Chapter 7 Monks' Morning Fast

"Bell ~ Bell ~ Bell ~" Three empty morning bells came from the Tianxiang Mountain in the clouds, the sky was just clear, and a light gauze-like orange sunrise passed through the clouds and mist, shining on the huge Hong Bell standing on the top of the mountain. The huge bronze bell is scattered with a simple red and yellow light, like the light of the Buddha, benefiting all beings.

The monk who ringed the bell with nine ring scars on his head stood next to the bell, closed his eyes and heard the bell far away, his right hand held the bell hammer steadily, his left hand was raised in front of his chest to settle down, he inhaled and closed his abdomen, and opened a mellow and long voice to slowly say through the clouds:

"When the Brahma bell rings, Bodhi is born, a hundred elephants come out, the bitter sea sinks, and the floating life enters the pure land, and the dust is broken. ”

The monk who rang the bell made the Sanskrit sound that came out with inner strength, and the sound echoed on the top of the heavenly elephant mountain, piercing the clouds and mist like the bell, and went with the morning bell of Fangcai.

In a row of meditation rooms on the back mountain under the mist, the Zen door "squeak, squeak" was pushed open one by one, and warrior monks wearing blue-gray monk's robes rushed out of the meditation room one after another, heading towards the celestial phenomena field.

The two warrior monks with six rings in the lead, one with thick eyebrows and big eyes, stunned, and the other with thin eyebrows and fine eyes, looked calm. The thick-eyed warrior monk stretched his waist, patted his yawning mouth with his hand, and said:

"Senior brother, this bell is really punctual, eight years, not a day has fallen, every day we get up an hour early to practice, no wonder we can practice the power of a hundred elephants, and then practice like this, I am afraid that I will enter the reincarnation cave on the top of the mountain and those teachers Bo Shen dry zazen. ”

After that, he turned his head and neck with his hands on his waist, and grinned sideways at the warrior monk with thin eyebrows and eyes:

"Hehe, Yuan Yi, when Master Xuan arrives, Master Xuan will definitely let you ring the wake-up clock, you have to ring it later, so that our brothers and sisters can sleep more. ”

The thin-eyed warrior monk glanced at him with squinted eyes, and continued to walk as he spoke:

"Alas, that's why you're only one step away from getting to the Hundred Elephants, sleeping too little and not resting well. If you are allowed to sleep until three poles a day, you will be the highest person in this monk's sect. ”

The thick-eyed warrior monk heard Yuanyi's sarcasm, and couldn't help but show embarrassment, and laughed twice and said:

"Hehe, this monk is not only me who understands that I love to sleep, the sect brother of the lock scripture building is better than me, if it is not for my wisdom root is not as good as him, the idle of the lock scripture building must be robbed to do, not only sleep for an hour more every day, but also close to the hall, get up today to eat hot sauerkraut rolls and the fragrant mushroom noodles. How can it be like now, before the body and bones have woken up, they have to sit on this Dharma field for an hour, it is really unequal for all beings!"

Yuan Yi heard him complain a lot, and thought about persuading and guiding him, and after thinking for a while, he said:

"Senior brother practices for five hours a day, you practice for two hours a day, and the senior brother of Zongde is studying the scriptures hard except for practicing and resting, so that at this age, he has read and understood all the classics in the lock scripture building, and he can also discuss the Dharma and lecture with Master Kudu. What you remember most vividly now is what you eat in your daily fast. Alas, all living beings are equal, and karma is shallow and deep. It will be wrong as it comes, and it should be left in the dust. ”

Wu Ming heard what he said, and knew that he couldn't argue with him, so he scratched his head and laughed twice, no longer answered, and continued to walk towards the Dharma field. After a while, the two of them walked to the edge of the dharma field and stood still, and the warrior monks behind them each went to the one hundred and eight bronze elephants on the dharma field, and stood beside them with their hands folded.

When the monk who rang the bell saw that all the monks had arrived at the Dharma field, he jumped from the top of the mountain, stepped on the wind, walked through the clouds and mist, and floated down on a thick branch on the thousand-year-old Bodhi tree in the middle of the Dharma field like a god and Buddha.

