Chapter 92 Prayer
The first day of the first lunar month, the first day of the new year.
A new year begins, and the four seasons are renewed.
The sound of firecrackers rang almost all night long, and the family got up early.
"Grandpa and grandma, Happy New Year!"
After waking up, Wang Shan put on new clothes and ran to the living room to kowtow to Lin Ting and Zhou Qing to wish them a happy new year.
"I wish you good health and a long life!"
“Okay, okay!”
Lin Ting quickly helped her up, and then he and Zhou Qing each handed a red envelope to Wang Shan.
"I wish our Shanshan good health and safety!"
Zhou Qing hugged Wang Shan into his arms and said, "Let's be happy and cheerful in the new year!"
Wang Shan happily took the red envelopes and said, "Wow, I have so many red envelopes!"
"Shanshan, do you want an extra red envelope?"
Lin Ping waved a red envelope to tempt his niece.
"want!"
"So what do you think we should do?"
Wang Shan's big eyes rolled around, and she said with a smile: "I wish my aunt will be beautiful and marry Uncle Yang soon, soon, soon!"
The crisp voice made everyone laugh and also made Lin Ping blush!
"Shanshan, you should say I wish my aunt to marry a good husband!" Wang Xiuren corrected with a smile.
“Brother-in-law!”
Lin Ping stamped his feet embarrassedly.
Wang Shan was an obedient child, and she immediately changed her words and said, "I wish my aunt to marry a man of her dreams!"
"Okay, okay, stop talking, I'll give you the red envelope!"
With a flushed face, Lin Ping shyly stuffed the red envelope into Wang Shan's hand, then said "I'm going to brush my teeth and wash my face" and rushed into the bathroom.
According to the customs of Hunan Province, people go to visit their ancestral tombs after breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and then visit every household in the village to pay New Year's greetings.
But since we are in Pengcheng, these customs are omitted. According to the plan, the whole family went to Phoenix Mountain to climb and pray today, and also visited Fengyan Ancient Temple.
Phoenix Mountain is known as "the No. 1 Mountain in Bao'an". It is located in the east of Bao'an District. The altitude is not very high, less than 700 meters. It has the reputation of "Fengshan, a Land of Blessings and Affection". It has beautiful natural scenery and rich cultural landscape.
Fengyan Ancient Temple is built on the south side of Feiyunling, surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one side. It is said to have been built by Wen Tianxiang's great-grandson to commemorate his great-grandfather Wen Tianxiang. It is said to have a history of more than 600 years. Local residents and tourists like to go to the temple to burn incense and pray, so the temple has always been very popular.
A group of six people, five adults and one child, first took a bus to Phoenix Mountain Square. There was a big stone on the square with the four big characters "Phoenix Mountain" engraved on it and painted red.
"Wow, it's so big!"
Wang Shan walked closer to the big rock and opened her mouth wide in admiration.
"Go up first. Our destination today is not the square. Let's come back here after we finish burning incense!" Wang Xiuren took his daughter to the Bufu Ancient Trail on the left side of the square.
In fact, there is a winding mountain road on the right side of Phoenix Square leading to Fengyan Ancient Temple, but considering that we were going to the temple to pray, we still chose this ancient road.
This ancient road is relatively flat and has nice scenery. There are streams along the way with gurgling sounds. In summer, you can even play in the river valley.
After about forty minutes of walking, we arrived at the Fengyan Ancient Temple on the mountainside, which is today's destination.
Before entering the temple, Lin Ting stopped and carefully tidied his appearance.
"You guys should also tidy up. Temples are places for meditation, so there are still some rules to follow!" Lin Ting helped his granddaughter fold down her collar. "Shanshan, remember, when you go to the temple later, you can't shout or step on the threshold. Got it?"
Wang Shan covered her mouth with her hands and nodded heavily.
Lin Ting laughed, "It's not that I can't speak, it's that I can't speak loudly."
Wang Shan then put down her hand and replied in a low voice: "I know, Grandpa."
