Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 743 Free
Beihai is a park that finally reopened last year after being closed for more than ten years.

So now there are a lot of people in the park, and most of them are retired elderly men and women.

These people all have one thing in common: they talk a lot!

If a piece of news passes through their hands and is eye-catching enough, it can spread throughout the entire city of Beijing in half a day at most, and by that very evening, everyone will know about it, even faster than it appears in the newspaper. After all, some people don't read newspapers, but no one can escape their speed of gossip.

Sure enough, before the morning chill had even dissipated, a bombshell piece of news quickly spread among the crowd.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"What did you hear out of the blue?"

"You don't know? That's perfect, let me tell you. A new Taoist temple has opened in the area where the Imperial Household Department used to be, east of Beihai Park. It was empty for a while, but yesterday someone saw a lot of Taoist priests going in, with gongs and drums playing inside. They didn't come out until the afternoon, and the temple gates were wide open. Do you know what that means now?!"

"Open the door wide? Can I go in now?"

"What? Another Taoist temple has opened?"

"That's right! Many people saw it yesterday, a group of Taoist priests, all wearing Taoist robes. I haven't seen them for many years."

"How dare they! Aren't they afraid?"

"Hey, what year do you think this is? Everything's changed, times have changed. Don't you see people dancing over there? Visiting a Taoist temple is nothing."

"Is it a real Taoist temple or just a tourist attraction? I hope it's not like Yong'an Temple, just an empty shell."

There was a reason that man said that; over the decades, Buddhist temples and Taoist monasteries in the capital had suffered greatly.

During the Republican era, a trend of "using temple property to fund education" inexplicably swept through the city. There were many Buddhist temples in Beijing, with large and prime locations, which were bought or occupied by some bigwigs under the guise of using them to run schools. Whether they actually did run schools is unknown, but the number of temples and monasteries suddenly decreased significantly.

This was actually related to the difficult survival situation of temples at the time. In the past, with incense offerings and government funding, those temples not only lived well but also accumulated considerable temple property. However, later the government fell, and with the changing of the guard and social unrest, even the incense offerings decreased significantly. They had no choice but to sell their temple property to make a living, which led to that incident.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, temples and Taoist monasteries were divided into several categories. Only those registered with the Religious Affairs Bureau were considered legitimate and authentic temples. The rest were either used as museums or cultural research institutions or as tourist attractions, becoming part of parks, such as Yong'an Temple in Beihai Park.

The latter two categories no longer belong to Buddhism, but are managed by relevant authorities.

A few years later, a strong wind blew up the clouds and knocked down countless tiles.

As time went on, the number of temples with genuine monks practicing became increasingly smaller. By 2015, the State Administration for Religious Affairs website showed that there were only 17 Buddhist temples registered as places of religious activity in Beijing, including Guangji Temple and Tanzhe Temple, which was less than one-fifth of all temples in the city, and most of them were located in the suburbs.

Those that remained within the city limits were probably Guangji Temple, where the Buddhist Association was located, and Baiyun Temple, where the Taoist Association was located.

But whether it's true or not, almost every temple and monastery has a donation box where many believers put money in, thinking they are accumulating merit.

In reality, only in genuine temples do the monks and Taoist priests receive this money; the rest becomes part of the scenic area's profits, with the majority going to the boss and a small portion being used as bonuses for the "actors."

Although the old man didn't know what it would become, he knew that temples and monasteries could be real or fake, especially in the area of ​​the Imperial Household Department in the east, where there was only one "Da Gao Xuan Hall," but there were no Taoist priests there for a long time. That's why he raised his doubts, wondering if it was just another new attraction opened up by the park, something that was just fooling people.

Upon hearing this, someone nearby immediately said, "Anyway, it's right there, why don't we go and take a look?"

There is an advantage now, that is, even real monks and Taoist priests are rare. Many people in the past returned to secular life and became "lay Buddhists", so it is unlikely that there are fakes. Those who dare to appear in Taoist temples and have public activities are basically real Taoist priests, which is easy to verify.

One or two people said so, and many of them went to Chaoyang Temple together.

……

At Chaoyang Temple, just as dawn broke, Chen Fan led all the Taoist disciples in their morning prayers.

