145 times, the altar of the main hall is empty, which monk is coming

The topography of Jiulin Zen Temple, according to Feng Shui, is built on the "phoenix nodding", which is a high slope that extends from the outside of the city to the end of the city, and there are houses on the front three sides. There is also a vacant land around, the side courtyard and the backyard of the Jiulin Zen Temple have not yet been built, only the main building of the mountain gate and the main hall has been repaired, it seems that the scale of the whole temple has not been built in half a year, and it is necessary to wait until the future to slowly expand and improve.

Walking into the temple feels very peculiar, not like the modern temple after a thousand years, there are four great King Kongs on both sides of the mountain gate hall, but in the middle is a straight passage, there is no statue of Maitreya and Veda after the Buddha. Passing through the mountain gate is a bluestone paved patio, and the eaves on all sides extend to this patio, and you can see that the sky is "square" when you look up.

Imagine that on a rainy day, water will flow down the cornices to this patio, and four curtains will be hung in the square sky. In the middle of the patio there is a large round bluestone, slightly concave in the center, with two symmetrical holes in it, slightly thicker than the thumb. Mei Zhenyi knew that there was a well underneath, the round mouth was very narrow and covered with cobblestone, this was a feng shui well.

Zen Master Zhixu turned the image of the heaven and the earth upside down, and made a square and earth circle in front of the main hall of the temple to inherit the heaven and earth qi, and he was indeed a first-class feng shui master.

Walking into the main hall, which is the so-called Daxiong Treasure Hall in the general temple, I found that the pattern in it is completely different from the ordinary hall, the left and right are narrower and the front and back are very deep, and through the ingenious design, it is naturally divided into two entrances before and after.

As soon as you enter the main hall, you can only see a statue on the altar in the center, but you can't tell which Buddha or Bodhisattva it is. In the eyes of ordinary people, the statues of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on the altar are almost the same, and they can only be distinguished according to the paintings on the back, the portraits of the attendants next to them, the dress of the Bodhisattvas themselves and the earthly magic utensils in their hands, as well as the handwriting of the brocade curtain hanging on the curtains and the tablets on the incense table.

But this statue has no such references around. It's just a lonely one, covered in brocade, and Mei Zhenyi can't tell which way of the Bodhisattva it is?

There is a slip under the wall on the left and right sides of the main hall that is one step higher than the brick floor, and it is obviously the base for placing the statue, but at this time it is still an open space, and I don't know which Arhats and King Kong statues will be molded?

Turning this altar, there is no courtyard and no steps. Directly entering the second entrance of the main hall, compared to the emptiness in front of it, the layout inside is full of dazzling colors. There are eighteen golden-bodied Arhats on both sides, nine on the left and right, Shakyamuni Buddha in the middle, and at the left and right corners of the wall are Manjushri and Puxian who ride the green lion and the white elephant, which are also one left and one right.

The second entrance of the main hall is a false second floor. There are many kinds of classical buildings, and the number of floors is different from the external façade and the internal structure. This hall is not a building, but when you look at it from the inside, you can't tell whether it is one or two floors. Above the statues of the eighteen Arhats on the left and right, there is also an attic-like cloister. There are no ladders in front and back, and this cloister cannot be climbed, and many portraits are hung on the railings of the cloister. You need to look up to see clearly.

There are seventeen portraits on the left and right, the first one on the left hand side is a picture of the Buddha Shakyamuni Lingshan saying the Dharma, and the second one is the first ancestor of Zen Buddhism, Mahakalye, with a smile on his face, lined up. The last painting on the left hand is the Venerable Rahu Rata, the sixteenth patriarch of Zen Buddhism. Then turn to the right hand side, the last one is the seventeen ancestors of Zen Buddhism, and then row back backwards, until the thirty-two ancestors of Zen Buddhism, that is, the five ancestors of Chinese Zen Hongren Master.

At the front of the right hand, opposite the first picture of Shakyamuni Lingshan on the left hand, there is only a framed white paper with no ink on it. This blank painting is next to the statue of Hongnin, but I don't know who it is for.

