When the group of monks who were tortured by the scorching heat were in the procession, they were already salivating when they saw the green pears in the basket. Now, when the pears were in their hands, everyone began to chew them in large gulps, and in a short time, it was like a plough sweeping the holes, and the wind swept the clouds, and if it was in the past, they had eaten the pears and threw them away. But today, all the monks bit and bit and ate and ate until there were only six small pears left in front of everyone.

This time, the five patriarchs sat under the shade of the dense Bodhi tree and, like all the monks in the temple, ate all the six pears.

Shenxiu was suspicious in his heart: "Originally, it is common to divide pears and eat them, and they have to be divided several times a year, but why do the five ancestors attach so much importance to it this time?"

Just when Shenxiu couldn't touch the edge, the fifth ancestor suddenly stood up and said to Shenxiu: "Start ringing." ”

"As the saying goes, in the temple there are morning bells and dusk drums. Why did the five ancestors suddenly come up with the idea of striking the bell at this noonday?" Shenxiu felt that today's events were a little strange, and turned his head sideways and asked the Fifth Ancestor, "Who is arranging to ring the clock?"

The fifth ancestor stroked his long hair and said, "All the people in the monastery, whether he is a monk or a layman, whether he is old or young, all have to go to the bell tower and each person rings the bell six times. ”

"Okay." Shenxiu stood on the high platform and recited the words of the five ancestors loudly.

After passing the word, Shenxiu returned to the side of the Fifth Ancestor and asked, "Master, who should ring the bell first?"

The Fifth Ancestor solemnly said to the gods: "You are the first disciple in the temple, of course you should be the first to ring the bell." ”

"Okay, good, thank you Master for cultivating!" Shenxiu was full of joy, the arrangement of the five ancestors was undoubtedly to announce to the monks of the whole temple that he was the first heir under the five ancestors.

The bell tower is next to the main hall, while the bell hangs on the second floor.

"Come, I'll lead you there." The five ancestors walked in the front, followed by Shenxiu, followed by a long queue, and walked in a row.

Stepping on the wooden stairs, Shenxiu went up to the bell tower.

A large iron bell weighing thousands of pounds hangs high on the beam of the bell tower, which is different from usual. The bell was at least five feet higher than it had been hung before, and it was impossible for a person to jump up and touch it with his hands. The hard hammer made of wood was gone.

Shenxiu looked around, searched his eyes for a while, and then asked the fifth ancestor, "Master, where is the bell mallet?"

The fifth ancestor shook his head slightly: "I don't know either." ”

"How can you ring the bell without a hammer?" Shenxiu spread his hands, looking helpless.

"If you can't knock it, don't knock it!"

Shenxiu helplessly: "This ......"

"Next!" When Shenxiu was depressed, the Fifth Ancestor had already screamed in a slightly hoarse voice.

Following Shenxiu was Zhida, who was also one of the top ten disciples of Dongchan Temple, and he walked to the big bell in response.

It is like the back waves of the river pushing the front waves, and the time does not wait for me, and it is unforgiving. Shenxiu no longer rings the bell and has to give way to the next one.

The people behind were about to come up, and Shenxiu was deflated as if he had been pierced with a ball, so he had to walk down the bell tower with a bitter face and a dejected face.

Soon, Jingda and Zhida, who were full of hope, stood under the big bell, looked at it, and sighed, like Shenxiu, frowned bitterly, and walked down from the bell tower with a helpless face.

The other monks of Dongchan Temple walked up to the bell tower one by one with a high mood, but they lowered their heads and walked down from the other end in disappointment.

The ancient bell that has gone through hundreds of years hangs high, witnessing the dramatic scene that happened under it, silently, the atmosphere, I don't know whether it is tense or silent.

The long queue of monks was about to disappear, and the fifth ancestor raised his eyes to see that the apprentice Hui Neng who was grinding rice and flour was standing silently at the end of the queue, his expression was so pious and confident.

When it was Hui Neng's turn, he turned his gaze to the Fifth Ancestor and asked in a low voice, "Master, is it six bells?"

"Hmm." The Fifth Ancestor nodded, "Can you ring the bell six times?"

Huineng nodded: "Yes." ”

Fifth Ancestor: "Then you can knock it." ”

"Okay." Hui Neng reached into the gray and black robe from the diagonal with his right hand, took out an object, and threw it at the big ancient bell hanging high in the bell tower.

"When ——!"

Then, Huineng took out five more things in a row and threw them at the ancient bell.

"When ——!" "When ——!" ……

Six loud and long bells rang out from the bell tower, scaring the whining cicadas and the birds perched on the linden trees far away.

