A few days passed in the blink of an eye, Xu Zhi, Xue Atan and An Jingsi went to the waterfall to pick up water, finished breakfast, and followed the disciples of Dharma Hall to the practice room of Shaolin Temple. The warrior monks of this Shaolin Temple are divided into two factions, the Dharma Hall and the Luohan Hall, and their practice rooms are located in the Thousand Buddha Hall and the White Clothes Hall in the temple.

He deliberately instructed Xu Zhi and the three of them to carefully clean outside the Thousand Buddha Palace, and then led the junior disciples to enter the Thousand Buddha Palace.

Xu Zhi and the three of them were sprinkling and sweeping while watching the scene inside through the open window. This Thousand Buddha Hall is one of the most fascinating temples in Shaolin Temple, and the murals of the five hundred Arhats in the hall are vivid and different. There are forty-eight pitfalls on the square brick ground, which are the foot sockets formed by the Shaolin monks' practice piles, which is the work of seeing kung fu for a long time!

He led all the juniors and disciples to stand in line first, waiting for the arrival of the master's virtue. The Zhide Zen Master came to the Thousand Buddha Hall and stood in the center. The monks bowed to Zhide, and Zhide also bowed his head to the disciples and returned the salute, saying: "Today we continue to practice the basic skills of Shaolin martial arts, eighteen style long fists. ”

Because it can make Xu Zhi and others outside the window see and hear. He deliberately asked in a loud voice: "Master, we have been boxing and kicking and bending our knees and stomping here every day for almost five years, when will you teach us the real Shaolin Kung Fu?

Zhide saw that because today is very diligent and inquisitive, which is very different from the past, he is also very pleased in his heart, and slowly explained: "The boxing palm in the martial arts is divided into two categories: one is represented by the cotton palm of the Wudang faction, which is about static braking, overcoming rigidity with softness, easy to get started, and difficult to improve;

Zhide bent his legs slightly, made a half-squat posture, contracted his hands into fists, placed them on his waist, and then swung them hard, then jumped up with his left foot, kicked forward with his right foot, and then repeated repeatedly: "Don't underestimate these simple moves, when you were a teacher in this thousand Buddha hall punches and kicks, you have practiced hard for ten spring and autumn, and the former Jueyuan Zen Master has practiced the basic skills here for nearly 20 years. As the saying goes, the hands are two doors, and they must be able to attack the opponent and resist the enemy outside the door, and the feet must stand between the heavens and the earth, taking root step by step, so that even if they encounter difficult opponents, they can be invincible with the hard kung fu of standing on the top of the sky!"

He was ashamed and said, "The disciple is ignorant, the disciple finally understands the master's painstaking efforts today!", and the other disciples also shouted in unison: "The disciples understand, remember the master's teachings!", and after speaking, he followed Zhide to practice his fists and feet.

Xu Zhi saw that the kung fu of the monks' fists and feet seemed to be ordinary, but they were fierce and powerful, their legs were full of wind step by step, their bodies were agile like cats, their fists and feet were powerful like tigers, and bursts of dust were raised in the Thousand Buddha Palace. Xue Atan and An Jingsi also watched it repeatedly, and kept in mind every move of Shaolin Changquan.

Zhide led the monks to practice the Shaolin Eighteen-style boxing method, and said: "Master, we have been practicing fists and feet for a long time, and the disciples of Luohan Hall have begun to learn sticks, when will you teach us kung fu on weapons?"

Seeing that Zhide didn't speak, he hurriedly glanced at the junior disciples behind him, and all the disciples also said in unison: "What the senior brother said is, please teach us how to use weapons!"

Zhide suddenly laughed: "As the saying goes, 'knowing a son is better than a father, and knowing an apprentice is better than a teacher'!

"The disciples are careful about these thoughts, how can they hide the master's fiery eyes, and ask the master to teach the disciples!"

Zhide didn't answer, walked straight to the weapon rack, and recited: "Amitabha, weapons are fierce weapons, my Shaolin disciples must remember: everything must be forbearing, don't be moved to kill because of this, violate the killing precepts, and corrupt your own practice!"

He led the disciples and said, "Disciples, remember Master's teachings!"

