OBS Chapter 962 Fundraising
Chapter 962 Fundraising
At the same time, Shen Xue Ning received the leaders of relevant government departments and arranged them to sit on the right side of the monks. They also sat cross-legged like everyone else.
The temple layout has been prepared, with suckling pig, whole chicken, fruits, etc. The suckling pig symbolizes good fortune and the whole chicken represents wealth.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the ceremony to begin at nine o'clock.
At nine o'clock——
Master Tongyun put his hands together, chanted a Buddhist verse, and then began his speech, which included: the history and significance of the temple and its prospects for the future.
This is a new temple and has no history, but the time of its construction was mentioned. When this was said, the temple could be said to have a history.
Master Tongyun gave a fifteen-minute speech. Although he seemed not good at speaking, he could actually speak fluently and eloquently when he was serious. His speech was thought-provoking and made people want to listen more. This must be the language charm of a high monk.
Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou sat cross-legged in the first row outside the main hall, listening quietly.
Everything has been arranged. Everything just needs to go according to plan today. Shen Xue Ning doesn't need to do anything else.
After the speech, a bell rang from the pavilion with a large bell hanging on the side.
The sound of the bell is deep and rich, like the echo of a valley, reverberating among the green mountains and clear waters, and clearly reaching everyone's ears. The deep and continuous sound seems to come from a mysterious force from afar, making people feel peaceful.
The bell was rung nine times in total, and the nine rings symbolize peace and prosperity for the country and the people, which is a very good meaning.
Everyone listened to the sound of the bell quietly, and seemed to feel more open-minded.
After the bell was rung, the monks, led by Master Tongyun, began to chant sutras, praying for the temple, believers and society.
For a moment, the entire main hall was filled with orthodox Buddhist sounds, which reached everyone's ears. Their restless hearts gradually calmed down, their surging thoughts began to calm down, and their impatient emotions were also relieved, as if their mother's hand was gently stroking their heads, bringing peace and comfort.
After the blessing, the consecration ceremony began.
The Buddha statue to be consecrated was solemnly brought out. The Sakyamuni Buddha in the main hall was covered with a large red cloth. The bright red silk cloth was shining in the breeze.
Master Tongyun looked at the middle-aged man beside him and said, "Please, Mr. Yang, invite the Buddha out."
Mr. Yang is the highest authority person from relevant departments who came to watch the ceremony.
After putting his hands together and bowing, Mr. Yang stood up and walked towards the Buddha. Under everyone's gaze, he reached out and tore off the red cloth, revealing Sakyamuni Buddha.
Shen Xuening sculpted a golden body for Sakyamuni Buddha, which appeared golden and shining under the sunlight.
Master Tongyun bowed and said: "Amitabha!"
Five monks stood up and chanted sutras around Sakyamuni Buddha, while performing a series of consecration rituals. The process was so solemn that everyone held their breath.
No one could understand the Buddhist scriptures they were humming, so they could only watch their movements.
After about half an hour, the consecration ceremony was over.
At this time, the young monk Huizhen brought a tray with cinnabar and a brush on it, ready for the eye-dotting ceremony.
The monk puts dots on the Buddha's eyes, symbolizing the endowment of the statue with spirituality.
Young Master Huizhen helped Master Tongyun onto the elevator next to the Buddha. The staff operated the elevator to rise until Master Tongyun's body was level with the Buddha's head.
"Master, please open the eyes of the Buddha." Young Master Huizhen placed the tray beside Master Tongyun.
"Amitabha." Master Tongyun picked up a brand new brush, dipped it lightly in cinnabar, and dotted it on the Buddha's left eye. He then dipped it again in cinnabar and dotted it on the right eye.
During the whole process, everyone watched quietly.
After the eye-dotting ceremony, Master Tongyun chanted Buddhist scriptures to the Buddha for three minutes before asking the staff to lower the elevator back to the ground.
"The incense burning ceremony begins!"
Three monks from the Lama Temple lit up some big incense sticks, one each, and then inserted them into the big incense burner outside the main entrance of the main hall. Green smoke flew out from the incense sticks and slowly rose into the sky.
At this moment, a ray of sunlight appeared in the sky and shone on Yufeng Mountain. It could be seen that even the old man was pleased.
After burning incense, the three masters recited a passage of scripture, which was also obscure and difficult to understand, but felt very solemn.
The three masters returned to the main hall, and the guests invited by Shen Xue Ning came out to burn incense.
Everyone looked very solemn, their movements were extremely standard, and they were full of respect. No one dared to slack off at all. It seemed that it was engraved in everyone's bones to fear the gods.
"Purification Ceremony!"
The monks hold willow branches and hold clean water, sprinkling it inside and outside the temple to purify the environment.
Led by Master Tongyun, the five masters each held a pot of pure water from willow branches and lined up to walk out of the main hall and to the left, chanting sutras as they walked and sprinkling the pure water wherever they walked...
People who came to watch the ceremony followed them in a long line, trying to get some clean water to wash away the dirt on their bodies.
