Chapter 28 chapter Five

But Tao Gan woke up at three o'clock in the day, hurriedly boiled soup and cleaned noodles, washed and changed into a clean long robe, wearing a Taoist Xuansha crown, quietly walked out of the north gate to Puci Temple.In the weather in September, the sun is shining in the stalks, the osmanthus seeds are floating in gold, and the fragrant wind is blowing all the way. It is very uncomfortable to watch and play with your eyes. Tao Gan went to see a wine flag flashing in the shade of green poplars opposite Puci Temple.It was almost noon, and Tao Gan was hungry, so he went to the wine shop to have something to eat.He entered the restaurant and picked a seat by the window and sat down, and the bartender came up to greet him.

Tao Gan was frugal, only had two flavors of vegetables, and did not dare to drink alcohol.After eating in a hurry, he beckoned the bartender to pay the bill, and approached him and asked, "Man, the monastery opposite is so majestic. I think all the monks in it are true Bodhisattvas and arhats." The bartender snorted and said, "There are more wine and meat in the temple than in our shop, they are all unscrupulous Fengyue monks!" Tao Gan pretended to be angry and said, "Beware of the plowing tongue hell! How can you slander Buddhism for nothing?" The bartender grunted at Tao Gan, turned around and left, not even accepting the reward Tao Gan put on the corner of the table.

Tao Gan thought, this Puci Temple really has a suspicious reputation, I don't know how filthy it really is inside, I'll find a way to sneak into the mountain gate to have a look.He went out of the wine shop, staggered towards the mountain gate of Puci Temple. Three young monks outside the mountain gate were chatting, and they couldn't help but look sideways at Tao Gan.Tao Gan stopped and touched his body for a while, looking around.A monk was curious, so he came forward, closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, saying "Goodness", and wanted to hear Tao Gan's tone.

Tao Gan said: "I came here today to pay homage to Master Guanyin. I just don't know when I lost the incense money, and I'm afraid I have to walk twenty miles home to get it. In the end..." He took out a bag from his sleeve The shiny silver ingot weighed heavily in the palm of his hand. The monk's eyes immediately burst into flames, swallowed his saliva, bowed his body and saluted and said: "Almsgiver, please rejoice in the temple, I will put incense money for you here first." Tao Gan was overjoyed and said, "This is very good. I'll return it to you when I redeem it some other day."

The monk took out two strings of copper coins from his sleeve, fifty in each string, and handed them to Tao Gan with both hands.Tao Gan received the big thorn, lifted the corner of his robe lightly, and walked into the mountain gate.Three monks stood inside the mountain gate and whispered. Inside the mountain gate is the Hall of Heavenly Kings.The four heavenly kings stand majestic and majestic in two verandahs, and the Maitreya Buddha is worshiped in the main niche, with a horizontal plaque saying "Everyone is happy".When you leave the Temple of Heavenly Kings, you will see a large courtyard with towering stone steles on both sides of the corridor, shaded by giant trees, flourishing with flowers and fruits, and full of fragrant wind.At the end of the corridor is the Guanyin Hall.

Tao Gan stepped into the bronze threshold of the Guanyin Hall, and saw that the carved beams and painted buildings in the hall were really resplendent.Inside the cabinet is a white sandalwood statue of Avalokitesvara, more than six feet high, sitting on a lotus throne, surrounded by auspicious clouds and shining brightly.On the confession case in front of the Dashi statue, four pairs of golden candlesticks are shining brightly, the hall is full of incense, the clock pan is melodious, and the monks are singing scriptures and worshiping. Tao Gan turned out of the Avalokitesvara Hall, and saw a large garden filled with flowers and trees. In the large garden, there were four beautiful Zhuzhu pavilions, and the blue glass tiles were dazzling in the sunlight.Tao Gan thought, these four pavilions are undoubtedly the incense pavilions for the women who come to the temple to ask for children to sleep at night.Seeing that there was no one on the left or right, he sneaked under an ancient pine tree that looked like a horned dragon to observe the movement.A corridor made of fine stones leads to an elegant and exquisite incense pavilion on the right. The two vermilion lacquered gates of the incense pavilion are concealed, and the gates are decorated with small round and bright steel balls.

