Under the leadership of Master Dechun, Chen Ran passed through the Tianwang Hall and the Main Hall, bypassed the pagoda forest in the west, and came to Chuzu Temple. Along the way, the monks in the temple all bowed their heads and saluted when they saw Master Dechun.
It is obvious that Master Dechun has a very high status in the temple.
The First Ancestor Temple, also known as the Wall-faced Temple, is the place where Patriarch Bodhidharma is enshrined. It was not until he came here that Chen Ran felt the solemn feeling brought to him by the thousand-year-old temple. Most of the buildings in the current Shaolin Temple have been renovated.
New, it looks majestic, but it doesn't feel that way to Chen Ran.
This is the drawback of over-commercialization.
The commercial operation of the Shaolin Temple is so successful that people cannot associate it with the original Shaolin Temple. It seems that it has changed. It is no longer the same Shaolin Temple as the Shaolin Temple in the heart. Stepping into the Shaolin Temple
, you can’t find that solemn and pious feeling. It makes people feel that Shaolin Temple is just a scenic spot, not a Buddhist holy place.
It wasn't until I entered Chu Zu'an that I felt like I was in a Buddhist holy land. The solemn and solemn atmosphere hit my face. I couldn't help but dare not make a loud noise or make too much noise, as if I was afraid of disturbing the Buddha's spiritual practice.
Likely.
Master Dechun took Chen Ran to introduce the scenic spots he passed while turning around Chuzu Temple and arriving at the back mountain of Chuzu Temple. The entrance to the back mountain was guarded by two monks in yellow. Look at this
The situation was obviously not open to tourists. The two monks in yellow must have been notified, but they did not stop Chen Ran. They just couldn't help but look at Chen Ran. It was obviously because the old Zen master had not cared about worldly affairs for so many years.
Meeting such a young man suddenly made them unable to help but feel moved and curious.
"Donor Chen, my master is practicing meditation in the back mountain. You can enter by yourself, but after entering, please do not rush in, so as not to disturb other Zen masters' meditation..."
Master Dechun did not accompany Chen Ran into the back mountain. He sent Chen Ran to the back mountain intersection and stopped. He turned around and solemnly confessed to Chen Ran.
The back mountain is where the older generation of monks go to practice. Without the summons of the mentor, even he is not allowed to enter easily. The main reason is that he is afraid of disturbing the older generation of monks. The older generation here does not mean that they are in the Shaolin Temple.
At present, the only senior person in the Shaolin Temple who is higher than him is his mentor. The main thing is age. The people living in the back mountain are all senior monks. These monks have higher or lower seniority in the Shaolin Temple, but most of them are older.
Over eighty years old.
Master Dechun told Chen Ran and then turned around and left. Chen Ran wanted to ask him how to find the old Zen master but didn't have time, so he had to look around at the environment in front of him.
The Shaolin Temple was originally built halfway up Songshan Mountain. The place he was in front of was actually the sloping valley where the two mountains met. Presumably the entrance to this sloping valley was the entrance to the back mountain.
In this case, Chen Ran slowly walked into the back mountain.
There is a canyon in the back mountain. The mountain scenery is beautiful, the environment is quiet, and it is very quiet. In the silence, you can hear the sound of running water and the chirping of birds... Chen Ran walked along a mountain road towards the top of the mountain. Along the way, there were also plants planted on both sides of the mountain road.
Peanut, it reminded him of the Shaolin hidden monk that made a lot of noise some time ago.
The hermit monk of Shaolin has always lived a secluded life, but he is not in the Shaolin Temple, but in the lower courtyard of the Shaolin Temple. He lives in the cave day and night. At that time, it was exposed by reporters. Apart from this hermit monk,
, there are other old monks and nuns who also live in seclusion. They still combine agriculture and Zen and work hard. They are quite similar to the Zen legacy of the Tang Dynasty Zen Master Baizhang Huaihai who "does not work for a day and does not eat for a day."
