Thousand Buddha Temple, Water and Land Conference.
With the sound of gongs and drums, today's hustle and bustle can come to an end again, and the Buddha, the dignitaries, and the common people all return home.
The novice monk on duty cursed and began to clean up the mess on the ground. The sun was gloomy in the west, and he guessed that he would be late for dinner. It was not that his workload had increased a lot, but there were some poor believers who helped him yesterday, but today they suddenly disappeared.
It's really outrageous. This matter of worshiping Buddha is not about monks reciting sutras. How can you be so lazy like fishing for three days and drying nets for two days?
"Pooh."
He spat, straightened up, and when he looked up, he saw two incompatible monks, an old man and a young man, walking up the mountain.
The two monks' gray robes were covered with patchwork scars, and it was obvious at a glance that they were not from the temple.
He said bad luck, stepped forward, stopped the two of them with a long broom, and said Amitabha to the old monk.
"Stay here, there will be no orders during the Dharma Assembly in this temple."
The novice's attitude was quite arrogant, but the old monk was not annoyed. He just said "Amitabha" in return and held out a wooden box.
"Excuse me, please tell me, the presiding brother, that the disciples of the Northern Sect of Qianfo Temple have understood and returned to the temple with the dharma body of Zen Master Juexian."
……………………
It was still dark, and the oil lamps were lit early in the sutra hall.
Not a single one of the great monks in the temple was left behind, they were all crowded into the small sutra hall, all looking towards one side of the room.
There, an old monk was looking through the fleshy Buddhas that were freshly baked this year. Not to mention, after a few days of Dharma meetings, the physical Buddhas have become like those made of copper, with a golden light on their skin. At first glance, they really look like the Buddha enshrined in the temple.
But the old monk shook his head.
"The quality is acceptable, but one of them is still a little short of heat."
The old monk pointed to the one on the edge. If you look closely, the golden light on the face of this physical Buddha is indeed thinner. If you look more closely, you can see a thin mark around its neck and some messy stitches.
"Damn it."
Upon seeing this, the leader of the monks swore in a low voice and shrank his huge body into the corner again.
But now no one is causing trouble for him, and the great monk is making a fuss and making a fuss.
"If you ask me, the list given by the court is too heavy."
"Bah, if it hadn't been sold to private individuals, the imperial court's order would have been more than enough."
"Oh, that's not what someone says when they take money!"
…
"Okay, what's the point of making noise in the sutra hall?!"
Seeing that the noise was about to turn into a full-scale martial arts affair, the host slammed the table to calm the audience and said with final words:
"Let's take the top of the cave this time too."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
A monk opened the door, walked quickly to the host, leaned down and whispered softly.
The monk who sent the message stepped back and faced the room with inquiring eyes. The presiding monk waved his hand and said:
"It's no big deal. The old monk Juexian is dead. I will send his body back to the mountain."
"Oh." The monk who had previously examined the physical Buddha's eyes flashed, "But there is still a Dharma body left."
The host sneered.
"The Dharmakaya can be cultivated by anyone? It's just a box of ashes."
After that, he turned to the leader of the monks in the corner and said.
"Excuse me, most of the Demon Transformation Cave is managed by your subordinates. You can go over and send the Enlightenment Demon Cave to the Demon Cave so that he can come down early."
The leader of the monks stood up and agreed, but before leaving the house he hesitated and asked;
"The funeral money..."
The host waved his hand impatiently.
"Just take a few taels of silver from the treasury and spend it."
The leader of the monks nodded in agreement, but shook his head when he left the door.
"The host is too stingy. Master and disciple Juexian can be considered fellow disciples of Thousand Buddha Temple..."
He called the monk who was standing in front of the door.
"Go to the treasury and get one hundred taels, and record it on my account."
……………………
dusk.
The mist spreads out from the mountain col, like a very thin gauze draped on the stone steps of the mountain road.
As soon as he walked into the mountain gate, the little monk's neck kept spinning, just like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, seeing nothing new everywhere.
