Tears Fell on Hidden Mist Mountain (Twenty-Two)

That night, Wukong went to the Meditation Room to look for Kasyapa.

Kasyapa did not rest either, as if he had been waiting specifically for Wukong. Upon seeing Wukong arrive, he dismissed the Śrāmaṇera around him and said:

"Isn't this Sun Wukong? Didn't you want to find that Virtuous Daoist to settle things privately? What are you doing here?"

Wukong suppressed his anger and said as Taixi had taught him:

"Old Sun has many disputes with that Taoist Youde and it is inconvenient for him to go there. Therefore, I have come to seek your Venerable, Venerable One, and ask Venerable to intercede on my behalf."

Kasyapa said calmly, "Please ask me to intercede on your behalf..."

Seeing this, Wukong quickly took out eight catties of Blood Essence from his robes, spread it out in front of Kasyapa, and said:

"Venerable, please behold, this is Rare Treasures from the Blood Sea! Throughout the entire Three Realms, only the Blood Sea possesses such a treasure; it is truly an extremely rare find!"

Kasyapa stared intently at the Blood Essence, praising it repeatedly, "Indeed! Indeed! As the saying goes, rarity makes things valuable; it is truly a precious treasure!"

Wukong said, "I had some past grievances with the Venerable. I hope the Venerable will forgive my past grievances and, for the sake of us both being members of the Buddhist Sect community, go to the trouble of delivering this treasure to that Taoist Youde, so that we can settle our score privately."

Kasyapa was overjoyed upon hearing this and was about to collect the Blood Essence, but then he suddenly remembered something, stopped himself, took out his Alms Bowl from his robes, and said:

"If we settle this privately, the stolen goods should rightfully be returned to their rightful owner. Do you think we should take this Alms Bowl back?"

Although Kasyapa said this, his eyes were fixed on the Alms Bowl, his greed completely undisguised.

Wukong, seeing this, knew exactly what Kasyapa was thinking. So he took the Alms Bowl with one hand, placed the other behind his back, plucked a hair from his head, transformed it into the shape of the Alms Bowl, and with a gentle shake, took the real one. He held the fake one in his hand, pretending to be reluctant to part with it, carefully stroking it several times before handing it to Kasyapa, saying:

"Since it is stolen goods, it should be kept by the Venerable. There is no reason to take it back."

Kasyapa was delighted upon hearing this and said with a smile:

"Sun Wukong, your Buddhist Dharma Diligence once again!"

Wukong smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Venerable!"

Kasyapa said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure that Taoist drops the case and the matter is closed."

Wukong asked, "What if he comes to sue again?"

Kasyapa said, "If he comes to file another complaint, I will have Vajras send him back down the mountain."

Wukong was relieved to hear this and took his leave.

Seeing that Wukong Kasyapa left, Kasyapa happily collected and stored the Blood Essence.

You say he has a grudge against Wukong, so why did he accept Wukong's gifts and agree to settle the matter and drop the case?

This is because it is the way of Buddhist Dharma, and one should never refuse gifts because of personal grudges; this is the principle of "not letting personal feelings interfere with etiquette."

The next day, Wukong went up to the Precious Hall again.

The Tathagata Buddha asked, "How is it?"

Kasyapa said, "Reporting to the World-Honored One, Sun Wukong sent a lot of gold and silver as compensation to that Taoist, and the Taoist has agreed to settle the matter peacefully."

The Tathagata Buddha nodded and said:

"In that case, Wukong, you should go back and protect your master!"

Wukong agreed, left the Precious Hall, and returned to Hidden Mist Mountain with Ao Tu and the others.

Upon reaching the mountain, Wukong shouted and cursed in front of the Cave Gate:

"Virtuous Daoist! Come out! Come out!"

The Taoist Youde came out upon hearing the sound, and upon seeing Wukong, said:

"You Monkey, what brings you back?"

Wukong said, "You Daoist, you can't win a magic fight, so you resort to falsely accusing me behind my back!"

The Virtuous Daoist said, "That Kasyapa is utterly inhuman. He accepted my bribes and promised to guarantee my victory in the lawsuit. How come you, this Monkey, have returned?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong straightened his back and laughed:

"Old Daoist, you've got the wrong person! Kasyapa's words carry no weight on Spirit Mountain! Look at this!"

