Monasteries were places where monks cultivated and should be quiet.
But this Daxiang Temple was built in the territory of the Pangjiayuan, which was somewhat strange.
Pangjiayuan was also considered a downtown area. Especially on weekends, the flow of people reached more than 100,000.
Could there really be good cultivation in such a lively place?
Liu Hao poked his head out of the entrance of Daxiang Temple and looked inside.
Good heavens, this Daxiang Temple was even livelier than this street. There were many devotees inside, and there were even people who bought incense and candles on the street and walked in.
Moreover, although this Daxiang Temple looked ordinary on the outside, it was resplendent on the inside. In the huge courtyard, pavilions and pavilions were scattered in a beautiful manner.
"Hey, young man, are you also here to participate in the Great Minister Temple's birthday banquet?”
At a street stall, an old man smoking a pipe could not help but ask when he saw Liu Hao poking his head out.
"Life Appreciation Banquet?"
Liu Hao squatted down in front of the stall." Old Master, what is this birthday celebration?”
"Heh, then you can ask. Even if you search the entire Pang Family Garden, no one knows this Life Appreciation Feast better than me. I've been setting up a stall at the entrance of this Great Xiang Temple for more than thirty years.”
The old man took a puff of his pipe, feeling quite pleased with himself. Then, he knocked the pipe pot on the edge of the stool and knocked out the ashes inside. Then, he used three fingers to pinch out a handful of tobacco from the pipe and stuffed it into the pipe pot.
He lit the lighter.
The old man took a few puffs and waited for the tobacco to ignite before exhaling a mouthful of smoke.
Liu Hao wasn't far from him. He accidentally took a puff of secondhand smoke, and a spicy sensation instantly rushed into his nose.
The smell of smoke was intoxicating.
"Cough, cough, cough. Grandpa, your smoking is really strong!”
The old man smiled and said," I'm used to smoking tobacco. The cigarettes I sell now aren't strong enough. My tobacco is a treasure. I planted and plucked the tobacco leaves myself, and then made them myself."”
"The tobacco leaves I grow are top-grade from outside the pass. The leaves are thick and plump. After drying them in the shade, they are cut into fine shreds. When mixing the tobacco, I mix some tobacco stems that have become foam.”
"Then mix it with jujube nectar, fine rock sugar, a few drops of old wine, and two or three drops of sesame oil. Finally, cut up the budding little orchid and mix it with the cut tobacco…Heh, this tobacco is so beautiful to smoke!”
Liu Hao was a little embarrassed." Sir, your tobacco is really exquisite. However, this birthday banquet…"
The old man seemed to be hooked by the conversation. He slapped his thigh and said,"My tobacco is very particular. I'm just imitating others.”
"Then you're really diligent and inquisitive!”Liu Hao complimented him, but seeing that the old man had no intention of explaining the birthday banquet, he prepared to leave.
After all, he only had two hours. He had to find a good item to win this Taobao competition.
Unexpectedly, just as Liu Hao stood up, the old man changed the topic." I learned it from an old monk in Daxiang Temple.”
He finally mentioned the Great Minister Temple.
Liu Hao's interest was piqued again.
"The monks of the Daxiang Monastery can smoke?”
" So what if you smoke?" the old man said nonchalantly." The monks of the Daxiang Monastery can not only smoke, but they can also drink and eat meat."”
hiss ~
Liu Hao was a little surprised. Was this a group of wine and meat monks?
Liu Hao knew that monks had become a profession in many places, and some monasteries even openly recruited monks.
Moreover, the recruitment requirements were quite high. One needed a bachelor's degree.
However, the benefits were also high. He received a salary of tens of thousands a month, worked nine to five, ate meat, drank wine, married a wife, and even went to nightclubs.
However, this was the first time Liu Hao had encountered such a monk in reality.
This Daxiang Temple was probably not a good place to cultivate.
The old man didn't care about Liu Hao's expression and continued,""The old monk who taught me how to make tobacco leaves is more particular. The tobacco leaves are directly shipped from outside the pass.”
"The tobacco leaves that grow on the black soil outside the pass are thick and plump. After drying in the shade, the fragrance is strong and has a hint of sweetness.”
"Moreover, they use imported honey. It's said to be honey collected from tea trees and has a fragrant tea taste.”
"Only when the Daxiang Monastery is flourishing with incense and the monks earn money would they be willing to use those good things to make tobacco.”
Then, the old man whispered to Liu Hao mysteriously,""Do you know why Daxiang Temple is so popular?”
Liu Hao shook his head.
"Heh, that's right. If you knew, why would I talk to you?”
The old man said proudly,"The reason why the Daxiang Temple is so prosperous is because of this birthday banquet."”
Good heavens, after going around in a big circle, they had finally returned to the starting point.
The old man pointed at those people who were happily heading to the Great Minister Temple and said,""These people are all here to attend the birthday celebration. Most of them are regulars here and come once a week because the birthday celebration is held once a week.”
"In the end, this birthday banquet is actually a banquet of eating and drinking.”
"The visitors here are all Buddhists…"
"Buddhism advocates that believers do not kill, abstain from meat, and do not eat meat or drink alcohol. Many people cannot abstain from alcohol and meat.”
"However, this Daxiang Temple is different from ordinary monasteries. You won't be able to find a second monastery that is similar to Daxiang Temple in the entire capital because Daxiang Temple has a very strange doctrine.”
"Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha's heart remains.”
When Liu Hao heard this, his heart skipped a beat. This sentence was very familiar!
The old man took a puff of his pipe and continued,""The monks of Daxiang Monastery said that they eat meat and wine in their mouths, but they are chanting Buddha in their hearts. Moreover, the meat they eat is Sanjing meat and the wine they drink is vegetarian wine.”
Liu Hao knew a little about the Three Pure Meat and the vegetarian wine.
The so-called Three Pure Meat referred to the meat of animals that had not been seen, heard, or suspected to have been killed for themselves.
As for vegetarian wine, it was a crude wine that had not been distilled. This kind of wine had low alcohol content and was turbid.
The old man glanced at Liu Hao and said,""The words 'Xie Sheng' in the 'Xie Sheng Feast' means to thank the living beings. In other words, it means the pigs and chickens that they ate.”
"Young man, if you want to go to the Daxiang Temple to eat a birthday banquet, you have to have a thick wallet!”
"It's just a meal. How expensive can it be?" Liu Hao asked with a smile.”
"Heh, you don't understand this. This Daxiang Temple is completely maintained by the Life Appreciation Banquet. If the price was low, would this Daxiang Temple be so resplendent?”
As he spoke, the old man stretched out five fingers and said,""If you want to eat a birthday banquet, you need this amount!”
"Five hundred?" Liu Hao tentatively made a bid.
"Five thousand!"
The old man glanced at Liu Hao with an expression that said," You haven't seen the world."
Five thousand?
Good heavens, was he eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow and drinking immortal wine?
On the other side, the old man was bragging to Liu Hao.
At this moment, the side door of Daxiang Temple beside the old man suddenly opened. Two young monks were pushing a strange statue out with great effort.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]