This scene is different from the Buddhist temples Zhao Ran has seen this year. The Xia Kingdom is inherently colder than the Ming Dynasty, and Buddhism does not pay as much attention to creating the wonders of Sendai as Taoism does, so most of them are ordinary, or among the bustling markets.
In this time, or in a barren and cold place, the emphasis is on being close to the world.
This Qukong Temple is quite unique. It is somewhat similar to the Daomen Pavilion training place. It seems that the inheritance of this line is quite different from other schools. No wonder the abbot is Zhicheng, elegant and good at painting, which is incompatible with the style of this temple.
It goes well with it too.
The scenery here is so good. In addition to the hundreds of years of construction of Qukong Temple, it is also related to the abundance of spiritual energy. Although Buddhist practice also requires absorbing spiritual energy (called Xing in Buddhism), its reliance on spiritual energy is not like that of Taoist practice.
The Dharma is so profound, they pay more attention to the enlightenment in understanding, and do not attach much importance to the richness of spiritual energy.
The focus of the competition between Buddhism and Taoism is not on spiritual energy and elixirs, but on the competition for believers. This is the most important resource for Buddhism and Taoism when they ascend to heaven.
Mingjue did not mention the spiritual energy of Qukong Temple to Zhao Ran, but Zhao Ran could see the flow of heaven and earth energy at a glance - the wall behind Qukong Temple is where the rich spiritual eyes are.
.
Arriving in front of the temple gate, the little ascetic who had been waiting for a long time learned that Mingjue had returned to the temple. He bowed respectfully with his hands together and helped lead the horse.
Zhao Ran followed Mingjue all the way in. He first visited the Buddha Hall, Guanyin Hall and other places, and then walked to the back. The monks he saw were all greeting Mingjue, some called them brothers, and some called them uncles.
There are also those who are called uncles and nephews.
Qukong Temple belongs to the Zen sect, so it is simple and clear to have the word "Zen" written in large letters on the white wall outside the abbot's room.
The abbot, Master Zhicheng, was quite simply dressed in a plain green monk's robe and took Mingjue and Zhao Ran in. Mingjue performed the master's ceremony, while Zhao Ran performed the simple layman's ceremony, and the three of them sat at the round table, drank tea and chatted.
This is not a great Bodhisattva who has comprehended the realm of body and consciousness. He is clearly the amiable old uncle next door.
Abbot Zhicheng had already been informed of Zhao Ran's situation by Mingjue Feifu, so the old abbot didn't have any way of asking about his origins. He just smiled and asked him if he was tired from the day's journey, if he wanted to rest, and asked if he was hungry.
If you're not hungry, do you want to eat some vegetarian food first?
After getting acquainted with each other, they started talking about calligraphy and painting. The old abbot was good at painting, and was especially good at meticulous landscape painting. His own paintings hung on the walls of the abbot’s room. There was a large square table by the window with all the pens, inks, and paints under the table.
The blue and white porcelain vat is filled with scrolls of paintings.
Zhao Ran stood up and looked at the scrolls on the wall. After looking around, he nodded and said: "The mountains and rivers are ethereal. No wonder Master Mingjue's calligraphy is also ethereal. It turns out that he and the abbot are in the same vein."
Mingjue asked: "Cheng Donor, if my master's paintings were placed at Jinbo Auction House, how much would they cost?"
The old abbot laughed and scolded: "You are talking nonsense again. We monks don't need to be competitive. If you become a donor, don't pay attention to him."
Even though he said that, even if the old abbot had a very high level of cultivation and really had no desire to compete, Zhao Ran secretly speculated that any calligraphy and painting lover would actually want to know the quality of his own work and how to judge it.
The easiest way is of course to see what price it can be sold for.
He pointed at the two paintings on the west wall and said, "I don't mean to compliment Master Abbot. Can I part with these two paintings? Cheng really wants to collect them. As for the auction, Master Mingjue knows the details of our Jinbo Auction House.
At our last calligraphy and painting auction, there was a landscape painting of the same size by the famous Yinzhou master Dong Wuzi, does Master Mingjue remember it?"
Mingjue nodded: "I went to see it, remember."
Zhao Ran said: "With the same size, Dong Wuzi's paintings were sold for four hundred taels. But from my perspective, the spirituality in them is definitely not as good as these two paintings. If it is auctioned, there are two ways. One, the abbot signs it with his original name.
I dare say that the starting price of each painting is no less than five hundred taels, and the final transaction price is unpredictable."
This was to borrow the name of the abbot, an eminent Buddhist monk in the Bodhisattva realm. Zhicheng and Mingjue both shook their heads at the same time: "That's inappropriate." They just wanted to know the level of the painting, not to earn money through it.
Zhao Ran said: "Then I can only choose a pen name. But although it is anonymous, the writing power on my wrist is here, and the author's heart is also superior. In this case, the starting price should be around two hundred taels."
The starting price of the bidding was two hundred taels of silver, which meant that the author's skills were top-notch in the Xia Kingdom. Mingjue immediately expressed his position: "Master, why don't you give me a pen name and ask Benefactor Chen to try it out at the auction? Well, I'd rather give it a pen name."
Call me the master of the meditation hall?"
The old abbot pointed his finger and said with a smile: "You disciple!" But he did not refuse, which was a promise.
The old abbot said to Zhao Ran again: "Donor Cheng has a good eye for paintings. I wonder if he is good at painting?"
Zhao Ran had something to ask for, so of course he couldn't refuse it, but what he was good at was calligraphy. Although he was a calligrapher and painter, the difference was very big. If he tried to show it, he would definitely not be able to get into the eyes of the abbot. After thinking about it for a moment, he had the foundation for hard work.
If we can’t fight, let’s get creative.
He immediately said: "It can be considered a hobby on weekdays, but it is not as good as the old abbot. The abbot may have heard that Cheng and the mountain guest are close friends. Before coming to Xia Guo to make a living last year, he tasted calligraphy with the mountain guest.
After more than a month, he tried a new painting method. Cheng thought it was quite interesting, so he demonstrated it to the abbot."
Hearing that there was a new painting method, the abbot was really interested. Mingjue hurriedly went to the big table in front of the window to spread paper, grind it, and mix the colors.
Zhao Ran simply took a paintbrush, mixed some red ocher in the ink, pondered for a moment, and with a flick of his wrist, he brushed out a thick patch of ink on the white paper, and then rubbed the thick ink slightly with the center to form a thick line.
Stone shape.
This stroke made Mingjue frown. What kind of painting was this? It was clearly the graffiti of a naughty child. Abbot Zhicheng next to him was also slightly disappointed, but still looked at Zhao Ran with a smile as he continued to scribble on the paper.
Zhao Ran's whole body seemed to be following the brush, moving up and down the drawing paper. After watching it for a while, Mingjue suddenly had an illusion, feeling that the donor seemed to be integrated with the brush, and that he was the brush.
The pen, the pen is him.
Not long after, Zhao Ran completed the painting. On top of a stubborn rock, stood a goshawk with its head raised upward. No matter whether it was a stubborn rock or a goshawk, there were only a few strokes and it was not exquisite at all.
Smooth, nothing like it!
Mingjue wanted to say a few jokes to save Zhao Ran from embarrassment, but he was stunned when he looked at this simple painting. He felt that this goshawk seemed to have a spirit, and the aloofness revealed in its form actually made people feel...
An indescribable sense of tragedy.
After reading for a long time, he looked at Master Zhicheng. The old abbot squinted his eyes for a long time and sighed, "What kind of painting method is this?"
"Splash ink freehand brushwork, the mountain guest said he painted it for fun, and it was not in the eyes of the Fang family."