High in the sky, there was a sound of chanting...The ethereal and mysterious voice was like a dream, getting farther and farther and lighter...
…
At that time, Sakyamuni Buddha led 1,250 monks and lived in the only tree and solitude garden in Savatthi State.
Perhaps because of years of practice, some disciples gradually slacked off and began to indulge themselves at will.
Some of them gathered together and chatted, while others were greedy for sleep and fun all day long. As for practice, it was on and off, three days of fishing and two days of drying nets.
Seeing this, the Buddha taught his disciples: "You should be diligent and diligent, listen to the Dharma seriously, recite the sutras, and concentrate on meditation practice. You must not slack off. Otherwise, your wisdom will be covered by the five yins and cannot be revealed. Issued to."
The Buddha knew that no matter whether he was eloquent or stern, if he forcefully instilled great principles into the bhikkhus, they would subconsciously resist and make it difficult for them to listen, and they might forget everything in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, the Buddha did not directly tell those profound philosophies. More often, he seemed to tell some short stories inadvertently, entertaining and entertaining.
Although the story is like a rootless white cloud, it can float in the hearts of the listeners for a long time. Even if the plot of the story has become as light as a gossamer, its wonderful wisdom and profound philosophy are still like the breeze, like the rain and dew, always nourishing people. 's heart.
So, the Buddha was like an old grandfather, sitting under the big tree and began to talk:
Countless kalpas ago, a Buddha named Tathagata "King of All Deliverers" appeared in the world.
When the Tathagata preaches the Dharma, most of the people in the world come to listen. At that time, there were two monks among the crowd, one named "Jing Jin Bian" and the other named "De Le Zheng". The two of them were good friends and often came together to listen to the Tathagata's sermons.
When Bhikkhu Jingjinbian listened to the sutra, he was attentive and filled with joy, so he achieved "Awei Yuezhi" - the state of a Bodhisattva who will never turn back.
He has supernatural powers and can change his body shape at will.
But Bhikkhu Dezhengle often dozed off while listening to sutras and fell asleep without realizing it, so he gained nothing.
Jingjinbian said to his good friend De Lezheng: "Buddha's life is hard to come by, and the Dharma is hard to hear. It only takes hundreds of millions of lives to appear once. We are very lucky. We happened to meet the Tathagata of All Saviors, so we should work hard and diligently!" What's more, we are monks and role models for the public. How can we sleep while listening to sutras? You must know that a person who falls asleep while listening to the Buddha's teachings has sinful karma! Therefore, you should encourage yourself and strive to improve Be alert and keep a clear and enlightened mind at all times.”
De Lezheng heard what his friend said and felt it made sense. However, he couldn't get rid of his drowsiness, so he stood up and walked around.
However, when he was walking in the woods of the monastery, he felt unbearably sleepy again. As he walked, he fell asleep. He was so distraught that he could not meditate peacefully. So he came to the bank of a spring and sat down quietly to practice meditation. As a result, he just sat down and fell asleep instead of entering meditation...
At this time, he knew that his friend was accustomed to diligent debate, so in order to better help him, he used skillful means to save him. Jingjinbian transformed into a little bee and flew to De Lezheng's eyelids, intending to sting him.
De Le suddenly woke up when he heard the buzzing of bees and began to meditate again. But soon, he fell asleep again without realizing it.
At this time, the bee flew to his armpit and stung him hard on the chest and abdomen. De Le was grinning in pain, feeling uneasy and afraid to sleep anymore.
There are all kinds of flowers in the spring water. The lotus flowers are about to bloom, standing gracefully and charmingly; beside the clear spring, the colorful dahlias are swaying in the wind, graceful...
The little bees flew around among the flowers, and finally stopped on the flower buds to feed on the honey.
De Lezheng couldn't help being amused when he saw this, and couldn't help but laugh.
The bee washed its body in the spring water and flew to the flower bud again. It stopped there, drowsy and swaying. At this time, De Le was saying a gatha to the bee:
He who eats nectar,
His body is safe.
…
At this time, he knew that all this was done deliberately by his good friend Jing Jinbian to guide him.
From then on, he often practiced alone and never slacked off. Soon he also achieved the status of a Bodhisattva who will never turn back.
After telling the story, Sakyamuni Buddha told Ananda: "The diligent debate at that time is who I am today, and the virtue and joy are the Maitreya."
The Buddha smiled and said: "At that time, Maitreya and I listened to the sutras together. He was often drowsy and dozed off, so he did not listen to the sutras and gained nothing. If I had not tried every means to save him skillfully, Maitreya would not be here until now. There is no way to escape from life and death. Therefore, after hearing the Dharma, you should get rid of sleep, give up your leisure, and be determined and diligent."
