The sixth ancestor Huineng also has an indissoluble bond with Zhaoqing, and the Mei'an in the west of the city left his holy traces.

Let's say that the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng has been preaching the Dharma in Baoling Temple for more than 30 years.

One day, he walked behind the temple in the setting sun.

The breeze blew, and a few yellow leaves fell leisurely on the tall Bodhi tree.

Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng bent down to pick up a yellow leaf on the ground, stared at it for a long time, and said to himself: "Oh, the fallen leaves return to the roots, the fallen leaves return to the roots!" He decided to leave for New South Wales.

At the mouth of Caoxi Creek, all the monks of Baolin Temple were dressed neatly and came to see off the master.

The sixth ancestor Hui Neng wore a golden-red robe and a tin cane, and boarded the boat.

Five other monks, including Shenhui, Fahai and Zhichang, carried their bags and then boarded the boat.

The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng looked affectionately at Cao Xi, the treasure land that made his Buddha career magnificent, looked at the disciples crowded on the shore, and said, "The leaves fall back to the roots, and there is no mouth when you come." When the Buddhas appear, they still show nirvana, they will come and go, and the reason is always the same. ”

The apprentices asked, "Who taught the Teacher's Eyes?"

The Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng replied: "Those who have the Tao can get it, and those who have no heart can get it." After speaking, he waved goodbye to all the disciples frequently.

The light boat slowly offshore, through the plum groves on both sides of Cao River, straight into the Beijiang River, and down the river.

The river is as green as satin, and the cliffs on both sides of the river seem to be cut. The blue sky is scarce, and the waterfowl are soaring.

The scenery in front of him is infinite, but what emerges from the eyes of the six ancestors is the scenes of life: Jintai Temple listened to the scriptures, went to Hubei Dongchan Temple to go to the five ancestors, got the ancestral holy clothes and golden bowl at night, and then hid in Huaiji, four meetings for fifteen years, until the comeback in Shaozhou Baolin Temple opened the "epiphany" method, in the blink of an eye, another thirty-six years. What a twists and turns and hardships for this long journey of life! After thinking about it, the sixth ancestor Hui Neng couldn't stop thinking about it.

The light boat traveled on the river for many days, from the Beijiang River down the Pearl River, and then traced the stream, from the mouth of the Antelope Gorge to the Xijiang River, it was already the sunset of the remnant sunset, returning to the sail point. The light boat they took in grazed the ancient city of Duanzhou and anchored at a wharf in the west of the city.

It was getting late, and the wind and waves were strong on the river, so the sixth ancestor Huineng decided to rest in the city for one night first.

The gods would say to the Sixth Ancestor Huineng: "People say that this place is picturesque, why don't we take advantage of the gap to go ashore and take a walk?"

"Okay." The Sixth Patriarch nodded, and he and the gods went ashore.

They walked a short distance from the shore, came to a small hill, saw the surrounding trees and green cages, and the birds chirped, but the grass and trees on the hill did not grow, and there was a small nunnery built alone at the top of the hill, lonely and lonely in the twilight.

Hui Neng said to the apprentice Shenhui: "That is the holy land of Buddhism, let's go and talk to the abbot about the Buddha's teachings and Zen opportunities." ”

God will: "Tonight, the wind and waves in the river are high, so let's simply go to the nunnery to ask for accommodation."

Huineng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's borrow a night in this small nunnery."

The abbot of the small nunnery was meditating and meditating, and when he heard the little monk at the gate report that a monk from other places had come to ask for accommodation, he quickly stood up from the futon and walked out to the gate to greet him.

He saw that there was an old Buddha with long hair and an extraordinary aura among the comers, and he muttered in his heart: "Who is this monk?"

The gods came up and respectfully sent the Buddhist spy.

The abbot opened it and took a look, "Yo, the person who came turned out to be the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism!" Immediately knelt down and bowed: "I don't know that the master is coming, I have missed the welcome, and I beg for forgiveness."

After the abbot led the monks to bow to the six ancestors Huineng, he led them up the hill.

This small nunnery does not occupy much land, only a few low blue brick houses, which is simply a world away from the grand Baoling Temple.

The abbot welcomed the Six Ancestors Huineng and his party into the small hall and sat down.

The little monk held the fragrant tea brewed.

Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng picked up the teacup, put it in his mouth, took a sip, felt that the taste was very bad, couldn't help frowning, looked down at the cup, under the shaking pine resin lamp, saw that the tea inside was extremely turbid, like yellow soup.

Seeing Hui Neng's expression, the abbot deduced what he was thinking, and asked bluntly: "Master, the muddy taste of this tea is too strong, isn't it?" ”

Sixth Ancestor Huineng nodded: "Yes." How can such turbid water be used to make tea? ”

The abbot showed a helpless look on his face: "In our small nunnery, the monks use Xijiang water for cooking and eating on weekdays. Nowadays, the Xijiang River is in the flood season, and there is too much sediment brought down by the upstream flushing, so we put the river water we picked up and let it stand in the pond for a long time, even if the alum is beaten, but the sediment cannot be completely settled. ”

"Alas, drinking such turbid river water for many years is really bitter for you," the six ancestors of Zen Buddhism asked puzzledly, "You have clear mountains and clear water here, Zhong Lingyu is beautiful, why don't you dig a well in the nunnery to get water?" ”

Abbot: "The monks of our temple also used to dig a well in the nunnery."