Zhide pointed to various weapons and introduced them one by one: "Weapons can be divided into three categories according to their length: long, short, bow and arrow, and hidden weapons: short weapons are mainly short knives, swords, hooks, hammers, etc., long weapons are mainly big knives, spears, spears and clubs, etc., hidden weapons are smaller blades, mainly convenient for concealment, such as darts, hidden arrows, etc.!"

Zhide took down a short knife from the weapon rack, danced a single knife, suddenly slashed, suddenly slashed, suddenly slashed, suddenly picked up, danced faster and faster, only to see the knife light flickering, not seeing the figure, the monks cheered in unison.

Zhide stopped the short knife in his hand and said: "The sword is a short weapon, mainly used in close combat, it is the best protective weapon in addition to fists and feet, especially in the dense forest, long weapons can not play a role, and swords and fists are the best weapons to control the enemy." ”

Zhide picked up a long stick again and said: The stick is a long weapon, and there are mainly three kinds of routines used in "splitting Huashan with a stick, sweeping thousands of armies, and guiding the way by immortals". To put it simply, in addition to the sword "slash and stab" moves, the stick also has a long-range "point and sweep" routine, so using it has a greater and farther power and the effect of protecting oneself. This is also the main self-defense weapon of my Shaolin disciples. ”

The idiot asked: "Master, your words, the disciple understands, it seems that long weapons are more powerful than short weapons, isn't there a weapon that is farther away than long sticks and spears?"

Zhide walked to the side of the idiot, stroked his head and neck, and said with a smile: "If you are farther away, you will use bows and arrows and hidden weapons to subdue the enemy, but you will not be able to use these in close combat." Therefore, each weapon, regardless of its distance, has its own advantages and disadvantages!"

He asked, "Master, each weapon has advantages and disadvantages, so what if we give full play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses?"

Zhide said with a smile: "That's a good question! It shows that he has thought about it with his heart!"

Zhide also explained: "Any weapon is dead, and people are alive, in addition to hard work, practice makes perfect, only according to local conditions, change with the times, in order to respond to all changes, on the spot." If the opponent is armed with a long club, and we only have a short sword or no blade, and we cannot defeat him, we must try to lead the opponent into the dense forest or alley, and fight him closely, he will not be able to exert the power of the club; if he fights close to each other or fights with many people, the use of weapons will hurt himself and his companions, so it is not as convenient to use any weapon as his own fists and feet. ”

Xu Zhi listened to Zhide's words outside the Thousand Buddha Hall, and couldn't help but praise: "What Master Zhide said is really good, and his comments on the world's weapons are really incisive!"

Zhide heard someone outside the hall talking loudly, and hurriedly went out to investigate, and secretly shouted: "Not good!"

Xu Zhi saw that Zhide led his disciples out of the Thousand Buddha Hall, thinking that they had finished practicing martial arts, so he hurriedly bowed and saluted, and shouted: "Hello Master Zhide!"

Zhide was expressionless, and did not answer directly, but asked, "What are the three of you doing outside the Thousand Buddha Hall?"

Xu Zhi replied softly: "Master Yu, we are here to sprinkle and sweep." ”

Master Zhide said "oh", and then said: "After you finish cleaning, leave this Thousand Buddha Hall quickly, this is a pure place for Buddhism, don't make a loud noise outside the hall in the future!"

Xue Atan saw that Xu Zhi and An Jingsi both nodded in agreement, and he was angry, but he still said "um".

Seeing that the master did not blame Xu Zhi and the three of them, he was very surprised in his heart, it turned out that Master Zhide was the first seat of the Dharma Hall, and he was also in charge of the precepts in the temple.

I was very happy to see that the master could forgive Xu Zhi and the others for their mistakes, and hurriedly said: "Xu Zhi, the three of you don't go to the back mountain to cut firewood, the kitchen is short of firewood today, and the temple will punish you again!"

Xu Zhi and the three of them listened to the words, and hurriedly trotted all the way, left the Thousand Buddha Hall, and returned to the kitchen.

The kitchen steward was very angry when he saw that the three of them were late, and blamed: "Let you go and clean the Zangjing Pavilion and the Heavenly King Palace, you have been there for so long? You have not worked hard to get water these days, and you have deliberately dragged out sweeping the floor, there are not many wild vegetables and firewood left in the kitchen today, you should hurry up and go to the back mountain to cut some firewood, dig some wild vegetables and come back!"

