You planted crops before you became a monk, and you still plant crops after you become a monk!
You must know that the reason why I left home and left my hometown here is to cultivate, to escape from life and death, and become a Buddha and ancestor, not to work hard for you!
You must understand that people come to Tianhua Temple to avoid worldly entanglements, so that they can meditate quietly, discover their minds, and understand life, not to be farmers!
However, not being able to practice as a monk is not Qi's biggest trouble. What makes him most unbearable is the infamy that follows him everywhere.
Every day when he went from the temple to the temple fields at the foot of the mountain, he had to pass through a village in front of the mountain gate. Every time he passed through the village, there were always people pointing at him behind his back and poking his spine; some were criticizing him and sarcastically mocking him. Some young men even deliberately spat at him to provoke him, directly calling him a flower monk...
He was speechless and had no choice but to lower his head and walk around the road to avoid the crowd. When you really can't avoid it, you can only bear it silently.
One day, Qi was in a hurry and went to a toilet in the village. As soon as he squatted down, a puddle of cow dung flew out from outside the wall and landed on his head!
Facing all kinds of unbearable insults, Qi Zi didn't know how to escape. He felt that his chest was about to explode...
…
Once, someone asked him bluntly: "Maitreya, he has been a monk for a long time, why has he never been a monk?"
Maitreya said: "I am an unintentional Taoist, so I don't belong to the sravaka stream."
"What is a Wuxin Taoist?"
Maitreya replied: "He who has no mind has no mind. That is, he has no thoughts, no thoughts, and no desires for anything. Therefore, it is better for you to make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions than to make offerings to a Taoist without mind."
Although he was an optimist, he had to face the reality that because people in Rajagaha knew that he had not yet attained enlightenment, few people were willing to support him when he went to the city to beg for food.
Unable to get food from begging, Maitreya had to go hungry often. Even when he was hungry, he was still carefree and kept laughing all day long.
On this day, it was time to beg for food again. Maitreya saw Shariputra and Rahula's masters and disciples walking out of the Qiyuan Jingshe one after another and walking towards the city of Rajagaha. He thought: Shariputra was the great disciple of the Buddha, and Rahula was the son of Sakyamuni Buddha before he became a monk. If the two of them went to the city to beg for food, they would definitely be supported by many people.
So, following Shariputra and Rahula, he walked to Rajagaha to beg for food.
His wishful thinking is: when people put food in their bowls, they won't be embarrassed to just ignore him, right? Who knows, man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation. Normally, he would beg alone and get some food, but now, following Shariputra and the others, he didn't get any food at all——
Shariputra and Rahula who were walking in front of Maitreya were just about to enter the city gate when Maitreya noticed that a vicious and fierce man suddenly jumped out from the side.
He first threw a handful of sand into Shariputra's bowl.
Not only was Shariputra not annoyed or angry, but he nodded and thanked him as if he had received the most delicious food.
The evil man rushed towards Rahula again and punched him several times in the face!
Seeing this, Maitreya subconsciously quickened his pace.
The evil man ran away after committing the crime. But Shariputra, who was standing aside, did not stop him and allowed him to leave.
When Maitreya arrived, he saw Rahula's face covered in blood and his lips trembling in pain.
It could be seen that Rahula gritted his teeth and suppressed the anger in his chest.
At this time, Shariputra said: "Rahula, we are all disciples of the Buddha's teachings. We should have the spirit of patience and never be angry no matter what situation we encounter. We must be compassionate and compassionate to all living beings. The Buddha often taught We are warned that when it comes to personal grievances and slanders, we must mainly endure humiliation. Therefore, Rahula, you must extinguish the anger in your chest and endure the humiliation in your heart. The greatest courage in the world is to be able to endure the unbearable. In heaven and earth, there is no limit to anything. No strength can overcome humiliation.”
After listening to Master Shariputra's words, Rahula's mood became calmer. He walked to the river, and his bloody face was reflected in the water. However, his heart did not fluctuate accordingly. He silently held up water and washed away the blood stains.
Seeing this situation, Shariputra and Maitreya were extremely moved.
Rahula said: "I don't care about the pain just now. There are many evil people in this world, and there are many unsatisfactory things. My heart is not angry because of this. I just think of this kind of lawlessness. How should we deal with thugs? The Buddha taught us to be compassionate, to be kind to others, and to endure humiliation and accumulate virtue. However, those foolish people despise us because of this, and instead respect such cruel people. The truth demonstrated by the Buddha is of great significance to They say it is like the sun shining on a dead body, with no reaction. Pigs also share in the nectar from heaven. But pigs still like dirty places where sewage flows. Is the true meaning of life taught by the Buddha effective for those ignorant people?"