In the back hill of the Shaolin Temple, Master Dechun did not easily come in. It was obvious that the people farming the land were probably old monks, which made Chen Ran feel a little less flashy and a little more real.
Chen Ran was not allowed to go very far, but he just turned up a stone slope along the stone steps. An old monk with a long silver beard reaching over his chest, an old face, and wrinkles all over his face, and his age could not be seen, appeared in front of Chen Ran.
Ran's sight.
In front of you is a pool. The pool is not big, only a few feet in diameter. There is a big stone beside the pool. The old monk is sitting on this big stone.
The old monk looks very ordinary, giving people a very kind feeling, just like meeting a kind grandfather. In addition to being kind, he can't help but make people respect him from the bottom of his heart.
In other words, there is something about the old monk that makes people feel pious.
Chen Ran had never met Master Dechun's mentor before, but he had a feeling that the old monk in front of him was Master Dechun's mentor, that is, he wanted to meet the old Zen master.
"Old Zen Master..."
The old Zen master sat motionless on the stone. Even when Chen Ran came over, he seemed not to see him. When Chen Ran saw that he was silent, he could only shout respectfully, but he still didn't react at all.
After shouting twice and getting no response, Chen Ran shook his head helplessly and walked over.
It wasn't until he reached the stone where the old Zen Master was sitting that Chen Ran realized that the old Zen Master had been staring at the person opposite him. He didn't know what was there on the other side that was so attractive that he didn't even blink.
Chen Ran couldn't help but follow the old Zen master's line of sight and look across the way. Only then did he realize that on the opposite side, on the other side of the pool, there was a cave. The cave was dozens of feet wide, with all kinds of strange stalactites scattered around.
, and the inner wall of the cave turned out to be a stone wall as smooth as a mirror,
Perhaps due to the light, there are dots of beautiful light spots hanging on the stone walls, shining with colorful light, embellishing the cave into a colorful world, like a paradise.
The stone wall is as smooth as a mirror, but if you look closely, you will find a figure reflected on the stone wall.
Seeing this scene, Chen Ran was immediately surprised. Fortunately, he had quite a lot of experience and had seen a lot of bizarre things. After being surprised, he returned to normal.
However, the scene in front of him made a legend emerge in his mind.
I think anyone who saw the scene in front of them would involuntarily think of this legend.
This legend is clearly the legend of Patriarch Bodhidharma.
Legend has it that Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty set up a large sutra translation center in Nanjing, and many eminent monks from India came here because of its reputation. Among them was a famous monk who came to China and had a profound impact on Zen and Chinese Buddhism. Needless to say, he was the famous Patriarch Bodhidharma.
After Bodhidharma arrived at Jinling, Emperor Wu of Liang was an emperor who believed deeply in Buddhism. After he came to the throne, he built temples, wrote sutras, saved monks, and made many statues. He proudly asked Bodhidharma how much merit I had from doing these things.
As a result, Bodhidharma said that there was no merit, and Emperor Wu asked why there was no merit. Bodhidharma said that this was a deliberate thing, not a real merit.
Emperor Wu couldn't understand, and the two broke up on bad terms. After Bodhidharma left, Emperor Wu of Liang felt deeply regretful. After learning the news of Bodhidharma's departure, he immediately sent people on mules to chase him.
When they chased to the middle of Mufu Mountain, the peaks on both sides suddenly closed, and the group of people was caught between the two peaks. Bodhidharma was walking to the river when he saw someone coming, so he broke a reed by the river and threw it into the river, turning it into a tree.
Ye Bianzhou floats across the river.
This is the legend of Bodhidharma crossing the river with a reed.
After crossing the river, Bodhidharma walked with a Zen staff in his hand, visited mountains to worship, and sat in meditation in temples. He arrived at the Songshan Shaolin Temple in the third year of Xiaochang's reign in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
When Patriarch Bodhidharma came to Shaolin, he saw that it was surrounded by mountains and had a quiet environment, so he regarded Shaolin Temple as his missionary place.
