Putuo Mountain, a hidden island in the East China Sea, is surrounded by the sea on all sides, and is long and narrow from north to south. There are three temples on the north and south lines of the island, and although the roads leading to them sometimes go up and sometimes downward, the relative height of the three temples is higher from south to north.

The largest and most magnificent of the three temples on the island is the southernmost temple, which is not only the most famous temple in Putuo Mountain, but also the largest ashram left by Guanyin Bodhisattva in the human world. There are as many as 100 monks who usually refuse to go to the temple of Kannon Temple to carry out Buddhist activities, and the incense has never been broken. In the middle of the main hall that refuses to go to the Guanyin Temple, there is a Pilu Guanyin, and on both sides of the hall there are Guanyin "32 bodies" sitting upright, to show that Guanyin Master senses all living beings in the world. Since Mount Putuo is the most prestigious ashram left by Guanyin Bodhisattva in the human world, it is not surprising that only Guanyin Bodhisattva is enshrined here.

After passing through the refusal to go to the Guanyin Temple, you can see a beautiful lotus pond not far to the north, and after passing through this lotus pond, you will continue to the north to come to the temple located in the middle of the north and south of Putuo Mountain, compared to the previous refusal to go to the Guanyin Temple, the temple in front of you is much smaller. Since the temple is located not far behind the temple that refuses to go to Kannon-in, it was named Terago Temple. The decoration in the temple hall behind this temple is dominated by the unique symbols of Taoism such as Ganoderma lucidum, cranes, gossip, eight immortals, etc., which is completely different from the decoration that refuses to go to the Guanyin courtyard, and at the same time in the temple hall after this temple enshrines a one-foot-high bronze Guanyin statue, and there is also a portrait of more than three feet high behind this bronze Guanyin statue, the characters in the painting are dressed in Taoist clothes, holding the dust, and the fairy wind bone.

Heading north from Teragoji Temple is a road that leads to the bottom of the mountain, and you can quickly see a sandy beach after following the road to the land below. I saw a stone tablet standing in the middle of the beach, which was engraved with eight big characters of "the bitter sea is endless, and the shore is the shore". Continuing north along the path on the beach, you will soon find that the beach stretches all the way to a 100-meter-wide stretch of water. It was here that the road that ran north and south of the island came to an abrupt end.

If you look at the water in front of you, it doesn't seem to be deep at all, and the water is still very clear, and you can see the beach under the water all the way to the other side. Strange to say, despite the rough seas around the island, the 100-meter-wide water sandwiched between the islands is always as calm as a mirror. In this way, the entire island is silently divided by this 100-meter-wide water.

As for the small island on the shore of the water, it is extremely mysterious and ignorant to the pilgrims who come to Putuo Mountain to worship incense, because that area is a forbidden area of Putuo Mountain, not only is it strictly forbidden for outsiders to enter, but even the disciples of the two courtyards in the south can rarely set foot here.

Through the water, you can clearly see that the terrain on the opposite side has risen sharply, and the mountains and rocks are steep and the bamboo forests are dense. The bamboo forest here is completely different from ordinary bamboo forests, it is not a green patch, but a patch of purple. Looking further north through this purple bamboo forest in the mountains, you can vaguely see a small temple sitting not far from the top of the mountain. This small temple is the northernmost of the three temples in Putuo Mountain, called Guanyin Temple. As for what is enshrined in this Guanyin Hall in the northernmost part of Putuo Mountain, or is it that Guanyin Bodhisattva is cultivating in this Guanyin Temple? Since this area across the waterfront has never been open to the public, no one can say clearly.