First, recite a section of the Clearing Rhyme, the Hanging Rhyme, and the Outline. Then, recite the Eight Great Mantras, namely the "Purifying Heart Mantra, Purifying Mouth Mantra, Purifying Body Mantra, Pacifying Earth Mantra, Purifying Heaven and Earth Mantra, Incense Offering Mantra, Golden Light Mantra, and Mysterious Essence Mantra." Next, recite the "Four Scriptures," the "Twelve Precious Proclamations," and finally, recite the "Blessing Text, Repentance Text, and Morning Lesson Praise." Only then is the morning service considered complete.

Since it was the first day after the temple opened, Master Qinglian personally led the reading, and from then on, he was in charge of Lei Kongyun's affairs.

There was no other way; since the temple didn't have a "scripture master," they had to let him, the third-in-command of the temple, take over.

After finishing their morning classes and having breakfast in the backyard cafeteria, Chen Fan instructed everyone to take care of their duties while he drove Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili to the airport. They had only taken two days off and had to return to school today.

Watching the abbot leave, Lei Kongyun, who had been appointed as the supervisor, suddenly felt a little flustered, but he remained calm and arranged the work according to everyone's responsibilities.

Lei Kongyu went to the scripture hall, also known as the library, to organize the archives and Taoist texts. Xu Xianzheng, carrying an account book, registered and cataloged the items in the temple. Xu Xianwei inspected the main hall and side halls, checking the integrity of the incense and other offerings. Lei Kongfeng patrolled the area, checking the buildings and the safety of the incense and candles. ...

Liu Juan and Ma Lan also gladly accepted Chen Fan's invitation last night and agreed to work at Chaoyang Temple. At this moment, they took Liu Yinyue to buy groceries.

Previously, they lived in a large house by Houhai Lake. They could earn 20 yuan a day just by cleaning the house once. Every time Chen Fan came, he would bring them gifts and treat them to a big meal, which made the two of them feel very uneasy and like they were getting a great deal.

Now things are much better. Working at Chaoyang Temple not only brings in higher income, which has jumped to 40 yuan, but also provides more work opportunities. They feel more at ease with the money they receive and can even take care of the cleanliness of the house there. As a result, they have decided to continue living there to make it easier to look after the house.

However, they had another task: to teach Liu Yinyue, who served as the head chef, to cook.

Liu Yinyue claims to be able to cook, but what kind of life did she lead at Baiyun Temple? Every day it was either porridge with cornbread or steamed buns with vegetable soup. Apart from fried tofu, she didn't even know how to cook the most basic home-style dishes.

Even so, he was still the best cook among a group of Taoist disciples.

Chaoyang Temple plans to develop its catering business in the future, so how can she be the executive chef with such poor cooking skills?

Chen Fan then assigned the task of teaching her cooking to Liu Juan and Ma Lan, promising a bonus after she mastered the skills.

The requirements weren't high; all that was needed was to learn how to cook the 36 dishes of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Banquet. This left Liu Juan, Ma Lan, and Liu Yinyue scratching their heads in worry. Two of them didn't know how to teach, and one was worried that she wouldn't be able to learn it.

The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Feast I made yesterday was so beautiful! And I was able to make it myself.
Aside from Liu Yinyue's some troubles, these people used to live with Master Liu and the others at Baiyun Temple. Although they had no followers or incense offerings and lived a simple life, they still performed the daily Taoist rituals. They learned from the old Taoist master and were quite adept at these tasks.

In contrast, in a "small place" like Chaoyang Temple, there are far fewer things to do, and it doesn't feel tiring at all.

While everyone else was busy with their own things, Xu Xianling, Liu Yinxia, ​​and Liu Yinxu were extremely nervous. They walked cautiously to the front yard, opened the gate, and wondered what they should do as the guest master.
Just as they were feeling uneasy, they saw a figure slowly walking towards them in the distance. Their eyes lit up immediately, and they ran over with cheers, "Uncle Liu!"

The visitor was none other than Master Liu. He doesn't usually go out much, but since Chaoyang Temple opened yesterday and nine of his disciples have been staying here permanently, he was worried that something might go wrong. So he got up early this morning and took the bus to come and check on things.

Then he saw three little guys dressed in Taoist robes running towards him.

