Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Xie Lingya was very unhappy. He felt like he had been slapped in the face. He just told Xiao Dian that he would let him see how miserable a real Taoist priest’s life was, and Zhang Daoting shone brightly here. He wondered if he thought he was some kind of celebrity model, with so many people following him.
Especially Xiao Dian, this child was so careless, he shouldn’t misunderstand it at first glance.
Xie Lingya thought about it and quickly came back: “There are many tests for becoming a monk. For example, if one looks good, there will be many temptations. If one can’t control it, one will become a model with others. If you have good physical fitness, others may also ask you to train. You can get more money from sports than from being a Taoist priest. However, Taoist priest like us still have to maintain our Taoist heart!”
Xiao Dian thought about it and nodded repeatedly, “I definitely won’t do it. I won’t do anything else.”
It’s so dangerous. Xie Lingya quickly led him back and asked him to take a good look at the Taoist house. “Did you see that our accommodation conditions are also very average? You have to share a room with others here.”
“This is already good. I slept in the same bed with my two younger brothers at home,” Xiao Dian said in surprise.
Xie Lingya: “…”
Xie Lingya was about to say that we still have to farm, but when he saw that there were still tourists watching the small vegetable patch, where it looked like they were looking after rare plants, he had no choice but to give up.
The total amount of his luggage was only one bag. When he became an apprentice to Master Zhao, all the money he had was given to Master Zhao. As an apprentice, Master Zhao would not share his pay with him in the future. He would just take care of his living conditions.
Xie Lingya asked about it and found that Xiao Dian was from another province. He came out to work after graduating from high school and was now less than 20 years old.
He had been interested in this aspect since he was a child. When he was a child, he read some books on his own. However, they were all nonsense like “Thirty Days to Teach Your Soul to Leave the Body” and “Three Years to Enlightenment and Five Years to Live Without Grain”.
Later, he also found several so-called capable people in the countryside, but it turned out that their skills were all mediocre – but he didn’t even recognize them as liars, and Xie Lingya had a dark look on his face when he heard about them.
Later, he learned to surf the Internet in a small amount. He thought it was because his hometown was not a good place to practice Taoism. So after he failed to get into college, his family originally asked him to go to a technical school, but he chose to go out and search for experts in Taoism and the blessed land.
But maybe the things he came into contact with at the beginning were a bit crooked, so he was a little confused. He didn’t learn any serious magic, and instead he came into contact with charlatans. After all, these people were better at boasting than real Taoist priests.
It was only after seeing Xie Lingya that Xiao Dian finally met a capable person.
Xiao Dian asked Xie Lingya: “By the way, Teacher Xie, is it too late to start learning at my age?”
The teachers he met before all told him that he was too old and that he should start practicing magic from a young age, and then reluctantly accepted him.
Xie Lingya shook his head, “The most important thing is not time, but your true intention.”
In fact, Taoists believed that twenty or thirty was the best age for practicing Taoism, that was, the “last year”. At this time, both the mind and the body were all in the best condition.
Of course, this was not certain. For example, Shi Changxuan must have been exposed to it since he was a child, and it was passed down in his family. Grandmaster Sa Shoujian even studied medicine first, and then found that studying medicine could not save the Chinese people… No, the medical skills were not good enough and could not cure the patients, so he gave up medicine and followed Taoism.
Everyone had his or her own opportunities and strengths. Sazu’s study of medicine could not save many people, but his study of Taoism saved many people with the use of mantras.
“Actually, even if you really want to become a Taoist, you don’t have to become a monk right away. There will be at least a three-year learning and testing period before you can pass on the teachings. This time is also reserved for thinking.” Xie Lingya explained, “I just don’t want you to be a monk in the future just for the sake of it. To waste time and regret, your age is the best time.”
In this era, not every Taoist priest could be like his uncle. Xiao Dian came to Baoyang Temple for him. No matter how short of people he was, he couldn’t help but take responsibility, he accepted it casually, so he repeatedly explained and persuaded Xiao Dian to consider it carefully.
A small number of the so-called masters he had met had not said this. Usually, while picking on his qualifications, the concept revealed must be that in our industry, we can subjugate demons and make a lot of money. Whoever doesn’t do it is a fool.
“You must remember in the future that serious religions will definitely not rush people to believe. Whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, to become a true monk, you have to go through many tests. After the test, there are still many precepts to abide by.” Xie Lingya said, “After going through so much, if you want to return to secular life, it won’t take you half a day. Giving up is much easier than pursuing.” If you regret it again and become a monk for the second time, you will have no choice but to start practicing all over again.
Xiao Dian asked: “How many commandments are there?”
Xie Lingya also took out his cell phone and showed it to him, “Did you see it? Three hundred items.”
Xiao Dian held the cell phone and fell into deep thought. After Xie Lingya’s repeated “threats”, his mind was very shaken. He was not shrinking, but he wanted to think carefully about his pursuit of this life as Xie Lingya said.
Xie Lingya looked at Xiao Dian’s appearance, looked away, saw Shi Changxuan looking at him speechlessly, and secretly laughed twice.
