cicada

Chapter 167 But Doing Good Deeds (Tickets at the End of the Month)
Fodingshan Temple, as the name suggests, is a temple on Fodingshan. Unlike other temples, the buildings here are all made of wood, which is said to have been passed down for hundreds of years.

This is the place where fishermen must come to pray and burn incense. The reason is a bit sad. Many fishermen who died in the sea have no corpses at all. The families of these people hope that they can stand higher when praying, so that wandering souls can see their way home. road.

Also with the blessing of a stack of thick banknotes, Zuo Chong, a predestined person, successfully met Master Benzhi. Under the leadership of a monk, he and Shen Dongxin climbed to the highest point of Fodingshan Temple.

"Two benefactors, this is the place where Master Benzhi practiced meditation. Please come in." The monk stopped at the entrance of a small courtyard on the top of the mountain.

"Thank you."

Zuo Chong thanked him, pushed the door and walked into the courtyard, Shen Dongxin was still standing outside.

As soon as he entered, Zuo Zhong saw several large vats, which were prepared for fire fighting. After all, Fodingshan Temple was made of wood, and once a fire broke out, there was no time to fetch water. This is very common in Chinese folk houses.

It's just that the young monks in the temple were a little lazy, and there was only a shallow layer of water in the tank. If it caught fire, this centuries-old temple would be in danger.

The master was lying on his side under a dead tree in the courtyard, he seemed to be asleep, his body trembled slightly with his breathing, and the monk robe on his body was blown up by the strong wind on the top of the mountain, making him feel as if he was floating in the sky.

But is it really not cold?This old master pretended a little, his nose turned white from the cold, and he had to play reclining Buddha on the air vent. In this day and age, he got pneumonia, even the Buddha couldn't save him.

Zuo Zhong was too lazy to act with him, so he stood still and shouted loudly: "Ningbo Dai, I have met the master."

The bird didn't move at all, and even snored, Zuo Chong sneered, took a look at the big vat, and walked over to wet his hands.

"Master, I've offended you." Zuo Zhong said and grabbed Ben's neck with his hands.

"Hiss!" Ben seemed to wake up all of a sudden, looked at Zuo Zhong sleepily, and asked with a puzzled face, "Who are you and why did you come to my courtyard?"

It seems that to be a master must have good acting skills, Zuo Zhong withdrew his hand and said respectfully: "My master, Dai's parents went to Nanyang to do business. This time when they return to Ningbo to rebuild their ancestral house, they want to invite a consecrated Buddha statue back to enshrine. Please do it yourself."

Ben just waved his hands again and again when he heard the words: "No, no, I'm not good at consecration. You can go to Mount Putuo Temple to find Master Zhanjing, or Guanyin Temple to preside over it." After finishing speaking, he got up and wanted to leave.

Zuo Zhong didn't say much, and took out a stack of US dollars from his pocket: "Here is five hundred US dollars. When I first came up, I saw that the building of your temple was a bit dilapidated. Dai's family is considered to have a small fortune in Nanyang, so I am willing to do my part for it." For your kindness, add some incense money."

Master Ben stopped in his tracks, looked back at the colorful US dollars, and then at the serious Zuo Zhong, with a hint of embarrassment on his face. Specialize, the light cannot be opened indiscriminately.

Zuo Zhong saw that he stopped talking, so he took out another US dollar bill from his pocket and put it in his hand, and added another one later, the incense money has reached 600 US dollars, which is more than [-] yuan.

This sum of money, together with some donated money from benefactors, is enough to rebuild a main hall in Fodingshan Temple. Master Ben only thought about it, and finally couldn't help but say: "Benefactor Dai, if you insist, even though the poor monk is not good at consecrating , but willing to give it a try.”

Zuo Zhong was even more happy, and directly handed the incense money to Ben with both hands, Ben turned around as if seeing a snake, and said in his mouth: "Amitabha, please go to the merit box in the main hall with the donor."

"Blame me, blame me. I heard that the master usually doesn't like rules and precepts, but I didn't expect to care so much about keeping the precept of money." Zuo Zhong seemed remorseful, but secretly glanced at Ben, wanting to hear his explanation.

Ben just smiled casually: "Some rules and regulations are remembered by poor monks, but some are forgotten."

This reason is very good and powerful. Obeying it means remembering it, and not obeying it means forgetting it.

Zuo Chong's eyes showed admiration: "Master is indeed a master, not comparable to ordinary people like me."

"Benefactor Dai, I am serious." Ben shook his head again and again, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and asked, "Where did Benefactor Dai come back from Nanyang? I wonder how the local Buddhism is developing?"

Zuo Zhong's heart skipped a beat, Ben only asked what this meant, was he trying to find out about him?

So he replied: "Dai's family is doing some department store business in Penang, Malaysia. Europeans and Americans are very wary of Chinese people, but they are relatively relaxed about Buddhism. The largest temple in the area is the Kek Lok Si Temple founded by Master Miaolian. Baihe Mountain."

After listening to this, Ben seemed to be lost in memory. After a while, he apologized and said: "I'm really sorry, a friend of Lingyin Temple went to Nanyang, and now he has passed away, so I feel a little bit emotional."

"It's okay, it's okay, Master should have an old friend in his heart, please express my condolences." Zuo Zhong said with a smile, what I said was too coincidental.

