PureInsight | February 29, 2024
[PureInsight.org]
There is a divine bird named Ju Que in the Sky Palace. It has white feathers, a black circle around its neck, a black beak, a flexible neck that turns its eyes around mischievously. One day, Ju Que stood on the railing of the heavenly pond, looking at the scenery in the pond as if searching for something. Suddenly, it flew up and swooped down to grab a red carp, gently placing it on the ground and looking at it. The carp flipped over and shouted, "Ju Que, you've disturbed my beautiful dream again. Put me back quickly." Ju Que proudly groomed its feathers and said, "How long has it been since you played with me?" The carp flipped over again and said, "Don't you know I need to sleep for a long time?" Ju Que said, "I saw through your three transformations into a flower, a lotus leaf, and a fish. It's not good to sleep all the time without playing with me."
At that moment, a crisp flute sound was heard. Ju Que said, "My master is looking for me. I have to go back." The carp said, "Can you please send me back first?" The divine bird puckered its mouth and looked very proud, saying, "Okay, but no more transformations next time." It then grabbed the carp with its claws and put it back in the pond. The carp returned to the pond and immediately resumed its original form, which turned out to be a fairy grass. This fairy grass has four dark green leaves that resemble dark green ribbons. The length of the leaves can change according to the grass's intentions. The four leaves are twisted together clockwise at the root and grow in four different directions. Therefore, it is called Four-Leaf Grass.
A long time ago, Four-Leaf Grass often played in the heavenly lake, dancing with its leaves and splashing water, accompanied by its joyful laughter. One day, while Four-Leaf Grass was playing happily, it suddenly felt like someone was watching it. It stopped and quietly looked up, over the railing, where it saw a fairy. The fairy was wearing a white dress and a green ribbon, smiling at it. Seeing it stop, the fairy waved at it, and Four-Leaf Grass happily ran over. Then the fairy transmitted a size to it, and Four-Leaf Grass immediately received it, stretching out its leaves and growing to the size the fairy wanted. Then, following the fairy's intentions, it made some movements, either rotating or tumbling. The fairy was so delighted that she took Four-Leaf Grass as a magical tool and let it play in heavenly lake as usual. Four-Leaf Grass was also especially magical and learned how to transform under the fairy's guidance.
Another time, while playing in the heavenly lake, Four-Leaf Grass heard laughter and looked up to see a white bird with a black circle around its neck perched on the railing, looking at it cleverly. Four-Leaf Grass mischievously dived into the water and turned into a white bird that flew onto the railing. The white bird looked at it and said, "You are the grass that turned into a bird, and I know it." After being exposed, Four-Leaf Grass fell back into the water and returned to its original form, asking while lying on the water, "Who are you?" The white bird said, "My name is Ju Que, and I am a messenger from the Jiyue Fairy Palace. I have a senior brother named Han Dan, but he doesn't like to move around." Four-Leaf Grass said, "If you want to play, come find me, and we can play together." Ju Que said, "Okay, but I find it strange. How did you develop such an ability to transform?" Four-Leaf Grass said, "My master is Suo Ying Fairy, and she taught me." Thus, Four-Leaf Grass and Ju Que became good friends and often played together. The scene at the beginning of the article was the scene of Ju Que and Four-Leaf Grass playing together one day.
Ju Que heard the sound of the flute and flew back to its master's side. The master was a kind immortal wearing a white robe. He looked at Ju Que and said, "Don't be playful. This time, I command you to go down to the mortal world and complete a mission." Ju Que asked, "What is the mission?" The immortal said, "You must go to the Heavenly Lake, take Four-Leaf Grass, and go to the Mutian Kingdom below to find its earth vein." Ju Que said, "Earth vein? Easy to find. It must be around the capital city." The immortal glanced at Ju Que, and Ju Que quickly shut his mouth. The immortal said, "When you find the earth vein of Mutian Kingdom, there will be three or four shining spots on it, which are the earth eyes. Before dawn, place Four-Leaf Grass on the brightest spot and guard it there for three days. Don't let any living creature disturb it. After three days, Four-Leaf Grass’s soul will come out. Bring it back, and you will have done a great deed." Ju Que said happily, "Looks like there will be some construction on earth, and I will have to work hard again. I need to repair some things. Why else would there be three or four earth eyes on the earth vein?" The immortal said, "Stop talking nonsense. In any case, you are needed. You are luckier than your senior brother." Ju Que opened his eyes wide, blinked twice, loosened one of his wings, closed his mouth, and lowered his voice, "What about my senior brother?" The immortal said, "He went to find immortal fruits for you." Ju Que immediately laughed aloud, took two proud steps, and said, "I haven't had immortal fruits in a long time. I'll savor them when I come back."
