大东As it was said, "Those who can endure all hardships will become, in the end, outstanding men." The uncle, therefore, advised his young nephew to practise singing even on the hottest or coldest days. In addition, he should strive to attain the skill of making his voice resound from the depths of his heart. The novices were expected to learn diligently and refrain from playing. Having been enlightened by this advice, Mingzi studied harder, repeating and learning to chant the Buddhist sutras with fixed rhythms every morning:
大东"As soon as the incense is burned in the burner—”
大东"As soon as the incense is burned in the burner—”
大东"The holy world will be filled with its fragrance—”
大东"The holy world will be filled with its fragrance—”
大东"And heavenly Buddhas will appear in their golden figures—”
大东"And heavenly Buddhas will appear in their golden figures—”
大东...
大东小和尚的日子清闲得很。一早起来，开山门，扫地。庵里的地铺的都是箩底方砖，好扫得很，给弥勒佛、韦驮烧一炷香，正殿的三世佛面前也烧一炷香，磕三个头，念三声“南无阿弥陀佛”，敲三声磬。这庵里的和尚不兴做什么早课、晚课，明子这三声磬就全都代替了。然后，挑水，喂猪。然后，等当家和尚，即明子的舅舅起来，教他念经。
大东教念经也跟教书一样，师父面前一本经，徒弟面前一本经，师父唱一句，徒弟跟着唱一句。是唱哎。舅舅一边唱，一边还用手在桌上拍板。一板一眼，拍得很响，就跟教唱戏一样。是跟教唱戏一样，完全一样哎。连用的名词都一样。舅舅说：念经，一要板眼准，二要合工尺。说：当一个好和尚，得有条好嗓子。说：民国二十年闹大水，运河倒了堤，最后在清水潭合龙，因为大水淹死的人很多，放了一台大焰口，十三大师——十三个正座和尚，各大庙的方丈都来了，下面的和尚上百。谁当这个首座？推来推去，还是石桥——善因寺的方丈！他往上一坐，就跟地藏王菩萨一样，这就不用说了；那一声“开香赞”，围看的上千人立时鸦雀无声。说：嗓子要练，夏练三伏，冬练三九，要练丹田气！说：要吃得苦中苦，方为人上人！说：和尚里也有状元、榜眼、探花！要用心，不要贪玩！舅舅这一番大法要说得明海和尚实在是五体投地，于是就一板一眼地跟着舅舅唱起来：
大东“炉香乍爇——”
大东“炉香乍爇——”
大东“法界蒙薰——”
大东“法界蒙薰——”
大东“诸佛现金身——”
大东“诸佛现金身——”
大东…… ……
大东When he had finished his morning lesson of chanting sutras (he had also to learn to chant a section of the Buddhist scriptures before going to bed), the older monks of Biqi Nunnery began to get up one after another.
大东There were very few inhabitants in this nunnery: only six including Minghai. One of them was his uncle's teacher named Puzhao, an old monk about sixty years old. His Buddhist name was unknown, for people simply called him "Old Monk" or "Old Master". As for Minghai, he called him "Grandfather Master". This old monk, who never chanted Buddhist sutras but only sat motionless, was unsociable and eccentric. He always kept to himself in his room. Except for the Spring Festival, he ate no meat all year round.
大东In addition, there were three other older monks with the name "Ren": Renshan, Renhai and Rendu. Outside and inside the temple, people called them "First Master" and "Second Master", or "Master Shan" and "Master Hai". Only Rendu alone was called that name because "Master Du" was unpleasant to the ear. In fact, being still very young (only a little more than twenty years old), he did not deserve to be called "Master".
