Lu Zhen was not afraid when he touched her. Instead, he looked at him curiously and asked, "Why are you touching me?"
The monk replied, "I am not touching the donor, but the wisdom root planted by the Buddha."
Lu Zhen then asked, "What is wisdom?"
The monk explained, "It is the compassion that has grown in the young donor in response to the calamity."
Lu Zhen seemed to understand but not quite.
The monk placed his palm against Lu Zhen's smooth forehead, recited a few verses, and then said, "You must go through the mundane world once before you can convert to Buddhism."
After saying this, he took off a string of beads from his wrist and wrapped it around Lu Zhen's hand. Then he recited "Buddha, have mercy on me," and left with the bowl in his hand.
Looking at the monk's departing back, Cao's father and son were confused. Xu Jiang lowered her head and saw Lu Zhen playing with the hand-held string without any instruction. She was secretly shocked. From what the monk said, did Lu Zhen have a connection with Buddhism in this life?
At this moment, Lu Zhen looked up at Xu Jiang and asked, "Sister, what is this?"
Xu Jiang touched his head and said, "This is hand-held, which means to pick up something."
Lu Zhen seemed to understand, "Pick up something?"
Xu Jiang was afraid that saying too much would upset him, so she stopped explaining and instead urged him, "It's getting late. Let's go quickly and don't miss the time."
Upon hearing this, the Cao father and son hurriedly pulled Lu Zhen forward.
Xu Jiang fell behind and stared at Lu Zhen's small back, slowly exhaling. He was truly a monster created by heaven and earth. If he wanted to stay in this world, it would be better for him to suppress the mundane pressure of an ordinary family.
When they arrived at Nanshan Academy, Lu Zhen knelt down and bowed three times before entering the door, then stood up and walked in. He didn't let anyone lead him, and each step was very steady.
Lin Hongchu calculated the time and was about to go out to pick someone up, but he saw Xu Jiang leading people in and said with a smile, "I was just about to go to pick him up, and he happened to come." Then he greeted the father and son of the Cao family, and then lowered his head to look at the little kid in front of him.
This was her first time meeting Lu Zhen. His short arms and legs, but his small frame, held straight and erect, his round face radiating seriousness, made one want to touch him. Thinking it was their first meeting, and also his apprenticeship gift, it wasn't appropriate to be presumptuous. Lin Hongchu suppressed the urge to pinch him, greeted him, and then led the others to Bajizhai.
When they arrived at the gate of Bajizhai, Master Lin and Madam Lin sat upright inside. Uncle Cao and Cao Dali came in and presented celery, lotus seeds, red beans, red dates, longan and dried meat in order. These were the six rituals of compensation.
Master Lin and Madam Lin took them one by one, and then Master Lin waved to Lu Zhen at the door and said, "Come in."
Cao Shu and Cao Dali stood aside. Xu Jiang nudged Lu Zhen's shoulder and said softly, "Go."
The threshold in front of him was a bit high, and Lu Zhen stepped over it with great effort. Then he straightened his clothes and walked to Master Lin and Madam Lin, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Student Lu Zhen, greetings to Master and Madam."
He was well-mannered, spoke frankly, and was neither timid nor cowardly, which pleased both Master Lin and his wife. Master Lin gave him the Analects, green onions, celery, and other gifts in return, saying, "No need for formalities."
Lu Zhen held the gift given by his teacher, kowtowed three times to his teacher and his teacher's wife, and then stood up steadily.
He gave the gift in his hand to Uncle Cao for safekeeping, and then listened to the lecture.
The expressions of the people in the room were all solemn and dignified. Master Lin's voice was as loud as a stone: "Those who enter my school must abide by the following teachings."
Lu Zhen knelt down again and listened to the lecture: "Students listen to the teacher's teachings."
"First, playing with people will ruin your morals, and playing with things will ruin your ambition. Second, don't highlight others' shortcomings, and don't flaunt your own strengths. Third, keep the three words "clear, cautious, and diligent" in mind. Fourth: don't be willful, don't be stubborn, don't be self-centered. Fifth, don't blame the heavens, don't blame others, don't vent your anger on others, and don't repeat your mistakes. Sixth, when you make a mistake, correct it. Do you understand?"
"I understand." After Lu Zhen finished speaking, he repeated the six instructions given by Master Lin and then bowed three times.
Master Lin was amazed at the boy's intelligence and a look of joy appeared on his face. Xu Jiang was right. He was a good seedling.
The final act of the apprenticeship ceremony is for the teacher to lead the students in reciting the first chapter of The Great Learning.
Master Lin recited: "The Way of the Great Learning is to manifest the illustrious virtue, to love the people, and to abstain from the highest good."
Lu Zhen recited word for word: "The Way of the Great Learning is to manifest the illustrious virtue, to love the people, and to abstain from the highest good."
…
After the recitation was finished, he bowed three times, and the ceremony of becoming a disciple was completed. From then on, the two were master and disciple, father and son. Lu Zhen now had a good teacher and a relative.
After becoming a disciple, Master Lin held a banquet for his apprenticeship. The Lin family's banquet was very simple, not because they couldn't provide good food, but because it was to teach Lu Zhen his first lesson in frugality.
Seeing the ceremony concluded, Xu Jiang said goodbye to everyone and returned to the bookstore. Lin Hongchu wanted to follow, but she left him to take care of the chores. Mrs. Lin was weak and could not bear to work any more.
On the way back, the porridge stall was still distributing porridge. Passing by it, Xu Jiang remembered the monk's words and smiled. According to Buddhist principles, everyone has their own destiny. Even if Lu Zhen were to convert to Buddhism in the future, it would be his own good fortune.
Now let’s do our best and leave the rest to fate.
Back at Huailiu Lane, Xu Jiang saw from afar that the door of the shop was open. She was delighted and walked into the shop with excited steps.
"I'm back." She called out, causing both of them to look up. After seeing the other person in the room, she was stunned. "Zhu Chun?"
Hu Xu smiled at her gently, "Is the boss back?"
Xu Jiang glanced back and forth between him and Lou Yunchun, then cleared her throat and asked, "How did you find time to come here today?"
Hu Xu pointed at the holiday gifts on the table and said, "I went to the teacher's house today to deliver a holiday gift. Before leaving, he asked me to bring you a return gift of plum blossom cakes." Then he glanced at Lou Yunchun and said, "Who knew the master was not here? Instead, I ran into Zhaoyue. He invited me in and sat down, so I respectfully obeyed."
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