In the past, I would have thought that this great monk must have surrendered. But today I didn't think so, not at all. Even when I heard it, I felt a sense of sadness from the bottom of my heart. As one of the witnesses of this great revolution, I know the horror of resistance. The only difference is that the monks in Guiyuan Temple and the Taoists in Changchun Temple are unable to resist, but I have the ability, but I have not chosen to do so. .
Abbot Mibao went on to say that precisely because he had done so humiliatingly, the number of troubles he caused after that incident was less. However, he was labeled as "feudal superstition" and "capitalist roader" and was attacked from then on. He fell down, so he appointed Master Changming, whom he trusted, to supervise the temple on his behalf. From then on, he lived here, recuperating in peace while avoiding right and wrong.
After hearing what he said, Songzi said, there are indeed some things that we cannot change, but we will keep our original heart. When we do many things, we are not seeking a result or reward, but because we Decide that this is the right thing to do. Abbot Mibao nodded repeatedly, and Songzi continued. At present, it seems that Guiyuan Temple is almost the location of the clues we identified, but to interrupt rashly is disrespectful to Buddhism. We hope that the abbot will do it conveniently and explain it so that we can go and check it out. .
Abbot Mibao smiled slightly and said, "But I no longer serve in the temple. When it comes to convenience, I wonder how this young gentleman knew that I could do it?" Songzi also smiled and said, to be honest, before yesterday’s visit, I followed a master from the temple and found this place. Since the abbot no longer works in the temple, then the temple still delivers meals to you every day and boils medicine for you every day? This is probably unreasonable.
Songzi said something playful, and Abbot Mibao laughed loudly and said, OK, it turns out you have figured it out a long time ago. After saying that, he turned around and took out a piece of letter paper from the bedside table, began to grind ink and began to write a letter. He did not shy away from us, so I saw the content of the letter. Basically, I hope that the monks who are still in the temple will treat the three of us with courtesy, try not to interfere with our investigation, and try to provide us with conveniences. However, the content of the letter does not mention us. The things we investigated were just to instruct the monks not to leave anyone on the sidelines while we were investigating, and to keep silent about it.
After he finished writing, he stamped his seal at the end of the letter. Then he folded the letter in half and put it into an envelope, but did not seal it. He handed it directly to Songzi, and then said to Songzi, since what you are doing is for the common people, then this thing is valuable and Meaningful things. Although I no longer care about the big and small things in the temple, since I still have the ability, I can help as much as I can. It can be regarded as me repenting for my resignation and doing my best for the welfare of the people.
There is a saying in Buddhism, but people who believe in it will not doubt it. Abbot Mibao's move obviously believed in us. As for why we were given the green light so easily, maybe it’s because of our sincerity or Songzi’s lobbying. We successfully obtained the permission from the previous abbot. If the current head of the temple understands justice as well as he does, I don’t think there will be any obstruction.
Sure enough, when we said goodbye to Abbot Mibao and went to visit the mountain gate of Guiyuan Temple with this "letter of introduction", the monk who opened the door was still very alert, but at the same time he seemed very numb. After finding out that Master Changming did not stay in the temple but went elsewhere, we asked the monk who opened the door to tell us who the great monk is now in charge of the temple. We have a handwritten letter from the former abbot.
A monk who looked to be about the same age as Abbot Mibao received us. It was not difficult to tell that he must have known Abbot Mibao at that age. Sure enough, after reading the handwritten letter of introduction, he invited us to the main hall for a while, and then He personally took us to the Five Hundred Arhat Hall.
The great monk told us that there are only about 200 arhats left in the 500 Arhat Hall today. They were all rearranged in 1902. The remaining 200 or so arhats have been robbed during the previous catastrophe. The looting, the destruction. He took us to the Luohan Hall, and according to the instructions of Abbot Mibao, he saluted and said to us, all donors, please help yourself. If there is anything that the old monk can help, please feel free to tell the people next to you. After saying that, he left the Buddhist hall and closed the door. Although his tone was polite, it also seemed a bit humble. This made me think about whether the monks here are like the Taoists in Changchun Temple. They are afraid. We are so respectful.
Even Songzi didn't expect that this time it would go so smoothly. Among the existing temples, the only one that has survived for more than a thousand years is the nearly three-meter-high bronze Arhat in the center of the temple. So it has to be said that even if Songzi guesses that this place must be where the clues are, we can really The clues we are looking for can only be found in this bronze Arhat.
