很久很久以前，大概在被稱做五代的時期吧，江浙一帶出現了一個名為契此的胖和尚，他手持錫杖，肩搭布袋，笑呵呵的到處行乞。被人譏為「垃圾袋」的布袋裡，裝滿了別人丟棄的廢物，契此卻稱它是「展開遍布四方，進入歡樂自在」的寶袋，「有時備無時，無用變有用。」到時他從袋裡掏出來的，彷佛都是帶笑的東西。在久旱的大太陽天，契此披蓑戴笠在龜裂的田埂上悠悠而行，不到片刻，烏雲密布，大雨降臨，他那預知陰晴的能力，使人驚喜。契此於磐石上坐化後兩年，不時有僧人、居士在各地與他相逢。人們感到神秘莫測，便打開契此留封的偈言，只見上面寫道：
彌勒真彌勒 化身千百億 時時示世人 世人自不識
從此契此為彌勒菩薩化身的說法廣為流傳，各寺院按照契此的形相建閣塑像。人們只要跨第一道門檻，首先撞入眼簾的就是笑顏坦肚的胖和尚，他那普普通通的大布袋，已成了他獨有的標誌，「大肚能容，容天下難容之事；開口便笑，笑世間可笑之人。」的檻聯，深入人心；在他那永遠的慈顏笑口前，世間的恩怨糾紛，顯得微不足道。寂靜中，凝立於彌勒菩薩像前，細究紅塵的一切，真有無一可言之味。
五臺山是文殊菩薩的道場；峨嵋山是普賢菩薩的道場；普陀山是觀音菩薩的道場；九華山是地藏王菩薩的道場；而彌勒菩薩以契此作化生，在雪竇山教化時間最長，因此雪竇山成了彌勒菩薩的道場。雪竇山的雪竇寺同樣供著彌勒菩薩，只是要比一般的寺院大上一些。楹聯也是書寫於紅牆之上、黃檐之下；有一長長的對聯，合著寺外的風景，簡潔明瞭地勾出了彌勒菩薩的灑脫……
淌下來，看上去，
垂流趣在仰觀，雪瀑似寒禪意
裝進去，倒出來，
廢物並非無用，布袋也有佛心
除了佛殿正中的龐大的彌勒菩薩塑像，殿兩側還塑有一千尊微型彌勒菩薩，紅臉的、青顏的、白胖的、黃瘦的、著僧衣的、穿俗裝的，無論何種神態，都是昂昂然肚中能容撐船的感覺。遊客欲在雪竇寺，購些紀念品，也都是彌勒菩薩像：持蒲扇的、甩佛珠的、戴竹笠的、拎布袋的、打銅鑼的、舉石鎖的、站立的、捲成團的，無論何種動作，都是歡歡喜喜的。
這種歡喜，似風似水，吹向各地，又流往四方，無論在那裡都可以看見他的笑意。我曾揀得一尊小小不足兩寸的石膏彌勒菩薩像，鼻子、手臂、袈裟等處都已磨損污濁了，但那笑與雪竇寺內幾米高的彌勒菩薩像是一模一樣的。
歡喜是沒有區別的，無論像大像小有像沒像。
歡喜是可以感染的，無論是人是物非人非物。
一個清晨，早起的我，被綿綿不斷的花香所吸引，不自覺地來到一人高的花樹前。一個路人告訴我，這花名叫含笑。此名剛一入耳，便覺花兒們轟然一聲，又寂然一片微笑起來。多麼有意思的花名，彷彿是彌勒歡喜佛點化了它們，又彷彿是它們供養了歡喜彌勒佛。總之，當歡喜被啟發出來之際，你分不清它是來源於外界，還是本來就藏於自身。
舞台上的俊男美女，可以愉悅人一時的耳目；而大肚的丑人，卻給人以一代又一代的歡樂。他的思想真是深入人心，幾千年下來，已成為我們中國人的光榮。 |
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Long long ago about the time of the Five Kingdoms Period in China, there was a fat monk by the name of Qici in the southeast part of China. H carried a metal staff in his hand, had a bag slung over his shoulder, and went about everywhere begging, with a smile on his face. His bag, named garbage bag,”contained all kinds of useless things thrown away by people. Qici called it his bag of treasures which, when opened spread out in all directions and caused people to be happy and at ease. It prepared him for times of need, when he turned the useless into the useful.”