Because the Guanyin Hall on the shore of the water is located at the highest point of Putuo Mountain, those who come to Putuo Mountain to worship incense can see a huge white jade Guanyin statue standing on the top of the mountain behind the Guanyin Temple from a distance if they refuse to go to the Guanyin Temple. I saw that this statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva carved vividly, whenever the incense on the island was sparsely raised, never refused to go to the Guanyin Temple to see the statue of Guanyin from a distance as if standing in the clouds. If you encounter the three major incense festivals of Guanyin's birthday, ordination and enlightenment on the 19th day of February 19th, June 19th and September 19th of the lunar calendar every year, the entire Putuo Mountain is completely wrapped in thick cigarette smoke. After seeing such a grand scene, the pilgrims will inevitably pause and be reluctant to leave for a long time, and even kneel down directly, chanting incessantly: "Bodhisattva bless." ”

It is precisely because Putuo Mountain is the most prestigious dojo left by Guanyin Bodhisattva in the human world, so there is an endless stream of pilgrims who come to the island every year to pay respects to Guanyin Master, which is why the incense on the island is continuous all year round. In order to facilitate devout pilgrims to come to the island to pray for blessings, Putuo Mountain will send monks every day to cross the lotus ocean from the southernmost beach pier of the island to attract a large number of pilgrims to the island. Of course, if it comes to the three major incense festivals of Guanyin's birthday, ordination and enlightenment on the 19th day of February 19th, June 19th and September 19th of the lunar calendar every year, the people who come to Putuo Mountain to make incense are endless, so the leading ships that go back and forth between Putuo Mountain and the inland in the past few days can not rest for a moment, and travel back and forth in the lotus ocean. When the Putuo Mountain was crowded with people, the entire Putuo Mountain disappeared in a cloud of smoke in an instant, showing a magnificent image of the Buddha country of the sea and sky.

Today is the 19th day of the second lunar month of the seventh year of Song Renzong's Jiayou, which is the day of the birthday of Guanyin. The weather on this day was also surprisingly good, with sunny days and a gentle spring breeze along the coast. At this time, the lotus ocean, the ocean surface is slightly towering, like thousands of lotus flowers rising and falling with the wind, which makes people feel refreshed and happy, and a piece of peace. But don't be deceived by this apparent peace, if you sail alone, you will soon find that the seemingly peaceful ocean is in fact an undercurrent, and once the boat has sailed in, it is already in the whirlpool, and it is difficult to move an inch. If the boater insists on continuing to move forward, when he reaches the center of the Lotus Ocean, there will be a sudden strong wind on the sea, and then the sea will be stormy, and no matter how big the boat is, it will be torn to pieces by the huge waves. As a fishing song says: "The wind and waves are strong in the lotus ocean, and the lotus flowers rise on the windless sea." A lotus flower blooms for ten miles, and the petals are sharp like wolf teeth." It can be seen from this that there are many dangers hidden in this lotus ocean. However, those receiving ships sent by Putuo Mountain can easily pass through this sea, so if the pilgrims want to go to Putuo Mountain to make incense, they can only take the receiving boat sent by Putuo Mountain.

At this moment, the people waiting on the embankment to go to Putuo Mountain for incense have already been crowded and noisy. At this moment, there was a faint murmur on the sea with the wind, and everyone on the embankment immediately fell silent, stretched their necks and looked at the sea. Gradually, the voice in the distance became clearer and louder: "When the Bodhisattva Guanzi is walking in the deep prajnaparamita, he sees that the five aggregates are empty, and all sufferings are overcome, and the color of the relics is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from the color, color is emptiness, emptiness is color...... The people on the embankment were soon immersed in the sound of chanting the scriptures, and many people even began to recite silently in their hearts. I heard someone in the crowd suddenly shout: "Look, isn't that the ship sent by Putuoshan to pick us up?" Sure enough, a long fleet of boats appeared in the distance above the sea, slowly moving in the direction where the pilgrims were standing under the sound of the monks chanting.

The boats sent by Putuo Mountain to pick up have not yet docked, and the pilgrims who have been waiting on the shore for a long time have desperately squeezed to the places where the ships will dock, and when they saw that the crowd on the shore was about to get out of control, a voice came from the boat: "Amitabha, don't be anxious, worship Buddha in no particular order, you are religious." Although the sound was not loud, it reached the ears of the pilgrims on the shore and was like thunder. The crowd immediately stopped pushing and looked at the place where the sound was coming from.