The monks of all the monasteries were surprised: "Who can ring the ancient bell?"

Shenxiu's heart was shocked: "Can this person fly on the bell with wings?" He pushed aside the crowd and hurried up to the bell tower, only to see six pears lying on the floor.

Those cracked pears, as if they had open mouths, were laughing at him, and Shenxiu's heart was like a needle poking.

The Fifth Ancestor was standing aside, smiling at Hui Neng with his long hair.

The bell, which was still echoing in the valley, seemed to penetrate into Shenxiu's internal organs from his eardrums, and shook him very uncomfortably.

In Shenxiu's view, where is this six simple bells? This is clearly Huang Zhong Da Lu, the thunder of the heavenly drum! This is a wake-up call to myself to seize the throne of Zen Buddhism

Mornings in the mountains come very early.

The frost and dew covering the grass are so crystal clear and so cold.

The began to chirp non-stop on the branches.

The Dongchan Temple rang the morning bell, and the monks of the whole temple came to the kitchen one after another.

Today's breakfast was served with three pancakes per person, which is a regular meal at the temple.

The pancake was fried golden brown and crispy, and the monks devoured it and munched on it.

Huineng picked up the pancakes, and there was an abnormal feeling in his heart: On weekdays, the five ancestors would not come to the kitchen to eat breakfast, but today... He thought about it for a moment, then put the pancake to his mouth and took a bite.

Shenxiu, who had learned the lesson of "dividing pears", was wary of the arrival of the five ancestors this morning, he looked at the three pancakes in his hand and was stunned for a while, and muttered in his heart: "Will there be another 'pancake throwing bell' this morning?" Nope!" Shenxiu knew that the Five Ancestors would not do that kind of thing again. Leave the pancakes behind?

Shenxiu's eyes searched around, and he looked through the moving human head to the plane tree over there.

Huineng and Shenqing were eating pancakes, holding a leftover pancake in their hands. After chewing the pancake in his mouth, Huineng stuffed the pancake in his hand to his mouth again, and bit it in a big bite, eating too quickly, as if he was choking, stretched his neck, his eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.

Seeing him like this, Shenqing smiled and said, "Look at you, you eat so wildly, beware of being choked to death." As he spoke, he reached out to Huineng's back and patted him gently.

With great difficulty, Hui Neng swallowed the choked pancake and slowly bit the pancake in his hand. From his expression, you could tell that he was chewing with relish.

After Huineng and Shenqing finished eating the pancakes, they patted their bellies with their hands, looking like they were full, and then patted the palms of their left and right hands, and went over there to wash their hands.

The big stone hanging in Shenxiu's heart was put down, and at this time he felt that his stomach was rumbling with hunger, so he brought the pancakes to his mouth, "three downs, five drops, two", and soon sent all three pancakes to his stomach.

After a while, the monk on duty brought out several large vats of white porridge, and the steaming white smoke from the buckets could be inferred how hot these porridges were. Other monks brought out baskets of large bowls and spoons.

The little acolyte, who was usually close to him, brought a large bamboo chair with a backrest and placed it in front of the porridge bucket.

After the five ancestors brushed their long beards, they sat upright on the large bamboo chair with the backrest.

Nearly a thousand monks in Dongchan Temple looked at the five ancestors silently.

The Fifth Ancestor's torch-like gaze wandered around, and raised his voice: "There is another task for breakfast today, each person eats three bowls of white porridge, but there is a requirement-" He dragged out his voice and stopped talking.

The monks said in unison: "Please make it clear to the ancestors." ”

The Fifth Ancestor slowed down the rhythm of his voice and became one word at a time: "After eating three bowls of white porridge, no porridge water is allowed to be sprinkled on the ground in front of everyone." ”

Crowd: "Yes." ”

Hearing the fifth ancestor say this, Shenxiu was secretly happy in his heart: "That Hui Neng, who has a thin physique, and the amount of food is not as big as himself, just now I have peeped at him eating pancakes and eating to his heart's content, and now, how can he eat three bowls of white porridge with his thin and narrow stomach?" This time the victory was unavoidable. So, he walked in front of the five ancestors first.

Other monks are also interested, the "Theravada" elder brother of Dongchan Temple has not yet moved, who dares to act first and occupy the limelight?

Shenxiu gave a salute to the five ancestors, and said with a heartfelt voice: "Master, who will eat first this time?"

Fifth Ancestor: "In terms of seniority, it's your turn to be the leader." ”

"Thank you Master, I will definitely live up to your expectations, apprentice." After Shenxiu finished speaking, he bowed his head and bent down, and picked up a big bowl with his hand.