Master Liu smiled broadly, looked them over carefully, and then his eyes lit up. "Oh, did you get new clothes?"

Liu Yinxia nodded excitedly, gesturing wildly as she said, "The abbot is so good to us! Yesterday he gave each of us four sets of Taoist robes, all brand new."

Liu Yinxu was so anxious that he jumped up and down, lifting his foot to say, "And the shoes too, the shoes are new too."

These Taoist disciples were brought into the Taoist temple from a young age. It just so happened that a strong wind was blowing, and the subsidies from above were stopped. The temple also had no income from religious ceremonies, so everyone had to live off their savings. They really had nothing. Even the clothes they wore were made from the Taoist robes of adults. This was the first time they had ever worn new clothes.

Upon seeing Master Liu, I was naturally overjoyed and wanted to share my happiness.

These things were of course sponsored by the abbot himself... Heaven have mercy, he has invested tens of thousands of yuan in land purchase, house construction, decoration, interior design, scriptures, etc., and he doesn't know when he will see any return on his investment!
Seeing their happy faces, Master Liu breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, nodding and laughing, "Good, good, that's good."

He paused for two seconds, then looked at them and asked, "Are you going out? Or what are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them froze, looking at each other, unsure of what to say.

Looking at them, Master Liu couldn't help but feel puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xu Xianling twisted her fingers together and said with her head down, "We are waiting for the worshippers."

Master Liu blinked. "Waiting for worshippers?"

He turned around and looked at it, then turned back and chuckled, "Even if there are worshippers coming, it wouldn't be at this time. It's only just getting light. What kind of worshippers would come to the Taoist temple to offer incense at this hour? Besides, you could wait inside. Why come outside?"

Liu Yinxia pouted and said apologetically, "The abbot asked us to be the guests, but we didn't know what to do, so we went outside to wait."

Just as Master Liu was about to burst out laughing, he thought, "They've never even met outsiders before, how could they possibly know how to be a guest master?"
The next second, he suddenly realized what was happening and stared at them blankly. "Master Qinglian asked you to be the hostesses? Are you proper hostesses?"

The three of them nodded in unison, "Yeah."

Xu Xianling quickly recounted Chen Fan's arrangements from yesterday, then whispered, "They've already taken all the familiar positions. We didn't manage to get any, so we'll just have to be the receptionists."

After hearing the whole story, Master Liu was left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

These Taoist disciples are all still children, the oldest being sixteen and the youngest only fourteen. They are quite capable at doing odd jobs, but to entrust them with important responsibilities is simply absurd!

For a moment, Master Liu didn't know what to say.

But then I thought about it again. Chaoyang Temple had already lost its lineage. Even the Taoist names and ordination records were copied from Baiyun Temple. Apart from a young abbot, the entire temple only had an old man who had been a Taoist disciple for more than ten years decades ago. The situation was similar to the few people in front of me.

The Taoist temple is newly established, and it needs to be managed in many ways. What else can be done? We'll just have to get things done as they come.

This was probably a last resort for Master Chen.

After considering it for a while, Master Liu finally sighed and said that he had no choice but to help out and teach these young Taoist priests himself.

So he waved his hand, signaling them to go inside, and asked, "Is your abbot here?"

Xu Xianling and the other two immediately shook their heads, "They just left not long ago, they'll probably be back before noon."

Hearing that Chen Fan wasn't there, Master Liu felt a little relieved. It was good that he wasn't there; he could now teach them more freely. If he were there, there would be some reservations, since not everyone was happy to see outsiders interfering in the affairs of their temple. Once inside the temple, Master Liu gathered the young Taoist priests together and began to teach them.

He first inquired about each person's situation and listened to their understanding of their work, and then Master Liu provided targeted supplementary information.

Everyone else was fine; they had done it before. Except for Liu Yinyue, who wasn't here, Master Liu simply added some supplementary information and taught them some principles of conduct.

After teaching one student at a time, they left, leaving only Xu Xianling, Liu Yinxia, ​​and Liu Yinxu in the end.

Master Liu sat cross-legged on a futon on the side of the main hall and smiled at the three of them, "Do you know what a 'guest master' is?"

The three looked at each other, then turned to Master Liu and shook their heads in unison, "I don't know."

