Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 33 Amitabha, wild mushrooms are delicious!

Yuanye and the others waited for a while, and then the young monk Zhiru came in.

He was about eight or nine years old, with a bald head, no scars from ordination, a fair face and red lips, a very handsome little monk. He was wearing a dung-sweeping robe and wooden clogs, and looked quite good - the dung-sweeping robe is a kind of monk's robe, which is made of cheap rags that others have discarded like dirt, and is not meant to be worn to sweep dung.

Moreover, Japanese monks are very rich, they are just called that, and their clothes are not really made of rags.

As soon as the young monk Zhiru entered the room, he clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, saying, "Namo Amitabha. Little monk greets all the believers."

"Praise to Namo San!" Maeda Toshiharu seemed to be very familiar with him. He casually returned the greeting and asked with a smile, "What is it that Master Zhiru is here for?"

The young monk Zhiru raised his head, looked around for a while, and his eyes fell on Yuanye, with a curious look on his face, but he soon turned his gaze back to the master and said to Maeda Toshiharu: "My master heard that Nohara Zenxin came, and said that the plum blossoms in the temple are in full bloom, so he wanted to invite Nohara Zenxin to come over and rejoice!"

As expected of our next-door neighbors, it took Yuanye less than half a day to reach Huangzi City when he found out about Huangzi Guanyin Temple.

"Would you like to invite Lord Nohara to be your guest?" Maeda Toshiharu was not surprised, nor did he mind. Araki Castle and Araki Guanyin Temple had a relationship of mutual assistance and were not considered outsiders. But he looked at Nohara to see what he meant, and did not make a decision for him.

Yuan Ye asked the young monk Zhiru curiously, "Master Hai Xin, is there anything else you want to talk to me about?"

Young monk Zhiru clasped his hands together and bowed: "I don't know, Master only said that the spring plum blossoms are in full bloom."

Yuan Ye guessed that there were also patients in the Arashi Guanyin Temple. Hearing that this "medical expert" was coming, he wanted to get a doctor's treatment. He had to drive one sheep and release two sheep, so it didn't hurt to go there. Anyway, he had nothing to do now.

What's more, he was quite interested in the temples of medieval Japan.

He thought about it and stood up and said to Maeda Toshiharu, "In that case, I will go visit Master Haixin and admire the spring plum blossoms in the temple."

"That's fine!" Maeda Toshiharu had no objection. After all, the Araki Kannon Temple was just at the other end of the village. If anything happened, it would be very convenient to find him back and it wouldn't take much time.

So Yuanye took Aqing with him, and Aqing, carrying the medicine box, followed the young monk Zhiru and left.

Along the way, Zhiru led the way obediently and did not say much to Yuanye. He looked very well behaved. When Yuanye walked out of Huangzi City, he suddenly remembered something. He took out two rice balls wrapped in hemp leaves from his arms and handed them to Aqing, saying softly, "Fill your stomach first!"

In this era, women were not allowed to sit at the table. Ah Qing had been kneeling behind him just now, not eating or drinking. This was the custom at the time, and he had no choice. He hinted to Ah Qing that she could quietly leave, and no one would draw a knife to attack him while eating, so he didn't need a guard, but Ah Qing was so stubborn that she didn't understand his expression at all and refused to move.

He has always been nice to the people around him. After all, he still has to rely on others to do work for him and take the blame for him, so he must be careful to get along with them on a daily basis. Now he has no choice but to take out the "reserve food" he brought from home just in case, and let her make do with it for the time being, so that she won't get sick from hunger.

When the rice ball was handed to him, Ah Qing was slightly stunned. He looked up at him coldly, but did not reject his kindness. He drooped his eyelids and stretched out his little hand to take a rice ball, and ate it silently with small bites, meaning that one was enough.

Yuanye didn't care. He just wanted to fill his stomach first. Just as he was about to put the rest of the rice ball back into his arms, he noticed that the little monk Zhiru was staring at the rice ball with his throat moving slightly, as if he really wanted to eat it.

