There is only one old monk in this temple, about eighty years old. Although he has age spots on his face, he looks good, healthy and has bright eyes. Not only did he practice diligently and perform rituals for people to ward off misfortunes and evil spirits, but he also cultivated wasteland in the mountains and grew vegetables, which seemed a bit self-sufficient. However, the rice, pasta and other food piled in the temple wing were donated by pilgrims.
The old monk often dedicates the merits of chanting Buddha and chanting sutras to the nearby people, as well as the flowers, trees, birds and animals on this mountain. The mountain god here is very moved, and naturally gets along with him in harmony, and also secretly helps him.
That winter, it was the ninth day of the lunar month and the door was closed due to heavy snow. Several pilgrims wore thick cotton clothes and went up the mountain to ask the old monk to perform rituals. They were all shivering with cold. Wearing only a thin cassock, the old monk stood in the snow and recited the "Infinite Life Sutra" to pray for them. His body was steaming with heat. Looking closely, there were beads of sweat on the old monk's straight nose.
After reciting the sutra, some pilgrims asked, Master, aren't you afraid of the cold? The old monk said, "It's not that I'm not afraid of the cold. I don't feel cold, but I feel hot."
In fact, the powerful mountain god on this mountain asked the god of flameless fire from the sky and lit piles of flameless fires around the old monk, so he felt particularly warm. However, several pilgrims, who did not have the merits and karma, felt that Not this kind of warmth.
On summer evenings, the old monk took off his outer monk's clothes and was used to meditating on a stone in the jungle outside the temple while enjoying the cool air. However, he heard mosquitoes buzzing around like gongs, but none of them flew around to bite him. One mouthful. Of course he didn't know that it was the mountain god who advised the mosquito god not to suck the blood of monks, but to act as a protector to protect the monks.
At this time, the layman brought a child into Hualing Temple, and the old monk didn't care. He sat in the Sutra Pavilion and recited sutras alone. Suddenly, I heard a child's voice calling at the door, "Grandpa Monk..." After calling several times, the old monk turned around and saw a child with a dirty face standing at the door.
He put his palms together and said, Amitabha, little donor, can I correct your call? The child listened quietly - this is a temple, not a secular home, only monks, no grandfather.
The child didn't know what to answer, so he turned around and ran behind the layman who was placing offerings on the Buddhist altar, and deliberately stamped his feet to attract his attention. The layman turned around and said, "Qin Yunjia, did you call me Grandpa Monk?" Qin Yunjia replied, "Uncle Guan Huai, he won't let you call him that. I don't know what to call him." Guan Huai said, just call him master, it will be no problem, go over and call him.
Qin Yunjia shook his head slightly, obviously unwilling. Guan Huai pointed at the apples and other offerings on the Buddhist niche, glanced at him, turned his face to one side and said, if you don't scream, you won't be able to eat the offerings in the temple. Tan Yunjia hesitated for a moment, then ran to the door of the Lesson Pavilion and stood there. When he saw the old monk's eyes were slightly closed and his lips stopped moving while he was reciting the scriptures silently, he mustered up the courage to call out, "Master."
The old monk suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the child up and down and said, "Child, who is your master?"
Can’t I worship you as my teacher? Qin Yunjia, who reacted quickly, looked at him and said.
Of course you can take me as your teacher, but I will not accept you as my disciple. You are a dirty kid, but you also want to be my disciple, and I don’t want to do that. The disciples I accept are all Buddhist disciples. Buddhist disciples must not only be pure on the inside, but also keep their appearance neat and clean.
Your hands are as black as turtle claws. If I accept you as my disciple, would you be able to use these hands to bring offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and to use magical instruments to perform rituals? Even if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas don't care about it, the Dharma Protector Dragon Heaven will care about it. Even if your family is poor and doesn’t have good food or clothing, you should be able to wash your hands clean, right? ! When you come to the temple like this, your prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will not be responded to, and your prayers and rituals will not work.
Tan Yunjia seemed to understand what the old monk said, but he obviously understood a little. He slowly hid his dark hands behind his buttocks.
The layman who had already followed him, a middle-aged man, said to the old monk, "Master, you don't know something. This child has no father or mother. He lives in the village where dozens of families live and has no one to take care of him." He is dirty; he has not been taught by a master, so he does not understand the rules. He came to the temple today just because he was greedy and expected to ask the master to eat some fruit as an offering. I asked him to call you just now. If there is any offense, please forgive me, Master.
