Living Buddhism: The Little Monk in the Temple

Excerpt: For the first time, the young monk felt that the Buddha was so close to him and the Buddha was so far away from him.

The little monk in the temple

This is a modern city.

A city that is not very prosperous but not backward, there are several large and small mountains around the city. There is a small temple on the hill not far from the city. Don't ask the name of this small temple, because it is so small that people can hardly remember it. It can't even be called a temple, it can only be regarded as a small temple, exposed on a lonely mountain.

There are two rows of rooms in the temple, and the big house in front is the main hall, which monks must provide? Daxiong hall? There is a side room next to the temple, which is the abbot's rest room and then the backyard. There are four small houses on the front, which are warehouse, little monk's bedroom, dining room and kitchen. This is the full size of the temple.

That's all.

The little monk is actually not young. The abbot told him that he had been taken here for seventeen years. Because he didn't know his age before he was taken away, the young monk didn't know his exact age either. The abbot said that when he was taken, he was still very young and still nursing, and it was seventeen years in the blink of an eye. Well, seventeen years. Let's consider himself seventeen for the time being. In addition to the young monk, there are four other young monks in the temple, all orphans brought back by the abbot from various places. In their eyes, the abbot is the god of reborn parents, such as coming to Buddha slightly lower.

The abbot doesn't need to introduce himself too much, because as long as he stands in front of the pilgrims, dressed in robes and cassock, twisted beads with his hands, folded his hands, bent down for a while, and made a fortune for a while, he looks like a Taoist monk in a TV series, which makes tourists uneasy, stop and bend over.

There is a big box at the entrance of Ursa major, with yellow silk at the bottom. Next to the big box, there are two lines written by the abbot: gather the incense in the world and worship a holy Buddha. Tourists throw some small coins into the box from time to time, then stand there and look at the big box for a while, think for a while, sigh, and then walk into the hero hall. Whenever they meet such tourists, the abbot will look in awe and bow down.

There is a Tathagata Buddha statue in Daxiong Hall. The golden Buddha sat quietly on it and was bowed down by pilgrims. Every time pilgrims finish worshipping, they almost exclaim once or twice: This Buddha statue is so beautiful with gold plating, and this small temple is really willing to spend money.

The young monk doesn't know what gold plating is, but he knows that pilgrims are talking about the Buddha statue in the hall and praising the beautiful Buddha statue. The young monk's grin can make pilgrims talk big. He also contributed. Whenever the tin and platinum on the Buddha statue is broken, or there is a small hole in the Buddha body, the abbot will rush at them in a panic.

? Go outside the temple and stop the pilgrims, saying that the main hall is chanting, and you can come in to pay homage later. ?

? You! You go and close the door of the temple and turn on the light on the top of the Buddha statue, alas! ?

? Why are you still standing here? Why don't you get the ladder?

The young monk shivered, bowed and ran to get the ladder. He ran a few steps and looked back at the abbot. He saw the abbot enter the wing in a hurry. The young monk knew that the abbot had gone to get a spare straw.

A lamp on the Buddha's head lit up the whole hall. The abbot who climbed the ladder carefully repaired the broken part of the Buddha statue with Suk Kim Platinum, and the young monks knelt down to chant Buddhist scriptures. The abbot said that it is a great sin for us ordinary people to touch the Buddha's golden body, so we should recite the scriptures and repent.

The restored Buddha statue was once again admired by pilgrims. As usual, some people praised that the Buddha statue was covered with yellow patches? Solemn and beautiful? . The young monk thought that when he was repairing the Buddha statue, he recited the scriptures and repented, which seemed to have played a great role and always took all the credit that no one gave.

The abbot still folded his hands beside him, nodded slightly and saluted the tourists.

Occasionally, he would look up at the golden Buddha statue-the thin dress that was draped over the Buddha statue.

A rich young couple got off at the gate of the temple.

Rich businessmen want a son, because their wives have always believed in Buddhism, so they have to make a wish and hope that the Buddha will bless her to have a son; The abbot smiled and told the young monk to take out the sign. The lady knelt on the mat in front of the Buddha statue with a sign tube in her hand. Going? After shaking for a while, a brand finally slipped out, and I picked it up and gave it to the abbot. The abbot took a look, smiled softly and said, sign it! The rich businessman was overjoyed and took out a stack of money from his pocket as a reward. The host put his hands together and read aloud: Amitabha, may the Buddha bless the benefactor. . . The rich merchant said a few polite words, looked around the hall again, smiled at the abbot and turned out of the hall. The host stuffed the stack of money into the monk's sleeve and began to smile on his face. He stood up straight and walked slowly to the wing, then suddenly stopped and turned to look at the signs scattered on the ground.

? All right, sign for it. ?

It seems to be said to the young monk, and it seems to be said to himself, and then he walked back to the wing, humming as he walked: You are my rose, you are my flower.

? Roses? What is a rose?

While talking to himself, the young monk picked up the sign on the ground, wiped the dust on the frock, held it in his hand and gently put it into the sign tube.

The young monk admired the abbot in the lottery. He thought it might be that the abbot was deep and close to the Buddha. Every time he can shake out a lottery ticket for pilgrims, the young monk hopes that he can have the same magical power as the abbot.

