It's late at night. The temple has long been closed, but the lights in the main hall are still bright.
The lamp oil in the temple is not low-quality oil. There are no fireworks when burning, and there is still a faint fragrance.
There are also candles as thick as a child's arm, one by one inserted diagonally on the lamp stand, and rows of bloody candle tears are rolling down.
"Wow, wow, wow."
Copper coins and silver nuggets poured out from the opened merit box like water, and fell to the ground to pile up in a mountain.
The host was wearing a bright red robe inlaid with gold, his eyes were slightly closed, and he was listening to many monks counting the incense money.
"Host, this year's incense money is 20% more than last year. It's also because of your teaching."
"Also, recently, seven or eight wealthy families have donated money to help us get started."
The host opened his eyes dissatisfied after hearing this, "Why are there only seven or eight families? There are at least a dozen families in the territories of my fellow sects."
"That's right! The local people's sentiments are different, and there are not many rich people there. If I try hard next year, I will definitely exceed ten."
The abbot nodded with satisfaction, "You have done well in your work. Although you have failed in practice, you have accumulated merits and you will have a share in Arhat status in the future." The monk said quickly, "The abbot deserves it. The young monk is insignificant and insignificant."
Seeing that his subordinates were so knowledgeable, the host nodded with satisfaction, and then said melancholy.
"In my lineage, I studied under Fire Phoenix Arhat, and I have many conflicts with Baimei and Shanzu."
"Their disciples and grandchildren exploited the people one by one and tried their best to maximize their share of the incense money."
"In front of the Lord Buddha, I judge my abilities based on my merits. I think this year will be the same as in the past. I am still far from enough."
The monk listened to the abbot's complaint and nodded silently.
There is no way, this territory is not a prosperous land to begin with, even if we try our best, we can't achieve anything.
Once upon a time, Buddhism was still distinguished by its level of cultivation, but now, the world is at peace, and Buddhism is the only one who respects heaven and earth. Everything has been focused on economics. Whoever makes more offerings is better, and whichever family is popular in front of the Lord Buddha.
Due to historical origins, the Fire Phoenix Arhat has a ranking in front of the Lord Buddha, but his ranking is not high.
Even the disciples and descendants of the presiding officers were oppressed, and the temple territory they were assigned was not good.
"Everyone has worked hard this year."
At this time, the voices of many monks counting money had stopped, and they confirmed again and again that the number of trees was exactly right, and registered it in the register and presented it to the host. Wang Chi glanced at it a few times, and when he was sure it was correct, he put it aside and said, "Go down and rest!"
"
After a while, the monks left, leaving only the monk who had the conversation before, who seemed to have something to say.
"Everyone has left, you can say something now."
Sure enough, the host was very good at judging people and knew that the monk had waited until now to say anything inconvenient in private.
"Host, I have a plan."
The host picked up the jade porcelain and took a sip of tea, "Let's talk."
"How are you doing, old host?"
The host was stunned when he heard him asking the previous host, thinking he was going to say something. But it turned out to be him.
The former host was the host's master. He used to love him as a son and even trained him to take over the host position.
However, as he gets older, the old abbot loses his power and becomes a disgusting old monk.
Nowadays, the host no longer visits every day. He just leaves the courtyard and asks the young novice to deliver some food to prevent him from starving to death.
Hearing the monk mention the old abbot, he felt unhappy and said, "It's not bad, it's not bad.
Seeing him like this, the monk thought to himself, I'm afraid the last time you saw him was four or five years ago, and you can't even remember what the old abbot looked like, but he was still your master.
"President, the old presiding officer has profound Buddhist teachings and is a well-known moral monk in this temple. Even the Lord Buddha has praised him."
The host was very dissatisfied, so what? There were countless monks and laypeople in front of Lord Buddha, and he once mentioned it. Do you still remember it now?
"Old Master, with his profound cultivation, he will definitely achieve amazing achievements, but the time has not yet come."
The monk was impatient when he saw the host and knew that he had to bring up the topic.
"I once heard that 20 years ago, there was an eminent monk sitting in Dayuan Temple in the middle of the night, and a golden rainbow circled the beams on the roof, which lasted for three days."
"After the death of the eminent monk, his body did not rot. It was completely radiant without the use of gold paint and glowed at night. It is really a strange thing."
"Later, Lord Buddha heard about it and personally commended the abbot of Dayuan Temple and promoted him to the last Arhat."
The monk told this story, which caused a sensation at that time, and the abbot also knew about it.
Therefore, his purpose in mentioning this matter was to remind the abbot.
"You mean...
The abbot was shocked. He guessed the possibility. He stared into the monk's eyes and asked him to tell him personally.
"The old abbot's spiritual attainments are not inferior to that of that eminent monk!"
In the middle of the night, the deserted courtyard welcomed guests.
The old host was old and couldn't sleep well at night. When he got up, he heard two footsteps breaking into the door and walking straight into the room without a lantern or candlestick.
The house is simple and shabby, with only a few steps in total.
"It's you."
The old abbot discovered that the visitor was his direct disciple whom he had not seen for many years and was now the abbot of the temple.
"Master, apprentice, I'm here to see you."
The old abbot sighed, "It's hard for you. Now you still remember my old bones. Sit down." The abbot took half a step back and said, "You can't sit down. The disciple came here late at night for a major event that affects the future of the temple.
Please help me, Master."
"But it doesn't matter."
However, the host remained silent and stepped aside. The monk behind him stepped forward and spoke to the old host in a low voice.
After a while, the old host looked miserable, smiled and nodded, "Okay, okay, okay."
The host turned away and said, "Master, my disciple is very reluctant to part with you, but for the sake of the pious future of the temple, I still hope that you will always sacrifice yourself." "Yes, old host, think about it, how can you not live without cultivation in this life?"
Half the truth."
The monk was urging from the side, but he moved his steps and blocked the old abbot's escape path.
"When are you going to take action?"
"It's not too late, it will be done before the year."
The old host smiled bitterly and said, "This is not letting me celebrate the New Year."
The host heard the words and corrected him, "Master, I am a Buddhist who has not lived for a long time. You must know that in the Buddhist kingdom, there is no rotation of the sun and the moon, and no change of time and space. The days are the same and remain unchanged for eternity, so they can be eternal."
"Master, it is not appropriate to retreat. Please sit down and pass away immediately. Disciple, please make preparations as soon as possible."
The next day, the old abbot passed away. When he was cremated after his death, a colorful relic appeared, as big as a fist.
This matter was reported to the higher-ups of the Buddhist sect. Many Arhats marveled at it and even alarmed the Buddha Lord.
Other temples are scolding each other secretly. This is so shameless. Do you think everyone doesn’t know what’s going on?
However, the senior officials of the Buddhist sect praised the abbot of the temple very much, thinking that this was a sign of successful Buddhist practice and should be used as an advertisement to the world. Well, this matter naturally spread to the ears of the ancestor, the Fire Phoenix Arhat.
After all, the lineage of temple abbots all started under the Fire Phoenix Arhat, and they were considered his direct descendants.