"This is the floating footwork of the hundred elephant force, it is really majestic. ”

Yuan Yi looked at him with a stupid look, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered:

"Why don't you hurry up and sit under the tree to sit on your luck, do you want to taste the brain of the senior brother?"

Wuming had big eyes, hurriedly jumped under the Bodhi tree with Yuan Yi a few ups and downs, the two sat down opposite each other, folded their hands, closed their eyes and crossed their knees, the breath in the body slowly flowed, the nose inhaled and the new mouth was turbid, and the mind recited a hundred elephant tricks, and the qi was absorbed into the hundred acupoints.

The monk who rang the bell looked solemn, put his hands together in front of his chest, looked at the warrior monks on the Dharma field intently, and said in a voice like a bell:

"Rise up a hundred elephants, set the dantian, rotate the qi, and expand the hundred veins. ”

As soon as the Sanskrit sound fell, I saw one hundred and eight warrior monks next to the bronze elephant on the Dharma field, all of them turned around, took a step on the horse, stretched out their hands and pulled them back, and clenched their fists on their waists. Taking a deep breath, his arms stretched forward suddenly, his eyes opened, his palms grasped the legs of the bronze elephant with a bang, and his mouth exhaled "up" like an earth-shattering sound. He lifted the thousand-pound bronze elephant to his chest, threw his arms to the sky, threw the bronze elephant over his head, stepped on the side with one foot, raised his palms to the top of his head, fell sharply on his waist, bent his elbows and caught the belly of the falling copper elephant, the heart of his feet was lucky, his knees slowly squatted, and he held the thousand-pound bronze elephant with his eyes closed and fixed on the law field.

The majestic and calm bell ringing monk saw that the warrior monks had raised the image and entered the meditation, so he also sat cross-legged on the thick branch, closed his eyes, and sat quietly to walk the eight veins.

At this time, the sun has jumped out of the sky, and the golden glow penetrating from the sea of clouds shines on the bronze elephants in mid-air, and the bronze elephants scatter the simple light of red yellow, like a hundred elephants traveling westward, welcoming the Buddha and saving the world.

In the monk's gate hall on the side of Tianxiang Mountain, the back kitchen is smoky and burning, and a group of miscellaneous monks are doing morning fasting. On a row of earthen stoves against the west wall are several large cauldrons, and hot white porridge is tumbling in one large pot, and the rice is fragrant. The other two were stacked with several layers of steamers, and wisps of white smoke wafted from the steamers, presumably steaming the sauerkraut rolls that Wu Ming was talking about. There was a pot of boiling hot water in the cauldron on the east wall around the corner, and it was "gurgling" and bubbling.

A few handyman monks in front of the long jujube wood table on the east wall were kneading the dough, smashing and clattering, and white ash was scattered everywhere. In several large bamboo plaques on the long jujube wood table, there are many pulled and cut noodles, which are round and evenly thick.

A handyman monk in front of the water tank in the corner of the wall was sitting next to a large basket of washed fresh mushrooms and green vegetable leaves, holding a bowl of Bodhi leaves soaked in water, picking the petioles one by one and washing them carefully, muttering:

"Brother Zongde explained a good errand, a bowl of Bodhi leaves every day, piece by piece washed, so not tired, since the little brother who chased Tibet into this monk's door, the fallen leaves on the ground have fallen into a good place, and they have all entered his belly and turned a reincarnation. ”

A lean handyman monk who was kneading dough at the long table heard him say this, pulled the long dough in his hand and shook it twice, and said with a smile:

"Haha, Jueqing, I see that chasing the little junior brother is very interesting, I look at the age of eight or nine years old, but he is still babbling. I don't know who my parents are, so I didn't even have a person to teach and speak in the past few years, but I was fortunate to enter this monk's door, and I guess I have a place to live. ”

Jueqing, who was washing the Bodhi leaves, got up from the low bamboo stool, took the bowl of Bodhi leaves and walked to the cedar bucket next to the water tank that contained the vegetable washing wastewater, opened one palm and gently pressed the edge of the bowl, and slowly poured the water in the bowl into the cedar barrel through his fingers. He poured the bowl of Bodhi leaves on a leaky plaque and spread it out carefully, and then turned to the lean miscellaneous monk who had just answered:

"Zhengfan, I have done this work meticulously enough, and we miscellaneous monks can only do something to care about this little junior brother. There is still half a cup of tea to start the morning fast, the three-color dumplings are quickly made into a steamer, don't miss the pilgrims' rituals. ”

A few miscellaneous monks who kneaded the dough nodded, and their hands were busy with their work. Jueqing took a small pumpkin and a green cabbage from the bamboo basket and cut them on the board and chopped them into pieces, grabbed a handful of black sesame seeds in a white porcelain bowl on the stove, ground them into powder in a stone mortar, and poured them into a small porcelain bowl.

Jueqing held the three small porcelain bowls in both hands and put them on the long jujube wood table where the dough was kneading, and after nodding to Na Zhengfan, he picked up the big bamboo plaques with noodles on the table, went to the big pot with boiling water, and stacked them on the bamboo frame next to it. He took a few wooden trays from the bamboo rack and put them on the stove, and placed eight large bowls in each wooden tray.

After doing these trivial things, Jueqing stood in front of the steamy boiling water cauldron, closed his eyes and recited the "Buddha Says that the Five Aggregates are All Empty Sutras". As soon as I finished reading, I heard the sound of three thick wooden fish from the dining hall, "Tu, Tu, Tu", which was the order to start the morning fast.

The group of miscellaneous monks in the back kitchen hurriedly scooped the white porridge tumbling in the cauldron into several large wooden barrels with a big spoon, and uncovered the two stacks of steamers layer by layer, clamped the sauerkraut rolls inside with bamboo tongs and stacked them in the two large wooden jars prepared, and then the two of them carried the white porridge and sauerkraut rolls to the dining hall.

There are only Jueqing and Zhengfan left in the back kitchen, Jueqing is boiling somen noodles in front of the boiling water pot, Zhengfan took a white porcelain plate and filled two wrapped yellow, green and black three-color dumplings, and took a small steamer on the bamboo frame to steam the three-color dumplings in a small pot.

After covering the steamer and placing it properly, Zhengfan turned around and moved the basket of washed mushrooms and greens to the cauldron next to Jueqing, and removed the remaining layer of steamer from the cauldron and stacked it with Fang Cai.

The cauldron under the steamer was still "gurgling" and bubbling, Zhengfan lifted the basket of mushrooms and vegetables and shook half of them in the iron pot, pressed them with an iron spoon, and then took a nine-grid seasoning box and sprinkled some fine salt, soy sauce, bean dregs powder and sesame oil evenly in the eight large bowls on the wooden tray.

Jueqing saw that the seasonings in the big bowl were ready, and then looked at the mushrooms and vegetables tumbling in the other pot, and then took an iron spoon, scooped a small half spoon of the noodle soup in each bowl and stirred, and the other hand took a long bamboo chopsticks to stir up a ball of dough in the pot and put it in each big bowl. Zhengfan here also used bamboo chopsticks to put some hot vegetables and mushrooms in the big pot in front of him and spread them on the noodles, and scooped a small spoonful of vinegar into each bowl of noodles. The two of them added ingredients and water, scooped the soup with ingredients, and laid the noodles and vegetables, and in a few moments, the large bowls in the wooden trays were filled with mushroom noodles.

There were eight cloud claws in the hall, which was the order for the monks to enter the hall. Several miscellaneous monks who sent fasting food returned to the back kitchen one after another, each of them took a wooden tray with mushroom noodles and went to the hall, back and forth a few times, and then the long table in the hall was neatly filled with rows of large bowls, white flour soup, pieces of emerald green, so not spectacular.

After Jueqing and Zhengfan finished this last morning fast, they cleaned up the stove a little, scooped water in the water tank and washed their hands, and then went to the dining hall together.

The monks of the hall have folded their hands and sat down in order, the huge hall is full, the warrior monks in blue-gray monk's clothes and the monks in brown monk's clothes are sitting along the table in an orderly manner, solemn and solemn, silent and silent. The master of the hall slowly knocked the wooden fish three times, and the monks carefully recited the offering in unison, and then began to fast in the morning.