After hearing this, Shariputra was very satisfied with Rahula. So, they returned to Qiyuan Jingshe.
After listening to Shariputra's narration, the Buddha praised Rahula's spirit of patience and taught all the monks: "Those who do not know patience will not be able to see the Buddha, and will deviate from the Dharma and stay away from the Sangha. You cannot be liberated in reincarnation. Only those who can endure evil deeds can eliminate disasters and gain peace. Wise people can understand cause and effect, so they can control the emergence of angry thoughts and practice patience. Patience is an aid to cultivating the Tao. , can bring you relief as soon as possible; forbearance is like a boat in the sea, which can survive all sufferings; forbearance is a good medicine for the sick and can save people's lives. The reason why I can become a Buddha, unique in the three realms, and respected by humans and heaven, is Because my heart is stable and I know the value of the virtue of patience!"
In order to help his disciples better understand the method of patience, Buddha told another story, a story about his own personal experience——
That was a long time ago, when the Buddha was still practicing the Bodhisattva conduct of the Cause Position. At that time, there was a country called Parana, and the king's name was Kali. In the deep mountains of this country, there is a great immortal named Hangtipoli. He and his five hundred disciples lived together in a quiet mountain forest, practicing the practice of endurance.
One day, King Kali took four ministers, as well as the ladies and maids from the palace to play in the mountains and forests. King Kali was tired all the way, and as soon as he reached the edge of the mountain forest, he felt tired and exhausted. So he took a nap under a big tree. How could those young, lively and active palace ladies be willing to give up this hard-won opportunity to play when they were kept in the palace all day long? They winked at each other, quietly left the place where the king rested, and went sightseeing in the mountains.
It is the time of spring when the mountains and plains are filled with blooming flowers, kingfishers are chirping on the green branches, and the maids as beautiful as clouds are singing and dancing. The quiet mountains and forests are filled with a romantic and warm atmosphere...
The beautiful and affectionate palace maids were enjoying the beautiful spring scenery while picking flowers all over the mountains and fields, filling the mountains, forests and valleys with joy and laughter.
When they came to a secluded valley, they saw a practitioner sitting and meditating under a tall tree like an umbrella.
He remained motionless, turning a blind eye to their graceful shadows and hearing their melodious singing voices.
Looking at his focused expression, even if the mountain suddenly collapsed in front of his eyes, even if the thunder exploded in his ears, it would not move his heart.
Needless to say, what the maids saw was the Immortal Hantiboli. Then they became respectful and scattered the flowers in their hands on the immortal.
Seeing the maids offering flowers to him, Immortal Gangtiboli slowly came out of the palace and nodded to them.
They sat devoutly before the sage and asked him to speak the Dharma.
King Kali woke up from a nap and looked around. Only four ministers were waiting around him, but he did not see his concubines.
The king was very unhappy, so he and his four ministers searched for them everywhere.
The king and others found the valley where the sage was practicing, and saw the girls sitting quietly in front of the sage Gangtiboli, listening to the sage's words with concentration and eagerness, and paying no attention to his arrival.
The king couldn't help but feel the fire burning in his heart, and anger rising in his chest. He asked the immortal angrily: "Have you achieved concentration in the four voids?"
Sentibori replied, "No."
The king asked again: "Have you achieved the four immeasurable minds?"
The four immeasurable hearts are: kindness - giving happiness to all sentient beings; compassion - saving all sentient beings from suffering; joy - seeing people doing good deeds, getting rid of suffering and gaining deep joy; equanimity - feeling resentment, equality with relatives, and being unable to love or hate.
Chantibori shook his head and said, "I haven't got it yet."
The king asked for the third time: "So, how are you doing with the four meditation practices?"
After cultivating the four meditations, you can become a monk...
However, Sentipoli replied, "Not yet."
The king was furious and said: "You have not achieved these merits, which means you are still an ordinary person. And a grown man is alone with these young and beautiful beauties, and in this secluded valley, the devil knows you are there What are you doing!"
The immortal knew that no matter what he said, the king would not believe it, so he remained silent.
The king asked again: "What are you doing when you live in the mountains and forests?"
The sage Mantiboli said, "I am practicing patience."
The king sneered and said: "You don't have any meditation skills as a foundation, how can you endure the humiliation? It's just words! If you really can endure it, I will give it a try to see if you can endure it!"
