First, the origin
During the Ming Dynasty, there was a daughter of a large family in the Huaidong region named Zhang Lanying. She fell in love with a young man named Ma Jun and married him. Not long after, the couple had a male baby. In order to let the male baby grow up smoothly and safely, the husband and wife went to the Golden Mountain Temple to find the Taoist monk Zhi Zen Master, hoping that the master could give the boy a good name. Master Zhi Zen carefully looked at the boy's face and said, "I hope that this boy will grow up to be a good person, so let's call her Liang!" This is where Ma Liang's name comes from.
Ma Liang grew up like the wind, not only liked to read, but also was particularly intelligent. He has a fondness for painting since he was a child, and constantly imitates the forms of mountains and rivers, birds, animals, insects, fish, flowers, plants and trees. In order to observe the posture of the swimming fish, he can stay by the river for three days and three nights without blinking. Later, Ma Liang's painting skills became more and more sophisticated, almost drawing something, like something. When the villagers saw that Ma Liang had painted so well, they all praised it. Some squire rich men came to visit and offered a number of silver pieces, asking only for a painting by Ma Liang. Ma Liang exchanged the money from the sale of the paintings for piecemeal silver and donated them free of charge to the local poor victims, hoping that their lives would be better.
Second, the relationship
Once, Ma Liang went out on a trip, passing by the Golden Mountain Temple. He saw that the Jinshan Temple, located on the riverside, had fallen into disrepair and was already dilapidated. Master Zhi Zen then called on the disciples in the temple to go out to make friends and collect donations, hoping to raise silver as soon as possible and rebuild the temple. Although the local gentry and rich people have a lot of wealth, when they heard that they wanted to take money from their own pockets to build temples, they all covered their money bags tightly and did not pull out a dime.
The rich man of the Zhao family said: "The Golden Mountain Temple has been broken for thousands of years, and it has been raining and blowing all day long, even if I have pasted all the family wealth, I can't repair a piece of soil of the Golden Mountain Temple." ”
Zhou's gentry said: "The Golden Mountain Temple cannot be repaired, it is simply a bottomless pit, it is best to demolish it and rebuild it in another place!" ”
The meaning of the squires and rich people is very clear: the rebuilding of the temple is a huge project, thankless, and perhaps there will be no results in the exhaustion of people's wealth. Therefore, if you want us to pay, there is no door.
Master Zhi Zen was at a loss.
When Ma Liang learned of this, he thought to himself: When he was a child, his parents told him that it was the name given to him by the Wise Zen Master of the Golden Mountain Temple, and it seems that his relationship with the Golden Mountain Temple is really not shallow. Moreover, the Golden Mountain Temple has been built for more than a thousand years, and it is a feng shui treasure protected by the Buddha's gate, and if it is not repaired, it will only bring more huge losses if it continues to be dilapidated and decadent.
Therefore, Ma Liangdeng visited the "temple" and sat and talked with The Wisdom Zen Master for a long time, and finally found the three "crux" of repairing the temple: one is the lack of starting funds for repairing the temple, the other is the lack of soil to repair the temple, and the third is the lack of support from the local gentry and rich people. Ma Liang listened carefully, suddenly stood up, his chest relaxed, and said generously: "Master is on top, please listen to Ma Liang's words." Although Ma Liang was not talented, he also realized that the repair of the Golden Mountain Temple was a thousand-year-old plan and a foundation of ten thousand years. If Menggui Temple does not abandon and repair the temple, Ma Liang is willing to bear it with all his might! ”
Taken aback, Zen Master Zhi immediately folded his hands and chanted "Amitabha Buddha."
Ma Liang's benefactor was earnest, which deeply touched Lao Gu. On behalf of the 1,080 monks from all over the monastery, Lao Gu thanked the benefactor. ”
III. Revelation
Ma Liang said do it, unequivocally. He took two approaches to address the lack of funds. First, the assets of Huaidong's hometown were sold and converted into 10,000 taels of silver; The second is to sell paintings, and only to rich squires and rich people, refusing to bargain. Some of the local big families saw that a foreigner was so righteous and awe-inspiring, ashamed and inspired, and became generous and began to donate silver and supplies.
The problem of money is solved, but the problem of soil, how to be good?
The Temple of the Golden Mount is built on a mountain, adjacent to the river, and there is no soil available. If the soil around the households at the foot of the mountain is dug up, once the continuous rainy season is encountered, the rain will wash away the foundation of the residents' houses, which will bring danger to the local people.
Ma Liang encountered an intestinal obstruction.
