The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. In the small hut at the foot of the mountain in the shade of the Two Zen Temples, there was a loud snoring sound. It was an unattractive young woman. She spread her arms and legs and took up most of the bed. She turned around aggressively and accidentally kicked the bald middle-aged monk off the bed. The poor monk sat on the ground in a daze for a while. He got up and put on a white kasaya and walked out of the hut. There were two small rooms next door separated by wooden boards. The white-robed monk tiptoed to his daughter's room and covered her with a blanket. This girl's sleeping posture was exactly the same as her mother's, restless. When he came to his disciple's room, he saw that this little idiot was most likely having a good dream. She probably dreamt that she went to play with something and only cared about laughing. The shabbily decorated narrow room was neat and tidy. The shoes and socks of the two women in the house were always scattered all over the place. This stupid north and south were not the same. Everything was meticulously arranged, just like when he preached the sutras to the monks of the Hui generation in the temple.
The white-robed monk walked out of the hut alone and came to the Thousand Buddha Hall. The walls were painted with the Vajra Luohan Fist Technique, vivid and lifelike. The ground was uneven, with a total of 108 small footprints. It was rumored in Jianghu that this was the most powerful demon-subduing skill of the Two Zen Temples. Whoever could face the wall and observe the fist technique and walk 108 steps correctly would be ranked among the top three martial artists in the world. The reason why this hall was called the Thousand Buddha Hall was because the Two Zen Temples carved a Buddha here every year. There were more than a thousand Buddha statues here. The white-robed monk was this generation's Tablet Keeper and also this generation's Thousand Buddha Hall statue monk. Standing at the door of the hall and looking out, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in all directions were the same. Compared to the three-sided fist technique manual, it was even more magnificent. The first patriarch of the Two Zen Temples had left behind a Buddhist saying that anyone who entered the hall and saw or heard it would receive the seed of Bodhi liberation.
A couplet hung in the hall: It has been three thousand years since lotuses bloomed at every step. I have rebuilt the hall to worship the Luohan. After eighty-one difficulties, I am willing to give twenty-eight ranks and teach the Dharma to all.
However, ever since the white-robed monk returned from the far west to Tai 'an City and returned to the Two Zen Temples, he had only carved one Luohan statue. That year, he had brought the little monk Stupid Nanbei back to the mountain.
The white-robed monk looked up at the thousands of Buddha statues that were filled with moonlight after the door was opened and sighed.
The little monk, Wu Nanbei, appeared behind the white-robed monk and asked worriedly, "Master, is your wife going down the mountain again tomorrow?"
The white-robed monk accepted his fate and said, "Go, go. There aren't many copper coins left in the bowl anyway."
Stupid North and South sighed, "After going down the mountain a few times, I can only pick the most expensive cosmetics with Mistress. What are we going to do in the future?"
"Why are you awake?"
"Just now, I was holding hands with something in my dream. In the end, she knocked me on the head and I woke up. Hey, Master, why are you hitting me? "
"What else did you do besides holding hands?"
"No, just holding hands. What else can we do?"
"Really? Monks don't lie. There are so many Bodhisattvas and Arhats in the Thousand Buddhas Hall watching you! "
"Uh, other than holding her hand, I also told this thing that I like her …"
"No wonder you were hit."
"Master, the old abbot said that you are the reincarnation of the third Arhat, the Immaculate Arhat. The Buddhist scriptures say that this Bodhisattva has no worries. Why do you always have a bitter face from Mistress and that thing?"
"The great abbot also said that you are the last disciple of Buddha, Subadhara. You received the Bodhisattva Fruit when Buddha was about to enter nirvana. It sounds very powerful. Why don't I see your wisdom and eloquence? Not to mention the temple and the foot of the mountain, we only have four people in the hut. Who can you argue with? "
"Alas, the old abbot likes to praise everyone. There is nothing to be happy about being praised."
"Master, why don't you teach me how to play chess?"
"Why do you want to learn chess?"
"Mistress bought two boxes of chess at the foot of the mountain, but she doesn't know how to play. Mistress said that she can't beat you, so she can only play with me."
"My daughter is the smartest in the world, but learning chess is really not that amazing. Maybe she can't beat you. Master's copper coins will be wasted."
"It's okay, I'll let her."
"Idiot! How many games can you let her go? "
"My whole life. Anyway, I'll just have to wait until I cultivate the sarira. It's actually only a few decades."
"Okay, Master hasn't touched chess for some years. Go and get the chess box."
