Besides, since the last time the Sixth Patriarch Huineng came to Beijing with an order to invite the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, he led his ten disciples to wait in front of the mountain gate of Baolin Temple. They found that the long road in front of the temple was spotless, and they immediately became thoughtful. He looked at it carefully, but the top priority at that time was to welcome the imperial minister, so he put it aside.
In recent days, the Sixth Patriarch came to the temple gate whenever he had free time, and looked at the long road attentively...
Another afternoon, the Sixth Patriarch once again came to the road in front of the mountain gate.
However, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng still did not see the man sweeping the road.
He knew that that person must be deliberately avoiding him; he also knew that that person must be hiding somewhere not far away.
Therefore, the Sixth Patriarch slowly said with his "lion's roar" teaching skills: "The path is not the path of the mind. It is important to clear the external dust, but the key is to purify one's mind, so that the dust in the mind will automatically disappear. The past is past. , The future has not yet arrived, so grasp the present firmly. There is nothing in the first place, so where can we cause dust?"
At this time, a bush beside Cao River shook inexplicably.
The Sixth Patriarch smiled and was about to turn around and go back to the temple when he saw a large group of people coming towards the end of the road. He was the governor of Shaozhou Wei.
Lord Wei has come to convey Emperor Zhongzong's edict to the Sixth Patriarch.
The edict said: "...The master resigned from his old illness and became a blessed field for me to practice Taoism. If the master has a pure name, he will entrust Ji Viya to expound the Mahayana, spread the hearts of the Buddhas, and talk about non-dual Dharma. Master Xue Jian will teach the Tathagata the knowledge and views. I I have accumulated good deeds and cultivated good roots. When my master was born, I had a sudden enlightenment. I felt grateful for the kindness of my master, and I wore it endlessly. I also presented him with a cassock and a crystal bowl, and ordered the governor of Shaozhou to modify the temple and give him the name "Faquan Temple". The teacher's former residence was given the name 'Guo'en Temple'."
In the living room, Governor Wei put together the edict and handed it to the Sixth Patriarch. Then he pointed to the two officials standing next to him holding things and said: "Master, these are the cassocks and crystal bowls given to you by the emperor. Please You take a look."
Governor Wei opened the yellow satin covering the ceremony plate. The cassock was luxurious and the crystal bowl was crystal clear. Hui Zhan did not change her childhood curiosity, squeezed forward and shouted: "Wow, it's so beautiful!"
Zhicheng grabbed him: "Be careful! If you damage the treasures of the imperial court, you will be beheaded!"
Hui Zhan stuck out his tongue and deliberately made a face. The Sixth Patriarch ordered: "Fa Hai, put it away."
Fahai and Zhicheng accepted the gifts from the court. The Sixth Patriarch made a gesture of invitation and said, "Master Wei, I have troubled you to go up the mountain again. Please, please sit down."
After sitting down, Governor Wei clasped his hands and said, "Master, according to the emperor's order, the Governor of Guangzhou is responsible for transforming your hometown into Guoen Temple. The lower official was ordered to rebuild Baolin Temple. When do you think it is best to start the construction?"
The Sixth Patriarch said: "Master Wei, since 30 years ago, the great Buddhist monk Chen Yaxian, the protector of this temple, donated a large area of mountainous land in Caoxi to Baolin Temple. Over the years, poor monks and disciples have built 13 temples in scenic places. 'Flower orchard'. Although there are thousands of monks in Caoxi now, there are still places to live. Therefore, there is no need to waste people and money to rebuild the temple."
Governor Wei said: "How can it be done? It's hard to disobey the emperor's order!"
"The imperial court ordered the construction of a temple, which must be extremely grand and cost a lot of money. It will unnecessarily increase the burden on the people of this state, and the poor monks cannot bear it!"
Governor Wei said: "Master's compassion and love for the people make me deeply grateful and deeply ashamed. However, you don't have to worry. The emperor has already allocated 300,000 taels of treasury silver. There is no need to use a penny from this state."
The Sixth Patriarch said: "The poor monk came from a humble background and had a poor family, so he developed the habit of living diligently and frugally. Mr. Wei, if you make this Baolin Temple magnificent and luxurious, I am afraid that the poor monk will not be able to live in it or sit down." Ning, I can't sleep. So, save these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and help the poor people! Oh, by the way, a few days ago, I heard from pilgrims that something happened in the Lechang and Renhua areas of Shaobei that has not been seen in a century. There is a severe drought, and the crops are dead. Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. You can use the money used to build temples and pagodas as disaster relief funds for the government to provide relief to the people in the disaster area to help them survive the famine. Year."
Governor Wei stood up in a hurry and said: "Master, you are asking me to throw away the black gauze hat on my head! If a subordinate uses the special treasury money allocated by the imperial court for other purposes, he will be deprived of his official position in the least, or beheaded in the worst case! Please forgive me. If you become an official and lend me some courage, I won't dare to misappropriate your Buddhist funds."
The Sixth Patriarch lowered his head and thought for a while, and then said: "Master Wei, I would like to put it bluntly. When it comes to building temples and shaping Buddha statues, a poor monk is better than you."
Governor Wei said: "Of course. I know nothing about architecture or sculpture."
"Then, can you give the treasury money allocated by the imperial court to the poor monk, and let the poor monk take charge of the good deed of building the temple?"
Governor Wei nodded: "Okay, okay. After I return to Shaozhou, I will immediately bring all the money to Baolin Temple and give it to you."
…
This year, the earth was dry and there was no moisture in the land. From the beginning of autumn the year before last to this summer, for three years, God has never rained happily again. In the face of a disaster that has never happened in a century, what a shocking scene it is!
The ponds that used to hold pools of clear water have been scorched to the point of losing all water. In the vast land that has long been parched and cracked by thirst, there are thousands of miles of bare land, not even an inch of grass grows, and the rice fields have no harvest.
In the face of a once-in-a-century disaster, in many villages, people get up at 5 o'clock every morning to fetch water. Sometimes, in order to fetch more water, villagers often quarrel about this, and sometimes they even fight... Every time the villagers The water drawn from the ditch is half filled with sand and half filled with water. After drinking it, you will get sick, and in severe cases, your life will be in danger;
There are many ordinary families where the father is away in the army, but the mother has to climb mountains and ridges to fetch water for the family. Some accidentally fell into the cliff because the buckets were too heavy when fetching water, leaving behind their young children at home; how many old ladies, with bent backs and staggering steps, walked alone to far away places? He had to carry water somewhere, and he went out every morning and could not return home until dinner time in the afternoon...
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the Sixth Patriarch would never have imagined that the drought demon in Lingnan would be so raging!
The sun was scorching in the sky, blazing like fire. Broken rivers, cracked land, dead seedlings, wilted trees, silent mourners, patches of new graves... On the long dusty road, the people fleeing the famine, carrying the old and the young, were lifeless. Walk slowly.
The Sixth Patriarch led his disciples such as Fada, Zhicheng, Zhiche, and Huizhan to run around in the disaster area. They came to a small town and saw a yellow flag fluttering on a dilapidated cross street, writing: Baolin Temple provides porridge.
Fahai, who arrived earlier, was serving porridge with a ladle beside the steaming cauldron. Hungry people came from all directions, some carrying broken ladles, some holding out earthen jars, and huddled together.
