The Great Wei Music Bureau

Last time, we talked about Jiyun finally telling the story of his past with Gongsun Chan. Li Yi just listened to it as gossip and enjoyed it very much. So how will the story of Jiyun and Xiaochan develop next? Let's read on.

After listening to Jiyun's story, Li Yi said, "Alas, Miss Gongsun regards you as the closest person in the world besides her father and sister. My sister married into the palace and we haven't seen each other for a long time. Even if we meet, how can I tell my sister, who is the queen, about my worries? You are the only one who can talk to her about her worries, so it is normal for her to fall in love with you. However, judging from your attitude towards Miss Gongsun today, it seems that you two have a grudge. What's going on?"

Jiyun sighed, "Once she came to the temple to worship Buddha and chatted with the disciples. She said her family was looking for a marriage for her."

"She wanted to know your feelings. What did you say?"

"The disciple said he would sincerely bless her and recite sutras and pray for her every day."

"She will be very sad to hear you say this."

Jiyun whispered, "She didn't show anything, but I could see the tears in her eyes."

"When you see Miss Gongsun's tearful eyes, don't you feel a little sad?"

Jiyun suddenly stopped, and Li Yi turned around and looked at the changes on Jiyun's face, the confusion, the hardship, and the sadness.

Li Yi patted Jiyun on the shoulder and said, "Since then, have you started to distance yourself from Miss Gongsun? Do you think she will marry someone else sooner or later and you should keep your distance from her?"

Jiyun shook his head and said, "No, that's not it. When I looked into her eyes, I felt my Buddhist heart wavering. I felt that she would become a hindrance to my Buddhist practice, so I deliberately distanced myself from her."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Little monk, you have already understood her feelings, but you just don't dare to face it. You have already been tempted by worldly desires. You want to protect her, but you don't want to leave Buddhism, so your Buddhist heart is shaken."

"Junior Master, are you saying that I have already fallen in love with Gongsun Shi? This is impossible, really impossible!" Ji Yun took several steps back, fell to the ground, holding his head, not knowing what to do.

Li Yi walked over, helped him up, and said, "Do you feel distressed? Do you still remember the Great Compassion Mantra I taught you?"

"Uncle Junior Master, do you want me to sing the Great Compassion Mantra now?"

Li Yi nodded, and Jiyun immediately sat up straight and began to chant. Every time he sang, he felt that his heart was guided and he slowly regained his calm. After singing three times, Jiyun slowly opened his eyes. Li Yi could see the firm light in Jiyun's eyes, and he must have made a decision.

Li Yi walked back with a smile, and Ji Yun asked, "Little Master Uncle, aren't you going down the mountain to eat? Why aren't you eating?"

"No need to go. I thought I had to get you to drink some wine so that you could be more courageous and make up your mind. Now there's no need for that. You already know what you want, so go back. If you drink with me and end up drinking too much and running out and causing trouble, I can't bear the sin!"

So the two returned to Xishan Temple. Jiyun stayed in the Sutra Library for the whole afternoon. Li Yi found Zhengyuan. The two chatted in the Zen room for an hour. Li Yi made some preparations...

After dinner, the monks went to the main hall one after another to prepare for the evening class. Li Yi went to the Sutra Library to pull Jiyun out and brought him to the main hall. Li Yi waved to Zhengyuan, who naturally gave up his seat to Li Yi.

Li Yi sat down and said to the monks in the hall: "Everyone has changed a lot today. Last time I said that preaching the sutras is about personal relationships, but these personal relationships also have many problems. Buddhism is a pure land and does not covet even a little profit from the mundane world. In order to save the suffering of sentient beings in the world, monks cannot wear brocade clothes. Today I will tell you another story, a story about offering food to monks. Let's listen and see what kind of cause and effect it is."

Li Yi talks about Mr. Kou who offered food to 10,000 monks in Journey to the West. Of course, Li Yi made some adaptations in order to make the story out of context.

It is said that there was a wealthy man named Kou Hong, who was kind and charitable. He made a vow to feed 10,000 monks. Just when he was only four monks away from fulfilling his vow, four monks who were going to the West to seek Buddhist scriptures happened to arrive. Mr. Kou was so excited that he invited the four monks to his home for a vegetarian meal and treated them warmly for several days.

After staying for a few days, the four monks wanted to continue their journey westward to seek Buddhist teachings, so they said goodbye to Mr. Kou, who gave them a big farewell banquet. Unexpectedly, robbers took advantage of the rain to rob Mr. Kou's house and beat him to death.

Mr. Kou's wife was furious because the disaster was caused by the banquet to see off the four monks. She falsely accused the four monks and told the government that they were robbers who had robbed her house and killed her husband together with their accomplices.

It happened that the four monks met the robbers who were dividing the loot. They found that they were robbing Mr. Kou's house. One of the four monks, a senior monk, took back the property. The four monks returned the property to Mr. Kou's house, but were arrested by the government as robbers.

Thanks to the great monk's magical power, he was able to summon Mr. Kou's soul to redress his grievances, and he was able to escape punishment. Finally, the great monk performed a ritual to bring Mr. Kou back to life and pray for his longevity.

After Li Yi finished telling the story, he asked, "Did you find any problems in this story?

First, why did the philanthropic Mr. Kou suffer such a disaster?

Second, if the four monks were just ordinary monks, could they escape punishment?

Third, why did Mr. Kou's wife frame the monk?

After Li Yi raised these three questions, the monks realized that this story was not that simple and was not a story about good people being rewarded.

After discussing for a while, Li Yi signaled everyone to be quiet. He randomly selected a few monks to answer. They answered two questions, but no one could answer the first question.

