The fog is filled, the waves are empty, the earth is shaken, and the Yangtze River is rolling east.

"Ah, on the other side is Jiujiang City." The elder pointed to the other side.

The lights of thousands of homes in the city on the south bank are faintly and flickering.

The river breeze is gusting, which is refreshing.

The elder pointed to the surging waves of the river, and said with deep feelings: "The new leaves of the bamboo forest urge the old leaves, and the waves of the Yangtze River chase the front waves!"

The moon shines on the river white, and the waves carry a thousand miles of light. In the bleak night, the two of them walked quickly and went straight to the bank of the Yangtze River.

The stars hang down and the plains are wide, and the moon swells and the rivers flow. The Yangtze River shrouded in hazy moonlight is becoming more and more magnificent, with surging undercurrents and rolling turbid waves, an unknown mystery and an unknown vastness.

The elder took Zhang Shaofei to the riverside, the lively and bustling ferry during the day was deserted at the moment, and they were greeted only by the sound of the river tide hitting the embankment.

"The sound of the waves whispers that the night is quiet, and the wild ferry is self-proclaiming", which is a portrayal of this time.

Beneath the dark rocks over there, they found an ownerless boat lying there.

The elder went to untie the ship's cable, and Zhang Shaofei smiled inexplicably.

The elder didn't look up and said, "Untie the cable, what's so ridiculous?" ”

Zhang Shaofei smiled: "Untie the cable, there is nothing to laugh about." However, the monk's untie of the cable made people laugh. Because you are a high-ranking monk and a grandmaster, you even steal other people's boats. ”

When the elder heard Zhang Shaofei say this, he couldn't help but laugh: "You, poor mouth, have violated the precepts, and you should be beaten." ”

Originally, the tense atmosphere that shrouded the mind and body of the master and apprentice was teased by Zhang Shaofei, which relaxed a lot.

Zhang Shaofei pulled the boat to the shore and asked Master to get on board.

The elder said meaningfully: "The boat is the convenience of ferrying people, after people cross the river, pedestrians go by themselves, and the boat naturally stays by the river. ”

Zhang Shaofei bowed and said, "Master Xie pointed out the maze." ”

The elder pretended to be confused: "What did I point to you?" ”

Zhang Shaofei said: "Master is telling me that the Buddha's wisdom method is a boat to ferry people, and you can't be attached to the boat before the transition, and after the transition, you can't be burdened by the boat and carry the boat ashore. So, the Buddha's wisdom is the ferry that helps us to transcend the river of birth and death and reach the other side of enlightenment. We must not cling to it, we must not cling to it, we must know how to get rid of it and abandon it in time. ”

The elder nodded, took out the oars from the cabin, stood at the stern of the boat, and pushed the oars a little towards the riverbank, and the boat left the riverbank and rowed out into the river.

The elder was about to shake the oar, Zhang Shaofei hurriedly stepped up, pressed the wooden oar with his hand, and said, "Master, you have led me on the mountain road for a long time, and I am also tired, so let the apprentice do such heavy work." Master, please rest for a while, disciple come rowing. ”

The elder sat down with a smile. Zhang Shaofei paddled, and said unsatisfactorily: "It's the same degree, but the role of the master to save the disciple and the disciple to save himself is different. Zhang Shaofei grew up in the uncivilized mountains of Qiu County, with an improper accent and even ...... words Thanks to the Buddha's teachings, I have now become enlightened and realized my own nature, so I should take care of myself. ”

The elder smiled: "You were born in the mountains of Qiu County, you have been collecting firewood in the deep mountains and old forests since you were a child, and you came to Dongchan Temple to do rice and grow vegetables. And I was born on the banks of the Xunyang River. ”

Zhang Shaofei grinned and said: "In this way, when I meet you in this life, it can be regarded as a meeting in the mountains and rivers?"

"Exactly, exactly. "I have been up and down in the river since I was a child, and you don't think I can do anything on the water, such as paddling and rocking. ”

Zhang Shaofei insisted: "Even if my kung fu is not as good as Master's, it stands to reason that I should still be the one who will rock you." ”

The elder also insisted: "Young flying apprentice, as a master, I should cross you to the other side, how can there be a reason for you to cross me?"

Zhang Shaofei whispered: "Master, this time you are wrong again. ”

The elder shook the oar and said, "Eight months ago, when you first arrived at the Dongchan Temple, you said that I had made a mistake as soon as you met me. Now, it seems that it is the last time we will meet in our lives, why do you say that I am wrong?"

Zhang Shaofei said solemnly: "When I am mistaken, the master will save me; Now, when I'm enlightened, I'm going to take care of myself. ”

When Zhang Shaofei spoke the word "degree", his voice was particularly heavy.

Elder: "Ah, do you do it yourself?"

Zhang Shaofei explained: "Although the name of the 'degree' I mentioned is the same, the meaning it contains is different. I was born in the mountains of Qiu County, grew up in a remote and isolated mountainous area, and my speech was not correct. Thanks to the Master for teaching the mind. Now that I'm enlightened, I shouldn't just rely on the Master, but I have to live for myself. You have often taught us that the sea of suffering in life is immeasurable, and it is difficult for all sentient beings to overcome themselves; You have repeatedly told us that when a Buddha saves all sentient beings, all sentient beings save themselves!"

