(The pines and cypresses in the mountain temple are always green, who knows how old the world is)

The clouds are rolling and the flowers are blooming and fading. The bells and drums in Jinshan Temple every morning and evening make Lan Feng meditate quietly and forget about the time in the world.

In the blink of an eye, seven years have passed.

Every year when the Sutra Pavilion is open, Lanfeng and Jingguo Jingsi go to the third floor to read the scriptures. Jingguo Jingsi is fine, but Lanfeng starts not to worship the Buddha or recite the scriptures after reading the scriptures.

Passed.

Kong Xiang also asked Jingguo what happened to Lanfeng, but Jingguo only said that the scripture was obscure and hard to understand, and he had no way of knowing what Lanfeng understood from it.

Kong Xiang thought that he had read the sutra to the fourth level, so he went to ask Lan Feng why he no longer worshiped the Buddha and recited the sutra. Lan Feng only said that there was no need to worship the Buddha in his heart and no need to recite the sutra in his heart, making this empty space quite like the master's.

I don’t know how to explain it. As time passed, the pilgrims who came to worship also learned that there was a strange monk in Jinshan Temple who did not chant sutras or worship Buddha. He just meditated in the back mountain and looked at the turbulent river every day.

It was the twelfth lunar month of the year again. On that day, Jingguo finished sweeping the Buddhist hall and saw Jingyan still sleeping soundly, so he came to the back mountain. After saying "Junior Brother", the monk in Tsing Yi smiled and stood up. He turned around and saw that he was seven years old.

He has a body of a foot, is handsome and handsome, with sword-shaped eyebrows at the top and phoenix eyes with green beads at the bottom. He has a smile on his face and jade beads hanging on his neck. He is the Lan Feng seven years later.

"Senior Brother Jingguo." Lan Feng saluted.

Jingguo smiled and said, "Junior brother, it's been seven years. You've been meditating here every day. What have you realized?"

Lan Feng shook his head and said: "If you are enlightened, wouldn't I be the Buddha of the third generation? Haha, senior brother, go eat!"

The two walked to the dining hall laughing and joking. As soon as they arrived in front of the dining hall, they happened to meet Monk Jingsi and his group. When Jingsi saw Lan Feng, he joked: "Hey, isn't this Junior Brother Lan Feng? Why, in the back mountain

Are you in a daze?"

Lan Feng saluted and said: "Senior Brother Jingsi was joking, I saw the river flowing from west to east. I was wondering, this river nourishes all things, and my Buddha saves all living beings. We have the same root, but why does this river not cross the world's people?

You take refuge in my Buddha, but you just do the opposite."

Jingsi snorted coldly: "It's unfounded to worry. Although you are a lay disciple, you are still in the temple, but you don't worship Buddha or chant sutras every day. You only think about these boring things..."

"Oh?" Lan Feng said with a smile, "Senior Brother Jingsi, please enlighten me, for whom should I recite this sutra?"

At this time, a group of monks saw these two people discussing again, so they all gathered around. Jingsi saw that there were more and more people, so he said: "It's ridiculous! I have been a monk for several years, and I don't know who the sutras are for. Today I

I’ll teach you a lesson, so listen up!

Reciting this sutra for the Buddha can show your sincerity.

If you read this sutra for yourself, it can resolve your doubts.

This sutra should be recited for the sake of all living beings in the world, and it can bring salvation to all sentient beings!"

"Amitabha, this is wrong." Lan Feng laughed and said, "The scriptures were written by the Buddha, but you are reciting them for the sake of the Buddha. It is useless. You have doubts in your heart. If the scriptures have solved your confusion, why do you need to recite them again? What if?

If it can't solve your confusion, why bother reading it again? This scripture is obscure and difficult to understand. Even if we are monks, only a few can understand it. How many people in the world can understand it? It's useless for you to read it for the sake of the world.

..”

