Whether it is the old Taoist priest and old monk above the nine heavens, or Huiming and the old monk in the grotto.
No one expected that Li Xiuyuan sat in the grotto for more than ten years and never woke up even after Sanzang returned to Tang Dynasty from Tianzhu.
In the 19th year of Zhenguan, Sanzang returned to Chang'an from Tianzhu, but the young monk Wuliang was not around him.
Because he remembered Li Xiuyuan before, Sanzang specially stopped in Dunhuang and came to the Buddhist cave on the mountain, hoping to reunite with Li Xiuyuan here.
The old monk and Tripitaka were old acquaintances, so they introduced him to Huiming.
But what puzzled Sanzang was that Li Xiuyuan sat in the grotto for ten years and ignored the world.
He stayed in the Buddhist cave for more than ten days, giving lectures to Huiming and the old monk. However, he could not wait until Li Xiuyuan came out, so Sanzang had no choice but to continue to Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty.
In this way, Tripitaka traveled to the West to seek the Dharma, traveling back and forth for seventeen years, traveling tens of thousands of miles, and passing through more than a hundred countries.
He brought back a total of 520 folders and 657 volumes of Mahayana and Mahayana Buddhist sutras.
After returning to Chang'an, he was summoned by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and practiced at Hongfu Temple in Chang'an.
Qin Xiangyu couldn't sit still after receiving the news. He went to Hongfu Temple to find Sanzang and found out that Li Xiuyuan had been in seclusion in a grotto in the desert for ten years.
Returning to No. 47, he looked at the old man and complained: "Master, that guy is still not a human being. How can a human being be in seclusion for ten years without eating or drinking?"
The old man also felt strange and sighed silently.
He smiled bitterly and said: "Sanzang went to the West to obtain scriptures. He stayed with him for two full years. He must have gained something... That grotto is the place he misses so much, and he is accompanied by old friends..."
He couldn't say much about Li Xiuyuan. If there was any trouble, the master would naturally take action.
Since the old Taoist priest did not entrust him with a dream, it meant that Li Xiuyuan was fine.
Qin Xiangyu curled her lips and said, "If he doesn't come back, he won't be able to drink my wedding wine."
Before she could finish her words, a gentle voice came from outside the living room: "My brother has not come back, so I will attend your wedding on his behalf."
"Senior sister... no, empress, why did you leave the palace?"
Qin Xiangyu looked at the senior sister in front of her who had grown into a great beauty and a talented person like Emperor Taizong. She couldn't help but stand up and salute, but was blocked by the already Wu Mei Jui'er.
Wu Mei, who had changed into a plain white skirt, sat down next to the old man.
He reached out to pick up a cup of spiritual tea, took a sip, and said: "Master, if I had known, I would have gone to the desert with my elder brother. The life in this palace is not what I want."
Qin Xiangyu was startled when she heard this, covered her mouth and said, "Sister, please don't say this nonsense."
The old man shook his head, looked at the two of them and said, "Sanzang said that in the 800-mile desert, the three of them were just a few inches away from dying of thirst. That sin is not something you can bear."
"How is this possible? My brother has the cultivation level of a god?"
Wu Mei held the tea cup in her hand and grabbed Qin Xiangyu's sleeve with one hand. She was obviously frightened by the old man.
The old man replied calmly: "He is not a god yet. Sanzang said that you can have nothing to eat in the desert, but you can never live without water. People are like fish."
Qin Xiangyu sighed, took Wu Mei's hand and said, "Sister, don't be afraid, he will always come back, this is his home."
Wu Mei nodded in response, looked at the old man and said, "Master, I haven't seen you for a long time. Jue'er would like to drink a glass of wine brewed by my brother."
In her opinion, it had been a long time since she and Li Xiuyuan had seen each other.
After thinking about it, I had no choice but to put all my thoughts into that cup of apricot blossom spirit wine.
The old man thought about Li Xiuyuan's explanation back then and looked at Juier's depressed appearance today, and couldn't help but feel soft in his heart.
He replied: "Just have a drink."
…
Wu Mei did not tell her junior sister and master about her sufferings in the palace. She was waiting for her brother's return.