As he spoke, the king drew out his sharp sword and cut off the immortal's hands with two swipes. Then, he asked the immortal: "Can you bear it?"
The immortal nodded and said, "Be patient."
The king didn't believe it. How could a person not feel resentful if his hands were cut off alive?
Let’s see how stubborn you are! He was cruel and cut off the immortal's legs.
However, Shantiboli's face did not change, and he remained the same, saying that he was practicing patience.
The king then cut off his ears and shaved off his nose. Sentibori remained calm and patient.
At this time, the heaven and earth were inspired by the spirit of the immortal and sent out six kinds of vibrations - whenever a saint was born, became a monk, became enlightened, entered Nirvana, etc., the heaven and earth would move, surge, shake, strike, roar, and explode in six kinds of ways. Omens indicate auspiciousness.
The immortal's five hundred disciples sensed the change, flew over in the air, and asked the master: "Have you forgotten your tolerance for humiliation after being so cruelly tortured?"
Chantibori replied: "My heart has not changed at all, it is as calm as still water."
The king was very surprised when he heard what the immortal said. However, he still couldn't believe it and asked: "You said that you endured humiliation, but your heart has not moved. What is the proof?"
Immortal Gangti Boli replied: "If I can be patient and sincere, my red blood will turn into white milk, and my body will be restored to its original state."
As soon as the immortal finished speaking, something incredible happened: the blood flowing all over his body turned milky white in an instant, and his body became as calm as before, as if he had never been hurt.
At this time, the dragon god in the mountain was very angry when he saw that King Kali had innocently wronged and killed the sage. They intend to kill the king and his followers and avenge the immortal! Clouds of black mist rushed toward the king, and thunderbolts of lightning exploded above his head...
At this critical moment, the immortal Gangtiboli quickly looked up to the sky and said: "If you are really doing it for my own good, please do not hurt the king and others."
Then, the smoke disappeared and the thunder and lightning subsided.
The king, who was already frightened out of his wits, was already filled with fear when the immortal's patience was confirmed. At this time, he saw that the immortal saved his life, and he was so moved that he didn't know what to do.
He scolded himself for being short-sighted and insulting the great immortal for no reason. He deserved death. He begged the immortal to forgive him and accept his repentance.
Chantibori said to him: "I wish I could be as forbearing as the earth. I will treat you with the forbearance of the earth. After I become a Buddha, I will first cut off your three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance with the sword of wisdom."
Faced with the sage's humiliation, King Kali was so ashamed that he wanted to kneel at his feet and repent of his sins.
After that, the king often invited immortals to make offerings to the palace. There were a thousand heretics in the country, and they were jealous when they saw that the king respected Sentibori in particular.
So, they filled the place where the sage meditated with excrement in order to anger the sage and destroy his practice.
Seeing this, Sentibori was not angry, but felt even more pity for them. He immediately swore to the heretics: "I practice tolerance today to benefit all sentient beings. From now on, if I attain enlightenment and become a Buddha, I will first use Dharma water to cleanse your dirt and remove the filth in your soul, so that you can be pure forever." .”
Finally, Sakyamuni Buddha told everyone: "The Gangtipali at that time is me now; King Kali and the four ministers are today's Qiao Chenru and other five bhikkhus; those thousands of Brahma heretics are There are a thousand monks including Yu Bei Luo. I swore an oath when I was a forbearing sage, so I will save them first after attaining enlightenment."
…
Qi was thrown a head and a back of cow dung, and his whole body stinked so much that he had to return to Tianhua Temple to wash away the dirt and change his clothes.
Just as he was scraping cow dung from the monk's clothes with a wooden stick, the abbot monk came over and asked him: "Hey, why are you getting cow dung on your clothes?"
Talk about sadness to someone who is worried, and when you talk about sadness, it hurts people.
Monk Yunqing's words asked about Qi Ji's sadness, so before he opened his mouth, tears of grievance flowed down...
After Monk Yunqing figured out the whole story, he asked Qi this: "Qi this, if you catch the person throwing cow dung on you, will you beat him?"
Qi shook his head.
Yun Qing asked again: "Can you scold him?"
Qi shook his head again.
The old monk asked for the third time: "Although you don't hit or scold, do you resent those people who insult you for no reason?"
This time, Qi Chi spoke: "Master, I hate it, I hate it so much! I hate those people who insult others indiscriminately and at will!"
Monk Yunqing shook his head gently and said: "I agree, you are wrong! You have to know that a thought of hatred will burn the forest of merit. How can you increase your wisdom if you harbor resentment towards all living beings? A cultivator does not have the capital of blessing and wisdom. , Just like a person traveling a long distance without drinking water and dry food, how can he reach his destination?"
