Tingzen Temple, a small temple in the territory of the Great Wei Dynasty.

The temple is located on the top of a hill called Jinghua Mountain, which is located in the middle of nowhere, and it is not far from the nearest Shuiyue Town, let alone Qu'er City.

Even the people in the mountain villages around Jinghua Mountain know where this temple is, so the temple incense is cold all year round.

The fact that Tingzen Temple can always exist without being abandoned depends on the merits of three kinds of people.

The first is the people who come to the rivers and lakes, and they are also the most interested people. However, most of the people in the rivers and lakes who are willing to come to Tingzen Temple to worship the Buddha are not rich, and sometimes they may have to rely on the temple to give them a bowl of gruel.

The second type is those literati and writers who like to travel through the mountains, rivers and rivers, and they travel here and see a temple in the deep mountains, and they will come in and burn a stick of incense, which is not only an elegant thing, but also can bless them with a smooth journey in the future.

The third is those who encounter difficulties and worship the famous temples and ancient temples and can't solve the hardships, and they have no choice but to try to listen to this little Buddha in the Zen temple.

Listening to the little novice in the Zen temple is the most annoying is this third kind of people, the famous temple in the ancient temple of those incense to eat the round belly of the Buddha can not be blessed, how can the thin Buddha in the temple be blessed?

When he and his master were so hungry before, they even ate the tribute to the Buddha. Therefore, my own Buddha occasionally can't eat enough, how can I still have the strength to bless people?

The master respects the Buddha very much on weekdays, but when he is really hungry and can't eat the tribute, the master will not have any burden on his face.

Ming Nian once asked the master if the Buddha would blame them if they did this. At that time, the master was nibbling on steamed buns, and he smiled very happily when he heard his question.

"Even if the Buddha knew about it, he would understand our suffering, and maybe reward us with more food because of our sincerity, such as giving us a piece of mung bean cake for each of our masters and apprentices."

Speaking of mung bean cake, Ming Nian, who was eating steamed buns, immediately had the appearance of pastry in his mind, which was green and sweet. Thinking of this, Ming Nian felt that the taste of steamed buns in his mouth had also improved.

For the master's answer, Ming Nian will be skeptical. But he didn't ask too much, because if he delayed any longer, the last steamed bun master would have to eat.

In the Listening Temple, the situation of the master and apprentice has been quite good these days. Because of these days, many people passed by near Jinghua Mountain, and several waves of people even went up the mountain to invite two pillars of incense.

Whenever a benefactor goes up the mountain, the master will respectfully receive them in front of the temple with Ming Nian. The donors were also straightforward, and after entering the temple and putting on two pillars of incense, they would leave without saying anything.

However, the advantage is that those donors are generous, and they will give the master a few taels of silver as incense money to pay tribute to the Buddha in the temple before leaving. And for the dilapidated temples and Buddha statues, those donors didn't care.

Although the master acted like those moral monks on the surface and was unmoved by money, he knew that the master must have been happy when he received the money. Ming Nian himself is also happy, because he finally has money to buy some food, and he no longer has to go hungry and chant Buddha.

There are only two people inside and outside the temple, Ming Nian and the master, so it is easy to make a living.

In the waves of people in the rivers and lakes, there will always be some fierce and vicious people who look at them badly, and they are far away every time they encounter Ming Nian.

Once, after several donors left, Ming Nian asked the master a question, and he asked, "Master, if those donors want the Buddha to bless them to do bad things, will the Buddha be willing to bless them when he knows about it?" ”

When the master heard this, he touched Mingnian's bare head and smiled. It is not surprising that children in their early teens who are not worldly savvy have this problem.

The master knew what Ming Nian was thinking, so he replied with a smile: "We can't preconceive that some donors are bad people just because they are vicious, maybe they do good deeds everywhere without leaving a name. Secondly, those donors paid tribute to the Buddha with incense money, and the Buddha would bless them with safety and success. But if they do bad things, the Buddha will punish them. The cycle of cause and effect, which comes and goes, never becomes. ”

After the master finished speaking, Ming Nian frowned and touched his head with some doubts, he was a little confused but also a little understood.