This time, there were hundreds of people who received the invitation to watch the ceremony, half of which were monks from all over the place, and the monks led by Zhixu Zen Master thanked them all outside the gate of the Jiulin Zen Temple, and did not have excessive enthusiasm for anyone, nor did he deliberately snub anyone. So many people will definitely not be able to sit down in the temple, and there is a bamboo hut temporarily built in the open space outside the temple, and there is a stove for making tea next to it. Guests will first visit the temple. Then go to the bamboo shed to drink tea.

Mei Zhenyi followed the flow of visitors into the Jiulin Zen Monastery and entered the second entrance of the main hall. Looking down along the portrait hanging above, Cheng Xuanhu, the assassin of Wuzhou, accompanied him. Cheng Xuanhu is also a well-educated person, all the way to the introduction of the portrait of the Venerable Buddha, these are the Zen inheritance of the genealogy map, he focused on the life of Nagarjuna and Bodhidharma.

Behind them, Zhang Guo and Xingyun Shitai walked side by side, and kept asking Shitai for various allusions on the portrait, Shitai answered very patiently, and Zhang Guo listened very seriously.

As soon as he turned around, he walked to the portrait of Hongren on the right-hand side, and found that a small incense case was specially placed under the portrait, and Zen Master Zhixu and a middle-aged monk were worshipping. Mei Zhenyi didn't approach very interestingly, and stood far away. When the worship was over, I heard the middle-aged monk get up and say to Zhi Xu: "Senior brother, you built this temple, do you plan to leave the mantle inheritance here?"

Zhixu nodded and said, "It's the ground." ”

The middle-aged monk said again: "You left Master Xuanzang's purple gold bowl, but the Zen letter clothes kapok robe is not here, why don't you return to Songshan Shaolin in the coming day?"

Zen Master Zhixu: "Shaolin and Jiulin are all Zen forests. ”

Middle-aged monk: "I first entered Wuzhou, and I also found out that this is an extraordinary place, you built this Jiulin Zen Temple, and the main hall is waiting for the altar, there must be a deep meaning, right?"

Zen Master Zhixu: "In the future, if you have a fate, the letter will return here, and you will recruit an abbot to guard it." Junior brother travels the world, is anyone you want to recommend?"

Middle-aged monk: "Bodhi and Polo are all Buddha's fate." When coming from home, it is not necessary to recommend. ”

The middle-aged monk who spoke to Zhi Xuan looked very ordinary and unnoticed, and his expression was also peaceful and compassionate, standing there vaguely but there was a natural flow of grandmaster atmosphere. Mei Zhenyi only glanced at it, and then stopped the idea of testing with divine sense. At this time, a person next to him walked over and said, "Little monk, are you here too?"

Seeing that Qingfeng had already slipped past, it was natural to greet the middle-aged monk, and actually called him a little monk. The middle-aged monk smiled slightly, put his hands together and saluted: "It turned out to be a breeze boy, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”

Qingfeng: "The last time I saw you, I was talking about the mantle." When I saw you this time, I talked with Monk Sha about the mantle, the mantle and the mantle, not the same clothes and one mantle, but unfortunately, why are so many people entangled?"

The middle-aged monk: "If everyone in the world has already attained enlightenment, why should we promote the true Dharma? If so, the Bodhisattva will not make a grand wish to live in the world." ”

Zen Master Zhixu also smiled and said, "Open the dojo." There are the Three Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and those who say the Three Jewels are not the Three Jewels, but the Three Jewels. It is nothing more than pretending to be the grand method of the dojo, the law is true, and the dojo is empty, but it is inconvenient to print the truth without this emptiness. ”

As soon as the two monks opened their mouths, they were talking about the Dharma, and Qingfeng also smiled: "I won't tell you this. Zhixu, the altar here is empty, do you want to invite the little monk to be the abbot?"

The middle-aged monk shook his head and said, "It's not me, there should be someone else." ”

Qingfeng stared at the middle-aged monk and looked at it carefully: "So, that person who came is amazing." ”

Middle-aged monk: "It's amazing." There is no difference between the empty door, it is nothing more than the breeze boy, you have this distinction. ”

Qingfeng shook his head: "This has nothing to do with me, since you say so, you let Monk Sha drag someone casually on the street." If you shave your head, you can be an abbot!"

