Self-struggle starting from Douluo

There is a beautiful legend.

This legend has nothing to do with stones. It is said that thousands of years ago, during the early years of the Dazhi reign of the Xiling Temple, when Wa Mountain was not yet called Wa Mountain but Mantou Mountain, a woodcutter named Wang Zhi mistakenly went into the mountains while cutting wood. He saw several old monks playing chess, so he went up to watch out of curiosity. He found that the fighting on the chessboard was so brutal that he was so engrossed in it that he forgot to leave.

An old monk saw that he was intoxicated and handed him a steamed bun. Strangely enough, after Wang Zhi ate the bun, he no longer felt hungry and sat by the chessboard from morning till night.

As dusk gradually fell over the deep mountains, the chess game under the tree had not yet been finished. The old monk who had given him food earlier looked up, looked at Wang Zhi and said, "If you don't leave now, you will not be able to leave."

Wang Zhi reluctantly stood up and prepared to leave. However, when he picked up the axe he used to chop wood, he was shocked to find that the wooden handle of the axe had rotted into dust. When he walked out of the mountains and returned to his hometown, he found that his peers at that time had all died.

Only then did he realize that one day of watching chess under the tree was equivalent to a hundred years in the human world.

This legend spread widely, and later Mantou Mountain became Wa Mountain. The ancient temple in the mountain was called Lanke Temple because of this legend, and it gradually became the official name of the temple.

Because of this legend, chess is very popular near Wa Mountain, and people from all walks of life, whether gentry or farmers, have learned chess since childhood.

……

On this day, an old monk came on foot to the foot of Wa Mountain, followed by a young novice.

The two were covered in dust and their shoes were worn out, showing that they had walked a long way.

If others want to climb Mount Wa, they need to play chess to obtain the qualification to climb the mountain, but the old monk and the young monk are Buddhists, so they naturally do not need to abide by this rule.

The two men climbed the mountain. The monk guarding the mountain did not stop them, and no one else had any objections.

There are countless monks coming to Washan every year, so these two are not a big deal.

The old monk chanted verses along the way and bowed to others.

The little monk followed behind, occasionally raising his hand as if to wipe his nose, but hidden under his wide sleeves, he secretly put a greasy chicken leg to his mouth and took a bite.

However, how could he hide his actions from the monk guarding the mountain?

Many monks looked at the little monk strangely. The little monk grinned, giving a childlike smile, and rolled the meat shreds in between his teeth into his mouth with his tongue.

They couldn't blame a little kid, so their accusing eyes fell on the old monk.

The old monk seemed to have noticed something, and turned around and scolded: "Qingku, have you broken the precepts again?"

The young monk Qingku suddenly looked solemn. Although he was young, he looked holy. He said, "Master, the precepts are in my heart. How can I break them?"

The old monk twitched his lips and said, "The oily sheen on your lips is shining into my eyes!"

The young monk wiped his mouth and said, "Master, is it my lips that are shiny, or is it your heart that is shiny?"

The old monk pointed at the young monk, speechless for a moment, and snorted, "Wait, hurry up and catch up!"

"Yes, master!"

……

The Lanke Temple is very famous, but in this Lanke Temple on Washan, there is a true Buddhist master who is even more famous than the Lanke Temple.

The old monk brought the young novice monk here just to meet this great Buddhist master.

They climbed up the mountain and when they reached the top, there were no monks guarding the mountain along the way. The little monk no longer tried to hide himself and directly took out the chicken leg and started to eat it.

The old monk was angry at him for not fighting back, and said, "Qingku, count for yourself, how many Buddhist precepts have you broken?"

The young monk asked in a clear childish voice: "But Master, the precepts in the heart must be observed, but aren't the precepts in form meant to be broken?"

The old monk's fingers were trembling, and after a while he said, "I can't teach you, but there are people who can teach you!"

All the way to the top of the mountain.

There is a temple on the top of the mountain and a Buddha statue behind the temple.

