Faru chose this place with an eye: this large rock is two or three feet high, surrounded by tall camphor trees, and it is even more secluded in the middle of nowhere.

Faru's tone was subtle: "Everyone, you are my best junior and disciple in Dongchan Temple, and you are also my closest friend. Today, Elder Huaqing's decision to pray for the person who carries the lamp in a verse, everyone knows what it will mean. ”

Hong De said loudly: "Second Senior Brother, you can rest assured, your literary talent is enough to overwhelm everyone, there are more than 800 people in the whole temple, who dares to compete for power?"

Zhang Xingchang and others are also echoing.

"I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm most afraid of what if." Faru's eyes flashed a swaying wave of light, "There are so many monks in Dongchan Temple, from all over the world, each with their own thoughts, and dragons and snakes are mixed. We should take precautions, be cautious, and keep an eye on it. ”

Hui Ming: "Second Senior Brother means-"

Fa Ru made arrangements on the spot: "We should monitor some of the elders and monks in the temple who usually show their talents, and pay attention to their movements. ”

Hong De asked inquiringly: "It's also a good thing that the second senior brother is careful. I wonder who Senior Brother thinks are potential competitors?"

Fa Ru counted his fingers and pointed at his name: "I see, Elder Huaqing, Zen Master Likong, Zen Master Defa, Zen Master Huayu, Shanxin, Shanquan...... and Zhang Shaofei. ”

Hongde contemptuously: "What, do you mean the kudzu fang who does the hard work in the rice room?"

Faru nodded: "Hmm." ”

Hong De smiled and said, "Second Senior Brother, you are too worried. ”

Faru: "What do you mean by that?"

Hong De disagreed: "He is an illiterate layman, and before he came to Dongchan Temple, he was just a firewood boy in Lingnan." ”

"You can't look down on him like that." Faru's voice was a little vigilant, "Everyone, do you still remember the scene eight months ago, when Zhang Shaofei first entered Dongchan Temple?"

Hong De grabbed it with a word: "Remember, he said in public that Elder Huaqing said the wrong thing, and I slapped him on the spot and gave him a dismissal." ”

Zhang Xingchang: "I said that Senior Brother Hongde played well. ”

Faru recalled: "Hongde, you slapped him so hard, I saw that the roots of his teeth were oozing blood, so I can infer how painful he was at that time. But he forcibly endured it, and there was no sign of resistance, which shows that his restraint is very good. ”

Hong De grinned: "As soon as he opened his mouth, he dared to say that the elder was wrong, so rude, I think, the elder has long held a grudge." ”

Fa Ru: "The elder has always been generous, humble and good-looking, and is not the kind of villain who holds grudges because of trivial things." ”

Hung De: "This ......"

Faru recalled: "Do you remember? His rebuttal to the elders was truly remarkable. And judging from the fact that he beats the bell with pears and eats porridge with cakes, his understanding is not comparable to that of mediocre people!"

Hui Ming argued: "Writing verses is not like carrying water and chopping wood, you can rely on strength and diligence alone. What it needs is culture and literary talent, and it's not as simple as clocking and eating porridge!"

Hong De: "Second Senior Brother, it is necessary for you to guard against him. But don't step on the taro pod as a snake, and make yourself restless to sleep. ”

Fa Ru looked serious: "In short, let's pay more attention." Come, we will divide the labor and monitor Hua Qingkong and others. ”

Faru and his group consulted behind the big rocks......

A few days later, Hui Ming, Hong De, Zhang Xingchang and others told Fa Ru that Hua Qing, Likong, Zhang Shaofei and others did not move, and Fa Ru's hanging heart gradually relaxed.

But Faru also had his own troubles, because he himself had composed a few verses in private, but after repeated scrutiny, he always felt that it was not ideal, which really made him uneasy.

On a moonlit night, the restless Faru couldn't sleep peacefully in bed, and looking out the window at the moon hanging high was so pale......

It was already late at night, and Faru still had trouble sleeping, tossing and turning in bed. His long sigh woke up the little novice in the room. The little novice turned over, climbed on the pillow and said, "Take a seat, it's all three watches, and you haven't fallen asleep yet?" ”

Faru sighed again and said depressedly, "Yes, I can't sleep anyway." ”

The little novice asked with concern, "Have you not thought of the verse yet?" ”

"I didn't think about it."

Xiao Shami was full of childishness, and said easily: "You can just write a few sentences, anyway, the monks of the whole temple will not hand over to the patriarch, only you, even if it is not good, because there is no comparison, it will not be able to identify." ”

Fa Ru said solemnly: "Just because everyone doesn't dare to offer their sons to the elders, I can't make up my mind, and I don't know what to do. ”

The little novice slapped his head and exclaimed in frustration, "Oh my God, did I discourage everyone from presenting their sons, but did I hurt you?" ”

Fa Ru smiled bitterly: "Originally, the elder asked everyone to make a verse in order to test the monks' cultivation experience over the years, so as to determine the successor of the mantle. Now that no one else is presenting it, if I present it to the elders, won't I become a person who sells fame and fame? Became an unscrupulous person who coveted the ancestral position? ”

"Then don't present it. Anyway, everyone's hearts are bright, and they all think that the position of the sixth ancestor belongs to you, so please ask Elder Huaqing to pass it on to you directly. ”

Faru couldn't cry or laugh: "You, you, you're such a child!" If everyone doesn't do it, won't I take the lead in disobeying his old man's will? Besides, I'm your teacher, so if I don't even make a fool of myself, how can I verify that my views on the Dharma are correct or not? Without me, if the elders don't understand my cultivation realm, they can't guide and judge my cultivation path, so how can I be diligent? Alas, the left is not either, and the right is not good, what do you say? ”

It's none of his business, the little novice won't worry about it, and he has already snored.

Seeing that Xiao Shami's body was outside, Faru was afraid that he would catch a cold, so he turned over and got out of bed and covered him with a quilt.

He went back to his bed, couldn't sleep any longer, got up and opened the door, walked out of the monk's room alone, stretched and flexed his hands up a few times, and then walked up the stone rock of the Twin Peaks, breathing in the fresh night air while searching for dry intestines.

Walking, walking, unconsciously came to the white lotus pond in the middle of the mountain. The white lotus is blooming, and the night breeze is sending bursts of fragrance.

Faru felt a little tired in his legs, and lay down under the tall Bodhi tree next to the white lotus pond, his hands resting behind his head, looking up at the vast night sky.

The night sky was inky blue, the moon was high, the wind had stopped, and there was not a trace of clouds floating in the sky.

The round moon, like a mirror, hangs high in the sky. Mountains, halls, pavilions, trees, flowers and plants are hazy and clear, illusory but real.

In this light and bleak night, Faru was thinking about miscellaneous things such as the mantle and the mantle, and he felt as if he was falling into a bottomless pit, his body weightless, and his heart without settlers.

He paced and muttered to himself, "What is the Buddha's Path?" What is the true meaning of Zen? How does my nature manifest ......?"

The night was already deep, and the surroundings were very quiet, a leaf was falling, and a drop of dew rolling could be clearly heard.