大东等明海学完了早经——他晚上临睡前还要学一段，叫做晚经——荸荠庵的师父们就都陆续起床了。
大东这庵里人口简单，一共六个人。连明海在内，五个和尚。有一个老和尚，六十几了，是舅舅的师叔，法名普照，但是知道的人很少，因为很少人叫他法名，都称之为老和尚或老师父，明海叫他师爷爷。这是个很枯寂的人，一天关在房里，就是那“一花一世界”里，也看不见他念佛，只是那么一声不响地坐着。他是吃斋的，过年时除外。
大东下面就是师兄弟三个，仁字排行：仁山、仁海、仁渡。庵里庵外，有的称他们为大师父、二师父；有的称之为山师父、海师父。只有仁渡，没有叫他“渡师父”的，因为听起来不像话，大都直呼之为仁渡。他也只配如此，因为他还年轻，才二十多岁。
大东Renshan, who was Mingzi's uncle, managed the temple. It was very reasonable that people also called him "manager" instead of "abbot". He alone attended to the daily life of the others. In his room on a desk lay an abacus and three volumes of account books. In one was recorded the accounts for money received for the Buddhist services, in the second the rent, and in the third the debts owed to the nunnery. The monks of this temple were frequently invited to perform services by the local Buddhists and afterwards they would, of course, be paid. What else could they live on? Among the various kinds of Buddhist services, chanting sutras for the dead was the most frequent. To perform this, ten monks were required: One would take the leading seat, another would beat a drum and four others would stand at either side of a square table. If there were not enough monks, it was also permissible to have three monks on both sides as well as the leading monk and the drum beater. Since Biqi Nunnery had only four monks, when they were asked to do this service, they had to cooperate with monks from other temples. This happened from time to time. Generally, they performed the service with only half a set of monks for it was rather troublesome to cooperate and many families could not afford the cost of a full ceremony. Therefore, some families, when one of their members died, invited only two monks, and sometimes only one, to perform this service. Many paid the fees only after they had gathered in their harvest. In such cases, their names were entered in the account books. Since the amounts given to each monk were not equal, just as with actors in a theatrical troupe, they were distributed in fixed proportions. The monk who sat in the seat of honour received the greatest proportion, because, apart from leading the other monks in chanting the Buddhist sutras, he had also to perform a solo chant. When the service came to the point where the condolences to the departed were sung, the other monks laid down their musical instruments and rested, while only the leading monk continued singing slowly with distinct rhythm. Next to him was the monk who beat the drum. Not easy work! The tempo at the beginning of the service was impossible to play well if one was unskilled. As for the rest, their rewards were the same. To prevent the monks from quarrelling at the end of each year, it was necessary to enter their parts in the account book. The temple recorded their work in detail as follows: On such and such a date, so-and-so sat in the seat of honour; so-and-so beat the drum; and so-and-so… In addition, the temple had quite a large amount of land, which was rented out to tenants. The rents were collected at an appointed time. The nunnery also lent money. Both the tenants and debtors rarely failed to pay their rent and interest, because all were afraid of offending Buddha. The accounts alone kept Renshan busy all day long. There were also a lot of other daily accounts that needed to be entered. Hence, in order to do his work as efficiently as possible, he hung on the wall of his room a plank inscribed with this motto in red paint:
大东"Diligence in recording at the time will save the trouble of recollection."
大东仁山，即明子的舅舅，是当家的。不叫“方丈”，也不叫“住持”，却叫“当家的”，是很有道理的，因为他确确实实干的是当家的职务。他屋里摆的是一张账桌，桌子上放的是账簿和算盘。账簿共有三本。一本是经账，一本是租账，一本是债账。和尚要做法事，做法事要收钱，——要不，当和尚干什么？常做的法事是放焰口。正规的焰口是十个人。一个正座，一个敲鼓的，两边一边四个。人少了，八个，一边三个，也凑合了。荸荠庵只有四个和尚，要放整焰口就得和别的庙里合伙。这样的时候也有过。通常只是放半台焰口。一个正座，一个敲鼓，另外一边一个。一来找别的庙里合伙费事；二来这一带放得起整焰口的人家也不多。有的时候，谁家死了人，就只请两个，甚至一个和尚咕噜咕噜念一通经，敲打几声法器就算完事。很多人家的经钱不是当时就给，往往要等秋后才还。这就得记账。另外，和尚放焰口的辛苦钱不是一样的。就像唱戏一样，有份子。正座第一份。因为他要领唱，而且还要独唱。当中有一大段“叹骷髅”，别的和尚都放下法器休息，只有首座一个人有板有眼地曼声吟唱。第二份是敲鼓的。你以为这容易呀？哼，单是一开头的“发擂”，手上没功夫就敲不出迟疾顿挫！其余的，就一样了。这也得记上：某月某日，谁家焰口半台，谁正座，谁敲鼓……省得到年底结账时赌咒骂娘。……这庵里有几十亩庙产，租给人种，到时候要收租。庵里还放债。租、债一向倒很少亏欠，因为租佃借钱的人怕菩萨不高兴。这三本账就够仁山忙的了。另外，香烛、灯火、油盐“福食”，这也得随时记记账呀。除了账簿之外，山师父的方丈的墙上还挂着一块水牌，上漆四个红字：“勤笔免思”。
大东Renshan taught others that, to be a good monk, one should strive to acquire three qualities—none of which he himself possessed. First of all, he was very ugly and could be best described by these words: yellow and fat. His voice not like a bell either, but like a grunting sow. As to his mind, was he clever? Certainly not, otherwise, why did he always lose when gambling? He never wore his Buddhist outer garment in the temple, not even his dark grey Buddhist robe. Normally he dressed in only a short Buddhist jacket with his yellow belly exposed. No matter whether his shoes were old or new, he always shuffled them along instead of putting them on properly. He paid no attention to his appearance, going around the temple making a nasal noise like a pig.
