During the Wanli years of the Ming Dynasty, somewhere in the south of the Yangtze River, the wind was beautiful and the sun was beautiful, and the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant.
Shushengling takes a boat trip again in spring. That afternoon, the boat was moored somewhere, and I happily left the boat to go ashore and explore on foot. Unconsciously, I walked into a temple and saw an empty main hall. Except for a few clay and wooden statues, there was no one there. Ling Zaichun walked to the inner hall again and saw that the walls were covered with landscapes and figures. He took a closer look and found that most of them were painted by famous artists, and their figures were lifelike. He loved calligraphy and painting all his life, and he couldn't help but admire it greatly. When he saw the place where he was fascinated, he rubbed it repeatedly with his hands.
Suddenly, there was a "click" sound, and the mechanism was triggered, and a door on the wall slowly opened. It turned out to be a secret room. Several monks in the room were flirting with beautiful women. The men and women had stripped naked and were intertwined, indistinguishable, like maggots in a latrine, which was unsightly.
The monk raised his head and caught a glimpse of Ling Sheng, and shouted: "How dare you come to spy on our privacy!"
Zaichun was shocked. Knowing that something was wrong, he turned around and ran away from the door in a hurry. The monks chased him naked and aggressively. Ling Zaichun was so anxious that he stumbled and fell to the ground. The monks swarmed him, dragged him back to the temple, and closed the door.
Zaichun Ruoruo begged: "Xiao Sheng didn't mean to offend. I hope all the masters will be merciful and let Xiao Sheng go out. Xiao Sheng will never talk too much to others."
The monks scolded: "You are seeking death on your own. At this point, you still want to walk out of the temple alive. "It would be easier to strangle him to death." Another monk shook his head and said, "It would be easier to cook him in a pot."
Zaichun was so frightened that he couldn't help but beg for mercy. I know that I have no hope of survival, so I just ask all the masters to show mercy for the sake of Buddha and give Xiaosheng a whole corpse. This merit is better than building a seven-level pagoda. "
An abbot-like monk wearing a bright red cassock put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, our Buddha is so kind and compassionate. I think this scholar is careless and his words are pitiful. It is better to treat him as a living Buddha and send him to the West. We can also take the opportunity to get an incense fee. This is a brilliant plan. ”
All the monks put their palms together and said good deeds. So he found a razor and without any explanation, shaved off Ling Zaichun's hair completely and imprisoned him in a secret room. He also found dumb medicine and forced him to take it. Give him only some light food every day, without any salt or sauce. More than a hundred days later, Ling Zaichun grew fat and white, just like the big-bellied Maitreya Buddha in the main hall. However, his hands and feet were soft and soft, and his whole body was weak and weak. He could not even move his body slightly, let alone walk on the ground. His throat was hoarse and he could not make any sound.
The monks saw that the time had come, and the abbot announced: "On a certain day in a certain month, the living Buddha of this temple sat on the high platform, passed away in Nirvana, and was cremated to ascend to heaven." The news spread quickly to ten, and then to a hundred, quickly spreading within a hundred miles.
On that day, faithful men and women from all directions came in droves to help the young and old. Everyone held fragrant flowers and candles, knelt down to pay respects, prayed devoutly, and sang a hundred harmonies. Some were so excited that their faces burst into tears, and they worshiped up and down in a state of intoxication. Donations of incense, candles, coins, cloth and silk piled up like mountains. As soon as the main moment arrives, the "living Buddha" will be sent to heaven with a fire.
This temple is not far from the county seat. When the county magistrate Wang Mingzhi heard the news, he also brought a few capable officers, dressed as pilgrims, to come and watch. I saw a large empty space five or six miles in front of the temple. In the center was a colorful platform more than one foot high. A fat monk wearing a monk's hat and a five-color cassock sat cross-legged on the platform. There are hundreds of monks under the stage, holding wooden fish, copper cymbals, Huqin, Pipa, drums, chimes, Xiaos, Shengs, etc., and under the leadership of the abbot, they beat and blow bombs while muttering sutras and chanting to the Buddha, and circled around the colorful platform. Countless good men and women followed behind, chanting the Buddha's name in unison. The front, back and left sides of the colorful platform were piled with sulfur, dry firewood and other objects, with a lot of sandalwood paper and silk mixed in the middle.Looking closely at the Living Buddha, I saw that his eyes were tightly closed, but tears were streaming down his plump white cheeks.
When Wang Mingzhi saw this, he was secretly surprised: "Why is the Living Buddha crying when he wants to ascend to heaven? Could it be that he still has earthly ties that are difficult to break up?" He originally thought that "the Living Buddha ascended to heaven" was nonsense. Seeing this scene, he felt more and more fishy that something was wrong. He immediately sent a servant to see the abbot and said: "The county master heard that the Living Buddha ascended to heaven, he was happy and praised, and prepared to come in person. Hold the incense and bow in obeisance, please master to slowly raise the fire. "
The abbot knew the majesty of the king's decree and did not dare to disobey it, so he could only smile and replied: "My parents and the monks are all honored to come to honor my Buddha. We should wait respectfully."
Wang Mingzhi quickly rushed back to the Yamen, changed his official uniform, and came in a sedan chair with a guard of honor. The abbot personally led the monks and put their palms together to welcome him. After some pleasantries, Magistrate Wang deliberately asked: "Where is the Living Buddha?"
