On the day when Zen Master Hui'an of Songshan Mountain returned to the mountain to pay homage to his ancestors, the astute Faru noticed that the elder Huaqing did not order him to serve around him. Since that Zhang Shaofei came, the elder seemed not to be so interested in him... In addition, Yingyin would provoke him in his ears from time to time, saying what happened to Zhang Shaofei, which had to arouse his vigilance, and he also considered Zhang Shaofei to be the most threatening figure to him sitting on the throne of Huizu in the future.
Why did Yingyin target and pressure Zhang Shaofei like this?
It turned out that this Ying Yin was the rogue Yan Fakui who used to do all kinds of mischief on the ground in Qiu County, cheating, plundering, bullying men and women, and doing all kinds of evil. Zhang Zhixian used Zhang Shaofei's ingenious plan to defeat him and Cui Defu, enter the house, tie up Feng Feiyan, and strangle him to death. Feng Feiyan's case was solved.
When Queen Qiu asked about beheading, Yan Fakui bribed the beheading officer and found a scapegoat to behead him. Yan Fakui survived his death, but he was afraid of being recognized by acquaintances, so he disfigured himself and fled. Finally, he became a monk at Huangmeidong Zen Temple and became a governor, changing his name to Yingyin.
When Zhang Shaofei first arrived at Dongchan Temple to talk to Huiqing that day, he recognized Zhang Shaofei.
It's just that Zhang Shaofei has a kind heart and never dreamed that Yan Fakui could escape the law and be at large. And he became the magistrate monk at Tozenji Temple. It is really: things in the world are unpredictable!
…
At night, Faru tossed and turned on the monk's bed, unable to sleep peacefully.
Outside the window, the continuous mountains look like dark monsters crouching under the blue-black sky. A meteor fell from high altitude, dragging a long yellow tail, and suddenly died out again.
Dharma is like touching a scene and feeling emotional. Although the shooting star is bright, it is fleeting after all. He is currently highly respected in Buddhism, but an invisible challenge is coming towards him, that is Zhang Shaofei who is working hard in the handyman room.
Faru looked up at the night sky alone and sighed: "Will I turn into a falling meteor?"
Fa Ru thought for a long time that Zhang Shaofei was a menial worker, had never read any books, and must not be very talented in literature. He used this aspect to ridicule him, lower his prestige, and improve his own prestige.
The chirping of tits tore apart the tranquility of the mountain temple.
Soon, those who carried water, those who grew vegetables, those who pounded rice, those who milled flour...the monks and laypeople in Dongzen Temple ushered in another morning in the mountains with their diligent work.
In the Dharma Hall of Dongzen Temple, Faru summoned the monks and practitioners to explain the Sutra of Enlightenment:
…and there are one hundred thousand great Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas, whose names are Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Universal Eye Bodhisattva, Vajragarbha Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Pure Wisdom Bodhisattva, Mighty Virtue Bodhisattva, Bianyin Bodhisattva, Jingyin Bodhisattva, The Bodhisattva of All Karmas, the Bodhisattva of Universal Enlightenment, the Bodhisattva of Perfect Enlightenment, the Worthy Head Bodhisattva, etc. are the top leaders. They all enter Samadhi with all their relatives and live together in the Tathagata Equality Dharma Assembly.
…
Faru put down his scriptures, raised his head and looked around everyone, and said slowly: "Juniors, have you ever thought about why there were only one hundred thousand bodhisattvas in the Dharma Assembly where the Buddha taught the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, and why the names of the above 12 bodhisattvas were only mentioned? ?Why are the 12 Bodhisattvas arranged in this order?"
The monks were bewildered, at a loss, and dumbfounded.
Faru explained with some disappointment: "These 12 Bodhisattvas each have different expressions, representing 12 kinds of Dharma. The order in which they are arranged is the order of practice of Mahayana Buddhism..." Faru was eloquent, eloquent, and subtle. Buddhist teachings unfold step by step...
After Faru finished explaining the "Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment", he realized that Zhang Shaofei was missing and muttered in his heart: Is Zhang Shaofei lazy?
Just when Fa Ruzheng felt that he had an excuse to punish Zhang Shaofei, he suddenly heard the sound of "Eaa, Eaa".
Faru Dunsheng found the mill and saw Zhang Shaofei, Huiqing and other young monks grinding powder in the mill next door.
They all worked very hard, and the beads of sweat on their foreheads were as big as soybeans.
On weekdays, Faru, as the second senior brother, visits everywhere and often tells some Buddhist wisdom stories, idioms and allusions to everyone, and sometimes he also writes some couplets for everyone to compare. His immense talent won everyone's respect.
This time, Huiqing, who was still childish, said to Fa Ru: "Second senior brother, what story are you going to tell us today?"
The monks who were grinding flour also followed Huiqing's tone and asked the second senior brother Faru to tell stories.
Elder Hua Qing heard the commotion here and followed the sound to the mill.
Faru heard the footsteps approaching from far away, glanced over, and saw Elder Hua Qing arriving, he was secretly happy: this was a good opportunity to make Zhang Shaofei look embarrassed on the spot.
