"Selling combs to monks?"
"Wonderful, so wonderful. Is this really the King of Shu's idea?"
Li Shimin was also surprised that his son could come up with this method to select talents.
Wang De bowed and said: "Yes, it was indeed the King of Shu who came up with it."
"Hahaha, the person selected in this way is worth ten thousand dollars! It's not what he thought of, hahaha..."
Wang De saw that His Majesty was happy, but he didn't understand what was so wonderful about it, so he asked: "Your Majesty, the old slave is stupid and can't figure out the reason. Why did the King of Shu sell the comb to the monk? This is almost impossible! "
Li Shimin stroked his short beard and said cheerfully: "Why is it impossible? It all depends on man-made efforts."
"However, those who can sell combs to monks are superior in terms of emotional intelligence, IQ, and all aspects of their behavior."
"This type of person is smooth, flexible, and understands the ways of the world. They are the best candidates for business."
"My son, this is the principle that it is better to race a horse than to look at it!"
Wang De's eyes widened, he didn't expect that there was such a profound truth behind this.
So he sincerely praised: "The King of Shu is indeed smarter than ordinary people and has inherited all the advantages of His Majesty."
"It's a pity that wisdom doesn't have to be on the right path..."
Li Shimin sighed sadly, but he liked his son more and more.
"You ask Li Shu to continue to inquire about the information, see how those people sell the combs, and finally send me the list of those people. I want to see..."
"Yes, I will inform Commander Li Shu now."
…
That afternoon, Ma Qiu and his companions finally arrived at a small, dilapidated temple outside Chang'an City.
This temple is called "Jinshan Temple".
Ma Qiu was surprised. There was also a temple named "Jinshan Temple" in his hometown of Runzhou.
That temple also housed the most famous mage in the Tang Dynasty, Master Tripitaka.
Master Tripitaka is a famous person in Chang'an City, but Master Tripitaka has already traveled around. It is said that he has gone to distant places to obtain true scriptures and save all sentient beings.
When Ma Qiu came to the temple, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, what a miserable monk! Even more miserable than his life.
The Buddha statue is a clay sculpture, and the house is badly damaged. When you look up, you can see the blue sky and moving white clouds. If it rains, you can even take a bath.
The monk's clothes were all patched, and there were only three monks in the temple.
A young novice.
A middle-aged cripple.
An old Zen master with a white beard.
When the companion saw this scene, he also felt sad for Ma Qiu: "Sir, can the comb be sold in such a tragic situation?"
Ma Qiu, who was confident before coming here, now felt unsure after seeing this scene.
"Don't be afraid, it all depends on the human condition. How do you know if it doesn't work if you haven't tried it?" He encouraged himself.
The little novice monk clasped his hands together: "Two donors, who are you looking for?"
Ma Qiu was now in the courtyard, bowed and said, "I'm looking for three masters."
The young novice smiled and said, "The donor is joking. The young monk is just a young novice and cannot be called a master."
"Sooner or later you will become a master like Sanzang!"
The little novice smiled happily, and his big eyes turned into crescent moons.
Ma Qiu came to the old monk and said, "Old Zen Master, please be polite."
The old monk clasped his hands together and chanted: "Amitabha, the donors are polite. I don't know whether the two donors are here to worship Buddha or stay overnight."
Ma Qiu bowed again, then looked around and said, "I come from Runzhou, Henan Province. There is also a Jinshan Temple in my hometown, where Master Tripitaka became a monk."
"I passed by here that day and saw that there is also a Jinshan Temple here. I felt inexplicably destined to come here to visit today."
"It's just that I feel very sad when I see the temple in such a dilapidated state today..."
The old monk's cloudy eyes became brighter. He was also from Runzhou and became a monk at Jinshan Temple. Later, he followed Sanzang to Chang'an.
The old monk smiled and said: "I didn't expect that I and the donor are from the same hometown. I, the Buddha, are so compassionate. It's really fate."
"My Buddha is merciful! Maybe the Buddha really showed up and allowed me to see you, the old Zen master!"