"The same goes for the rest of you. Remember not to step on the threshold and do not point at the Buddha statue. Men should enter with their left foot and exit with their right foot, and women should enter with their right foot and exit with their left foot." Lin Ting instructed seriously.
The others nodded solemnly.
Lin Ping was afraid that he would not remember, so he kept repeating in a low voice: "Right foot in, left foot out. Right foot in, left foot out."
As they approached Fengyan Ancient Temple, the group suddenly became quiet, and everyone's face became pious. Even Wang Shan pursed her lips seriously.
Fengyan Ancient Temple has long stone walls, glazed green tiles, simple and elegant style, magnificent halls, filled with the lingering scent of incense and melodious Buddhist chants.
As an important Buddhist holy place in Shenzhen and even the surrounding areas, it attracts believers and tourists in an endless stream.
The family followed the crowd and went to the incense-selling place to buy incense, one stick per person, spending one dollar and eighty cents. Then everyone held incense reverently, walked around the release pond, and entered the main hall of the Guanyin Temple.
Three brass altars were filled with fruits and flowers.
Lin Ting led the whole family and carefully crossed the threshold into the main hall.
In the main hall, a huge golden statue of Guanyin stands majestically, looking down at all the believers with kind eyes.
Lin Ting took the lead in taking the incense to the candlestick and lit it. He then gently fanned out the flame with his hands. With his left hand on top and his right hand on the bottom, he raised the incense to the level of his eyebrows, faced the Buddha statue, knelt down respectfully and prayed devoutly, then bowed three times. After putting it down, he placed it in front of his chest with the head of the incense facing the holy statue.
Next, Zhou Qing and others followed Lin Ting's example, imitating him and bowing, burning incense and lighting incense devoutly.
When it was Wang Shan's turn, Lin Ting stood behind his granddaughter and taught her a series of movements step by step, while praying softly to the Bodhisattvas and gods to bless this little life.
After worshipping Guanyin Bodhisattva, I went to worship the God of Wealth Temple next to it.
Wang Xiuren and his wife and Lin Ping prayed more devoutly this time. As young people, they only wanted to get rich.
After everyone had finished burning incense, the family followed the tour guide and listened carefully to the guide's clear narration of the past and present, historical origins, and humanistic spirit of Fengyan Ancient Temple.
The tour guide looked coldly at the family who had sneaked into his team, and thought that if it wasn't New Year's Day, he would have asked these people to leave.
In addition to the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, there are Smoke Tower at Dusk, Heart-shaped Bamboo, and Stone Milk Lake on the left side of the ancient temple; and Oriole Stone Nodding, Pure Bottle Sprinkling Dew, and Longevity Fairy Well on the right side of the ancient temple. You can listen to the rhythm of the Songjing organ in front and admire the towering wonder of Genting in the back.
The eight wonders of Fengyan surround the ancient temple like stars surrounding the moon.
The family followed the tour guide to visit Fengyan Ancient Temple. Seeing that the tour guide continued to lead the group in another direction, the family withdrew from the group.
When they were preparing to go down the mountain, Wang Shan, who was held in Wang Xiuren's arms, suddenly pointed to the wishing corridor full of wishing boards and said she wanted to go there to take a look.
When a child asks, adults will agree as long as the request is not excessive, especially on a day like New Year's Day.
The wishing corridor consists of a large forest and is filled with big red wishing boards.
Lin Ping bought two pieces and, using the shopkeeper's pen, made a wish for Wang Shan's health and happiness on one piece, while he kept the other piece hidden so no one could see it.
But it's not difficult to see the clues from her shy eyes.
Wang Xiuren lifted up Wang Shan and asked her to hang the wishing card on the tree. Lin Qiu helped her to circle it two more times.
Lin Ping also hung up the wishing board.
When the wind blows, the wishing cards on the trees with fewer hangings will flutter in the wind, while the wishing cards on the trees with more hangings will collide with each other, making pleasant sounds.
Fengyan Ancient Temple, burning incense and praying for blessings.
The temple is filled with fireworks and people are praying for peace.
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