Jingsi listened to Lan Feng say this and was speechless for a moment: "You crazy monk, you are full of sophistry. There are no Buddhist disciples in the world who don't chant sutras or worship Buddha. Don't try to confuse the public with your evil words here!"

Lan Feng shook his head helplessly, unwilling to argue with him. Jingguo also frowned after listening to Lan Feng and Jing Si's argument. While eating with Lan Feng, she asked: "Junior brother, what you said just now seems to make sense, but this

Chanting sutras and worshiping Buddha is a traditional practice for us monks.

You said this..."

Lan Feng took a sip of the porridge and said, "Senior Brother Jingguo, those words are just a joke for Senior Brother Jingsi. In fact, there are thousands of ways to practice, and you don't have to stick to chanting sutras and worshiping Buddha. As long as you are sincere, you can see the Buddha."

Take Sun Xingzhe five hundred years ago as an example. Some people became Buddhas through sincerity, and some people became Buddhas through overcoming difficulties. But his battle with the Holy Buddha was the result of killing. Although he killed demons,

But demons are also living beings, so after all, this still violates the Buddhist five precepts of ‘not killing’.”

After hearing this, Jingguo nodded and said: "Junior brother, you still have a higher understanding than me. Although Brother Yu came here so many years earlier than you, his Buddhist principles are still not as good as yours..."

"Jingguo, Lanfeng." Just as he was talking, Abbot Kongxiang came in from outside. Lanfeng and Jingguo stood up and saluted. Kongxiang said: "It's the end of the year again. You two have nothing to do in the afternoon. Go out and make some Buddhist connections.

.”

Jingguo asked in confusion: "Master, what is the fate of Buddha?"

Kong Xiang said: "Buddha's destiny is destiny." After saying that, Kong Xiang left directly, leaving Jingguo there in a daze.

Lan Feng smiled and said: "Haha, senior brother, hurry up and eat."

Seeing Lan Feng's happy smile, Jingguo thought he knew what Buddhism was, so she put aside her doubts and started eating.

In the afternoon, the two of them packed up and went to the mountain gate. Snowflakes were still flying in the sky, covering the land with silver, but people were coming and going on the streets. There were all kinds of people selling New Year's goods and couplets.

Jingguo rubbed her hands and breathed a sigh of relief: "Junior brother, where should we go to find a Buddhist connection?"

Lan Feng looked confused: "How do I know?"

"You..." Jingguo said awkwardly, "You laughed at me during lunch, I thought you knew..."

Lanfeng spread his hands: "Fate is such an elusive thing. Let's take a stroll while the market is busy."

The two of them were walking in the market, and many children were making noise on both sides, setting off firecrackers and shaking lanterns. Lan Feng had not gone down the mountain for a long time, and he was quite emotional when he saw this long-lost smoky scene in the world.

Turning the corner, a figure suddenly bumped into Lanfeng. Lanfeng turned around and saw a little boy running in the snow holding a bunch of candied haws.

"Stop! You brat! You want to run away without giving me any money!" Immediately afterwards, a vendor carried a pillar of candied haws on his shoulder and chased after the little boy.

The little boy's feet were not stable and he stumbled to the snow. The vendor immediately held him down and shot the candied haws with his hands. Who knew that the little boy would not let go until he died. Jingguo saw this and stepped forward to grab the candied haws.

Hawker's hand.

Lan Feng also hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Donor, please let this child go. This candied haws-lub monk bought it for him."

The hawker let go after hearing what Lan Feng said. Lan Feng took out the silver and handed it to the hawker. The hawker also handed the stick of candied haws to Lan Feng. He said: "You little monk, you are kind-hearted, but

Anyone who commits this theft will be yelled at and beaten, so we can't let him get used to it."

Lan Feng said: "Amitabha, if it weren't for a reason, I don't think this child would steal your candied haws. This money and you can be regarded as a meritorious deed for me."

