Fa Ru chose this place with discernment: this big rock is two or three feet high, surrounded by tall camphor trees, making it even more quiet in the remoteness.
Faru's tone was reserved: "Everyone, you are my best disciples in Dongchan Temple, and also my most intimate friends. Today, Elder Hua Qing asked the person who passed on the lamp with a verse, and everyone knows what it means. ?”
Hong De loudly said: "Second senior brother, you can rest assured. Your literary talent is enough to overwhelm everyone. There are more than 800 people in the temple. Who dares to compete for supremacy?"
Zhang Xingchang and others also echoed.
"We are not afraid of ten thousand, but we are most afraid of the worst." Fa Ru's eyes flashed with a wave of light, "There are so many monks in Dongchan Temple, they come from all over the world, and they all have their own thoughts, and they are all mixed up. We still have to prepare for a rainy day, be cautious, and leave more than one person. Keep your eyes on the good."
Huiming: "Second senior brother means-"
Fa Ru made arrangements on the spot: "We must monitor the elders and monks who show their talents in the temple and pay attention to their movements."
Hong De asked inquiringly: "It's a good thing that Second Senior Brother is careful. I wonder who Second Senior Brother thinks are potential competitors?"
Faru counted his fingers and named names: "I see, Elder Huaqing, Zen Master Liaokong, Zen Master Defa, Zen Master Huayu, Shanxin, Shanquan... and Zhang Shaofei."
Hong De said contemptuously: "What, do you mean the Ge Li who does hard work in the rice pounding house?"
Faru nodded: "Yes."
Hong De said with a smile: "Second Senior Brother, you are too worried."
Fa Ru: "What is the meaning of this statement?"
Hong De disagreed: "He is an illiterate layman, and before he came to Dongchan Temple, he was just a firewood collector in Lingnan."
"You can't underestimate him so much." Faru said with a hint of vigilance in his voice, "Everyone, do you still remember the scene on the day Zhang Shaofei first entered Dongchan Temple eight months ago?"
Hong De jumped in and said, "Remember, he said that Elder Hua Qing said something wrong in public, so I slapped him on the spot and gave him a warning."
Zhang Xingchang: "I said Brother Hongde played well."
Fa Ru recalled: "Hong De, you slapped him so hard that I saw blood oozing out from the roots of his teeth. I can tell how much pain he was in at that time. But he endured it without any resistance. His demeanor shows that he is very good at restraining himself."
Hong De said carelessly: "He dared to say that the elder was wrong as soon as he opened his mouth. He was so rude. I think the elder has long held a grudge."
Faru: "The elder has always been generous, open-minded, understanding and making good use of people. He is not the kind of villain who holds grudges over trivial matters."
Hong De: "This..."
Faru recalled: "Do you still remember? What he said when he refuted the elders was indeed extraordinary. Judging from the things he used to strike the clock with pears and eat porridge with cakes, his understanding was not the same. It’s not comparable to mediocre people!”
Huiming argued: "Writing verses is not like carrying water and chopping firewood. It only requires strength and hard work. It requires culture and literary talent, and it is not as simple as clocking in to eat porridge!"
Hong De: "Second Senior Brother, it is necessary for you to be on guard against him. But you must not step on the taro pods and treat them like snakes, which will make you restless in food and sleep."
Faru looked serious: "In short, we just need to pay more attention. Come, let's divide the work and monitor Hua Qingliaokong and others."
Fa Ru and his group started discussing secretly behind the big rocks...
A few days later, Huiming, Hong De, Zhang Xingchang and others reported to Fa Ru that there was no movement from Hua Qing, Liao Kong, Zhang Shaofei and others, and Fa Ru gradually relaxed.
But Faru also had his own troubles, because he had composed several verses in private, but after repeated consideration, he always felt that they were not ideal, which really made him uneasy.
On a moonlit night, the restless Faru couldn't sleep peacefully on the bed. He looked at the moon hanging high outside the window and looked so pale...
The night was already deep, and Faru still had trouble falling asleep, tossing and turning in bed. His long sighs woke up the little novice monk in the same room. The little novice turned over, climbed on the pillow and said, "Your Majesty, it's already three o'clock, are you still not asleep?"
Faru sighed again and said gloomily: "Yes, I can't sleep no matter what."
The little novice monk asked with concern: "Have you not thought of the verse yet?"
"I didn't think about it."
The little novice monk was very childish and said easily: "You can just write a few sentences. Anyway, all the monks in the temple will not submit gatha to the ancestor. If you only have one, it is not good, because there is no comparison, so there is no way to identify it." .”
Faru said solemnly: "Just because everyone dare not offer verses to the elders, I am even more undecided and don't know what to do."
The little novice monk slapped his forehead and exclaimed in annoyance: "Oh my God, I gave up the idea of everyone presenting the gatha, but did I harm you here?"
Faru smiled bitterly: "Originally, the elder asked everyone to compose a verse in order to test the monks' practice experience over the years in order to determine the successor. Now no one else has submitted a verse. If I submit it to the elder, wouldn't it be just trying to gain fame? A person like this? Become an unscrupulous person who covets the ancestral throne?"
"Then don't submit it, Your Majesty. Anyway, everyone is very clear-sighted and believe that the position of the Sixth Patriarch belongs to you. Please ask Elder Hua Qing to pass it on to you directly."
Fa Ru couldn't laugh or cry: "You, you, you are such a child! If the elder asks you to compose a verse, if everyone doesn't do it, wouldn't it mean that I am taking the lead in violating the elder's will? Besides, I am your teacher, if even I don't compose a verse Son, how can I verify whether my views on Buddhism are correct? Without the gatha, the elders do not understand my realm of practice and cannot give guidance or judgment on my path of practice. How can I make progress? Alas, Zuo is not the same. , Right is not good either, what do you think we should do?"
It's nothing to do with him. The little novice monk wouldn't worry about it. He was already snoring.
When Faru saw the little novice monk outside, he was afraid that he would catch cold, so he got out of bed and covered him with a quilt.
He returned to his bed and couldn't sleep anymore. He got up and opened the door, walked out of the monk's room alone, made several stretching and bending movements with his hands, and then walked up the stone stairs of Shuangfeng Mountain. While breathing the fresh night air, I searched my guts.
Walking, walking, I unknowingly came to the White Lotus Pond in the middle of the mountain. The white lotus is blooming, and the night wind brings bursts of fragrance.
Faru felt that his legs were a little tired. He lay under the tall bodhi tree next to the White Lotus Pond, put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the vast night sky.
The night sky is dark blue, with a bright moon hanging high in the sky, the wind has stopped, and there is not a single cloud floating in the sky.
The round moon, like a mirror, hangs high in the sky. Mountain peaks, halls, pavilions, trees, flowers and plants are hazy yet clear, illusory yet real.
Standing in this light and desolate night, Fa Ru was thinking about gathas, robes and other miscellaneous things in his mind, so he felt as if he was falling into a bottomless pit, his body was weightless and his mind was nowhere to be found.
While pacing, he murmured to himself: "What is the great path of Buddha? What is the true meaning of Zen? How can my true nature be revealed..."
The night was already very deep and the surroundings were extremely quiet. A leaf falling and a drop of dew rolling could be clearly heard.