The two chatted for a long time, and the old monk asked: "Are you two worshiping Buddha or staying overnight?"
"No! I just want to sell you the comb."
The corners of the old Zen master's mouth twitched, but the middle-aged lame monk felt a little angry.
You young man, are you here to cause trouble?
"The donor and I are monks. They will never need a comb in this life."
"Besides, the donor has also seen that my temple is dilapidated and I have no money to repair it. The golden body of the Buddha is just a clay sculpture. How can I have the money to buy your comb?"
The old Zen master had a wry smile on his face. Maybe this man had a mental problem!
Ma Qiu waved his hand quickly: "Old Zen Master has misunderstood. Old Zen Master might as well listen to me."
"The comb I am selling you is not for old Zen masters and others to use, but for pilgrims to use."
"Think about it, you guys. When pilgrims come to worship Buddha, they must kneel down and kowtow devoutly. Their hair will be messy. This is disrespectful to Buddha. You might as well put a comb next to it for pilgrims to smooth their hair..."
"Furthermore, the old Zen master put the comb in the temple and listened to the old Zen master preaching and chanting scriptures every day, so he was imbued with Buddha's light and cause and effect."
"Your temple can be used as a gift and given to pilgrims to bless them with a safe life."
"In this way, when the pilgrims are happy, they build a golden body for the Buddha and repair the temple, so that more pilgrims can come, repent in front of the Buddha, and reform. This is how to save all sentient beings!"
"I know that the three masters are practicing hard, but no pilgrims come to worship the Buddha. The three masters are only cultivating themselves, not all sentient beings!"
"Isn't this contrary to Buddhist philosophy?"
The three monks were thoughtful and somewhat enlightened. The three of them were practicing hard, only for themselves, not for all sentient beings!
The idea of Buddhism is to save all sentient beings, not themselves!
The middle-aged lame monk also clasped his hands together and quickly recited a Buddha's name. What a sin!
After years of hard training, I only cultivated myself and did not save all sentient beings. No wonder no pilgrims came. It turned out that they had practiced wrongly.
Ma Qiu struck while the iron was hot: "I have a hundred combs here. Each comb costs one penny, a total of one hundred penny. If the old Zen master thinks it is expensive, I will sell it to your temple at half price in the future."
The old Zen master recited a Buddha's name and said with a smile: "Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. It seems that the donor is also a believer of my Buddha."
"How about the donor put down his worldly thoughts, talk about scriptures and Taoism with Lao Monk, and help save all sentient beings together?"
Qiu Xiu: "..."
Ma Qiu touched his nose and felt humiliated. He beeped with the old monk for a long time, but he didn't expect that his efforts were in vain.
"Amitabha, I understand the kindness of the old Zen Master. I am indeed a follower of my Buddha."
"But if you have Buddha in your heart and there is Buddha everywhere, why come to the temple to practice hard and sell the comb to your temple? Isn't it so that more Buddhist believers can feel the Buddha's sincere love for believers?"
The old Zen master nodded: "That makes sense."
"The donor has a profound understanding of Buddhist concepts, which makes me ashamed."
"Jise, go to Lao Na's Zen room. There is money under the futon. Take one hundred coins and give it to this donor!"
The little novice monk's eyes widened and he asked doubtfully: "Master, didn't you say we have no money?"
"That's not money, that's the smell of copper, that's the source of all evil. What do we ascetics do with that money?"
"But, senior brother said, if we don't have money, we won't have food to eat!"
Everyone: "..."
Ma Qiu was overjoyed and finally sold it. He quickly clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, old Zen master, for helping me fulfill my wish today."
But the old Zen master said very profoundly: "I didn't help you fulfill your wish, it was you who helped you fulfill your wish. Destiny is determined by God, and destiny is born by yourself."
Ma Qiu muttered that fate is determined by God and destiny is determined by oneself. As if he had realized something, he happily bowed and saluted: "Thank you, Master, for your advice. I will remember it."
