After two days of exploration, Li Ye found the method of practicing in the Great Buddha Temple. On the third day, before the morning bell rang, he got up to wash up, carried a bucket, and walked quickly along the back mountain road.
After seeing Li Ye's behavior on the second day, the monks lining up in front of the dining hall were no longer curious.
Only a few monks were surprised that Li Ye could carry three buckets of water at a time at such a young age and walk as fast as flying. They all pointed out: "He is another monster who has trained his body."
Li Ye carried water and chopped firewood without saying much, and waited for everyone to finish lunch. He just happened to get water from the well to wash his body, and then he sat upright in the dining hall and ate with his head down.
Thinking that I have to work harder to catch up with the monks for lunch within a month, I can't always ask my senior brother to leave food and food for me.
I got up in the afternoon and went to the Sutra Pavilion to sweep the floor as usual. However, I saw a greeting to the Buddha written by an old monk with a long beard and white eyebrows on the pillar of the eaves where the broom was placed:
The Buddha taught the bhikkhus: "Sweeping the floor has five extraordinary merits. One is to purify one's own mind; the other is to make others pure; the third is to be praised by the gods with joy; the fourth is to plant good causes for a dignified and dignified appearance in the next life; the fifth is to make others' hearts pure; He will eventually be reborn in heaven."
Li Ye did not go to sweep the floor immediately, but stood in front of the pillar and read it quietly several times, carefully understanding the essence of it. After a while, he stretched out his hand, gently took off the Buddha's hat, and put it into his own space ring, thinking that he would ask the old monk for advice when he had time.
The old monk had previously ordered him to sweep the floor. He thought that as more and more leaves fell in autumn, the temple needed a clean place to practice, so someone was required to sweep the floor in the morning to keep the Buddhist temple clean.
Unexpectedly, I learned that sweeping the floor has five merits after reading the Buddha's greeting posted on the eternal pillar today. Now I sweep the floor with less worries and more joy. The old monk Mobei said: Trouble is Bodhi. At this time, he had some insights.
The next cleaning was done in a calm and unhurried manner, just like the state of mind when he first practiced the self-image of the "Formless Dharmakaya". Every movement and stillness were maintained at the same speed, and he carefully cleaned every corner of the inner courtyard.
The old monk with long beard and white eyebrows upstairs looked at it and secretly admired it, thinking that this little guy really has wisdom in his body, and he can understand it with just one touch.
When he had cleaned the inner and outer courtyards twice and was about to leave, the wooden door of the Sutra Pavilion opened with a creak, and an old monk with a long beard and white eyebrows from upstairs came out, beckoning: "Wuchen, You come with me."
Li Ye was startled, thinking that he had not seen the old monk for three days since he came here to clean up, but he actually greeted him. He put his hands together and saluted and said, "Young man Wuchen, I have met my senior."
One old and one young, one behind the other, went up to the second floor of the Sutra Pavilion. They meditate facing each other in the Buddhist hall where the long beard and white eyebrows practice.
"According to your seniority in the temple, you should call me uncle. Do you know why I asked you to come up today?" The old monk took the teapot from the stove and poured a cup of tea for Li Ye.
"Junior came before my uncle. I don't know, could it be that I haven't swept the floor clean these days?" Li Ye replied anxiously.
"No, I saw you read the Buddhist greeting I wrote to you, then took it off and took it back into my arms. I thought that you and I were destined, so I came to chat with you for a few words."
"It turns out that my uncle is merciful, and I am grateful." Li Ye kowtowed to the old monk.
"Do you know why it is said that sweeping the floor has five merits?"
"After watching this, I know very little. I am thinking of asking my master later. I would like to ask my master to clarify my doubts." Li Ye picked up the tea cup in front of him and raised it to respect the old monk.
The old monk nodded and said: When the Buddha was practicing in Suduolin, he saw that the ground was unclean, so he took a broom and wanted to sweep the garden. At that time, when Sariputra, Mahamoggallana, Maha Kassapa, Ananda and other great great voices heard about it, they all took brooms and swept the garden together.
After the Buddha and his disciples finished cleaning, they went into the cafeteria and sat down.
The Buddha told the bhikkhu: "Everyone who sweeps the floor has five special qualities: first, his own mind is pure; second, he makes other people's minds pure; third, all heavens are happy; fourth, he cultivates good karma; fifth, he will be reborn in heaven after his death."
When Li Ye heard this, he clasped his hands together and exclaimed, "That's it. Thank you, Master, for clearing up my disciple's doubts."
