It was close to lunch again. After Zhang Shaofei finished pounding the rice, he was sweating and chopping firewood in the backyard as usual.
Zhang Shaofei often chopped firewood in his hometown, so he was naturally very good at splitting firewood. The ax fell down and the wood split open very neatly.
At this moment, the elders of Tsinghua University were quietly observing Zhang Shaofei not far away, but he was unaware and kept swinging his axe.
The elder of Tsinghua University came over and shouted: "Zhang Shaofei!"
Zhang Shaofei turned around and saw an elder, and quickly knelt down and paid homage.
The elder of Tsinghua University took advantage of the fact that no one was around and asked: "Zhang Shaofei, you have been in the temple for more than a month. How are you doing?"
Zhang Shaofei replied: "Very good, elder."
The elder of Tsinghua pondered for a while and then said: "The day you first came here, I deliberately made things difficult for you and even scolded you. Do you think Lao Na was too mean to you?"
"The elder was able to take me in to practice in the monastery and treated me with such kindness that it would be difficult for a disciple to repay him in his lifetime." Zhang Shaofei said movedly.
Elder Qinghua said: "Actually, your discussion of Buddha nature left a very deep impression on me as soon as we met. That day, Lao Na wanted to have a good talk with you, but for some reason, your senior brothers didn't seem to be very interested. Welcome. I was afraid that the words coming out of my mouth would be detrimental to you in the future, so I deliberately scolded you."
Zhang Shaofei said: "Disciple understands, so since I arrived at the temple, I have been hiding in the backyard. I will never go to the front unless necessary, and I will not interact with the senior brothers. Firstly, I will not cause trouble to the elders, and secondly, I will avoid misunderstandings among the senior brothers." .”
Zhang Shaofei moved a wooden pier, wiped it with his sleeve, and helped the Tsinghua elder to sit down.
The Tsinghua elder looked at Zhang Shaofei kindly and said slowly: "Although Lao Na rarely goes to the backyard, I care about you all the time. I know every move you make. I am very satisfied with your hard work. Do you know? ? Lao Na deliberately asked you to do chores."
Zhang Shaofei nodded: "Second Brother Faru told me that doing odd jobs is the initial homework for those who first enter the temple and prepare to become a monk. In fact, I think that working is also a simple way of practice, and it is a combination of blessing and wisdom. Monks don't have money to give alms, so they work every day and use their labor to give alms, which is to cultivate blessings and make offerings. Furthermore, there are many rules for doing chores. You are not allowed to watch this, and you are not allowed to listen to that. You can only work wholeheartedly without contact with the outside world. When the six roots are blocked and collected, the mind can be calmed and purified. The mind is pure, worries are lightened, and wisdom increases."
The Tsinghua elder smiled and nodded, very satisfied with Zhang Shaofei's answer.
Elder Tsinghua touched his sweat-soaked monk's robe and said with concern: "Don't exert all your strength and pay attention to rest. Although the body is also an illusory thing, we have to use it to cultivate ourselves, so don't work too hard."
Zhang Shaofei wiped his sweat and said, "Elder, I don't feel it's hard."
The elder of Tsinghua University looked at Zhang Shaofei lovingly and said, "Hard work is hard work. Monks don't lie. You work non-stop all day long, and it's all heavy work. You are soaked with sweat. How can you not work hard!"
"Second Brother Faru once said that people who study Buddhism should imitate my Buddha, pierce blood, break bones, do difficult things, endure difficult things, and achieve great achievements. He also said that this is how he came here. "Zhang Shaofei turned to the elder of Tsinghua University and repeated what Faru said to him.
Elder Qinghua nodded: "Faru is a very strong-willed person. When he first came to Dongzen Temple, he suffered a lot. Oh, Faru is also a very noble-hearted person, and he doesn't care much about things other than Buddhism. This is rare. He is enthusiastic about you!"
"Second Senior Brother Faru always takes care of me."
"Are you like other brothers and sisters who admire Fa Ru very much? Do you also think that everything Fa Ru said is correct?" The elder of Tsinghua University changed the angle and asked Zhang Shaofei.
Zhang Shaofei nodded and shook his head, and then said: "I really admire the character of Second Senior Brother, and his strong willpower is an example for me to learn from. However, in terms of his attitude towards asceticism, my thoughts are different from his thoughts. It’s not the same.”
The Tsinghua elder seemed very interested and asked, "Tell me, what's the difference?"
Zhang Shaofei scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Second Brother Fa Ru is looking for hardship in order to hone his will and temper himself, so no matter what, he still feels very hard, he just grits his teeth and persists. And I am doing hard work. , when doing heavy work, I really don’t feel any hardship, but it is a kind of enjoyment.”
