Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 64 Rewards for the Zen Gathering

As soon as the brown-robed monk finished speaking, two young novices carried in a bamboo basket. The basket was filled with wide-brimmed bamboo hats woven from green bamboo strips. Each hat had a half-foot-long piece of plain gauze hanging from its edge, which provided shade without obstructing the view or the way.

Then, they also brought out a walking stick, a water bag, and an insect-repelling sachet.

Han Ziyu wiped the traces of pine nuts left on the back of her hand with a handkerchief and explained, "The stone steps on the back mountain are steep, so you have to use both your hands and feet. This hat and gauze curtain can prevent branches from scratching your face, and the walking stick can save you some effort."

They each went to collect their own mountaineering equipment, and each person received their own set.

Lu Beigu examined the walking stick closely. The head of the stick was carved with intricate lotus patterns, presumably to prevent slipping due to sweaty hands. The shaft was wrapped in hemp cloth, and the bottom was covered with sheet metal, making it more suitable for climbing rocky sections. When tapped lightly on the ground, it produced a metallic sound, indicating that the equipment provided to them was quite exquisite.

Wearing insect-repelling sachets and water pouches around their waists, the group chatted for a while before it was time to set off.

The group followed the brown-robed monk forward and arrived at a Bodhi tree, which was the only way to reach the back mountain.

At this moment, the tips of the Bodhi tree's dripping leaves gleamed in the sunlight, and upon closer inspection, one could see small, dense green flowers, adding a sense of tranquility and sanctity to the place.

Everyone was somewhat surprised to see the lush and beautiful Bodhi tree.

Although the Bodhi tree is the tree of Buddhist wisdom, this tree, which originated in India, is not easy to cultivate in China. It was first introduced to Guangxiao Temple in Guangzhou by the Indian monk Zhiyao Sanzang during the Liang Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It needs to survive in high temperature and high humidity conditions, and currently it is generally only found in temples in Lingnan, Dali and other places.

Lu Beigu pondered for a moment. If it were inside the Sichuan Basin, it certainly wouldn't exist. But this place is still on the outskirts of the Sichuan Basin, in the Anle River Basin with its high temperature and humidity, and the soil is acidic and loose. It's reasonable that a Bodhi tree could be grown here.

Under the Bodhi tree, a monk in light black robes who was meditating with his eyes closed opened his eyes.

"Amitabha!"

The black-robed monk chanted a Buddhist prayer, then stood up and said to them, "Allow this old monk to introduce the rules of this year's Zen Gathering to all of you esteemed benefactors."

"This year's Zen Forest Gathering is different from previous years. Instead of three people per team, teams of five people will be formed. All patrons can form teams here and then select a team leader. If there are not enough people or no one can form a team, teams will be formed randomly. If there are still not enough people after random team formation, the monks of this temple will make up the number."

"Everyone will start climbing from the foot of the back mountain to the summit. There are five places to rest, and these five places are also five checkpoints, each guarded by monks, where different elegant activities are available for you to challenge."

"Anyone who participates will have their name written on the prayer flag, and the temple will chant sutras and pray for them. If the team ranks high, there will be prizes such as a golden Buddha statue, a Dharma name, and a place to give a lecture on the Prajna Sutra. If you can get first place, you will receive a rare copy of the Northern Qi edition of the Luoyang Garanji, presented by Master Baoyue."

"Master Baoyue has come too?"

The crowd erupted in some uproar.

Even Lu Beigu was slightly surprised.

Master Baoyue is from Meishan. His secular surname is Su. According to the generational system, he is Su Shi's elder brother. He became a monk at the age of 9, was ordained at the age of 19, was bestowed a purple kasaya by Emperor Renzong at the age of 29, and was given the name "Baoyue" at the age of 36. He is only 44 years old now.

He was known for his refined monk-like demeanor and often associated with Sichuan literati. He was particularly skilled in poetry and prose. His profound understanding can be seen in the line "Do not leave the entanglements of the mortal world, do not seek the Buddha" from one of his verses included in the Complete Poems of the Song Dynasty.

"good."

The black-robed monk nodded slightly and said, "Master Baoyue is the monk who guards the penultimate level."

Upon hearing this, Lu Beigu became even more curious. Even Master Baoyue wasn't the ultimate master?

Who exactly is guarding the last pass?
Everyone was curious, but no matter how they asked, the black-robed monk only said, "You'll know when you get there," and then said nothing more.

To be honest, this Zen gathering is a huge reward.

However, among these rewards, the one that truly appealed to Lu Beigu the most was the "seat for a lay lecture at the Prajna Sutra Monastery".

After all, team competitions test the team's overall strength, and no one can say for sure that they can take first place. So, it's not certain that they can get their hands on the Northern Qi edition of "Luoyang Garanji", but it's not difficult to get a high ranking.

The so-called "quota for the Prajna Sutra lectures waived for lay practitioners" is also easy to understand.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, academies were often named "Jingshe" (经舍). For example, the predecessor of Yuelu Academy was called "Yuelu Jingshe" (岳麓经舍). This "Prajna Jingshe" (般若经舍) was an academy for children established by Fawang Temple to expand its influence.

