The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Today is a big day, and the meditation room in the backyard has correspondingly increased a lot of manpower. Although pilgrims are not allowed to enter the meditation room, there are still some stunned youths wandering around in the temple, so Shanxiang ordered three or four monks to come in Be on duty next to the path in the courtyard, and clean it up by the way. www: read novels

Seeing Feng Jingyao, the monks hurriedly put down the things in their hands and made a ceremony. The abbot explained that Pu Ji is the benefactor of Daming Temple, and he contributes money and efforts to repair the temple. He also donates [-] sticks of sesame oil every year. Whether the temple can eat, wear and read well Good scriptures, it all depends on his face; what's more, he is still the lay disciple of the old host, so his seniority and status are much higher than everyone else.

"Is Master in the meditation room?" Feng Jingyao smiled back and asked casually.

"The host has been waiting for you for a long time, and he has already prepared a fast meal in the meditation room. Please invite Master Puji to go and have a fast meal."

"Master is just being polite. Every time I come here, he will accompany me personally. I really feel sorry for my apprentice." Feng Jingyao said haha, showing off rather than being humble.

"Master's uncle is honorable, that's what it should be. Please do not ask me to wait forever." The poor self-esteem of the monks was greatly hit, and they would lose their words if they said too much, so it was better to send him away as soon as possible.

Feng Jingyao hummed, walked forward slowly, and soon came to the door of Shanxiang's Zen room, stood in front of the door, put the iron egg in his hand into his sleeve, put his palms together and said loudly: "Disciple Puji, come here Greetings, is Master there?"

Shanxiang's old voice came from inside the door: "Amitabha, is Puji here? Come in."

Feng Jingyao pushed the door open and walked in. Master Shanxiang was sitting at the table full of vegetarian meals, looking at him with a smile on his face.

Feng Jingyao bowed and said: "Amitabha, pay homage to Master."

Shanxiang returned the courtesy and said: "Take your seat quickly, as a teacher, you will know that you are coming at this time, and the fasting meal is still warm, so take your seat quickly."

Feng Jingyao thanked him, sat across from Shanxiang, picked up the bowls and chopsticks, and ate. The vegetarian food in the temple was sweet and delicious. Feng Jingyao was tired of eating delicacies all day long. Fa felt a great appetite, even ate two bowls of rice, and ate up the few dishes of vegetarian dishes on the table, then wiped his mouth and sighed: "The food in the temple is a hundred times better than outside, it's really a pleasure."

Shanxiang only ate a small bowl of rice, and he was already full after eating a few pieces of pickled radish. Hearing this, he said with a smile: "It is common sense for people to eat rice in a separate pot. You can come and eat whenever you like."

Feng Jingyao sighed and said: "How can I have time to come to eat every day, disciples have so many things to do, sometimes they are so busy that they don't even have time to eat, how can they find time to come and serve the Buddha often.",

Shanxiang called the little monk to clear away the dishes on the table, and ordered them to make hot tea and bring it up. He took a sip of the hot tea and swirled it in his mouth a few times to swallow it. Then he said: "There are countless ordinary things in the world of mortals. , How many people can give up? If you can really let go of all the sources of troubles and return to peace, you will be the sign of Taoism."

Feng Jingyao took out a gold toothpick from his waist, picked out the residue between his teeth, and said indistinctly: "Master, you are standing and talking without pain in your back. Why are you working so hard to earn money? This Manjusri Hall is a big place. The hole, I thought it would be completed for [-] to [-] yuan, but I didn’t expect it to go down to [-] to [-] yuan, it’s still far away. Last month, Master Shangen went to the city to ask his disciple for this month’s incense money, and his disciple was almost rejected by him. I'm so angry, I entered Buddhism to worship Buddha, not to be a horse for these moths in the temple."

Shanxiang's face was ugly, and he said aloud to the Buddha: "Puji, you are not in a good mood, how can you speak so radically? You were the one who wanted to convert to the old monk's sect as a disciple, but it wasn't the master who forced you. The words of your own promise, why are you complaining now."

Feng Jingyao said dissatisfiedly: "Master's words are inappropriate. I promised you some conditions, but you can't ask people to come to your door to ask for money. Besides, it's a secret for me to be a lay disciple of Buddhism. I don't want others I know, when Shangen left like that, it made it clear that the disciple would look bad, and if others knew about it, they would think that I, Feng Jingyao, owed money to your monastery."

Shanxiang said: "Shangen's move is inappropriate. After returning to the temple, the old monk has reprimanded him, but he can't do anything about it. In the past six months, the temple has not made any money. One hundred and ten people sit and eat mountains and sky. Shangen is in charge of money and things. Seeing food and clothing Wu Zang, why is he in no hurry? Besides, from June to now, half a year has passed, but you have not given a penny, and he went to ask you for help because he was thinking of fellowship, please help."

Feng Jingyao laughed dryly: "That's the disciple's fault. After all, there is a difference between those who become monks and those who don't. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the temple, and what I got was the master's criticism."

"Amitabha, Puji, you can't bear what you said as a teacher. As disciples of Buddhism, there is no distinction between one and another. If you are serving the Buddha, there is no distinction between high and low. You think too much."

