"The main hall of this temple is dedicated to the Goddess of Childbearing, and the other side halls are dedicated to the Goddess of Takimi, the Goddess of Fish Basket, and the Goddess of Medicine. On the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, many people from nearby would go up the mountain to worship and pray for everything to go smoothly, a happy family, and good health."
The next morning, Jiang Miao found Yuanxin and said he wanted to go to the temple to burn some incense and add some money. Master Yuanxin had long been accustomed to it. Before leading Jiang Miao and Pei Che to the various Buddhist temples to burn incense, he first gave a general introduction to the situation in the temple. This Buddhist temple obviously only worships Guanyin Bodhisattva. Four Buddhist temples have built four Dharma statues, covering all aspects of marriage, childbirth, body and career. It can be said that the business is extensive.
Jiang Miao followed Yuan Xin obediently, burning incense and worshipping as Pei Che did, until they had finished worshipping in the entire temple. Then he pretended to say casually, "Master Yuan Xin, how many people are there in your Tzu Chi Temple?"
Yuan Xin asked in confusion, "There are seven people in total. Why do you ask this, benefactor?"
Jiang Miao smiled and said, "Master Yuanxin, I see that your robes are a bit old. I want to ask how many people there are here so that I can buy you two new robes. I wonder where you usually order them?"
Yuan Xin suddenly realized, and then bowed and said gratefully: "Amitabha, thank you for your kindness. I am not sure about this matter, and the abbot always makes the decision. Why don't I ask the abbot and he will give me the answer?"
Jiang Miao said, "That's fine. I noticed that the gate of the temple seems a little run-down. How about we take this opportunity to repair the outside as well? I wonder if the abbot has time to meet us?"
Yuan Xin was even more excited. Their small temple in the mountains was usually visited by ordinary people. Such generous pilgrims were rare in a year. Although they had become monks, they were still in this world, so naturally they could not avoid some worldly thoughts.
"Amitabha, I will report this to the abbot right away!"
Jiang Miao watched him leave, then turned to Pei Che and said, "You'll be able to see the abbot soon. Just ask if you have any questions." He has at least a hundred taels of silver as a base!
Pei Che nodded. He had just prayed sincerely. If the Bodhisattva here was really effective, he would let him find the right place.
"Two donors," said the young Master Yuanxin, standing outside the temple gate, "the abbot invites you to come over."
The two followed the center of the circle and walked in. They passed by their residence and turned a few doors before reaching the abbot's residence. This was a small courtyard with a ginkgo tree planted in it. Its leaves, like small fans, made a rustling sound with the wind. I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but Jiang Miao felt that this sound seemed to have a cleansing effect. After standing outside for a while, he felt that his original anxious and nervous mood was relieved a lot.
"Amitabha, please come in, donors." A loud voice came from the room. An old monk was sitting cross-legged, with white hair and beard, looking like a great monk.
"Master Abbot, excuse me for disturbing you." When Jiang Miao entered the room, he put his hands together and bowed like a monk.
The old monk smiled and said, "My Buddhist name is Wuchen."
"Master Wu Chen, excuse me for making fun of you." Jiang Miao was a little embarrassed, but he was always thick-skinned, so he smiled too.
"Master Wuchen, you are polite." Pei Che's words attracted the attention of the two people. After the old monk saw his appearance clearly, he couldn't help but exclaimed.
"... This donor looks kind." Wu Chen said after hesitating for a while.
Jiang Miao originally thought that he would have to chat for a while before he could change the topic to that point, but who knew that the old monk would notice it at a glance. But then again, how many people can have such outstanding looks? After seeing him, the impression will naturally be more profound, not to mention that he is the one who donated a large sum of money to rebuild the temple.
"Master, you have a good memory. My father and mother visited this Tzu Chi Temple several years ago. I have similarities with both of them. Master, you must have seen them before, so you think I look familiar."
After Master Wuchen heard what Pei Che said, he carefully examined his appearance. The more he looked, the more frightened he became. The man's features were indeed very familiar.
"Is your father's surname Pei?" Master Wu Chen dug out a person from his memory. Wasn't that handsome and elegant young man very similar to the person in front of him
"That's right. The boy's name is Pei Che. My parents once traveled here and it is said that they have a connection with the Tzu Chi Temple. I wonder if Master Wuchen still remembers it?"
Master Wuchen sighed and said, "Your father and mother were such handsome people, how could you not remember them? They visited me twice that year, and I entertained them both times. What a pity..."
Wu Chen thought of the couple who were still so charming in his memory, and couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh. This Tzu Chi Temple had received a lot of favors from them in the past, but it was a pity that they were separated from each other now.
Jiang Miao and Pei Che looked at each other. The old monk was obviously aware of what happened that year. It seemed that the place where the accident happened should not be too far from here.
"The past is over, Master, there is no need to be sad. I have an unreasonable request, and I hope you can agree to it." Pei Che looked a little gloomy.
Wu Chen chanted a Buddhist name and said, "Donor, just tell me directly. As long as I can do it, there is really no reason to refuse."
"It's like this. I want to ask the monks in the temple to go to that place and perform a ritual for my parents to comfort their souls in heaven."