Zhixu and the middle-aged monk couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this, Qingfeng looked up at the blank image next to the portrait of Hongren, and then looked down at the middle-aged monk, and said with a smile: "After the death, you can hang it up, I also deeply agree with this." ”

Zhixu and the middle-aged monk said together: "Goodness, this is the nature of seeing in the air. ”

Qingfeng asked again, "Who will come to the abbot?"

Zhi Shu replied with a smile: "Didn't the poor monk already tell you as soon as he opened his mouth?"

Qingfeng blinked. I went out without saying anything more. Mei Zhenyi also stepped forward to salute, and deliberately said to the middle-aged monk: "Master, I've admired it for a long time!

Speaking of which, who is that middle-aged monk, and who is the blank portrait left for? If the Jiulin Zen Monastery can still be preserved to the present day after a thousand years, it is natural that the portrait should be the thirty-third ancestor of Zen Buddhism and the sixth ancestor of Chinese Zen Huineng. It's just that at this time, the portrait is empty, and Huineng himself is standing under the portrait and talking to Zhixu. - Huineng was also invited by Zhixu this time. And Qingfeng also knows him.

Mei Zhenyi walked out of the Jiulin Zen Temple. Far away to the phoenix slope behind the temple, it is the place where he jumped into the city on horseback. Secretly took out the demon needle, and his divine sense locked on the Jiulin Zen Temple to concentrate on casting spells.

He found that the construction of this temple did not cut off the leylines from Jiulian Mountain to the direction of the Jushui River, nor did it occupy the earthly qi, and it was very cleverly located in the center of the leyline, just like a small island built in the river, which could not only borrow the qi of the spiritual hub, but also suppress the rise of the earth's qi.

He smiled and put away the demon pin, went to the bamboo shed to drink tea, and ordered people to worship thirty-six auspicious soft grass futons in the temple. I met my uncle Liu Zhi again on the side of the tea shed, and whispered a few words, and Liu Zhi also ordered someone to send the title deed of this place in Jiulin Zen Temple. These are considered congratulatory gifts for visiting the ceremony, and the Liu family also donated the land.

Looking at the construction pattern of this monastery, Zen Master Zhixu has no malicious intentions, listening to his conversation with Huineng, these two are both eminent monks. But after building such a temple in Wuzhou, listening to Qingfeng's tone, Zhixu also attracted an amazing abbot, which means that the situation in Wuzhou's cultivation community has become complicated, and Buddhism has also intervened here.

Sure enough, at the ceremony held at noon, Zen Master Zhixu took out the purple gold bowl, praised the merits of the Empress Wu's edict to build the temple, and announced one thing in public - to leave the purple gold bowl in the Jiulin Zen Temple, and invite a high monk to abbot the temple in the world.

In the eyes of Buddhist disciples, the purple gold bowl held by Master Xuanzang when he traveled west was a very sacred thing, and Mei Zhenyi knew that the purple gold bowl was also an artifact. Zhi Xu said to stay, but also to recruit an abbot to guard this temple, the monks of the world heard this, of course, will gather here.

Of course, there are many monks who are willing to come, so how can Zhi Xuan choose? He also announced in public that he will stay in Wuzhou for a period of time, and on the first and fifteenth days of the new year, he will hold a Dharma meeting in the Jiulin Monastery and start preaching the "Great Prajna Sutra." The monks of the Quartet can ask questions in public, and if you are knowledgeable, Zen Master Zhixu will invite him to abbot this temple.

It turned out to be a debate, Zhixuan was Xuanzang's apprentice back then, Xuanzang was known as the first debate in history, and he once debated in Tianzhu so that the monks were speechless. If someone can sit in the position of the founding abbot of the Jiulin Monastery, it is really not easy!

After the "opening" ceremony of Jiulin Zen Temple. Zhixu asked Mei Zhenyi to stay alone, watched the seat in a small meditation hall, and thanked him first: "The thirty-six futons enshrined by Lord Mei Shi are difficult to find in the world, and they seem to be ordinary and have far-reaching meanings, thank you very much!"

Mei Zhenyi: "Master doesn't have to be polite, in fact, these things are just what I cultivated through refining tools some time ago. Offering to your Monastery is a casual fate, why do you want to leave me alone?"

Zhi Shu smiled and asked: "Today, there is a lack of an abbot in Jiulin Zen Temple, is Mei Gongzi interested?"

