Li Cunde said to Huineng: "If you want to become a monk, you can, but we have one condition. ”

Huineng replied calmly: "As long as my uncle allows me to go to Dongchan Temple, I will agree to the great conditions." ”

"Come with me." Li Cunde brought Huineng to the entrance of the village, pointed to the boulder standing and said, "If you can worship this boulder on both sides, you can go!"

Huineng asked loudly, "Uncle, is this true?"

Li Cunde also replied loudly: "Seriously!"

Huineng raised his voice again: "You won't regret it?"

Li Cunde also replied in a louder voice: "I will never regret it!"

"Good!" Huineng agreed, he believed that sincerity is spirituality.

This boulder, about one zhang high and eight feet wide, is mottled by wind and rain, standing at the entrance of the village.

Hui Neng put incense sticks in front of the boulder, lit a candle, knelt on his knees, folded his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed in a whisper: "May the Buddha appear in heaven and split the boulder for me." ”

The scorching sun is in the sky, shooting down thousands of scorching tongues of fire. The broad banana leaves at the edge of the village were curled up in the sun, and the dogtail grass that had been in high spirits in the past drooped its head weakly. Wisps of swaying water vapor floated on the road, and people walked over, one cloud of smoke and dust at a time.

Sweat flowed down his cheeks from the top of Huineng's head, and the ground was wet.

Li secretly peeked from the shade of the tree in the distance, and when he saw this scene, he was really distressed, gritted his teeth, and forcibly endured it, not to disturb him.

Huineng's faith was as solid as a rock, kneeling on the ground, silently reciting the Diamond Sutra, closing his eyes and praying......

Suddenly, a thunderclap sounded in the blue sky, shaking the heavens and the earth.

A dazzling bolt of lightning swept down from the sky and slashed straight down at the boulder like a sharp sword.

Sparks sparked on the boulder, and smoke rose from it.

When the smoke cleared, Huineng opened his eyes and said in ecstasy: "God help me!"

It turned out that the center of the boulder had been split into two sides.

Some scholars say: "Sincerity, gold and stone are open", and this idiom allusion comes from this.

Li Cunde witnessed this wonderful scene and couldn't help but sigh: "Providence! This is providence!"

So, he took Huineng back to Xialu Village.

Li Cunde is a person who understands righteousness, and his words are like spilled water. You can't get it back. Besides, he made a vow with Huineng.

Li Cunde said to Li with a serious expression: "Sister, Hui Neng'er is determined to be a Buddha, and even the thunder and lightning of heaven and earth have come out to help him. It seems that this is providential, and it is really difficult for us to disobey it. ”

After hearing this, Li deliberately tested: "It should be like this according to heavenly principles, but if I can become a monk and become a monk, my Lu family's cigarettes will be cut off from now on." Back then, Li Guoshi promised that my family could pass on Wandai cigarettes, but it didn't become an empty word. My husband is also uneasy on the Huangquan Road!"

Li Cunde waved his hand: "Sister's words are wrong. ”

Li pouted: "Brother, why did you say such a thing?" Isn't it a favorite?"

"Sister, I am the same flesh and blood as you, how can I deliberately help Huineng? We must do things in accordance with the principles of heaven," Li Cunde's expression was solemn, "As the saying goes, a son is good. The Nine Ancestors ascended to heaven. Huineng is right, if he achieves positive results in Buddhism, the world will be universal, and thousands of people will worship it in the future and pass it on from generation to generation, this is the real Wandai cigarette!"

"Heh, could it be that this is what Li Guoshi was referring to back then?" Lee's pretended to be suddenly enlightened.

Li Cunde recalled: "Li Guoshi is talented and knowledgeable, he has been under one person and above ten thousand, and he will never talk nonsense. Do you remember? On the day Huineng was born, two eminent monks made a special trip to the door to name him and enlighten his brother-in-law. ”

After being reminded by Li Cunde, Li thought of the fact that the two eminent monks came to the door the day after Huineng was born, and knew that Huineng did have a different Buddha fate.

Seeing that his younger brother finally understood the truth, Li agreed to Huineng to study Buddhism, and said: "Neng'er, since your uncle has agreed, it is difficult to disobey the will of heaven, and your heart is like a rock, and you can't keep your heart if you are a person." You can choose a day to go on your way!"

"Thank you mother, thank you uncle." Huineng smiled, but after a while, his face was covered with thick clouds.