These words touched the old monk's feelings of great kindness and compassion. He put his palms together and said, Amitabha! The old man mistakenly blamed the child. It turned out that he was in such a plight. I, the Buddha, am merciful and willing to rescue children.
Tan Yunjia thought that the old monk's rescue was to take some fruits from the offerings on the Buddhist altar for him to eat. He felt so happy that his mouth was salivating.
At this time, Guan Huai took over the old monk's words, Master, didn't you say you wanted to rescue the child? I think you should take him in! He is very pitiful.
A temple is not a charity, but it is better than a charity. As the old monk spoke, he motioned to the child standing at the door to go away. Then he walked out of the Sutra Pavilion and continued, "The old monk is a Buddhist and there is no talk of taking him in, but he can be ordained as a novice monk. I don't know yet." Is he willing or not.
Guan Huai, who was standing a few meters away from Qin Yunjia, raised his hand to cover his nose, approached him and asked, Yun Jia, are you willing? Answer the master.
I don't understand what Master means. Qin Yunjia blinked and said.
Master means to keep you in the temple. Guan Huai explained this.
Uncle Guan Huai, I want to go back with you, I don’t want to stay here. Qin Yunjia said bluntly.
Then just go! The old monk looked at him and simply ordered him to be kicked out.
Silly boy, it would be great to stay in the temple, where you can have food, drink, support, and the blessing of Bodhisattvas. What's the benefit of going back with me? If no one takes care of you, it's not because they don't want to take care of you, it's because other adults have families and families and can't take care of you. If you were in this temple, Master would be the only one, and he would take care of you as if you were his child. To be realistic, if you want to eat fruits offered to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, you only need to ask Master for instructions, and you can take whatever you like. Isn’t that good?
Guan Huai's words touched Qin Yunjia's heart. He immediately expressed his willingness to stay in the temple. He looked at the old monk suddenly and asked, Master, I want to eat the apple offered on the Buddhist altar right now. Can I go and get it?
no! Not at all. The old monk shook his hand and said to Guan Huai, the donor, let him wash himself clean and put on clean clothes so that he can eat apples.
Did you hear that? Guan Huai asked Qin Yunjia.
Seeing him nodding, the old monk asked Guan Huai to help. He went to the kitchen of the temple, tied two empty buckets with pole hooks, and went to the well in the forest outside the temple to fetch water. After several trips back and forth, he filled a large tank with water. The old monk squatted in front of the stove to boil water. He boiled two large buckets of hot water and poured it into the bathtub several times.
The child started to go down, soaked his body for a while, rubbed it repeatedly, and turned the white water into black water, then changed to clean water and continued scrubbing. Guan Huai sometimes squatted down to help him wash the parts of his back that couldn't be washed. The old monk stood nearby to supervise. It took nearly an hour to finish.
Then the old monk asked him to ordain him naked, and gave him the Dharma name, Wusheng, saying that from now on, you should not mention your common name, remember? Comprehension says remember. Since there were no clothes for the young novice, the master asked him to wear a monk's robe that did not fit well.
The master did not break his promise. He took an apple from the Buddhist altar, washed it and gave it to Enlightenment to enjoy. Wu Xing took the apple and wolfed it down. The master told him to eat slowly and said that family members should pay attention to everything and eat with dignity.
Guan Huai, who was standing nearby, reminded him that you must remember Master's teachings. When leaving the temple, he repeatedly told him to listen to his master. Master saw Guan Huai off, and Wu Xing also followed him out. When he walked into the forest, he failed to step firmly on his feet and fell into the thorn canopy. His body was not injured, but the sleeves of the clean cassock he had just put on had a hole in them. .
The master said unhappily, "Suzheng, if you can't walk smoothly on such a gentle mountain road, it means you are not at peace in your heart." Wu Xing's face turned red and he said awkwardly, "Master, my disciple is willing to be punished."
Who will punish you? Go back to the temple, and the master will mend the cut in your cassock. As the master walked, he said that this cassock had been worn by the master for more than ten years. It was a little old but not torn. It’s not a good sign if it’s stained the first time you wear it!