"Hey, I really don't understand you monks." The hawker weighed the money and shook his head before leaving. Lanfeng helped the little boy up and handed him the stick of candied haws. The little boy raised his head, dirty

Xi's face was red from the cold. After taking the candied haws, he turned sullen and ran away without saying a word.

Lanfeng was also amused when he saw this. He couldn't get a word of thanks for helping him so much. He shook his head, and he and Jingguo continued to walk forward. After a while, they faintly saw a little light coming from the alley at the corner of the street. The pillar just now

The candied haws is also leaning there

Beside the wall.

The two people walked over slowly in confusion, and saw that the little boy who had just stolen the candied haws on a stick was lighting a fire in the corner, and next to him there was a little girl wrapped in a torn cotton-padded jacket holding a bunch of candied haws on a stick. The two people were immediately moved when they saw this.

, they walked in front of the fire and asked: "Children, what are you..."

The little boy saw Lan Feng and the two asking, "We lived in the countryside outside the city, and the heavy snow froze the crops. The landlord failed to collect food and kicked our family out. When we entered the city, it happened to be the New Year's Eve.

, there are pilgrims everywhere buying tributes for the temple, and we got separated from our parents after going back and forth..."

Lan Feng frowned, although this scripture has been handed down from generation to generation, there are still many people in the countryside who are living among the common people...

"Two brothers, were you the one who rescued my brother from the siege?" The little girl next to him said softly, "My brother just told me that it was all my fault that I was greedy and wanted to eat candied haws..."

Jingguo was about to comfort the little girl, but saw that the girl's eyes were open and lifeless...

The little boy said: "My sister was born blind and cannot see..."

"Amitabha..." Lanfeng clasped his hands together and couldn't bear to touch the girl's cheek. Jingguo was also watching anxiously. She had been cultivating the way of transcendence with Abbot Kongxiang, but she had never seen the suffering of the people.

However, as monks, they were helpless. He handed all the scattered silver he had to the little boy and said: "My child, we are also monks, but we are really helpless. Take this little money and hope that you can find your parents as soon as possible."

The little boy thanked Jingguo, and the little girl said, "Brothers, here..." She stretched out her hand and handed the candied haws to Lan Feng, "Thank you, you are good people..."

Lan Feng took the candied haws and recited Amitabha before reluctantly walking away. Turning the corner, Lan Feng stopped and looked at the snowy sky for a long time.

Jingguo said: "Junior brother, what's wrong with you?"

Lanfeng came back to his senses and shook his head: "I remembered my sister... When I left, she was the same size as this girl. Unknowingly, it has been seven years..."

The two returned to Jinshan Temple empty-handed, holding only this bunch of candied haws. When Kong saw the two returning, he stepped forward and asked, "Have you found the relationship with Buddha?"

Jingguo shook her head, but Lanfeng said: "Only this bunch of candied haws..."

Kong Xiang said: "Now that you have found it, go and have a rest. You will have to go to the Sutra Pavilion to study the scriptures later."

Jingguo's eyes widened: "Master, this..."

Kong Xiangyi frowned: "What is this? You go back first. I have something to say to Lan Feng as my teacher."

Jingguo felt bored and left. Lanfeng put the candied haws aside and said, "Master, what do you have to tell me?"

Kong Xiang said: "How many layers of scriptures have you seen in the Sutra Pavilion?"

"I've finished reading the fifth floor, and there's still the sixth floor left," Lan Feng said.

Kong Xiang nodded: "You went to seek the Buddha's fate today, what did you gain?"

Lan Feng said: "My disciple followed the master to practice the way of transcendence. But what I saw today is that this way of transcendence should be able to save oneself, but it cannot save others."

"It seems that you have made a decision in your mind," Kong Xiang said, "That's all, after you finish reading this sixth-level scripture, you can make up your mind."

After hearing this, Lan Feng knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Master..."

Kong Xiang looked at Lan Feng's back in the snow and murmured: "If we can really save all sentient beings..."
Chapter completed!