One night, Ma Liang read the Classic of Mountains and Seas and read the story of "Jingwei Reclamation" and was deeply moved. In order to fill in the East Sea, Jingwei had to bring stones and grass and trees from other places to the sea every day, and this tenacious and persistent spirit was so remarkable! Suddenly, Ma Liang's heart was shocked, as if he had been inspired by something, and he thought to himself: Yes, the Jingwei Bird has brought stones and grass and trees from other places, and the soil that I lack in repairing the Golden Mountain Temple can also be transported from other places! There is a lot of plain wasteland in my hometown, and I can transport the soil there from north to south to here!
The idea is truly brilliant. Ma Liang chartered a hundred large ships, each of which had ten laborers. Every ten days, ten large ships and a hundred laborers were dispatched to dig up earth from the north to the south in turn, and the cycle began again and again, like a rudder.
Finally, the soil problem was completely solved!
Driven by Ma Liang and personally under the command of Ma Liang, the repair work of the Golden Mountain Temple was carried out in an orderly manner, and the former dilapidated and decadent temple began to gradually regain its vitality, as if it was about to change into new clothes.
Fourth, kill pythons
At the foot of the mountain northwest of the Golden Mountain Temple, there is a rugged stone bridge cave. Inside the cave lived a large white python ten feet long. The Great White Python had already cultivated into a refined spirit. Because of the fear that after the successful repair of the Golden Mountain Temple, the golden body of the Buddha statue enshrined in the temple will calm itself, so the great white python will come out every three to five places to make waves, and constantly spit out poisonous gas in its mouth, so that many ordinary people under construction are weak after being poisoned, unable to lift their mental work, and even lose their lives for this.
When Ma Liang learned of this, he was worried, fearing that he would delay the progress of repairing the temple. Just when he had no choice but to do so, Master Zhi Zen had a plan in mind: "Lord Ma Liang, your painter can be said to be a god, you will draw a huge crane to see if you can deal with this hateful great white python." ”
Ma Liang took out his paintbrush, looked up at the sky, and meditated in his heart. A few strokes of the "brush brush" fell, and a huge crane appeared vividly on the door wall of the Golden Mountain Temple. After some time, the great white python swam out of the bridge hole again. At the moment when it was about to release the poisonous gas, the crane on the door wall suddenly rolled its eyes and flew away from the door wall. The crane opened its wings to cover the sky, and with the speed of lightning, it first flew into the air, then swooped down from the air, and with its sharp claws, it tightly buckled into the flesh of the great white python, and then flew into the air with the great white python, smashing the great white python to the ground. The great white python was smashed into a mess, and it cried out for its life.
After the death of the great white python, the progress of repairing the temple was obviously much smoother.
Fifth, success
Ten years have passed. Ma Liang changed from a personable teenager to a middle-aged man with a long beard. The years made people old, and a few wrinkles gradually climbed to Ma Liang's forehead, but Ma Liang didn't think anything of it.
He looked at the newly renovated Golden Mountain Temple in front of him, and his heart was full of emotions.
Ten years to sharpen a sword.
Ten years to build a temple.
Ma Liang fulfilled his promise to Master Zhi Zen.
Ma Liang, who fulfilled his promise, returned to his hometown in Huaidong and continued to take the local people to plant trees and raise livestock, and take them to get rich and live a happy life. He also set up the "Ma Liang Painting Hall" to provide a very suitable creative environment for children who like to draw.
Although Ma Liang retired after his achievements, the Golden Mountain Temple will never forget him, and the people living around the Golden Mountain Temple will never forget him. In order to commemorate Ma Liang's exploits, the local Xiucai specially wrote "Ma Liang alone to repair the Golden Mountain Temple, do not use a shovel of soil in Jiangnan", so that future generations will always remember this great good man who has selflessly dedicated himself!
About the author: Hu Dawei, who has published a number of works in Anhui Daily, Xin'an Evening News, Wuhu Daily, and Dajiang Evening News, has won the second prize of the "Covenant • Industrial and Commercial Bank" Short Essay Collection Contest jointly organized by the Jiangsu Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Yangtze Evening News, the second prize of the 2019 Qingming Sacrifice Heroic Martyrs Essay Collection Activity sponsored by the Wuhu Veterans Affairs Bureau, the second prize of the "Praise the Motherland, Praise the Party Grace" Theme Essay Contest, the third prize of the "Ma Liang Story" Essay Contest, and the "I Contribute a Strategy for the Construction of the People's City" The third prize of the theme essay contest, the excellence award of the first "Want hemp culture" cup poetry contest "Story Legend Category", and the final prize of the first "Fan Zhongyan Prose Award" national essay contest of the "Jinsha Lake" Cup. This article is 2386 words.