The brothers who traveled westward in those years

Chapter 26 0026, Spread the Dharma and do a good deed every day

Coincidentally, a master passed by Fahua Temple on this day, just in time for Jiang Liuer's 12th birthday.The mage didn't go to the main hall, but went directly to the backyard.Seeing Jiang Liuer who was making a cake for himself, he solemnly said that he wanted to learn about Buddhism from Jiang Liuer, and even claimed his name as Jing Kong.

Master Jingkong looked at Jiang Liu'er kindly, and the latter's face was full of flour and his eyes kept rolling.The sudden appearance of Master Jing Kong startled him, and he sucked the flour up his nose in shock.Now he opened his mouth and couldn't make a sound, picked up the water glass on the table and took two sips.

Jiang Liu'er had heard of Master Jingkong's name, because the old Zen master often mentioned him.One of the ten most prestigious monks in the Tang Dynasty, once traveled east alone, passing through more than 60 cities in the Twelve Kingdoms.It took eight years and twelve months, and finally returned to Chang'an City in early summer.

This incident shocked the entire Tang Dynasty at the beginning, and the word "clear air", which had always been unknown, suddenly became the hottest topical figure in the Tang Dynasty.This made Master Jingkong one of the top ten eminent monks, becoming the first monk to directly break into the top ten eminent monk rankings.

Master Jingkong asked with a gentle smile on his face: "Little monk, I heard that you enlightened the eminent monks in the Western Regions, the number one eminent monk in the Western Regions, and even called you master, is there such a thing?"

Jiang Liu'er said: "If you go back to Master Jingkong, there is no such thing at all. I just chatted with him all night. Who knows that before he left, he suddenly called me Master. Amitabha, monks don't lie, Master Jing Kong, you are not here to find a place for him, are you?"

Master Jing Kong smiled without saying a word, a pair of long eyebrows moved with the wind, looking very immortal.He held a string of Buddhist beads in his left hand, stretched out his right hand towards Jiang Liuer, and made a gesture of invitation.

Jiang Liu'er looked at Master Jing Kong inexplicably, and then followed him out of the house.There are many flowers and plants in the backyard, most of which were transplanted by Jiang Liu'er from the mountain.Most of them can be used as medicine, and very few are used to add some color to the yard.

Master Jingkong said: "Since the eminent monk in the Western Regions can call you master, it proves that you must have something special. Don't worry, I am from the Tang Dynasty, and I have never met an eminent monk in the Western Regions. I just happened to pass by, so I came to follow you on the way Ask a few questions. You don’t need to take care of the meal, I will leave after asking.”

Jiang Liu'er scratched his head in embarrassment, he didn't expect Master Jing Kong to see his thoughts.Just now he was busy making a birthday cake for himself. He made a cake for two people, which was only enough for him and the master.It wasn't that he was stingy and refused to give it to Mage Jingkong, but that he was struggling with how to divide it.

Jiang Liu'er flicked his sleeves, helped Master Jing Kong move a small bench, and then sat down in a serious manner opposite him.Compared with nine years ago, Jiang Liu'er is much more mature now.No longer an immature child, but more like an old monk who has practiced for many years.

He sat firmly on the small bench, straightened his waist and said in a deep voice, "Since the mage wants to ask questions, we must follow the normal procedure and introduce ourselves first."

Master Jingkong nodded slightly, and Jiang Liuer muttered in his heart.This was taught by the old Zen master. Since the contest with the eminent monks in the Western Regions, the old Zen master has taught Jiang Liuer a lot about Buddhist etiquette.It also made him read a lot of Buddhist classics in the past dynasties, so as to consolidate his knowledge and understanding of Buddhist etiquette.

Jiang Liu'er stood up slowly, clasped his hands together and made a bow to Master Jingkong: "The little monk's surname is Tang, and his name is a monk. The master gave me a dharma name, Sanzang. I was picked up by the master from the river, so from the I have never met my parents. If there is anything wrong with what I said next, I ask the mage not to take offense."

Hearing Jiang Liu'er's self-introduction, Master Jing Kong raised his long eyebrows slightly.He looked at Jiang Liuer with surprise in his eyes, and then his face gradually returned to calm as if he had thought of something.Sure enough, just as he thought when he came here, Jiang Liuer is indeed not a mortal.

Master Jingkong asked Jiang Liuer to sit down, and then reported his family name and Buddha name, and briefly introduced his main experience.He did this not to show off the past, but to let Jiang Liu'er know more about his experience so that he could answer his questions next.

The first question, Master Jingkong asked: "Little monk, you grew up in a monastery, can you tell me what compassion is?"

Jiang Liuer replied: "My little monk thinks that if a person does not do bad things in his life, he can be called good. If he does not do bad things and occasionally helps others, he can be called doing good. Never do bad things and do one good thing every day." , is compassion.”

Master Jingkong chewed Jiang Liuer's answer carefully. He had asked many monks this question.Among them, there are many monks who are among the top ten eminent monks like him.But their answers almost lead to the same goal by different routes, and the meaning of the answers is basically the same.Buddhists generally interpret compassion as benevolence and compassion.

Jiang Liu'er gave different answers, but this was an explanation Master Jing Kong had never heard before.The point is that his explanations are so simple that almost anyone can tell them.But this principle is very unusual, because not many Buddhists understand the word compassion in this way.

The second question, Master Jingkong asked: "Since compassion is doing good deeds every day, then what is a Buddha?"

Jiang Liu'er replied: "According to the little monk, anyone who does good deeds every day can be called a Buddha, but everyone has different names, so the definition of Buddha is different. All beings in the three realms follow cause and effect, and they are Buddhas when they put down the butcher's knife."

