Yoshida Mii

Chapter 337 People are afraid of being famous

In Dongbao’s memory, she and Mrs. Li went to Geyin Temple, and saw these old ladies in the temple courtyard gathered together to make paper ingots. After folding a cloth bag, a monk took the bag away, presumably for practical use. of.

Although she lived a new life, Dongbao has an attitude of reverence for the gods, but she is not very keen on burning incense and worshiping Buddha. She always feels that the statues of gods and Buddhas hidden behind the smoke and incense and worshiped by devout men and women do not seem to be helpers in the dark. She is a god and Buddha who has been reborn.Belief in gods and Buddhas is not about how much incense you burn in the temple or how much money you offer, but how many good deeds you have done and how many people you have helped.No matter Taoism or Buddhism, they all pay attention to karma. If you do good deeds, good retribution will come sooner or later. As for doing bad deeds, just look at Song Bai.

But Dongbao will not be too stingy with the monks and nuns who come to ask for alms. No matter whether they are sincere or not, they are all people who serve the Buddha.

"Wait a minute, Master." Dong Bao smiled, went to the kitchen and took twenty steamed buns that were steamed only yesterday afternoon, wrapped them in a cloth, opened the door, and handed them to the woman.

The woman obviously didn't expect that Dong Bao would give her steamed buns, and she took the bundle from Dong Bao after she was astonished, put her hands together and said with a smile: "The benefactor is sincere to the Buddha, congratulations!"

Dong Bao smiled, and simply nodded. She couldn't explain to a layman whether she believed in Buddhism or not. Since the other party thought she believed in Buddhism, then she should believe in Buddha.

It was already noon at this moment, Lin Shi came back from the workshop, and saw a woman in gray robe standing at the door of his house talking to Dong Bao, so he ran two steps quickly, before reaching the door, he smiled and said: "Bo'er, who are you talking to?"

Dong Bao saw him and said with a smile, "It's a layman from Geyin Temple who came to ask for alms."

The woman also saw Lin Shi, hurriedly said "Amitabha Buddha" to Dong Bao, and left with the steamed buns.

"Why is the layman asking for alms?" Lin Shi glanced at the pudgy back of the female layman and asked.Generally speaking, those who came to ask for alms were monks, not to mention that although the incense in Geyin Temple was not very strong, it was enough for the monks to eat three meals a day, and very few monks came out to ask for alms.

Dong Bao shook his head, "I don't know, I begged to come to the door, so it's not good, so I just let it go."

But the next day, the pudgy female layman came again.

Dong Bao was not very happy in her heart. Although she was willing to give alms, the food at home was not brought by strong winds. They obviously came here again because they saw her easy to talk.

"Wait a minute, Master." Dong Bao said, ready to go to the kitchen to see what else is there, so let's forget about it. At the same time, he also complained in his heart, because he was too generous last time, which attracted this person.

The lay woman quickly said: "Wait a minute, benefactor, I have something to tell the benefactor."

"What's the matter?" Dong Bao asked.

The female layman smiled, sang a Buddhist saying, and said: "The female benefactor is a kind person, and she is dedicated to the Buddha. It is a blessing for my Buddhist family. Originally, the old woman did not dare to bother the female benefactor with such trivial matters. It's just out of desperation."

Dong Bao nodded and said, "Then tell me, if I can help, I will definitely help."

Hearing what Dong Bao said, a smile appeared on the female layman's face, "It's like this, the statue of the Three Saints in the head hall of Geyin Temple was molded ten years ago, and now the paint has faded a lot, which really damages my Buddha treasure. Xiang, we made a great wish in front of the Buddha, to build golden bodies for the three holy Buddhas. If the female donor can do her best... your sincerity in worshiping the Buddha, the Buddha will definitely see it, and will surely bless your family safe and secure, and be prosperous forever ..."

The female lay babbled a lot, probably because of her limited education level, she wanted to say polite sentences but said nondescript sentences. When Dong Bao was dizzy, she finally understood that she was asked to donate money to build the temple.

"Moulding a golden body..." Dong Bao murmured for a while, it couldn't be what she thought, how much would it cost?
The lay woman quickly said, "It's not a pure gold body, it's just a copper embryo coated with gold powder."

That's a lot of money!Because copper appears as a currency in circulation, folks cannot keep copper privately these days, otherwise they will be charged with crimes, which is the same as the prohibition of printing money in modern times.If you want to mold copper embryos, you have to melt a lot of copper coins to make copper water.Whether it is plastic copper embryo or gold powder, it will cost a lot of money.

Dongbao is willing to go to the temple to burn incense and offer some incense money, and she is also willing to donate steamed buns to poor beggars who can't eat, but she is reluctant to give this money, but she can't give up a penny, so she smiled: "That's Good thing, after a while, I will accompany my mother-in-law to burn incense in the temple."

If she wants to live in the countryside, her reputation of being disrespectful to gods and Buddhas will be ruined.

At that time, in the name of Aunt Qiuxia, I will decide what I mean. Anyway, Mrs. Li will go to burn incense and worship Buddha every month. By the way, I will give some incense money to the temple to keep the family safe. For twenty or fifty Wen, the whole family will let her go.