大东The second monk, Renhai, had a wife. Every summer she came and lived in the temple for a few months, because it was very cool inside. Of the six inhabitants in the temple, one of them was none other than Renhai's wife. Both Renshan and Rendu called her "sister-in-law”, while Minghai called her "mistress". This couple were both finicky over neatness and cleanliness, busying themselves washing and sweeping all day long. In the evening, they enjoyed the coolness of the courtyard. In the daytime, they remained in their room and never stepped outside of it.
大东仁山所说当一个好和尚的三个条件，他自己其实一条也不具备。他的相貌只要用两个字就说清楚了：黄，胖。声音也不像钟磬，倒像母猪。聪明么？难说，打牌老输。他在庵里从不穿袈裟，连海青直裰也免了。经常是披着件短僧衣，袒露着一个黄色的肚子。下面是光脚趿拉着一双僧鞋，——新鞋他也是趿拉着。他一天就是这样不衫不履地这里走走，那里走走，发出母猪一样的声音：“呣——呣——”。
大东二师父仁海。他是有老婆的。他老婆每年夏秋之间来住几个月，因为庵里凉快。庵里有六个人，其中之一，就是这位和尚的家眷。仁山、仁渡叫她嫂子，明海叫她师娘。这两口子都很爱干净，整天地洗涮。傍晚的时候，坐在天井里乘凉。白天，闷在屋里不出来。
大东Rendu, the third monk, was clever and skilful.
大东Whenever Renshan failed to work out the accounts on his abacus he, after rolling his eyes for a moment, calculated them correctly. In gambling, he was sure to win on most occasions, because as soon as some playing cards were shown, he could guess what the others held in their hands. While playing, there were always some onlookers standing behind his back watching whether or not he cheated. Therefore, when people invited him to play, they would joke, "I'd like to give you some money!" He was not only good at chanting scriptures and performing rites (in fact, few monks of the smaller temples were able to do this as well as he), but he had also mastered the unusual art of tossing the cymbals. For instance, every summer a large-scale service was performed in the open air. The conventional instruments were not used, only a number of large cymbals clashing rapidly. Wearing embroidered outer garments, many monks would toss the cymbals (some of which weighed more than five kilograms) into the air, making them spin while flying skywards, then catching them before they touched the ground. Some would catch them with a variety of gestures known as "the rhinoceros looks up at the moon" or "the man bears a sword at his back".
大东三师父是个很聪明精干的人。有时一笔账大师兄扒了半天算盘也算不清，他眼珠子转两转，早算得一清二楚。他打牌赢的时候多，二三十张牌落地，上下家手里有些什么牌，他就差不多都知道了。他打牌时，总有人爱在他后面看歪头胡。谁家约他打牌，就说：“想送两个钱给你。”他不但经忏俱通（小庙的和尚能够拜忏的不多），而且身怀绝技，会“飞铙”。七月间有些地方做盂兰会，在旷地上放大焰口，几十个和尚，穿绣花袈裟，飞铙。飞铙就是把十多斤重的大铙钹飞起来。到了一定的时候，全部法器皆停，只几十副大铙紧张急促地敲起来。忽然起手，大铙向半空中飞去，一面飞，一面旋转。然后，又落下来，接住。接住不是平平常常地接住，有各种架势，“犀牛望月”、“苏秦背剑”……
大东This was a display of dexterity, and it was said that Buddha Ksitigarbha was fond of watching it. Actually the most pleased were the women and kids. Therefore, such a service was a good opportunity for the young and handsome monks to show themselves off. Just as after the performance of a well-known theatrical troupe, after a large service ended, some young girls or even married women would disappear — having eloped with the monks.
大东In addition, Rendu was adept in performing a "flowery" service. It often happened that, in order to satisfy the curiosity of their relatives, some families would ask the monks to perform this kind of Buddhist service if the occasion was not a very sorrowful one, such as celebrating the birth anniversary of a dead relative. This meant that after the formal service had finished, the monks continued to sing ballads, play fiddles, blow flutes and beat drums. The listeners asked the monks to sing their favourite songs. On such occasions, Rendu could sing alone for a whole night in high spirits. Before, he had always gone out, but for the past two years he had stuck more to the temple. He was rumoured to have had many mistresses. Outwardly he behaved well, always wearing a decorous expression when he encountered young girls or married women, not joking or singing. One day, resting in cool shade on the threshing ground, he was gathered around, and was insisted on a performance. Not to spoil their mood, he said, "OK, I'll sing one for you. It isn't the local one, which you know quite well, but one from Anhui."