The old monk looked at him and smiled, ignored him, and continued,
"The Buddha taught the world through his own example, but people in later generations often have a narrow understanding of these merits, thinking that as long as the temple is cleaned, there will be five kinds of merits."
"Isn't it?" Li Ye asked.
The old monk shook his head.
"Actually, that's not the case. Didn't your master teach you by example yesterday? He told you not only to pick up the fallen leaves on the ground, but also to pick up the fallen leaves in your heart, so as not to dust the Buddha's mind."
"Later, I gave you some clues as to how you can sweep a temple if you don't sweep one courtyard, and why you sweep the world if you don't sweep a house. These are all to tell you that you can do it not only in the many practices in the Great Buddha Temple, but also in the world of practice."
When Li Ye heard this, he suddenly realized, nodded and said: "It turns out that Master and Uncle said the same truth."
The old monk looked at him with a smile, feeling really happy in his heart. The young man in front of him didn't need to say much to understand what he wanted to express.
"The principles of Buddhism are accessible. Once you have mastered the Dharma, you will have mastery of all the dharma in the world. If you can practice in the temple until you see the Buddha nature clearly, you will not let your holy heart become dusty when you enter the world."
Li Ye knelt down and bowed again, saying, "Excuse me, uncle, what does it mean to see the Buddha nature clearly?"
The old monk smiled and said: "Seeing the Buddha's nature clearly is still far away for you. Among the sutras are the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Fang et al. Prajna Sutra, the Great Compassion Sutra... "Lotus Sutra" "The Face Sutra" and so on all refer to clearly seeing the Buddha's nature, but ultimately they lead to the supreme Mahayana sutra "The Mahaparinirvana Sutra."
To Li Ye, these scriptures were like heavenly scriptures. He just nodded subconsciously and remained speechless.
“The equanimity or concentration that achieves the clear vision of the Buddha-nature is: it can destroy all troubles and knots; it can regulate all evil roots and unwholesome qualities; it can make the three karma become peaceful; it can make all living beings free from the five desires. Purify the three turbid Dharma due to greed, anger, ambition, and delusion.”
The old monk said in his heart that I am the one who has not read some scriptures seriously, let alone you.
"After all, you are not a monk in this life, and you cannot read these scriptures carefully one by one. When you have the opportunity to go to Prajna Temple in Fangcun Mountain to study the "Mahayana Nirvana Sutra", you will understand what clear view is. Buddha nature.”
Li Ye kowtowed to the old monk again and said: "My disciple is practicing in Tianshan Mountain, and I accidentally received the inheritance from Monk Poxu of Fangcun Mountain. After reading it, the disciples have many similarities with what the master said. In addition, after the disciples read it, I will wait for the disciples to change it." I will copy this scripture and keep it in the Sutra Pavilion in the temple."
When the old monk heard this, he clasped his hands together and exclaimed in excitement: "I never thought you would have such a wonderful encounter. There is no collection in the sutra collection pavilion in this temple. If you copy it and make offerings to it, it will be a supreme merit to Amitabha. It's so good. It's so good." "
Li Ye said: "If it is a blank scripture in the temple, the disciples will start copying it tomorrow."
The old monk was so excited that his body was trembling slightly. He stretched out his hand and touched his head and said: "There is it in the Zangyao Pavilion. I will get you a few volumes later. You can get the true scriptures and let me have the chance to hear the Tao." .What a blessing.”
"I met two seniors, Lao Yuan and Lao Lang, on the Tianshan Mountains. I also had to listen to this sutra and enter the Tao. I thought that I would survive the tribulation and ascend in the near future."
Li Ye sat in front of the Buddha, with a treasured image appearing on his face. Chanting softly:
Manjushri, why is the teacher?
The white hair between the eyebrows shines brightly
Rain mandala, manjushuahua
The wind of sandalwood pleases everyone's heart
...
"This is the first preface to the Lotus Sutra. If I want to know the essence of it, I will wait for my disciples to copy it completely and then study it carefully. If there are many confusions, I will ask my master for instructions."
Li Ye chanted softly for half a quarter of an hour, then stopped. Unexpectedly, he was already holding flowers in his left hand and using his right hand like a begging bowl.
The most wonderful thing was that a thirty-two-petal golden lotus rose above his head, spinning gently. As he stopped chanting sutras, it gradually disappeared...
When he calmed down and looked back at the long-bearded and white-browed monk, he actually bent down on the ground, chanting Buddha in his mouth, his whole body was trembling slightly, and he kept chanting the six-character mantra.
Recalling the golden lotus rising above Li Ye's head, the old monk looked at him and murmured to himself: "It's a pity that Wuchen's nephew is not in Buddhism in this life, otherwise it would be a great blessing for Buddhism."