In fact, they are still at the foot of the mountain, and the Thousand Buddha Temple is still on the mountainside. Now along the way, most of the things they see are flowers, grass, rocks and trees, and occasionally there is a pavilion to stay.
From time to time, I could see through the dense canopy of trees and see the high whitewashed walls and golden glazed tiles on the mountain. All of this was something he had never seen in the small dilapidated temple where he grew up.
The young monk glanced at the monk from Qianfo Temple who was leading the way in the distance. He had bright clothes and a shiny scalp rubbed with tung oil. He awkwardly tugged at the old monk's clothes that he had made smaller, and couldn't help but ask:
"Master, are we really from the same family as Thousand Buddha Temple?"
The old monk realized that his beard twitched, blinked his eyes and said something witty.
"Who doesn't have a well-off relative?"
Even though the two masters and apprentices were poor, they were of the same lineage as the luxurious Thousand Buddhas Temple.
This Thousand Buddha Temple was not called "Thousand Buddha Temple" at first, but was called Three Buddha Temple.
It is said that three hundred years ago, the earth dragon in Yuzhou came back. At that time, there were two mountains standing next to each other outside Yuzhou City. One big and one small looked like an adult holding a child, so people nearby called it Yesun Mountain. But when the mountain collapsed and the ground collapsed, Sun Shan erased his "head" and revealed a devil's cave in the heart of the mountain that leads directly to the netherworld.
In an instant, demons surged out of the cave. Within a few days, Yuzhou was covered with bones and resentments were soaring like clouds covering the sun. At that time, there were three eminent monks from the same sect, Kongjian, Kongxing, and Kongyan. The three eminent monks could not bear the loss of their lives, so they He threw himself into the devil's cave and transformed into a three-body Buddha to suppress the evil spirits and bring peace to the whole place. In order to guard Sun Shan's magic cave, the disciples and grandsons of the three built the Three Buddha Temple in Yeshan. Later, something happened in the temple, the old monks left, and the Three Buddha Temple was changed to Thousand Buddha Temple.
However, despite the branch line being separated, the relationship between the two parties has not deteriorated. The old monk's lineage still recognizes his identity as Thousand Buddhas Temple. Whenever the sect master passes away, the Dharma body will be returned to Thousand Buddhas Temple and placed in the Demon Transformation Cave. Join the Patriarch to quell the demons.
If nothing else happens, his final destination will probably be a trace of dust sent into the cave.
The old monk was feeling secretly.
"Master, Master, he has obviously achieved physical immortality, why do you still burn the golden body into ashes?"
The old monk was suddenly startled after hearing this, and quickly looked back and forth. When he saw that no one was paying attention, he breathed a sigh of relief and glared at the young monk angrily.
"What I said...be smart."
The little monk rolled his eyes and answered the next sentence.
"Don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't do what you shouldn't do."
The old monk nodded with satisfaction.
The young monk was bored and simply looked at the scenery along the way.
At this time, there were gradually fewer strange rocks and old trees beside the mountain road, and more pavilions, pavilions, and painted eaves. On both sides, various exquisitely carved stone statues began to appear, as if they couldn't wait for visitors to see - what is Jia? Sapphire land, what is the solemnity of Dharma.
The little monk looked at it, and with every novelty in his eyes, there was more confusion on his face.
Is this Buddhism?
Although he didn't speak, the old monk didn't know what his disciple was thinking.
I think back then, when he returned to the mountains with his master for the first time, he had the same questions and was at the same age.
It's just that the old monk was burned to ashes and put in a small box after death, and the young monk became an old monk, taking a new young monk with him and embarking on the same old path again.
The steps are long and the stream is gentle.
"Yaoyao Hanshan Road, Luoluo Lengjian Bin..."
"Is this the ancestor's poem?"
The old monk understood and nodded with a smile.
I remember that one of the three monks saw Cihang Pudu in the sky. His emptiness was majestic, broad-minded and elegant. He was known as a poetic monk. Because of this elegance, there were rumors that Yiling Bumo was reincarnated as a human being.