Xu Zhi didn't dare to reply, only An Jingsi and Xue Atan were unhappy, muttered a few times, and the three of them each took a big back basket and brought a bamboo knife full of rust out of the temple gate.

Xu Zhi and the three of them saw that a few miles away from the Shaolin Temple, there were only a few big trees left, the small trees had been cut down, and occasionally a few young branches could be seen swaying in the wind on the edge of the cliff, and the three of them couldn't bear to cut off these tenacious lives again. The mountains are full of rubble, and there is no trace of green, and even the moss in the slits has been eaten by the Shaolin Temple.

Xu Zhi shook his head and sighed: "All the living beings are gone! Where can I chop firewood and dig up wild vegetables?"

An Jingsi saw that the time had passed, and it was almost noon, and the sky was full of dark clouds, and it was about to rain, so he suggested: "Brother Xu, why don't I and Xue Aniu go to other places to look for it?" Maybe we can find some food, it's better than looking for it together!"

Xu Zhi nodded in agreement and said, "It's going to rain this day, whether the two virtuous brothers can cut firewood or pick wild vegetables, they will go back first, don't wait for the eldest brother here." The other two virtuous brothers don't go too far!"

Xue Atan and An Jingsi responded at the same time: "Okay, big brother, please rest assured, the brothers are gone!", and after speaking, they left Xu Zhi separately and went to other mountains.

Xu Zhi was about to leave, when he saw a cliff under the peak, with a few rare big trees on it, and some green in the stone crevices of the cliff. He secretly rejoiced in his heart, but this cliff was very steep, and it was not easy to go down. He also carefully observed the place where the trees grew on the cliff, and there was a large cave at a depth of three zhang from the top of the mountain, and he saw that the rocks on the cliff were uneven, and if he climbed slowly along these rocks, he should have nine points of certainty that he could reach the cave.

Xu Zhi used the gecko to stick to the wall, the body was close to the rock wall, used both hands and feet, hooked the rock above with his hands, and waited for the foot to step on the stone below, then slowly moved his body down, and stepped on the empty gravel several times, these gravel fell one after another, making a loud sound, Xu Zhi did not dare to move, and hurriedly turned his body sideways, clinging to the rock wall, afraid of hitting the mountain stone.

Xu Zhi struggled to reach the top of the cave, he saw a big tree next to him, and then it was pouring rain, Xu Zhi resisted the rain, he didn't dare to think about it, and he was afraid that his feet would slip, so he didn't dare to jump to the entrance of the cave. To be on the safe side, he jumped up a tree, then down the trunk, sliding to the bottom of the cave. Xu Zhi saw that the cave opening was facing the high cliff, but the entrance of the cave was blocked by the surrounding plants, and the black forest could not see the movement inside.

Xu Zhi didn't know the depth of the cave and whether it was safe inside, so he threw a few stones into the cave, and after a ding-dong echo, a group of huge bats were startled from inside, and after a while, a few fat mountain rats came out.

Xu Zhi concluded that the cave was not deep and safe. He waited a moment to make sure there was no sound inside before jumping from the tree into the cave.

This hole ** is very spacious, there is no world, the innermost is a wooden bed, which has long been decayed, and there is a white bone wrapped in a scarred dress on the bed, which is full of traces crawled by ants and insects, and there are some bowls and jars on the side of the bed.

Xu Zhi thought to himself: "This cave must have been lived in a long time ago, this place is very close to the Shaolin Temple, maybe this person has some relationship with the Shaolin Temple! As the saying goes, the dead are the greatest, since I have met it, I will bury this senior in this cave." ”

Xu Zhi dug a deep pit with a bamboo knife in the depths of the cave, and just as he moved the white bone, he saw that the white bone was holding a folded broken sheepskin in his hand. He carefully removed the sheepskin and unfolded it, covered in blood, with illegible words and patterns in twists and turns. Xu Zhi didn't have time to take a closer look, first buried the white bones, and then bowed respectfully, kowtowing a few times.

Xu Zhi simply cleaned the cave again, then sat on a rock, lit the decaying wooden bed with flint, lit a fire, first dried his clothes and pants, and then opened the sheepskin, carefully identified, and barely recognized the last eight big characters: "There are holes in the cave, Dharma stone carvings!"

