In the Song Dynasty, there was a famous monk. No, he was the most unlike a monk. People respectfully call him Master Zhongshu. He is a very talented person, but he is also a very dissolute person. He met the poet Su Shi at Baoyue Temple in Hangzhou. Su Shi was a local governor at that time. The two got along very well. They often got together to drink and chat. Whenever he got into the mood, Master Zhongshu would quietly tell him Which local brothel girl in Su Shi is the best? He is simply a "rogue" monk! Master Zhongshu had two major hobbies at one time, not smoking and perming his hair, but writing poems and eating honey. You may be wondering, can eating honey be considered a hobby? Of course eating honey is not. A legitimate hobby, but for Master Zhongshu, it is indeed a hobby, because no matter what meal Master Zhongshu eats, he must add honey before eating it. In fact, there is a reason why Master Zhongshu has this special hobby. , Master Zhongshu's original name was Zhang Hui. He used to be famous as a prostitute in Suzhou City. Many people didn't like him, but he was good at studying and passed the Jinshi examination when he was young. After Zhongshu passed the Jinshi examination. The master finally had fun. He spent the whole day looking for flowers and flowers with his friends. His wife saw it and took it to heart. Finally one day, her wife accumulated enough resentment and poured arsenic into Master Zhongshu’s wine. Fortunately, Master Zhongshu escaped because the dose was not enough. In order to completely dissipate the poisonous gas from the body, Master Zhongshu had to eat a lot of honey every day. In addition, Master Zhongshu was not allowed to eat meat. He couldn't eat anymore, so he simply didn't go to become a scholar. He went to the temple and became a monk directly with some simple luggage. He just wandered around every day, looked at girls, and occasionally wrote a few poems and lyrics, which were very good. There is not much information about Master Zhongshu in historical records, because his character is so strange, and his deeds are not positive teaching materials, so it is difficult for Zhongshu to leave his name in history. Master Shu himself did not work hard after becoming a Jinshi. He lived in a haze every day without any lofty ambitions in his heart. He did not feel comfortable chanting sutras and chanting poems when he went to the temple. He did not abide by the rules and precepts and followed his own desires. Therefore, in the Song Dynasty, he respected Buddhism. The treatment of monks is very good, and there are many benefits in the temple, which is very suitable for people like Master Zhongshu who have no concern for the world. Master Zhongshu's family life is a burden to him. , but gave Master Zhongshu a legitimate reason to leave the shackles of family life. He said hello to the Lord of Hell and returned to the world to have fun. Su Shi commented on Master Zhongshu, saying that he was "able". "Wenshan's poems and lyrics are all composed with pen without editing a single word." It can be seen that although Master Zhongshu had many shortcomings, his talent and learning were indeed very profound. Later generations also commented that Master Zhongshu's works are "magnificent and beautiful" ", every word is pure and graceful", the literati and Taoists in history all spoke very highly of him. In my opinion, Master Zhongshu is a dissolute literati who loves life. He likes everything in the secular world and wants to live a free and unrestrained life. , live happily all his life, and that is exactly what he did. There are many examples of swingers in the world who do not seek to make progress at all, and the endings of these swingers are divided into two types in history. The first is that they choose to turn back as prodigal sons, start a new life, contribute their own strength to society, and support a world for their families. The second is to die silently in the contempt of everyone and the rejection of their relatives, and end up with a tragic end. Master Shu's choice was very clever. He neither chose to do the former nor the latter. Instead, he has found his own balance point in society. He has found his own place to live, and in the name of a monk, he carries his luggage and travels around the mountains and rivers. He can also beg for alms everywhere to ensure that he is not hungry. At that time, unlike now, people who went out to travel did not have cameras or mobile phones. The only way they could record their travels was to write down their travel notes in words. From the works left behind by Master Zhongshu, we can see that his footsteps passed through Wu and Chu. He spent a long time in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and also went to Zhenjiang, and the farthest place was Chengdu. These places are all places with beautiful people and beautiful scenery, which is really in line with Master Zhongshu’s wish. Everywhere he went, he recorded the local beauty with his own poems. With his status now, there are probably many tourism agencies rushing to ask him to help write manuscripts. Master Zhongshu's poems have a unique flavor when read. He is very good at writing poems, most of which describe the beautiful scenery and interesting things he encountered during his travels. But Master Zhongshu left a big doubt for future generations, that is, his death. Logically speaking, such a relaxed and open-minded person should enjoy his old age in peace, but Master Zhongshu hanged himself with his own hands in his old age. By then he had a head full of white hair, and he returned to Chengtian Temple in Suzhou, the temple where he became a monk for the first time. One day, he unusually said goodbye to all the monks in the temple. That night, he found a strong tree in the temple yard and hanged himself. As long as you believe in Buddhism, you cannot choose to commit suicide. Otherwise, according to Buddhism, people will not be able to reincarnate smoothly and will not be able to achieve enlightenment. But it's not surprising when it comes to Master Zhongshu. Before he died, he didn't care about what he would be like in the next life, so he waved his sleeves and passed away. It can be seen that he still believes in the rules of this world. He does not ask about the past or the future, he just wants to live in the present peacefully.
This is also very consistent with Master Zhongshu's consistent behavior and practice, which is really admirable. Master Zhongshu also did something during his lifetime, which makes people laugh or cry when told about it. One day, Master Zhongshu visited the local administrator. At this time, a woman who wanted to file a lawsuit came. She was very determined to file a lawsuit, so she stood at the door of the Yamen on a rainy day and refused to leave. So Master Zhongshu looked at this scene and immediately wrote a poem called "Treading on the Shasha". The poem reads: The phoenix's shoes have been soaked for a long time, without saying a word or tiredly thinking about Yi only complaining about her thin lover, who among the officials is meddling in official business. The content of the poem is very vivid, describing the situation at that time in just a few sentences, but it is indeed a bit unreasonable for Master Zhongshu to make an article about a weak woman. Master Zhongshu lived freely in the secular world and Buddhism all his life. The fame, wealth and rules of the world did not restrain his free soul. This kind of free and unrestrained lifestyle is not something ordinary people can achieve. Because no one can put aside all worldly responsibilities just to visit mountains and rivers and see beautiful scenery and beauties. Living in the secular world, we must not only satisfy the wishes of our elders, but also be responsible for the next generation. These are our innate responsibilities, because we know that if we don’t work hard, the people who endure hardship will be our descendants. A generation ago. Who would leave their family behind in exchange for a free life? This requires courage. Master Zhongshu's world is full of romance and freedom, but this is not a freedom that everyone can afford, because only self-discipline can have freedom.
Although Master Zhongshu behaved dissolutely, he had literary talents. His literary talents supported him throughout his life, and this allowed him to walk around the world in a cool and unrestrained way! So if you want to be free, study first!