Shen Wenxu walked behind the young monk Huizhen. He was the first in line and could even reach out to catch the Yangzhi Jingshui.
Then there are Shen Bo and Tan Zongrui.
Following them came Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou, and behind them were the tourists, following in a long line, with no end in sight.
The masters sprinkled willow twigs with pure water in every corner of the temple. The temple covers a large area, and they sprinkled for a long time before returning to the main hall. They all looked a little tired.
However, the temple opening ceremony is almost coming to an end.
"A speech of thanks!"
Shen Xuening walked to the main hall, picked up the microphone, and delivered the speech she had prepared in an infectious manner.
Her voice was clear and pleasant. She spoke for about ten minutes and everyone was very patient, just like they were listening to the Buddhist scriptures just now.
Shen Xue Ning raised her voice slightly: "Thank you all for coming to the temple opening ceremony. Now I will dedicate the merits of the ceremony to all living beings, society, and the country. I hope that everyone will prosper in all aspects. Now I declare that the temple opening ceremony has been successfully concluded!"
A burst of crisp applause rang out.
Shen Xue Ning bowed to everyone and said, "Next, you can burn incense and pray for the Buddha, and visit the Buddhist temple. However, the Buddhist temple is a quiet place, so please don't make loud noises."
"You can also draw lots. There are twelve lots in total. After you draw your lot, several masters around me will interpret it for you."
Many people came here just to interpret the divination, and now that it has finally come to this, everyone immediately lined up to draw the lot.
You need to draw numbers first to draw lots. There are only twelve numbers among countless numbers, so you need to be extremely lucky to draw them. But everyone is still eager to try, which shows that many people still believe this in their hearts.
After Shen Xue Ning finished speaking, she put down the microphone and walked towards the masters: "Thank you for your help today."
Several people nodded to Shen Xuening, and Master Tongyun said, "Today is a good day, everything is going so smoothly, the Buddha will definitely bless you."
Shen Xue Ning smiled lightly: "Thank you, Buddha."
Several people clasped their hands together and nodded.
Shen Xue Ning glanced at the few people and said, "I have an unwelcome request. I hope you can help me."
Master Tongyun said politely: "Please speak, benefactor."
Shen Xue Ning said sincerely: "My temple does not have a master yet. I wonder if you can stay and preside over it?"
Several people fell into silence.
Shen Xue Ning added: "If you stay in the temple, all treatment will be the same as in Lama Temple. I will never treat you unfairly."
Several people still didn't speak, they seemed to be silent and hesitant.
Shen Xue Ning waited patiently and did not speak again.
After three or four minutes, the masters responded one after another. They were not going to stay. Everything was fine here, but there were no familiar people and the environment was unfamiliar. Since the treatment was similar, why should they leave their hometown?
The two ascetic monks were also ready to continue their practice. They were determined in their hearts and would not stay.
Shen Xue Ning felt a little regretful. It seemed that she had to think of other solutions.
But there is no need to worry, there are staff in the temple who can be asked to manage the temple temporarily. It’s just that without monks chanting and praying, it’s a bit lacking.
Shen Xuening and Qin Zizhou came to the railing outside the temple together, and they looked at the beautiful scenery below the mountain together.
Qin Zizhou knew that Shen Xuening was worried about not having a master to take charge of the temple, so he suggested: "How about posting a job opening?"
Shen Xue Ning looked down the mountain and said, "Wait a minute and see if any monks come over. If not, then post a job posting."
Qin Zizhou nodded: "I won't say much if you have a plan in mind."
Shen Xuening turned around and looked at Qin Zizhou: "Thank you very much this time. If it weren't for you, the masters of Lama Temple wouldn't come here."
Qin Zizhou smiled, shook his head and said, "I can't invite them. They just want to come to your side to have a look and gain some experience. And you don't have to be too modest. I believe many people know how you are doing here."
"Anyway, they are still doing this for the Qin family's sake." Shen Xue Ning knew it very well.
"These are not important. What's important is that things were done smoothly." Qin Zizhou changed the subject. He didn't want to separate himself too clearly with Shen Xue Ning.
Shen Xue Ning nodded: "This is something to be happy about."
The entire temple was bathed in golden sunlight. Birds were landing on the walls, roofs, and treetops. Some mountain animals were also flying in and out of the temple, creating a prosperous scene.
……
In the main hall.
Shen Bo saw Shen Wenxu putting money into the donation box, but he didn't see clearly what the money was: "Wenxu, how much did you just donate?"
Shen Wenxu raised his index finger.
Shen Bo didn't understand: "One dollar?"
Shen Wenxu rolled his eyes at Shen Bo and said, "Am I such a stingy person? How can you say one dollar?"
Shen Bo scratched his head embarrassedly: "Then I didn't misunderstand?"
Shen Wenxu said: "I raised ten yuan. I am a child, so I don't need to raise too much."
"Then I'll donate ten dollars too." Shen Bo threw ten dollars into the donation box.
Seeing the two people putting in money, Tan Zongrui also put in a twenty-note. He didn't have any smaller amounts: "Buddha bless me, I will come to collect donations for you again in the future."