Dragon Horse (2)

ew across his cheeks, tousling his hair.He remained silent, offering no explanation.Back at the Yinjing Heavenly Palace, he dismissed all the paper-like maidservants and placed me on the bed. He then...My brother was watching these little guys wrestling like they were playing football. One guy had a hold of another's head, and several others piled on top to pin him down. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "This is fun! It would be pretty cool to organize a real game next time!"

He ran to the side door. A monk inside pulled open a crack in the door and whispered, "Several honorable guests, please come in!"

My brother was taken aback. He stopped in his tracks and asked, "Was the door opened especially for us"

The monk nodded and said, “Of course! Come in quickly! Some sparrows are very cunning and will hide. They'll fly right in when they see us open the door!”

" ...Isn't this a trap How did you know we'd be here" My brother eyed the monk suspiciously.

Sister Wu impatiently kicked my brother in the waist and shouted, “Talk inside! I can’t summon ghost officers, if someone gets possessed by a headless ghost, we are dead!”

My brother was kicked and stumbled, rushing towards the side door. The monk inside cooperated perfectly, flinging open the door with a whoosh and steadying him. We quickly squeezed in.

"Bro, you're kicking too hard! This... You don't know how important a man's waist is!" My brother complained while rubbing his lower back.

"Who do you call Big Brother!" Sister Wu angrily exclaimed, "One kick and you call that ruthless Your waist is so fragile!"

"Damn! Are you racing I've never met someone who dares question my skills! Don't bother, with your hot temper, you're definitely not the boss's woman. You must be her brother!" My brother roared.

"Scram! Don't talk back to me! Just go back and eat some kidney supplements!" Aunty Wu stood firm.

The monk beside them was taken aback. He finally realized that the two were arguing while driving and awkwardly said: "Amitabha Buddha, both benefactors, this is a pure land of Buddhism..."

"Hear that, this is a sacred place in Buddhism, you're not allowed to drive here!" my brother said quietly.

"You little brat, you act all innocent! One kick and you start crying…"

I quietly took two steps back. Sis Wu truly lives up to her nickname, "The Dirty One."

I took a look at the temple and found that all the monks I saw were genuine.

That is to say, these monks are all ordained and have taken refuge in the Three Jewels. They are different from lay disciples like the previous Master Huicheng.

These days, there aren't many real monks. Some have been ordained for many years but choose to return to lay life.

The teachings of native Buddhism emphasize tranquil meditation and compassion, but many temples have become tainted with worldly influences—after all, survival is essential for practicing Buddhism.

Those who can spend their lives with the ancient Buddha under a lamp are rare in the Buddhist world, and such people are highly respected within the circle.

The scale of Dingguo Temple is not large, with thirty monks. The old abbot was waiting for us in the backyard.

The young monk who led the way said, "Just now, the abbot said that a distinguished guest of great opportunity has arrived at the mountain gate and ordered me and my fellow disciples to welcome him... this way, please."

I was a little surprised and asked, “Could it be that Master Fangzheng has eyes that can see for miles How did he know we were coming”

"Amitabha Buddha, the blinding technique was precisely set up by Master Fangzhang. If someone breaks through it, he will naturally have a spiritual connection..." The monk explained with his head bowed and eyes downcast.

"Don't give me that crap! There are surveillance cameras on the mountain road, right Of course you know we drove up there!"

Phew!!

"Big brother, can you give people some face" My brother couldn't help but complain: "We are all about to believe that Lao Fangzhang has boundless magical powers!"

Sister Wu twitched the corner of her mouth and held back.

I stifled a laugh and couldn't bring myself to look at the monk's face. The monk, a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "My abbot did say that we have a distinguished guest arriving with great auspicious omens, and you must be the people the old abbot was waiting for."

I do believe this statement. Whether one is a monk, a Taoist priest, or a lay person, as long as they are devoted to their practice, their "spiritual platform" will indeed be different from others.

Here, "lingtai" refers to a Taoist term. I have taken refuge in the Qinghua Changle Realm and studied many Taoist scriptures. I skimmed over the obscure, profound and mysterious parts, focusing on learning the simpler concepts first.

In Daoism, Lingtai can refer to the head or the heart.

The Huangting Jing says that Lingtai Tongtian refers to the importance of the head, which can be extended to refer to divine consciousness and spiritual thought.

That is to say, a person with a clear mind will have stronger and more accurate intuition than ordinary people.

The spirit platform brushes away right and wrong, and the cinnabar nourishes primordial yang energy.

This is what the Taoist tradition advocates: cultivating one's body and mind, nurturing oneself.

The old abbot of Dingguo Temple, who had spent years reciting sutras and worshipping Buddha, transcending worldly affairs, could faintly sense that an opportunity was approaching. This was not surprising.

When we were about to enter the abbot's small courtyard, Sister Wu said unhappily, "I don't like the old monk. I'll just wait here for you."

She was unwilling to go in, and we didn't force her. Another monk invited her to sit in the guest room and have some tea.

Old Master Fang's room was very simple, with no extra furniture—there wasn't any furniture at all!

The bed on the kang was patched, and there were only a few tattered cushions in the room. There wasn't even a table or chairs.

And he looks so old... He feels like he's about the same age as a grandfather.

His eyebrows and beard were snow-white, and his eyebrows were quite long. This kind and amiable expression was very approachable.

Before, the eccentric Buddhist monk Huqing really refreshed our worldview. His master, Master Yuanhui, was critically ill. This time, he finally saw a living high monk.

"Hello, our surname is Mu, we are—"

"Two young friends, please sit down…" the old monk said.

My brother rubbed his nose and bowed respectfully.

He didn't convert, but my family practices Taoism. Taoism is a traditional Chinese religion, and its worship methods come from traditional rituals. The Zhouli says: "Nine bows of recognition, one is bowing the head, two is prostration, three is empty bowing," this is the "three bows" in traditional rituals.

Greeting in Zen involves "standing and not kneeling," . Although the old abbot is elderly, we are from different paths, so he calls us "young friends" and we don't have to perform a grand bow.

"Master Abbot, due to the special circumstances, we didn't have the chance to pay our respects at the mountain gate. Please forgive us." My older brother said with a smile.

The old Abbot sighed and said, "You're here, which means you have a heart to solve the troubles. The old monk is deeply grateful."

"How did you manage to attract these... rather stubborn creatures" I asked carefully.

"...This matter is rather complicated. When I went to handle it, I found the atmosphere chaotic, possibly a demon snake on the loose... Having heard that the two young masters of the Mu family are rising stars, you should be able to handle this. This old monk was truly helpless and forced to intervene, which led to these troubles..."

The old monk spoke slowly, but my mind was full of the two words "walk the dragon" — the night breeze and the fragrance of flowers have already calmed the restlessness in my heart.His warmth soothed my tension, and being together wasn't as difficult or insurmountable as I had imagine...