At this time, a cloud covered the moon and the night sky darkened.
Suddenly, Fa Ru heard several faint sounds of bells. He was startled and listened carefully, but he couldn't hear it again. He thought it was an illusion, smiled mockingly, and said to himself: "It seems that I am too nervous."
However, the erratic sound of the bell rang again. It is like a lonely sigh squeezed out from the depths of the soul, like an affectionate call sliding down from the high moon palace, and more like some kind of omen from the gods to people...
Fa Ru felt that there seemed to be a mysterious force that pulled his soul out of his body, floating up and down... He knelt down involuntarily...
After an unknown period of time, the cloud drifted away, the round moon became bright again, and the sky and the earth became clear.
At this time, the sound of bells came very clearly from high places... Only then did Faru discover that the elusive sound of bells came from the wind chimes on the pavilion on the hillside!
He slapped himself in the face and said to himself: "I have practiced spiritual practice for many years, but I am still obsessed with ghosts! It's just that because the dark clouds covered the moon, I mistakenly mistook the wind chimes for the sound of nature and the voice of the gods... "
Blowing in the breeze, the sound of bells and bells is extremely beautiful in the moonlit night. Faru looked at the mirror-like full moon on the top of the pavilion, and a flash of light suddenly burst out deep in his heart... "Ah, what a beautiful moonlit night, what a beautiful sky! What does this clean night sky look like?" Faru thought. The tentacles were opened and they were hunting.
Suddenly, he suddenly realized something like this: "Ah, as clean as a wash, spotless, like a bright mirror! Our Zen wisdom should also reach this perfect state!"
Faru felt that the clouds in his mind were gradually wiped away, revealing a clear sky.
Suddenly, Fa Ru was inspired. He slapped his thigh with joy and naturally recited:
As a Zen wisdom tree, your heart is like a bright moon mirror.
Take care of them diligently at all times, and your Zen wisdom will shine brightly.
The night is quiet, the moonlight is just right, the space between heaven and earth is bright and agile, just like people's Zen mind.
Faru ran back to the temple as fast as flying, and went straight to the abbot's room in the south corridor. He bent his index finger and was about to knock on the door of the abbot's room in Elder Hua Qing, but he froze again.
At that moment, Faru thought to himself: Elder Huaqing's city is unfathomable. What does his favorite verse look like? There is currently no reference. Although I feel that this verse I made is perfect, it is my personal wish after all. The fear is that once it is submitted, Elder Hua Qing will not be satisfied. At that time, there is no turning back, and there will be no way to save the overall situation. The lightness and weight of this verse are related to one's lifelong future. If you are too reckless, it may be counterproductive. Thinking of this, Faru went back to the monk's room where he was staying, spread out the rice paper, and wrote out the verse.
In what way and when should this verse be presented to Elder Huaqing?
The state of hesitation and panic has been tormenting Faru, making him want to vomit and unable to swallow.
Sometimes, an impulse like a devil drove him to rush to the south corridor, wanting to express his true feelings to Elder Hua Qing. But when they reached the door, they stopped abruptly. The crimson door separated him from Elder Hua Qing into two states of mind and two worlds.
Fa Ru sighed secretly and left quietly in dejection.
Sometimes, Faru hurried to the elder's door with a verse manuscript that was still stained with ink. But seeing that the outer door of the courtyard was not closed and the lights in the rooms inside were still on, Elder Hua Qing was sitting peacefully with his eyes closed, as if waiting for someone to arrive.
For some reason, one of Faru's stepped steps came back. He looked at the verse manuscript, looked at the figure of Elder Hua Qing reflected in the window, and lingered hesitantly at the door.
Several times, he seemed to have made up his mind, but for some reason he backed away...
There was a rooster crowing in the distance, and it was already dawn. Faru felt guilty like a thief and ran away in a panic.
In the following day, in the morning, noon, and afternoon, Faru walked to the door of the elder's room several times, wandered several times, but never dared to step in the door.
As this continued, Faru wandered indecisively in front of Elder Hua Qing's room in the south corridor, coming and going, going and coming again. It lasted four days and four nights, a total of thirteen times, but he still did not have the courage to knock on the door of the elder's room and express his heartfelt feelings to Elder Hua Qing.
It's dark again.
In the monk's room, Faru sat at the table and stared blankly at the rice paper with the gatha written on it.
The young novice came in from outside and said in surprise: "Second senior brother, haven't you presented the verse to the elder yet?"
Faru said hesitantly: "I'm afraid of the elders... Besides, what will the juniors think? What if they misunderstood my true thoughts and thought I was coveting the position of master, that would be terrible..."
The little novice also learned to sigh: "Oh... you adults are so boring! You are afraid of this and that. You are afraid of wolves in front and tigers in the back."
Dharma is speechless. Seeing Fa Ru's appearance, the young novice monk said, "Second senior brother, if you really don't dare to present the verse, I will post it for you on the elder's door. In this way, the elder will see it when he gets up early in the morning."
Faru slapped the table and shouted: "Thank you for inspiring me, yes, I have a way!" Late at night, the crickets that usually like to chirp also stopped chirping. On the bed, I could no longer hold back the surging waves in my heart, because the great painter Ding Zongfeng specially hired by Elder Hua Qing was going to start painting tomorrow morning on the several-foot-long white wall of the south corridor. The Bloodline Map of the Qing Elders".
Faru had already reviewed the first draft with Elder Hua Qing yesterday in broad daylight. Time is not waiting for me, so I have to give it a try.
So, Faru thought he was smart, got up, walked to the desk, ground the ink on the Fengchi Duan Inkstone, wrapped the Xuancheng pen and the Duan Inkstone in cloth, and quietly came to the white wall of the south corridor in front of the Huaqing Elder's Room. He went up, looked around to make sure there was no one around, and then he raised his pen and wrote the Buddhist verse he had accidentally found on the white wall of the south corridor.
Before the ink on the verse was dry, Faru quickly packed up his pen and inkstone, left as quickly as a night owl, and secretly returned to the monk's room where he was staying.
…
The next morning.
Shuangfeng Mountain and the large and small temples of Dongzen Temple are all shrouded in a vast morning mist. Everything looks misty and it is difficult to distinguish their true appearance.
Ding Zongfeng came to the south corridor as promised, and suddenly he felt like there was something extra on the wall.
Ding Gongfeng turned his head and found big characters on the white wall. When he looked closer, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh, it's a verse, it's a verse!"
Ding Gongfeng recited casually: "As a Zen wisdom tree, my heart is like a bright moon mirror. If you look after it diligently at all times, Zen wisdom can shine."
Hearing Ding Zongfeng's recitation, more than ten monks nearby gathered around.
"Who wrote it?"
"Who knows, it wasn't there yesterday."
Someone wrote an extraordinary verse in the south corridor, which instantly caused a sensation in the whole temple.
When the monks in the whole temple heard the sound, they flocked to it, competed to recite it, and talked about it.