Ben put his hands together: "Then please wait a moment, the benefactor Dai, the poor monk is going to prepare the tools for the consecration. The benefactor can rest in the courtyard as much as possible, and it will be healed soon."

Zuo Chong watched Ben only leave with a smile. The smile on his face disappeared. He walked along the yard. The ground is paved with sea sand, and there are even some shells and corals inside. It's hard to go up the mountain.

Except for dead trees, sand and water tanks, the yard didn't have any extra things, it looked very monotonous, maybe this was the master's life, anyway, Zuo Zhong couldn't stand such days.

At this time, the sea wind became stronger, and the sea sand rolled in one direction. Zuo Zhong lowered his head to watch the sand grains being blown away mercilessly, then hit the wall, and fell to the ground to form a small sand dune.

"Clang clang clang."

Zuo Zhong, who was in a daze, was awakened by a crisp bell, looked up and found that it was Master Ben, who had climbed onto the roof at some point, and was inserting a huge windmill on it. The bell turned desperately, and the sound it made was loud but not harsh.

But what does this windmill mean?
Zuo Zhong saw that Master Ben was struggling to climb up, so he hurried over to help, but when he got closer, he found that there was a ladder in Master Ben's room, and people could climb directly to the roof, no wonder he didn't see it outside just now. .

If he wanted to help, he had to enter the house, but without the permission of the master, it was impolite for him to go in without permission. Zuo Zhong could only stand at the door and watch the master climb down the ladder backwards, although Tired and panting, but nothing happened after all.

"Master, can Dai come in?"

"Master Dai is really a gentleman, come in."

Zuo Zhong got permission, and quickly walked in to hold Ben's arm, and helped him to sit down beside the stool. After a few short steps, Zuo Zhong took a rough look at the layout and furnishings of the room.

There is an extremely simple wooden bed against the wall on the west side. The bed is made of rough cloth, which looks old.

In the center of the room was an old apricot-yellow futon, which had been sat out of the pit, and it seemed that it had been used by Master Ben a lot.

On the east side is a whole wall of Buddhist scriptures, various instruments, tables, chairs and benches. Zuo Zhong supported Ben to sit down here slowly.

Ben only let out a long sigh of relief after sitting down: "Thank you, Benefactor Dai, please sit down."

Zuo Chong nodded with a smile, seeing scriptures, pens, ink, paper and inkstones, abacus and a ruler on the table out of the corner of his eyes, he didn't see that the old monk was still a math lover, yes, it was too hard not to find some hobbies in such a boring life.

But what happened to the windmill just now? Is this also the hobby of the old monk?Then this hobby is too childlike and dangerous. If you have to climb to the roof in such a strong wind, if you fall, even Zhen Jigong can't stand it.

Ben just sat down and rested for a while, and his breathing returned to normal. Seeing that Zuo Zhong looked at him a little strangely, he understood what it was for, and said with a smile, "Benefactor Dai is curious about that windmill, right?"

"Yes." Zuo Zhong honestly admitted.

The book seemed to be lost in memory again, and after a long thought, he talked about the reason: "The ancestral home of the benefactor Dai is a local, and he has been in Nanyang for a long time. He should know how dangerous it is for fishermen in a windy day. A little carelessness will destroy the boat and kill people." ending."

What I just said is right. Zuo Zhong saw such a scene many times when he was a child. After a strong wind, men, women and children kneeling on the coast were full of men, women and children in mourning. This was fishermen calling for the souls of their families who died in the strong wind, crying on the spot One sound.

He said with a sad face: "Yes, the fishermen are gambling with their lives against the heavens. If they win, they will be full of fish and shrimp, but if they lose, they will have nothing left."

There is a look of sadness on Ben's face: "So whenever there is a strong wind, I put the windmill on the roof. This is the highest place on Putuo Mountain. I hope those poor people wandering in the sea can see and hear, go home."

Hearing this, Zuo Zhong stood up and said in awe: "Master is compassionate and compassionate. His merits are immeasurable. Dai has no wealth. He is willing to contribute another thousand dollars to build a windmill for your temple. Master, please don't refuse. "

He knew why those benefactors were willing to pave the ground with the sea sand that they had worked so hard to carry up the mountain. Jigong's imitation alone could not do this. It must be because of his kindness.

Ben just stood up and gave a salute: "Benefactor Dai is an upright gentleman who is compassionate and compassionate. This old monk is incompetent and can only do trivial things."

"Master, it's too serious." Zuo Zhong hurriedly waved his hands, and got up to avoid Ben's salute.

The two backed down again, and Zuo Zhong took the initiative to ask Ben to take him to find the host of Fodingshan Temple. When the host heard that Zuo Zhongzhong had donated [-] US dollars, his eyes almost popped out.

More than 4000 yuan is the annual income of Fodingshan Temple. With this money, not to mention building windmills, the restoration of the main hall can also be completed.

"Thank you, Master Dai, and please leave your name. The monastery must engrave the name of the distinguished guest on the windmill for future generations to remember." The host is very good at business.

Zuo Zhong didn't hesitate, and said cheerfully: "Then remember Dai Shanren, but don't worry about your future if you do good deeds, this is only the master's opinion."

"Amitabha, what the benefactor said is quite Buddhist." Ben clasped his hands together.

　.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)