Looking at Fang Zheng's back, the young monk was slightly startled, and then a smile appeared on his lips.
Fangzheng took his seat, and the rest had nothing to do with him. As the abbot of Baiyun Temple, Zen Master Baiyun, came on stage and made his opening remarks, the grand Spring Festival Prayer Ceremony officially began!
Sprinkle flower petals, sprinkle holy water, chant sutras and preach...
After finishing the set, it was already noon, and then the temple broke the fast and hosted a banquet...
Seeing that the table was placed outside the temple, there was an endless stream of pilgrims coming and going to eat. The entrances of the Main Hall, Guanyin Hall, and Luohan Hall were filled with incense! From a distance, you can see a column of green smoke rising into the sky! The incense was so strong and the scene so grand that Fang Zheng was speechless. He secretly made up his mind: "Yizhi Temple must hold such a big Dharma assembly in the future... No, it should be a bigger Dharma assembly!"
It wasn't until around three o'clock in the afternoon that the grand Spring Festival prayer ceremony ended, and the pilgrims were tired and dispersed one after another.
At around four o'clock, Baiyun Temple took the initiative to close the door. But all the monks stayed.
Fang Zheng still didn't understand what was going on. He planned to ask about the situation, but found that the eyes of many monks were flashing with excitement. At the same time, the seriousness of each of them was no less than that of the blessing ceremony just now.
"Are there any other programs?" Fang Zheng muttered in his mind.
At this moment, Zen Master Hongyan came to Fangzheng, sat down cross-legged, and said with a smile: "Abbot Fangzheng, what doubts do you have?"
Zen Master Hongyan arrived just in time. Fangzheng was confused and asked quickly: "Abbot Hongyan, judging from everyone's appearance, are there any other activities? Also, why did Baiyun Temple close before dark?"
Zen Master Hongyan said with a smile: "The Spring Festival Prayer Assembly has been held for many years. Praying for blessings is one thing. At the same time, it is also a grand exchange event for many temples. After praying for the world, it is time for us to communicate with each other, so we will close the mountain gate. . From the moment the mountain gate is closed, there are only monks and no one else in the entire temple."
Fang Zheng suddenly realized that this was what happened, and asked curiously: "Then how was this exchange meeting held? Is it a casual exchange, or is there some other method?"
Zen Master Hongyan said: "This is a debate on Buddhism. Everyone expresses their opinions, brings out their own understanding of Buddhism, and communicates with each other. In this way, a hundred schools of thought contend, a hundred flowers bloom, and after the collision of ideas, there will be many insights. This is also what Zen Master Baiyun said. I hope to see it, but... This has also brought about some negative effects. Many temples believe that coming up with new insights in this exchange meeting and overwhelming everyone is a way to gain fame and improve the reputation of their own temples. reputation. Therefore, the exchange meetings in the past two years have begun to change. Some people have begun to rank the major temples. And every year, the debate is not a pure Buddhist debate, but a ranking battle. Alas... Zen Master Baiyun has also begun to do this. Unexpected. Now, it has become a habit and I can’t even stop it.”
Fang Zheng looked at Zen Master Hongyan in astonishment. He never expected that such a secular dispute would occur in this land outside Buddhism. However, Fangzheng is not disgusted. Where there are people, there will be fights. Letting people give up fighting is like war. Everyone knows that war is a bad thing, but we have to admit that war is the propeller of human progress! Many civilian technologies were created to serve the war. The same is true for Buddhism. If everyone does not fight, but only meditates on their own, without the collision of ideas, and without the motivation of comparison to support, I am afraid that most people will not be able to practice Zen with peace of mind.
Of course, this is what Fang Zheng thinks, and it may not be right, but he at least thinks it is right. He would not tell Zen Master Hongyan, because if he spoke, he would inevitably be refuted. Fang Zheng didn't want to argue with Zen Master Hongyan about this kind of thing...
Seeing that Fang Zheng didn't speak, Zen Master Hongyan thought that Fang Zheng recognized his statement. After shaking his head slightly, he said: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's continue talking about the next thing. The last part of the exchange meeting is the preaching and discussion of Buddhist scriptures by rookies. , every year, Zen Master Baiyun selects one of the best disciples, no more than twenty years old, from among the young talents in major monasteries, to come forward and speak on behalf of all the young disciples. It can be regarded as training young disciples. , However, those who can go up now have become the new kings. Once they go up, the reputation of the temple represented will also increase, which is something no one expected. "
Fang Zheng shook his head slightly. There is no doubt that Zen Master Baiyun and Zen Master Hongyan are truly enlightened monks. They do not strive for fame and wealth. All they want to do is to carry forward Buddhism. Unfortunately, they still do not understand the current society and society. The hearts of the people. This kind of debate conference is a competition in itself. Competition involves winning and losing, and winning and losing means ranking competition. So it was inevitable that we would end up like this.
Likewise, Fang Zheng just thought about it and said nothing.
Zen Master Baiyun went up to speak again, and then went directly to the topic, debate!
Then, abbots from major monasteries came on stage one after another to talk about the Buddhist teachings they had understood. However, someone quickly refuted it, and a large group of monastery abbots started a war of words...
Fang Zheng had not read a few volumes of scriptures. Nine out of ten sentences spoken by these abbots were unintelligible, and he felt as if he were listening to heavenly scriptures. Coupled with the large number of people, Fang Zheng listened for a while, but finally couldn't listen anymore and began to wander away.
Finally, two hours later, the debate at the abbot's door ended. A fat monk with a kind face won the first place and went away happily.
At this time, Zen Master Baiyun came on stage again. After saying a few words, he went straight to the topic: "Everyone, it is time for Buddhist disciples to lecture on scriptures. This year, there is only one person who has signed up, and that is Master Nichi Xing from Jinzhu Temple. Master Nichi Xing's Buddhist Dharma The poor monk has long heard about his cultivation, and you must be familiar with it as well."
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Yi Xing. Yi Xing had a humble look on his face, clasped his hands, and returned the favor in all directions.
Fang Zheng followed everyone's gaze and was stunned. Isn't this the young monk who just asked him a question? A young monk who can't even tell the difference between a temple and a nunnery, will he be a rising star in Buddhism who is proficient in Buddhism
Fang Zheng suddenly realized that something seemed a little off. Did he really not know, or was he asking questions deliberately to find out? But why test him? He's just here to make soy sauce, okay? Just meet him once and go home after all.
Just when Fang Zheng was distracted and didn't know what everyone said, Master Baiyun suddenly called Fang Zheng's name: "Abbot Fang Zheng?"
Fang Zheng was stunned, looked up, and asked subconsciously: "What?"
(End of chapter)