Later Qin, capital, Chang'an.
In Fahua Temple, there was the sound of chanting sutras and worshiping Buddha in Sanskrit, and the curls of sandalwood shrouded the temple in smoke. Groups of monks were queuing up with their alms bowls, preparing to eat in the dining hall, and the porridge The aroma and the taste of dried tofu made the young monks in line swallow their saliva unconsciously. Apparently, they had not yet practiced enough to resist hunger.
A monk in green clothes in his mid-twenties stood in front of two large porridge buckets that had bottomed out. He was the monk on duty today and said in a low voice: "What's wrong with the presiding master these days? He doesn't preside over the porridge anymore." We don’t do our homework like we used to do by ourselves. Could it be that we are sick?”
Another older monk in gray clothes next to him was the other leading senior brother who was responsible for giving porridge today. He glared at the monk in green clothes and said dissatisfiedly: "Junior brother, be careful, the presiding master is The reincarnated holy monk of the Buddha has been free from illness and disaster for many years. I heard that the master is doing homage to the Buddha and praying for blessings, and seeking the Buddha's blessing for our Qin soldiers who went to Huxia, and he cannot come out of seclusion. "
The monk in green suddenly realized: "Oh, I have remembered what I said, brother. Last month, His Majesty the Emperor of Qin came to the temple specifically to worship Buddha and also met with the presiding master. I don't know what the outcome will be if he personally leads the expedition this time? Hey, we monks are supposed to keep aloof from the world and not participate in these worldly battles. I don’t understand why the presiding master wants to pray for these murderous emperors.”
The gray-clothed monk quickly covered the green-robed monk's mouth with his hand: "Junior brother, don't you want to live? Do you dare to say this? Our temple is in Chang'an City of Daqin. If you don't follow the emperor's wishes, we will just I'm afraid that all the thousands of monks in the temple will be killed. Although the Buddha's power is boundless, it is impossible for him to descend to earth all at once to stop these killings."
The green-robed monk threw down his senior brother's hand covering his mouth and said bitterly: "My hometown is in Liangzhou. If it weren't for these emperors, generals and ministers beating them all day long, my family and tribe would all be dead. Guang, how can I become a monk? I hope that the Buddha can appear soon and send all these emperors who are just for their own dominance to the eighteenth level of hell, so that the common people in the world can be saved."
The monk in gray clothes sighed: "It is not easy to live in this troubled world. At least, we can get a moment of peace in Fahua Temple now. Although the Emperor of Qin is not a kind person, he is better than Liu Xia of Hu Xia. Bo Bo, but he can be considered a good man. I heard that Liu Bobo killed many people. All the soldiers and civilians of the Qin Dynasty who were captured were either trapped and killed or piled up in the capital and other cities. They were all slaughtered by him. They went there to perform rituals to transcend the souls of the dead. My uncles and masters couldn’t stop sighing after they came back, saying how could a demon like him appear in this bright world, otherwise, how could the abbot master easily intervene in the disputes of this world and pray for the soldiers of the Qin Dynasty? "
The monk in green curled his lips: "That's true. Liu Bobo's reputation is known to everyone. I heard that even the monks who advised him to be kind and not to kill people would brutally set up a pyre and burn him to death. , he also said that if these monks had the power to avoid being burned, he would listen to them. This man is really a devil. How could the Buddha let such a devil come to the world?"
The gray-clothed monk sighed: "Perhaps it was because Liu Bobo's whole clan was killed, and Buddha couldn't bear it, so he spared this devil. But the people he has killed now have committed far more sins than the clan members he killed. I just hope that the presiding master can use his magic power to let God transcend this devil and restore peace to the world. If the Hu Xia barbarians really break into Chang'an, I'm afraid we will all die without a burial place!"
While the two were talking, they saw a young novice monk walking over with an alms bowl. The monk in green instinctively wanted to get the rice spoon from the porridge bucket. His eyes fell on this person and suddenly said in surprise: "That's not the host." The abbot’s alms bowl?”
The gray-clothed monk frowned and looked at the young novice monk, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old with delicate features and delicate features. He said in a deep voice: "Junior brother, are you a disciple of the presiding master?"
The young novice clasped his hands together and pronounced the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, very good! Two senior brothers, the poor monk is the new novice beside the presiding master. His dharma name is Doupeng. The presiding master sent me to make porridge."
The gray-clothed monk took the alms bowl and shook his head in disbelief: "But why have I never seen you before? Junior Brother Doupeng? Besides, it is not the female layperson (Kumaroshi's wife) who presides over the master's food and daily life. ) responsible?"
Doupeng calmly took the bowl filled with porridge: "The female layman has been ill recently, and the master in charge wants to pray for blessings, so I am responsible for the food and daily life. In the next few days, I will cause a lot of trouble to the two senior brothers."
The monk in green clothes added two more slices of dried tofu into the alms bowl and said, "Junior brother, please take good care of the master in charge. I hope his blessings can ensure the safety of the monks in my temple."
Doupeng smiled slightly, saluted and left. He passed through various halls and courtyards, and finally walked to the elegant building in the center of the small lake. After entering the monastery, he saw Kumarajiva sitting upright in the Zen room. Inside, the eyes were closed, and there was not a single monk standing by. Only the fluttering sandalwood was refreshing, and an old alms bowl that was almost exactly the same as the one in Doupeng's hand was placed on the wooden frame behind Kumarajiva. On top, there are three finger-thick pieces of sandalwood stuck on it. The aroma around here comes from here.
Doupeng smiled slightly and put down the alms bowl in his hand. A gust of wind blew by. His whole body was hidden in a black cloak, and a lifeless bronze mask was displayed in front of Kumarajiva. , accompanied by Doupeng's hoarse voice: "Aren't you afraid that an assassin will suddenly come and send you to the west?"
Kumarajiva didn't even open his eyes and said calmly: "In this world, except for you, I'm afraid no one wants to kill me. Doupeng, I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Doupeng curled up his lips and sat down cross-legged opposite Kumarajiva. He grabbed a few slices of dried tofu in the alms bowl and stuffed them into his mouth: "How did you know I would come?"
Kumarajiva shook his head: "Zhang Gang is here, and Tao Yuanming is also here secretly. Why don't you, the one who controls everything, not come?"
Doupeng smiled slightly: "I say, great monk, you are quite capable. I never thought that you could secretly associate with Liu Bobo and provide him with so much military information about the Later Qin Dynasty. If it weren't for your help, the Later Qin Dynasty would have been How could Qin have lost consecutive battles in recent years and lost troops and generals? But I don’t know what your purpose is. Will Liu Bobo also let you become a great national advisor? "
