In winter in the south of the Yangtze River, the north wind is howling and it is extremely cold.
Tianxi Temple is vast and ancient, making it even more desolate and desolate. The withered grass on the Holy Sense Tower is decaying, and crows sit in the grass with their heads shrunk, peeking out from time to time. There are many ancient trees in the temple, their branches are bare, trembling in the north wind against the gloomy sky. There was some water and thin ice on the ground in the courtyard. Occasionally, monks walked by, but they were careful not to slip.
The layout of Tianxi Temple is in order: the Mountain Gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Main Hall, the Guanyin Hall, the Great Zen Hall, the Dharma Hall, the Patriarch Hall, and the Shenggan Pagoda; behind it is the Sutra Collection Hall, the Sutra Storage Gallery, the Lunzang Hall, the Zen Hall, and the East and West Abbots. , bell tower and monastery. Hui Ren lived in his father-in-law's house in the east, next to the Sutra Collection Hall and the Monastery. The abbot's room, like the entire temple, was old and in need of repair. The door frames and window lattice rattled in the north wind.
Xuanxin heard early in the morning that the abbot was ill and could not come to morning classes. He was worried about it. He finally led the monks to finish the morning classes and hurried to the abbot's room. He ran too fast and almost fell in the yard. A fall. When he pushed the door of the abbot's room, the two doors creaked and almost fell down. Xuanxin hurriedly held on to them, then closed them carefully, and walked softly to the side of Hui Ren's cave.
Hui Ren was lying on the couch, unconscious, and Xuan Xin touched his hands and face. They were all cold, and he couldn't help but feel worried.
At this time, gusts of cold wind blew in. Xuanxin looked around and saw that there were holes in the window paper, and the wind was pouring in through the holes. The abbot's room was originally empty, except for a row of four futons and a wooden fish on the floor. As the abbot of the largest temple in the Ming Dynasty, Hui Ren actually owned nothing. Two monk robes and a cassock were folded neatly at his feet. He was covered with a thin quilt covered with patches. It is difficult to see the original color.
Xuanxin sighed and thought to himself, it's no wonder he's sick. At such an old age, it's hard-frozen. I hurriedly called two novice monks to come over. They first patched up all the holes in the window paper, and then brought two small clay stoves and placed them in front of the collapse. They boiled a pot of water on each stove until the water started to make a loud popping sound. , finally there was a little warmth in the room.
At this time, Xuanzhi brought a clean quilt and pushed the door in, asking softly: "How is Master?" Xuanxin took the quilt, gently covered it with the old quilt, and touched Hui Ren's hand. It was so cold that he replied: "It's better."
The two brothers stood in front of the couch and looked at Hui Ren with concern. The north wind still made the door and window panes rattle. The two found some waste paper and stuffed the doors and windows that made the loud noise, finally making the noise quieter. When he looked back, Hui Ren didn't know when he woke up, his eyes were warm and his expression was soft.
Xuan Xin quickly said: "Master is awake? Are you feeling better?" He poured a glass of water and blew it to cool it down. He and Xuan Zhi helped Hui Ren and let him drink some water.
Hui Ren leaned on the couch and smiled slightly: "I'm fine. Are you okay with your morning class today?"
Xuan Xin said: "Everything is fine. Even Xuan Xing is sick. Xuan Zhi went to check on him just now and he is fine."
Hui Ren coughed a few times and said, "It's too cold. It's going to freeze a lot of people."
Xuanxin agreed: "Yes, it's not much colder than in the north, but it doesn't have a kang."
The monks of Tianxi Temple come from all over the country, and many disciples come from the north and are used to the hot Kang in the north. The winter in the south of the Yangtze River is cold and humid, but without a kang, you have to fight hard. This is similar to today's heating. The north is said to be cold, but in fact the room is very warm when the heating is turned on. Winter is easier to live than in the south of the Yangtze River.
Xuanzhi asked: "Master, what would you like to eat? The porridge has been cooked in the kitchen and will be brought over shortly. There are also vegetarian steamed buns."
Hui Ren shook his head: "I'm not hungry. It's so cold today. Let's cook a big pot of porridge and give it to the benefactors who are freezing and hungry on the road."
Xuanxin and Xuanzhi looked at each other with some hesitation. Xuanxin said: "It has always been the custom to give Laba porridge. It's still more than half a month away. Is it a little sudden?"
Hui Ren said slowly: "On the day of Laba, all the temples give out porridge. Tianxi Temple is just the icing on the cake to join in the fun, and the people also come to get it for good luck. How many of us really need that bowl of porridge? It is inevitable for people in Buddhism to follow the secular life, and there is no way. But we must always remember that compassion is the foundation. On this cold day, those who come to drink porridge at this time are what we really need. Some people may be able to survive with a bowl of porridge." .
Xuan Zhizhi said: "But this will definitely be criticized. Many people now think that the temple is a wealthy owner even if it is not involved in production. I heard that the court wants to change the temple to pay taxes."
Xuanxin was surprised: "Pay taxes? Junior brother, who did you listen to?"
Xuanzhi hesitated and said: "I heard from several senior brothers at Linggu Temple. They said that the emperor's grandson proposed to limit each monk to only five acres of tax-free land, and the excess would have to pay tax."
Xuanxin quickly calculated: "Then our Tianxi Temple will have to pay half of the land, which is not a small amount." The two brothers looked at Huiyuan together.
Hui Ren sighed: "How much grain is there in the temple now?"