"Master, it is said that our master has been reincarnated and never forgets his past life. If this is the case, why doesn't he return to the temple?"
"Of course because the rumors are false."
A rough voice suddenly broke in from the front, and a stout middle-aged monk came forward. It was the leader of the monks who was in trouble. It was a cold night in the mountains, but he only wore a thin monk's robe loosely, revealing his thick chest hair and strong muscles. He took a step forward, vigorous and vigorous.
"It's just some crooked poems written by some bald donkeys, and they are using the name of Patriarch Kong Yan to show off and deceive."
He first saluted the old monk, and then slapped the old monk on the shoulder, causing the old monk to stagger.
"I understand, senior brother, I haven't seen you for so many years. You should be getting stronger!"
………………
The entrance of Hua Mo Cave is on the platform at the top of Sun Mountain. It is surrounded by cliffs and only a rope bridge connects to Ye Mountain.
If there was no other way, I would not be willing to set foot on this rope bridge. He was too big and too heavy. One person could bear the weight of three or four people. This three-hundred-year-old creation always creaked and swayed under his feet, as if it would fall apart the next moment.
However, the two masters and disciples were accustomed to traveling through mountains and ridges, visiting villages, and this was like walking on flat ground.
After finally crossing the rope bridge, when I looked up, my face turned dark. In front of a deep cave, I saw a group of shirtless monks having fun with each other while drinking wine. They didn't even know anyone was coming up the rope bridge.
"Is this how you little bastards keep watch?"
He immediately rushed forward viciously and kicked each of them into dogs chewing mud. When it was over, he still wasn't relieved, so he swung his fist as big as sand and hammered the monks, causing them to cry for their fathers and mothers, and run away with their heads in their hands.
"Okay, okay." The old monk slowly followed over, "It's getting late. I'm sorry, junior brother, let's put my master's Dharmakaya in place first."
Drinking, eating meat and gambling is also a major characteristic of the monks of Qianfo Temple. What angered him more about this difficulty was the loss of face in front of the Beizong people. Seeing the old monk hand over the ladder, he quickly descended the steps.
"I'll deal with you later!"
After another scolding, he led the master and apprentice into the Demon Transformation Cave.
………………
The young monk often heard his master mention the Demon Transformation Cave. According to the old monk, the Demon Transformation Cave was full of legends. But now that he has seen it with his own eyes, he never expected it to be like this...
gloomy?
The cave was damp and cold, and water droplets dripped from the top into the neck from time to time, causing people to shiver. A small hissing sound like a snake lingered in his ears. The young monk knew that it was the wind passing through the gap.
It was dark all around, and the only light came from the torch in the hands of the uncle who looked more like a bandit than a monk. With this light, the young monk mustered up the courage to look at the cave.
On both sides of the cave, there are cages separated by iron bars. Most of the prisoners in the cages shrank in the corners, motionless. If you could hear slight gasps and see their heads moving with the light source, the young monk would have thought that they had already died. died.
Maybe it's because of those vines. The young monk discovered that there were some weird vines growing in the cave. They were as thin as a wrist and smooth and leafless. The prisoners, without exception, were all tightly entangled by these vines.
Suddenly, the little monk saw a prisoner hanging on the stone wall by vines in the cage next to him. Most of his body was embedded in the stone wall. If he hadn't been excited by the fire and moved his head slightly, the little monk would have died. He is a protruding rock.
Scared, the little monk stopped in his tracks.
Thinking back carefully, could it be that those raised blocks on the stone wall looked like blurry human faces?
This discovery shook his mind. When he came to his senses, he had fallen far behind the team. The dank darkness in the cave came over him. He felt as if he too would turn into stone. He was trembling, and while chanting Amitabha, he Keep up the pace.
After catching up with the master again, the young monk breathed a sigh of relief. After hesitating for a while, he finally asked indirectly:
"Excuse me, Uncle Master, how long will these people be imprisoned?"
When faced with the problem, he responded casually:
"Of course it's time to clear up all the karma."
"How can we eliminate all the karma?"
