Late summer of the eighteenth year of Jianyan.
Fachang was an ordinary monk in Famen Temple, Fufeng County, Fengxiang Prefecture. But now, although he is ordinary, he is not so ordinary. Of course!
Ever since the emperor set the tone for designated temples in various places to be responsible for Qingmiao loans during the Yuetai Grand Sacrifice, the status of formal temples has been improved. After the emperor pacified the north and unified China, and whipped Liaodong, his prestige was unparalleled. The policy of these Qingmiao loans - the policy of paying taxes and dividing the land tax by land - was quickly implemented throughout the country, with almost no obvious resistance. The status of these Luohan temples - the common name for the temples designated by the Secret Pavilion to be responsible for Qingmiao loans - has been further improved, and the monks' ordination certificates have also risen and become more valuable.
Before he became a monk, Fachang's surname was Li. Perhaps Li Shimin, the Tang Emperor who was always compared to the current government thousands of years ago, was also his relative. He failed the Imperial College entrance examination for many years, and became a monk in a fit of anger. Because he was a literate person, and the current temples were in short supply of such talents, he took advantage of the "Proposal for the Introduction of High-level Literacy Talents to Famen Temple in the 16th Year of Jianyan" and skipped the Buddhist positions of bhikkhu, novice monk, and Mara after entering the temple. That's right, before Fachang became a monk, he didn't know that not just any bald man in the temple could be called a monk, and the titles of big monk and old monk were even more extraordinary. There were not many in a temple. If you go one step further than big monk, you will become the most popular four-character Zen master today. Except for the only six-character Zen master in the country, that is, the golden body Pudu Dahui Zen Master who was personally conferred by the government after Dahui Zen Master preached in East and West Mongolia, the four-character Zen master is the most valuable in the temple business.
Fachang was awakened by the clappers in the temple at yin hour. He hurriedly put on his monk's robes, drew some well water to wash, and then put his hands together, chanting the Buddha's name, and slowly walked to the temple to chant. Although the weather was still a bit hot in late summer, the well water was still ice-cold. The sky was just getting bright, and apart from the occasional bird calls in the temple, there were people gathering in pairs to the temple. The path leading to the temple was spotless, but there were several huge spider webs in the flower beds on the side of the road. In the corners of each web, there were fat old guest spiders quietly waiting for food. Fachang once wanted to rescue the unfortunate butterfly caught in the net, but his master who was the supervisor of the temple said, "You can save beautiful butterflies, but can you save mosquitoes and flies? It's up to life and death." He didn't quite understand.
Fachang thought that becoming a monk in a temple would be the end of everything, but he found that it was not what he wanted. There are indeed some monks in the temple who are just eating and waiting to die. Not only do they have nothing to do, but they can get a few coins as long as they go to the Buddhist hall to chant scriptures on time every day, but monks like him cannot do that. Now the abbot of Famen Temple is a local monk. He speaks with a Fengxiang accent and occasionally says "hungry Buddha". He is gentle and doesn't care much about things. The abbot is a serious monk who graduated from Tokyo Daxiangguo Buddhist College. He has traveled to Tokyo Daxiangguo Temple, Luoyang Shaolin Temple, and Yanjiuquan Temple. He is usually very strict. These monks who are designated as abbots, abbots, and disciples of precepts will be severely reprimanded by the abbot for not being diligent if they are a little lazy every day, and each reprimand lasts no less than half an incense stick.
Brother Fade, who presided over the morning class, was an interesting monk. He had traveled to Japan on a large ship of a sea trade company in his early years and was quite receptive to new things. After the morning class, it was originally a time for serious meditation. When he presided over it, he changed the habit and the meditation time was forcibly divided into two halves. One half was still serious meditation, and the other half was practicing the Western Heaven body-building secret technique he learned from Shaolin Temple, called Yijin Gong, which was extremely particular about the flexibility of the body and stretched it into various strange postures. The abbot had come to see it earlier, but seeing that it was not indecent and was also good for the health of young disciples, he just shook his head and left without caring about it. After the morning class, they went to the dining hall to have vegetarian food. They chanted scriptures all the way to the door of the dining hall and waited. The brothers in the dining hall were ready to greet them in. When he first entered the temple, Fachang also played around with a few brothers who had lively personalities. When they arrived at the dining hall, if the food was not ready yet, they would recite the Buddhist name "Namo Shakyamuni Buddha" loudly at the door over and over again. Every time at this time, the brothers in the dining hall would rush out: "Stop howling, I'm calling you, I know you are hungry." There are some rules for eating vegetarian meals. You are not allowed to talk. Thanks to the government's construction of some strange water conservancy facilities in recent years and the selection of seeds by the Agricultural Affairs Bureau of the Imperial College, although the weather is not as good as in previous years, the grain output is increasing year by year, and the temple will not be short of food. If you are not full with a bowl of rice, when you see the brothers who are patrolling the food coming, you just use chopsticks to scratch the place where rice is needed in the bowl, and the brothers will take the bowl away and return the rice with the rest.
After breakfast, these disciples and monks have serious business to do, which is to go to Shanmiaotang to help out. Since the year before last, the green seedling loan is not entirely left to the monks. The temple is more of a name, and then explain the current secret cabinet seedling loan policy to the farmers. In addition, some people who encounter injustice but dare not go to the government to complain are mostly appeased and sent home with gifts. If there is really a reason and evidence and the involvement is not big, they will also select and report to the abbot, who will then summarize and select and report to the Military Control Department. The serious seedling loan business is handled by Shanmiaotang next to the temple. In fact, it is a seedling company established in imitation of the popular sea trade company in recent years. It recruits some lay Buddhists who understand accounting to do it, and is supervised by the local Fufeng County Public Pavilion. The abbot would often ask these disciples and monks to help keep an eye out for any illegal activities. After all, if the Military Control Commission discovered a major incident under the name of a temple, it would ruin their reputation, and the consequences would be more than just a loss of incense money.
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