Whatever he pulled out of his bag seemed to have a smile on it. Under the blazing sun in the midst of a drought, Qici wore a raincoat as he walked through a field. Pretty soon the rain began to pour. His ability to predict the weather surprised people. After Qici entered Nirvana while sitting on a hard rock, for two years monks and lay people still ran into him at different places. People were amazed by that. Upon opening the verses left by him, they found this statement:
Maitreya is the true Maitreya; his transformations are in the millions of billions.
He appears to people in the world, but they don't recognize him.
From then on it was said that Qici was a transformation of Maitreya Bodhisattva and all the monasteries constructed images of Qici. The moment you step into a monastery, the first thing you see is a smiling fat monk with a bare belly and the ordinary cloth bag that became his trademark. People wrote commemorative couplets like:
His big belly is accommodating.
It can accomodate all the things in this world that are hard to accommodate.
His face breaks out in laughter.
He is laughing at all the people in this world who are laughable.
There before that eternally smiling face, all the complicated relationships prompted by love and hate suddenly seem so insignificant they are not even worth mentioning. In stillness, standing before Maitreya's image, all details of the mundane world truly take on an inexpressible flavor.
Wutai (Five Peaks) Mountain is the Way place of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Omei (Lofty) Mountain is the Way place of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. Puto (Potola) Mountain is the Way place of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Jiuhua (Nine Flowers) Mountain is the Way place of Earth Store Bodhisattva. Maitreya Bodhisattvas's transformation Qici stayed at Shuedou (Snowy Gorge) Mountain for a long time. Thus, Shuedou has become known as the Way place of Maitreya Bodhisattva. The image of Maitreya Bodhisattva at Shuedo Monastery on Shuedo Mountain is unusually large. Beneath the yellow eaves on red walls is written a lengthy matching couplet that captures both the atmosphere of the surrounding scenery and the essence of Maitreya Bodhisattva's spirit. It reads:
Raise your eyes!
To see what’s coming down!
A plummeting flow catches our attention as we gaze up:
The snowy waterfall seems like a cold chan topic.
Capture it in the bag!
Dump it out again!
Garbage is certainly not useless!
The cloth bag also holds the Buddha mind.
Surrounding the huge main figure of Maitreya Bodhisattva in the center of the Buddha hall are a thousand smaller antique images of Maitreya lining both sides of the hall: a red-face, a green-face, a pale fat one, a thin fair one, some in monk robes, some in ordinary people's clothing. All the different statues display various aspects of Maitreya Bodhisattva capacity for tolerance. Those who visit Shuedo Monastery like to purchase replicas of the small statues: one holding a fan, another with beads in his hand; one wearing a bamboo hat, another carrying a cloth bag; one striking a gong, another holding a stone instrument; some standing, others curled in a seated position. No matter what the stance, he always looks happy!
In fact, that pleasant atmosphere permeates the environment; it found in the blowing breezes and the flowing waters. Wherever you are, you see his smile. Once I found a two-inch high statue of the Bodhisattva. His nose, arm, and bag were damaged, but his smile remained the same as the smile on the mammoth image in the hall.
Happiness doesn’t discriminate.
It doesn’t matter whether image is large or small
or even if there is an image or there is no image.
Happiness is contagious.
It infects people and all other creatures alike
and includes non-humans and non-creatures as well.
One morning I rose early and was attracted by the aroma of some flower that I passed by. A traveler told me that the blossom was called with a smile. Upon hearing the name, I felt the blossoms all immediately smiles and then burst out laughing. What a wonderful name! It was as if Maitreya Bodhisattva had transformed them so they could become an offering to the Buddhas. When happiness arises, it is difficult to tell if it is inspired by the outside world or by some source within. Handsome people on a stage can amuse us for a short time; but this big-bellied clown has given us generations of happiness. The impression of him is deeply rooted in our minds; for thousands of years he has been the pride of China. |