The great monk stopped, looked at him, smiled and pointed at a prisoner in the cage whose body was half embedded in the stone wall.
"If he's like this, he's almost gone."
The little monk's heart tightened when he heard this, but he hesitated to speak. The troubled monk turned around and saw clearly. He grinned and said to the old monk:
"Senior Brother Wu, you are a kind-hearted disciple, but it's a pity that you have used it in the wrong place."
After saying this, he pointed to a prisoner.
"This person is called Lu Tu. He knows some magic tricks of harvesting yin and replenishing yang to transform into male and female. He often takes the form of a woman and sneaks into the backyard of a good family, and feeds the women of good families until they die."
"This man's name is Pu Chi. He is a Gu master from southern Xinjiang. He is used to feeding Gu with the blood of living people."
"That person is Taoist Longtu, a bastard who hooked up with his master's concubines and destroyed his whole family."
…
All the way deep into the cave, the troubled monk followed his instructions, and what he said made people tremble with fear.
"What do you think? These guys deserve to be sent to Abi Hell. They don't deserve any mercy."
Although the young monk nodded in agreement after hearing this, there was still some hesitation on his face. He mentioned that they were the most vicious criminals, but what the young monk saw along the way were indifferent prisoners slowly waiting to die in torture.
After hesitating for a long time, he still asked Ai Ai:
"Since it is a heinous crime, why not execute it immediately? Why..."
Why suffer for so many years in vain? Although he didn't say it out loud, the meaning behind his words was revealed. At this time, the troubled monk just smiled and did not respond.
Transformation of the devil's cave, transformation of the devil's cave. Once the devil is transformed, he will naturally become a Buddha. There are countless temples in the world, and there are quite a few that hold Dharma meetings to collect prayers and prayers. But why is this temple known as the "Thousand Buddhas" and can sell the precious physical Buddha? Is it because it can transform demons into Buddhas? s method.
"Basically good."
But it was the old monk who had never said a word, who reminded him softly.
The little monk grimaced. Okay, I said something I shouldn't have said again.
He was about to apologize when he suddenly widened his eyes, pointed at the cage diagonally in front of him, and let out an exclamation. The other two people hurriedly followed what he pointed at.
The firelight was dim, and it was not clear at first glance. They could only see a prisoner tied to the stone wall by vines. However, after the young monk gave some advice, the two of them took a closer look and found that the prisoner's head was missing.
He cursed secretly.
These brats are so shameless, they just drink and play games while on duty, and they don't even let anyone know when someone in the cave dies. No, maybe they didn't even realize the man was dead. Damn it, it’s time to practice hard!
"I guess you can't stand the jail and free yourself." The troubled monk looked at the headless corpse and sneered, "This method is quite novel, and you can even take off your own neck."
"But……"
The young monk came to the cell door and looked at it carefully. After a long time, he turned around and turned pale.
"Where's his head?"
The cage was empty and clear, but the prisoner's lost head was not found.
"Does the donor want to know where the head went?"
A hoarse old voice suddenly sounded from a prison cell. The little monk turned around and saw a thin, flabby-skinned monk, slumped on the ground with vines wrapped around his body, like an old dog that was about to die.
The young monk touched his head and responded.
"I am also a monk, not a donor."
The monk spoke in a hoarse voice.
"In the eyes of the poor monk, anyone who can give him a bite of food is a benefactor. The little benefactor is also a meditator and chants sutras, so it is better to give alms to others."
When the little monk heard this, he stupidly took out half a cold steamed bun from his arms and was about to throw it over the iron fence. Then he suddenly opened his mouth.
"This monk is practicing the Zen of eating people and reciting the sutra of peeling skin. The young monk wants to be this guy's benefactor. I'm afraid steamed buns alone won't do it."
"this……"
The young monk was stunned when he heard this, and his mind had not yet turned around. The monk's eyes suddenly glowed red, and he tried to pounce on him with his hands and feet. Unfortunately, as soon as he made a move, the vines on his body came to life and grabbed him tightly, preventing him from moving forward at all. He stopped struggling and just smiled weirdly, spitting out from between his rotten teeth.