Sixth Ancestor Neng: "Since the well has been drilled, why do you want to go near and far and not drink the well water?"

The abbot sighed: "Although the well is beaten, there is no spring water gushing out. ”

Sixth Ancestor Huineng: "You take me to see." ”

"Okay," the abbot walked out of the small hall with the six ancestors, the gods and others, and not far from the door, he saw a square well, and the surrounding shrubs had turned yellow due to lack of water.

It was already dark at this time, and when I looked down, the well was only dark.

The little monk in the nunnery lit a torch and went into the well.

Sixth Ancestor Hui could see that due to the siltation of sediment, the bottom of the well was only a few feet deep at this time, and the sediment could be seen to be white, obviously, the well had been dry for a long time.

Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng said: "Since there is no water in the well, why do you give up halfway and stop digging deeper?" ”

The abbot explained: "The low-lying terrain is close to the Xijiang River, and according to the wells dug in other parts of the city, only a few feet of water will gush out. We used to dig this well several feet deeper, but it still dried up and ran out of water. ”

Sixth Patriarch Huineng: "My Buddha is talking about fate, and everything in the world is related to my Buddha." Water is also a spiritual thing, and if we don't have anything to do with it, even if we dig deeper, there will be no spring water gushing out. ”

God will realize: "Ah, so it is! No wonder there are not many plants and trees on this hill. ”

The abbot looked helpless, spread his hands and said: "It seems that God is destined that the monks in our nunnery will drink the turbid Xijiang water in the future." ”

"I don't think so," Sixth Ancestor Huineng waved his hand and said, "As the saying goes, sincerity is the opening of gold and stone." As long as we pray sincerely, we may have unexpected results. ”

The abbot nodded: "The Sixth Ancestor is reasonable. ”

The sixth ancestor Huineng first made a fasting bath, led the crowd to the dry well, and personally lit the incense candles.

After burning the incense, the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng muttered: "If there is a spirit in the sky, it intends to relieve the plight of our monks, and a sweet spring gushes out of the cane." With that, he raised the tin staff high and thrust it into the dry well.

The sound of "snort", although it was not the thunder of the heavenly drum, it was like Huang Zhong Dalu, and everyone felt the eardrums ring.

The tin rod had the power to crack the stone and open the monument, and pierced the stubborn stone that blocked the spring.

The Sixth Ancestor Huineng pulled the tin staff up, and a clear spring gushed out from the hole, attracting onlookers to cheer in unison.

The gushing water was so clear that it soon filled the dry well to the brim.

The abbot poured a scoop of water from the well with a melon scoop, put it to his mouth, tasted it, it was unusually sweet, and it was like a good wine, so he was so excited that he struck it again and again, and praised: "Good well water, good well water!"

The monks of the nunnery rushed to taste the well water, feeling like a clear spring brewing, extremely sweet, and one by one they were overjoyed and smiled.

The abbot said to the sixth ancestor Huineng: "The ancestor came, under a rod, attracted the rain, it is really the boundless Dharma, this is the blessing of our Buddhism!"

The sixth ancestor Huineng said affectionately: "The land of Buddhism is a sweet spring. It's all up to you to do good deeds and be charitable on weekdays, and to purify all sentient beings, which can be said to be the first bloom of good fruits. ”

The abbot was so excited that his face was flushed: "The arrival of the master today has made our small nunnery shine. ”

The Sixth Patriarch looked around and said, "This hill was originally fertile soil, but due to the lack of water in the past, the grass and trees did not grow, and it was too barren. Now that there is a sweet spring gushing out of the well, let's plant some flowers and trees on this hill. ”

"Okay!" The old abbot smiled on his face, "But what kind of flowers and trees should I plant?" ”

Sixth Ancestor Huineng: "Three friends of the cold year, headed by Mei." I think this soil is the best for growing plum trees. ”

After hearing this, all the monks said that it was best to plant plum trees on this hill.

The next day, the sixth patriarch Huineng personally led the monks to plant plum trees around the nunnery, and then returned to his hometown in Xinzhou, and soon passed away in his hometown.

Strange to say, the plum trees watered with well water are like being sprinkled with rain, standing tall and full of vitality.

Since then, this nunnery is surrounded by plum blossoms, and every winter, the plum blossoms are in full bloom in full bloom in the wind, and they are a little red and gorgeous, which is a spectacle.

The story of the six ancestors Hui Neng using a tin rod to lead water and "inserting plum as a mark" has been passed on to ten, ten to hundred, and has been widely spread among the people.

In order to commemorate the sixth ancestor Hui Neng, he planted plum trees in the small hill in the west of the city, expanded the small hermitage, and created the "plum hermitage".

The dry well in the plum nunnery has a sweet spring gushing out since then, and it has not dried up for thousands of years, and is known as the "six ancestral wells" by the world.

The stone couplets on both sides of the Mei'an Gate:

The plum spring is bright and white

The door row of mountains sends green

Mei'an is famous all over the world for its six ancestors who can insert plum here.