Mei Zhenyi was stunned for a moment, and quickly shook her head and said, "I don't have this plan to become a monk, don't be joking!"

Zen Master Zhixu: "I'm not joking, as long as Mei Gongzi is willing to take refuge in Buddhism, he is actually the best candidate for the abbot of Jiulin Zen Monastery, and his future practice results are limitless." Poor monks don't look at people wrong. With your cultivation realm today, you won't be able to let go of the beautiful wives and concubines at home, right?"

Mei Zhenyi shook her head very seriously: "Master, I am really grateful for you saying this, and I can hear that you value me." It's also trying to cross me. But I really don't have that intention!"

Zhi Xuan sighed: "The poor monk has no reluctance, and he knew that Mei Gongzi had no such plan, just to ask." ”

Coming out of the Nine Forests Zen Temple. Mei Zhenyi had already ordered the others to accompany Princess Yuzhen back, and only Mei Liufa was waiting outside the door with two horses. He didn't plan to be a monk when he went out this time, but wanted to deal with some other affairs by the way, and went to Wanjia Hotel to inspect and excavate a new wine cellar. The cooperation between the Mei family and Wanjia Hotel was negotiated by Zhang Guo, and later it was handed over to Mei Liufa to be responsible, and it went smoothly.

Mei Liufa is smart and well-behaved, and his temperament is most like Mei Zhenyi himself among the six brothers. Therefore, Mei Zhenyi also likes him the most, from the perspective of the overall plan, running Lao Chunhuang is a very large private transaction, and it is most reassuring to hand it over to him.

On the way, Mei Zhenyi asked: "I heard that the excavation of the new wine cellar has been completed, and everything is very easy. Think again. What's next? Maybe you can't handle it, and you need my help personally?"

Mei Liufa thought for a moment. Only one word was said - water.

To brew Lao Chunhuang, you can't use ordinary lake water, otherwise the taste of the wine will be several points worse. In the past, the Ji family used the water of the well in the courtyard to make wine, and later Zhong Liquan cast a spell to make the well dry up, Mei Zhenyi instructed Ji Shancheng to use the snow stream spring water at the foot of Jingting Mountain to brew new wine, and said that this spring and that well have the same origin.

Wanjia restaurant brews its own and goes to Xuexi Spring to get water, although it is troublesome but not a big problem. But if it is brewed on a large scale, it is always necessary to cross the ten-mile peach blossom road to the foot of Jingting Mountain to get the spring water of Xuexi, which is too labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive. Moreover, the flow of Snow Creek Spring is very small, and it is not enough at all.

Mei Zhenyi nodded when she heard this: "That well was sealed by my master Donghua Shangxian, I just want to try it to see if I can open it again now." ...... I think this may be Master's means of testing my practice. ”

When I came to Wanjia Hotel while talking, business here was very prosperous, which was better than when Zhong Liquan did not seal the well four years ago. Mei Zhenyi walked through the hotel and came directly to the backyard, the shopkeeper Ji got the news and hurried to greet him, and the old mother of the Ji family also came out to thank her. Mei Zhenyi hugged the old man and said a few words of condolences, and said to the shopkeeper Ji: "Go busily, don't greet me, I just want to see this well." ”

Shopkeeper Ji: "Little grandfather, I later asked someone to re-dig this well, but unfortunately it didn't work, and it still didn't come out of the water." ”

Mei Liufa interjected: "The immortal casts a spell to seal the well, what tricks can ordinary people come up with?" My young master is the descendant of the Donghua Shangxian, and he is about to cast a spell to open the well, if you are told to avoid it, you will avoid it!"

Mei Zhenyi: "Liufa, don't talk like that...... Shopkeeper Ji, I want to try a trick, please stay away for the time being. ...... Six-shot, you also step aside and don't come closer. ”

Shopkeeper Ji evaded, Mei Liufa also retreated, and Mei Zhenyi took out the demon needle to concentrate on the imperial weapon. This magic weapon was originally refined by Zuo Youxian, and its wonderful use is to help extend the divine sense, sensing various divine energy and mana fluctuations in the surrounding environment, and later re-refining it by the hands of the Bright Moon Fairy, which seems to be the same as before, but it is very different.