At noon the next day, Zhang Shaofei set off back to Tianlu Mountain.
The weather is particularly good today. The sky is as clear as a piece of jasper.
The road was quiet, the shadows of the trees in the forest were chaotic, the fallen leaves were like a blanket, and the wild flowers were blooming on the hillside and on the roadside.
The scenery along the way was so beautiful that Zhang Shaofei seemed to have walked into a landscape painting. As he walked farther and farther, he suddenly heard a goshawk screaming overhead. Looking up, he saw the goshawk circling in the sky and then flying to the top of the mountain over there. .
Zhang Shaofei looked along the direction in which the goshawk flew, and saw a blue-grey tile ridge hidden in the sea of clouds and dense forest in the deep smoke exposed far away from the top of the mountain.
"Ah, isn't that a temple?" Zhang Shaofei had long heard from Le Jinghui and the others that there were two temples on the top of the mountain - Tianlu Temple and Daishan Temple, and the abbots of the temples were quite high.
Driven by an inexplicable idea, Zhang Shaofei climbed up the winding mountain path, turned a high slope, and suddenly his eyes lit up: the granite mountain gate, with the three characters "Tianlu Temple" engraved on the horizontal plaque. Enter the eye. A couplet is engraved on both sides of the mountain gate:
Listen to the sound of apes in the cold spring of the ancient stream
The green peaks of Bixiu lie in the haze
In front of the temple, there are green ancient trees, including two hundred-year-old Bodhi trees. Once exposed to wind and frost, the trees become chapped and cracked, giving the temple a mysterious and ancient look.
A few egrets soared leisurely over the banyan trees.
Tianlu Temple faces Daishan Temple, another temple not far away. One mountain and two temples stand like twin stars on Tianlu Mountain.
The Daishan Temple on the opposite mountain was built in the first year of Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty (627) by Zen Master Dinghui with funds raised.
Tianlu Temple is built on the hillside slope downstream of the second and third peaks of Tianlu Mountain. There are two gourd-shaped peaks in the front right, facing the top of Shengzu Peak in the front and the main peak of Tianlu Mountain in the back. From this high point, you can see the entire Xinzhou at a glance. Overlooking the surroundings, you can have a panoramic view of Fengmen'ao, Huangwo, Gechong, Wuping and even Juncheng. The land is intertwined with rivers and rivers, with criss-crossing roads, fertile fields, and dotted with cottages.
Daishan Temple is located on the right side of the ancient post road leading to Kaiping and Enping. Zen Master Dinghui built the temple here with great originality. He saw that there was the peak of Tianlu Mountain behind him as a backing, and he felt that he was not good enough to reach the highest place, so he left some room when choosing the site: thinking that if a great man appeared behind him, the highest position on the mountain should be reserved for him.
Tianlu Temple is not large in scale, but although it is small, it has all the internal organs. Every part of the temple is built with exquisiteness and originality. Zhang Shaofei entered the mountain gate of Tianlu Temple, and the environment was quiet and quiet. The ground is paved with stones that can be seen everywhere in Tianlu Mountain, and is lined with tender bamboos and lush vegetation. The fragrance of mulberry incense and osmanthus is refreshing, and butterflies and bees are flying around among the flowers, busy non-stop.
A gust of mountain wind blew by, and the music of the hanging bells in front of the eaves was accompanied by bursts of "bang bang" wooden fish sounds coming from the main hall, which seemed to be Sanskrit chants.
The surrounding trees, bamboo forests, and flowers seemed to be listening quietly, making it appear Zen-like.
A young monk with a childish face came up to him, clasped his hands together and saluted, "The donor is polite."
Zhang Shaofei returned the courtesy to the young monk and said, "Excuse me, is the abbot here?"
The young monk pointed inward: "Master is chanting sutras and practicing meditation in the hall."
"Thank you." Zhang Shaofei walked in lightly.
There are only five monks in Tianlu Temple. The abbot is a Zen master in his forties. He has a clear face and clear black and white pupils. He is banging wooden fish and reading scriptures.
