Just then, a monk in yellow robes stepped forward from the group of monks, bowed to the young monk on the boat, and said loudly, "This humble monk has thought of two lines of verse to offer, please excuse my poor attempt."
The young monk bowed in return and said with a smile, "Please speak, young master."
Yuanjue nodded and recited aloud: "Kalpa is not a kalpa, but a calamity; conditions arise and cease, and conditions gather and disperse. When the mind is empty and form is empty, all is emptiness; the world's delusion is not my wish."
"Good!" The young monk nodded in praise, "A fine couplet. To be able to compose such a couplet shows that this young monk has the world in his heart, is compassionate towards all people, and has a sincere and devout heart towards Buddhism. It's just a pity..."
The young monk changed the subject and said with a smile, "It's a pity that this is not the original saying left by Buddha, and you, young master, are not one of the people destined for Buddha."
Yuanjue shook his head, a hint of shame on his face, and said, "I was unable to respond to the verse left by the Buddha because my cultivation is insufficient. I am ashamed, ashamed!"
The young monk smiled and shook his head, saying, "Little Master, please don't underestimate yourself. You've already achieved so much at such a young age. If you can uphold your Buddhist heart and diligently cultivate yourself, you will surely achieve great things in the future."
Yuanjue bowed in a Buddhist gesture and said sincerely, "Thank you, Venerable One. This humble monk has learned much from your teachings."
The young monk smiled gently, then turned his clear, bright eyes to the other monks and asked in a raised voice, "Does anyone else have a matching verse?"
Shi Ning smiled slightly, took a few steps forward, bowed and said, "This humble monk has two lines of verse, and I would like to ask the Venerable One to comment on them."
The young monk returned the greeting and said, "Please speak, young master."
Shi Ning smiled and recited aloud: "Kalpa is not a calamity, but a calamity; conditions arise and cease, and conditions gather and disperse. Everything is shrouded in mist; part the mist and you will see the moon."
The young monk nodded in satisfaction and praised, "This young monk's ability to compose such a verse shows that his mind is clear and he can see through the appearance of things to their essence, and he can also see the true nature of the world. It's just a pity... that the verse he composed is not the one left by the Buddha."
Shi Ning chuckled and shook his head, his expression unchanged, showing no sign of frustration. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Venerable One."
As soon as Shi Ning finished speaking, Hui Yan stepped forward and walked to Shi Ning's side. She bowed deeply to the young monk on the small boat and said loudly, "This humble nun has a couplet of verses. I would be grateful if the Venerable One could listen to it."
The young monk smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "Please speak, little nun."
Huiyan nodded and recited aloud: "Kalpa is not a kalpa, kalpa is not a kalpa, arising and ceasing are conditions, gathering and scattering are conditions. The four elements are originally without sound, the hearing is enlightened, the five aggregates are originally empty, the Bodhi thought is.
“A fine verse.” The little monk nodded and smiled. “The little nun is very insightful. This world is originally nothingness, and everything before us is the result of causes and conditions coming together. Naturally, the four elements are all empty and the five aggregates are all void. It’s just… a pity that the verse the little nun gave is not the one left by the Buddha.”
Huiyan nodded sadly with a slight look of regret on her face, saying, "Yes, thank you, Venerable One."
More and more monks stepped forward to compose verses, but none of them could match the verses left by the Buddha.
The crescent moon moved slowly, and the numerous demons and Taoists watched with cold eyes as the monks and young novice monks exchanged verses back and forth, their enthusiasm growing increasingly dull.
By this time, about 30% of the monks had already recited their verses, and the monks had been silent for quite some time. Suddenly, a tall, thin monk stepped forward from the crowd, put his hands together, bowed respectfully in a Buddhist salute, and said in a gentle voice, "Shi Chan greets the Venerable One. Shi Chan has come up with a verse, and I would like to request that the Venerable One listen to it."
Liuli, who was leaning on Li Molin's shoulder, suddenly brightened up when she saw Shi Chan speak. She exclaimed happily, "It's the little monk!"
"Hmph!" Li Molin snorted coldly, clearly annoyed.
The young monk on the boat smiled at Shi Chan and nodded, saying, "Please speak, young master."
"Yes." Shi Chan nodded and recited aloud: "Kalpa is not a kalpa, kalpa is not a kalpa; arising and ceasing are due to conditions. People do not know that all phenomena are empty; greed, anger, and ignorance mislead their practice!"
"Good, good, good!" The little monk said "good" three times in a row. He clapped his hands and laughed. After he finished laughing, he turned around and bowed deeply to the island in the middle of the lake. He said respectfully, "Buddha, the disciple who is destined for you has been found. I was foolish and thought that no one in this world could answer the verse you left behind word for word. But it turns out that there really is such a person."
After bowing, the young monk turned to face Master Shichan, put his palms together, and smiled, saying, "This young monk has answered the Buddha's verse word for word. He is indeed the person the Buddha spoke of who has a predestined connection. Young monk, please board the boat!"
The monks were in an uproar. Many of the young people looked at Shi Chan with a hint of envy, and even Hui Yan looked at Shi Chan with great envy.
A genuine joy appeared on Shi Ning's face as he looked at Shi Chan and asked in a low voice, "Junior Brother Shi Chan, you're amazing! How did you come up with this couplet?"
Shi Chan himself was somewhat surprised. When he heard Shi Ning ask him, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face. He replied in a low voice, "This humble monk was just thinking that when the Buddha entered Nirvana, the Buddha's radiance had not yet shone on the Central Plains. There were still many people in the mortal world who did not know the Dharma, did not know that there was a Buddha in the world, did not know that all things in the world were formed by the aggregation of causes and conditions, and did not know that all the seven emotions and six desires in the world were illusory. They still clung to the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance and refused to give up their desires... This humble monk thought of these things, and that's why I was fortunate enough to guess the verse left by the Buddha correctly."
Indeed, Shakyamuni Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. After attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he traveled throughout China, spreading the Dharma far and wide. However, the spread of Buddhism was difficult, and even at the time of his Nirvana under the Bodhi tree, there were still very few Buddhist followers in the Central Plains. It was only after his Nirvana that his disciples spread the Dharma far and wide, and only then did Buddhism reach its peak. No wonder Shakyamuni Buddha uttered such a lament at the time of his Nirvana.
"Good!" Shi Ning suddenly realized and couldn't help but clap his hands in praise, "Junior Brother Shi Chan is indeed deeply rooted in wisdom and is most suitable to practice Buddhism!"
Shi Chan felt even more ashamed and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I only guessed it by chance. I know that I am of mediocre talent and am far inferior to all of you senior brothers and sisters."
Shi Ning smiled and shook his head, saying, "Junior brother is too modest. Go quickly, lest the Venerable One keep you waiting."
"Yes." Shi Chan put his hands together, nodded, and walked past Shi Ning toward the small boat on the lake.
Even though the treasure at the destination was within easy reach, Shi Chan's pace was unhurried. His expression was calm and peaceful, showing no sign of ecstasy or even a hint of joy.
The young monk on the boat watched with satisfaction as Shi Chan traveled along, and nodded with a smile.
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