The Tsinghua elder smiled and said: "It's the same menial job, why is it painful for him but happy for you?"
Zhang Shaofei said seriously: "Brother Faru knows that he is enduring hardship, so he feels very miserable in his heart. But I feel that working is work, and working is a need of life, so I enjoy it in my heart, and naturally I am very happy. Where can I still feel hard work? When I collect firewood in the mountains of Qiu County, I often meet people who like mountain climbing. To us outsiders, it is very hard and very dangerous. But because they like mountain climbing, they feel not only It’s not hard work, but it’s a great pleasure.”
The Tsinghua elder nodded in agreement: "Very good, very good. You have entered the Zen realm."
Zhang Shaofei was a little embarrassed to be praised by the elders of Tsinghua University, and said in a low voice: "What I said are only superficial opinions, please don't laugh at the elders."
"It's really good that you can understand the subjectivity of the heart and fully mobilize the wonderful functions of the heart."
The elder of Tsinghua University picked up the firewood that Zhang Shaofei had split, looked at it, and asked: "I see that when you chop the firewood, the ax falls and the firewood splits. You rarely make a second blow with the axe. What's the reason?"
Zhang Shaofei said casually: "When I was at home, I collected firewood for a living. Practice makes perfect."
The Tsinghua elder then asked: "Where does the cleverness come from?"
Zhang Shaofei shook his head and said honestly: "I haven't thought about it."
The Tsinghua elder picked up a few sticks of firewood and pointed them to Zhang Shaofei: "Look, every time you axe, you are not far away from the crux of the wood grain. This is the point where external force is inserted."
The elder of Tsinghua University laid out a log and said Zen: "See the opportunity and go straight in, and the knot of ignorance will be broken!" After saying this, he dropped his axe, and the log split into two halves.
Zhang Shaofei picked up the firewood split by the elder of Tsinghua University and looked at it. He was pleasantly surprised: "Wow, it's really neat! Elder, have you ever split firewood?"
The elder of Tsinghua shook his head: "It's not that I have chopped firewood, but that I know how to chop firewood."
Zhang Shaofei looked at the Tsinghua elder with half-understanding, wanting to hear his explanation.
Instead, the elder of Tsinghua asked Zhang Shaofei: "You chop wood when you are at home, but you still chop wood when you come to Dongchan Temple. Instead of chopping here, it is better to chop it at home. Why bother to travel thousands of miles?"
Zhang Shaofei was confused and didn't know what Zen message the Tsinghua elders wanted to convey, so he had to ask the Tsinghua elders: "This disciple is stupid, please let the elders make it clear."
The elder of Tsinghua said: "Zhang Shaofei, you should know that because you are here to learn Buddhism, this firewood is not that firewood. This means that the motivation is different, the way is different, and the results are different."
Zhang Shaofei shook his head: "Disciple still doesn't understand."
The elder of Tsinghua University said solemnly: "It has been more than a thousand years and 32 generations since the Buddha passed down the Dharma Eye Store to the first ancestor, the Venerable Kassapa. During this period, there were many people who sought the Dharma, but very few people achieved it. Why? Because' How can you enjoy the fragrance of plum blossoms without being chilled to the bone? The job you are doing in the temple seems to have nothing to do with studying Buddhism or practicing Zen. But in fact, Zen is formless, formless, and indescribable. Where is Zen? It is in Feihua , fallen leaves, needles, threads, chopping firewood, carrying water, pounding rice, sweeping the floor, and in every move of daily life. Zen is present all the time and everywhere! The key is that we must have a clear mind The mind of Zen wisdom that is not ignorant should be experienced and understood all the time. You can do it for yourself, do it for yourself!"
The Tsinghua elder's words were like thunder that struck his ears, awakening a thousand-year dream; like an enlightenment, his mind was suddenly opened, and it resonated strongly in Zhang Shaofei's heart!
What he realized while collecting firewood in the mountains of Qiu County was Zen! He was so happy that he couldn't help it. He knelt down on the ground with a plop and murmured very excitedly: "Thank you, elder, for your guidance, thank you for your kindness, thank you, master..."
No one agreed. Zhang Shaofei raised his head and saw that the Tsinghua elder had already walked away.
The setting sun sprinkles gold, and the wind dances with peach blossoms.
The wind blew the monk's robes of the Tsinghua elder, and the falling peach petals were flying around him. The afterglow of the setting sun enveloped his figure, and his whole body seemed to be radiating a strange brilliance.