However, the old man met the old Taoist priest on the night of the summer solstice in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, the fourth year after Tripitaka returned.
Suddenly seeing the owner who had not been there for a long time, the old man was startled and quickly stood up to greet him.
The old Taoist priest waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite, give me some of the spiritual tea you roasted this year. I have to let the old monk try it. He has been thinking about it for a long time."
"Don't worry, Master, I'll put some more in for you later... Where is my little master?"
After much deliberation, the old man could only find out the news about Li Xiuyuan from the old Taoist priest.
The old Taoist priest laughed and said: "He is probably carving the Buddhist scriptures on the stone wall of the cave right now. If I weren't afraid of something happening to you, I wouldn't have to go this far."
The old man was startled and asked cautiously: "Is something big going to happen?"
In his opinion, if there is no serious matter, the master will definitely not come to Datang in person. Lingcha is just an excuse for the master.
The old Taoist priest sighed and said leisurely: "I am in the grotto, but I am thinking about your little disciple..."
After spending a while, the old Taoist priest explained to the old man what was going to happen.
While the old man was stunned, he said in a solemn voice: "If your disciple who runs the inn wants to interfere in this matter, just let her do it. Remember, no matter what happens, you are not allowed to interfere."
This is what Li Xiuyuan felt in his heart, anticipating the coming storm of the Tang Dynasty.
He also thought about the cause and effect with Duo'er, fearing that the old man would spoil the matter on impulse. After all, neither he nor the old man could interfere in the affairs of the Tang Dynasty.
Having said this, the old Taoist priest looked at him and smiled bitterly: "You now understand why my disciple would rather enlighten himself in a cave in the desert than return to Chang'an, right?"
The old man nodded and replied: "Since the Zhou Dynasty, my young master has not interfered with the affairs of the palace, let alone the current Tang Dynasty."
The old Taoist priest smiled bitterly and said, "What do you think he said?"
The old man shook his head: "Master, please clarify."
"He said that the prosperous age in front of him is not what he wants to see. The person he wants to see has not been born yet. If you are not in a hurry, just take your time in this world."
After taking a sip from the spiritual tea in front of him, the old Taoist stroked his beard and sighed: "He really wants to see the entire dynasty."
The old man was speechless for a moment, so he could only reply quietly: "The old slave is here to accompany the young master."
The old Taoist priest thought about how his precious disciple transformed into a shepherd in the wilderness, and about Li Xiuyuan's determination to sit in the cave for more than ten years just to understand half a book of scripture.
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said: "In your opinion, these past few decades have been very exciting, but the era that that guy is looking forward to is still early."
…
On May 26, the 23rd year of Zhenguan, Taizong died in Hanfeng Hall at the age of 52. He reigned for 23 years, with the temple name Taizong and the posthumous title Emperor Daguangxiao, the Great Sage of Civil and Military Affairs, and was buried in Zhaoling. .
According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Mei and some childless concubines entered Chang'an Ganye Temple and became nuns, with the Buddhist name "Mingkong".
Only then did the old man understand Li Xiuyuan's painstaking efforts and why he asked the old Taoist priest to go there.
Without the master's instructions, he would have taken his precious disciple out of the Buddhist temple and went to meditate on the snow-capped mountains.
After Zuoer became a monk, the old man did not go to visit her immediately. He only asked Qin Xiangyu, who was already married, to visit his senior sister in Ganye Temple.
Jue'er, who entered Buddhism, thought about some of the principles her brother taught her that day on the snow-capped mountains, and she was no longer anxious at the moment.
She just asked Qin Xiangyu to bring a message to the old man. She had to wait for her brother to return from the desert.
At this time, Li Xiuyuan, who had a beard and wild hair like a wild man, finally came out of seclusion.
Huiming waited for Li Xiuyuan who was like a savage, but failed to expect an unexpected thunderstorm.
He couldn't help but look at Li Xiuyuan in front of him and asked: "Senior, how come you haven't broken through this time after sitting for more than ten years?"
Li Xiuyuan shook his head gently: "I was just thinking about some issues, and it has nothing to do with cultivation or breaking through."