Although there was no supervision from the mysterious old monk, Qi Ji could still sit in meditation all night long, because he had gained the joy of Zen and felt the beauty of meditation.
He worked during the day and sat quietly at night without feeling tired at all - Buddhism is so wonderful.
Morning and evening, the clock beats;
Year after year, we often cultivate and cultivate.
The warm wind blows several times, and it is the time for the magpie to cry again. The peach blossom water in the creek rose overnight, and a field of hundreds of scales rose up.
Good rain is like a farmer's intimate daughter. Although she marries far away, she doesn't worry about her parents. When it's time to return to her parents' home, she comes quietly, pattering, and moistening the fields.
Let’s talk about that afternoon, Qi Qi and a dozen farmers, wearing raincoats and bamboo hats, braved the misty drizzle to harrow the fields and plant rice in the paddy fields, enjoying the joy of hard work.
"Stop, you can't run away!" Suddenly, a burst of shouting came from the direction of Tianhua Temple.
"Stop, you have no way to escape!"
"Stop! Otherwise, when I catch you, I'll chop your heads off right away!"
Then they looked along the direction from which the sound came, and saw three monks running away desperately in front, with a group of officers and soldiers chasing closely behind them. The situation was extremely critical...
Oh my god, how can a monk violate official regulations by eating fast and chanting Buddha's name?
The three monks fled along the rugged ridges in the paddy fields. The officers and soldiers were not used to walking on the ridges, which were as narrow, sticky and slippery as the backs of loaches. From time to time, someone slipped into the rice fields, and the pursuit slowed down slightly.
However, Qi Ji's heart was still tightly clenched, because this rice field was not too big. Once you crossed over, it would be an unobstructed beach. Then, these three monks would be in danger...
The three monks were getting closer and closer, and Qi Zu finally saw clearly that they were Yingqing, Yingkong, and Yingjing.
It can only be them!
There are more than 500 monks in Tianhua Temple, all of whom strictly abide by the precepts and practice diligently. But the three of them are lazy and playful, causing trouble and repeatedly violating the precepts...
Sometimes, Qi Suzhen has some doubts. Are the three of them monks? Now, I don’t know what trouble they caused and attracted the officers and soldiers to arrest them.
Although Qi Qi didn't like these three people, he still wanted to find ways to save them.
Beside the field where they worked, there was a house that protected the farmer from the wind and rain. When Yingqing and the others ran up to him, Qi Zhi winked and motioned for them to enter the house. At the same time, he hurriedly called the farmers back to the house to rest.
More than a dozen farmers were walking on the field ridges, forming a high moving wall. In addition, they were all wearing large raincoats, which blocked the sight of the officers and soldiers in the distance, and the farmers took off their wet clothes. They were given wet raincoats and bamboo hats on their heads.
The three monks suddenly transformed into farmers.
After the officers and soldiers came after him, they did not find the monk among the crowd, so they chased him elsewhere.
Qi Zhi's wit and boldness finally enabled Ying Qing and the others to escape danger and avoid disaster.
After the officers and soldiers left, Yingqing and the three of them plopped down in front of Qi Zi, crying bitterly, scolding themselves, and telling their gratitude to Qi Zi.
It turned out that the Central Plains had entered a period of warlord melee, and Li Keyong, who was entrenched in Shanxi, was even more aggressive and went on war campaigns for consecutive years. Yingqing, Yingkong, and Yingjing were all farmers who were forcibly recruited as soldiers. They were afraid of dying in the bloody battlefield, so they became deserters together.
If you run away on the battlefield and are caught, you will definitely be beheaded. Therefore, it was difficult for them to return home, so they had to leave their homes and flee southward.
However, with conquests and wars going on everywhere, where is there a safe place? Two years ago, when they wandered to the south of the Yangtze River, they were arrested by the Eastern Zhejiang Observatory's Yamen.
Naturally they refused to sacrifice their lives and once again escaped from the battlefield and slipped to the relatively quiet coast of eastern Zhejiang. Later, they felt that they were at home all over the world. They wandered everywhere, wandering around the rivers and lakes. They were always on tenterhooks and often frightened. It was better to hide in a temple for safety. As long as you shave your head and wear cassocks, you will be respected and respected by the believers. You will not have to worry about food or clothing. There will be people willing to provide for everything.
So the three of them shaved their heads, bought cassocks, lied that the certificate was lost, and settled in Tianhua Temple.
Since they are not real monks, they do not abide by the bhikkhu precepts. They are lazy and slippery while gathering firewood, and secretly kill and eat meat...
Because their various scandals were discovered one by one by Qizi, they were afraid that their secrets would be exposed, so they repeatedly complained to the evildoers first, and tried every means to frame Qizi, trying to drive them out of Tianhua Temple...
