Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 112 It’s OK to Rub

"Yes, as long as you don't get off this boat, you will wake up on the boat every time you dream in the future." Ren Yuan nodded.

"Ah?!" The little monk's eyes widened instantly, and he blurted out: "Is it true?"

Then he lowered his head in embarrassment. "Amitabha, I lost my composure."

"Whether it is true or not, you will know when you dream again." Ren Yuan smiled slightly.

~~
After settling the little monk, which had already taken most of the day, Ren Yuan hurried to the top of the boat to practice.

Yang Zhongze opened the bookcase and asked the little monk if he wanted to read a book. The little monk quickly shook his head and said, "Master said that we can't read books outside randomly, otherwise we will get stye."

"Okay..." Yang Zhong knew that monks had many rules, so he ignored him and picked up a book to read carefully.

Chen Baxian also took a copy of Zuo Zhuan and after reading it for a while, he couldn't help but talk to the little monk.

Ask him how he became a monk, where he became a monk, and what he does every day besides practicing?
The young monk Faxiu cited the second article of the "Three Rules" and refused to answer his question.

Chen Baxian smiled and said, "If I don't go to look for you in real life, won't it be considered a violation?"

"That's right." The little monk was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and his personality was very simple, so Chen Baxian figured out his true identity in just a few words.

"I am an orphan adopted by the master. I have been in Lingyin Temple in Qiantang since I can remember. Apart from practicing, I eat, sleep and daydream every day. I am only busy when there are ceremonies..."

"Where are you from?" Chen Baxian was originally sitting lazily, half leaning and half lying, but he sat up straight upon hearing the words.

"The Sutra Translation Institute of Lingyin Temple." The little monk looked at Chen Baxian strangely, wondering why he reacted so strongly.

"Is the Sutra Translation Institute next to the Lingyin Temple?" Chen Baxian asked.

"Yes." Faxiu nodded and said, "Lingyin Temple is an outer temple open to pilgrims. Our Sutra Translation Institute is the inner courtyard, where monks practice."

"Then do you know a lot about the temple?" Chen Baxian said, shaking his head and laughing deliberately, "Just pretend I didn't ask. What can a 14 or 15-year-old kid like you know?"

"Who are you looking down on?" Faxiu blushed immediately and said unconvincedly, "I grew up in the temple since I was a child. Is there anything I don't know?"

"Boasting..." Chen Baxian curled his lips.

"If you don't believe me, just ask anything you want and see if you can stump me." The young monk was aroused to be competitive and glared at Chen Baxian angrily.

"Okay, then let me ask you. Do you know why Feilai Peak is called Feilai Peak?" Chen Baxian asked.

"Of course I know. It is said that Master Huili came from India and saw this peak and said in surprise: 'This is a small ridge of Vulture Peak in India. I wonder how it came here?' Hence the name." The little monk said proudly: "You can't confuse me, right?"

"You have something." Chen Baxian praised him and asked him several questions about Lingyin Temple. The little monk answered them all fluently. He was so coaxed by the constant "not bad" and "really amazing".

"Do you know that your Buddhist sect has a magic that can make people forget their past, even their own names?" Seeing that the time was ripe, Chen Baxian asked casually.

But to be honest, he didn't really hold out much hope.

"Of course I know." Unexpectedly, the little monk answered without hesitation: "The high monks who have reached the state of Arhat can help people to break the attachment of body view through initiation and firmly believe that the physical body is not me."

"..." Chen Baxian's eyes widened and he knocked on his bald head: "Speak human language."

"This, is this still nonsense?" The little monk held his head in grievance.

"Knots are the entanglements of thoughts." Yang Zhong explained for him: "To cut off the knot of body and mind is to let people cut off all ties with their past."

"That's what I mean." The little monk nodded hurriedly. Actually, Yang Zhong's explanation was not very accurate, but he didn't want to expose this "good brother". "Then can this knot be connected if it is broken?" Chen Baxian asked.

"Of course it can't be connected if it's broken. But it's impossible to truly 'break the knot of body view' through initiation." Although the young monk is so young, he has a deep understanding of Buddhism. He just talked eloquently:
"We as monks cultivate ourselves and can only rely on ourselves. Therefore, the 'severance of the body-view knot' given by others only makes people forget about the physical body, but cannot truly eliminate the physical body."

After a pause, the young monk continued, "This is just a means to help those monks who are not very intelligent or have very strong obsessions to break the knot. If you really want to achieve enlightenment, you still have to rely on yourself to overcome this hurdle in the end."

Chen Baxian didn't care about how to attain enlightenment. He grabbed the monk's shoulders and said excitedly, "Just tell me how to restore the memory of the person who received the initiation!"

"Why should I tell you?" The little monk curled his lips, it turned out that he was not a good person either.

"Young master, please give me some advice." At this time, Ren Yuan's voice sounded. He also heard their conversation. He came out of his meditation and bowed deeply to the young monk.

The young monk didn't want to be willful to Ren Yuan, so he asked seriously, "Is this important?"

"Yes, human life is at stake." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "And he is the person closest to me."

"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda." Yang Zhong also chimed in, "Little Master, the Buddha will forgive you."

Faxiu couldn't stand the three old men's persuasion. After a struggle between his conscience and his mind, he sighed and said, "Well, it's just a dream anyway, so just treat it as me talking in my sleep."

"Young master is indeed intelligent and will surely achieve the status of Arhat in the future." Yang Zhong praised hurriedly.

"Use the Three-Life Stone." The young monk Faxiu replied, "As long as you sit on the Three-Life Stone, not only can you recover your memory, but you can also see your past and future lives."

"Then where can we find such a treasure?" Chen Baxian asked hurriedly.

"I really can't say that." The little monk shook his head and said, "I don't want to be a traitor to Buddhism."

"I know even if you don't tell me that the Three Lives Stone is in your Lingyin Temple." Ren Yuan laughed.

"Ah? How did you know?" The little monk was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

"It seems that it is really in Lingyin Temple." Yang Zhong nodded and said, "Young Master, you should be compassionate. Saving people is the most important thing."

"You also said that as long as you sit on the Three Lives Stone for a while, you can recover your memory, right? It won't break if you sit on it, and you can't get in by rubbing it. How can you be considered a traitor to Buddhism?" Chen Baxian advised from another angle.

As a result, the little monk could not stand the three people's deception and said with a wry smile: "Well, I'll tell you, the Sansheng Stone is in the Sansheng Hall of the Sutra Translation Institute. The Sansheng Hall is where the three monks who protect the temple live, but they will not allow the person who has been initiated to recover his memory."

"Are they powerful?" Ren Yuan asked.

"The three monks have all attained the first fruit of Sotapanna and will never fall into the three evil paths." The young monk replied: "In your words, it means that the six orifices have been opened..."

"..." Ren Yuan and Chen Baxian looked at each other and both knew that it was impossible to seize the property by force, so they could only take it by trickery.

"How big is the Three Lives Stone?" Ren Yuan asked.

"It's very big, three meters high and ten meters wide." The little monk gestured and said, "It is known as the two great treasures of the temple together with Feilai Peak in the 'Southeast Buddhist Kingdom'."

"It's impossible to put such a big thing in the house, right?" asked Chen Baxian.

"Of course." The little monk nodded and said, "It's the same as Feilai Peak, both are in the courtyard."

"That's not bad." Ren Yuansong said, "If you leave it outdoors, you'll always find a chance to rub it."

"Actually," the little monk slapped his head and thought of something, "Tomorrow is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is the day when Sakyamuni attained enlightenment. Lingyin Temple will hold a grand ceremony, and the three monks will all go."

(End of this chapter)