Huineng returned to Shimen, and the white fish belly was already exposed in the east.
Li Shi hadn't gotten up yet, so Huineng put on his clothes and fell asleep. This night, it seemed as if nothing happened.
Everything seems to be back to normal again.
…
There is a small hill at the intersection of Shimen Valley and Chanlong Valley beside the ancient post road at the northern foot of Tianlu Mountain. The locals call it Fozi Dun.
Huineng lived in seclusion at Shimen, Tianlu Mountain. He had a special preference for plum blossoms. He believed that the green-calyx plum blossoms growing here were as pure and pure as the petals of the Zen heart. All eliminated.
Huineng particularly took a fancy to the intersection of these two rivers. Whenever he had free time every day, he would come here to plant plum trees.
The land here is fertile, the water is abundant, and the sunlight is excellent, so those plum trees grow fast and well.
The mountain people in Tianlu Mountain love plum trees very much. They believe that the plum trees were created by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the plum cores left by Tieguaili and other immortals when the Eight Immortals came to Tianlu Mountain to hold a fruit feast.
Under Huineng's example, the mountain residents planted plum trees on a large area on the mountain. Before long, plum trees were everywhere on Tianlu Mountain.
During the season when plum blossoms are in full bloom, mountains and mountains are covered in white, like white clouds falling down to the earth. When the mountain breeze blows, the fragrance of plum blossoms ripples and is intoxicating. It can be said that the mountain people are living in a sea of flowers and a world of fragrance, and they are contented. On the other hand, every time the plum blossoms fall and the plum trees bear fruit, countless green plums hang on the branches, and the branches are bent under the weight of the heavy fruits. The harvested plums can be soaked in wine or sold as preserved fruits. In this way, the plum tree brought them a lot of tangible benefits.
On this day, the vast and endless sky was blue, like a huge curtain filtered out of all colors. A few snow-white clouds were blown by the wind like small boats floating gently in the sea.
Huineng had just planted more than a dozen plum trees. He came to the stream and watered them with buckets. When he was about to leave, he was stopped by a middle-aged man and woman not far from the stream.
The man is from Gangjiao Village at the foot of Tianlu Mountain, his name is Xie Daoben, and the woman standing next to him is his wife A Fang. Judging from the depressed look on her face, something unsatisfactory happened to her.
Xie Daoben waved to Huineng and called, "Little brother, please come here."
Huineng put down the bucket, waded across the stream and asked, "Uncle, what's the matter?"
Xie Dao was about to speak when he saw his wife standing next to him with a blushing face. He immediately fell silent and took Huineng to the big banyan tree a few feet away.
Xie Daoben blushed, lowered his voice and told Huineng the crux of his heart: He had been married for more than ten years, but his wife had failed to give birth to children. His father and mother urged them again and again. They also looked for some doctors, but after taking many medicines, they could not see that his wife was pregnant. The more impatient they are, the less effective they will be. His parents had strong opinions on his wife and often criticized her for no reason. Fortunately, his wife had a good temper and swallowed her anger without quarreling with the old man. But it’s not easy for Xie Daoben to be a man in the middle.
As the saying goes, you have something to think about every day and something to dream about at night. Last night, Xie Daoben had a dream, saying that there was a living Buddha on Tianlu Mountain who could solve problems and provide relief. When he woke up in the morning, he took his wife to the Tianlu Temple on the top of the mountain. After listening to his appeal, the abbot said frankly that he was just a Buddhist monk and had no ability to give advice and give birth to a child. Everything in life could only be left to chance.
Xie Dao was not discouraged. He and his wife climbed high and low, up mountains, wading through streams, into woods, and down ravines. They searched everywhere but could not find the Living Buddha.
Seeing Huineng carrying water and planting plum trees by the stream, Xie Daoben had no choice but to ask Huineng for help and asked: "Little brother, do you know where the living Buddha is in the mountain?"
Although he spoke in a low voice, the mountain was silent at this time, so A Fang still heard him and said to himself in shame: "Oh, it's all my fault for not living up to expectations."
Xie Daoben continued to say to Huineng: "Some people advised me to divorce my wife and remarry. But I feel that it is God's arrangement that we became husband and wife. My wife is usually hard-working and capable, and is very filial to my parents. She can be called a virtuous and virtuous woman. How can I just divorce my wife and marry another?"
Huineng praised: "Uncle, you are such a good man."
Xie Daoben expressed his difficulties to Huineng: "But you should also know that in our rural areas, there is a custom that says there are three types of unfilial piety, and the greatest is not having offspring. If you have no offspring, you will be looked down upon by others, and your family property There will be no one to inherit in the future. So we burn incense and worship God at home every day, and think hard every night. Alas, I worship Buddha so sincerely and have done so much hard work, but my wife is not happy. My wife and I are both almost forty years old. If my wife can't give birth to a child in the past few years, it will be even more difficult in the future. So my wife and I went up to the mountain, hoping that the living Buddha can give us some guidance so that our incense lamp can continue."