Tao Gan wanted to sneak into the incense pavilion, but saw two young monks sweeping behind the incense pavilion.As a last resort, I waited patiently for a long while, until the two young novice monks were far away after sweeping, and then rushed into the Xiangge with one stride.Sure enough, there is a large ebony bed inlaid with pearls in the Xiangge. The mattress, pillows and mats on the bed are very neat.There is an ebony carved tea table beside the bed, and on the tea table are blue and white fine porcelain teacups and teapots.Behind the bed is a huge portrait of Avalokitesvara, which is resplendent with gold and green, and the weather is formidable.There is a small confession case under the portrait of Dashi, on which there is a pair of gold-plated incense burners, and strong cigarettes are curling up from the incense burners.

Tao Gan wondered if there would be a secret door in the incense pavilion.He began to exert all his strength, inspecting almost every window pane in the Xiangge, knocking on every square brick on the ground to see if there was any hollowness, and finally crawled under the bed to see if there was a trap.But all this failed, there was only one round transom window in the Xiangge, and it was obvious that no child could climb in there.Tao Gan shook his head dejectedly. He believed that there was no secret door to get in and out of the incense pavilion, unless Master Lingde dug a tunnel in advance when building the incense pavilion.But every single square brick here is solid, and how could the outside world not know about such a big project as digging a tunnel? ——The craftsmen are all from the neighboring villages, who can stop their tongues?Tao Gan stared at the portrait of Guanyin in a daze. — all his strength was wasted.

He didn't dare to stay in the Xiangge for too long.When he came out of the Xiangge, he took a closer look at the hinge of the vermilion lacquer gate, and there was nothing unusual about the hinge.Tao Gan sighed, gently opened the door, and then looked at the big arm-thin lock hanging on the door, the lock was very strong and there was no flaw.Tao Gan crept out of the garden and went back into the Guanyin Hall.There were more and more pilgrims in the main hall, and most of the monks went to take a nap, so he swayed out in a leisurely manner, until he met the three monks at the beginning outside the Heavenly King Hall.

When the monks saw Tao Gan coming out, they immediately greeted him with smiling faces, and asked him if he would like a cup of the famous Coptis chinensis tea from Puci Temple.Tao Gan agreed, and sat down with them at a table with the Eight Immortals. Tao Gan took out the two strings of copper coins from his sleeve and returned them to the monk with both hands.The monk looked distressed, but he didn't come to pick him up.Tao Gan understood, took a sip of Coptis chinensis tea, and said, "I have a question to ask, and I can answer it, but I will give you the ingot of silver." The monks immediately got excited and asked quickly, "I don't know what the great benefactor asked? The younger monks know it, so they dare not hide it."

Tao Gan said, "Where did Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva go to get sons for Ruo many women?" A monk in Neli answered first: "Guanyin master entrusted the golden body Arhat to be reincarnated." "Is there anyone who came to ask for a son but didn't get one?" Tao Gan asked. Another monk replied: "There are also people who never ask their sons to walk away in emptiness. It's just because they are not sincere in their aspirations, and they don't believe in Buddhism." Tao Gan asked again, "Are there any people who come back to ask for a wish?" The third monk replied: "I haven't seen any. Even those who have obtained sons rarely come to fulfill their vows themselves. They just send people to send gold and silver gifts. Some have children and forget the kindness of Guanyin. I will never show up again, for fear that we will ask for money." Tao Gan nodded, thinking that he couldn't find anything to do with this group of young monks, so it's better to say goodbye, stand up and bow to salute. The three monks just didn't answer, but looked at his sleeves eagerly.Tao Gan got enlightened, so he reached into his sleeve to take out the ingot of silver, weighed it casually, puffed up his cheeks and blew hard, and saw the ingot of silver fluttering down to the ground.Tao Gan laughed and said, "The silver is fake, I folded it out of tinfoil." The three monks knew they had been duped, and their faces were full of embarrassment when they were angry. Tao Gan laughed loudly and walked away.