"Good, great good." Master Jia was overjoyed. The problem that troubled him was finally solved. He secretly cursed Buddhism for being despicable, and secretly sighed that Taoism was too kind. As for accepting Chen Fan as a disciple, there is no doubt that it can be done. Chen Fan had always been hesitant about what type of disciple he should become, but now he finally made a decision in his heart.
Generally speaking, Taoist temples set up Taoist temples, and the Taoist temples accept disciples. After admission, they are called entry-level disciples. These disciples are equivalent to junior high school students in modern society. They have an ordinary teacher-student relationship with the academy. After completing their studies, they go their separate ways. things; the second type is registered disciples, these disciples have certain potential, outstanding performance in the Taoist Academy, and are recognized by the Taoist temple. They can enter the Taoist temple for further study after graduating from the Taoist academy and become Taoist disciples; the third type, personal disciples, are recognized by the Taoist temple. Being favored by a certain Taoist priest, being directly a disciple of that Taoist priest, and being recommended by the Taoist priest to enter the Taoist temple is equivalent to finding a supporter in the Taoist temple, but it does not just happen if he is favored by any Taoist priest. The Taoist priest must be in the Taoist temple. There are certain identities in Taoist temples; the fourth type, true disciples, are selected from all disciples and exist as the inheritors of Taoist temples. They are equivalent to civil servants in Taoist temples. They have entered the system and enjoy the highest privileges among Taoist disciples.
At present, Master Jia's highest authority for accepting disciples is to accept Chen Fan as his direct disciple. He can bring Chen Fan directly into the Taoist temple to learn Taoism, or he can enter the academy to study, and then let him study after he graduates. Entered Taoist temple for further study. The difference between the two is that the Taoist temple is a place to learn advanced Taoist methods. There are many basic Taoist methods, and the disciples will be regarded as having learned them. A novice like Chen Fan will be more tired from learning, and Master Jia will also be more tired, because There are some things that a master must answer personally. The advantage is that Chen Fan can quickly integrate into the Taoist temple and learn advanced Taoism. If Chen Fan enters the academy to study, he will start from the basic Taoism like other academy disciples, but the advanced Taoism of the Taoist temple Chen Fan will not be able to learn the Dharma for a while, especially the Tao Dharma about strengthening the soul. He will not be exposed to it for a while, which is not conducive to Chen Fan's rapid growth.
"Since you worship me as your master, I will now accept you as my direct disciple. I hope you will not forget what I said today and will expand my Taoism in the future." After saying that, Master Jia took out something from his arms, which was a small sword. It was only two or three inches long, and there was a sword spike on it. It was handed to Chen Fan.
"This is the Wisdom Heart Sword. It was passed down to me by your master. Today I pass it on to you. I hope you can always maintain a wise heart and understand the true principles of my Taoism as soon as possible. I also hope you will treasure it and value it."
The last sentence told me not to forget Master's support. Chen Fan understood it and said respectfully: "Master, from today on, I will follow Master's lead and obey his orders, even if it means going through fire and water." Chen Fan immediately expressed his loyalty, which was not entirely false. For Chen Fan, giving someone a peach and repaying someone with a plum is a life of gratitude.
What makes Chen Fan happy is that Chen Fan doesn't know the true value of the Huixin Sword given by Master Jia, but there is a bead on the tassel hanging on the sword, which is earthy yellow. If Chen Fan saw it correctly , it is "Lingyuan Pearl."
After saying that, Chen Fan respectfully took the Huixin Sword with both hands. Immediately, a burst of enlightenment flooded into his heart, and a shadow appeared in his mind that reflected the information and image of the "Lingyuan Pearl". The beads on the tassel of the sword were exactly the Lingyuan Pearl.
"My son is really lucky to be able to worship the Master as his teacher. I also asked the Master to choose a zodiac festival so that he can solemnly perform the ceremony of becoming a master." Father Chen interjected.
"No, our Taoism does not teach formal etiquette. Let Fa Sheng prepare the preparations. I will take him to the Taoist temple in a few days to pay homage to the founder and the temple master."
"Then Master Lao will be here." Father Chen didn't force it, but he had to prepare for the apprenticeship ceremony. This is something for another time, so I won't mention it for now. As for whether Chen Fan will study in a Taoist temple or a college in the future, Master Jia has not yet made up his mind. Moreover, this is not a decision that Master Jia can make alone. If he wants to study in a Taoist temple, he must obtain the approval of the temple master and other relevant Taoist priests. Only if you agree, everything depends on opportunity.
"You're welcome, Fa Sheng has nothing to do, and it's time for me to say goodbye. It could be ten days at a time, or a month at a later time. I'll come back to your house, and Fa Sheng will follow me to the Taoist temple. What do you think? "
Seeing that Master Chen was fine, Master Jia accepted him as his disciple and gave Chen's father a big surprise. In any case, Chen's father took Master Jia to have lunch together before leading everyone to say goodbye to Master Jia. It was agreed during the meeting that Master Jia would take Chen Fasheng to the Taoist temple after finishing his work. Before leaving, Master Jia specially said to Chen Fan: "Fasheng, you use this time to read the Tao Te Ching carefully. I heard that you play Go. It’s good, so don’t waste it. Sometimes, you still have to rely on chess to solve problems.”
"Yes, Master, this disciple must remember Master's teachings." Chen Fan replied respectfully. Although I don’t quite understand what Master Jia said about solving problems by playing chess, I still have some confidence in playing Go, so I agree to it now. Master Jia is quite satisfied with this apprentice. He does not have the arrogance, rudeness or extravagance of a rich man. He is respectful and courteous to others. The most rare thing is that he has a touch of self-confidence, which is not offensive at all. , but gives people a sense of solidity and trustworthiness. This is a rare quality, especially needed for Taoist priests.
