of the treasure book?"

"Master left at this time, he must have informed Elder Longchuan to send the monks out to look for Master Uncle."

"Xiao Hu, why don't we just not eat the mutton bone stew tomorrow and go look for Uncle Gongjin?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)