Almost every monk has to work in the monastery for a period of time before he or she becomes a monk—a monk who does chores. That is to say, the walker is in the period of being inspected and tested, and those who can pass can be shaved, otherwise they will be eliminated. It is precisely because of this that the so-called practice of the practitioner is to practice asceticism - to do the most onerous chores, but without any status, even if he is wronged, he can only keep it in his heart.

Hui Neng - Lu Xingzhi, in Dongchan Temple, is in such a position.

Because the fifth ancestor Hongren Master said that let Huineng do chores, so at the beginning, the governor monk asked Huineng to specialize in chores - where it is needed, and what work is lacking. Later, one day, a strong walker in charge of rice in the house was transferred by the guest hall to take care of the mountains and forests, and Huineng was named to fill his gap.

At that time, there were seven or eight hundred monks in Dongchan Temple, and they had to eat nearly 1,000 catties of rice every day for morning porridge and lunch. And turning rice into white rice depends on the three walkers in the mill.

There is no skill in stepping on the rice, and it all depends on the strength of the whole body. Therefore, all the walkers in the house are tall and big, with thick shoulders and round waists, and weigh more than 200 catties. Huineng, on the other hand, is less than five feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. Others can press the heavy hammer with their weight alone, but he must kick down with all his strength to lift the hammer. Therefore, every time he steps on it, he has to exert twice as much effort as others; So he got up early every day and was greedy for darkness, and it was difficult to complete the quota task. Zen temples have strict rules, so Huineng was punished by the governor and monk every day: kneeling in front of the Buddha statue - kneeling on the time when an incense burns out.

A stick of incense burns out in about an hour. Huineng, who had been tired all day, knelt with a sore back and legs, red and swollen knees, and numb and swollen foot condyles...... Gradually, he lost sensation in the lower half of his body, and unconsciously took a nap, losing his balance and falling to the ground......

The prefect monk kicked him hard in the ass and scolded: "You confessed your sins in front of the Buddha, and you even dared to take a nap and sleep!" For a person like you, who has great disrespect for the Buddha, what kind of home and practice do you have? I think you'd better get down the mountain as soon as possible and live your worldly life!" ”

Huineng was so ashamed that he opened his bow left and right, and slapped himself a few times. One is to punish oneself, and the other is to drive away sleepy insects.

Huineng opened his mind, he was agile and empty, and he quickly found the crux of the problem - his weight was too light to press the hammer down, so it was very inefficient. He was naturally thin and could not gain his weight, so he found a large stone from the mountain that was one foot two, one foot wide, three inches thick, and weighed 56 pounds, and tied it around his waist to increase his weight......

Hui Neng forgets his body for the law and does not avoid hardships, which can be seen from this. One day, there was a guest in the guest hall to inform him, saying that the old Zen master of Songshan in Zhongyue would return to the mountain to pay homage to the ancestors, and asked the mill to specialize in processing good white rice, and the old An Zen master would use it to support the public at noon. When I heard that Zen Master Lao An was coming, the whole temple was very excited.

If you want to talk about this old Zen master, it is a legend. He is the abbot of Songyue, and his legal name is Hui'an, because he is old and virtuous, the world calls him "Lao An". He was a monk in childhood, and at a young age, he became famous all over the world. At that time, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty in order to dig the Grand Canal, wantonly recruited laborers, the countryside was barren, and the hungry people were like locusts. Hui'an went around to help the homeless, and countless lives were saved. Emperor Yang of Sui invited him to enter the palace to be a teacher for himself, but he ignored it and sneaked into Taihe Mountain incognito for decades. The Tang Dynasty was established, and the emperor also sent envoys to welcome him as a national teacher, and his old man fled to Songshan overnight. He is a full 20 years older than the Fifth Ancestor Master Hongnin, and he is also much more famous than Master Hongnin. However, he didn't care about it, and knelt down in front of Master Hongren and worshiped him as a teacher. No, now he is an old man who is nearly ninety years old, and he still remembers his master, who is dozens of years younger than him, and he has traveled thousands of miles to come back to worship the mountain......

Such a living Bodhisattva's rice for fasting, the governor monk did not dare to slack off, and specially told Huineng to be extra careful. Huineng was originally as careful as a hair, but now he is even more careful in selecting, and he doesn't even let go of a grain of rice with a little rice bran.

However, the devil knows what's going on. At noon that day, when the rice was poured into the monks' bowls, people were surprised to find that there were many husked rice mixed in it! How do you swallow such rice? Among the monks was a mage named Hui Ming. Before he became a monk, he was the grandson of Emperor Chen Xuan and served as a high-ranking official in the Southern Dynasty. Born in an imperial family, he was naturally very particular about his diet, so he didn't even think about it, so he picked out the unhusked rice from the rice and put it on the dining table.

When Zhike Yingyin saw it, he scolded him loudly in public: "Pick it up and eat it!" Hui Ming argued: "These shelled rice are very difficult to swallow. ”

Before he finished speaking, the incense board in Yingyin's hand had already fallen like lightning, making his bald head "bang"! Ying Yin said to everyone: "A grain of rice in Buddhism is as big as Mount Meru. For those who waste casually, the table hall beats the incense board. Please do what you want. ”

When the monks saw that Hui Ming was embarrassed, they were beaten severely, so they had to swallow their anger and swallow the husked rice...... had a good lunch, and everyone was full of anger, stuffiness, and grievances.

