"Who is the Sea Dragon King?" Xiao Shaofei blinked his bright eyes.
Wang Shaoxiang said seriously: "This is the Sea Dragon King Buddha, who can call the wind and rain, eliminate disasters and increase blessings, and keep the people safe."
But Xiao Shaofei said: "Auntie, the Buddha looks like a human being. I seem to be very familiar with him. When I grow up, I want to be a more powerful god and Buddha than the Sea Dragon King Buddha."
When Wang Shaoxiang heard this, he was so shocked that he broke out in cold sweat!
She was afraid that her son had blasphemed the gods and would be punished by God, so she pressed her son's head and asked him to kneel down and repent and ask for forgiveness from the gods and Buddhas.
But Xiao Shaofei refused no matter what. He actually said: "I can, I can become a more powerful god than Buddha!"
Wang Shaoxiang was extremely devout to the Buddha. When he saw his son repeatedly saying that he wanted to be on par with the Buddha, he was shocked, scared and angry. He couldn't help but raise his hand and wanted to hit him on the head...
"Amitabha, good, good."
After the Buddha's name was heard outside the Dragon King Hall, Abbot Shi Hui came in and said to Wang Shaoxiang: "Donor, in this pure place of Buddhism, why are you so angry that you beat people?"
Wang Shaoxiang hurriedly bowed to Abbot Shi Hui and said, "The woman was so angry that she forgot the Buddhist rules. Please forgive me, Abbot."
Shi Hui said: "Why should you get angry with a child?"
Wang Shaoxiang told Shi Hui: "Master, you don't know, this child doesn't know the heights of heaven and earth, and he actually says he wants to be a wise man, a god, or a Buddha when he grows up."
"Haha..." Abbot Shi Hui laughed and said, "Well said! Children's words are unbridled and point to the true nature; children's innocence is pure and true."
He turned to Xiao Shaofei and asked: "Little donor, what is your name?"
Zhang Shaofei answered readily: "My name is Zhang Shaofei."
"Zhang Shaofei? Zhang Shaofei is a good name!" After praising him, Shi Hui said, "Zhang Shaofei, don't forget what you said today. In the future, you will become a Buddha and save all sentient beings from ignorance."
Wang Shaoxiang said in confusion: "Master, how come you are as knowledgeable as a child and take his child's play to be true."
Abbot Shi Hui Zhengse said: "All life has wisdom. As long as you arouse bodhicitta, you can understand your mind and see your nature, and suddenly realize the truth..."
These Buddhist principles are not profound, but they are beyond the comprehension of a commoner woman like Wang Shaoxiang who seeks protection from the Buddha and prays for blessings and disaster relief.
…
Ever since Xiao Shaofei followed his mother to Taishan Temple to worship Buddha, he and his friends from the village, including Ergou and Fatty Dong, often came to the temple to play.
He came so often that even the monks in the temple got to know him and called him "the son of Mount Tai".
For some unknown reason, this Taishan Temple seemed to have an extraordinary appeal to the little Zhang Shaofei.
Was it the ingenious layout, majestic buildings, and solemn Buddha statues that deeply shocked him?
Or was it the wonderful bells, the sacred chanting, or the monk's wisdom-filled meditation that inspired him?
Only God knows.
Once, Xiao Shaofei was fascinated by a mural of the Great Sea in the main hall.
Xiao Shaofei was so engrossed and focused in watching that he even had to hold in his urine until his stomach became bloated.
Finally, Xiao Shaofei probably couldn't bear it anymore, so he took off his pants and wanted to pee.
There was a sharp-sighted monk who hurriedly stepped forward to stop him and said: "Sin, sin! How could you pee in the main hall? This is a place for Buddha. How sacred it is. How can you blaspheme the gods and Buddhas!"
Xiao Shaofei said: "Master, where is there no Buddha?"
Xiao Shaofei said it well!
The mountains, rivers and earth are all Dharmakaya; the yellow flowers and green bamboos are nothing but prajna. Buddha exists at all times and everywhere.
The monk was stunned, but he still followed the inertia of his thinking and said: "Anyway, this is a pure dojo, and you are not allowed to pee."
Xiao Shaofei actually asked: "Which place is not a dojo?"
What's even more incredible is that one day, Xiao Shaofei was playing hide-and-seek with Ergou, Fatty Dong and other friends in Taishan Temple. In order to hide more secretly, he got into the Dragon King's Hall.
In the Dragon King Hall, the four heavenly kings stand on two sides, with no cover and no way to hide. Only the Buddhist niche originally dedicated to the Dragon King in the middle of the hall is empty, and the Buddha statue has not yet been rebuilt.
Without thinking, Xiao Shaofei climbed up to the high Dragon King's throne and hid it in the Buddhist niche.
Ergou and the others clearly saw Zhang Shaofei hiding in the Dragon King Palace, but they couldn't find him no matter how hard they looked.
What a ghost. Could it be that Zhang Shaofei was swallowed up by these arrogant guys - the Four Heavenly Kings?
Xiao Shaofei hid in the Buddhist niche and remained motionless.
Xiao Shaofei had been hiding for a long time, and he was inevitably a little sleepy. After yawning a few times, he sat down and fell asleep unknowingly...
At this time, a layman came to the Dragon King Hall to offer incense. I don’t know whether it was because of his eyesight or some other reason. He found that in the empty Buddhist niche, there was actually a real dragon body. Although it was not as tall as the original one, it was more exquisite and lifelike. It also radiates a faint red light.
The layman was filled with joy and quickly burned three pillars of incense and kowtowed.
After the prayer, when the layman went to the abbot to ask for Buddhist teachings, he complimented him and said, "Great monk, the Dragon King Buddha statue you recently invited is so good. It is as vivid as a real person."