Wu Chen said, "You are kind and filial, so how can I not fulfill your wish? Let's put it this way. Two days from now will be a suitable day. Please take a bath and burn incense in the morning, and don't eat or drink anything. Then come with us."
"Thank you, Master." Pei Che bowed.
Afterwards, Jiang Miao talked to him about donating monk robes and repairing the gate. It seemed unreasonable not to spend some money since such a rare fate had brought them here.
After returning to the room, Pei Che was a little upset and just sat there in a daze. Jiang Miao wanted to comfort him, but he had to say a sentence several times before Pei Che could hear it. His mind was obviously not on this. Jiang Miao sighed and stopped talking. This kind of thing would make him feel uncomfortable.
After a night's rest, Xiao Shitou's motion sickness had almost recovered. He and Pei Mu rarely came to places like the temple, and they had a lot of fun that night. When he came back and saw his two brothers sitting on one side with serious expressions and not talking, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked, thinking that they had quarreled.
"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Little Stone asked Jiang Miao quietly.
Jiang Miao also whispered: "It's okay, Brother Che is a little unhappy, you guys lower your voices later and let him be quiet."
"Oh." Little Stone nodded. Pei Mu turned his head and glanced at Pei Che. His usually expressionless face was now filled with a hint of worry.
Seeing this, Jiang Miao patted his head and said, "Mu'er, don't worry, your brother will be fine in a while."
Pei Mu glanced at Pei Che again and saw that Pei Che was looking into the distance through the window, his eyes filled with emotions that he couldn't understand. He couldn't help but ask, "Brother Miao, why is brother unhappy?"
Jiang Miao didn't know whether to tell Pei Mu about this, but Pei Mu couldn't miss the ritual two days later. Instead of making him worry, it would be better to tell him directly. The child has grown up.
Thinking of this, Jiang Miao organized his words and started talking about the previous incident, and then went on to talk about the ritual to be held in two days.
After Jiang Miao finished speaking, Pei Mu had no reaction, but Little Stone looked at Pei Mu with great concern, fearing that he would cry. Little Stone originally thought that he was miserable enough, but he didn't expect that Little Wood wasn't much better than him.
Pei Mu was stunned for a while, then suddenly reached out and took out the jade fish that he never left from his neck. When he was confused, this was something he kept in his hand day and night. He didn't know where it came from, but he knew it was very important. Later, with the company of the little jade fish, although he no longer held it in his hand every day, he never left it and hung it around his neck.
Unexpectedly, this was what his parents left for him before they died. Staring at Xiaoyu, Pei Mu's eyes turned red, and tears seemed to be rolling in his eyes.
Jiang Miao was just about to hug the child to comfort him, but he didn't expect him to wipe his eyes, suddenly walked to the table, and started grinding paper and ink.
Jiang Miao was a little confused. Was he planning to do two questions to calm down
Little Stone didn't know what he wanted to do, so he just went over and asked, "Little Wood, what are you doing?"
"... write the sacrificial text." Pei Mu said, and then he turned around and concentrated on grinding ink.
They have started studying the Four Books and Five Classics this year, and have been exposed to various styles of writing. Their teacher once said that sacrificial writing is to burn one's thoughts in the form of manuscripts when offering sacrifices to ancestors, to express one's thoughts and sorrow.
"I'll write with you." Xiao Shitou was his good brother. He took his schoolbag, took out paper and pen, and began to prepare.
Seeing the two children's serious expressions, Jiang Miao was very pleased. He walked towards Pei Che and blocked his sight with his hand. When Pei Che looked at him in confusion, he said, "You should also write the memorial. Tell them what you want to say. They will hear it."
Pei Che was stunned for a moment, and his eyes moved to the two children at the table. After a long time, he squeezed Jiang Miao's hand hard, then stood up and walked forward.
Watching the three people writing the memorial, Jiang Miao didn't want to force himself to join in. As a poor student, he had already racked his brains to piece together an 800-word essay, and he couldn't write a memorial in classical Chinese even if he was beaten to death.
Looking at the sky, it was almost noon. Jiang Miao gently pushed open the door and walked towards the temple's kitchen, ready to help the chefs and discuss different ways of preparing vegetarian food.
Two days later
Early in the morning, the four of them did as Master Wuchen said. They got up, bathed, burned incense, and did not eat or drink. They waited until they were ready before going out to that place.
The carriage was traveling on a narrow, deserted mountain road, and Pei Che kept looking out the window.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly said, "My parents must have seen the same scene back then, right? It's a pity that they can no longer see it."
Jiang Miao put his hand on his and patted it soothingly. He said, "Doesn't Buddhism emphasize reincarnation? Your parents must have been reincarnated as young boys and girls, in the prime of their innocent and flowery years. Maybe they were childhood sweethearts, growing up together, and had more time to see the prosperity of the world together."
Jiang Miao has always liked this statement. Although he knows it is false, it is precisely because of this idea that he was able to endure the pain of losing his grandparents alone. Every time he was sad, he would think about the age of his grandparents now and what they might do, and he would not feel so sad after thinking about it.
It was the first time Pei Che heard someone describe reincarnation in such detail. He couldn't help but follow Jiang Miao's thoughts and gradually became absorbed in them. The sadness on his face also faded a little...
(End of this chapter)