Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - The 24 Solar Terms - A story is about a monk's Zen talk about Taoism, but it is a bit like a joke.

A story is about a monk's Zen talk about Taoism, but it is a bit like a joke.

The version I have seen is, it is estimated that it is almost the same:

There are two monks living in the same Zen temple.

An old monk is a man of practice and studies Zen. Another little monk, working, cooking, washing and sweeping the floor, takes care of the monk's life. Although the young monk is a monk, he can't read and has only one eye.

According to the rules of Buddhism, when monks come to the temple, they can generally stay overnight and ask for accommodation. They call it a pending order. In other words, a wandering monk can hang his famous brand and be a member of the temple for the time being. Usually, each temple has its own rules. The rule of this temple is that people who come to sign the bill must first argue with the abbot of the temple. If the tourists win, the temple will have to accept them; If visitors fail, they must leave on their own.

That night, after dinner, before studying at night, I suddenly heard the bell of the mountain gate ring.

"oh! Someone has come to pay the bill. " The abbot said to the young monk, "I am too tired today to argue." Go and see me. "

The one-eyed monk said, "I'll pick you up! ? I ..... can't read a word. I can only read Amitabha. I'm not going, you go. If I want to go, you have to promise that I will win. "

The monk said, "Promise to win, promise to win. As long as you go, I will teach you, and you will win if you do as I say. " . When you meet a visitor, don't say anything. Answer with silence. Compare with him and you will win. "

"Use than? Silent answer? Oh! I am a working monk. As long as I don't talk, there will be no problem! " After that, he went to prepare to meet the monk.

It's getting dark and the monks are hungry. They sat cross-legged in the meditation hall.

The young monk and the monk came face to face, arguing silently about Zen.

The monk's practice is solemn, his eyebrows are lowered and his index finger is extended.

The one-eyed monk thought doubtfully and held out his forefinger.

The monk was surprised, thought for a moment, held out his left hand and made a finger.

I saw the one-eyed monk with a face of grief and indignation, clenched his fist in his right hand and shook it up and down in his chest.

The monk immediately stood up, bowed down, shouldered the burden and walked to the gate.

At this time, the abbot was walking in front of the mountain gate. When he saw the monk look flustered, he couldn't help asking.

The monk said, "The one-eyed monk in your temple is profound in Zen, and I lost the argument. I have to go to his temple to beg for shelter before dark. "

The abbot said, "Take it easy, take it easy, please briefly describe the details."

The monk said, "The two of us answered with the theory of silence: I'll stretch out a finger first, which means Buddha. The young monk held out two fingers to show Buddha and Dharma. I held out three fingers to represent the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Monk. The young monk immediately waved his fist, indicating that the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma and monk need to be obtained in one thing, otherwise it is just emptiness. I was speechless and had to stand up and salute and give up. " After the monk finished speaking, Cang ran back to the temple in a panic.

As soon as the monk came, the one-eyed monk ran after him in disgust and almost knocked down the abbot.

"Where is that rude boy? If I don't beat him up, my hatred will be hard to eliminate! " The young monk said.

The abbot, the old monk, comforted the young monk: "Alas! He has given up and left. Why are you so angry? What's more, he also praised you for your deep Zen! "

"Praise me for my deep Zen?" The young monk looked at the old monk in surprise. "Why? You know, as soon as he sat down, he pointed a finger at my face and said,' Monk monk, you only have one eye.' Do you think he is rude? "

The old monk nodded slightly.

The young monk continued: "I thought he was a guest from afar, so I congratulated him:' You are very happy, you have two eyes.' Unexpectedly, the evil monk stretched out three fingers in the second move, indicating that we only have three eyes together. You mean irritating, not irritating? "

The old monk nodded gently again.

"I don't care if he is a guest! I clenched my fist to make it look like a punch. I mean: if you talk again, I'll beat you flat. Unexpectedly, he was not only rude, but also timid and ran away. Let me catch up, I really want to teach him a lesson. "