Master Liu smiled and said, "The person in charge of receiving guests is not a believer, but someone specifically responsible for receiving fellow Daoists who stay at our temple."

The three of them stared wide-eyed. What? It's not for entertaining believers?
Xu Xianling asked, puzzled, "What about the believers?"

Master Liu said with a smile, "The Taoist temple is open to all. If any believers come in to offer incense, they are free to do as they please. As long as there is nothing to do, there is no need to pay attention. If someone asks, just tell them if you know the answer, and if you don't know, just say you don't know. There is no need to make a fuss."

Xu Xianling's eyes were full of clear confusion, "Is that so?"

Liu Yinxia then asked, "How do we receive fellow Daoists who stay overnight?"

Master Liu smiled and said, "That's simple. If a fellow Daoist comes to visit, first ask him about his background and intentions. As long as he is a member of my Daoist sect and not an unwelcome guest, regardless of which sect or school he belongs to, just arrange for his food and lodging."

The three of them were still full of doubt. Was being a guest master really that simple?

After pausing for two seconds, Master Liu thought for a moment and continued, “If it’s a small temple, just do as I just said. If it’s a large temple, it’s a little more complicated. For example, Baiyun Temple used to help fellow Daoists who stayed there with some miscellaneous tasks. For instance, if they wanted to go out, we would guide them on how to take a bus, and if they needed to find someone, we would provide them with their contact information. In short, we tried our best to make things as convenient for fellow Daoists as possible.”

Hearing this, the three finally understood their responsibilities and nodded vigorously, "Understood."

Master Liu smiled and was about to speak when a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Since Chen Fan was not there, he immediately stood up and walked outside.

Xu Xianling and the other two exchanged glances and quickly followed behind.

As they walked out, the other Taoist disciples heard the commotion and followed them out.

When the four arrived at the front yard, they saw people coming in one after another, mostly old men and women.

They were in groups of three or five, marveling at the statues of gods in the hall and the murals on the walls.

"My goodness, is this really a Taoist temple? They're even burning incense!"

"This statue is so well made, it looks just like a god. I don't even dare to touch it."

"Who painted this picture? It's so well done, it looks like it's about to fly out of the wall."

"Oh my, there are incense sticks on the altar. Is it safe to offer incense here?"

"Does it cost money? Why isn't anyone here to ask?"

……

Master Liu stood in the corridor next to the side hall, looked at the crowd outside, listened for a while, then raised his right hand and waved it behind him. Without saying a word, he led his people back.

Once they reached the middle of the courtyard, he said softly, "It's nothing. It's probably just that the local people heard there was a Taoist temple here and came to see what was going on. You all just do your jobs."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Who is the patrol officer?"

Lei Kongfeng stepped forward. "Uncle-Master, it's me."

Master Liu nodded. “You can patrol the front and middle courtyards. As long as no one is deliberately causing trouble, let them be. If there’s a problem, go up and negotiate first. If you can’t resolve it, then come back in and find me.”

The backyard is enclosed and outsiders are not allowed to enter; just close the door.

Lei Kongfeng immediately bowed and turned to leave for the front yard.

Master Liu waved for everyone to take their places, then gestured to Xu Xianling and the other two, leading them to the main hall.

To the west of the statue in the main hall, there is an inconspicuous spot with a table and a chair. On the table is a small shelf with a bronze chime hanging from it.

The chime stone, shaped like a carpenter's square, is an ancient Chinese percussion instrument, often used as a ritual object.

(chime)

Buddhist temples also have chimes, but they are bronze bowl-shaped objects, somewhat similar to chime bells.

Master Liu gestured for them to sit on the benches against the wall, picked up the small hammer for striking the chime, and said softly, “You all watch out. If any believers come to offer incense or kowtow, you must strike the chime. ‘Bowing your head in respect, raising your head to strike the chime.’ The sound of the chime shows the solemnity of the gods and also conveys the believers’ prayers and worship to the gods.”

The sound of the chime is melodious and clear, pleasing to the ear, and can cleanse the mind and bring tranquility.

Today I will strike the chime; after you learn how, you will take turns striking it.

Chaoyang Temple is too small to need three guest masters. Master Liu could not interfere with Chen Fan's decision, so he could only privately remind the three to be more mindful, talk less and do more. In the future, the abbot will see this and know what to do.