"But, Master..." Qi Xi said, "They do not distinguish between loyal and evil, good and evil, and take pleasure in insulting others... What should I do when faced with other people's bad words? How can I get rid of this embarrassing situation? situation?"
Monk Yunqing said solemnly: "To escape is to escape. In life, everything must be faced directly and shouldered directly! Therefore, not only can you not hate all living beings, but you must also pity them and tolerate them from the bottom of your heart. Face it In spite of the resentment and harm, you have to smile sincerely."
Qi Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Master, isn't this too difficult? How can we do it?"
Monk Yunqing didn't answer and asked instead: "Now, where did you put the cow dung you scraped off the monk's clothes?"
Qi looked at his feet and said, "Put it on the ground."
Monk Yunqing asked again: "What about the dirty water you washed your hair with?"
The agreement said: "It was sprinkled on the ground."
At this time, the old monk pointed to the earth under his feet and said, "The earth is generous and can accommodate any dirt. Even if you impose the most filthy things such as cow dung, urine, pus and blood on it, it can calmly accept it without any trace of dirt." There is no intention to be rebellious. Therefore, our hearts must be as patient as the earth and as broad-minded as the earth. The Buddhist scriptures say that when Maitreya Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he always gave all happiness and his heart was as patient as the earth."
Qi Ji looked down at the dirt he had made on the ground, thoughtfully. I don't know how much time passed, but he still lowered his head and asked: "Master, the act of endurance in the Six Perfections of Bodhisattvas should be as great as the earth, right?"
No one agreed. He raised his head. Where was the old monk? The area before my eyes was so empty and clean, as if Abbot Yunqing had never appeared.
With this, he once again looked at the ground beneath his feet.
It is heavy and carries all kinds of mountains, rivers and vegetation, no matter flowers and weeds, no matter bed bugs and fleas, it silently accepts them all; it is generous and allows you to trample on pigs, chickens, gouging, cattle and sheep, and allows you to snot, spit, poop and urinate, but it does not move...
Qi suddenly understood that the key to enduring humiliation and being able to accept insults and injuries from others without feeling resentful is that one's own mind is immobile! In other words, if the mind rests on the principles of the Dharma, it will produce perseverance and willpower, and will not be shaken by external troubles. Forbearance may seem weak, but it is strong inside. Being able to endure infinitely means being infinitely strong.
If you can endure it unbearably, go through all kinds of suffering without changing your original intention, you can gain blessings and wisdom, accomplish your karma, and awaken to the supreme Bodhi!
My heart suddenly became enlightened.
With this, he bravely walked towards the outside world. People still ridiculed and ridiculed him mercilessly, and his heart remained unmoved, so he could still maintain a kind smile on his face. He is often looked down upon by others for no apparent reason, and is reviled for no apparent reason. He is neither annoyed nor angry, as if he is a heartless stone man.
Of course, this is not a lack of intention, but a lack of intention.
Because his mind rested in the immovable realm of emptiness, he felt a tranquility and serenity that he had never experienced before.
And the physical relaxation and psychological pleasure brought by this tranquility and purity are unmatched by any entertainment and pleasure in the world...
From then on, Chechi truly became a smiling Bodhisattva.
One day, Qi Ji was bending down to weed in a rice field by the roadside. Suddenly, with a "plop", a black thing fell into the rice ridge in front of him, and the splash of muddy water covered his face and body.
It was a straw sandal, a broken straw sandal stained with a lot of mud.
A broken straw sandal will not fly over on its own regardless of whether it is stained with mud or not.
Sure enough, there was a young man standing on the road with a wicked smile on his face. He said: "Monk, I heard that you love to find worn-out shoes, so I gave you one."
Of course, Qi Ji knew that the young man was using the broken shoes to ridicule himself, but he still clasped his hands together, with a smile on his face, and said sincerely: "Thank you for your donation. A pair of broken straw shoes may seem useless, but when placed in the field, it is It is the best fertilizer and can make the rice harvest abundant. I want to dedicate the merits of the harvest in the temple field to you. May the Three Treasures be blessed by you and bring you happiness, longevity and health."
Saying that, Qi Zhi stuffed the broken straw shoes into the rice field without being humble or arrogant, and continued to bend down to pull weeds.
The middle-aged man never expected this ending. He was embarrassed for a while and walked away bored.
However, he was very unwilling to do so. He called over some children playing on the roadside and whispered something in their ears.