When the middle-aged Zen master heard the footsteps, he raised his head and saw Zhang Shaofei arriving. He put down the wooden fish mallet with his right hand and put the scripture in his left hand on the table. He clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha. The benefactor has come to our temple and the flowers are shining brightly."
After Zhang Shaofei saluted, he said bluntly: "Master, I am also from this mountain. I passed by your temple today and saw the Zen atmosphere here, so I came to pay a visit to the master."
"Ah, that's it." Seeing Zhang Shaofei sweating profusely, the middle-aged Zen master raised his finger and pointed to the futon opposite, "Donor, please sit down."
Zhang Shaofei followed his instructions and sat down on the futon.
The young monk presented the tea and placed it on the coffee table in front of Zhang Shaofei.
Middle-aged Zen Master: "Donor, please give me tea. This is the camellia grown in our temple."
The heat in the cup rises, and a fragrance fills the air.
Zhang Shaofei picked up the tea cup and took a sip. It was indeed pure and delicious, leaving a fragrance on his teeth and cheeks, and his fatigue was reduced a lot.
The green tea grown on the top of this mountain has long collected the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. It is different from those grown elsewhere, and it is reasonable.
After Zhang Shaofei drank fragrant tea, he had a chat with the middle-aged Zen master.
Zhang Shaofei bowed to him and asked, "May I ask your name, Master?"
The middle-aged Zen master clasped his hands together and returned the salute: "The poor monk's name is Rude."
Zhang Shaofei: "Ah, it turns out to be Master Rude. From the accent of the master, he must be from the north. Where is the master's ancestral home?"
Zen Master Rude raised his hand and pointed to the north: "The poor monk is from Shangqiu, Henan. But I have been away from the Central Plains for more than 20 years."
Zhang Shaofei was puzzled: "The world is long and the world is vast. The land of Kyushu is full of mountains and rivers. There are countless famous mountains, rivers, ancient temples and jungles in the north and south of the Yangtze River. Master, why did you come all the way from the Central Plains to study Buddhism in a secluded place like Tianlu Mountain? What about practicing Zen?”
Zen Master Ru De: "There is a great reason why I am here."
Zhang Shaofei said humbly: "I am all ears."
Zen Master Rude narrowed his eyes and recalled: "When the poor monk was meditating at the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, the Taishi Ling who was in charge of the astronomical affairs in the imperial court was a fellow countryman of mine. Once, after he came to pray for Buddha, he quietly told the poor monk that he had Observing the sky at night, he discovered that a white auspicious light suddenly shot straight into the world from the south of the Five Ridges, shining brightly and lingering for a long time. He was both excited and confused: this auspicious sign was a great auspicious omen that was not seen in a thousand years or a lifetime. A great man whose name will go down in history will appear in Lingnan. So I left Luoyang, the eastern capital, and headed straight for Lingnan."
Zhang Shaofei: "Master, are you so persistent and confident about this?"
"Amitabha, people have predestined relationships, and Buddhas have predestined relationships with Buddhas. Cultivation depends entirely on self-perception. I am destined to be predestined with Xinzhou in this life." Zen Master Rude put his hands together and talked eloquently, "The founder of Kunlun Mountain has three veins: Gen, Zhen, and Xun. The Great Dragon Vein. Confucius stopped at Mount Tai, and Laozi stopped at Mount Song. The poor monk traveled through thousands of rivers and mountains in Kyushu, and finally came to the Xinzhou area. He climbed mountains to look for dragons during the day, and checked local cultural developments at night. He saw the Sunda Dragon in the south walking 20,000 miles to reach Yunwu. Mountain, and then through the fields and veins, we reached Tianlu Mountain, which is forty feet higher than Yunwu Mountain, and we identified it as the Fengshui Taizu Mountain here and the end of the Nine Provinces Dragon Vein - Lingnan Canglong Cave."
Zhang Shaofei: "You mean dragon vein?"