"Don't be in a hurry to understand it immediately, the truth is all in the middle of the work, you have to slowly and carefully understand it."

After speaking, the master took Ming Nian's hand and returned to the temple.

Ming Nian turned his head thoughtfully and looked back, and the figures of those donors had already disappeared into the mountains and forests, and they didn't know where they went.

On this day, not long after Shen Shi, Ming Nian, who was in a daze in front of the temple, heard the shouts of the master.

"Mingnian, Mingnian."

Ming Nian got up and turned around and shouted in a low voice, "Master, I'm here!" ”

Not long after, Ming Nian saw the master wearing the blue and gray monk's robe that had been sewn and repaired many times.

Walking to the front and back of the door, the master sat down without restraint, smiled and touched Mingnian's head.

Although the master's actions on weekdays do not have the bearing of a high-ranking monk, in the eyes of Ming Nian, the master is the most powerful master in the world. Although the days of the temple were very hard, Ming Nian learned a lot of truths from his master.

"What's wrong, master?" Ming Nian sat side by side with the master on the threshold and asked.

One big and one small, one old and one young.

"After a while, I will go down the mountain with the master to Shuiyue Town to buy some food and come back, and the rice jar in our kitchen has bottomed out."

As soon as he heard the master say to go down the mountain, Ming Nian immediately became interested. He laughed and cheered, "Okay, okay! ”

Ming Nian and his master practice penance in the temple all the year round, and rarely go down the mountain on weekdays, and only when there is a shortage of food, the master and apprentice will accompany them to Shuiyue Town.

Although it takes more than half a day to go back and forth to Shuiyue Town every time, Mingnian is very happy every time, because every time he goes down the mountain with his master, he can see many interesting things in Shuiyue Town.

Those street jugglers especially attracted Ming Nian's attention, and every time he stopped to watch, he would receive a slap on his bare head.

Listening to the master, there is a city called Qu'er City farther away from their Jinghua Mountain, which is the real prosperity, and the ten Shuiyue Towns can't compare, which once made Ming Nian very longing.

In addition to seeing many new and interesting things in Shuiyue Town, the master would sometimes spend two or three pennies to buy him some delicious food. As a young child, some of the mouthful masters don't blame him.

Every time Ming Nian ate, the master would stare at him closely, and sometimes the master would swallow saliva. But whenever Ming Nian handed something to the master's mouth, the master would righteously refuse, saying that he didn't like these foods.

The master chose to go down the mountain in the afternoon every time, and then the master and apprentice slept in Shuiyue Town for one night. Sometimes, there are also kind donors who invite them to borrow for the night and make them some vegetarian food.

The craftsmanship of the women in Shuiyue Town is much better than that of the master, so Ming Nian will silently pray for the blessing of the family in her heart whenever she eats, praying that they will be safe and safe, free from illness and disaster.

In short, for Ming Nian, Shuiyue Town is a happy place for him, and every time he is tired from practicing on the mountain, he can go to Shuiyue Town more and more firmly to strengthen his heart to the Buddha.

The master's greatest wish is to let the incense of the Listening Temple flourish, so that everyone in the world knows that they listen to the Zen Temple, and Ming Nian also has this expectation.

When the master and apprentice went down the mountain, they were still wearing a thunderous blue and gray monk's robe, one old and one young, the monk's clothes were sewn and mended, and at a glance, they knew that they were living poor on weekdays. In addition, the master also carried a rag bag on his back for food.

From a distance, the appearance of the master and apprentice is very miserable, but fortunately, both of them have smiling faces on their faces, and they don't feel bitter.

After walking down the mountain with the master for more than half an hour, the sun was slowly setting in the west.

