It was close to lunch again, and after Zhang Shaofei finished scooping rice, he was sweating and chopping firewood in the backyard as usual.

Zhang Shaofei often chopped firewood when he was in his hometown, so he was naturally handy when he chopped firewood.

At this moment, Elder Qinghua was quietly observing Zhang Shaofei not far away, and he didn't realize it, and he didn't stop swinging his axe.

Elder Qinghua came over and shouted, "Zhang Shaofei! ”

Zhang Shaofei turned his head and saw that it was an elder, and quickly knelt down to bow.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Elder Qinghua asked, "Zhang Shaofei, you have been in the temple for more than a month, how are you doing?" ”

Zhang Shaofei replied, "Very good, Elder." ”

Elder Qinghua pondered for a while before he said, "The day you first came, I deliberately embarrassed you and scolded you, do you think Lao Na is too mean to you?" ”

"The elders can take me in to practice in the monastery, and treat me like a mountain, and the disciples will not be able to repay me for the rest of their lives." Zhang Shaofei said movingly.

Elder Qinghua said: "Actually, as soon as we met, your exposition of Buddha nature left a deep impression on me. That day, Lao Na wanted to talk to you properly, but for some reason, your brothers didn't seem to welcome you. I was afraid that trouble would come out of my mouth and be unfavorable to you in the future, so I deliberately reprimanded you. ”

Zhang Shaofei said: "The disciple understands, therefore, since I came to the temple, I have been hiding in the backyard, there is no need to never go to the front, and I will not deal with the senior brothers, first, not to cause trouble to the elders, and second, to save the senior brothers from misunderstanding." ”

Zhang Shaofei brought a wooden pier, wiped it with his sleeve, and helped Elder Qinghua sit down.

Elder Qinghua looked at Zhang Shaofei kindly, and said slowly: "Although Lao Na rarely goes to the backyard, I am worried about you all the time. I know everything you do. I am very satisfied with your hardships and hard work. Do you know? Lao Na deliberately asked you to do chores. ”

Zhang Shaofei nodded: "Second Senior Brother Fa Ru told me that doing chores is the preliminary homework for those who have just entered the temple and are preparing to become monks. Actually, I think that working is also a simple method of cultivation, and it is a double cultivation of blessing and wisdom. The monks do not have money to give, so they work every day and use their labor to give, which is to cultivate blessings and make offerings. Then there are many rules for doing chores, this one is not called looking, that one is not allowed to listen, you can only work wholeheartedly, do not contact with the outside world, the six roots are blocked, put away, and the heart can be settled and purified. The heart is pure, the troubles are light, and the wisdom is increased. ”

Elder Qinghua nodded with a smile, very satisfied with Zhang Shaofei's answer.

Elder Qinghua touched his sweat-soaked monk's robe and said with concern: "Don't exert your strength, pay attention to rest." Although the body is also an illusory thing, we have to cultivate the truth through falsehood, so don't work too hard. ”

Zhang Shaofei wiped his sweat and said, "Elder, I don't feel hard. ”

Elder Tsinghua looked at Zhang Shaofei lovingly and said, "Hard work is hard work, and monks don't speak." I work all day long, and it's all heavy work, and I see that you are soaked with sweat, can you not work hard! ”

"The second senior brother of Fa Ru said that those who study Buddhism should follow the example of my Buddha, prick blood, analyze bones, and be able to do difficult things, and endure them if they are unbearable, so that they will have great achievements. He also said that this is how he came over. Zhang Shaofei turned to Elder Qinghua and repeated what Fa Ru had said to him.

Elder Qinghua nodded: "Fa Ru is an extremely strong-willed person. When he first came to Dongchan Temple, he suffered a lot. Oh, Faru is still a very high-minded person, and he doesn't care much about things other than Buddhism, so it's rare that he is so enthusiastic about you! ”

"Second Senior Brother Faru always takes care of me."

"Are you like the other senior brothers, who admire Faru very much? Do you also think that everything Faru said is very correct? Elder Tsinghua turned an angle and asked Zhang Shaofei.