Ju Que flew to the Heavenly Lake and hung Four-Leaf Grass around its neck, then flew to the mortal realm. It arrived at the Mutian Kingdom and found the earth's veins. It saw the earth's eyes on the veins, and before dawn, it placed Four-Leaf Grass on the brightest earth's eye. Then, it blew with its mouth, and soon white mist filled the place. The four leaves of Four-Leaf Grass extended rapidly in four directions. Ju Que spread its wings and covered the area where Four-Leaf Grass extended, and as the grass extended, its wings also extended.
The next morning, Mo Le woke up and saw a square white mist on the south side of the capital. He felt strange. Mo Cai said, "I saw feather-like curtains in the white mist." Wen Mei said, "Perhaps it's a manifestation of the divine."
The white mist on the south side of the capital became larger and larger. Mo Le issued a notice that no one was allowed to approach the mist, and then reflected on himself but found nothing wrong. He went to the temple to worship the gods, and his heart settled down. On the third morning, Mo Le dreamed of a golden tower surrounded by four golden armored guards in the mist. When he woke up, he suddenly realized that he should guard the four corners of the mist, which should be the location to build the tower. In the morning, Mo Le took the four armored guards to see the priest Meng Gang and told him his thoughts.
After listening, Meng Gang said, "These days, I have often seen a white mist extending, but I can't see what's inside. Sometimes, I feel that there is a noble white bird standing quietly inside, very peaceful. I feel that it conveys a kind of auspicious message. The king wants to send people to guard the four corners of the white mist now, but I feel that it's not appropriate. Please wait for a moment, and I will go to inquire about the will of the gods." Meng Gang solemnly worshiped in front of the statue of the gods, and after a while, he stood up, his expression relaxed. He came over to Mo Le and said, "I saw the gods showing me a picture: at sunrise, four guards stood in four directions. I think we should guard the four corners of the white mist at sunrise tomorrow."
On the fourth morning, Ju Que saw Four-Leaf Grass’s soul come out, so it quickly gathered the mist and let Four-Leaf Grass’s soul lie in the soft feathers on its back. Ju Que then flew away with it. Looking back, Ju Que saw that the four guards were about to take their positions to guard the four corners that were once covered by the mist, and was amazed, thinking to itself: "This king is truly remarkable. During this time, he didn't disturb me, and after that, he even knew how to guard the four corners. Truly extraordinary."
After returning to the immortal palace, the master said, "Put Four-Leaf Grass’s soul into the Holy Mother Immortal Grass in the Celestial Pool and let it rest. Don't disturb it. When you come back, you can eat the fairy fruit that your senior brother brought for you." Ju Que was very happy to hear this and thought to himself, "It has been five hundred years since I last had fairy fruit, and it was brought by my senior brother. Not bad." Ju Que also knew that it wouldn't be long before Four-Leaf Grass grew new leaves and they could play together again.
Ju Que's senior brother Han Dan was also a divine bird with black feathers and a white and red beak around his neck. They once made a bet to see who could protect Four-Leaf Grass. Han Dan took the first test. The immortals transformed into various scenes to confuse Han Dan, and he left Four-Leaf Grass after the appearance of fairy fruit in the eighth scene. Then it was Ju Que's turn to be tested. Because Ju Que often played with Four-Leaf Grass, he was happy to protect it and was extra vigilant. The immortals collectively transformed into twenty-six scenes to confuse Ju Que, but he remained steadfast. The immortals unanimously agreed that Ju Que could protect Four-Leaf Grass well. As a result, Ju Que became the divine bird that protects the buildings on land. The determination of the location and orientation of large palaces or temples on the ground was often related to Ju Que. Han Dan, on the other hand, became the divine bird that protects the buildings on water. When Ju Que carried out his heavenly mission, Four-Leaf Grass assisted him in determining the scope and size of the building, while Ju Que had to protect Four-Leaf Grass from harm.
Heavenly Lord of the Rabbit Star is a highly ranked deity in the Three Realms. He wears a purple wide robe with flowing nebula patterns, and a "Celestial Timekeeper" stands on the back of his head. The Celestial Timekeeper is nearly circular and surrounded by twelve characters. When one of the characters begins to light up and gets brighter and brighter, it means that a certain celestial phenomenon is about to happen. Correspondingly, changes in the stars and nebula patterns on the robe will also appear, ranging from small changes in a few constellations to major changes in celestial bodies.
The Heavenly Lord also possesses a treasure called the Cosmic Mirror, a double-sided mirror with a thin edge and a thick middle that can show what will happen in the future. One side can display the celestial phenomena, while the other side can display the terrestrial phenomena.
This time, when one of the characters on the Celestial Timekeeper lit up, the Heavenly Lord looked into the mirror and saw a golden pagoda. So everything the immortals did around the construction of the Buddhist pagoda was also following the will of heaven.
(To be continued)
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/118340