"It's a pity that the young monk turned into an old bald donkey. Why don't you take advantage of the tender skin and tender meat and donate it to me in equal parts and eat it? Dear donors, what do you think?"
"It fits the purpose."
"There is a lot of meat on the legs, but I have to leave it to you."
"You look very handsome, wouldn't it be a pity to just eat?"
…
As soon as he finished speaking, the prisoners in the cave suddenly became agitated. Wherever they looked lifeless before, even those that were almost integrated into the stone wall began to struggle and tremble, as if they were about to burst out of the wall.
The little monk was so frightened by this sudden change that his hands and feet trembled and he was at a loss.
The old monk touched his disciple's bald head and just chanted Amitabha.
"Did you see it?" Da Nan grinned, "This is their true colors."
After that, he strode forward, ignoring the threats and curses, as if they were nothing more than the noise of mosquitoes.
………………
The three of them went all the way down, gradually leaving the prisoners' howls behind them, and their eyes suddenly became clear.
Luo Nan hung the torch on the stone wall and led Master Wu and his disciples into a wide stone room.
The lights in this stone room are as bright as day, and it is decorated like a Mahavira Hall. The main Buddha statue is enshrined on the central altar, and other accompanying Buddha statues are arranged on both sides. The rest of the decorations, such as curtains, altars, incense burners, plaques... are all available. . No one would have thought that there would be such a majestic palace deep in the mountains through the darkness.
It's just that the person sitting on the lotus platform is not Sakyamuni, but a Buddha with three heads and six arms. Although this Buddha wears a dharma crown and cassock, his face and skin are lifelike. The young monk knows that this is the three-body Buddha transformed by the three masters.
He looked curiously and carefully, and saw that the old man with a compassionate face in front of him must be the Kongjian Patriarch of Cihang Pudu; the middle-aged man on the left with Vajra's angry eyes must be the Kongxing Patriarch with the solemn Dharma; and the young man with a calm smile on the right, of course It was the elegant poet monk Kong Yan, the founder of his family. Somehow, the young monk always felt that compared to the other two patriarchs, his own patriarch's face seemed to have a little less meaning.
"Basically good."
"ah?"
The little monk came to his senses, but it was the master calling him.
"What are you still doing? Come with me to pay homage to your ancestor."
The young monk hurriedly responded and followed the master to burn incense and kowtow. After a lot of trouble, he suddenly noticed that the Buddha statue accompanying the master was quite different. It was not as plump as ordinary Buddha statues, but rather shriveled and skinny, and even the facial features were... Somewhat distorted and blurry.
"These are the dharma bodies of the sages of the past generations in the temple."
The little monk suddenly understood, raised his head and asked the master.
"Is Master's body also placed here?"
Before the old monk could answer, the troubled monk next to him laughed.
"Only those who have achieved the immortality of the physical body and left the Dharma body alive in this world are qualified."
He teased the little monk nervously.
"Your master can only put it there."
What he was pointing to was rows of small stone caves dug into the stone wall, a small part of which contained boxes, jars, and urns of various styles.
The little monk was unconvinced and bulged his mouth, "But..."
Wu's old eyes bulged and he glared back at the disciple's words. Then he put the urn into an empty stone cave with a smile, glanced at the golden remains in silence, and frowned secretly.
Oh, there are a few less than the last time I came here.
……………………
On the way back, the prisoners naturally behaved evilly again.
Poor Benshan had never seen such a battle at such a young age. He just followed the master's footsteps with his head raised along the way. When he left the cave and crossed the rope bridge, he still couldn't help being afraid, and his palms and vest were covered in cold sweat.
He looked back and saw that the deep cave looked like a monster that wanted to devour people, and the people guarding this monster were actually just a few idle monks?
"With so many people, aren't you afraid that the people inside will escape?"
The troubled monk didn't care at all and answered without looking back.
"Monks are left to guard the entrance of the cave, just to prevent some unknown pilgrims from breaking in."
Finally, he explained something again.
