Cao Guowu was one of the Eight Immortals, named rowdy, also known as Jingxiu. According to the History of the Song Dynasty, he was the brother of Empress Dowager Cixing Guangxian, so he was called Guoji. The magic weapon held by Cao Guobu was a jade plate.
His younger brother, Cao Er, who was a relative of the imperial family, was so powerful and evil that he seized the people’s land for himself and took over other people’s children for his enjoyment. And many unscrupulous villains came from his family. From the beginning to the end, he tried his best to advise him, but he could not make him change his ways, and finally he was regarded as his enemy. The uncle said, “It is the principle of the world that those who accumulate good deeds will prosper and those who accumulate evil deeds will die. My family has done good deeds and accumulated yin merit, so that we can be rich today. Now my brother has accumulated so much evil that although he can escape from the penal code in the open, he cannot escape from the law of heaven in the dark. I am ashamed and afraid that this will really happen.”
So he spread all his wealth to help the poor and needy. Finally, he left his family and friends, dressed in Taoist clothes, and retired to the rocks to cultivate his heart and soul.
After a few years, he had reached the state where his heart was in harmony with the Tao and his form was transformed into a god. Suddenly, one day, Han Zhongli and Lu Dongbin wandered to his monastic place and asked him, “What do you cultivate when you live in leisure.” The uncle replied, “I do nothing else but cultivate.” The two immortals asked, “Where is the Tao?” The uncle pointed to the sky. The Second Immortal asked, “And where is the heaven?” Uncle Guo pointed to the heart.
Zhong Li laughed and said, “The heart is the sky, and the sky is the Tao. So he gave him the “Secret Instructions for Returning the Truth” and told him to meditate carefully. In a short time, he was introduced to the immortal class by Han Zhongli and Lu Dongbin.
(Source: “Journey to the East”)
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