Chapter 61: Talisman Test
061 A brief test of the talisman
After returning to Ping'an Temple and being quiet for a few days, Xiang Jiannan once again showed great enthusiasm for the book of Yin-Yang Talismans. Except for taking a bath, he spent most of his time with the scripture. This sudden obsession with the book was considered a disease by Gao Yu'an.
Only Confucian scholars would be so interested in books. As a Taoist, one must understand the unity of knowledge and action. I have never seen a Taoist holding a scripture while eating. He looks very serious, but he always likes to grab his own chicken leg for no reason.
I don't know if he got some inspiration from the scriptures, but these few days at dinner time, the disciple's speed in picking up chicken legs was obviously much faster than before. Under the guise of studying hard, he completely ignored the tacit understanding between the master and the disciple.
It was always divided equally before, and although it was not stated explicitly, it had already become a fact in silence.
"How powerful can the strongest talisman be?"
A new day began. After waving a broken broom outside the temple for a long time, Xiang Jiannan suddenly asked his master while holding a Buddhist scripture.
He read the Yin-Yang Talisman several times, but he seemed to understand it, not quite. He felt that he could not grasp the essence of it. The book recorded some things that should be paid attention to when making and using talismans, but they were all ambiguous and stopped at the critical moment. It didn't make sense to say that there were omissions.
The first sentence of the opening is very domineering: When the talisman is fully mastered, it can control heaven and earth. Then the author changes the subject and tells you not to take the previous sentence too seriously. Just these two sentences made me toss and turn for a long time. Today, when I turned to the first page of Yin-Yang Talisman again, I finally couldn't help but ask questions to the master.
How could such contradictory words appear in the same scripture at the same time? Is there any mystery behind it? "I don't know. I never care about these things."
Seeing Xiang Jiannan sweeping the floor in just a few minutes with the broom, Gao Yuan looked a little unhappy when he came out of the temple. It was not cleaned well, which was too perfunctory. His disciple was really slack in the past few days.
Cultivation is about accumulation bit by bit. If you can't even do your daily exercises well and just focus on the contents of the scriptures, it will be useless. You cannot focus on just one thing.
Uneducated and incompetent.
"What about you?"
Holding a broom in his hand, Xiang Jiannan blocked Gao Yu'an's way and turned to the first page of the Yin-Yang Talisman: "Isn't it a bit exaggerated to say that you can send heaven and earth away?"
"Teacher, please take a look."
Gao Yuan took the scripture from Xiang Jiannan and frowned more and more as he read it. He then quickly flipped through a few pages before returning the scripture to his disciple and said:
"That's true. We in the Dao sect never tell lies. You can rest assured."
This is something a monk would say.
Still waiting for an answer, Xiang Jiannan stopped the master again with a broom in hand and continued to ask:
"With your current cultivation level, how far are you from being able to send the heavens and earth?"
"It's all in the book, don't take it too seriously."
Gao Yuan didn't want to answer Xiang Jiannan's question, but after he spoke again, he seemed annoyed by the question:
"It's about 90,000 miles away. After a while, it might be 89,000 miles away. Cultivation is something that has ups and downs and is hard to determine."
Ninety thousand miles, isn't this the distance between heaven and earth as mentioned by the ancients? Thinking that the master must be making fun of him, Xiang Jiannan threw the broom to the ground, stood up and started walking towards the backyard. After studying the scriptures for the past few days, a very urgent idea arose in his mind.
Draw the talisman yourself and complete the first step from theory to practice. As for why I chose today, a big reason is that it was because I suddenly felt like doing it.
He was present when the master summoned the heavenly thunder that day. With his current cultivation level of the second level of Dao Fruit, it should not be a difficult task for him to try to make a talisman paper of his own. The most important thing is that Ping An Temple has just opened and there are no pilgrims visiting yet. The master will definitely have time to guide him.
It won’t work if it’s any later. Even if you have time, the energy in your heart may not still be there.
