The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Master, you are really impressive. You seem to know everything,” Squirrel widened his tiny mouth as he had a reverential look.

Red Boy grunted, “If not for the cell phone beneath the table, he would be even more impressive.”

Fangzheng raised his hand and struck down, “You, go out!”

Red Boy immediately scampered off with his head down.

When Fangzheng saw that the troublemaker was gone, he coughed dryly and secretly put his cell phone away. He said in all seriousness, “Having said so much, do you know that apart from dragon boat racing and dumpling eating, there is another activity during the Dragon Boat Festival?”

He saw three pairs of eyes roll at him. Monkey, Lone Wolf, and Squirrel had never come into contact with human society in the past. They were not like Red Boy who had a demon king’s constitution. Even if he was illiterate, a sweep of his gaze allowed him to quickly remember something so that he could use it dexterously. More importantly, Red Boy had the special privilege of using Fangzheng’s cell phone! They did not have such a privilege.

Fangzheng felt somewhat accomplished seeing the tree adorably dull gazes. He cleared his throat as he was about to give the answer.

At that moment, Red Boy shouted from the outside, “Master, I know!”

“Oh? Jingxin, you know the answer? Alright, if you give a good answer, you will be permitted to enter and continue having your dinner.” Fangzheng was also curious. Red Boy often played with his cell phone and had probably learned quite a lot. It was the perfect opportunity to test him.

Red Boy yelled at the top of his voice, enunciating each word,”Chrysanthemum! ¹ Admired! Reach! Great! Heights!”

“Get out!” Fangzheng roared.

Red Boy said indignantly, “Master, what did I say that was wrong? Doesn’t everyone else say that? Many kind-hearted people even reminded me to bring a bar of soap up the mountain. If I throw it well, I can admire the chrysanthemums. If not, it’s easy for my chrysanthemum to be admired…”

“Get out! Get out! Get out!” Fangzheng threw the bowl out. Red Boy caught it and in it, there was a bowl of rice. He immediately chuckled and left happily.

Fangzheng looked up into the sky speechlessly as he mumbled, “The Ancients did not lie to me. Children are not suitable to be on the Internet at an early age!

After having his meal, Fangzheng sat in the Frost Bamboo and leisurely read his scriptures.

Monkey suddenly ran over and asked curiously, “Master, will our monastery organize some activity for the Dragon Boat Festival? Why don’t you hold a Dharma Assembly or something?”

Fangzheng smiled and shook his head, “We are not organizing one. We will not have a Dharma Assembly in the future either.”

“Why?” asked the baffled Monkey. “Master, I was not sensible in the past, but now that I’ve gained intelligence, I recall from my memories that Baiyun Monastery holds a small Dharma Assembly every three days, and a major Dharma Assembly every week. Each month, a grand Dharma Assembly is held. There are many visitors who stay every day. For Baiyun Monastery to receive lots of incense offerings, the Dharma Assemblies must play an important role.”

“Yes, there was the intention to hold a major Dharma Assembly in the past. My master, Zen Master One Finger, sighed several times in the past, wondering when he could organize a major Dharma Assembly. It would be great if he could proselytize the Buddhist Dharma, he thought. However, Zen Master One Finger did not hold one even until his death. In the past, I thought that it was because the monastery was not big enough and that we lacked manpower and fame. Recently, while reading the scriptures and taking trips, I have gained some understanding of Zen Master One Finger’s thoughts.”

“What thoughts?”

Fangzheng closed his scripture book and placed it in front of Monkey, “Will you read this scripture book if it’s placed in front of you?”

Monkey scratched his head, “If this was in the past, I might have read it out of curiosity.”

“What if you were forced to read it?”

“I wouldn’t read it.”

“That’s it. The Buddhist Dharma cannot convince you forcefully. Instead, it should make you think about things. Once you understand something, that is you succeeding in cultivation. If you can’t, why should This Penniless Monk drag you along?” Fangzheng smiled and continued, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. If your mind is willing, all else will naturally follow.”

With that said, Fangzheng patted his pants as he stood up, “Speaking of which, tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. We should prepare something as well. Let’s go!”

“Master, what are we going to do?” asked Monkey out of curiosity.

“Pluck some Frost Bamboo leaves. And don’t throw the husk of the Frost Bamboo’s shoots away. Save some for me!” With that said, he went close to the mother bamboo and plucked the most beautiful bamboo that looked like it was growing the best.

At that moment, Red Boy came over as well and asked out of curiosity, “Master, is this meant for wrapping the dumplings?”

“That’s right. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. We should make some dumplings.”

“But we don’t have leaves for the dumplings. Don’t tell me you plan on using these leaves?” Red Boy had not let his right to use a cell phone go to waste. He had gained a greater understanding of society.

“What type of leaves should be used to wrap the dumplings is just a local matter. The northerners use the leaves of reed, and the southerners use indocalamus leaves. However, we do not have any of the two, so we need to come up with alternate means. It is said that certain places use Asian bamboo leaves, shell ginger leaves, banana leaves, lotus leaves, bamboo shoots, etc. to wrap dumplings. We have none of those, but Frost Bamboo itself is a large type of bamboo. Its leaves are long and wide. It’s in no way inferior to those leaves. It should not be a problem using them to wrap dumplings. We have plenty of bamboo shoot husks, so the dumplings can also be wrapped using that.”

Red Boy was stunned, “A simple dumpling leave has that much to it.”

“That’s why, you still have plenty to learn. Okay, do something. Since you are here, climb the trees with your senior brother. The leaves are too long. It’s difficult to get to them. Both of you can pluck them, while I’ll pick them up for you. The earlier this is finished, the earlier we can begin preparing the food.”

Red Boy was immediately filled with strength at the notion of having good food to eat. He easily climbed up and shouted, “Senior Brother, let’s see who is faster!”

Monkey grinned and laughed when he heard that. A human was competing with a monkey about climbing trees and plucking leaves? “Alright, don’t you cry when you lose.”

“Tch!” Red Boy curled his lips and thought nothing of it. Following that, he bounced around in a way no less agile than Monkey. Monkey immediately felt the pressure. Both of them went at full speed as Fangzheng felt like Frost Bamboo leaves were raining down on him. There were leaves everywhere, and he could not pick them up in time!

“Both of you. There’s too much! There’s no point in having too many!” Fangzheng shouted as he ran around. At that moment, Fangzheng was truly envious of martial arts such as the Taiji Fist. He recalled a classic movie where the person’s Taiji Fist could gather the surrounding leaves into a blob, forming a Taiji fish. The effects were awesome! As for him? He could move rocks using the Great Strength Vajra Palm but to do something that needed precision? Other than adding to the mess, it was completely useless!

Thankfully, Lone Wolf and Squirrel ran over when they heard the commotion. Fangzheng flailed his hands while Lone Wolf used his mouth and as for Squirrel…

“This one! This one! This one here is mine! Aiyah, it’s too big!” Squirrel was instantly covered by a huge leave. Then after squeezing a few times, he finally climbed out from the leaf. However, the little guy was unconvinced. He dragged the Frost Bamboo leaf, with his head up and chest puffed, moving it to the side of a basket. Then, he threw the leaf into the basket. He wiped his hands as though he had done something utterly impressive.