Ming Nian always likes to ask inexplicable questions, such as why the sun in the sky always rises in the east and sets in the west, day after day.

Although the master can't answer such a question, the master has a way, and every now and then the master will tell Ming Nian that he can ask the Buddha in a dream tonight, and if the Buddha doesn't answer, then the question is not valid.

The master always has the strange idea of prevaricating the answer.

However, whenever Ming Nian asked about the Dharma, the master would sit upright, unsmiling and extremely serious, as if he had changed as a different person.

The master and apprentice walked on the mountain path, and there were almost no people along the way, and they were only accompanied by the occasional birdsong in the jungle.

After the two walked for a long time, Ming Nian, who had been looking ahead, suddenly saw two passers-by resting in the stone pavilion on the side of the mountain road in the distance. Ming Nian was a little happy, and pointed to the master that there were people in the stone pavilion.

The master looked away from afar and said with a smile: "It's just a passer-by like us." ”

Ming Nian stretched out his neck again and took a closer look: "Master, look at the costumes of those two donors, they should also be from the rivers and lakes!" ”

The master nodded.

"Recently, there are a lot of people passing by our Jinghua Mountain, if we can walk with those two donors, maybe we can hear interesting things about the rivers and lakes."

After Ming Nian finished laughing, his bare head was slapped firmly.

"A little red dust, how can you let it disturb your heart?"

Ming Nian touched his head aggrievedly and said, "Master, my heart is not disturbed, I am just curious." ”

"A thought is born, a thought is up, it's not your lips that you have the final say."

Ming Nian gritted his teeth and said, "Master, I won't eat sugar gourds when I get to Shuiyue Town this time, is it okay?" ”

After Ming Nian finished speaking, he saw the master smiling like a flower, nodded and said, "Let's go, it just so happens that the master is also very curious." But let's be polite, the two donors may not want to be disturbed. ”

Hearing this, Ming Nian nodded, and he won't talk much for a while.

The rest in the stone pavilion was naturally Shen Kuang and Su Yao, who had been on the road for most of the day, and while eating dry food, they were also thinking about where to buy horses.

Two monks, an old man and a young man, suddenly appeared in the distance behind the two, and they noticed it very early.

Shen Guo didn't feel the fluctuations of true qi from the two of them, and for the time being, he only attributed them to ordinary monks. Although Shen Jing and Su Yao didn't seem to care about the movements of the two, they secretly didn't let their guard down.

The two monks in the distance kept walking in their direction, and in a short time they came closer.

The old monk was kind and kind-eyed, and when Shen Jing and Su Yao approached, he put his hands together and politely saluted the two, and the little monk behind him also bowed with the master.

"Amitabha!"

Seeing this, Shen Jing and Su Yao also hurriedly got up and returned the salute.

"Amitabha."

"It's presumptuous to disturb the rest of the two donors."

The old monk is kind and kind, but the young monk is a little shy and evasive. After the old monk finished speaking, Shen Guan replied politely: "Master doesn't have to mind. ”

After Shen Guan finished speaking, the old monk smiled kindly: "That's good!" The poor monk's name is Kukai, this is my little brother Mingnian. This little disciple of mine likes to hear about the rivers and lakes, so he pulled me to come and walk with the two donors, I don't know if the two donors are willing to go with us. ”

After the old monk finished speaking, Shen Guo did not answer immediately, and Su Yao, who was standing behind Shen Qian, glanced at Shen Guo.

The two reacted that the old monk had a full view, so they smiled kindly: "The donor doesn't have to be entangled, if there is inconvenience, the poor monk does not dare to force it." ”

After listening to the old man's words, Shen Jing and Su Yao looked at the old monk and his little disciple. The two monks are plainly dressed, most of them are monks who practice asceticism in the mountains, and Shen Jing and Su Yao are not at odds with this old man and the young two, so Shen Guo replied: "We are going to the town in front, if the master stops by the way, we can't ask for it." ”

Then on the road, the four of them walked together.