After reading half a volume of the "Nirvana Sutra", he understood how difficult it was to burn the fire of Nirvana. The last time in the Xilin Temple of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was because of Ksitigarbha's action.
In addition, because of the incident between Qingqing and Yan'er, he was eager to save people.
Nowadays, it is not that simple to break through.
Huiming said while making tea: "The senior brother from Chang'an went to Tianshan Mountain, saying he wanted to feel the power of heaven and earth and find an opportunity to break through."
"Tianshan, you might as well go and have a look, it's a bitter and cold place there."
Li Xiuyuan sighed: "I went to Tianshan just to look for old friends. In the blink of an eye, how much has changed in a hundred years?"
The old monk would definitely not be able to enter the cave where he, Xiaohu and others practiced.
Even if an old monk reaches Tianshan, he may not be able to find the place where he practiced as a monk.
Fortunately, there are many Tianshan Mountains and many dangerous peaks. If you just want to see a part of the world, it is enough.
After drinking two courses of spiritual tea and eating a piece of cake, Li Xiuyuan regained some strength and sat on the cliff outside the grotto, asking Hui Ming to shave his messy hair into a bald head.
Just like he did in Broken Leaf City.
After washing and tidying up, Li Xiuyuan looked like a handsome young monk in the Buddhist cave.
When Hui Ming saw it, he couldn't help but admired: "In the blink of an eye, a thousand years have passed, and the senior is still as glorious as before. How good."
After saying that, he handed over the letter that the young monk asked Sanzang to bring back, and said leisurely: "I didn't expect that Junior Brother Wuliang actually stayed in Tianzhu..."
Quietly, Li Xiuyuan unfolded the letter written by the young monk to himself, as if the young monk was sitting in front of him.
I couldn't help but murmur: "Being born in the world and entering the world are all cultivation."
Just as he told Jin Wuliang back then, the young monk followed Sanzang to practice in Tianzhu for ten years and visited every temple there.
After witnessing the miracles created by Brother Tripitaka in Buddhism.
The young monk decided to listen to his brother's words and join the world to practice.
After returning to secular life, he fell in love with a woman from a business family in Savatthi State, got married, and settled down in the country where the Buddha attained enlightenment.
At that time, the Buddha gave up his status as a prince and became a monk and traveled around the world to enlighten himself.
But the young monk now listened to his brother's words and went into the secular world to see all living beings.
See the world in the dust, look up at the sea of stars in the dark night...
Looking at Huiming, who was neither sad nor happy in front of him, Li Xiuyuan smiled lightly and said, "Wu Liang is much more courageous and persevering than my two nephews back then."
In front of the Buddha, Li Xiuyuan briefly talked to Huiming about the story of Wuxin and Wuyou for the first time.
Huiming was dumbfounded and said quietly: "I accidentally obtained half a volume of scriptures, and I carved them in the cave where I was in retreat."
"Although it's only half a volume, it took me a lot of energy to comprehend... If I get the second half of the volume in the future, if you haven't ascended yet, I will bring it back to you."
When Huiming heard this, he couldn't help but admire: "Thank you, senior, for your care. Huiming should practice seriously."
Li Xiuyuan looked at him and said seriously: "The road to practice is long. Think about it, your master could have ascended and left, but he wasted six hundred years here just to find a successor. Don't be impatient."
Thinking of the fat monk back then, Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "This is the treasured place for your cultivation."
In Li Xiuyuan's view, the fat monk could ascend here, and Huiming, as a disciple, might not be unable to realize the opportunity that his master had back then.
Huiming said at this time: "I heard the news from Dunhuang City that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty has died."
Li Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this, and remembered what he had asked his master in his dream. He did not expect that when he woke up from the dream, Emperor Taizong would become a thing of the past.
Thinking about what Jue'er was going to face, she couldn't help but sigh again and again.
One emperor through the ages, in the end he will be the same as the emperor of Qin?
Looking at the Bodhisattva on the Buddhist altar, he replied calmly: "As if you were born yesterday, you will die today, just like the bubbles in a dream. You should view it like this."