The miscellaneous monks in the back kitchen each carried a wooden bucket through the table, and took bamboo tongs and wooden spoons to put sauerkraut rolls and white porridge in the empty bowls in front of the monks. After the miscellaneous monks carried the wooden barrels in the table three times, the monks who had finished their morning fast first got up and folded their hands and made a gesture to them, then each picked up the porcelain bowl and bamboo chopsticks in front of them, went to the water tank in the dining hall to wash, and then returned to the table and buckled the porcelain bowl upside down in front of them. After all the monks had finished their morning fast, they recited the fasting verses in unison, and then lined up and left the hall in order.

Zhengfan led a few miscellaneous monks to stay in the dining hall, and took burlap to wipe the tables and stools in the dining hall carefully. Jueqing carried two empty wooden barrels alone and went back to the back kitchen first, after scooping water and cleaning his hands, he picked up the Bodhi leaves on the leaky plaque piece by piece and put them in the bowl, and was about to finish sorting, when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps from the side door of the back kitchen, he looked up and looked, two monks wearing brown monk's robes swaggered into the back kitchen, and the chubby monk in front of him shouted to Jueqing:

"Is Kudu's morning fast ready?"

Jueqing folded his hands and made a gesture, pointed to the small steamer with white smoke floating on the stove and said:

"Half a column of incense was steamed over low heat, and it was already cooked. ”

The fat monk shook his shoulders, walked to the bamboo frame and took a wooden tray, grabbed a burlap on the long table, wrapped the handle of the steamer, took the steamer from the stove and put it on the tray. He threw the burlap on the stove again, and then he and the monks who came with him carried the tray above their heads, and ran quickly towards the Thousand Buddha Hall out of the hall.

Jueqing shook his head, sighed, took the burlap on the stove and went to the long table of jujube wood, kneaded the dough and started the morning fast of the miscellaneous monks. After about a cup of tea, Zhengfan led the miscellaneous monks back to the back kitchen from the dining hall, and saw that the small steamer on the stove was gone, so he asked Jueqing:

"Today is also the consummation, and the fat man came to take it?"

Jueqing raised his head and nodded with a smile, Zhengfan pressed his right shoulder with his backhand and said:

I don't know how Master Kudu accepted this fat man as a disciple, look at his state of mind, he is not as good as the interesting little disciple who chases Tibet, it is really Maitreya's body, chicken heart. ”

Jueqing grabbed the cut noodles and shook them on the bamboo plaque, and said with a smile:

"Okay, they are all monks and brothers, each with their own karma, why be sarcastic, hurry up and boil some white porridge, fried plate tofu, Senior Brother Zongde estimates that it is coming soon. ”

Zhengfan nodded and then shook his head and said:

"Well, no matter how the fat man is, the morning fast of chasing the little brother is indispensable, if I meet him today, I will definitely teach him to call me Senior Brother Zhengfan, haha. ”

Jueqing and a few other miscellaneous monks laughed a few times, and then they went to the stove to get busy, adding materials and water, cutting vegetables and cooking porridge.

In the meditation room on the left side of the lock scripture building, Chaizang was sitting on a small bamboo stool flipping through the book "Hundred Buddhas of the Monk's Gate", and suddenly "cooed" twice in his abdomen, and Zongde, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, suddenly got together and shouted:

"Leave me one, leave me one. ”

Chasing Zang looked at him with wide eyes and smiled:

"Senior Brother Zongde is early. ”

Zong De scratched his head, rubbed his cheeks a few times with his hands, and said with a smile:

"Hahaha, early, what a hungry dream, are you hungry?

Chaizang blinked, tilted his head, patted his stomach and said:

"I'm hungry. ”

After Zong De got up and took a basin of water to wipe his face and rinse his mouth, he squatted down and touched his head and said:

"You wipe your face and rinse your mouth first, Senior Brother will go to the dining hall to get morning fasting, today we will taste the sesame oil fried tofu made by Senior Brother Zhengfan, soft and smooth, delicious and extraordinary." ”

Chaizang nodded, Zongde fetched another basin of water and put it on a small square stool, took a face towel and handed it to him, and then went out of the meditation room to the dining hall.