"How much money do you have?"
"The annual farm income is enough for food and drink."
"But here we are again. After entering Buddhism, the first thing to do is to 'let go'. If you can't let go of all the money and possessions you have, how can you learn Buddhism? The court was originally generous to the temples and exempted all property from taxes, but what do monks want? What does this lot of property do?”
Xuan Xin said: "But so many places in the temple are dilapidated and need to be repaired. The master's abbot's room should also be repaired. There is air leakage everywhere. There is also the Holy Sense Tower, which is already crooked."
Hui Ren wanted to speak, but he kept coughing. Xuan Xin hurriedly stepped forward and patted his back to calm the air. Hui Ren finally stopped coughing and gasped and said slowly: "Temple, Buddha statue, pagoda, of course these are important. But after all, it is an external object, and it has its own reasons, so don’t force it." He rested for a while and said, "There is no need to repair the Shengguan Tower."
Xuanxin was a little confused: "I'm just afraid it will collapse. It's really dangerous."
Hui Ren was still panting for a long time before speaking: "Do you remember Master Zichao?"
Xuanxin thought for a moment: "Master, are you saying that the Korean Zen monk from thirty years ago surpassed his master?"
Hui Ren nodded.
Xuan Xin said: "I remember. At that time, Master and Uncle Huiguang, Uncle Huiqin and Master Zichao were often together. Uncle Huiqin and Master Zichao were both from Korea, and they didn't speak Chinese very well at that time. .”
Xuanzhi also smiled and said: "I also remember that Master Zichao liked moon-white monk robes. He loved to keep them clean and had to wash and change them every day. Master thought he was a waste of time."
Hui Ren recalled the past many years ago with a smile on his face: "Yes, everyone was still young at that time and loved to argue. They understood a passage of scripture differently and often argued until their faces turned red. In fact, they misunderstood the practice..."
Xuan Xin didn’t understand: “Why does arguing misunderstand practice?”
Hui Ren sighed: "There is no other Buddha in the world. The mind is the Buddha. As long as the mind is not contaminated and the mind has the Buddha nature, then one will naturally become a Buddha. What does the ambiguity of the scriptures matter? When I was young, I thought that every word of the Buddhist scriptures was I want to understand, but I also think that I am the only one who is right.”
Xuanxin and Xuanzhi looked at each other without comment. Whether the two of us have classes in the morning or evening, or lead disciples to recite sutras, we always feel that the meaning of the sutras must be understood clearly. How can we say to the disciples, "It doesn't matter if there is a little ambiguity." Isn't that a mess
Hui Ren didn't look at the two of them, and was immersed in his own memories: "The master has a pagoda passed down from generation to generation, which was passed down from the Song Dynasty. When the master passed away, he handed it to me, saying that this pagoda was used to save tribulations. It will be on those who come from the north."
Xuan Xin and Xuan Zhi did not dare to interrupt. At the same time, they recalled the small glazed pagoda that Master gave to Zi Chao. Why did Master give it to Master Zi Chao
Huiren continued to say softly: "At that time, Huiqin and Zichao came from the north, but Huiqin had no intention of moving. Only Zichao traveled all over the Central Plains and wanted to return to Korea. I gave the glazed pagoda to Zichao, hoping that Self-superiority can help this pagoda overcome calamity and resolve a karmic fate."
Xuanxin couldn't help but asked: "What happened next?"
Hui Ren shook his head: "There has been no news since I returned to Goryeo. I heard that Goryeo also changed to North Korea." He looked at the two disciples and said, "That glazed pagoda is somewhat similar to the Holy Sense Pagoda. I wonder if they were built together. It was imitated later. Master also said back then that this tower has a great cause and effect, and asked me to wait patiently to help this tower end its catastrophe. But I don’t know, am I going to be in this holy tower?" He started coughing again. , coughing so hard that Xuan Xin and Xuan Zhi patted Hui Yuan on the back, feeling a little worried.
After finally stopping his coughing, Hui Ren looked at the two disciples and said slowly: "More than thirty years have passed, and I'm afraid I may not be able to wait. Remember, when you see the Glazed Pagoda, you must do your best to help."
Xuan Xin and Xuan Zhi looked at each other in confusion. This story was a bit bizarre. Who knew that Master was not sick today
After a while, Xuanxin comforted him softly: "Master, don't worry, we have remembered it. If this glazed tower appears again, we will try our best to help. Master, please have a good rest."
Hui Ren said again: "Junior Brother Huiqin has disappeared. Junior Brother Huiguang, I don't know where he went after that? I asked someone to look for him in the north but he has not been found. Could it be that he is not here anymore?" His eyes couldn't help but be confused and full of worry.
Xuan Xin advised: "Disciple, if you ask more, master, don't worry."
Hui Ren seemed not to hear it, and it took him a while to come back to his senses: "Xuanxin, don't move the Shenggan Tower for now, wait and see." Xuanxin agreed, feeling worried. Master relied on a story from thirty years ago, ignored the fact that the Shengguan Tower was dilapidated and needed to be repaired, and just arranged to wait. What if something happened one day
Ban Xiangxuan knew: "I will let the kitchen cook porridge for a while, and I will serve porridge outside the mountain gate in the afternoon."
Hui Ren nodded slightly, closed his eyes and fell asleep. The cold north wind in winter continues to whistle outside the window, and the doors and windows still rattle. Thirty years have passed, and the former eminent monk has become an old man. Are you still waiting for the fate of the pagoda