Zhang Shaofei nodded and shook his head, and then said: "I really admire the character of the second senior brother, and his strong willpower is an example for me to learn." However, in my attitude towards asceticism, my mind was not quite the same as what he thought. ”

Elder Qinghua seemed very interested, and asked, "Tell me, what's the difference?" ”

Zhang Shaofei scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Second Senior Brother Faru is looking for hardships in order to temper his will and temper himself, so no matter what, he still feels very hard, but he just gritted his teeth and persisted." And I, when I was doing hard work and heavy work, I really didn't feel any hardship, but it was a kind of enjoyment. ”

Elder Qinghua smiled: "The same rough work, why is he bitter and you happy?" ”

Zhang Shaofei said seriously: "Second Senior Brother Faru knows that he is suffering, so he is very bitter in his heart. And I think that working is working, and working is a need of life, so I enjoy it in my heart, and I am naturally very happy, so where will I feel hard? When I was collecting firewood in the mountains of Qiu County, I often met some people who loved mountaineering. In the eyes of us outsiders, he was hard and very dangerous. And because they love mountaineering, they feel not only hard work, but great fun. ”

Elder Qinghua nodded and said, "Very good, very good, you have already entered the Zen machine." ”

Zhang Shaofei was praised by Elder Qinghua, and he was a little embarrassed, and said in a low voice: "What I said is some superficial opinions, don't laugh at the elders." ”

"It's really good that you can comprehend the subjectivity of the mind and fully mobilize the wonders of the mind."

Elder Qinghua picked up the firewood that Zhang Shaofei had split, looked at it, and asked, "I see that when you chop firewood, the axe falls and the firewood cracks, and you rarely split the second axe, what is the reason?" ”

Zhang Shaofei said casually: "When I was at home, I made a living by collecting firewood, practice makes perfect." ”

Elder Qinghua then asked, "Where does the coincidence come from?" ”

Zhang Shaofei shook his head and said honestly: "I didn't think about it." ”

Elder Qinghua picked up a few pieces of firewood and pointed it to Zhang Shaofei: "You see, every axe you have is not far from the crux of the wood grain, this is the point of convergence of external force insertion." ”

Elder Tsinghua laid out a log and said Zen: "See the opportunity, go straight into it with a single knife, and the ignorance knot will be opened!" With that, the axe fell, and the log split in half.

Zhang Shaofei picked up the firewood split by Elder Tsinghua and looked at it, and was pleasantly surprised: "Wow, it's really neat!" Elder, have you chopped wood too? ”

Elder Qinghua shook his head: "It's not that I have chopped firewood, but that I can chop firewood." ”

Zhang Shaofei looked at Elder Tsinghua as if he didn't understand, wanting to hear his explanation.

Elder Tsinghua asked Zhang Shaofei instead: "When you were at home, you chopped firewood, and when you came to Dongchan Temple, you still chopped firewood." Instead of splitting here, it is better to chop at home, why bother to trek thousands of miles? ”

Zhang Shaofei was confused, and he didn't know what Elder Tsinghua wanted to convey, so he had to beg Elder Qinghua: "The disciple is stupid, please make it clear to the elder." ”

Elder Qinghua said: "Zhang Shaofei, you should know that because you are here to study Buddhism, this firewood is not the other firewood. This is the difference in motivation, the difference in the way, and the difference in the results. ”

Zhang Shaofei shook his head: "The disciple still doesn't understand. ”

Elder Qinghua Zhengse said: "It has been more than 1,000 years since the Buddha passed on the Dharma Eye to the First Patriarch Kasya, and 32 generations have passed. There are many Dharma seekers, but there are very few who have attained enlightenment. Why? Because 'without a bone-chilling experience, how can you get the fragrance of plum blossoms'! Your current chores in the monastery seem to have nothing to do with studying Buddhism and practicing meditation. In fact, Zen is formless, formless, and ineffable. Where is Zen? It is in the flying flowers, fallen leaves, needles, threads, in chopping wood, carrying water, scooping rice, sweeping the floor, and in every move of daily life. Zen, everywhere and all the time! The key is that we must have a clear and wise mind, to experience and comprehend all the time. Hello do it yourself, do it yourself! ”

Elder Tsinghua's words were like thunder, waking up a thousand-year-old dream; It was like an empowerment, and his heart suddenly opened, which had a strong resonance in Zhang Shaofei's heart!

What he realized when he was collecting firewood in the mountains of Qiu County is Zen! He was overjoyed, he couldn't help himself, he fell to his knees with a thud, and muttered very excitedly: "Thank you Elder for your order, thank you Elder for your great kindness, thank you Master for ......"

No one answered. Zhang Shaofei raised his head, and Elder Qinghua had already walked away.

The slanting sun sprinkles gold, and the wind dances peach blossoms.

The wind blew Elder Qinghua's monk's robes, and the falling peach petals swirled around him. The afterglow of the setting sun shrouded his figure, and he seemed to radiate a strange brilliance.