Shadow of the Wood

Chapter 250 Six Robbers

The melodious bells echoed in the mountains, corresponding to the bells, were fireworks rising in the distance.

Shikamaru, who was sitting cross-legged on a futon, slowly opened his eyes, and the faint shouts and birdsong from outside the window reminded him that a new day had arrived.

The early morning sunlight unscrupulously swayed into this simple wooden house and cast it on Shikamaru's body, making him feel a little dazzling, so he couldn't help but raise his hand to block it.

Crunch!

The old wooden door was pushed open by Shikamaru, breathing in the fresh air, he couldn't help stretching exaggeratedly, sitting in meditation on the futon all night, his body was somewhat uncomfortable, this action caused a series of crisp sounds from his bones.

"Sir!" In the distance, a little novice ran over when he saw the door of Shikamaru's room open. His thin body was covered with an uncoordinated long coat, which looked rather funny.

The little novice looked about seven or eight years old, his clothes were patched and didn't fit well, obviously he inherited the property of his seniors, he was a little shy, but he forced himself to salute Shikamaru calmly, and then said: "The temple is about to have breakfast, the abbot asked me to remind you."

"Thank you." Shikamaru said with a smile after returning the salute seriously.

The little novice scratched his head, not very polite, clasped his hands together, silently saluted Shikamaru again, then turned and ran away.

Shikamaru looked at the figure of the little novice who was running away gradually, the smile on his face gradually subsided.

The place where he is now is a not-so-reputable temple with a remote location and few monks. There are only a few small villages around, and the incense is not strong. More importantly, the monks in this temple have always abided by the precepts. In addition to basic maintenance, there is very little money for incense, and the monks who enter the temple are also children or orphans from poor families around them.

It is really different from the Temple of Fire.

Shikamaru found a quiet place outside the temple and did morning exercises. Before he came here, he had observed the environment of the Temple of Fire from afar. As a temple supported by the Daimyo of the Fire Country, it was famous and wealthy. There were monks who practiced martial arts in the temple. There were many ninja monks, and there was an endless stream of travelers going to incense, which made Shikamaru give up the idea of ​​going there to see, after all, he was still a traitor.

Shikamaru also suffered some minor injuries during the previous battle in the country of water, so he wanted to find a quiet place to recuperate, and he could also calm down and study new techniques. He searched for many places, and finally settled on this place. Get down.

After finishing the morning training, the sweaty Shikamaru washed his body casually with cold water, and then followed the monks in twos and threes to the dining hall for breakfast.

There are not many monks in the temple. Most of them are young monks and old monks. The rest of them basically went to the outside world for alms. After all, this temple is located in the mountains and there is no arable land. It can't support so many. Even Shikamaru was not in the mood to talk when the dining hall was quiet.

Breakfast is a simple rice porridge with vegetables that Shikamaru doesn't know, and a little minced meat.

Shikamaru gulped down nonchalantly. Buddhist vegetarianism is a product of tampering by the descendants of the previous life. Naturally, there is no such custom in this world. It is said that although the monks in this temple strictly abide by the precept of not killing, they still have What to eat, the only old monk who insists on a vegetarian diet is also because he insists on penance, and has been honing his mind.

After breakfast, Shikamaru followed the host and two old monks to the quiet room.Shikamaru really doesn't believe in Buddhism, but after living here for a few days, he likes to play games with these three old monks, and it's very interesting. These old monks with clear minds can often clear up the fog in his heart. Sometimes it even made him feel enlightened.

"Master." After entering the quiet room, the skinny abbot found out an abacus and account book, and clapped the abacus and calculated the accounts. Shikamaru looked familiar and looked for He sat down cross-legged on a futon, and asked, "Not long ago, I added a sum of incense money to the temple. Why don't you improve the food for everyone?"

Naturally, Shikamaru will not eat and live here for free, he has a lot of money with him, and he added a lot of incense money to this temple not long ago, but in the past two days, he found that even the food in the temple has not changed. If he didn't know that the three old monks in the temple were not greedy and fraudulent people, he would have asked a long time ago.

"Some of the Buddha statues in the temple are already a bit dilapidated, and the houses are also damaged. The abbot is going to spend money to ask someone to decorate them," said the old monk sitting on a futon opposite Shikamaru. The cassock he was wearing was also patched. , with a haggard figure, as if a gust of wind could blow him down: "In this way, the craftsmen in the surrounding villages can also earn some money."

Shikamaru nodded knowingly, no wonder the abbot had to settle accounts early in the morning, but this abbot seemed somewhat weird in Shikamaru's eyes, Shikamaru rarely saw him preaching or reciting scriptures, and saw him a few times He was either checking the accounts, or wandering around the temple, which made Shikamaru a little puzzled.

Thinking that he might have to leave here soon, Shikamaru directly asked this question. He remembered that there were many unruly monks in his previous life, who had unique views on things. This old abbot is also such an 'expert', listening to him talk about the reasons, maybe it can make me feel a little bit better.

Hearing Shikamaru's question, the two old monks did not make a sound, but looked at the abbot himself. At this time, he had also heard Shikamaru's question, so he stopped, took a deep look at Shikamaru, and then Said in a deep voice, "I don't believe in Buddhism."

The other two old monks in the room whispered the Buddha's name at this time, but no one had the thought of reprimanding the abbot for speaking. Shikamaru couldn't help frowning, wondering if there was a Zen in the other party's words, and asked: "The abbot is staying in the temple. How long?" <Qiu. "The abbot tilted his head and thought for a while, then quickly replied.

