I am collecting entries in reincarnation

Chapter 151 The Story of the Baina Robe

"Mingxin, do you know the origin of the Baina cassock?" Fabei asked Li Ming with a smile while sitting in the meditation room.

Li Ming shook his head and said, "I don't know. I didn't even know that our Guangde Temple had such a treasure."

Fabei nodded and said, "That's right, I don't know. Then just listen to me and tell you the story of the cassock."

"Okay." Although Li Ming didn't know why, seeing Fa Bei was so interested, he cooperated very well.

"Child, who is the founder of our Guangde Temple?"

"Zen Master Ci Yue was born in Wanfo Temple. When the world was in chaos, Wanfo Temple sent 108 disciples to travel around the world to eliminate disasters. Among them was our ancestor Zen Master Ci Yue." Li Ming looked at Fabei's expression. In Mingxin's memory, he always told stories about Buddhism in this way when he was a child. At this moment, he casually told the origin of Zen Master Ci Yue.

Fabei nodded and said, "Zen Master Ciyue came here alone and founded Guangde Temple. At that time, the temple was small and there were not so many disciples. The master taught his disciples the Dharma while taking in those who could not survive in the chaotic times. Then a great disaster struck."

"What disaster?"

"It was a very rare earthquake that killed many people, but for some reason, the small Guangde Temple was safe and sound, with almost no damage, so many survivors came here to seek shelter." Fabei continued to tell the story of that year.

"I think our ancestor, Zen Master Ci Yue, is kind-hearted and will definitely take us in." Li Ming said without thinking.

"Yes, Patriarch Ci Yue is compassionate, but there are some problems. Most of the survivors who came this time are women, and many of them are even pregnant women. Buddhism is a pure land. If we accept them, the children will be born with blood, which is a great disrespect to the Buddha." Fabei said.

"So Patriarch Ciyue called over two of his direct disciples, one Suquan and one Suhuan, and asked for their opinions. Guess what?"

"I guess the two ancestors have different opinions." Li Ming said with a smile.

Fabei nodded and said, "Yes, Patriarch Suquan agreed to accept everyone, but Patriarch Suhuan thought they shouldn't be accepted. At most, they could rest nearby, but it was impossible for them to come in to give birth, as this would be disrespectful to the Buddha. Patriarch Suquan said, 'To see someone dying and not help is the greatest disrespect to the Buddha!' It was because of this that Zen Master Ciyue opened the temple's doors and allowed these women to give birth in the temple."

"Soon, one baby after another was born in Guangde Temple. The pregnant women didn't have enough food to eat and had no milk, so they ended up killing animals here to replenish their bodies. Later, there was a heavy rain, and the temple roof was broken. The Buddha statues were soaked in the rain, but the abbot didn't let the women and children get wet."

"The earthquake lasted for a while, and Guangde Temple had more than one batch of pregnant women arriving. Coincidentally, the total number of babies born was 108, which exactly corresponds to the number of Arhats."

Li Ming also laughed and said, "That was a coincidence. It was a good thing. I guess these people have something to do with the cassock."

Fabei nodded and continued. "To express their gratitude to the Buddhist community for taking them in and allowing them to safely give birth, the parents of these children each tore a piece of cloth from their child's swaddling clothes and worked together to create this patchwork robe. Although the robe isn't particularly attractive, appearing tattered and ragged, the founder loved it and enlisted the help of a friend to refine it. Furthermore, the robe itself has been imbued with Buddhist vows, and over time, it has become even more magical, becoming a treasure of our Guangde Temple."

Li Ming nodded and said, "So there's such a story behind this robe, but the reason why it's not being publicized is probably due to someone else."

Fabei looked at Li Ming in surprise and said, "That's right. Later, Zen Master Ciyue passed the position of abbot and this cassock to Patriarch Suquan. This angered Suhuan, who was very dissatisfied and said that Patriarch Ciyue was unfair and unethical. So, in a fit of anger, he left Guangde Temple and founded Baixiang Temple. Because it involved the separation of the two families, the story is rarely passed on to outsiders."

"Then how did you know that, Master?" Li Ming asked again.

"It wasn't guarded so strictly in the past. But when I was young, Baixiang Temple sent someone to pretend to become a disciple and then steal the robes. Although they didn't succeed in the end, they still angered the abbot, so he put the robes away and didn't preach to the new disciples. So as time went by, most of you young monks of the Ming generation didn't know the whole story." Fabei replied.

"I see." Li Ming nodded and said, "No wonder Uncle Faying said to be careful when encountering people from Baixiang Temple. It turns out there are such karmic connections."

"So, Xin'er, don't worry. We in Guangde Temple are very open to all, and the Buddha is also very tolerant and generous. As long as you behave uprightly, there is nothing to be afraid of." Fabei smiled faintly and comforted Li Ming.

Li Ming only came to his senses at this moment. It turned out that Fabei said so much just to make him feel at ease.

After all, ever since that day when Li Ming demonstrated his superb martial arts and profound internal strength, many people felt that there was something wrong with Li Ming, especially since Li Ming and Dongfang Ming had lived in the same meditation room, and Dongfang Ming had done something like poisoning, it was hard for people not to gossip.

Although everyone who knew Li Ming thought that he was just an ordinary little monk, how could an ordinary little monk have such profound internal strength that reached the third level of acquired strength at the age of sixteen? This is a goal that an ordinary person may find difficult to achieve in his lifetime. How could an ordinary little monk have such rich experience in martial arts? His punches and kicks were completely different from those learned in Guangde Temple. He could even be hit by a master of innate strength and act like nothing happened.

All these things, one by one, reveal that Li Ming is not ordinary. So what secrets and purposes does Li Ming have? These are the questions in many people's minds.

And tomorrow is the day when Dharma Academy's chief monk Fa Zheng will have a conversation with Li Ming. The significance of Fa Bei specifically looking for Li Ming is naturally self-evident.

Li Ming nodded and said, "I know. I have a clear conscience and will definitely not let you down. How could I be a demon? Please rest assured, Master."

This resolute tone also made Fabei feel a lot more relaxed. He touched Li Ming's little bald head and said, "My child, I watched you grow up. If I say you are a bad person, I will be the first to disbelieve it. You have never left the temple since you were a child. How could you have any ulterior motives? No matter what, I believe in you!"

Li Ming was also deeply moved after hearing this, and he also thought about how to deal with it tomorrow.

ps: The story of the Baina cassock also has a prototype. If you are interested, you can go and find out. Strictly speaking, I wanted to write this novel in which the protagonist was born in a temple because I saw the story of Wanshan Temple and the Baina cassock.

(End of this chapter)