The material used for the Buddha statue should be some kind of precious white hard stone. The carving is crude yet rounded, with a sense of compassion.

The Buddha statue is very large, and believers looking up at it from the foot of the mountain can easily feel a sense of worship and reverence.

The old monk chanted a verse to the Buddha statue and asked the young monk to worship it.

The young monk refused and said, "Master, why are you worshipping a stone?" The old monk said, "That is Buddha!"

Young monk: "Is Buddha a stone?"

Old monk: "... That's all! Let's go!"

On the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain, there is an ancient pavilion, which is as high as an ordinary three-story building, with huge beams and flying eaves. It stands motionless among the red and yellow leaves, and looks quite imposing.

Sitting in the pavilion was an old monk wearing a plain cloth robe and with deep wrinkles on his face. He was smiling as he looked at the master and disciple who were coming towards him.

"Master Qishan!" The little monk's master stepped forward quickly, put his hands together, and bowed deeply.

"Guan Lian, long time no see."

Master Qishan smiled and motioned him to stand up. He looked at the little monk and said, "Is this the child you were talking about?"

Guanlian called the young monk over and said, "Yes, this boy has extraordinary understanding, but he is full of twisted ideas. I am afraid that he will lose his Buddha nature, so I can only bring him here to ask for guidance!"

"sit."

Master Qishan asked the master and his disciple to sit down, and smiled and said to the little monk: "What is your name?"

The young monk looked at his master and said respectfully, "My master called me Qingku, but I think I should be called Qinghuan."

Master Qishan was surprised and asked, "Oh? Why?"

The young monk said, “Master said that all living things suffer and life is a sea of ​​suffering, but I feel that whether it is bitter or sweet, sad or happy, it all depends on one thought.

The Master's suffering is his suffering, but my suffering is my joy, so I should be called Qingle, or Qinghuan. "

Master Qishan's eyes sparkled, and he pointed at his hands and mouth and asked, "Did you eat meat?"

The young monk flatly denied it: "I didn't!"

His master Guan Lian angrily said, "You ate it in front of me, and you're still lying?"

The young monk said seriously: "Master, I eat meat with vegetables on the side. I am a vegetarian!"

Guan Lian looked at Master Qishan helplessly and said, "Master, look..."

Master Qishan nodded and said, "It is indeed an amazing Buddha nature, but it is also dangerous. If you are not careful, you will become a demon!"

The little monk looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Master Qishan asked curiously, "Do you have anything to say?"

The young monk hesitated for a moment and said, "Those who observe the precepts themselves are called Buddhas, but those who force others to follow suit are demons!"

Master Qishan was stunned for a moment and asked, "Which Buddhist scripture told you this?"

"I thought of it myself."

The young monk said righteously, "Many Buddhist scriptures begin with 'Thus have I heard'. This is how I heard the Buddha's teachings and how I understood them... If the writers of the Buddhist scriptures can understand them that way, why can't I explain them the same way?"

Master Qishan smiled and said, "Dharma Assembly is based on fate, and Shanxian invites you to participate."

The first of the thirty-two chapters of Mahayana Buddhism is "The Causes and Conditions of the Dharma Assembly", which means that preaching the Dharma to save sentient beings must be based on time, place, and people. Preaching the Dharma should not be done lightly, and should not be done when the opportunity is not right.

The second chapter is "Good Appearance's Request", which means how one should live and how to subdue one's mind?
Buddhism enlightens the world with emphasis on Zen. Once the Zen clue comes, everything will be understood immediately. If the Zen clue is not there, it will not work even if it is enlightened.

What Master Qishan meant was that the little monk was so stubborn, when would he be enlightened?

The young monk tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "The young monk is chanting sutras, but his heart is not in it."

What this means is that when it comes to Buddhist scriptures, one just needs to listen. There is no need to ponder over their meanings and significance. One must gain enlightenment through the “Sravakas”!

Instead of relying on others' enlightenment.

Master Qishan's old face was shaken. After a while, he said, "You are right. You should really be called Qing Huan!" (End of this chapter)