The tube cut by the young monk again and again is filled with all the labels.

The little monk doesn't know what the outside world is like. He is used to the small life of morning bells and drums, chanting and worshipping Buddha, and he is too lazy to guess what he can't reach. Every morning when he wakes up, the young monk will add some sandalwood to the incense burner as usual, then fan it with a small fan several times, wait for the smoke to come and smell the fragrance, and then go to the hall for early class. The abbot is generally absent, and the abbot is absent. The young monk will see the abbot walk into the temple in clothes similar to pilgrims, and then quickly walk to the wing. In a few minutes, a standard old monk will stand at the gate of the main hall.

The daily necessities in the temple are all transported by van. Once a week, the young monks are called to unload the goods, and the delivery driver always touches their little heads and asks questions. Over time, the young monks also heard a lot from the driver: outside is not Buddha's territory, you can drink and eat meat outside, you can talk with money outside, and women outside can talk casually.

At night, standing on the wall of the temple, you can see the city below, like a sea of stars, brighter than the stars in the sky, and some bright spots are constantly changing colors. That place is really beautiful! The young monk wondered what it would be like there.

When he couldn't sleep at night, the young monk chatted with several other people about something in his heart. As soon as he said this, several little bald heads were too excited to sleep, and several older ones began to brag about what it was like outside. After all, they were old when they were picked up by the abbot. Although the abbot strictly forbade them to go down the mountain, now it is natural to show off their childhood memories, and the young monk was shocked. The young monk didn't know whether it was hard luck or not, and he didn't have an exact concept of the outside. He also wants to look out and see what is outside, just like a mature man wants to open a woman's clothes and see what is inside.

The young monk is so eager to think.

Several other older young monks suggested sneaking down the mountain to have a look. The young monk also wanted to go, but he was afraid and didn't go at last. As a result, the abbot knew about it. Except for the young monk, several other young monks were punished, and each was fined 30 sticks, which was the best way for the abbot to punish them. It's just a stick the thickness of his arm, as the case may be. Just a little blow. If the abbot's hands are thick-skinned, they will become stronger and not hurt. The young monk watching the scene of bustle was frightened and got a stick. But that was years ago. The reason is that he entered the abbot's wing without permission. This is the reason publicly announced by the abbot when he hit him.

It is not uncommon for young monks to enter the abbot's wing. It's just that the little monk had bad luck that day. When he entered the wing, the dean was using it in his room? Hey? Putting it on the table is what people call it. Roast chicken? Eating food and a bottle of things printed on it? Jian Nanchun? .

So the little monk is afraid now? A crutch? Two words, these two words abruptly let him climb in bed for three days.

So this time the young monk didn't sneak down the mountain with them.

Therefore, the young monk dare not go down the mountain privately in the future.

So whenever the delivery truck comes, the driver tells them something rare, and the young monk still asks: Really?

Several young female pilgrims came to the temple, talking and laughing, walking around the small temple, always holding cameras. Click? Listen, the young monk is sweeping the floor in the yard with a broom, although the ground is clean.

The abbot warned him from an early age to keep a certain distance from the female pilgrims, that men and women should not kiss, and that they should be clean when they become monks, so as not to fall into reincarnation, be abandoned by the Buddha, and suffer from hell. After the abbot finished speaking, the young monk wanted to ask the abbot that the Buddha would never abandon anyone who was guilty, would he? But he didn't dare to ask, but firmly wrote down the abbot's warning-men and women don't kiss, or go to hell!

Finally, the young monk was surrounded by several female pilgrims and kept asking questions. The young monk was dizzy and did not dare to look up. He tried to escape several times and was caught back by several pink palms. The pungent smell of the opposite sex made the young monk who was used to sandalwood feel at a loss and kept talking. Amitabha? The female pilgrim was made to laugh, and raised her camera to take a photo with the young monk, so the young monk was caught in the middle and trembled all over. When a female pilgrim sees a young monk, she always lowers her head and simply reaches out and lifts his little head. The young monk quickly closed his eyes, changed his mind and changed his mind? Sin. Sin? , a sound? Eggplant? After the sound, the young monk felt that the hand holding his frock and pressing his head was loose, so he tentatively took a small step forward. When he saw that they stopped hugging themselves, he gasped and ran to the backyard with his legs crossed. Running too fast, he stumbled and fell to the ground, and there was a burst of laughter behind him. The young monk had no time to turn back, got up and continued to run away desperately.

The young monk shut himself in his room and never went out. He was lying on the table crying. He is going to hell. Buddha doesn't want me. The young monk thinks so. He suddenly thought of the abbot, how powerful he is and how close he is to the Buddha! The young monk wants to know whether the abbot can intercede with the Buddha on his behalf and help him through this disaster.

After listening to the crying of the young monk, the abbot smiled and gave a solemn military salute to the Buddha statue in the main hall, and read aloud: Amitabha, what a kindness! Then he threw off his sleeves, ignored the little monk and walked away.

The young monk didn't understand the abbot's meaning, but when he saw the abbot swinging his sleeves, he thought he was hopeless and the abbot didn't want to work hard. He immediately sat down in the hall and silently looked at the high Buddha statue.

For the first time, the young monk felt that the Buddha statue was so close to him and the Buddha was so far away.