Xu Xianling and the other two naturally obeyed, sitting obediently to the side and nodding.

No sooner had I finished giving my advice than someone came in from the front yard.

As it was a Taoist temple, the crowd was still somewhat curious and made some noise in the front courtyard. But now that they had entered the middle courtyard and seen the solemn main hall and the dignified side halls on both sides, they couldn't help but lower their voices.

Some people went to see the side hall first, while others circled around the stone incense burner in the middle of the courtyard.

Yesterday, during the opening ceremony, almost everyone lit incense in the incense burner. This morning, some Taoists lit three tall incense sticks and placed them inside, which are now emitting wisps of smoke and burning brightly.

Seeing the incense burning here, almost everyone understood that this was a genuine Taoist temple, not a fake or an empty shell, and they all became solemn.

A characteristic of Chinese people is that they worship gods whenever they see one. Apart from Christians, regardless of what local religion they believe in, or whether they have any faith at all, most people will offer a prayer when they enter a temple or shrine.

So soon someone entered the main hall.

An elderly man with gray hair straightened his slightly sweaty gray-white short-sleeved shirt, looked around, and then slowly walked to the table of Master Liu, who was pretending to be resting with his eyes closed. He asked in a low voice, "Master, how much does it cost to offer incense?"

Master Liu then raised his head, opened his eyes, pointed to a piece of paper pasted on the wall next to him, and said with a smile, "Incense sticks are free, take them and use them yourself, donations are at your discretion, but if you want to offer premium incense, it will be more expensive, three sticks cost 36 yuan."

In later generations, people would generally be charged between 18 and 88 yuan for incense offerings at temples and Taoist monasteries. Of course, some temples and monasteries were wealthy enough to provide incense sticks for free.

But tall incense sticks are expensive. These sticks range from 60 centimeters to one meter in length, and they take a lot of time and materials. In temples and monasteries, they cost at least two or three hundred yuan per stick. But how can you burn only one stick of incense?

Whether it's a Buddhist temple or a Taoist temple, people usually burn three sticks of incense, so they charge for all three sticks at once, often amounting to thousands of dollars. If it's the first incense offering, it's not uncommon for it to cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Incense sticks are cheap, and nowadays you can buy a whole bundle for just one yuan. Chen Fan hadn't expected the incense to be so popular here, so he just ordered some for free.

However, the incense was expensive, so after consulting with Master Liu, he set the price at 36 yuan, which was considered relatively low, following the previous price.

Upon hearing that it was free, the old man paused for a moment, then beamed with joy, cupped his hands in a fist salute, and shook them, saying, "Thank you, I understand."

After looking at the notice on the wall and understanding the rules, he turned around, took three incense sticks from the offering table, lit them over the burning candles, stood in front of the kneeling cushion, bowed respectfully three times, and then knelt down, holding the incense and praying silently.

He then bowed three times.

With each bow, Master Liu would strike a chime, the melodious sound carrying outside the hall and immediately attracting everyone's attention.

After the old man finished his prayers, he stood up, walked out of the main hall, and placed the incense sticks in the incense burner.

As soon as he finished inserting the incense sticks, someone asked, "How much does it cost?"

The old man was overjoyed, looking like he had gotten a great deal. "Incense is free! Donations are optional, you don't have to pay. The only problem is that the tall incense sticks cost money, but they're not that expensive. Three sticks cost 36 yuan, just like it did more than ten years ago."

Upon hearing this, one could tell that the person had worshipped gods in the past.

When the other elderly men and women heard that burning incense sticks was free, they promptly flocked to the main hall.

A moment later, the sound of chimes being struck in the main hall never stopped.

The vast majority of people burn incense for free, but quite a few believers are willing to donate generously, either stuffing all the money in their pockets into the donation box, since they have monthly bus passes and aren't worried about not being able to get back.

Or they would scrape together money from various sources, borrow some to buy three sticks of incense, and walk out triumphantly, inserting them into the incense burner under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Before long, people were constantly coming and going from Chaoyang Temple, and incense was rising above the temple, which surprised Zhang Xuansong and his two companions who had gotten up very early to come over.

Is this Chaoyang Temple that just opened yesterday? Which deity brought so many people here to show their support?!

(End of this chapter)