Xu Zhi carefully inspected the cave and found no mechanism or small door, and just as he was discouraged and disappointed, he suddenly saw a slit hidden at the bottom of the wooden bed that only allowed one person to enter and exit. Xu Zhi turned over the gravel at the mouth of the slit, carefully drilled through the hole, saw that the inner hole was more spacious and open, there was the sound of gurgling water and the crisp birdsong all around, the center of the hole enshrined the remains of Bodhidharma, the color of the portrait was dull, covered with dust.

Xu Zhi lit the two unburned candles on the offering table, carefully wiped the dust off the portrait, and saw that Bodhidharma had a beard on his face and blue eyes, but he was very different from the characters of Middle-earth. Xu Zhi bowed a few times to the portrait of Bodhidharma, and saw that the four walls of the stone cave were carved with words and pictures.

Xu Zhi held a candle in his hand, approached and saw that the stone wall was engraved with the great deeds of the first ancestor of Shaolin:

One day, Bodhidharma asked his master for advice and said, "After I get the Dharma, where should I preach it?" His master Prajnadora said, "You should go to Aurora (i.e., China)" and said, "After you get to Aurora, don't live in the south, where the monarch likes merit and cannot comprehend the teachings of Buddhism." ”

Bodhidharma followed the instructions of the master, prepared the luggage, drove a flat boat, braved the wind and waves, crossed the ocean, and finally came to China after three years and many hardships. After Bodhidharma arrived in China, the Guangzhou Thorn Shi learned of this and hurriedly reported to the imperial court, and Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, immediately sent envoys to take Bodhidharma to Kyoto, wash the dust for it, and treat him as a guest of honor.

Emperor Wu of Liang was already in the year of the sixtieth year, thinking: he was a young man, and he was ranked in the ninety-fifth year, and after ascending the throne, he was also compassionate, respected the Buddha and built a temple, wrote the longitude monk, and the people under his rule were simple and simple, living and working in peace and contentment. Therefore, he wanted to be recognized by Western guests. He asked Bodhidharma: "His Holiness came from the South China Sea, he is well-read and knowledgeable, and I have been indifferent and self-cultivation all my life, pure in heart and few desires, respecting Buddha and teaching, is it considered to be a complete merit?"

Bodhidharma replied, "Your Majesty does not have any merit in doing this!"

Emperor Wu of Liang listened to Bodhidharma's words and was very surprised: "Your master, why don't I have any merits that can be passed on?"

Bodhidharma replied, "The merits of Buddhism such as 'pure wisdom and wonderful circle, and the body from emptiness' cannot be obtained from the world. ”

Emperor Wu of Liang claimed to be a perfect person among the emperors of the past dynasties, and he had some experience in the study of Buddhism, but he did not expect that as soon as he opened his mouth, he would not be recognized by His Holiness, and he was a little unhappy in his heart. But he still deliberately showed humility and continued to ask, "Venerable Master, what is the first essence of the Noble Truth of the Dharma? What is the path of the sages?"

Bodhidharma replied: "My Buddha regards all living beings as equal, and fame and wealth are things outside the body, so there is no so-called sage between the vast heaven and earth!"

When Emperor Wu of Liang heard this, he was very disapproving, and argued: "If there are no sages in the world, how can we use the heart of a sage and the way of a sage to distinguish between truth and falsehood, good and evil?"

Bodhidharma smiled: "Good is evil, evil is good, true and false, good and evil have no source, and exist in one thought." ”

Emperor Wu of Liang saw that his views on Buddhism could not be recognized by Bodhidharma, and his heart was very impatient.

Bodhidharma replied, "I don't know!"

Emperor Wu of Liang saw that Bodhidharma did not answer, and wondered in his heart, could it be that this person did not have real talent and learning, so he was tricky.

Bodhidharma saw that Emperor Wu of Liang was not a person who was sincere to the Buddha, he was good at grooming, rejoicing, arguing, listening to flattery, and talking about Buddhism, but it was impossible to reach the realm of my Buddha that everything is empty.

Therefore, the first meeting between the two was very embarrassing, and the words were not speculative. Bodhidharma was afraid of offending Emperor Wu of Liang because of this, so he thought about it in the pavilion, and often did not see outsiders and envoys for a day or two. When Emperor Wu of Liang heard about Bodhidharma's retreat, he couldn't understand it, and over time, he slowly became estranged from Bodhidharma's summons.