The female lay could not hide the disappointment on her face, and she took a step closer and said, "Female benefactor, I have inquired about it, and you are a well-known benevolent person in these ten miles and eight villages! Your family's business is so big, it is all thanks to the blessing of the Buddha!"

Seeing her excitement, Dong Bao quickly waved his hands and said, "You misunderstood, I didn't say I wouldn't donate money, I would definitely donate, but it's up to my mother-in-law to decide..."

"It doesn't matter how much you want, 300 taels of silver is not a big amount for you!" The lay woman said earnestly, looking at Dong Bao earnestly.

Dong Bao was taken aback, 300 taels? ! "You mean to let me pay the money for the golden body alone?"

Is this lay lady crazy? !Dong Bao is unbelievable, she looks so foolishly taken advantage of by a lot of money?
"I won't let you go in vain." The female layman said quickly, "We will set up a longevity tablet for you in front of the golden Buddha, and we will also erect a monument at the entrance of the main hall to engrave your merits and virtues."

Dong Bao took two steps back, said with a smile: "I see, you go back first, I can't decide this matter, I have to ask my mother-in-law." After finishing speaking, he closed the door.

300 taels, how many people would not be able to earn 30 taels for a lifetime of work, this female layman really dared to ask for it.

After Lin Shi came back at noon, Dong Bao told Lin Shi about it.

"There is no one who persuades people to give alms like this. Our family is not a rich and rich landlord." Dong Bao shook his head.

Lin Shi smiled and said, "In a few days, I'll accompany you and your mother to the temple and just give you some money. In our rural area, it's too much to build a golden body."

Geyin Temple is just a small rural temple like incense. There are Buddha statues made of mud or wood. After drying, they are painted with paint. They suddenly want to build a golden body, and let Dongbao come out alone. He really doesn’t know what to say. good.

Dong Bao thought the matter was over, but who knew that the female layman knocked on the door again on the third day, Dong Bao opened the door and saw her, so he didn't want to deal with her anymore, he just said: "Master, don't worry, my mother-in-law and I will definitely go there in two days." Burn incense in your temple."

"Benefactor, listen to me, it is a great merit to build a golden body for the Buddha..." The lay woman threw herself on the door opening and started talking to Dong Bao.

Dong Bao was startled by her sudden movement, took two steps back, and hastily closed the door.

However, the lay woman refused to leave, lying on the door and loudly urging Dong Bao to pay for the Buddha's golden body.

The people who lived not far from Dongbao saw it, and hurried to the workshop to inform Lin Shi. When Lin Shi and Lin Fu came running over with sticks, the lay woman was still yelling at the door. After running over, he ran away.

"Dong Bao, open the door quickly!" Lin Fu shouted at the door, "Don't worry, people have escaped."

As soon as the door opened, Lin Shi hurriedly asked, "Are you okay?"

Dong Bao shook his head, looked at the direction in which the female layman fled, and was very worried, "What should we do?" The female layman was a disciple of the Buddhist school, and she could not be beaten or scolded, so she looked like she was here to collect debts.

Lin Shi comforted her and said, "I'll go to the monastery to find out what happened in the afternoon. You go to your mother's place in the afternoon and don't go out after closing the door."

"I think there is something strange about this matter. The Geyin Temple is not so unreasonable." Darong chimed in. There is only such a temple in a radius of twenty miles. Everyone goes to offer incense on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. They are all from rural families. Although I dare not say that they are devout people, they are not evil people.

When it was getting dark, Lin Shi and Lin Fu came back from the outside. Speaking of the female layman, they both shook their heads and smiled wryly.

"What's going on?" Aunt Qiuxia was anxious, "The lay lady is not a liar, is she? If she dares to come next time, I'll break her leg!"

Lin Shi waved his hands and said with a smile: "I'm not a liar, I'm really a layman of Geyin Temple, and a person who is devout to Buddha."

Because Lin Shi had the title of scholar, the abbot of Geyin Temple came to meet him in person. The abbot was a fat man in his fifties, wearing a gray cotton jacket and gray cotton trousers. There is also a string of Buddhist beads in it.

As soon as he heard them talk about it, the abbot knew what was going on.

"This woman believes in Buddhism very well. When she heard that someone in the big temple outside paid for a golden body, she also wanted to make a golden body for the Buddha statue in the temple. She also made a great wish in front of the Buddha. How so. Ten miles and eight townships are all village households. Who can give her alms? This is why we have fallen in love with us. I also heard that Dongbao is kind and kind. Dashi is not at home in the morning, so he only looks at the morning. The layman she practiced with said, come every day, sooner or later sincerity can influence this family..." Lin Fu said, he also wanted to laugh when he said it.

"Our family has money, so it's not for her to show her loyalty to the Buddha." Aunt Qiuxia pouted, "What does she think of our family?"

Dong Bao also laughed. People are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong. Her reputation of being rich has long spread, but she used to live in the town and no one dared to bother her. Now that she lives in the country, all kinds of troubles come.

On the way home, Lin Shi comforted softly: "Don't worry, the abbot has promised that she will not come again."

On a winter night, the moonlight shone brightly in the sky, and the country road was silent. Lin Shi walked forward with Dong Bao in his arms, and the breath he exhaled became white.

"It's better to let parents and grandpa move in and live together." Dong Bao raised his head and smiled.

(End of this chapter)