I looked at this Arhat carefully. I couldn’t tell which one it was. After all, although those Arhats have different shapes and have very different names, I am a Taoist and I can’t tell them apart. I always feel that they look different. They all look pretty much the same. If it were placed in the main hall, it might not appear so huge, but precisely because all that is left in the entire Buddhist hall are small Arhat statues over a foot high, it appears to be extremely huge. It overall looks like a monk, wearing a cassock, a big bald head, and the slightly raised knees indicate that it is in a sitting position. The base is relatively wide and flat, probably for the convenience of placement, and most of the Buddha's body is copper-yellow, with only a few parts showing mottled marks, as if it has not been cared for and polished for too long, so it feels a little green.
I carefully looked at the Arhat from wherever I could move around. Its carving and casting techniques were indeed not modern, but more like the standard statues of monks from the Tang Dynasty during the heyday of Buddhism. But to say that it had the appearance of a monk did not mean that it looked like a monk. Not necessarily, because most monks close their kind eyes slightly, with a mind as clear as a mirror, and are full of wisdom. But the Arhat in front of him had his eyes wide open and even raised his eyebrows. He looked like he had a blazing gaze, even a bit sinister. Maybe this is the so-called majesty of Buddhism. If I were a little kid, I would be scared to shit when I saw this Arhat. But unfortunately, after observing as much as possible, I didn't find anything abnormal on the Arhat's body. Maybe it's because we can't see the back and bottom. At least for now, this is an ordinary bronze statue. It's ordinary just because it has been passed down for thousands of years.
Just when I was at a loss what to do, Songzi suddenly bowed deeply in front of the Arhat, and then said, "Amitabha, I'm sorry for offending you." When I was wondering how this guy, a Taoist priest, could say such a thing, he suddenly crossed his body. We got on the table where the fruit-scented candles were placed, and then walked directly to the place behind Arhat that we couldn't see.
This surprised both Qin Bukong and me. Needless to say, Qin Bukong himself has a Buddhist heritage. Doing this kind of thing is almost tantamount to deceiving his master and destroying his ancestors. Although I don't believe in Buddhism, I have always respected it. If it is not absolutely necessary, I would not do such an arrogant thing. So when Songzi did this, although I didn't criticize or accuse him, I didn't stop him either.
Qin Bukong and I just stayed there in silence until Songzi said, come and see, there seems to be something written on the back of this Arhat's body. Qin Bukong stood still, but winked at me, which seemed to mean, "You brat, go and have a look." So there was nothing I could do, so I silently recited "Amitabha" in my mind, "Don't blame me, don't blame me." Then I jumped on the desk and walked towards Songzi.
I saw Songzi squatting behind Arhat's buttocks. The environment was relatively dark, and he had already lit the flashlight in his hand. The place where the light beam shines looks relatively new and does not seem to be a place that is often touched by people, so it is relatively smooth and the degree of oxidation is slightly lighter. I crouched down and looked up. If it hadn't been for Song Zi's reminder, I would have missed these words. However, due to the age and being exposed to the air for many years, the writing was very blurry, so I reached out to touch it. Only then can you slightly feel the feeling of sculpture on the smooth and neat copper body.
The words were arranged from top to bottom. It took me a long time to piece them together into eight characters: "Xuanwu is on the side, and the two immortals are Pianpian."
It is obviously unreasonable to carve the four words "Xuanwu is on the side" on the body of the Buddhist Arhat. Because Xuanwu exists more widely in Taoism, Songzi is even more certain that the person who donated the bronze statue must be a Taoist. Otherwise, I would definitely not use one of the four Taoist images so unreasonably. Perhaps because of the excellent durability of copperware, the handwriting remains blurred after so many years. But what exactly does "Pian Pian Two Immortals" mean, I couldn't figure out for a while.
After searching around for a while, we found that there was no other handwriting, so we thought that this might be the only clue we could find, but it seemed to be meaningless at the moment. Even Songzi was helpless and frowned.
So I suggested that we go out and tell Qin Bukong and see if he could think of anything. Song Zi nodded and followed me around while saying, if there were no other writings on this body, would it be on the base? I said even if there is, how can we see it? Could it be said that this Arhat can still be pushed down?
Songzi shook his head and said nothing, obviously this was not the best way. While we were talking, we had returned to Qin Bukong, and then I told Qin Bukong what we had discovered and asked him to analyze these eight words.
