On the second day, three senior brothers, Wei Zhizhen, Yu Zhichuan, and Luo Zhiqing, came to Zhao Ran's residence early and led him to pay a visit to his master Jiang Tenghe.
With a sense of expectation in his heart, mixed with a hint of excitement, Zhao Ran followed the three senior brothers step by step and came to the sword pavilion.
Jiang Tenghe sat in the Xixin Pavilion under the Jian Pavilion, smiling and looking at the four disciples who came together. This Taoist seemed to be just middle-aged, with a sharp face and a sense of magnanimity in his eyes. Well, Zhao Ran admitted that "
Sentences such as "Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah," in the eyes, were very poor, but when he met Jiang Tenghe from a distance, he did feel as if his eyes were "stabbed" by something.
I heard from senior brother Wei Zhizhen before that Master Jiang Tenghe is sixty-five years old this year, but now he looks like he is in his forties - this is a person who is practicing. The more advanced you are in cultivation, the less noticeable the traces of time will be on your body.
Calculated according to the monk level, only when one enters the realm of master trainers can one’s life expectancy be qualitatively improved. Therefore, Jiang Tenghe, who has entered the realm of master trainers, can easily live over one hundred and twenty years old. But he doesn’t know that by that time, he will
What will it look like?
Zhao Ran stood under the steps outside the pavilion. When the three senior brothers entered the pavilion and stood before Jiang Tenghe, he bowed and said loudly: "Disciple Zhao Zhiran..."
Jiang Tenghe waved his hand and interrupted Zhao Ran's roll call: "Come in."
Zhao Ran quickly climbed up the steps and saw a futon placed at his feet. He immediately knelt down on the futon and kowtowed three times to Jiang Tenghe.
Jiang Tenghe nodded and said: "Get up." He then called to the other three disciples: "Sit down."
Wei Zhizhen and others took out a futon out of thin air and sat next to Jiang Tenghe. Wei Zhizhen told Zhao Ran: "This futon is made by master's hand. Each of my disciples has one. What you have under your feet is the apprenticeship gift given to you by master."
"
"Thank you Master!" Zhao Ran stood up, took out a fruit from the storage ring, handed it over, and said to Jiang Tenghe: "I heard from Senior Brother that Master's birthday was the day before yesterday, and the disciples didn't have time to pay their respects to Master. I'm really ashamed...
...It’s just a little bit of kindness, but I hope you can accept it to keep your disciples’ filial piety.”
Wei Zhizhen and Yu Zhichuan both looked at the fruit with suspicion and couldn't understand it for a while.
But he saw Luo Zhiqing sitting opposite, sniffing hard, frowning and saying: "It's so bitter."
Zhao Ran was speechless, can you smell this? What kind of nose is this?
Luo Zhiqing's words immediately woke up Wei Zhizhen and Yu Zhichuan, and they both exclaimed: "Sophora flavescens fruit?"
It’s no wonder they only realized it at this time. In fact, the spiritual fruit Sophora flavescens is extremely rare. Although it is ranked eleventh in the "Zhilan Spiritual Medicine Manual", it grows in Mount Gangpo Rinche of Tubo, and there are very few people in the Central Plains.
I've seen it before, so I couldn't remember it for a while.
Zhao Ran said: "It's the sophora flavescens fruit." He has become thick-skinned now. As long as the origin of the treasures he brings out cannot be told, they will all be attributed to his own miserable experience of fleeing from the Xia Kingdom.
As an exception, I will retell the story about the house confiscation at Baoping Temple.
Jiang Tenghe smiled, did not refuse, took the Sophora flavescens fruit into his palm, accepted the Sophora flavescens fruit, nodded and said: "You are interested."
After giving the gift, Zhao Ran moved the futon to his second senior brother Yu Zhichuan and sat down facing his third senior brother Luo Zhiqing. Sitting on the futon, Zhao Ran suddenly felt numb and itchy all over, and he seemed to jump up as a reflex.
Fortunately, he was quick-thinking and immediately realized the use of this futon, which seemed to have the same purpose as Xixin Pavilion, so he immediately concentrated his mind and exerted all his energy to achieve tranquility.
Last year, Zhao Ran practiced in Xixin Pavilion for many days, and he had already developed the ability to calm his mind in the midst of chaos. Today, adding an extra futon is just a different intensity, not an essential difference. After being quiet for a long time, he took a long breath.
He took a breath and calmed down his irritable mind.
Master Jiang Tenghe and the three senior brothers remained silent and waited for more than half an hour. After Zhao Ran got used to it, they spoke: "You just kowtowed to me and became my disciple. From now on, you are a true disciple of the Lingjian Pavilion lineage. Since
When you enter my sect, you must be informed of the origins of your apprenticeship."
So Jiang Tenghe started to talk about history, and Zhao Ran studied history seriously.