Later, there was a legend about Patriarch Bodhidharma facing the wall for nine years. Patriarch Bodhidharma faced the wall in a cave in Shaolin Temple for nine years.
According to records, the cave where Bodhidharma faces the wall is a natural cave. When you walk to the entrance of the cave and look back outside, you will see a ray of sunlight coming in through the bushes, and the cave is dotted with light. It is truly a natural treasure cave.
Bodhidharma stepped into the cave entrance and found that the cave was very shallow, surrounded by rock walls, airtight, and the inner wall was like a mirror. It was really a natural place for retreat and cultivation.
Patriarch Bodhidharma had been facing the wall for nine years. A figure was actually reflected on the stone wall in the cave. The monks at that time exclaimed that it was a miracle. From then on, they respected Bodhidharma as a god, and the legend of Bodhidharma facing the wall spread.
There have always been many speculations about the cave where Bodhidharma faced the wall. Most of them regarded Bodhidharma Cave as the place where Bodhidharma faced the wall. But seeing the scene in front of him, Chen Ran knew that the cave in front of him should be Bodhidharma's face.
A true place to face the wall.
In addition to the fact that the situation in front of him was the same as described in the legend, there was another reason, and that was that Chen Ran gave him a pious feeling when he looked at the stone wall.
This feeling of piety was very strong, and this was on the premise that he had not released an energy aperture.
Chen Ran was also surprised to see the cave with Patriarch Bodhidharma facing the wall. After all, Patriarch Bodhidharma was a legendary figure, and now he was close to the legendary ancestor of Zen Buddhism.
The old Zen master looked at the cave in front of him without moving. Chen Ran thought that the old Zen master might be meditating, so he didn't dare to disturb him anymore.
Being in such a Buddhist holy place, Chen Ran didn't dare to offend, so he tried to sit down like the old Zen master. Although the old Zen master's sitting posture seemed very casual, but after Chen Ran learned to sit down, he realized that it had changed.
Most people really can't learn it, and only he who keeps practicing the weird dance can learn it.
Chen Ran didn't realize that when he sat down like this, the old Zen master who had been staring at the stone wall couldn't help but take another look at him.
After sitting down, Chen Ran also looked at the stone walls in the cave. After calming down, the feeling of piety magnified infinitely in front of him.
Chen Ran was not surprised. If it had been before, he might have been surprised. But since he discovered that Buddhist utensils can really calm the mind, he is no longer surprised. Buddhism can be passed down for thousands of years. Obviously
It’s not just as simple as eating fast and chanting Buddha’s name.
During this time, he also gained a better understanding of Buddhist artifacts.
He understood the breath coming from the Buddhist utensils as the magnetic field or aura of the Buddhist utensils. The reason for this understanding was that he read some books on Feng Shui during this period. The theoretical basis of Feng Shui is the aura.
Feng Shui believes that the aura is everywhere, but the aura can be divided into good and bad, strong and weak. If the aura is good, the place where the aura is strong will have good feng shui; conversely, if the aura is bad, the place where the aura is weak will have bad feng shui.
good.
The aura in Feng Shui is undoubtedly similar to that of Buddhist instruments. Just like after he releases the energy aperture, some magical instruments impart suction to him, while others impart repulsive force, just like the yue knife and Madman Yang's house.
The soul bottle.
It can give him a feeling of piety, which means that this object has a strong aura. The cave in front of him is the place where Bodhidharma faced the wall, so the aura must be greater.
Of course, using aura to describe it would undoubtedly seem a bit disrespectful to the Buddha. Perhaps it would be better to use aspiration or faith to describe it.
After Chen Ran calmed down and looked at the stone wall, the pious feeling coming from the stone wall became stronger and stronger, along with a suction force that became stronger and stronger, as if it was trying to absorb his spirit.
Powerfully.
Chen Ran was a little frightened. What frightened him even more was that at this moment, the energy aperture in his mind seemed to be ready to move...