The hills are surrounded by iris, which symbolizes love and good luck. Among the green grass, the purple-blue flowers blooming like groups of dancing butterflies. There is a big stone under the big banyan tree in the center of the hill. After planting plum blossoms, Hui Neng often relied on this big stone to practice enlightenment.
When Huineng had an idea, he had an epiphany and said, "Uncle, you don't have to work so hard to look for it elsewhere in the mountains. Let me ask you, what is that thing?"
Xie Daoben followed Huineng's pointer and saw a big stone. He answered casually: "Little brother, the question you asked is too simple. This is obviously a very ordinary big stone."
Huineng said implicitly: "Yes, if you say it is a big stone, it is a big stone. But what if you think it is not just a big stone, but something else? You might as well use your brain to imagine it."
"This..." Xie Daoben walked up the hill, held the short beard of his chin, looked left and right at the big stone, and looked at the middle for a while: the bottom of this big stone is wider, It was triangular and tilted upward, and the top was round, a bit like a human head. If he realized something, he waved to his wife and said, "Afang, come and see, what does this look like?" ?”
After A Fang responded, she walked under the big banyan tree, looked at the big stone carefully for a while, and then said, "Husband, I think this stone looks like a person."
Xie Daoben asked: "Who is he like?"
Afang pointed to the big stone and said, "The upper part of this big stone looks like a human head, and the bulge below looks like a person's big belly. I think it looks like a Laughing Maitreya Buddha sitting cross-legged."
Xie Daoben slapped his thigh and shouted: "Yes, it does look like Maitreya's Laughing Buddha! Wife, your vision is sharper than mine."
Huineng laughed when he heard what the couple said: "Just now you said it was a very ordinary big stone, why do you now say it is Maitreya's Laughing Buddha?"
Xie Daoben pointed to the big stone and asked Huineng: "Little brother, why did I feel completely different just now from now?"
Huineng said loudly: "Uncle, uncle, if you believe it, it is a Buddha. If you don't believe it, it is still a stone."
Xie Daoben seemed to be enlightened and said seriously: "Now it is a Buddha in front of my eyes, and it is a Maitreya Buddha who is sending his son."
Huineng nodded: "Uncle, that's what I meant just now."
It takes no effort to get there even if you wear iron shoes.
Seeing Xie Daoben and his wife, Huineng saw that the gloom on their faces had cleared away, and they became cheerful. He pointed at his mind: "The nature of Bodhi in the world is originally pure, but with this mind, you can see your nature and become a Buddha."
Xie Daoben pondered the meaning of this sentence: "Seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha?"
Huineng further contextualized him: "Uncle, in fact, the Living Buddha you are looking for is in your own heart."
"The Living Buddha is in my heart?" Xie Daoben waved his hands, "No way. I am a mountain person, how can the Living Buddha be in my heart? Little brother, don't lie to me!"
"I didn't lie to you," Hui Neng said with a serious face, "You must know that everyone in the world has Buddha nature."
Xie Daoben found Huineng's words unbelievable and said: "Little brother, I really can't believe what you say. I, an ordinary person, can also have Buddha nature?"
Hui Neng said with certainty: "Yes! I am telling the truth. Walking, sitting, and lying down are all places of enlightenment, and everyone can become a Buddha."
"Can everyone become a Buddha?" Xie Daoben thought about this sentence and seemed to have some insights. "Little brother, no one has ever said such a thing to me."
"I think besides finding the Buddha here, you also need to find a good doctor to prescribe some medicine when you go back down the mountain. I think your wishes will come true soon." Huineng looked at Mei Lin over there and continued. , "Here, I also want to tell you that everything follows the way of heaven. Man's plan is up to man, and God's success is up to him!"
Xie Daoben clapped his hands in surprise: "Hey! Little brother, what you said is very clear. This time I really admire you. Today you showed me the way here, so that I am no longer so ignorant."
Huineng waved his hands: "You don't have to thank me. This is a virtue you have cultivated yourself."
Xie Daoben and his wife happily went down the mountain and went home.
The next day, Xie Daoben bought incense and candle offerings, and went to the hilltop of Tianlu Mountain with his wife A Fang again. They burned incense and lit candles at the big stone under the big banyan tree that he identified as the "Maitreya Laughing Buddha", worshiped, prayed and made wishes. .
At this time, a young man and woman happened to come to Tianlu Mountain to play. They saw Xie Daoben and his wife kneeling and worshiping in front of the big stone. They were very strange and asked: "Uncle, why do you kneel and worship this stone so devoutly?"