大东Sister thresh barley with a youngster,
大东Whispering intimate affairs whilst beat.
大东Though the conversation is private,
大东It goes on in the next thresh of wheat.
大东When it was over, the fellows were not thoroughly amused. Then he continued.
大东In this temple there were no taboos, and no one mentioned anything about them. Renshan smoked a water-pipe, which he took with him when going to perform Buddhist services.
大东这哪是念经，这是耍杂技。也许是地藏王菩萨爱看这个，但真正因此快乐起来的是人，尤其是妇女和孩子。这是年轻漂亮的和尚出风头的机会。一场大焰口过后，也像一个好戏班子过后一样，会有一个两个大姑娘、小媳妇失踪——跟和尚跑了。他还会放“花焰口”。有的人家，亲戚中多风流子弟，在不是很哀伤的佛事——如做冥寿时，就会提出放花焰口。所谓“花焰口”就是在正焰口之后，叫和尚唱小调，拉丝弦，吹管笛，敲鼓板，而且可以点唱。仁渡一个人可以唱一夜不重头。仁渡前几年一直在外面，近二年才常住在庵里。据说他有相好的，而且不止一个。他平常可是很规矩，看到姑娘媳妇总是老老实实的，连一句玩笑话都不说，一句小调山歌都不唱。有一回，在打谷场上乘凉的时候，一伙人把他围起来，非叫他唱两个不可。他却情不过，说：“好，唱一个。不唱家乡的。家乡的你们都熟。唱个安徽的。”
大东姐和小郎打大麦，
大东一转子讲得听不得。
大东听不得就听不得，
大东打完了大麦打小麦。
大东唱完了，大家还嫌不够，他就又唱了一个：
大东姐儿生得漂漂的，
大东两个奶子翘翘的。
大东有心上去摸一把，
大东心里有点跳跳的。
大东…… ……
大东这个庵里无所谓清规，连这两个字也没人提起。
大东仁山吃水烟，连出门做法事也带着他的水烟袋。
大东The monks loved gambling. The square table in the main hall, which was used for meals, was just right for this, and would be moved to the entrance of the hall. As soon as it was in place, Renshan would take out the chips from his room and throw them on the table. They played cards more often than mahjong. The participants, apart from the three older monks, were a duck-feather collector and a hare hunter, who was also a hen thief. Nevertheless they were all decent souls. The former went from village to village with a shoulder pole and bamboo baskets crying intermittently in a hoarse voice, "Any duck feathers for sale?"
大东The latter had a secret instrument, a dragonfly made of copper. At the sight of a hen, he would launch the dragonfly. When the hen came over and pecked at it, its spring would unwind and choke the hen rendering it incapable of cackling for help. Then the thief would promptly rush forward and catch it.
大东他们经常打牌。这是个打牌的好地方。把大殿上吃饭的方桌往门口一搭，斜放着，就是牌桌。桌子一放好，仁山就从他的方丈里把筹码拿出来，哗啦一声倒在桌上。斗纸牌的时候多，搓麻将的时候少。牌客除了师兄弟三人，常来的是一个收鸭毛的，一个打兔子兼偷鸡的，都是正经人。收鸭毛的担一副竹筐，串乡串镇，拉长了沙哑的声音喊叫：
大东“鸭毛卖钱——!"
大东偷鸡的有一件家什——铜蜻蜓。看准了一只老母鸡，把铜蜻蜓一丢，鸡婆子上去就是一口。这一啄，铜蜻蜓的硬簧绷开，鸡嘴撑住了，叫不出来了。正在这鸡十分纳闷的时候，上去一把薅住。
大东Minghai had once asked him to let him have a look at his copper dragonfly, which he took to Xiaoyingzi's home, trying it out in front of the door. In a trice, Xiaoyingzi's mother ran out, complaining, "Are you crazy? How can you bring such a foolish thing here to play with?"
大东Immediately Xiaoyingzi ran up to him and urged, "Give it to me! Give it to me!"
大东She tried it out on a black hen. It really did work! The hen was choked and it stood motionless with shock.
大东When the sky was overcast or rainy, these two would come to the Biqi Nunnery to while away their leisure hours there. If there were no partners, the three monks dragged the old monk to gamble with them, at the end of which Renshan used to swear angrily, "Mother! I've lost again! I won't play next time!"
大东They never ate meat secretly, instead slaughtered pigs at the end of every year in the main hall. They did it just like ordinary households with boiled water, a wooden basin and sharp knife. While the pig was being secured, it cried lustily. The difference was that they held a ceremony for it with the old monk chanting in a serious manner the sutra of reincarnation for the pig, which was about to go to Heaven.