"This... there is meat floss in the rice ball." Yuan Ye's daily life is "luxurious", and he is a bit picky about food in this era, so the rice ball must be mixed with something special. There is meat floss made from dried meat in it, which does not seem very suitable to be given to the little monk to eat - most modern Japanese monks have hair and wives, and they have no taboos about eating meat and drinking. But it would be bad in ancient times, at least the little monk Zhiru really shaved his head.

Zhiru looked a little disappointed, but he twitched his nose and looked at Fantuan and said, "Really? Believers should not deceive the little monk!"

"It's true!" Yuanye handed the rice ball to him, indicating that he was not stingy, but he really couldn't eat it.

Zhiru was really rude. She took the rice ball, broke it open, and looked at it. Her eyes flickered for a moment, and she said softly, "It seems that there is no meat floss inside. It seems to be wild mushrooms..."

"Wild mushroom?" Yuanye didn't believe it. He asked Yayoi to prepare the rice balls, and it was impossible for Yayoi, with her "innate little maid holy body", to make mistakes.

Zhiru had already opened his mouth wide and stuffed the rice ball into his mouth, mumbling: "It's wild mushrooms, for sure. Monks don't tell lies!"

Yuan Ye was speechless for a moment, then he burst out laughing and nodded, "Okay, it is indeed wild mushrooms, I remembered it wrong!"

"Amitabha, wild mushrooms are delicious!" Zhiru ate very quickly and licked his lips after finishing, as if he was still not satisfied.

"There's no more delicious food, so I just took two." Yuanye said with a smile, and he admired the little monk very much - he's great, he has a promising future, and his bottom line is quite flexible!

"Greed, ignorance and anger are the three poisons of life. I dare not ask for more!" Zhiru bowed to Yuanye and said, "Thank you very much, I haven't eaten... mountain mushrooms for a long time! Amitabha, thank you very much, I hope you can obtain great wisdom and enjoy peace and happiness forever."

"Thank you very much for your kind words, little master!" Yuan Ye didn't know anything about Buddhist teachings and didn't know what the great wisdom fruit was, but seeing that the little monk was serious, he smiled and returned the greeting. …………

Zhiru finished eating the rice ball, licked his lips and savored the taste, then continued to lead the way obediently, and soon they arrived at the mountain gate.

The mountain gate is supported by four large wooden pillars. On top is a double-eaved hip roof with black tiles, and below are three long layers of bluestone steps. The height is quite high, and it is difficult for ordinary people to step up. In the middle hangs a plaque with three large Chinese characters "Guanyin Temple" written on it. The calligraphy level seems to be surprisingly high.

Zhiru was young and short, and it was very difficult for him to climb the first step, but he still turned back and introduced them: "Believers, this is the third step of the mountain gate. There is no self, no thoughts, and no wishes. If you cross the three steps, you can seek liberation."

"I see. Thank you for your guidance, Master!" Yuan Ye responded, looking away from the plaque. With his meager knowledge of Buddhism, mixed with what he had read in Qidian novels and Journey to the West, he asked casually, "After passing the mountain gate, it should be the temple of Guanyin Bodhisattva, right?"

Zhiru, who was struggling to climb the stairs, froze for a moment, and Aqing looked at the wilderness with a look of surprise.

Yuanye knew that he had said something wrong, but he didn't know where, so he could only pretend that nothing had happened. He nodded and walked through the mountain gate - he had miscalculated. He had not thought about coming to Huangzi Guanyin Temple before, and he had not found Aman in advance to find out the situation. He must have said something stupid!

It turns out that people shouldn't speak casually in areas they don't understand. This is also a lesson!
Ah Qing often heard Ah Man muttering about Yuan Ye in his bed. He knew that Ah Man was a young master who was ignorant of the world and often confused about many common sense things. When he saw Ah Man visiting others, he couldn't even tell which family or faction the other person belonged to. He might even say some incredible nonsense in a while. This was not good!