However, the teaching methods of these temple-run academies differ from those of Confucian temple schools or private schools. Although both teach reading and writing, they are conducted through "popular lectures." These "popular lectures" involve monks explaining Buddhist scriptures through stories, interspersed with education on basic cultural knowledge such as literacy.

Back then, Fan Zhongyan couldn't afford to attend a private school because of his family's poverty, so he went to a local temple to listen to the old monks' lectures and learn to read and write.

According to popular belief, the monastery's scripture halls do not restrict gender, nor do they require children to become monks or nuns.

This means that little girls like Lu Yuchi can also be sent to school to learn to read and write, and there are even monks to take care of them, plus a meal at noon—it's a very good thing. "If we can get this opportunity, I'm sure my sister-in-law and little Yuchi will be very happy, right?"

Lu Beigu secretly made up his mind.

Anyway, he was determined to move his whole family's household registration to Hejiang County before the county exam. If he could solve Lu Yuchi's schooling and literacy problem by then, his sister-in-law would be able to save a lot of trouble.

At this moment, Han Ziyu whispered to the rest of the team.

"If I win first place this time, could you give me the copy of the Northern Qi edition of 'The Record of Buddhist Temples in Luoyang'?"

Seeing that the others remained silent, he quickly added, "Of course, I will absolutely not let you suffer any losses. I can offer 500 strings of cash for everyone to share."

During the Northern Song Dynasty, a long period of peace led to cultural prosperity, and collecting ancient books became an important hobby for literati and officials.

Rare ancient books are often regarded as family heirlooms, and their prices rise accordingly. The Northern Qi edition, as a printed edition that survived from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, has higher historical, cultural and academic value than ancient books from the pre-Tang period.

Therefore, once this Northern Qi edition of "Luoyang Garanji" appears on the collectors' market, it will definitely be speculated to be worth around 400-500 guan. Han Ziyu's suggestion is basically a reasonable way of distributing the funds.

Lu Beigu had no objection to it. After all, Han Ziyu, as a team member, had already contributed a spot to the Zen Forest Gathering and had an urgent need for it, so making this request was not presumptuous. If they won first place, it would be good if Han Ziyu took the book and they could share the money.

If he can use this money to buy a house and change his household registration in Hejiang County, plus the quota for a lay lecture at the Prajna Sutra Hall, as well as the auspicious gifts such as a gold and jade Buddha statue, a Dharma name, and prayer flags, then participating in this event today will not be considered a waste of his exam preparation time.

Led by a brown-robed monk, they proceeded along the winding stone path leading to the back of the mountain.

The stone path gradually disappeared, and the vegetation became increasingly lush. The boundless mountain wild grass stretched out its tender green shoots, rustling softly as a breeze swept by. Occasionally, birds would flit across the treetops, their clear chirps echoing through the air.

After walking several hundred steps, they suddenly heard the sound of flowing water.

A mountain spring gushes out from the crevices of the rocks and gathers into a shallow pool at the foot of the back mountain.

Several flat blue stones are scattered around the pool. Their surfaces are smooth as mirrors from being washed by the spring water, reflecting the sky and clouds.

On each bluestone are placed small red clay stoves, bamboo tea baskets, and other tea-brewing tools, as well as plain white porcelain tea sets. The monk guarding the pass is sitting cross-legged on one of the bluestones.

Upon seeing everyone arrive, he clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and said gently, "The first challenge is 'Brewing Tea with Mountain Spring Water.' Tea will be brewed with mountain spring water, with no time limit. This humble monk will blindly evaluate the quality of each team. All of you patrons, please select one person from each team in reverse order of their team's previous order."

"It should also be noted that each person only has one chance to challenge throughout the entire process. If you win in this round, you can choose to carry over to the next round or switch to another person in the next round. However, if you switch to another person or lose, you cannot go on the round again."

This rule is reasonable. Each team has five people, and there are five rounds in total, which gives everyone a chance to participate as much as possible. This also means that, overall, it tests the team's comprehensive ability.

But the idea of ​​"selecting people from each team in reverse order" is quite interesting.

In the first stage, the order of the teams led by the brown-robed monks is naturally followed. However, as we climb the mountain later, it means that whichever team falls behind in the climb will have to select members first.

This is a game of strategy that tests the order of selection.

For teams that are behind, they have no initiative and can only choose their players to fight without knowing who the opponent will field.

Without knowing what challenges lie ahead, all teams vying for a high ranking must give their all in every stage.

This also raises a problem: not everyone is good at only one thing. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the strengths and specialties of the team members before deciding whether to take the gamble.

However, if a tough guy can carry four other players through the entire game, then there's nothing to say, and he deserves to be ranked first.

However, most of the teams that participated in the Zen Forest Gathering were temporary teams with varying skill levels. They were not particularly competitive in terms of ranking, and since the first challenge was tea brewing rather than a literary competition, they were basically just playing around with the mindset of "participation is more important than anything else".

Therefore, following the reverse order, many teams randomly selected someone to play.

"Who will go?" Ji Yun asked.

Han Ziyu, the team leader, glanced at his teammates before finally fixing his gaze on his younger sister: "Third Sister."

Han San Niang smiled slightly and stepped forward slowly.

She was dressed in a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with only a light blue silk sash tied around her waist. She walked lightly to a tea set and knelt down on the futon.

(End of this chapter)