No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 592 One Finger Zen [Ask for monthly tickets! ]

early morning.

Chengtian Temple, Lecture Hall.

The monks sat in the hall and chanted morning lessons.

In the back row, a short, chubby little monk closed his eyes, muttered something, and dozed off with his head drooped like a chicken pecking at rice.

clang--!
The bell rang to signal the end of morning service, and the hall was filled with the chaotic footsteps of monks standing up.

The chubby little monk suddenly woke up, looked around in confusion, wiped the corner of his mouth, got up, and trotted out of the hall.

The chubby little novice monk had a Dharma name that he didn't like very much. It was given by his master who kept silent all day and rang the bell at dawn and dusk. At that time, the master also spoke for a rare time:
"Koti."

The chubby little monk actually couldn’t write the last character, he could only pronounce it, and the Chinese pronunciation is similar to “勾帝”.

Koti is the largest number in Sanskrit Buddhism, which means ten million.

Anyway, the abbot and other senior monks in the temple always say this when introducing him to outsiders.

But only the young monk Juti knew that his master gave him this Dharma name because the word "胝" can be used together with the word "胼", which means the hard skin on the hands and feet caused by friction...

In short, it means that the young monk’s meditation skills are not yet up to par and he is unable to sit in meditation for a long time.

So the other young monks of the same generation in the temple all laughed at him, saying that he was greedy, couldn't sit still, and was fat. It was obvious that he was not a serious monk. Maybe he was greedy for money and lustful...

Juezhi was hesitant to speak. He really wanted to say that the old abbot was fatter than him. Could it be that the abbot was also greedy... Well, the question of greed for money is to be determined. There are indeed many courtyards in the temple that are rented out to scholars with careful calculations. The abbot is good at making money, but could it be that the abbot is also lustful?
Juti shook his head.

After finishing the morning class, he lowered his head and ran towards the breakfast hall. His two chubby legs made him run faster than the senior monks, masters, uncles and brothers who had walked out of the temple gate earlier, which naturally attracted a lot of sidelong glances.

However, when the monks of Chengtian Temple saw that it was the figure of Juezhi, they felt that their stereotype was correct and they were satisfied and closed their eyes...

Morning fasting courtyard.

Juti ran in first, panting. However, there were already a dozen pilgrims and donors in the yard, sitting on stools and drinking porridge quietly.

Because the porridge window and the vegetable window are separate, it is impossible to queue at the same time.

After Juti ran in, he looked nervously at the door behind him, and without saying a word, he picked up a stool and placed it in front of the window of the big dish to reserve a seat.

Then he quickly went to the porridge window and filled three large bowls of porridge.

Two bowls for the koti and one bowl for the master.

Then he came to the food window. Under the dissatisfied gazes of the three or two friends who were already in line, he quietly pulled back the stool with his chubby hands and took his place.

After taking the two bowls of food handed to him from the window and putting them on the tray, Juti finally ran away with the dishes.

Juti sighed. He was the one who brought food to his master. His master had not left the temple for eight hundred years, so he had to come. He couldn't understand what was wrong with respecting the teacher...

"what."

Jueti, who had already stepped out of the breakfast hall, suddenly saw a familiar thin figure in the breakfast hall.

She lowered her head and drank the porridge silently.

She is a little mute girl named "Xiuniang".

At the beginning, a gentle female donor in white clothes and barefoot brought her here and found the master.

That day, the master made an exception and went out to see the abbot. After returning, he asked Juti to arrange for the mute girl named Xiu Niang to live in the Beitian Nursing Home...

In fact, Juti didn't have much communication with Xiu Niang. He just followed his master's instructions and took care of her on a daily basis.

Although the master only mentioned it briefly when the embroiderer first came to Chengtian Temple, he never asked her about it again and continued to guard the temple and chant scriptures.

Juti would go to see her from time to time to prevent her from being bullied by other patients and beggars in the Beitian Nursing Home. There must be something hateful about a pitiful person.

Sometimes, it is really excessive when these poor people bully each other. When Juezhi was working, he had heard many examples from his senior brothers from the Beitian Nursing Home.

This embroiderer was blind and mute, so pitiful that Juti felt a little sorry for her.

However, after experiencing the collapse of the Xingzi Lake Buddha two months ago; after huddling in the temple with his uncles and brothers, chanting sutras and praying for blessings for several days and nights in fear; after finally enduring the tough searches of the indifferent female officials and black-armored soldiers... Juti no longer thought so.

These days, wanted notices have been posted all over the city. After reading the descriptions and copied portraits of the rebel leaders in the Tiannan underworld by the imperial court, Juti shuddered on the spot.

Especially the Wu skirt costumes of the Yue women in Yunmeng Jianze mentioned in it.

Until now, Juezhi prays every day that the barefoot female donor in white, who is like a gentle female teacher, will not come to him and his master again. Of course, it would be best if they are not caught.

As for the blind and mute girl embroiderer who stayed in the Beitian Nursing Home until the eve of the Lantern Festival, Juti had an even more complicated attitude towards her.

But then, something happened that left Juti dumbfounded.

The embroiderer was unexpectedly noticed by a young official and was taken away!
When Juzhi had a nightmare, he actually thought that the embroidered girl would be taken away by the government, but the government set up a dragnet and finally put her in shackles and took her to jail. He really didn't expect it to be like this now, to take her away to enjoy a good life.