Elder Hua Qing: "Ah, Fa Ru, are you also here at the mill?"
After Faru bowed to Elder Huaqing, he replied: "Elder, don't you always teach your disciples to go to various places in the temple to understand the situation, and to deal with problems in a timely manner?"
Huiqing: "Second Senior Brother cares about us very much. Now, we would like to ask Second Senior Brother to tell us a story."
All the monks also spoke in agreement.
Elder Hua Qing: "Telling stories at this time?"
Huiqing said succinctly: "Second Senior Brother is telling stories nearby. Not only does it not distract us from our work, it also makes us more interested and more motivated, so we can work faster."
Elder Hua Qing: "Faru, what are you going to do?"
Faru already knew this, so he turned to everyone and opened his white teeth slightly: "Today, instead of telling you a story, I will tell you a couplet for you to read. How about it?"
Huiqing also likes to read books on weekdays and is also interested in couplets. He said, "It's okay to ask us to come and compare couplets."
"Okay!" Everyone agreed.
Elder Hua Qing said to Fa Ru: "In Dongchan Temple, don't show those old and toothless couplets. Otherwise, it will be like a pool of stagnant water. Now you can use the things around us to make couplets, right?"
"Okay." Faru's eyes fell on the stone mill, looking at the round and flat pit, the thick rice, and the fine powder, and inspiration came to his heart.
Faru pointed at the stone mill with his finger, as if a learned and talented old scholar was chanting, and said the first couplet word by word:
The flat pit in the center of the grinding circle is vast, with rough in and out fine.
This couplet, an impromptu use of metaphorical meaning, is truly a stroke of genius.
All the monks clapped their hands and applauded.
Fa Ru: "I'll give you half a cup of tea to see who can answer it first."
"This..." Many people scratched their bare heads with their hands.
Half a cup of tea passed, and the monks touched their bald heads until they shone, but they couldn't answer the second couplet.
Seeing this scene, Fa Ru asked Huiqing complacently: "Huiqing, please answer!"
Huiqing lowered the hand that was scratching his head, with a blush of embarrassment on his face: "Second Senior Brother, your pairing is so good, how can I be able to match it all of a sudden without my knowledge!" After saying this, he turned around helplessly with his head. Swinged a few times.
Faru was even more arrogant because of his talent. He walked up to Zhang Shaofei and said, "Zhang Shaofei, can you answer it? I see that you usually speak well, and I guess you also like to read books."
"No, I rarely read books on weekdays." Zhang Shaofei waved his hand, what he said was practical. But from Faru's point of view, Zhang Shaofei just couldn't answer the question and deliberately found topics to avoid.
This is a rare opportunity! Of course, Faru would not easily let go of this opportunity to make Zhang Shaofei look bad. He pursued Zhang Shaofei relentlessly: "Even if you don't read much on weekdays, your speech has shown some talent and aura. Of course, this Pairs are figured out in a mill, so your answer must be in contact with the mill."
With this move, Faru aimed at Zhang Shaofei and narrowed the path he could take, which indeed created problems for Zhang Shaofei.
"This..." Seeing Faru's aggressive and domineering attitude, Zhang Shaofei knew that this time the person who came was evil. The good man stopped coming. He tilted his head and asked Faru, "Second senior brother, do I have to answer?"
"Definitely, definitely!" Faru thought that Zhang Shaofei was incompetent and wanted to embarrass him in front of Elder Hua Qing, so he said angrily: "Since you have literary talent, you can answer it in front of the elders and fellow brothers. .”
Zhang Shaofei turned his head to Elder Hua Qing without saying anything, with a look of inquiry in his eyes.
Elder Hua Qing had already inferred Fa Ru's purpose for creating this couplet from Fa Ru's demeanor today, but it was not appropriate for him to come forward to arbitrate.
Elder Hua Qing just closed his lips tightly, remained silent, and slightly raised his jaw to show his approval.
Zhang Shaofei understood from Elder Hua Qing's silent but tangible expression, and remained silent. He walked slowly to the wall, took the scale for weighing powder hanging on the wall in his hand, and then One turns back. He walked up to Fa Ru, shook the scale beam, and then gently touched the copper dots inlaid on the scale beam with his right index finger to mark the weight, with a smile on his face.
Faru urged: "Answer!"
Zhang Shaofei then answered loudly: "The scales are straight, the hooks are straight, the stars are bright, and the weights can be distinguished."
This couplet is not only vivid and appropriate, but also expresses ambition, implicitly and meaningfully.
Elder Hua Qing stroked his silver-white beard with his right hand, savoring the quality of the two couplets:
The flat pit in the center of the grinding circle is vast, with rough in and out fine.
The scales are straight, the hooks are straight, the stars are bright, and the weight can be distinguished.
Elder Hua Qing showed a faint smile on his lips. Without making a sound, he turned around and walked silently to his meditation room...
All the monks deliberated over the pairs and praised Zhang Shaofei's pairings for their good pairings and that they were truly excellent works.
