..续本文上一页ter. If you build pagodas to the number of Ganges” sands, then that”s even better. But it shouldn”t be that you just express your fantasy of wanting to build a pagoda. The pagoda must actually exist. You have to really build it, not just talk about wanting to build one. By building pagodas of the seven jewels in number like grains of sands in the Ganges River, you will derive great merit and virtue. But the merit and virtue obtained from sitting quietly in dhyana samadhi for even an instant and being truly without thought--becoming a person of the Way without thought--surpasses the merit and virtue obtained from building pagodas of the seven jewels in number like Ganges” sands. This is certainly not telling people not to build pagodas. If you want to build pagodas, you can build as many as you like. I”m not joking. After all, there”s no way to rent a pagoda for you, or rent a pagoda for me, or rent a pagoda for someone else. That”s not how it”s done. How could a pagoda be rented, anyway

　　 And why would you want to rent one

　　Today I will relate a true account about "sitting quietly for an instant." Long ago, Dhyana Master Ling You and after several years many people came to know of him as a cultivator who had virtue in the Way. Many people came to pay their respects. lived on Mount Wei in Hunan province in China. He was known as "the old man of Mount Wei." He built a hut and cultivated on the mountain, and after several years many people came to know of him as a cultivator who had virtue in the Way. Many people came to pay their respects. When the news reached Prime Minister Pei Xiu, he too went to call on him.

　　As soon as he had a conversation with the Old Man of Mount Wei, he felt the affinities were very deep and, inspired by his faith in him, he thought, "You are really a lofty monk who has the Way! But you are living in such a shaky, broken-down hut. It leaks when it rains and the wind blows through it. It”s too bitter! You can build a monastery here. I”ll give you the money." On the spot he gave the Old Man three hundred ounces of silver. The value of silver at the time was such that three hundred ounces could have built ten monasteries like the one we are in now. [the former Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery]. In those days a piece of silver could buy a lot of things. Prime Minister Pei Xiu, acting as a great Dharma Protector, offered up three hundred ounces of silver. But the Old Man of Mount Wei didn”t have a safe, or a safety deposit box, or even a special place to put it in. And so Minister Pei Xiu simply set the money outside the hut in the grass and left.

　　Three years later, Prime Minister Pei Xiu returned to call upon the Old Man of Mount Wei and found him still living in the same shabby hut. He thought, "Oh! I gave this monk three hundred ounces of silver. What did he do with it

　　 Did he use it to buy wine

　　 Did he buy meat with it

　　 How strange! Three hundred ounces of silver and he didn”t build a monastery. He”s still living in this broken-down hut!" He went in and saw that the Old Man of Mount Wei was just the same as before. And so he asked him,"Three years ago I gave you three hundred ounces of silver and told you to build a monastery. Why didn”t you do it

　　 What have you done with the money

　　"

　　The Old Man of Mount Wei said, "Silver

　　 Where did you put it

　　 Go look for it there." Pei Xiu thought to himself, "At that time there was no place to put it, and so I left it in the grass." Then he went to search in the grass and sure enough, the silver was still there. It hadn”t moved an inch. The Old Man of Mount Wei hadn”t even gathered up the money to put it in a safe place out of fear that someone might steal it. Prime Minister Pei Xiu thought, “Oh, he”s really a lofty monk who has attained the Way. For th…

《若人静坐一须臾 If a Person Sits Quietly in Dhyana Samadhi for an Instant》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…