Xie Daoben looked serious: "You are young and don't know the inside story. What I worship is not a big stone, but a Buddha."
The man's name was Acan. He was even more surprised after hearing this: "Uncle, I clearly saw that this is a big stone, how could it be a Buddha?"
The woman who came with her was named Aqin, and she added, "Yes, this is just an ordinary big stone."
"What you said is exactly the same as my opinion when I first arrived here yesterday," Xie Daoben pointed at the big stone and said, "Look at its head and its big belly. Does it look like a sitting upright Laughing Buddha of Maitreya?"
A-can looked at the big stone and said to Xie Daoben: "After you said this, the more I look at it, the more it looks like a Laughing Maitreya Buddha!" Then he turned to the young woman and asked: "A-Qin, look Woolen cloth?"
Aqin pointed to the big stone and nodded: "Listening to what you said, the more I look at it, the more it looks like Maitreya's Laughing Buddha!"
Acan said: "The Laughing Buddha Maitreya is the Buddha who gives birth to his son!"
Xie Daoben: "Exactly!"
Ah Chan suddenly realized this and said to Xie Daoben: "Ah, uncle, it turns out you are asking for an heir."
Xie Daoben lowered his voice slightly: "Yes, there are only four of us here. I might as well explain to you that at our age, we really came up to the mountain to ask for an heir."
Acan said to the woman, "Aqin, they kneel down to this Buddha statue to pray for a son. Let's come and pay our respects later."
Aqin blushed with embarrassment: "We are not married yet, and we are here to ask for children?"
Acan: "It's a matter of time. Let's learn from this uncle and sister-in-law."
Aqin put her mouth next to Acan's ear and whispered: "Acan, just do as you say. But we won't come to pay our respects until the uncle and aunt have finished paying their respects and left."
Acan: "Aqin, you are always so shy, okay, I will obey you this time, and we will come again after the uncle and auntie have finished paying their respects and left."
So, after thanking Daoben and his wife and leaving, the young man and woman Acan and Aqin also knelt down to the big stone, prayed and made wishes.
Things happen by chance, and the rocks have their souls. Xie Daoben no longer felt so irritable after praying to Buddha. The couple lived increasingly harmoniously and took medicine and drank soup according to the doctor's instructions.
Soon, his wife A Fang became pregnant with Liujia. After ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a pair of twins.
Xie Daoben always said to everyone he met that the Maitreya Laughing Buddha on Tianlu Mountain was so efficacious that he went to ask for a child and got what he wanted. Later, he took his pair of twin boys to the hilltop, offered fruits, burned incense and candles in front of the big stone, knelt down and worshiped, and promised to fulfill his vows.
After the young couple Acan and Aqin got married, they soon gave birth to a son.
Over time, people around Tianlu Mountain called the big stone shaped like Buddha on the hilltop the Maitreya Laughing Buddha Stone, and the hilltop was called "Fozi Dun".
The years are long and the sea is full of vicissitudes.
Many things in the world have changed. Strange to say, after more than 1,300 years, there are now two large banyan trees growing in the aura-filled Fozi Dun. These two large banyan trees are about three feet apart. They have strong branches and dense green leaves. The thick horizontal branches of the two trees stretch towards each other, intersecting and forming an embrace. The crossed trunks of the two trees naturally form a "heart" shape. This is incredible creation of God.
At that time, people used to call the two big banyan trees hugging each other the marriage tree.
The banyan tree has different characteristics from other trees. Its aerial roots extend down into the soil on the ground and gradually become larger and thicker, becoming a new trunk. There are such wonders everywhere.
On the left and right sides of this magical marriage tree in Tianlu Mountain, there are two thick trunks grown from aerial roots, forming two small trees. Local people say these are the two offspring of a marriage tree.
Carefully observe the growth pattern of these two young trees. They look like a pair of twins.
What's amazing is that the tree that people call "Big Boy" grows in the south, with long thick roots extending downward. Near the ground, the fibrous roots turn upside down and hook up, forming an upside-down golden hook. He also wrapped a big stone tightly, as if a juggler was juggling the big stone. The strange gesture made people laugh. People call it "naughty boy".
The small "Slender" tree grows on the north side, with a straight trunk. It honestly uses its body to support the falling trunk, like a man shouldering a heavy burden, standing tall and upright, without any regrets. People respectfully call it "Honest Boy".
Seeing the sharp contrast in the different shapes of these two young trees and hearing the local people’s stories, it really made me hold my belly in my hands and laugh out loud.
The touching legend about the marriage tree has been passed down from generation to generation among the people. The story of the Marriage Tree at Fozi Dun in Tianlu Mountain and the Maitreya Buddha Stone as a gift are widely circulated, and there is an endless stream of believers who come to pray for a good marriage and children.
