Zhang Shaofei walked home on the mountain path. He felt very sad when he thought that he had to say goodbye to his mother and his beloved girl and go away to seek Buddhism. However, the words of Zhang Daocheng and Zen Master Huiming kept echoing in my ears; in addition, the desire to go north to seek Buddha was like a blazing fire. Roasting his heart...
It was already the first night when Zhang Shaofei returned to Taizhen Village.
Zhang Shaofei was a well-known filial son. He saw lights shining through his house. Those were the lights of his mother waiting for her son to return home! Zhang Shaofei couldn't help but feel hot in his heart. Before anyone entered the room, he shouted loudly: "Auntie, I'm back!"
Wang Shaoxiang sat in front of the loom, with half-closed eyes and a kind light all over his body. He looked at Zhang Shaofei with concern and asked, "Fei'er, why did you come back so late today?"
Zhang Shaofei didn't know how to speak, so he could only smile shyly and avoid his mother's kind eyes.
In order to prevent his mother from seeing what he was thinking, Zhang Shaofei deliberately asked: "Mom, have you eaten?"
"If you don't come back, how will my mother be able to eat?" Wang Shaoxiang looked at Zhang Shaofei and said.
"Then, I'm going to open the table!" Zhang Shaofei said as he set up the dining table, picked up the heated food from the pot, and handed the steaming bowl of rice to his mother with both hands.
Wang Shaoxiang squinted his dim and turbid old eyes and stared at his son with extremely kind eyes, as if he could resolve all the knots in his heart at any time.
Zhang Shaofei gritted his teeth and summoned up the courage to tell his mother exactly what he had encountered and happened during these days.
After Wang Shaoxiang heard this, a look of sadness appeared on his face: "Fei'er, the Zhang family has been here for generations, and now you are the only one surviving. My mother-in-law also hopes that you can carry on the family lineage and continue the bloodline of the Zhang family, so that the cigarettes will last for generations. You have to think about it seriously!"
Zhang Shaofei told Wang Shaoxiang what Zhang Daocheng had said to him before, and then said, "Mother, shopkeeper Zhang said it well. If you can seek the great road, save the masses, and save all living beings from sinking, then you can It is the road of life! I have thought about it again and again. From the perspective of the road of life, it is only a trivial one to continue the family lineage of the Zhang family. If I go north to seek the Buddhist path and practice hard, I will one day find the road and save all the fans. , save all sentient beings from destruction, and if the family is passed down in this way, there will be thousands of successors, this is the real cigarette of all generations!"
"This..." Wang Shaoxiang didn't expect his son to answer like this. He murmured for a long time and was speechless.
Although she usually reads the Bible, she doesn't understand its meaning. Moreover, now she is exposed to the actual situation at home.
There is a popular saying among the people, "Thunder God in the sky, uncle in the ground." Zhang Shaofei lost his father when he was young, so the majesty of his uncle became even more prominent and important.
Wang Shaoxiang knew that Wang Ronggen loved Zhang Shaofei very much on weekdays and would definitely not let him become a monk this time, so he said to Zhang Shaofei: "Well, you go ask your uncle and Lu Huilan tomorrow. If they agree for you to go, you go; they If you don’t agree, you don’t need to waste any more words on my mother-in-law.”
"Yes." Zhang Shaofei could only nod his head obediently.
The next morning, Wang Shaoxiang was about to accompany Zhang Shaofei back to her parents' home - Taishi Village. Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked out of the door, she saw Lu Huilan holding a box of things in her hand and heading towards her home.
When Lu Huilan saw Wang Shaoxiang, she handed the box of things to Wang Shaoxiang and said affectionately: "Auntie, my mother asked me to send you some medicinal materials to replenish your health."