The lineage of Lingjian Pavilion has a long history. Going back to it, the name of the sect should be "Louguan", and the founder of the sect is Yin Xi. In ancient times, Yin Xi was the order of Hangu Pass. Suddenly one day he saw purple energy coming from the east and knew that there was an expert.
When he came, he waited on the middle road. When he came to the west, he was taught the Tao Te Ching.
So Yin Xi went into seclusion at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain to practice the scriptures, knotted grass into a building, and watched the stars. The Lou Guan sect got its name from this. After Yin Xi achieved great success in Taoism, he was promoted to an immortal, and was named Wen Shi Zhenren, and Taoism flourished at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.
Later, Wen Shizhen sent his younger brother Taihe Zhenren Yin Gui to descend to Louguan and teach Liang Chen and others the "Sun and Moon Huanghua Sutra" and other scriptures. From then on, the Louguan sect was formed, and Liang Chen was revered as Louguan.
Send Master.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Lou Guan sect reached its peak, and Emperor Gaozu built a sacred temple in Chang'an. There were no fewer than three thousand Lou Guan Taoists. It was not until 600 years ago that it gradually declined.
Speaking of the decline of Lou Guan, we have to mention the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism. In this world, the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism already existed, but it was most intense in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, and eventually evolved into a war between Buddhism and Taoism that lasted nearly a hundred years.
The essence of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism is of course the competition for believers, but in terms of doctrine, there is a very important crux, which is the issue of who is first and who is last.
Taoism believes that Buddhism was created by the incarnation of Laojun. It is clearly stated in "Laozi Hua Hu Jing", so Buddhism is just one of Taoism; Buddhism believes that Buddha is Laojun's master, and he passed down his skills from generation to generation.
The Purity Dharma Practice Sutra makes it clear, "The Buddha sent three disciples to Cathay to teach. Rutong Bodhisattva, they were called Confucius; Pure Light Bodhisattva, they were called Yan Hui; Moko Kassapa, they were called Lao Tzu."
You see, Taoism says that Buddha is the clone of Laojun, so Buddhism is transmitted by Taoism; Buddhism is even more ruthless, saying that Laojun is a disciple of Buddha - not even a clone of Buddha. As for Liang Chen, the master of Louguan sect
, not to mention, he should be the nephew and grandson of Buddha!
Because the Lou Guan sect respected the true meaning of "Laozi transformed the Hu", they were extremely dissatisfied with Buddhism's "bite back" and contributed the most in the war for more than a hundred years. The Lou Guan sect was very powerful and was a Taoist sect at that time.
The mainstay at that time, but precisely because the Louguan Taoist priests were often at the forefront, the casualties were also the heaviest. After the Taoists drove the Buddhists out of the Central Plains, when I looked back, I saw that there were not many Louguan Taoist priests left.
When various factions in Lushan were discussing, the Louguan faction, which had lost its strength, had no say and was sent to Sichuan, where it was merged into the Huayun Pavilion of Long'an Prefecture and became one of the eighteen factions in Huayun Valley. Later, the Louguan faction would become one of the eighteen factions in Huayun Valley.
The various flying sword instruments captured in the war were stored in a pavilion, so it gradually became known as the "Lingjian Pavilion", and the word "louguan" was almost never mentioned.
Finally, Jiang Tenghe said: "The Lou Guan sect has declined, and even the real name has been changed by outsiders, but since we are disciples of Lou Guan, we must not forget our ancestral origins. This must be kept in mind no matter how many years we inherit it.
"
All the disciples bowed: "I will obey Master's teachings!"
Jiang Tenghe said again: "I have summoned you here this time. In addition to letting Zhao Zhiran be included in my sect, I also have something to tell you. I have been in seclusion as a teacher for a year, and I have devoted myself to cultivating the soul of my life. Seven days ago, I suddenly felt something, and the soul appeared.
The spiritual consciousness leaves the body and wanders outside the world. Looking at oneself from the outside and observing the world with spiritual consciousness, the artistic conception is indescribable..."
At that moment, he recounted his experience when he broke through the barriers. He also stopped repeatedly to let the disciples ask questions one by one, and then explained and answered them in a targeted manner.
Zhao Ran couldn't help but his heart was beating wildly. He listened carefully and memorized, and was so excited that he almost shed tears. It had been many years since he entered the spiritual practice, but this was the first time that a master taught him seriously and solved his doubts. Before, whether it was Da Zhuo,
Uncle Xiao Zhuo, his imperial sister Zhu Qigu, even Pei Zhongze, Master Wuse and others, although they often gave him some pointers on some cultivation issues or Taoist attainments, they were never so patient.
This was Zhao Ran's first Taoist class. Although the content was much more advanced and he didn't understand many things, it still fascinated him. He listened to several senior brothers and the master discussing problems in practice, and watched
From time to time, they turned around to explain themselves further, and Zhao Ran felt a warmth well up in his heart.