After the receiving fleet had docked steadily on the shore, a master came out of the cabin of one of the receiving ships. Some pilgrims in the crowd soon recognized this master, and it turned out that this master was the master of Putuo Mountain's Zhike Clearance. I saw that the master of the pure space walked to the bow of the boat, and then folded his hands and said to the people on the shore: "All donors, no matter the order of piety, sincerity is enough; ”

Master Jingkong's words made all the pilgrims feel empowered, and the impatience caused by the long waiting in their hearts immediately calmed down. After the pilgrims such as the Zhike Jingkong Master were calm, he ordered his novices to lower the planks and guide the pilgrims on the shore to get on the boat. The pilgrims silently chanted in their hearts: "Amitabha." "Got on board the ship in an orderly manner, and nothing unusual happened.

"Master, that old monk's words have such a big effect, it's really powerful!" There were two people standing in the crowd, one tall and one short, and it was the short man among them who said this. The two were dressed in black robes and wore a large hat on their heads, and a black cloth was wrapped around the edge of the hat, as if they were deliberately trying to cover their faces. Because the style of these two people is completely different from those pilgrims around them, they are particularly conspicuous when they stand in the crowd.

The tall man, who was called the master, replied after listening to the short man's words: "The way of bending people, attacking the heart is the first, Buddhism pays attention to the tempering of the heart, and the heart can give birth to all things, so the Buddhist family crosses people in essence to cross the heart." It can be seen that force is not the only way to subdue a person, and you have to remember it. ”

"Got it, master. The short man replied absentmindedly, and his master shook his head.

The master and apprentice walked while talking, and soon came to the side of the guide ship where the master of Zhike Jingkong was standing, and as soon as the two wanted to get on the boat, they were stopped by the novices on the ship. Although there are all kinds of people who burn incense in the temple, there are respectful and humble, good and evil, but the land of Buddhism never rejects people for thousands of miles, and there is such a saying in Buddhism: "Put down the butcher's knife, become a Buddha on the ground, and cross all the people who can be saved." But after seeing the appearance of the master and apprentice, the novices on the boat couldn't make up their minds for a while whether to let the two of them get on the boat.

At this time, the receiving ship was basically full of pilgrims, and everyone was waiting for the ship to leave Putuo Mountain as soon as possible to make incense, but the sudden appearance of these two black-clothed people made the entire fleet unable to set off, so the pilgrims on the ship began to persuade the two people one by one.

The master of the clear space standing on the boat also saw the two men in black, and saw that the novices were in a dilemma, so he walked over quickly, folded his hands and said to the two men in black: "Since the two donors are going to Putuo Mountain to burn incense and worship the Buddha, why do they dress like this, and they don't show their true faces, which can be described as pious?"

"Master, may I take a step to speak?" the tall man in black whispered.

"Oh, donor, please. After speaking, the master of clearance got off the boat and walked a few steps towards the empty place on the embankment with the tall man in black. After the two stopped, they saw the tall man in black take out a token from his sleeve and show it to the Master of Clearance, who looked slightly panicked, but quickly calmed down again, and then the two muttered a few words, and walked back to the shore of the boat.

After the master of the clear space got on the boat, he said to the novices on the ship, "Let these two donors get on the ship and sit in the cabin with me." ”

"Yes, master. The novices responded.

After the two men in black got on the boat and entered the cabin and sat down, the answering boats untied their cables one after another, and the novices who were in charge of the oars on the boat immediately began to row the oars. Master Jingkong knocked on the wooden fish with one hand and plucked the Buddhist beads with the other, leading several novices in the cabin to recite the Buddhist scriptures, and the pilgrims on the ship immediately followed the masters to recite the Buddhist scriptures. The entire fleet slowly sailed towards Putuo Mountain in the sound of Buddhist scriptures.

Did these two men in black, one tall and one short, really just go to Putuo Mountain to worship incense, or did they have some special purpose?