The old monk can consume two thousand gold when he meditates.

The old man in Weishan once said, "The old monk can consume two thousand gold when he meditates. Although Pei Xiu, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, knew that becoming a monk was good, he could not become a monk himself, so he built a big temple, which could accommodate more than 2,000 monks at the same time. At that time, many monks heard that a new Dojo had been built in Weishan, Hunan Province, and flocked to attend classes and get close to the old people in Weishan. They meditate and give lectures every day.

Pei Xiu saw that he was a monk and sent his son to the temple to become a monk. This son is a bachelor of Hanlin and graduated from imperial academy. When the old man in Weishan saw Hanlin becoming a monk, he named him Fahai and told him to fetch water. There were thousands of people living there at that time, and the job was not easy. At that time, there was no running water, so we had to draw water from the well, and we had no leisure from morning till night. Fahai gets up at three o'clock in the morning and the public goes to do morning classes. He has started to carry water. If I carry water for several years, I have never done any sideline, and I have never even participated in meditation. As an academician, carrying water for the public seems to have been wronged, but Fahai didn't complain and tried to do it.

One day, he happened to be a little free. He never knew what the monks were doing, so he took the opportunity to sneak into the meditation hall and secretly look inside. At first glance, some monks are sitting in the meditation hall; Some people snore while sleeping with their heads down; Others looked around with their eyes open. Fahai thought, "I'm tired of carrying water every day." You used to sit and sleep or look around with your eyes open. How can you monks be worthy of my support? " So I complained in my heart.

Fahai thought so. Although he didn't say it, the old man in Weishan knew it and called him to the abbot's room and said, "You have lived in this temple for several years, and now you complain that your family is not qualified to accept your support." You are not allowed to live on the mountain now, pack up and move to the temple! 」

Since Fahai was driven out of the temple, he asked his master, Master Ling You, for leave. "Master, I have no money. Where should I go? " Master Ling You gave him eight and a half dollars and told him, "You can go anywhere you want. In short, stop after using the eight and a half dollars." Don't stop until you run out. At that time, eight and a half dollars was equivalent to eighty-five dollars now, not much.

Fahai didn't dare to spend money along the way. He went from Hunan to Jiangsu to beg for food, and then passed by Zhenjiang, where he saw an island with mountains on the Yangtze River. Fahai wanted to visit the mountain. He waved, called the boatman and asked him how much he wanted. No more boatmen, no less, but eight and a half dollars! When Fahai reached the mountain, he found that it was not high or quiet, so he stayed. Later, I found a cave on the mountain with several pots of gold in it, so I changed the name of the mountain to "Jinshan" and built a temple with gold, still concentrating on meditation.

From then to now, Jinshan's Taoist style is particularly good, and its ancestors have come forth in large numbers. This is the famous biography of the White Snake in China, which records the story of the abbot of Fahai. He is still a novice monk, but he is already a pioneer.

The old man in Weishan has a famous saying: "The old monk can consume two thousand gold when he meditates." This is for Fahai. Fahai thinks that his family is not entitled to his support, but this is not the case. Why?

Because if people can sit still, the still aurora can arrive. It is also said that "if a person sits still for a while, it is better than building seven towers with constant sand", so the two thousand gold will disappear. So we meditators should not underestimate meditation. If Buddhists want to become Buddhists, they must meditate; You have to work hard and not be afraid of leg pain and back pain in order to succeed. So the ancients said, "If you don't suffer from freezing cold, how can you get plum blossoms?" . 」