The elder laughed heartily and frequently bowed his head and said, "Extremely, extremely." Their own troubles are cut off by themselves, and their own life and death are their own. Participating in meditation is like eating and drinking, and no one can replace each other. The so-called master can only point out the direction for people to move forward, and whether they can reach the other side can only depend on each person's own self-determination. Seeing Zhang Shaofei's Zen language, the elder had far-reaching ambitions, knowing that his cultivation had reached the highest realm, a rare smile appeared on his face, and he frequently bowed his head and took the initiative to hand over the wooden oar to Zhang Shaofei.

Zhang Shaofei had never shaken the oar, but he had seen the elder's action of shaking the oar just now, and he remembered it in his heart.

He was younger than the elder and had more strength, so he shook the oar no worse than the elder.

The boat carried the elders of Zen Buddhism and the grandmaster of Huimen, facing the hunting river wind. Cut through the turbulent waves, and shoot towards the south bank of the Yangtze River.

The flickering lights in Jiujiang City on the other side are getting closer and closer.

The elder praised, "Ah, your oars are also shaking well!" ”

Zhang Shaofei said bluntly: "I have just learned the movements of the master to shake the oars in my heart!" ”

The elder sneered, "I didn't expect you, a mountain villager, to shake the oar. The boat went forward as if it were flying. ”

Zhang Shaofei made a pun: "After taking over the oars from your hands, I took on the important task of chopping the waves and making the boat move forward." ”

The elder was full of heartfelt feelings: "Indeed, in the future, the heavy responsibility of promoting the Buddha's wisdom and the revitalization of the wisdom gate will be borne by you." Notice. The wind and clouds on the road to propagate the Dharma are changing, and the waves are fierce!"

Zhang Shaofei patted his chest: "The apprentice understands the responsibility on his shoulders." ”

The boat broke the waves, and the elder thought of something, and teased: "In the past, the ancestor of Bodhidharma crossed the river with a reed. Tonight, it is the Zen elder and the Huimen master who crossed the river. ”

Zhang Shaofei: "Grandmaster crossing the river?"

"I'm an elder, and you're a grandmaster. The boat is carrying the two of us, what is it if this is not the Zen elder and the Huimen master crossing the river?" When the elder finished speaking, he laughed.

Zhang Shaofei had never seen an elder smile so bright.

Indeed, when a satisfactory virtuous person is selected to inherit the Buddha's wisdom initiation lamp, the big stone in his heart is finally put down, how can he not make the elder laugh openly?

The boat is leisurely, the fishing fire is lit, the big river goes east, and the moonlit night is long. The waves are rolling like clouds, and the moon is sparkling like a boat. Zhang Shaofei shook the pulp quickly, and the small boat shot like an arrow towards the other side - Jiangzhou......

Between the master and the apprentice, the boat has reached the other side.

Before going ashore, Zhang Shaofei knelt on the boat and thanked the elders repeatedly.

The elder urged: "Come ashore quickly, it is up to you to carry forward the Huimen and even Zen Buddhism in the future." You have to cherish it, keep going south, and don't rush out to preach the Dharma. One is that you still need to practice hard after you are enlightened, and the other is that some people are not convinced by passing on your mantle and are not willing to accept you as a grandmaster, and will definitely find ways to harm you. ”

Zhang Shaofei kowtowed and said, "Disciple respectfully follow the master's teachings. ”

The elder is like a kind mother telling her children who are about to leave away, for fear that something will be missed.

He thought for a moment and then instructed: "There is another important thing, you must keep in mind that we who study Buddhism and practice meditation should stay away from the bustling cities and live in the mountains as much as possible; It's as if the beams used to build the building come from deep mountains and valleys. Because there, away from the crowd, the trees will not be injured by knives and axes, and can grow smoothly, and they may become the pillars and pillars of the sky in the future. In the same way, those of us who practice meditation should live in the valley of the gods, avoid the hustle and bustle, nourish the mountains, and say goodbye to mundane things. At present, there is nothing, and the mind is at peace. Since then, the road tree has blossomed, and Huilin has fruits. ”

Zhang Shaofei nodded seriously.

The elder said, "Go ashore now." ”

Zhang Shaofei jumped ashore, turned around, and wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. The elder was also relatively speechless, waving his hand, urging Zhang Shaofei to leave quickly.

The heart is clear, and everything is in plain sight.

Zhang Shaofei slowly knelt down on the shore.

Tears glistened in the elder's eyes. As if he had lost his most precious thing, his heart was empty, and he staggered around and stumbled away.

Zhang Shaofei looked at the old back of his master, and tears blurred his vision. In his heart, it seemed that a wordless ballad gradually sounded, like a spirit transformed by heaven and earth, echoing over the river......

After the two separated, Zhang Shaofei stood by the river, facing the river breeze, looking at the ferry boat taken by the elder to return to the other side, and his figure was drowned out in the thick night.

Only then did Zhang Shaofei let go of his feet, strode towards the south, and galloped away.

The road in front of this twenty-year-old Huimen Grandmaster was full of thorns and wind and rain......