"Now? How can I dare to go to Mistress' room? I'll be beaten to death. I also don't dare to run. What if I run into the stele forest like before and Mistress can't find me? Mistress will only give me half a bowl of rice. "
"Where the Dao is, even if there are millions of people, I will still go. Don't you understand this principle? What's the point of practicing Buddhism? "
"Master, isn't this the famous saying of the Scholarly Sage at the foot of the mountain?"
"Is that so?"
"It's absolutely true! Alas, I always heard the abbot in the temple say that you are very good at the once-in-a-decade Lotus Platform preaching. Even those scholars and Daoist masters admire you. It seems that they are bragging. Master, did you secretly give them copper coins? "
"Nonsense! Isn't Mistress keeping an eye on Master's private money? "
"Didn't you ask me to bury the pot under the 'Dragon Gate 20 Stages' stone tablet two days ago?"
"Ha, Nanbei, the moon is pretty good today. Wait here, Master will go and get the chess box. "
"…"
After a while, the white-robed monk came back with two boxes of chess pieces and a rough chess block made by the little monk. The master and disciple sat on the ground in the Thousand Buddha Hall. The white-robed monk rolled his eyes at the chess block with crooked lines and abandoned it. Instead, he used his finger to carve seventeen lines on the floor. The floor of the hall was carefully paved with a special stone material. It was called the 'Diamond Mirror' by the people. There was once a swordsman who had achieved Dao and cut it with a sharp sword but did not leave a mark. Therefore, the one hundred and eight clear footprints showed the power of a Sage. The little monk Wu Nanbei was not surprised by the lines his master drew with his finger. He only said with a sad face, "Master, the abbot is fine. The other abbot will definitely talk to me for a few days and nights."
The white-robed monk said nonchalantly, "Let them nag."
The little monk said with grief and indignation, "But they don't want to talk to you, Master. They just won't let me go!"
Talk, talk, talk. This was the unique catchphrase of the strange family of four in this temple.
The white-robed monk turned a deaf ear to it. He glanced at the nineteen chess blocks and made a sound of surprise. He thought for a while and clapped his hands and laughed, "Wonderful, it's a pity there's no wine. Back then, Master played two games to a draw with an old hooligan like you. They were fifteen and seventeen. He said angrily that if there were nineteen, I wouldn't be his opponent. But looking at the situation at that time, this hooligan wasn't willing to be the first to propose nineteen. Stupid Nanbei, do you know who came up with the idea? "
"I think it's Hsu Fengnian's second sister. She's called Xu Weixiong. This name is very impressive. This thing has been envious of you for a long time. She complained that you didn't care about the name at all. Heh, actually I think this thing's name is nice. I just don't dare to say this to this thing. "
"It's Hsu Fengnian again! When Master goes back, I have to record how many cleavers he has in the account book! "
"Master, you're recording cleavers every day now. If Hsu Fengnian really comes to the temple in the future, what should I do? Should I help this thing or you, Master? "
"What do you think?"
"I'll help Master first. When the time comes, I'll help this thing."
"Nanbei, Master really didn't see it before. Turns out you're not stupid."
"Isn't that so!"
"If you're not stupid, then you're still stupid. When the day comes when you're not stupid, this thing will really not like you."
"Ah? Master, don't scare me. I won't be able to sleep at night! I won't have the energy to cook for you tomorrow. "
"If that's the case, just pretend that Master didn't say that."
"Master, I don't want to learn chess anymore. I want to go outside and chant scriptures."
"Stupid Nanbei, Master told you that chanting scriptures is useless. The scriptures and the thousand Buddhas in this Thousand Buddha Hall are all dead things. If chanting scriptures could produce relics, the abbot would have burned tens of thousands of them. Let's not talk about this anymore. I'll teach you how to play chess. "
The white-robed monk only roughly explained the rules of chess. In the first round, he allowed six stones. Both the master and disciple placed their stones very quickly. The stupid Nanbei naturally lost. In the second round, he allowed five stones. The little monk still lost. In the third round, he allowed four stones. The little monk lost three rounds in a row.
The white-robed monk frowned and said, "Nanbei, this won't do. How are you going to give this thing a handicap tomorrow and not let her see that you're giving her a handicap?"
The little monk, who had a serious expression once he did something seriously, nodded and said, "Master, I'll play more seriously."
In the fourth round, he only allowed three stones. According to common sense, the white-robed monk allowed fewer stones. Moreover, he didn't deliberately give the little monk a handicap. Naturally, the little monk's game should be getting worse and worse. In fact, after four rounds, the little monk's situation gradually improved.
In the fifth round, the white-robed monk looked at the sky and said, "I won't give you any stones in this round. If you can last until the 160th round, you win. You can go play with this thing tomorrow."
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