Since ancient times, thousands of people seeking immortality, but the real Taoist people are as few as the morning star. The reason for this is because there is no clear teacher’s teaching and the heart of the seeker is not sincere. A true monk has a heart to die for the Way, and no hardship or danger can stop him from going the way to immortality. This is evident from the following short story.
Li Baibai was a native of Sichuan, and people do not know what his real name was. Since he had lived through many dynasties, people at that time projected that he should have lived for 800 years, so they called him Li Baibai. He sometimes remained hidden in the mountains and sometimes appeared in the marketplace.
He learned that Tang Gong Fang was interested in monasticism, but had never been taught by a wise teacher, so he wanted to teach him. However, he did not know how sincere Tang Gong Fang’s heart was, so he decided to test it out first, and so he went to Gong Fang’s house to work as a servant. He served Gong Fang with all his heart and soul, always understanding him and being completely different from other servants, and Gong Fang liked him very much. Soon after, Yabai pretended to be sick and became so sick that he could not see his death. He was so worried that he had to spend more than 100,000 Guan on medicine. When he saw how sick he was, he cried, “You have worked so hard for my family for so many years, but you are unfortunately suffering from a bad disease, and I have asked all the famous doctors for you, but there is no improvement. Baba replied, “The foul sores on my body must be licked by a human being before they will heal.” And the eunuch asked the three maidservants to lick his sores. But Baek-baek said, “It will not work if they lick it, but you must lick it for my sores to heal.” So Gong Fang licked his sores himself. Even so, Baek-Baek felt that Gong Fang was not sincere enough and said, “You and your wife should lick together to get the best results.” So Gong Fang asked his wife to lick the sores as well. Li Babaai added, “I have to bathe the sore in dozens of liters of wine for it to heal.” Gong Fang hurriedly bought the wine and put it in a big bucket. Once he washed his body in the wine, the sores disappeared and his skin was as white and tender as gelatin, with no scar left. It was not until then that Li Baibai told Gong Fang, “I am an immortal, and I know that you are interested in monasticism, so I have come to test you on purpose. Li Baibai made the couple, Tang Gong Fang, and the three maids who had also licked his sores bathe in the wine he had bathed in, and they all immediately became young and beautiful. Afterwards, Li Baibai granted Gong Fang a volume of the Dan Sutra. The Tang Gong Fang then entered the monastery of Mount Yuntai to refine the elixir. After taking the elixir he had made, he became a god.
(Source: The Legend of the Immortals)
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