After the meal, more than a dozen angry monks surrounded the extremely angry Huiming to the mill room to find Huineng to settle accounts.

Huineng had a hard time arguing, so he had to wait obediently for punishment. According to the rules of the temple, the governor monk treated Huineng as a "slow crowd" - playing a thirty-incense board.

Hui Ming rolled up his sleeves and reached out and snatched the incense board in the hand of the governor monk. The prefect monk couldn't help but shudder. He knew that this Hui Ming had been a four-grade general, with excellent arm strength and a short temperament, he was humiliated during the meal, and now he was full of anger to take revenge, how could Hui Neng stand it? Oh my God, if someone dies, it's going to be a big deal, and everyone can't eat and walk around...... But he looked at the monks around him and didn't dare to say anything.

Two agile monks stepped forward and grabbed Huineng and pressed him down on the stone mortar. Hui Ming rounded the board and slapped it on Huineng's ass - "Horn! With a crisp sound, the wooden board broke into two parts!

Huineng was sweating profusely in pain, almost biting her tongue to pieces. Hui Ming threw down the half of the incense board in his hand and asked the governor monk to find a stronger bamboo incense board. Huineng knows that the weight of the bamboo incense board is heavier, and it will hurt more when it is hit. In order to prevent him from moaning unbearably, he immediately stopped his mind and entered deep meditation - he followed Zen Master Zhiyuan in the grottoes of Xishan in Lechang for a long time, and soon he was able to enter a state of meditation. His months of practice finally came in handy......

After more than a dozen boards in a row, Hui Ming, who beat people, was so tired that he was panting, but Hui Neng, who was beaten, never let out a painful moan. Could it be that this skinny guy has already lost his breath?

Hui Ming lowered his head, and actually saw a very quiet and happy expression on Huineng's face (after entering the state of meditation, people's hearts are full of Zen joy, so their faces are happy)! Where did Hui Ming know this, he thought that Hui Neng was laughing at him, and he was even more resentful in his heart, and raised the incense board again......

At this time, a child's voice came from the door of the house: "Lao An Zen Master and Shenxiu are here!" ”

Hui Ming was respectful of Shenxiu's seat, and immediately put away the incense board and stepped aside.

Lao An, who is nearly 90 years old, has a crane shape in the pine wind and a fluttering silver hair, as if the spirit of heaven and earth has been transformed, just like a god who has descended to earth. He and Shenxiu sat down one after the other, and slowly walked into the room. People joined together to give their salutes.

Lao An Zen Master smiled and asked, "Today's lunch offered by the mountain monks, have you all tasted the Zen machine?" ”

What the? The rice mixed with the husk rice actually contains Zen machine? Lao An Zen Master looked around, and when he saw that including Shenxiu, everyone was at a loss, and he smiled: "Rice, Dao also." The man who mixed rice with rice was planting for everyone! Naturally, the seeds must be shelled, otherwise, they will not sprout. I don't think you want your Dao seed to fail to sprout, do you? So, you should thank people. ”

Although everyone could hear that Lao An Zen Master was excusing Huineng in disguise, he squeezed each other with a Zen machine, and everyone had to nod their heads in embarrassment. Lao An patted Hui Neng, who was lying on the stone mortar, and said, "This little brother, how do you make rice?" How to make the rice husk not hurt at all? ”

People could hear his overtones - the rice mixed with the rice at noon had not been put into the stone mortar at all! That is to say, the reason why those rice husks are carried is not caused by Huineng's carelessness or laziness when cooking rice, but someone deliberately put it in!

Shenxiu glanced at the prefect monk, and the prefect monk shuddered. Seeing that Huineng didn't react, Lao An looked down and couldn't help laughing: "Haha...... Little brother, no wonder the incense board has no reaction when it hits you, dare to be affectionate, and enter meditation! ”

What the? Huineng was able to settle down when he was beaten? Shenxiu exclaimed in his heart: Oh my God, what a magical realm this is? Hui Ming, those who didn't understand, exclaimed in their hearts: Oh my God, how is this possible? It must be a demon law!

Shenxiu asked the little novice who followed him to fetch the chime. How can a person who has entered deep meditation wake up as if he is dead, and he is unconscious when the incense board hits his body? Only the sound of the chime could wake him up from his stillness.

Lao An Zen Master waved his hand and said, "Forget it, wait for him to make a decision naturally." If you wake him up at this point, your ass must hurt terribly. Lao An Zen Master patted Hui Neng in meditation again, and said inexplicably: "Today, the mountain monk ate a grain of Dao (rice) seed because of you, and you will return an ancient Buddha seed to life in the future." As he spoke, he picked up a grain of rice in his hand and said to everyone: "Don't underestimate this grain, after a hundred years, thousands of grains will be born from it!" ”

Seven days later, Hui Neng came out of meditation. At this time, the wound on his buttocks was no longer a major problem. When the prefect saw that he had made up his mind, he fell to his knees in front of him, prostrate himself on the ground, and wept bitterly.