"There are three ancestors sitting in charge. For three hundred years, there has been no way in or out of the Demon Transformation Cave. No matter how advanced the magic is and how powerful the demonic flames are, if they enter the cave, they will just turn into stone and wait to die?"
It was better not to say the word "death". As soon as he said the word "death", what he saw in the cave flashed in the young monk's mind. The ferocious prisoners, the living people who gradually turned into stone, the decaying ancestors, and the three-headed and six-armed ancestor.
Maybe he was frightened, and an unfounded thought flashed through him, "Demon Transformation Cave, Demon Transformation Cave". If you can transform a demon into a Buddha, can you transform a Buddha into a demon? A ridiculous sentence blurted out.
"If the Patriarch is possessed by a demon..."
Halfway through his words, the young monk stopped hastily with a bitter look on his face. Oops, I said something I shouldn't have said again.
The troubled monk was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. He thought it was a child's talk, and instead of getting annoyed, he joked:
"Our three ancestors are the first-class divine monks in the world. If they are possessed by demons, they will be the first-class demons!"
…………
At midnight, the night is dark.
Next to the Demon Transformation Cave, a person suddenly climbed up the steep cliff.
It's strange to say that although this man can climb up the cliff, his joints seem to be rusty and indescribably stiff when he moves. He dragged his staggering steps and moved step by step to the Demon Transformation Cave.
At this time, a fat and white warrior monk was guarding in front of the cave. Unfortunately, this guy was wrapped in a blanket and leaning against the stone wall, smelling of alcohol and sleeping soundly.
The strange man stood in front of him and stared at him for a long time. The fat white monk seemed to feel something. He mumbled a few words in his sleep, turned over and fell asleep again.
Seeing this, the weirdo finally took stiff steps and gradually approached, but in the end he passed directly and walked into the Demon Transformation Cave.
At this time, the sky wind pushed away the clouds, and the moon cast a cold light, which only illuminated a tattered monk's robe and disappeared into the dark cave.
Entering the Demon Transformation Cave, the movements of the monk-robed man became stiffer and slower. Along the way, ashes with sparks scattered from under the tattered monk's robes, which were slowly swept away by the gentle wind in the cave.
His arrival once again boiled this dry cave.
"Choose me! Choose me!"
"Come in front of me."
Most of the prisoners struggled and screamed, but he completely ignored them and only staggered to stop in front of Fan Monk's cage.
"Hehe, do you like me? That's fine!"
Monk Fan slowly stood up and moved to the iron fence step by step with difficulty against the wriggling and shrinking vines.
"It's better to die quickly than to live with it."
As he spoke, he grabbed the iron railing with both hands, slammed his head, forced his head into the palm-sized iron railing, and sent his head in front of the monk-robed man.
The man in monk's robe stretched out his hand, and touched the monk's neck with his skinny, bone-clawed hand. His sharp nails dug into the flesh, causing blood to drip immediately.
"Come on, come on." Monk Fan murmured to himself, "My resentment, my evil thoughts, my karma, all with my head..."
Poof, the skin and flesh were torn apart.
Click, the neck bone is broken.
Fan Monk's body fell to the ground, blood gushed out from his neck, forming a small pool. The vines covered with blood squirmed, slowly dragging it toward the stone wall.
Carrying his head, the man staggered past the noisy prisoners and past the sitting Buddha, scattering little ashes along the way.
He walked around to the side of the Three Body Buddha, to a blind spot that was blocked by a lotus platform and an offering table. There was a simple altar stacked with stones, and instead of melon and fruit buns, three shriveled heads were enshrined on it.
The candlelight danced, and the man raised his head and stared at the three-body Buddha, but saw that under the tattered miter on his head, he had a face as skinny as a mummy, covered with white hair, and a pair of fangs sticking out of the kiss.
The zombie opened its mouth and let out a few inexplicable roars. Then he placed the head in his hand on the altar, took a few steps back, and stiffly bent over to worship.
On the lotus platform, the corners of the Buddha's mouth that smiled compassionately moved slightly, showing a bit of evil in the shadow of the shaking candle.