She hesitated for a moment and then took a step forward. She lowered her head beside him and reminded him, "Ye... Guanyin Temple belongs to the Caodong Zen of the Southern School of Zen Buddhism, which emphasizes self-cultivation and meditation for sudden enlightenment. Guanyin means seeking wisdom and great freedom, not Guanyin Bodhisattva. Most of the temples that chant the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva and recite the 25-part Guanyin Universal Mantra are from the Lotus School, which are not in Owari Province and have a bad relationship with Zen Buddhism."

She was unsure of how to address Yuanye, so she addressed him vaguely. She also didn't understand Caodong Zen in detail, but she made the general meaning clear, and Yuanye reacted quickly.

So that's how it is. However, the name of this temple is too easy to be misunderstood. Ninety-nine percent of people who don't understand Buddhism will think that this is the territory of Guanyin Bodhisattva!

Didn’t Elder Jin Chi and the Black Bear Demon in Journey to the West live in Guanyin Temple?

But words like Zen, Southern School, and Sudden Enlightenment...

It seems to be a sect introduced from China. It seems to have been mentioned in high school textbooks. The verse "There is no Bodhi tree, nor is there a mirror stand. Originally there is nothing, so where can dust gather?" seems to have come from the Southern School of Zen Buddhism.

The words "a wake-up call" and "instant enlightenment" seem to come from the Southern School of Zen Buddhism.

Is Huangzi Guanyin Temple the type where you hit someone on the head with a big stick, and then a Buddha's light appears and they become Buddhas instantly?

Although Ah Qing's explanation was brief, Yuanye thought about it for a while and combined it with the knowledge of later generations, and roughly understood which family and sect the Huangzi Guanyin Temple belonged to, and had a general idea in his mind.

He always learned when he didn't understand and corrected his mistakes. He immediately said to Ah Qing sincerely, "Thank you very much. I understand now."

Ah Qing raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, without saying anything else, then lowered his eyelids, silently took a half step back, and continued to follow him.

Yuanye didn't care and started to think about the verses and poems, as well as the stories about Chinese monks' witty remarks, in his mind, in case he needed to practice them when talking with Master Hai Xin later - since they were Zen monks, they would definitely like to talk about these things, right?

He was thinking in his mind and didn't even bother to look at the scenery in the temple. He followed the young monk Zhiru through the corridors and came to a meditation hall in the temple.

There is an old plum tree outside the Zen hall, and the plum blossoms are in full bloom.

There was a faint scent of sandalwood in the Zen hall, but there was no Buddha statue. There was only a bald old monk in his sixties with white eyebrows and beard, wearing a seven-piece robe (a monk's robe made of seven pieces of cloth, the daily wear of the monk). He was sitting on a cushion in meditation with his eyes closed.

Zhiru took two steps forward, bowed his head and clasped his hands together, saying, "Master, Yeyuan Shanxin has arrived."

Old Monk Hai Xin opened his eyes and looked towards the wilderness. A gleam of brilliance seemed to flash across his eyes for a moment. Then he bowed his head and chanted the Buddha's name, bowing and saying, "I am practicing sitting meditation and have not come to greet you from afar. I hope that you, the donor Ye Yuan, will not be offended!"

"No, no, it's an honor to visit this precious temple!" Yuanye sat cross-legged on the cushion that Zhiru had brought. After saying a few polite words, he waited for the discussion of Buddhism and exchanged witty remarks. After all, even if the old monk asked him to see a doctor, they would definitely chat for a while.

Sure enough, Old Monk Hai Xin did not get straight to the point. He first asked Zhiru to serve tea, asked about the conditions of Maeda Toshiharu and Maeda Toshihisa, and then began to sigh about Yuanye's kindness and medical ethics, praising him non-stop. Most people would have been dizzy.

Yuan Ye was very patient and kept responding casually. After a long time of talking, the old monk Hai Xin finally got down to business and said with a compassionate look on his face: "…Donor Ye Yuan has such a kind heart, which is a great kindness in the world. I wonder if you have ever thought about selling the medicine to save all living beings?"

Yuanye was stunned for a moment, then his expression became strange.

I have a lot of things to say and am ready to discuss Buddhism with you, but you want to discuss business with me?
Are you really a monk?
(End of this chapter)