Feng Jingyao sneered and said: "What's the use of saying this, you and I both understand in our hearts that our master and apprentice are actually a transaction, and the disciple is a businessman, so we have no complaints about it, but do you know that these people from Yangzhou City The month is full of quarrels, this time is the time when the disciple gets rich, but another boy named Su Jin comes and opposes the disciple everywhere. At this time, you still ask Shan Gen to ask me for money and to fulfill my promise , am I free to talk to him?"

Master Shanxiang fell silent, picked up the mallet and struck on the wooden fish, Feng Jingyao also realized that he had lost his composure today, how could he turn his face against the old monk as soon as he met, he didn't come here to quarrel.

The sound of the wooden fish calmed Feng Jingyao's mind, and he sat there drinking tea one after another without saying a word.

During the interval of the sound of the wooden fish, Feng Jingyao heard the slight sound of Hisoka from under the wooden bed in the meditation room. The ears of martial arts practitioners are so sensitive, and he immediately asked vigilantly, "What is under the bed?"

Shanxiang hurriedly stopped knocking, and said: "There is a big mouse in the room, I can't bear to chase it away, so I let it make a nest here, presumably because it smells the smell of food and wants to eat it secretly."

Feng Jingyao snorted, and didn't pursue further. These monks are really full. They can do any crazy things like feeding tigers, cutting flesh and feeding eagles, let alone raising a little mouse.

Shanxiang coughed, and said, "Puji, you are a little too sensitive. I guess the nightmare has come back again in the past month?"

Feng Jingyao put down the cup and said in surprise: "How do you know?"

Shanxiang said: "As a teacher, of course I can see that since the fifteenth day of last month, you have not come to me to listen to scriptures and chant scriptures for more than [-] days. How can I keep my mind at peace when I am far away from the Buddha?"

Feng Jingyao said: "My disciple burns incense and prays every day, but the effect is not good, and the symptoms seem to be getting worse."

Shanxiang nodded and said: "I see that your words and deeds today are very different from those in the past, and you are quite violent. It must be a symptom of aggravated illness."

Feng Jingyao clasped his palms together and said, "Master, quickly lead me to recite the scriptures. You are right. I have tortured my disciples to death these past few days. I can't fall asleep all night. When I close my eyes, the phantoms in my mind will come one after another. I can't bear it anymore, the words I said just now seem to offend Master, Master, don't take it to heart."

Shanxiang said: "Goodness, goodness, Buddhists don't say that they are angry and blamed. It's just that your illness will not be cured by just chanting sutras. I guessed that you would come these few days, so I thought hard and tried to find out who you are. You can find a way to get rid of demonic obstacles, and relieve your suffering once and for all; although the relationship between you and me as a teacher and apprentice is not real, but after all, being able to accept you as a disciple means that you have a relationship with the Buddha and the old monk. No matter what, as a teacher, you can't just sit idly by. .”

Feng Jingyao said happily: "Yes, yes, complaints are complaints. After all, I am still your disciple. How can the master not care about the disciple's troubles? Have you come up with any solution?"

Shanxiang closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then said slowly: "Things change according to your heart, situations are created by your heart, anger comes from your heart, and troubles are all in your mind; as a teacher, no matter what you have done before, since you have entered my Buddhist gate , then everything disappears, and the Buddha will not pursue it; the old man said this not to ask you to dig your own old bottom, but think about it for yourself, is it because you have guilt in your heart? It is said that you can’t let go of the previous experience, can’t get rid of it, and think about it in your heart, and it’s self-generated in your mind, isn’t that the truth?”

Feng Jingyao remained silent. Although the old monk was right, he would not admit that he had committed heinous crimes; Shanxiang was telling him that you have done a lot of bad things, so naturally you are restless and unable to sleep, and there is no ghost in your heart , Why are you afraid of ghosts knocking on the door?

If it had been just now, Feng Jingyao might have pointed at Shanxiang's nose and scolded him, but he knew that this would not solve the problem, and his purpose was to find a way to get rid of this root cause. Not much more, he wants to enjoy life happily, but the premise is that he will never be tortured by nightmares.

"Puji, what my teacher said is very clear. If you can't let go of your heart and keep taboo about diseases and avoid medical treatment, I will be helpless. If your illnesses get worse in the future, it will be unthinkable."

"To what extent can this be bad? Could it be that the thing in the dream can kill me?" Feng Jingyao insisted.

Shanxiang sighed: "External diseases can be driven away, but mental demons are hard to get rid of. External diseases can be cured before they are terminally ill. Physical pain can be endured by gritting your teeth; but once the disease in the mind gets worse, it is very difficult to get rid of it. The growth of inner demons will prompt people to do unusual behaviors. Haven’t you heard of good people throwing themselves into rivers and hanging on beams, or gouging out their eyes and chopping off their hands and feet? That is the inner demons acting on the outside, causing illness In the end, the person who suffered from it could only self-mutilate in order to seek relief, can you compare your own symptoms, is there any moment when you are in unbearable pain, and you suddenly have the idea of ​​​​taking your own life?"

Feng Jingyao was surprised, this kind of thinking is not a problem, but it often happens. When he can't sleep at night, besides tormenting the people around him for no reason, he also wants to cut his arm with a knife countless times to let the flesh The pain dispelled the fantasy thoughts in his head, it seems that Shanxiang is not threatening himself majesticly.

"Is there?" Shanxiang asked.

"Indeed... I did." Feng Jingyao said in a low voice with his face pale.

Shanxiang's eyes were lowered, his eyelids twitched, and he breathed out imperceptibly: "Amitabha, so good, so good."