Li Yi looked at Zhengyuan and said, "Master Zhengyuan, can you answer this first question for everyone?"

Zhengyuan smiled and said, "I don't know if what the old monk said is right or not. If it is wrong, Xiuyuan must correct it in time."

Li Yi smiled and said to everyone, "The reason why Mr. Kou suffered this disaster was because he had a bad heart. And he was able to come back to life because his enthusiasm moved the monk, who was willing to help him revive and prolong his life." After saying that, he turned around and looked at Li Yi, who nodded.

Zhengyuan smiled and continued, "This Mr. Kou's purpose of offering food to monks is not pure. It is either for money or to prolong his life. He offers food to monks for the sake of offering food, just like doing good for the sake of doing good. This is not a good deed, so he is a hypocrite. Then why did the monk save him? I guess the monk has other intentions. Xiuyuan, don't you think so?"

Li Yi looked at the old monk who turned around and looked at him, and cursed in his heart: Old monk, why did you kick the ball back? You have understood the truth, why don't you want to say it? Oh! So it's the latter part, it's not appropriate for you to say it, let me say it, humph! Old bald donkey! Very cunning!

Li Yi smiled and said, "Master Zhengyuan is right. Let me ask you, doing good deeds is naturally a great merit, but then being hypocritical, or doing good deeds with a purpose, can this behavior also be a merit?"

The monks began to discuss. Seeing that the crowd was in an uproar, Li Yi did not rush until someone asked, "Master, please tell us directly. We are just guessing blindly!"

Li Yi pointed at the little monk and scolded: "You are not willing to think about such a small problem, so how can you use your brain to comprehend the Buddhist scriptures and understand the Dharma!" Everyone looked at the little monk with contempt. The little monk blushed, lowered his head and said nothing.

The monks were all bowing their heads in deep thought. At this time, someone spoke up, "Little Master, if hypocrisy does not accumulate merit, then why did the monk save Mr. Kou? So I think hypocrisy can also accumulate merit, but the merit will be much less!"

Li Yi pointed at him and praised him, "Well, that's good. You've used your brain to think. Although your answer is not very accurate, it's great that you're willing to use your brain!" The monks were confused. This is not right? Then it's normal to accumulate merit by being hypocritical? This is impossible?

At this time, Li Yi saw everyone's confusion and smiled: "You have fallen into the either-or choice again. This is wrong. Being hypocritical, aren't you deceiving God from your behavior? Do you think God can't see it? Can God be deceived so easily? Heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things as straw dogs!"

Instantly, a stream of purple righteous energy descended from the sky and poured directly into Li Yi's head. The monks were shocked. Zheng Yuan asked, "Is this the righteous energy of Confucianism and Taoism?" Li Yi nodded and smiled, "I just revealed a little secret, so I received the gift from heaven. It's no big deal, let's continue." Everyone looked at Li Yi in admiration. He could reveal the secret of heaven at will? How powerful must he be?

Li Yi enjoyed the respectful gaze and said with a smile, "It's just a trivial matter. I'm used to it. Let's continue. What does the sentence 'Heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things as straw dogs' mean? Literally speaking, it means that heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things in the world as sacrifices made of grass, and throw them aside after use without any care.

Of course, it is not wrong to say this literally, but think about it from another angle. The greatest benevolence of heaven and earth is this unkindness, that is, fairness. It treats everyone equally and is absolutely fair! Only when the way of heaven is fair can we live well in this world. If the way of heaven has feelings, for example, if the heaven sees a dynasty that it does not like, it will send down punishment from heaven, such as drought, flood, or direct thunderbolt, then think about how many lives will die tragically in the disaster. Therefore, the way of heaven is fair, which is the most basic and greatest law of the way of heaven.

So from this point of view, hypocrisy will definitely not accumulate merits. Doing good without asking for anything in return is good, and heaven can see clearly. So why was Mr. Kou rescued and resurrected by the monk and his life was extended? The answer is very simple. There are not many people in the world who do good without asking for anything in return. Now someone is hypocritical and I happened to run into him. Then I ask you, if the monk did not express anything, would there be people doing good in the local area?

This Mr. Kou is just pretending, it is fake, but facing this kind of showmanship, the monk must give a response to encourage those who want to do good, let them know that doing good will be rewarded, and also encourage those who are hypocritical, even if they are hypocritical, they can at least help some people and give the world more hope. "

After hearing what Li Yi said, the monks were all thoughtful. Li Yi thought that he had finished pretending and could leave, so he took Jiyun to his meditation room. Jiyun asked, "Uncle Junior Master, how do you know so much? To be honest, you are only one year older than me, but compared to you, I am like a child who knows nothing."

Li Yi thought, that's because the books I have read and the knowledge I have mastered have been passed down after thousands of years of accumulation and purification. I can be said to be standing on the shoulders of giants, so naturally I am very tall!

Li Yi said, "You have been in the Sutra Library this afternoon. Have you figured out what you should do?"

Jiyun said firmly: "Disciple has figured it out!"

"Then do it. People should be impulsive sometimes, especially for love."

"Uncle Junior Master, I don't know if that is love. I have never been in love, but I just don't want to make Chan'er sad. I don't want to make Chan'er sad. I just want to see her smile."

"If this is not love, then what is there to be sad about? Thank you for your generosity, I deserve it..." Li Yi sang the song inexplicably.

He suddenly realized that he sang the song in his heart. Looking at Jiyun who looked confused, he patted Jiyun on the shoulder and said with a smile: "It's okay, I just sang the tune that came to my mind for a while. Don't worry about me, just do your thing. Go find your Chan'er and have a good talk to see what she thinks. Remember, if you really get together, Chan'er will make more sacrifices for this relationship than you, not less, understand? Be nice to her."