Li Cunde asked puzzledly: "Huineng, your mother also promised to let you become a monk and seek Buddha, your wish has been fulfilled, why do you have a gloomy face?"

Lee: "Yes, you should be happy." Is there something you can't let go?"

At this time, Huineng was worried about her mother and said, "Mother, after I leave, I don't know how long I will have to leave." You are alone at home, eating and living, with no one to take care of you. I-"

"Huineng, don't worry about this, I will do my best to take care of my sister." Li Cunde took over the conversation, "You can rest assured that you can go on the road." ”

"Then thank you, uncle." After Huineng finished speaking, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to his uncle three times.

Huineng came to Jintai Temple excitedly and told the Zen Master of Silence before and after.

Zen Master Silent Sky was dumbfounded when he heard this, and in addition to being stunned, his deep voice was like a Hong Zhong: "Ah, this is the will of heaven, this is the will of heaven!" So he went into the abbot's room, took out a hundred taels of silver, and gave it to him.

Huineng looked at the white silver and waved his hand and didn't accept it: "How can I accept the money from the Buddha's door?"

Zen Master Lonely Sky said solemnly: "You went to Huangmei Dongchan Temple in Hubei Province and defected to the five ancestors of Hongren, and in the future, you will also be a member of our Buddhism." Why divide one another again? These silver taels were given by a benefactor named An Daocheng who knew that you were going to leave home and go north to visit the Five Ancestors, and asked me to transfer them to you. Besides, these silver taels are not for you to use. ”

Huineng: "So, who are you for?"

Zen Master Lonely Sky affectionately said: "Your mother and son depend on each other. Thou hast left home, and thy mother is old, and thou hast kept these taels of silver for her in case of need. Hui Neng still wanted to push back, and the Zen Master of Silence looked unhappy: "This is not only the old man's intention

Thinking is also the intention of all the monks of our Jintai Temple. If you push it back, you're looking down on us. ”

"This ......" Hearing what Zen Master Shankong said, Huineng had no reason to refuse anymore, so he had to accept the silver and take it home to his mother.

There are also historical records that the abbot of Jintai Temple gave Huineng ten taels of silver at that time. It is impossible to verify the exact number, and it is not crucial. Here, the most important point is that Huineng went north to seek Buddha with financial support from Buddhism.

On the eve of parting, the mother and son stayed awake all night, cutting candles and talking for a long time, until the rooster announced.

Li Cunde also arrived on time.

"It seems that the boulder has a spirit, we might as well go to the boulder and see Neng'er off." Lee proposed.

Li Cunde nodded: "This is exactly what I want." First, we will see him off, and second, we will thank the heavens. ”

So, Li, Li Cunde and Huineng put three incense sticks in front of the boulder at the head of Jiulang Village, and after bowing, Huineng waved goodbye to his mother.

This boulder, later generations call it "other mother stone", it has experienced thousands of years of wind and rain thunderstorms, and still stands at the head of Jiulang Village, which is another topic.

Not far from the entrance of the village, I just turned the hillside and saw a master with dozens of monks lined up on both sides of the mountain road.

This is the Silent Sky Zen Master with the monks of the whole temple, to give Hui Neng a ride.

Zen Master Lonely Sky took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Huineng, Dao; "This is my letter of recommendation to the Five Patriarchs of Dongchan Temple."

Huineng gratefully accepted the letter: "Master, you are really thoughtful. ”

Seeing Huineng's figure drift away and disappear into the dense trees, Zen Master Lonely Sky said with emotion: "Our Buddhist Zen sect has another person who receives the lamp inheritance. ”

Huineng became a monk, one was not forced by life, the second was not chased and killed by the enemy, and the third was trapped by love and saw through the red dust. His lofty ideal was to seek to see the Buddha and explore the true meaning of the Diamond Sutra. There is a saying that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." From another point of view, the high level of Huineng devoting himself to the empty door is not comparable to the world's laypeople, which also determines that his future achievements are not comparable to the world's laypeople.

The wind is bleak, and the wilderness is vast.

A basil-covered path leads to the reckless mountains in the distance, and a lone goose soars in the empty sky.

Huineng, who was 24 years old at the time, wore a black coarse cloth coat, carried a bag on his back, and pedaled straw sandals, and embarked on this difficult and dangerous journey......

Since then, in the old forests of Xinzhou, there is one less diligent firewood boy; In the history of Chinese Buddhism, there was an earth-shattering six ancestors of Zen Buddhism.