Juzhi was confused about officialdom, but he heard that this young official seemed to be a Sima. Although the title was not very impressive, he was still an official after all. Even if he did not bully men and women, he must have no worries about food and clothing. How could an official be bad? Do you think the three words "official master" are called for nothing?
Wait, that’s not necessarily the case. For example, the official named Yuan who lives in the temple, but he’s probably a stupid official…

Moreover, this man is so young and handsome, he might be the son of an official who holds a sinecure.

Anyway, Juzhi felt that even if the young official was bullying men and women, the one who suffered would not necessarily be the embroiderer. Although the embroiderer was also pretty and pitiful, it was probably this lovable style that touched the young official's taste...

Anyway, it unfolded in a strange and unexpected way. Now the situation is weird and Juti is confused and doesn't know how to persuade him.

The courtyard where the young official took the embroiderer to live was not far away. Sometimes in the morning, Juezhi would see the thin and mute girl coming to the breakfast courtyard alone, like now, and eating a light vegetarian meal quietly.

At the entrance of the Zaozhai Courtyard.

Juti thought about it, withdrew his gaze from the thin and mute girl, and did not say hello.

He first left the yard with the plate and trotted to a remote Zen temple in the temple.

The Buddhism of Chengtian Temple belongs to Zen Buddhism. There are many such Zen temples, and donors often come to ask about Zen and get their doubts resolved.

Juezhi’s master, whose Dharma name is Zhenkong.

His ranking among the many eminent monks with the name "Zhen" in Chengtian Temple is not high.

Zen Master Zhenkong had only one disciple, Juezhi, who was one of the disciples among the other kind Zen masters when he was accepted as a disciple. It was only thanks to him that he was the one to lead the disciples, otherwise the temple would have been deserted. It can be seen that Zen Master Zhenkong's lineage did not have a prominent status in the temple.

The most fundamental reason is that Master Zhenkong is actually an outsider and has been teaching Zen in Chengtian Temple for more than 20 years.

It is said that foreign monks are good at chanting sutras, but Juezhi discovered that his own master did not chant sutras well.

The literal meaning is not well pronounced.

In fact, the fact that he "did not recite the Buddha's name properly" also made him, the master, more famous, but it was not known whether the fame was good or bad.

As a branch of Zen Buddhism, Chengtian Temple is often visited by fellow Buddhists and pilgrims who come to study Buddhism and learn about Zen.

Especially those Confucian scholars who seem to be stupid in the eyes of Juti, instead of studying Confucianism and leaving the world, come to Buddhism to seek spiritual comfort.

If you are frustrated in your career and in a bad mood, please turn left and go to a brothel. Why do you come to the Buddhist temple every day and hang out with those white-bearded masters in their fifties or sixties? Are they soul mates?
We should really learn from the official surnamed Yuan in the temple. He used to come back drunk from banquets every day, and even climbed over the wrong wall one night and almost slept on the old abbot's bed...

Having said that, the other Zen masters of the "Zhen" generation in the temple, even if they are quiet, have to say a few words to these donors.

But his master, Zen Master Zhenkong, was different.
Whenever someone asked the master about Buddhism and Zen, he would give one suggestion and not make any other suggestions.

That’s right, just raise a finger in front of all the donors who have complained about the essay and say nothing.

Well……

Juezhi suddenly felt that he had a very high level of comprehension. He didn’t need to learn the main Zen method of his lineage at all, as he had already understood it.

It may also be because the disciple learned too fast. On weekdays, Zen Master Zhenkong did not take care of his only disciple, nor did he force Jueti to meditate.

Other young monks of the same age were all taken care of by their respective masters, who taught them by example.

However, Juezhi felt that even if he took the initiative to ask his master, his master's teachings would only be to give him instructions.

As a result, over time, the monks and pilgrims gave their master Zhenkong a nickname:
One Finger Zen Master.

There were not many pilgrims coming to see Master Zhenkong on weekdays, unlike other Zen masters whose thresholds of their courtyards were worn out by pilgrims. However, there were still one or two pilgrims coming every few days. Juezhi discovered that most of them came from far away. Was this considered a different kind of pilgrim who came here because of his fame?

Ksitigarbha ran back to the Zen temple carrying the breakfast plate.

There were a few strange tall servants in green clothes at the gate of the courtyard, with round swords on their waists. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be people from Mobei.

Juti slowed down his pace, stretched his head and looked, and sure enough, in the yard, there was a sickly middle-aged man sitting upright, asking his master for advice.

After listening to this, the master shrugged his eyelids and raised a finger.

The sickly middle-aged man who had come from afar turned around and looked at the man. Suddenly, his frail face suddenly understood what was going on. He bowed and immediately reached into his pocket to thank the man...

When the blue-clothed servants at the door heard the exciting commotion, they were all stunned and turned their heads to look inside the door.

Juti seemed to be used to it. He walked aside, sat down and ate alone.

After finishing his own portion, he stole two bites of his master's dish. Then, he turned to his master who was reluctantly collecting the money and told him not to wait for the food to get cold. Then, he took a step forward with his chubby little legs and ran out.

Not long after, Juti returned to the morning temple and looked around curiously, but he could not find the thin and mute girl.

"Hey, where did Miss Xiu Niang go after such a while?"

(End of this chapter)