There were many kinds of Taoist precepts, the main ones were Laojun Xiang’er precepts, Chuzhen precepts, etc. Generally, beginners must first practice Chuzhen precepts, which were actually only ten or eight.
Xie Lingya deliberately said the most to scare him. The three hundred are the three hundred great precepts of the Zhongji. It covered all aspects and was very detailed. Every word and deed was regulated. Generally speaking, only those who upheld the first true precepts and made no mistakes would be awarded the greater precepts.
….
Looking back, Xie Lingya gave a small introduction of him to everyone in Baoyang Temple, explaining that after he visited and stayed here temporarily, in order to prove that what he said before was correct, he saw that it was the fifteenth day and organized the three Taoist priests to clean up. Especially Zhang Daoting.
Zhang Daoting looked confused as he was rushed by Xie Lingya to clean the incense burner and the statue.
This job was done by Xie Lingya in the past few months, in order to reduce Zhang Daoting’s burden. Zhang Daoting had been working in scenic spots for a long time, and it had been a long time since he had done so.
Zhang Daoting spread a layer of yellow paper. He first pulled out the incense from the incense burner and inserted it into the oranges he had prepared. Then he put all the ashes on the yellow paper and sifted it through a mesh. After sifting, the incense ashes were poured back into the furnace and flattened, and the incense was inserted back.
Holding the sun and watching the incense burn gradually, there were quite a lot of ashes in the incense burner. However, the ashes could only be used on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month and when the twelfth lunar month was cleared.
They cleaned up one by one, sorted out the excess incense ash and wrapped it up. In the past, they were required to put it in running water, but living in the city, they were not so particular about river sanitation.
——People in the streets and communities kept an eye on the Baoyang Temple, fearing that it would affect the environment by burning this and that. However, the Baoyang Temple was actually maintained well, although it had not yet been able to replace the incense with heart incense.
As for the idols, they must be cleaned after cleaning the incense burner. It could not be rinsed with water. You must first brush off the dust with a brush, then wipe it with the white side of the grapefruit peel, and finally wipe it with essential oil. For such a big statue, this was a laborious task.
Zhang Daoting first wiped the Sanqing, and then wiped the Patriarch. His hands turned sore, so he sat on a stool and rubbed his arms.
Xiao Dian watched carefully from the side and gave Zhang Daoting a squeeze.
Xie Lingya didn’t stop him. He went to offer incense to the Patriarch, and said silently in his heart: “Grandmaster, the guy who stole the Dugong seal collected the ghosts of the underworld. Please protect me and let me bump into him and eliminate harm for the people. And also let’s earn back the more than one million by the way. I want to save money to expand your main hall.”
Xie Lingya opened his eyes and found that the incense was burning very fast, and it burned to the end very quickly. He was amazed, Patriarch seemed to be very excited.
“Then it’s agreed. Although he has the Du Gong Seal and the Sanwu Evil-Slaying Sword, I believe that with the divine eyes of the Patriarch, I can definitely find him there. By the way, I don’t know why, but the City God suddenly came to give me face, could you have said some kind words for me?” Xie Lingya muttered again, “You have to keep it up, that guy has conquered so many ghosts, and I might have to borrow troops to fight from the City God in the future.”
After praying, Xie Lingya thought happily for a while about what it would be like to expand in the future.
In the evening, Shi Changxuan answered a phone call from home. When he came back, Xie Lingya asked him how he was doing.
Shi Changxuan said: “The City God is not in the temple.”
He had promised that the Taoist Association would report to the City God that the seal thief had intercepted the ghosts. “Yeah.”
The City God of this area had gone to other cities to investigate. Maybe the city god of the provincial capital had also gone to investigate the advanced experiences of fooling around in other provincial cities?
Shi Changxuan shook his head, “In the past two days, nothing could be occupied in the temple. The mages guessed that the City God had changed his position. This happened decades ago.”
Of course, there were personnel changes in the underworld, and the City God was the original one. It was normal for local heroes to take charge, transfer or be dismissed if you make a mistake, and there was also promotion if you have completed your merits.
“How come he had to change positions at this moment!” Xie Lingya lamented. Corresponding to ancient times, the modern city gods were appointed at the county, city and provincial levels. The city gods in provincial cities were already relatively high-level and were in charge of a province.
This was not only a matter of reporting, which could not be reported to the City God, but the ghosts and gods of the underworld could also be informed through other channels. But if that person did not leave Queshan, it would be best to have the local city god help them.
He didn’t know how efficient the underworld was at doing things, or how long it would take to change. Xie Lingya said: “Then our ancestor is more reliable. When I offered him incense, he promised to help.”
Not everyone was like Xie Lingya, who could have such a strong connection with the ancestor of their sect, and not every god was so enthusiastic, and they had their own personalities, that they may also care about things that had nothing to do with themselves.
Shi Changxuan felt somewhat comforted. Wang Lingguan had a sharp eye and was observing the world, so he might be able to give some guidance.
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