Now, instead of bearing any grudge against them, Qi Ji repaid them with kindness and saved their lives in a critical moment. Their souls were greatly shaken, so they decided to repent of their sins, change their minds, and change their past mistakes.
Qi Ji helped them up and asked with concern: "What should you do now? The officers and soldiers have discovered their whereabouts. If they are caught, they will be beheaded in public! You run away and find a private place." Hide it and don’t be discovered by others.”
Yingqing smiled bitterly and said: "The world is so big, how can we find a way out? The only way is to truly convert to Buddhism, repent of sins, and seek liberation for the soul. So, we will go back to Tianhua Temple now, and reveal our story (publicly) For our own crimes, the second is to ask Abbot Yunqing to ordain us."
Qi Ze sincerely praised and said: "Good, good! There is no limit to the sea of suffering, and there is a shore when we turn around. Different paths lead to the same destination. As long as we can finally enter Buddhism, no matter what the reason is, it is a good cause."
Buddhism is a lenient society. Even though the Yingqing trio did all kinds of bad things and finally started to cultivate their Taoism when they were desperate, Monk Yunqing still forgave them and held a solemn and sacred tonsure ceremony for them.
Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately; repent sincerely and let the past go.
The sudden awakening of Yingqing and the three people also solved a piece of Qi's heartache.
From then on, he let go of all the fate, and his mind settled in a state of calmness, clarity and clarity. He firmly remembers the teachings of the mysterious old monk, always keeping himself focused on the present, concentrating on doing the things at hand, without any distractions, not caring about others, never comparing, worrying about gains and losses; when he wants to eat, he eats with all his heart. , never think in all kinds of ways, swallow dates without hesitation; when it is time to sleep, just focus on sleeping, never have wishful thinking or distort dreams.
No matter what he did, he felt it was delicious, and the vegetable roots were particularly fragrant when he chewed them. Therefore, he goes to work in the fields every day. It seems that he has never practiced spiritual practice, but he is dedicated to practicing all the time.
It's spring in February in the south of the Yangtze River, with gentle wind bringing warm weather and sunny weather.
There is almost no green grass beside the fields, and the sound of cuckoo is the most harmonious.
It's the planting season again, and Qi Ji and other farmers are busy planting rice seedlings all day long. That day, there was no wind in the wilderness, and the rice fields filled with clear water were as horizontal as a mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, and green trees.
The moment Qi Ji bent down to plant rice, he suddenly saw his own shadow clearly reflected in the water.
At this common moment, inadvertently, he came face to face with his true colors!
At this moment, he felt that the void was shattered, the earth was flat and empty, and there was only one true self in the universe - he was enlightened!
Being near the water is like looking into a mirror. The body and the shadow are one. My body is connected to the body, and the shadow is the image. The two are neither one nor different, and are inseparable.
That is to say: the innocent self-nature is the Buddha-nature, and the illusory body is the Dharmakaya!
In this situation, Qi Ji opened his mouth and recited: "Planting green seedlings in your hand, planting a blessed field, lowering your head, you can see the sky in the water. Only when the six roots are pure can one achieve enlightenment, and retreat is actually forward."
The joy of seeing one's nature clearly was so intense that the sweetness in Qi Zhi's heart couldn't be contained and flowed outwards along his eyes and mouth...
I'm either smiling or smiling all day long. From then on, local people called him "Laughing Monk" and "Mimi Bodhisattva".
That evening, when Qi Ji returned to Tianhua Temple after finishing his work, he was shocked to find Abbot Yun Qing standing on the steps of the high mountain gate.
It was as if he was deliberately waiting for Qi's return.
As soon as he stepped onto the first stone step with one foot, Monk Yunqing suddenly shouted: "Monk Naqing is doing his duty as a cultivator, so why can't he come and go?"
Qizhi replied: "There is no need for a quiet place to sit down. There is Zen in the rice bushes."
Yunqing was full of energy and recited: "When the wind comes, the pine tops are clear and hard to stand; when the moon comes, the waves are so light that the heart becomes sinking."
Qi was also inspired with great pride, and continued: "When you understand that the wind in the pines is nothing else, you will realize that the water and the moon are in my heart."
"Hahaha... Tianhua Temple finally has someone!" Monk Yunqing was so happy that he looked up to the sky and laughed. After laughing enough, he clasped his hands in front of the deed and said, "Congratulations, congratulations, you are done."
Qi Ji bowed deeply to the abbot and said, "If you do it, it won't be over. If you do it, it will be done right."
Abbot Yunqing said seriously: "You have achieved enlightenment and should become an official bhikkhu. Follow me to the abbot, and I will tell you about the bhikkhu's precepts."
