(a)

In each of our brief moments together, we have all been to the monastery together. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Unconsciously, monasteries have been standing in the chaos and pain of human life for more than 2,000 years.

The last time I went to the temple with you was to visit Enkakuji Temple on the Treasure Mirror Peak. There we met Grand Lama Tubudan.

On the way to Yuanjue Temple, we have completed the farewell of our lives, you have chosen the location of the tomb for yourself, and I have sent you that invitation that will last for thousands of years.

The desire to meet you again flows and gushes endlessly in the vast amount of time, just like ancient butterflies are born to fly around flowers.

It was there that the Grand Lama Tubudan showed us the vast world beyond life and death, and the Grand Lama Tubudan said to me that after this time, we would still have a "half-facedness".

What he is talking about is the "half-sided relationship" that spans the past and present lives.

(b)

This time, the temple we went to was near the Takayama training base, and it was just three stops away by tourist shuttle bus.

There is a poem that many Chinese have heard of, and it is mentioned in it.

It was built in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, during the heyday of the country.

It has always been the temple of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism, and after modern times, it has gradually developed into a temple of Zen and pure double cultivation, and the outer wall of the temple is written with the huge "Nan no Amitabha Buddha".

When I was young, the monastery was not as prosperous as it is now. Most of the monasteries are still relatively deserted, and going to the monasteries is not yet a folk fashion, but is rejected by the mainstream ideology, and generally only old ladies with a low level of education will go there.

During the most exclusionary period, the thousand-year-old temple was transformed into another place, where some institutions were stationed and all the monks were dispersed.

When we visited, the situation had changed a lot, the office still occupied the side rooms and part of the backyard to work in it, but a few monks had begun to be invited back by the government, the temple was being restored according to its original appearance, the original function of the temple was partially restored, and cigarettes began to circulate in the main hall again, but it was still very thin.

Because this ancient temple is so famous, when the country began to reform and open up, many overseas Chinese (usually investors) repeatedly mentioned that they wanted to visit it. Obviously, none of them wanted to come and see the office.

In order to meet the wishes of investors, the government listed the temple as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit, allocated special funds for reconstruction and repair, and regarded the restoration of the original appearance of the thousand-year-old temple as an important tourism development project.

At the entrance of the monastery, we took a guidebook that was provided free of charge. The manual describes in detail the historical origin of the temple, the value of cultural relics, and how the working people paid hard work and wisdom to carve various ornaments, murals of Buddhist stories and stone tablets with inscriptions and poems of ancient literati, and how much the wealth of the people and the painstaking efforts of craftsmen were used to forge the very famous bell, and how the ordinary Chinese people were resourceful and brave to protect it in the burning and looting of foreign colonists. At the moment of liberation of the city, how did the people who finally turned over gather here with excitement and rang its bell 108 to welcome the People's Liberation Army into the city.

Not a word mentions religion.

We silently read the guidebook, which does not mention a word about religion and a religious monastery.

In those days, this was the case.

(c)

When we went to the temple that day, there were no rows of places around the temple selling lamps and incense sticks. Both the commercial façade and the visitor center are still on the blueprint.

At that time, going to the temple to worship the Buddha and burn incense was not a thing that could be openly opened.

In order to earn a little pocket money, the residents of the neighborhood often sent their children to carry cloth bags containing incense candles and patrol the neighborhood, and when they saw that some tourists showed that they might go in to burn incense, they quietly came over and asked if they wanted to buy incense and candles. In case of being caught, the manager can't do anything to the child, so he can only confiscate the things and reprimand them.

When we arrived at the entrance of the monastery to buy tickets, a child saw that we were tourists, so he walked up to us, looked around, and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to buy incense and candles?" ”

When he finishes asking, he looks at you expectantly.

He didn't ask me, because his eyes were burning to see that I was one of those who had no purchasing power.

You get in touch with the eyes of a child, you look at me. Then you smile a little and you nod your head.

I see you looking for money on you.

Say, "Give me some good incense, and you won't have to look for money." ”

The child looked at the denomination of the banknote, and his eyes shone with great joy.

Your deal was done quickly.

The child walks away in a puff of smoke, as if afraid that you will regret it and catch up with him to get the extra money back.

I said, "Why don't you want him to look for money?" I saw him with change. ”

You look in the direction the child left for a few seconds, then you turn around and look at the temple gates.

You say, "He's afraid of being caught, he's in a hurry to leave, and if he leaves sooner, he'll feel safer." ”

(iv)

After entering the temple, we found that at this time of day, there are almost no tourists inside.

You didn't look at any scenery or explanation, but walked straight to the incense burner.

Three or five sticks of incense were scattered in the deserted incense burner, looking like the last few dead trees in the dry desert.

You dip the incense in your hand in the place where you light it, light it on the candle, you bow respectfully to the statue of Maitreya Buddha in the front hall, and then insert the incense into the incense burner properly.

I asked, "Guidance?" Do you believe in Buddhism? ”

You look at me, you smile, and you don't answer.

I said, "Again, what wish do you have in your heart that you want to pray for fulfillment?" ”

You say, "Even if you don't believe it, even if you don't have a wish, these three pillars of incense should be on." ”

You say, "It's like going into someone else's house, where you should be honoring the owner." ”

You say, "This temple has existed for thousands of years, much longer than our lifespan, and the Buddha statues enshrined in this hall have carried people's dreams and hopes for more than 2,000 years." ”

You say, "If there is a man who, for more than 2,000 years, can soothe people's pain and ignite hope, I will have a lot of respect for him." ”

You say, "Even if he doesn't know my respect, I'm willing to say something." ”

You say, "And if there is a place that has become people's spiritual yearning or spiritual destination in the vicissitudes of thousands of years, I will also respect this place very much." Whether it is thriving or declining at the moment, I would like to pay my respects. ”

You look at me.

You say, "Do you see this rising cigarette?" Those who insist on their faith and guard here will not feel so lonely when they see these few wisps of cigarettes. (To be continued.) )