The abbot pointed to the stage, and then eloquently recounted the Living Buddha's "purity and high practice" in daily life.
County Magistrate Wang was filled with admiration, and suddenly said with enlightenment: "I almost forgot, today is the 'Day of Heavenly Punishment', which is the most unlucky. The Living Buddha ascends to heaven today, and I am afraid that I will not be able to ascend to the realm of bliss, so I might as well change the date temporarily. What do you think, Master?"
The abbot was shocked and immediately replied: "This is the date set by the Living Buddha himself. How dare a poor monk change it?"
The county magistrate smiled and said: "The Living Buddha must have not paid attention to the almanac. As the head of a county and a strong believer in Buddhism, how can he not correct it? Tomorrow is the 'Amnesty Day' ’, good luck and good luck, best to ascend to heaven. He asked the living Buddha to stay overnight in the city office so that various people in the office could pay their respects and worship him. What does the master think?
The abbot refused quickly and said: "After a living Buddha has completed his meritorious deeds, he will never speak again." And because of his heavy body and difficulty in moving, he was definitely not allowed to enter the government office!
County Magistrate Wang said with a smile: "Master, just be patient, the lower officials will have their own ideas." "Immediately called five or six able-bodied government servants to find a reclining chair. Without any explanation, he placed the "living Buddha" on the chair and carried it straight to the county government office with people shouting from behind. The abbot complained secretly, and all the monks were dumbfounded. Everyone was worried, but they were all at their wits' end and no one dared to step forward to stop him. Later, I thought: The "living Buddha" could neither move nor make a sound, and Magistrate Liao Wang had no choice but to feel relieved and returned to the temple listlessly. The faithful men and women also felt disappointed and scattered away.
After Wang Mingzhi returned to his office, he ordered the "living Buddha" to be placed in a quiet room. When it was late at night, he took a personal attendant with him and went into the quiet room to study and examine it carefully. When the living Buddha saw the county magistrate, he understood very well. He was speechless and couldn't help but burst into tears.
Wang Mingzhi knew that his feelings were different, and comforted him with kind words, "Don't worry, Living Buddha. If you have any hidden secrets, I will definitely make the decision for you. How can you let the gangsters harm you again!"
Living Buddha looked pleased, and Wang Mingzhi asked again: "Can you write?"
Living Buddha nodded slightly. Wang Mingzhi was overjoyed. He immediately took out the paper and wrote a note on the pen. He rubbed a pool of ink, filled the brush with ink, and handed it to the living Buddha's hand. The living Buddha's hands were so soft that he could not hold the penholder. Wang Mingzhi had no choice but to order his personal attendants to bring the paper and inkstone to the living Buddha. The living Buddha used the index finger of his right hand to apply ink and wrote on the paper one by one the details of his visit to the temple, accidentally touching the trap, being raped and imprisoned in the secret room, and being tortured.
Wang Mingzhi was furious after reading the article and cursed: "The thief is a bald thief who is unjust and inhumane. I will definitely punish you severely!"
After asking some more specifics, he comforted the "living Buddha" and said: "Ling Sheng lives here with peace of mind. I have hired a famous doctor to treat you and recuperate you. After you recover, I will issue a document to escort you back to your place of origin.
Lingxinchun He was so excited that his eyes filled with tears.
Early the next morning, Wang Mingzhi summoned all the monks in the temple to gather around the Caitai. They were not allowed to leave without permission. He also secretly ordered the county captain to mobilize many soldiers to surround the temple and search carefully. Not long after, the county captain came to report: "We found many women, mostly from good families from other places, who came to offer incense and were detained in the temple to be raped by the lustful monks. There are also countless gold, silver, pearls, jade, silk and satin, etc."
Wang Mingzhi immediately raised his sedan chair and came to the color stage. The monks, not knowing that the temple had been searched, all saluted and said: "Please ask the county chief to please bring out the living Buddha."
Wang Mingzhi smiled and said: "The living Buddha passed down the decree and ordered the abbot to ascend to heaven on his behalf." When the abbot heard this, he knew that something was wrong, and immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and said: "This young monk deserves to die for his crime, please beg your mercy and forgiveness." "
Wang Mingzhi sank to the danger, and with a loud shout, two government servants jumped down, tied the abbot into a "zongzi", and threw it on the stage. Wang Mingzhi turned around and said to several monks who were helping the evildoers: "Why don't you follow the abbot, climb to the Western Paradise together, and share the infinite happiness? "With a wave of his hand, a group of government servants swarmed up, tied them up together, and threw them on the colorful platform.
"I respectfully invite all the masters to ascend to heaven. Raise fire! " Magistrate Wang prayed.
Two government servants jumped down to the stage and lit the firewood. In an instant, flames rose into the sky. There was a sound of laughter from the stage. The fire was fierce and the wind was fierce. In a moment, five or six evil monks were reduced to ashes along with the colorful stage. The other monks were so frightened that their faces turned to death. They collapsed on the ground, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and shouted: "Sir, spare your life! "The onlookers also learned the inside story, and they all applauded.
Wang Mingzhi escorted the remaining monks back to the government office. They were given a beating with a cane according to the seriousness of the crime, and ordered them to return to the secular life and return to farming. All the women in the temple were released to their hometowns. Finally, Wang Mingzhi changed the temple into a volunteer school, and sold the confiscated gold beads and satin to use it as funding for the school.