"Even if you don't believe in Buddhism, why do you go to the temple to serve the Buddha?" The abbot has never called himself "old monk" or "poor monk". Shikamaru has long been used to it. Seeing his extremely serious demeanor and tone of voice, his doubts deepened, and he added. : "Have you become the head monk of a temple?"

"To survive, to repay kindness." The abbot told Shikamaru the answer without hesitation: "Maezuo saved my whole family. I am good at arithmetic, but I couldn't survive, so I went up the mountain to manage accounts for him and maintain the livelihood of the monks. Maezuo passed away. I wanted to try my best to keep the temple from being abandoned. My brothers and sisters all knew my intentions, and no one was fighting. I became the abbot. I was familiar with the scriptures, but I only followed the scriptures. I never respected the Buddha. Do good."

Shikamaru didn't know what to say, no wonder the abbot was not in charge of preaching scriptures in the past, I only saw him wandering around every day, but as the abbot, he said that he didn't believe in Buddhism, but he couldn't make people feel contemptuous and hostile, Shikamaru Maru knows how hard it is to manage this poor temple and maintain the traditions that have always been there.

It's just that an old man who doesn't believe in Buddhism has been a monk in the temple for more than 40 years, and finally became the abbot. Shikamaru really feels a little ridiculous.

"The benefactor thinks it's funny?" The abbot seemed to have seen through Shikamaru's mind, and asked directly, not politely: "If you don't believe in Buddhism, you can't do good? Can't you serve the Buddha?"

"I want to survive, to repay kindness, and to do good deeds. Buddhism teaches people to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and love all living beings. These places are in line with my heart. Why can't I be the abbot, why can't I inherit the mantle of the former residence, why can't I maintain the livelihood of the temple, teach people Accumulate virtue and do good deeds?" The abbot said with a smile: "Why is the benefactor laughing at me? Do you know what you want?"

After a little hesitation, Shikamaru replied, "I think people in the world have a better life."

"Is it 'do you think people live better', or 'people themselves think life is better'?" the abbot asked rhetorically.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked, frowning.

"If you can't figure this out, it means you don't know what you want." The abbot said softly, "I want the rich to give more to the poor, the lord to collect less taxes from the poor, and the landlord to give the landless to everyone live."

Shikamaru nodded. After leaving the Land of Fire, he really saw the true face of the world. The feudal system relied on ninjas to rule more firmly, and it also made some classes more unscrupulous. In a small country that is struggling to survive, even in the territory of several big countries, dirty and dirty incidents are common. There is no hybrid rice and no advanced technology. For many people, being able to eat is already a luxury. matter.

"But rich people earn money by themselves. Even if they don't need it temporarily, they hope to benefit their descendants so that future generations can continue to be rich and not be poor. If I let them help the poor, will they be willing? If I implement With this concept, many people who are about to get rich worry that they will follow in the footsteps of the rich and their efforts will be in vain. Even some people who think that they may be rich in the future will feel that this move is to dig meat from them in the future. How can they feel that Is my life better?" The abbot pointed to the old monk next to him and said, "My senior brother advises people to practice hard work, and I hope that monks can polish their souls, seek transcendence, set an example for the world, and live a simple life—are all monks willing? ? Are those believers who can’t concentrate on serving the Buddha and can only rely on incense money to buy peace of mind?”

"It's obviously imposing one's own ideas on people, so why bother with a beautiful description? What you think is a good thing may be an evil thing in the eyes of others. The right choice in the eyes of others may be an extreme mistake in your eyes." Abbot Looking at Shikamaru calmly: "So I told the monks in the temple that when asking for alms to persuade the rich, don't bother too much. We are willing to work hard for the poor, and naturally we don't care about gains and losses, but why do we have to impose it on others? Annoyed them, but instead It's going to cause trouble."

"The reason why you warned the monks in the temple to do this is because you don't have stronger power, and you don't have enough ability." Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and said slightly ironically. Although the abbot didn't directly accuse him, he always felt that the other party There is something in the words, and I feel a little uncomfortable.

"Yes." Unexpectedly, the abbot simply admitted it generously: "If I were the lord of my country, I would definitely persecute the rich and unkind, embarrass them, and help the poor. This is contrary to the original intention of Buddhism, so I don't believe in Buddhism."

"That's why I don't believe in Buddhism, that's why I don't believe in Buddhism..." Shikamaru was taken aback, touched his forehead in a daze, and repeated the abbot's words, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, which eventually turned into a wild laugh, pointing at the abbot Said: "In this case, you are not a monk at all, you are clearly a 'robber'!"

"Some people will call me a robber, but more people will call me a Bodhisattva." The abbot also laughed loudly, then his smile faded, and he sighed: "It's a pity that I can neither be a robber nor a Bodhisattva. You can only be an 'old monk'."

"I think many people will call me a lunatic or a robber in the future." Shikamaru spread his hands and said, "As for whether it is true or not, we have to wait for their descendants to comment, and I can only let more people call me I'm a 'Bodhisattva'."

(I was posting a debate with someone today. I thought that the other party was just being poisoned. I posted information in a joking tone to refute the childish remarks of the other party. In the end, he directly claimed to be a "leading * party", which really left the servant speechless , Values ​​are things that outsiders really can’t say...)

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