So the urchins sang to the deed:
A broken shoe is out of place, and the flower monk likes to smell the stench. A fox became a spirit and came to see the pot-bellied monk.
…
The children sang it over and over again, but they turned a deaf ear to it and kept working as usual. The middle-aged man had no choice but to leave in anger.
Once, when Qi went to the market to buy farm tools, he bumped into a reckless young man who was just rushing on his way.
Both of them were knocked dizzy and in extreme pain.
The young man was young and energetic. Instead of examining his own mistakes, he cursed: "Are you blind? You hit me!"
Qi Ji quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention and I hurt you."
But the young man refused: "Just say I'm sorry and that's it! You soiled my clothes, what should I do?"
Qi Ji immediately used his hand to brush away the non-existent dust. Unexpectedly, the young man scolded harshly: "Get your dirty hands off! Don't get my dirty smell!"
In order to get rid of the young man's anger, he kowtowed to him to apologize. At this time, people on the street couldn't stand it and accused the young man of being unreasonable and outrageous. The young man was nonchalant and pointed at Qi Ji's nose and said to everyone: "Do you know who this monk is? He is the flower monk who specializes in prying open widows' doors!"
"Bah, it turns out it's him!"
"I asked why the street smells so bad, so that's what happened!"
People's sense of justice and compassion immediately disappeared, and instead they spoke rudely and cursed.
I don’t know who first threw a piece of rotten vegetables at Qizhi, so people threw all kinds of dirty garbage at Qizhi...
He agreed to this without saying a word, and endured it silently. He didn't run away quickly, didn't cover it with his hands, and didn't even make any reflexive evasive movements!
A brick was mixed in the rain of garbage and flew towards Qi...
"Little monk, hide quickly!" a woman screamed sharply.
Qi Zi didn't seem to hear, and let the brick hit his head, causing blood to flow...
It was still the same woman's voice. Qi felt that the noise sounded familiar, and subconsciously glanced over there, whereupon he saw a woman with tears streaming down her face - the woman who had testified against him in person!
Qi was afraid that the woman would do something irrational, so he turned around and walked out of the market. When people saw that his head was bloody and bloody, they stopped throwing things at him.
Qi walked to a small river outside the town and silently washed the blood and dirt on his face. Suddenly, he heard a burst of messy footsteps behind him. Before he could react, a man knelt down in front of him with a "plop".
It was that woman! It was she who pushed the contract into the abyss!
Her hair was disheveled, she cried bitterly, and kowtowed like garlic, her forehead banging against the ground.
Qi Chi was stunned by her almost crazy behavior. As a monk, he couldn't pull her with his hands, so he didn't know what to do for a while.
The woman finally stopped banging her head on the ground, but started slapping herself from left to right. Qi Ji quickly said: "Donor, don't be like this! If you have something to say, please speak it up."
The woman cried out in pain: "Master, you don't have to worry about me! I'm a despicable piece of shit and deserve to die! I coveted their money and deliberately framed you, so I deserve to die!"
Qi said: "Female donor, I have already forgiven you, and I have never hated you. You don't have to ruin yourself anymore."
The woman was startled, thinking she heard wrongly, and asked: "What, little master, you don't hate me?"
Qi nodded and said, "Not only do I not hate you, I should also be grateful to you."
The woman thought he was extremely angry, so she deliberately told the truth like this.
Yes, being framed for no reason, causing people to lose their reputation and suffer humiliation, even a strong man will be filled with hatred!
The woman said to herself: "I am a shameless woman who has no conscience and has made my little master suffer a lot. Therefore, you should hate me, curse me, and let me be struck by thunder! Don't worry, I will come to heaven." Huasi will explain the truth to the master, the abbot and the monk, and give you justice."
Qi Ji said: "Donor, you misunderstood and did not really understand what I meant. I mean, it was you who gave me the opportunity to practice patience, which made me truly realize the pain of life and the joy of purity. So, I really Thank you very much."
The woman still didn't quite understand: "No matter what, because of my lies, you have suffered unfair injustice. I should give you a clean slate..."
Qi Ji interrupted her: "The nature is originally pure, how can it become turbid? It is originally white, how can it be polluted? So, donor, let the past things pass. It is better to have one less thing than to have one more thing. .”
"But people have misunderstood you and thought you were a flower monk..."
"Since it was a misunderstanding, I gradually understood it. As for whether I am Hua Monk or not, facts speak louder than words. I believe people can make their own judgments."
The woman felt she could not bear him, so she kept blaming herself, repenting, and apologizing, always trying to make up for something.