After regaining his composure, Li Yegong smiled and said: "Disciple, I have too many worries about this body and cannot offer my body to the Buddha. However, in the future, when walking in the world, we should bear in mind Master's teachings and prevent the Dharma from becoming dusty."
The old monk praised again and again, then stood up and sat down, and added some water to the kettle on the fire.
He looked at Li Ye and said, "It's really rare that you have such an understanding of Buddhism and are willing to practice the path of suffering in Buddhism."
"Since you want to copy the scriptures, do you want your uncle to inform the hall and ask them to arrange another person to temporarily take care of your many chores so that you can calm down and copy the scriptures?"
The old monk frowned slightly, thinking about getting the scriptures copied by Li Ye earlier.
Li Ye clasped his hands together and said quickly: "Master, you must not do it. I have just been sweeping the yard for three days. If I stop here, I will make all the brothers in the temple laugh at me. I spend three days fishing and two days drying nets!"
The old monk was stunned, looked at him and smiled.
"Disciples will do their homework and carefully copy the scriptures, and strive to offer them to the Tibetan Pavilion as soon as possible."
Li Ye looked at the person and said softly.
The old monk gave Li Ye more hot tea and said with a guilty look on his face: "Uncle, I was so anxious that I lost my temper. I'm ashamed."
"The disciple originally planned to copy one volume to the master of the Great Buddha Temple when he was on Tianshan Mountain. Later, by chance, Mr. Tang Qiuyu from Qingcheng in the Central Region asked him to copy one volume and gave it to two seniors on Tianshan Mountain. One volume was left for each, so now I have to copy it to my uncle again."
Li Ye picked up the teacup and said with a smile.
"How good, how good! My nephew not only practices Buddhism himself, but he can also preach Buddhism to people outside the world and those who have entered the world during his practice in Tianshan. It is truly a meritorious merit. The Buddha said: It is better to teach the Dharma to others than to study the Dharma yourself. This is the truth. ."
Li Ye smiled, looked at Li Seng and said, "I am ashamed to say that when I first copied the scriptures, it was not to practice Buddhism, but to practice calligraphy."
"How can you belittle yourself?" the old monk asked.
"Later I started practicing with my husband, and he asked me to practice swordsmanship by copying Buddhist teachings. Now, the entire stone wall of Tianshan Mountain's Erwai is still fully engraved with the entire Ksitigarbha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra."
Li Ye looked at the person and said.
After hearing this, the old monk was surprised again and praised: "In practice of giving, there is a so-called giving without giving in form... If a Bodhisattva does not give in form, the merits will be immeasurable."
"Unexpectedly, my nephew has already donated two complete volumes of sutras on Tianshan Mountain without warning. All living beings in Tianshan Mountain and practitioners in future generations can benefit from your blessings. How good, how good!"
"Will you tell the master about this?" The old monk looked at Li Ye with a smile.
"I came here in a hurry, and I haven't told Master in detail about many things on Tianshan Mountain." Li Ye said with a smile, touching his head.
The old monk sighed again and said: "You practice Buddhism unintentionally, and then you understand the Buddha's teachings, and then you give away the Buddha's teachings. After giving the Buddha's teachings, you don't like to spread it. Even if the Buddhas are not reincarnated, they are still Bodhisattvas descending to earth, Amitabha!"
"Disciple Yuhuan, I can't stand such praise from my uncle." Li Ye quickly kowtowed to the old monk.
The old monk shook his head and said: "There is a sequence of hearing the Tao, but there is no fixed time to enter the Tao. When you are confused, you will be saved by the master, and when you are enlightened, you will save it by yourself. You only need to practice for a few more years. When you return from Fangcun, maybe I and Master Ku I’m waiting for you to save me.”
"Disciples are terrified!"
"You don't have to be humble. You have already cultivated the "Formless Dharmakaya" to the fifth level. At this time, you already have the Buddha's image with you. When you complete the "Formless Dharmakaya" from Fangcun Mountain to perfection, you may not have achieved Buddhahood immediately. must."
After speaking, the old monk stood up straight, went to the cabinet in front of the Buddhist altar, took out three blank scripture volumes, and handed them to Li Ye.
"Copy it in your spare time. The days are long and I can afford to wait."
Li Ye took it with both hands and said: "Disciple will copy it carefully and strive to offer the scriptures to my uncle as soon as possible."
After saying that, he stood up, clasped his hands together, saluted the old monk, opened the door and left.
When I walked out of the Buddhist Scripture Pavilion, I looked up and saw a crescent moon shining down on the entire Great Buddha Temple.