Lu Huilan was a little uncomfortable not seeing Zhang Shaofei for a few days. When having breakfast this morning, her mother asked why Zhang Shaofei hadn't been home these days and whether something had happened to his family. She asked her to go to his house after breakfast. Let's take a trip and bring some medicinal materials such as Korean ginseng, cordyceps, deer antler, etc. that Lu Xueru's disciples gave when they came to visit the patient last time to replenish Zhang Shaofei's mother.
Wang Shaoxiang took the medicinal materials and said politely to Lu Huilan, "Alan, your mother really cares about me. Go back and thank your mother for me."
Lu Huilan smiled and said, "Auntie, you're welcome." Seeing Wang Shaoxiang and Zhang Shaofei looking like they were about to go out, Lu Huilan said, "Auntie, are you and Brother Afei going out?"
"Shanlan, if you don't ask, my aunt has forgotten to tell you. You came just in time. My aunt is asking you, do you agree with Zhang Shaofei going to Huangmeidong Zen Temple in Hubei to study Buddhism?" Wang Shaoxiang told Zhang Shaofei's thoughts and plans to go to Taishi Village in one breath. He asked his uncle for his opinion and told it to Lu Huilan.
"This... this..." The news came so suddenly that Lu Huilan didn't know what to say.
Wang Shaoxiang approached Lu Huilan, leaned into her ear, and quietly told Lu Huilan her thoughts.
After hearing this, Lu Huilan said: "I will also go to Taishi Village to meet Brother Afei's uncle. I will obey the majority."
Wang Shaoxiang took Zhang Shaofei and Lu Huilan back to their parents' home - Taishi Village. Zhang Shaofei came to his uncle and told him about leaving his hometown and going to Dongchan Temple in Hubei to seek Buddhist teachings.
Wang Ronggen felt nervous when he heard what Zhang Shaofei said, and quickly advised him: "Zhang Shaofei, it would be unspeakably miserable to escape into Buddhism and meditate!"
Zhang Shaofei said calmly: "What's so terrible about suffering? Don't you and my mother always teach me, 'Only when you endure hardship can you become a master'?"
Wang Ronggen was stopped by him and muttered: "This..."
Zhang Shaofei insisted: "I heard from people that Bodhidharma once faced a wall for nine years. As long as I can learn Buddhism and save all sentient beings, I can endure any hardship."
"That's what you say, but it's hard to actually do it!" Wang Ronggen shook his head.
Zhang Shaofei begged again and again, but Wang Ronggen still refused.
…
Seeing that Wang Ronggen's earnest attempts to persuade him were ineffective, he discussed with Wang Shaoxiang and Lu Huilan for a while, and deliberately raised a difficult problem to make Zhang Shaofei give up his intention.
Wang Ronggen said to Zhang Shaofei: "You can go to Huangmei East Zen Temple in Hubei Province, but we have a condition."
Zhang Shaofei asked: "What are the conditions?"
"You come with me." Wang Ronggen brought Zhang Shaofei to the entrance of the village, pointed to the standing boulder, and said, "If you can move this boulder to both sides, you can go!"
Zhang Shaofei asked loudly, "Uncle, do you really mean what you said?"
Wang Ronggen also replied loudly: "Seriously!"
Zhang Shaofei raised his voice again: "You won't regret it?"
Wang Ronggen also answered in a louder voice: "Your mother, I, and Lu Huilan have already made an agreement, and we will never regret it!"
"Okay!" Zhang Shaofei agreed immediately. He believed that sincerity would lead to success.
This huge stone is about one foot high and eight feet wide. It has been weathered by wind and rain and is mottled. It stands at the entrance of the village.
Zhang Shaofei put incense sticks in front of the boulder, lit candles, knelt down on his knees, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and prayed softly: "May the Buddha appear in heaven and split the boulder for me."
The scorching sun was in the sky, shooting down thousands of burning tongues of fire. The broad banana leaves at the edge of the village have curled up in the sun, and the foxtail grass that used to look up and down hangs lifelessly. There are wisps of swaying water vapor floating on the road. As people walk over, a cloud of smoke appears with each step.
