Chapter 306: The Story of the Dojoji Bell
Snapped!
Horii Suzune had a blank expression on her face and quickly closed the notebook.
"what……"
Yumeko Kazama had a meaningful expression on her face.
"Just sit down and be quiet. Look at the way you eat. There are potato chip crumbs on the corners of your mouth."
Horii Suzune asked Yumeko Kazama to sit down, took out a tissue and carefully wiped the corners of her mouth.
"Oh, my wife Lingyin is so good at serving people. She is really lovable."
Yumeko Kazama was smiling and even glanced at Hiramiya-san. When she saw Hiramiya Chiye lowering his head to drink water, she couldn't help but curl her lips.
Horii Suzune simply stretched out her finger and gently poked Yumeko Kazama's cheek. Feeling that it felt good, she pinched it twice more.
"Hiramiya-san, can practicing Buddhism prevent you from being harmed by demons?"
"uncertain."
Pinggong Qianye did not guarantee this issue. Even he himself did not dare to say that he would not fall into trouble with monsters and demons in the future, let alone ordinary practitioners.
Take the existence of the Seven Sinner Lords as an example. Even I can only seal Him with difficulty. If He really has the intention to harm others, it is definitely not something that ordinary Buddhist practitioners can resist.
"That's it..."
The two girls showed obvious disappointment on their faces.
Horii Suzune and Kazama Yumeko looked at each other. Other monks might be harmed by demons, but with the strength and achievements shown by Hiramiya Chiye, no demons or monsters should dare to harm him.
"Have you heard the story of the bell of Dojoji Temple?"
Yumeko Kazama wanted to say yes, but she saw Horii Suzune shaking her head. She was already prepared to listen, so she chose to remain silent.
"What kind of story is this?" one woman inquired.
Heimiya Chiye took two more sips of mineral water before beginning to tell the story about the Dojoji bell.
In ancient times, there was a girl named Kiyohime who fell in love with a monk named Anchin who went to Kumano to worship the Bodhisattva.
As a monk, Anzhen was naturally unwilling to accept this relationship. In order to get rid of Qingji's entanglement, he pretended to agree to marry Qingji, and then took the opportunity to escape.
For the sake of her beloved, Qingji traveled thousands of miles in search of Anzhen, and suffered a lot along the way. By the time she caught up with Anzhen, he was no longer like a human, nor a ghost.
Anzhen was so scared that she ran away, and Qingji chased her all the way. Anzhen crossed a big river first. When Qingji caught up, there was no boat. She jumped into the river anyway, and turned into a big snake and continued to chase to the shore.
An Zhen ran and ran, and finally ran to Dojo Temple. However, a giant snake chased after her. The monks in the temple were unable to deal with the snake, so they hid An Zhen in a big bell.
After Qingji chased him in, she soon found out that he was hiding inside the big bell and entangled the bell in one go, but the bell was too strong to be damaged.
Qingji was helpless but unwilling to give up, so she caught fire and burned herself, the bell, and the monk Anzhen inside the bell into charcoal.
"What a passionate and wonderful woman."
"It's such a pity that I fell in love with such a heartless and ungrateful monk."
"Yes, Qingji obviously deserves a better man to love her."
The two girls' eyes welled up with tears as they heard this, and their words were filled with pity for Qingji and disgust and contempt for the monk Anzhen.
Pinggong Qianye said nothing about this. For one story, thousands of people may have thousands of opinions. His opinion is just one of them. It is not authoritative, nor is it the only one.
Moreover, for an ancient story, people have different views on it in different times.
For example, the beautiful story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on that side was originally intended to extol the greatness of love that can transcend the boundaries of heaven and earth.
But in modern times, people's first impression of this story is that the cowherd's behavior was too dirty and rogue. He actually took advantage of the fairy's bathing and secretly hid the fairy's clothes.
They should call the police, arrest the gigolo, and send him to prison for reform.
The same is true of the story of Liang Zhu. The author's original intention was to use a love story to show the harm that a certain class can do to people.
But from the perspective of modern people, Zhu Yingtai should marry Ma Wencai, as that is the true match made in heaven.
As for Liang Shanbo, he was just a scholar and was not a good match for Zhu Yingtai. Love cannot be eaten. The ancients were not necessarily feudal, and the moderns are not necessarily open-minded.
"What if Hiramiya-san meets a love-struck woman like Kiyohime?" Yumeko Kazama asked meaningfully.
"If I were An Zhen, I wouldn't lie to get away, and Qing Ji wouldn't have the chance to turn into a snake and chase to Dojoji."
"..."
Yumeko Kazama's expression froze slightly, while Horii Suzune chuckled.
This kind of answer is the Hiramiya-san she knows.
If Heimiya Chiya was the monk Anchin, when Kiyohime turned into a snake, then this story would no longer be a love story, but a record of subduing demons.
……
In the evening, Pinggong Qianye returned to Weilian Ancient Temple. After dinner, an unexpected guest came to visit.
A middle-aged man wearing gold and silver, with gold rings on all ten fingers, a Mediterranean hairstyle and a big belly, came to Weilian Ancient Temple to pay homage under the protection of four bodyguards in black.
The extremely strong smell of money on his body even alarmed Pinggong Qianye, who was thinking about the design of the pagoda in a side hall.
But he did not go out, but asked Ruyi to go and greet the visitor who came from afar.
"What brings you here tonight, benefactor?" Ruyi asked politely in the main hall.
"Donate money to build a golden Buddha."
The middle-aged man looked around the hall casually, his expression becoming more and more confident.
"I came here because I admire Master Liansheng's teachings. I am willing to spend a huge amount of money to reshape the Buddha's golden body. I also want to build the entire temple into a glittering golden temple, which will definitely be more magnificent than the Golden Pavilion of Kinkaku-ji Temple."
As the middle-aged man spoke, his muscles trembled slightly, causing his gold rings to sway slightly.
There is no doubt about the credibility of his words.
Ruyi's expression changed slightly, but he still smiled and shook his head, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, but my temple currently has no intention of remodeling the Buddha's golden body or building a golden temple."
"How can this be done!"
The middle-aged man became anxious upon hearing this and quickly said, "Master Liansheng is an enlightened monk, how can the temple he lives in be so shabby?"
"Other temples have golden statues, so how can Weilian Ancient Temple be without one? It must have one Buddha and one golden statue, otherwise people will think that Master Liansheng cannot afford the Buddha's golden statue."
"Buddhas need gold ornaments, and people need clothes. This is an unchanging truth since ancient times!"
Ruyi was a little confused for a moment. Why was this man so excited? Was it because he had too much money to spend, so he was anxious?
If he really has such a kind heart, he could donate the money to the International Red Cross and contribute to building a better world.
"Don't worry about money. I have plenty of money. Not to mention one golden temple, I can even afford ten!"
Seeing that Ruyi still refused, the middle-aged man became more impatient and paced back and forth.
"Donor, do you have something you would like Master Liansheng to help you with?"
Ruyi probably guessed the reason for the other party's behavior. He must have something to ask of Master Liansheng, so he wanted to improve their relationship by donating money to build a golden statue.
"No... I just admire Master Liansheng's Dharma, so I want to donate money to build a golden statue of the Buddha."
The middle-aged man looked hesitant and uncertain, and soon said goodbye to Ruyi and left.
"Is there something unspeakable about this?"
Ruyi watched the other party leave, then returned to the side hall and told Pinggong Qianye about the matter.
"He will come again."
Pinggong Qianye had already vaguely guessed the other party's intention.
(End of this chapter)