After Master Jia said goodbye, Father Chen called Chen Fan to the study, and the two had an in-depth conversation about Master Jia's future.
"Fa Sheng, this time you are favored by Master Jia. I am very happy as a father. Moreover, when you come back this time, you have changed your past childishness and become much calmer in your speech and actions. This is good. Please don't have trouble with A Qing again in the future." Conflicts, keep the relationship in good condition, it will be good for your future."
"Okay, father." It seemed that Xiao Qing's background was not simple, so Chen Fan calmly replied respectfully.
The father nodded with satisfaction and said: "Master said, read the "Tao Te Ching", it is really good advice. The key is to understand the meaning inside. Everyone reads the "Tao Te Ching" but understands the meaning differently. All the same, memorize the content first, and if the meaning is unclear, you can consult a mage later, don’t blindly define it yourself.”
"Yes, children, read it first. If you don't understand something, you can ask the master later." There was no punctuation mark in an article. Chen Fan only remembered the first sentence of the article, "The Tao can be Tao, the Tao is very famous, and the name can be very famous." This sentence Later generations have three explanations, each of which is reasonable. It is not surprising that the meaning of the whole article is different in some places. However, I don’t know what explanation "Chengying" gave. I think it should be the most correct understanding. Chen Fan thought to himself.
"Originally, your academic performance was average and you were not interested in Taoism or martial arts. Your father did not force you to learn Taoism. But God's will has granted you that now that you have embraced Taoism, you must learn Taoism and martial arts. You must know that these two The most profound Kungfu lies in the Taoist sect. As the saying goes, Master Jia is right. His "Northern Zhenwu Xuan Jing" is a Taoist sutra that directly points to the soul. It can lead to immortality. You must find a way to practice this sutra. Yes. In addition, if you can learn some Taoist swordsmanship, you can also use it for self-defense in the future."
"Yes, Father, I have remembered it." Martial arts are for self-defense, not for fighting. It is best if you can do it without using your hands. As an otaku, Chen Fan has almost no experience in fighting with people in modern society, but his sports performance is not bad, but fighting is another matter. Mainly, he has not met any bad guys, and only made friends with some well-educated people. My friends, everyone knows that if you have difficulty, go to the police. It's just that in this era without mobile phones, it's probably not convenient to call the police. Sometimes you have to rely on yourself. If you don't want to be bullied, you can't do it without learning martial arts.
"You were originally planning to study at Tianshui College, but now you have been accepted as a disciple by Master Jia. What are your plans for the future?"
"Being accepted as Master Jia's disciple, do I need to go to Zhenqing Taoist Academy to study?" Chen Fan did not answer his father's question immediately, but asked the question in his mind first.
"That's not necessarily the case. Master Jia has accepted you as his direct disciple. He can take you directly to the Taoist temple, or he can recommend you to the Taoist academy. My father has spoken to Master Jia. He has not decided yet. I think he will take you there next time. Taoist temple, the decision depends on your performance in Taoist temple. My father is worried that if you go to Taoist temple directly, you will not be able to keep up with your studies."
Chen Fan doesn't have this worry. With "Chengying", Chen Fan himself is full of confidence in Taoist scriptures. If he goes to Taoist temples and Taoist temples, Chen Fan is more inclined to go to Taoist temples. This is equivalent to directly entering the university, so He asked: "Father, please rest assured. If I go to Taoist Temple to study, I will definitely work hard and won't fall behind in my studies. I just don't know what are the advantages of studying in Taoist Temple compared with studying in Tianshui College?"
"We can't say which one has the advantage," Chen's father said thoughtfully. "It should be said that each has its own merits. Tianshui College is a comprehensive college. In the first year after entering, you will learn various basic knowledge, including piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and the Five Classics. Some basic knowledge, one year later, will be divided into subjects according to their respective abilities, mainly based on the official positions currently established by the government, which are divided into economics, chess, etiquette, law, and arithmetic. Economics is the most difficult, and the main subjects are classics, meanings, and Theory, policy, and poetry are regarded as the orthodox subjects for an official, and they can govern one side; the chess subject mainly involves learning chess and the art of war. Chess players are divided into nine grades. When serving as an official, the chess player can be assigned to the official position of the corresponding grade according to the highest grade. Mainly in charge of military affairs. At that time, my father's chess skills reached the seventh rank, but unfortunately he only served as an eighth-rank official. Later, due to accumulated merit, he reached the sixth rank, but because he was busy with official affairs, his chess skills never improved; in the etiquette department, he mainly studied sacrifices and divination. , national affairs are about sacrifice and military affairs, and the importance of sacrifice is even more important than military affairs. When you meet a priest, you should be polite; the law major mainly studies criminal law, and will mainly work in the Ministry of punishment in the future; the arithmetic major mainly studies arithmetic, auxiliary astrology, and formations , he went in many directions, but he mainly worked in the Ministry of Household Affairs and was in charge of the country’s money.”
"Father, the master said before leaving that sometimes we have to rely on chess to solve problems. What's going on?" Chen Fan asked the doubts he had in his mind before.
"Well, now is a time of great strife. Since the Five Husties disrupted China, our Liang Dynasty has been in the south. The battle with the Northern Dynasties has never stopped, and Taoism is not the same." Father Chen then said something that made Chen Fan feel like he was in troubled times. , often have to argue.