As he spoke, Wukong took out his Alms Bowl to show off.

The Taoist Youde, "Good monkey! He truly has Tongtian connections; he even brought back the Alms Bowl!"

Wukong laughed, "Old Daoist, you're just a country bumpkin, how dare you accuse Old Sun? Don't you think that if Old Sun, didn't have some powerful backing, would I dare to take on this mission of protecting Tang Sanzang on his Journey to the West the scriptures?"

The Taoist Youde, "What a rude monk! He's really arrogant. I'll go and report you again!"

Wukong said, "Go ahead and sue me! If you can't win, obediently ask my master to leave the cave!"

Upon hearing this, the Taoist Youde went to Spirit Mountain to file a complaint.

Wukong followed quietly.

Upon reaching the foot of Spirit Mountain, the Taoist Youde headed up the mountain, but before he could ascend, he was stopped by the Vajras Sangharama and sent back down the mountain.

Helpless, the Taoist Youde picked up a tree branch from the ground, tied a white cloth around it, and paraded it along the streets of India at the foot of Spirit Mountain, chanting a long, cursing song:

"The sun and moon hang in the sky from dawn to dusk, and the Buddha holds the power of Life and Death."

Those who do good suffer poverty and die young, while those who do evil enjoy wealth and longevity.

Heaven and Earth and earth are only fit to distinguish between the pure and the impure.

Spirit Mountain, I cannot discern the length of the Sandalwood Incense.

Today, they act like bullies who fear the strong and oppress the weak, and even Buddha would go with the flow.

There's nowhere to appeal to; where can I file a complaint?

The resentment in my heart is hard to express!

Many India heard him singing.

Those people, dressed in rags that could not even cover their waists and bellies, their skin clinging to their ribs, so poor that they did not even have a pair of shoes, responded to the song sung by the Taoist Youde.

Before long, many poor people gathered there.

When a local official from India saw this, he reported it to the authorities, and officials came with sticks to drive them away.

The Taoist Youde smiled upon seeing this, then turned and vanished.

Return to Hidden Mist Mountain.

Wukong laughed and said, "Old Daoist, how about it? Quickly release my master!"

The Taoist Youde, "I won't let go!"

Wukong was furious and continued his attack on the mountain with Ao Tu, Erlang, Nezha, and others.

The Taoist Youde kept the Yin and Yang and Yang energies outside the cave, while he himself hid inside and did not come out.

Wukong had no choice but to ask several Immortal in Heaven for help, but none of them could break the spell. Instead, he was captured by Taoist Youde using the Yin and Yang Dao Principles and imprisoned in a cave.

Outside the cave Wukong was extremely anxious, but that's another story.

Now, let's talk about inside the cave.

Tang Sanzang was imprisoned in Prison Cave, where he studied Daoism scriptures every day.

At first, Tang Sanzang found it somewhat difficult to comprehend the Daoist Daoist Scriptures.

He studied Buddhist Dharma from a young age and had never read Daoist Scriptures. There are many differences between the two, making it very difficult to understand. Even with the explanations of Bajie, it was still difficult to comprehend quickly.

However, when Wukong came to save Tang Sanzang, by a twist of fate, Tang Sanzang Sudden Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.

From then on, Tang Sanzang's understanding of Daoist Scriptures scriptures began to Diligence day by day.

Later, as Wukong and Taoist Youde were locked in a stalemate outside, Wukong summoned many Immortal to the Lower Realm mortal realm. These Immortal were captured by Taoist Youde and brought back to his cave, where they were Prison Cave.

Tang Sanzang benefited greatly from consulting Daoism classics with these Immortal.

These Immortal belong to different factions and are classified under the Three Pure Ones, and their doctrines also differ somewhat.

Tang Sanzang absorbed the teachings of various immortals and gods, becoming increasingly familiar with the contents of Daoism classics.

In fact, both Buddhist Dharma and Taoist Technique have their own advantages and disadvantages.

One originated in the Eastern Lands, and the other in the Western Heaven, so they are bound to have some fundamental differences.

Tang Sanzang discovered that, as he became more familiar with the Daoist Scriptures, he seemed able to slightly improve the content of the Buddhist scriptures to make them more suitable for the Eastern Land.

However, he is not the Buddha, and altering Scripture without authorization is inappropriate...