"You are so forgetful. This broom was broken by you dropping it like that."
Standing behind Xiang Jiannan and picking up the broom, Gao Yuan repeatedly reprimanded him outside the temple. After he finished speaking, he was sweeping the floor again, but he saw his disciple coming out of the temple again with a pile of tools.
Ink, brushes, and yellow paper are all the tools needed to draw talismans.
"do what?"
From Xiang Jiannan's expression, one can guess that Gao Yuan was in a good mood while holding the broom.
The disciple looked very serious. He would feel very comfortable if he was hit. He has been bitter and resentful since he came back from Baofo Temple. Yesterday he even pestered me to draw a life-saving talisman for him.
Is he planning to do it himself? Based on my understanding of my disciple, it shouldn't be wrong.
"Draw the talisman, and take the first step towards the journey of ninety thousand miles!"
All the tools were placed one by one at Gao Yu'an's feet. Xiang Jiannan didn't believe that his master would just sit there and do nothing. At such an important moment, the old Taoist priest would definitely observe from the side. Even if he didn't care whether he could succeed or not, he would definitely avoid waste. You know, these things were all bought with money. Even when Ping'an Temple was in the most difficult time, they never stopped purchasing items such as pens, ink, paper, etc. He still remembered the painful expression on his master's face when he took out the money.
He takes these things very seriously.
"It's only been a few days, and you want to draw your own talisman?"
As soon as he spoke, he attacked Xiang Jiannan. He put the broom under his butt and sat down. Gao Yuan did not stop him when he was talking. Instead, he encouraged him with his eyes, indicating that his disciple could start.
Please...you...collect_6Ⅰ9ⅠBookⅠBar (Six\\\Nine\\\Book\\\Bar!)
How can one become desperate without experiencing setbacks? The young man is conceited and as a master, I must use this opportunity to teach him a lesson.
It’s no big deal to waste some ink and paper.
"Give it a try. You don't teach disciples anyway."
Taking out the Yin-Yang Talisman and finding an illustration inside, Xiang Jiannan tilted his neck and tremblingly put down a stroke. Everything starts with imitation. This talisman is really difficult to draw. Even when facing the illustration, he was very nervous when he started to use the pen.
I really wanted to draw like the master, but when I really started to do it, I found that I couldn't move my hands at all.
Compared with the illustrations in the scriptures, some of the talismans drawn by the master are simply unsightly. Only the peace amulets sold look somewhat similar, but the life-saving talismans don't even resemble the slightest bit of the scripture.
I don't have that level of attainment.
"No, the strokes must be fast, accurate and ruthless."
Just as I drew a line on the yellow paper, Gao Yuan pointed out with a look of disdain:
"My disciple, do you understand these things? It's not enough to just draw them."
"Why not? It's all written in the scriptures. Talismans have a fixed format. Wait until I finish drawing it."
"It's true that there is a format... The problem is that the person who wrote the book was just a minor Taoist priest. Looking at it today, what he wrote is actually very shallow."
"Isn't my disciple just a little Taoist priest?"
After trembling with fear, Xiang Jiannan finally drew a rough outline. When Gao Yuan was chattering, Xiang Jiannan suddenly stopped writing, looked down at the Yin-Yang Talisman, and then showed a puzzled look: "How do you know that the person who wrote the book is a young Taoist priest? Master, do you know him?"
"More than knowing each other, I am the one who wrote this book. At that time, I was indeed a young Taoist priest."
Pointing at the illustration on the Yin-Yang Talisman, Gao Yuan rolled up his sleeves and explained to Xiang Jiannan:
"This illustration was drawn by my master when he was young. It is powerful, but not authentic. If you draw it again, the effect will be greatly reduced. Drawing talismans is easy to say. If you sweep the floor clean, I can teach you some experience. This Yin-Yang talisman is not as clear as the beautiful woman's thirty-six postures."
(End of this chapter)