Two years ago, the Mr. Dongyue incident that caused a sensation in Dahua started from Qianfo Temple.
Xia Shang experienced the whole thing personally and also stayed at Qianfo Temple for a few days.
But at that time, my attention was all on Mr. Dongyue, and I didn’t pay any attention to this temple.
But in the abandoned Buddhist hall in the backyard of Qianfo Temple, Xia Shang was deeply impressed by the old monk who was obsessed with carving. At the same time, there was also a monk named Shi Xin who was also weird.
The old abbot Nie Shisan was talking about was probably not the current abbot of Thousand Buddha Temple, but perhaps the old monk who was obsessed with stone carvings.
A carriage pulling a cart set off from the capital and arrived at the Thousand Buddhas Temple at dusk.
It was raining all the way, and Xia Shang's spirit was not particularly good.
After getting off the bus, I saw the Thousand Buddhas Temple shrouded in the rain and looking lifeless.
I don’t know whether it’s because it’s past the time for offering incense or for some other reason, but Thousand Buddhas Temple looks very deserted today.
Xia Shang still remembers that when you wanted to go to Qianfo Temple to worship Buddha, you had to park your car at the foot of the mountain. All pilgrims had to walk up the mountain to show respect.
I don’t know when this rule ceased to exist.
Although the road up the mountain is a little more difficult, it is better than the time-consuming and laborious journey on foot.
When we arrived in front of the Thousand Buddhas Temple, there was actually a young monk who greeted the guests. He came to the car very enthusiastically and asked the driver who was inside and whether they came here to offer incense.
Xia Shang heard the young monk's words in the car and found it strange. As he got out of the car, he asked, "It's almost dusk. Are there still pilgrims in the temple?"
"The host said that there is no time of day to pray to Buddha, and there is no time to pray for others. Therefore, no matter when pilgrims come, they can always worship Buddha and ask for their hearts."
The young monk spoke seriously, but it was a bit funny.
Xia Shang asked the coachman to wait at the entrance of the temple, mainly to guard the things he had brought, then called Nie Shisan, who was traveling with him, and walked into the temple.
"In that case, why don't you burn some incense and contribute some sesame oil money?"
When the young monk heard about the sesame oil money, his eyes lit up, and he led Xia Shang more enthusiastically.
When he arrived at the Main Hall in the Thousand Buddhas Temple and in front of the huge ancient Buddha statue in the main hall, Xia Shang didn't care what kind of Buddha it was in front of him, and just silently stuffed many banknotes into the merit box.
It is estimated that the young monk had never seen so many bills. His eyes were opened when he saw it. He wanted to go up and remind him because he felt that the money given by the donor was too much.
But before the little monk stepped forward, he was pulled back by an old monk behind him.
In his previous life, Xia Shang had never worshiped Buddha and did not believe in Buddhism at all.
But in this life, I gradually started to believe it.
After experiencing so many bizarre things, if there were no gods and Buddhas in the sky, how could we be reborn in this life? How could we escape danger repeatedly at the critical moment of life and death?
Xia Shang had a Buddha in his heart, and he needed to worship him. Even if he could silently thank some god in the sky or in existence for always taking such good care of him, he was also sure that that god could continue to take such good care of him.
Nie Shisan, who was following Xia Shang, said nothing, but after Xia Shang stood up after offering incense, he couldn't help but say: "The Imperial Procuratorate does not believe in gods and Buddhas, let alone God's will. Moreover, your Excellency also said that man can conquer heaven, but
Your Excellency was so pious just now, as if you were a different person."
"As long as a person lives, no matter how high he stands, he can never lose his sense of awe, otherwise he will be close to death."
"As long as you live, you can't lose your sense of awe?" Nie Shisan repeated it in a low voice, simply thinking that this was very polite.
At this time, the old monk who had caught the young monk came forward and said, "The donor is polite."
"Who is the master?"
"The poor monk Guangjie is the abbot of Thousand Buddhas Temple."
Xia Shang looked at the other party and said, "Hello, host."
This was not the host Xia Shang saw last time, so he asked again: "Where is the previous host master?"
"Oh? Could it be that the donor has been to Thousand Buddhas Temple before and recognizes the previous host?"
Xia Shang briefly said a few words about the last incident involving Mr. Dongyue.
At this point, the host revealed a look of regret: "It turns out that the donor was someone who had experienced that incident. The previous host left the temple and went traveling after that incident."
"What about Master Shi Xin?"
"Shi Xin..." The host frowned slightly, "Donor still knows about Shi Xin?" I
Xia Shang nodded: "When I came this time, I wanted to talk to Master Shi Xin about something."
"Donor, it seems that you are destined to miss Master Shi Xin. Just yesterday, Master Shi Xin passed away to the west."
"Go west?!" Xia Shang was shocked, "Why? What happened?"
The host looked embarrassed, obviously unwilling to mention the matter.
Xia Shang had a deep impression of Shi Xin, and he was quite concerned about it, but he was still considered a close friend. Since the host was unwilling to mention it, Xia Shang couldn't ask further questions.
"What about Shi Xin's master, the old master in the abandoned Buddhist hall?"
The host frowned even more tightly and looked at Xia Shang again, wondering where this person came from? Why did he know so much about the secrets of Thousand Buddhas Temple?
Xia Shang also saw the host's doubts and said: "If possible, why not change the place so that I can explain to the host master what happened."
Arriving at an incense room, Xia Shang told the new abbot everything about the Thousand Buddha Temple that year.
The new abbot knew that Xia Shang entered the forbidden area of Qianfo Temple because he was avoiding this moment, and also knew that there was a master in Qianfo Temple.
Xia Shang's story brought out the concerns in the host's heart, and Xia Shangcai continued: "I came here today because I really want to ask this teacher something."
"This Master, who is known as the Stone Buddha, is indeed the oldest person in the Thousand Buddha Temple, and he is also the person with the highest level of Buddhist practice. In addition to stone sculptures, he also has the ability to know the affairs of the world. If the donor has any doubts, he can ask
That old teacher is the best. But..."
"What else is difficult about hosting?"
"It's just that the old teacher has a weird personality. He never sees outsiders, let alone answers other people's questions. Even if he is willing to answer, I'm afraid what he says now is not somewhat credible."
“What does hosting mean?”
"After Shi Xin's death, Master has gone crazy."
"Crazy? How could this happen?"
"Since the benefactor is predestined with Shi Xin and Teacher Fu, the poor monk won't hide anything anymore." The host sighed, picked up the tea on the table, drank it and lit the oil lamp.
It turned out that it was late at night before I knew it.
"The donor said that when he first met Shi Xin, he saw him kneeling in front of his master's temple. The reason was that his master wanted to teach Shi Xin what he had learned throughout his life, among which the stone carving craft was his most proud one.
However, after traveling for ten years, Shi Xin actually neglected his stone carving skills and only carved out a Buddha statue. This incident made Master very angry and unwilling to forgive Shi Xin, so he punished Shi Xin by kneeling for a long time." (To be continued)