Abbot Shi Hui couldn't help but be a little confused and asked in confusion: "What Buddha statue are you talking about? Which Buddha statue?"
The layman said: "It's the Dragon King Buddha statue in the Dragon King Hall!"
Abbot Shi Hui was even more puzzled: "Since the clay sculpture of Sea Dragon King Buddha fell down, there has never been a Buddha statue enshrined in that niche!"
This time, it was the layman's turn to be confused.
He said in surprise: "But I just saw a real dragon Buddha there! I even burned incense and kowtowed."
Abbot Shi Hui and the layman felt incredible, so they left the abbot and went to the Dragon King Hall to see what happened.
In the incense burner, the sandalwood lit by the layman was still smoking, but the Buddhist niche was empty. On the thick dust, there were only some traces like those left by children climbing up and down.
…
This little Shaofei seems to have become a different person since he went to Taishan Temple Mountain.
Perhaps, it is because of the aura of Taishan Temple;
Perhaps he was born with wisdom, was self-taught without a teacher, and was extremely smart. As soon as he saw the couplets posted on the doors of every house, he started to read them, and he could read every word without missing a word.
He felt it was not enough.
This morning, after having breakfast, Zhang Jinzhao and his wife went out to work.
He was alone at home, bored, and on a whim, he walked to the bed and picked up the book that his father couldn't put down and read.
He couldn't help but look at it, and he became addicted to it.
Seeing the rising point, he actually started to recite aloud——
The White Emperor's farewell speech is among the colorful clouds. A thousand miles of rivers and mountains are returned in one day.
The apes on both sides of the bank can't stop crying, and the boat has passed the Ten Thousand Mountains.
He tilted his head and thought: Baidi, what is it? Is it the emperor? still? He doesn't understand.
After thinking about it, he saw a line of comments in the footer.
When he saw it, he immediately understood: Baidi City is located on Baidi Mountain in Chongqing, so it is called Baidi.
This comment is equivalent to a teacher.
Just as he was being led step by step into the river of knowledge by the lines of poems in the book and enlightening his philosophical thinking, Zhang Jinzhao and his wife came back from outside.
Zhang Jinzhao was surprised when he saw Xiao Shaofei reading a book attentively, with such a mesmerized look.
Zhang Jinzhao looked at Wang Shaoxiang with doubtful eyes.
This look was clearly asking her: "My son has not yet entered school. Can he read? Can he understand?"
Wang Shaoxiang waved to Zhang Jinzhao, pursed his lips toward the door, and walked out quietly.
Zhang Jinzhao understood and followed him out.
Under the camphor tree outside the house, Wang Shaoxiang told him about the day when he went to Taishan Temple to offer incense and fulfill his vows, and then said: "My son is self-taught without a teacher!"
"Self-taught without a teacher?" Zhang Jinzhao slapped his thigh and said loudly: "I will test him later to see how proficient he is."
When Xiao Shaofei heard his father's voice, he was afraid that he would be scolded for touching his beloved thing, so he hurriedly put the book back where it was and pretended to be fine when he came out.
"A Fei, what were you doing just now?" Zhang Jinzhao said bluntly, staring at him fiercely.
"Dad, why are you so cruel? I didn't do anything bad. I just took a book from the bedside and read it." Xiao Shaofei dared to act boldly.
"Fei'er, daddy asked you, can you understand the poems in the book?" Zhang Jinzhao got to the point.
"Well," Xiao Shaofei nodded, "Not only can I understand it, but I'm also very interested."
Zhang Jinzhao looked at Xiao Shaofei suspiciously and said, "My dad is going to test you. First, take out the book you just read and read a few sentences to dad."
"Yes." Xiao Shaofei took out the book obediently and handed it to Zhang Jinzhao.
Zhang Jinzhao pushed the book back and said, "Read it to me."
"I have memorized it by heart. I can recite it without reading it." Xiao Shaofei's words were astonishing.
"Ah, what great luck! Fei, you're not suffering from a fever and talking in your sleep while standing, right?" Zhang Jinzhao reached out and touched his forehead.
"You just have a fever and talk in your sleep!" Xiao Shaofei angrily pushed away Zhang Jinzhao's muddy hand on his forehead.
What’s on my mind: “A dog’s eyes look down upon others!”
"A Fei, what are you muttering about? He is your biological father." Wang Shaoxiang clearly understood what Xiao Shaofei said from the shape of his mouth.
"Honey, don't be like a child." Zhang Jinzhao tried to smooth things over, "Okay, Fei'er, I'll do as you said. You can read it to me."
Xiao Shaofei answered frankly: "I do remember it."
Zhang Jinzhao was still suspicious: "Do you really remember?"
"Yeah." Xiao Shaofei nodded. "
Zhang Jinzhao asked tentatively: "How many sentences can you recite?"
The innocent Xiao Shaofei answered straightforwardly: "I can recite them all."
"Wow, what a loud tone!" Zhang Jinzhao was shocked again by his answer.
Zhang Jinzhao stared at him, "What? Can you recite all of "Three Hundred Tang Poems"?"
Hearing his son's loud tone, Zhang Jinzhao couldn't help but say, "Fei'er, overcooked food is delicious, but overcooked words are hard to talk about!"
Zhang Jinzhao was doubtful: "Then... just try to memorize it again."
"Yes." Xiao Shaofei nodded, opened his mouth, and those verses trickled out like water on Longshan Mountain:
Guan Ju
Anonymous (pre-Qin)
Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river island.
…
At first, Zhang Jinzhao didn't take his son into his heart at all.
But when Xiao Shaofei memorized nearly 300 poems, he was impressed. He even compared it with the book to see if his son had read it correctly.
The sound of reciting loudly reminds Zhang Jinzhao of those long-gone years...