Beads of sweat oozed from Master Jingkong's forehead, and he stood up with a smile and bowed to Jiang Liu'er.According to the seniority in Buddhism, Jiang Liu'er must call him Master Uncle.Because Master Jingkong is of the same generation as the master of the abbot of Fahua Temple, he is already over 80 years old this year.But he made such a great gift to Jiang Liu'er at this time, showing how enlightened and eminent monk he is.

There is no successor to the Buddha, and those who have achieved it are respected. There is no time for enlightenment, and it is the path to penetrate.Seeing this, Jiang Liu'er went to help Master Jingkong, but was stopped by the old Zen master who walked into the courtyard.Now Jiang Liu'er really didn't know what to do. When the eminent monk from the Western Regions called him master, the old Zen master refused to let him go. Why did the 80-year-old Master Jingkong make such a big gift to him today but didn't stop him?

The old Zen master clasped his hands together and bowed to Master Jingkong, who returned the salute with a smile.The three walked into the house together, and Jiang Liu'er started to boil water to make tea.The old Zen master chatted with Master Jingkong, and it turned out that they had been old friends for a long time.The old Zen master is about the same age as Master Jingkong, in fact, he is three years older than Master Jingkong.

The old Zen master called Master Jingkong his brother. Not only did Master Jingkong not mind, but he stopped calling the old Zen master by his Dharma name, and called him brother directly.

It was only this night that Jiang Liu'er had the opportunity to learn more about the master's history.The old Zen master and Master Jingkong are life-and-death friends, and they traveled south and north together at the beginning.Together they climbed snow-capped mountains and crossed jungles, and visited more than 60 cities in the Twelve Kingdoms together.Later Master Jingkong went to Chang'an City, but the old Zen master came to this humble Fahua Temple.

Now Jiang Liu'er finally understood why the monks in the monastery were so polite to the old Zen master.I finally understood why when the old Zen master insisted on keeping him, the prison temple and the abbot could only sigh but did not drive them away by force.There is a brother who is one of the top ten eminent monks in the Tang Dynasty, whoever dares to find him unhappy, doesn't he think that he is too comfortable.

Three minutes into the night, Jiang Liu'er replaced tea with wine.I don't know when the old Zen master hid the wine and buried it under the big locust tree in the middle of the yard.No more, no less, exactly three altars, and they were buried in three different places.At that time, the old Zen master proudly showed off his history of wine collection, and used it to give Jiang Liuer a Dharma title.

Jiang Liu'er couldn't help but rejoice in his heart, fortunately the old Zen master only hid three altars back then, if he hid ten altars and eight altars back then, wouldn't he be called ten treasures or eight treasures in the future.

The monks stick to the precepts, the old Zen master has been teaching Jiang Liuer in this way, and Jiang Liuer has kept it for 12 years.But just last night, he was forced to drink two large bowls of wine by the old Zen master.After drinking, he was unconscious, and when he woke up in the morning, he only felt his head was swollen, as if there was water in his head.

Helped the master and Master Jingkong clean up the mess, and then made breakfast for the three of them.Before Jiang Liu'er came back to call them, the two old men, who were over 160 years old together, woke up.The old Zen master was awakened by suffocation, while Master Jingkong smelled the fragrance of vegetables.

He has been to many cities over the years and tasted snacks from different places.But no matter how many delicacies he has eaten, what he can't let go of is the most familiar taste in his hometown.At that time, when he walked the rivers and lakes with the old Zen master, the pockets of the two of them were cleaner than the other.

No one would give alms when I went to alms, and then I went to the vegetable market to sell some vegetables.The old Zen master is not bad at cooking, but he only cooks what he likes to eat.No matter how intimidating Master Jingkong is, he can only eat the old Zen master's favorite dish in the end.Boiled cabbage and a bowl of steaming braised noodles.

If it is summer, put the noodles that have just been cooked in cold water.Then put the boiled cabbage into a bowl, add some shallots, some ginger, and two cloves of garlic.

Wow, that is simply the best delicacy in the world.Master Jing Kong couldn't help drooling at the thought of this. In fact, he didn't like eating this at first.But he doesn't know how to do it himself, so he can only eat whatever the old Zen master eats.Unexpectedly, he finally liked this bite more than the old Zen master.

Especially in winter, the steaming cabbage is mixed with the steaming braised noodles, and two spoonfuls of chili are added.Pick up a big ball with chopsticks, put it in your mouth and chew it hard for a few times.Remember, you must close your mouth and don't let the spicy taste escape. After chewing, swallow it, and then drink two mouthfuls of hot soup.

It's so cool, from the soles of your feet to the tips of your hair, it doesn't take three mouthfuls to make you sweat all over.But you must not stop at this time, you have to eat all the noodles, all the vegetables and even the soup in one go.Afterwards, I relaxed and sat on the chair, that kind of comfort must not be justified every time I burn an incense stick.

"Brother, how did you teach the little guy the stunt?" Master Jingkong asked vaguely while wiping the sweat from his forehead while sucking the noodles.

The old Zen master laughed loudly and said: "It's not that this kid likes to eat noodles as much as you do. Older people are prone to forgetfulness. I was afraid that this kid would lose his food if he left suddenly that day, so I taught him."

"There are other things like this." Master Jing Kong muttered in a low voice.

"Obviously you forced me to learn it." Jiang Liu'er whispered with Master Jing Kong.

"What did you two say?" The old Zen master put down the porcelain bowl and stared.

Master Jing Kong sucked the noodles without catching them, and almost stuck his whole head into the porcelain bowl.Jiang Liu'er shrank her neck and took a peek at the old Zen master, just in time to meet the old Zen master's gaze.Sticking out his tongue and raising his hands in surrender, he said in one breath that the noodle soup in the porcelain bowl was wiped out.

I turned the bowl upside down, and I went away, there was really not a drop of soup left.

(End of this chapter)