The main body of Dabaoen Temple is the Main Hall, the Heavenly King Hall, and the Glazed Pagoda. There are also dozens of buildings such as various Zen halls, Buddhist halls, sutra rooms, stele pavilions, and bell towers. It is quite large in scale. There are as many as 148 rooms for monks in the monastery alone.
The outside of the Great Baoen Temple was in a mess due to the large number of refugees who settled there, but the inside of the temple was very clean. The monks were doing their own things in an orderly manner. It seemed that there were two different worlds from the outside of the temple separated by a wall.
Tao Hongfang asked: "Master, doesn't such a big place in the temple accommodate people?"
Master Hongjin responded: "Reporting to your lord, if our temple opens its doors to accommodate people, within half a day, every corner you see will be occupied by people from outside. By then, the temple will not be able to operate, and these tens of thousands of people will Eating, drinking and drinking will not solve the problem, it will only make the situation worse.”
"Although it is difficult for a poor monk to express his gratitude to all living beings, for the sake of the overall situation, he still has to protect the temple first and then the common people. We will also consider taking in some elderly, weak, women and children who have no one to look after them, or the sick and wounded who are in urgent need of medical treatment."
After hearing this, Tao Hongfang felt that what the other party said was reasonable, nodded and said: "Master is still thinking carefully!"
Master Hongjin led Tao Hongfang to the area used to receive visitors in the temple. As expected, there were many refugees living here. They were either in their seventies or eighty, were still learning to speak, or were lying down with injuries that could not get up at all. Number.
Most of these people have limited mobility, so they rarely move around the temple. If Master Hongjin hadn't led the way, Tao Hongfang probably wouldn't have seen their presence until he left here.
Master Hongjin continued: "In addition to food, the temple also has a huge demand for various medicinal materials. With so many refugees gathering, and the recent hot weather, it is easy for epidemics to occur. The poor monk wanted to make some medicinal soup. Distributed to people outside the temple, I hope you will take care of them.”
Tao Hongfang responded: "Write a list for me later on what medicinal materials the Master needs, and I will collect them as soon as possible after I return to the city."
Master Hongjin clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you are merciful! I, the poor monk, have thanked you on behalf of the tens of thousands of people here!"
Master Hongjin then took Tao Hongfang to the kitchen, which was probably the busiest place in the temple at the moment, with dozens of monks preparing for the porridge service later.
There were more than a dozen stoves in the kitchen, some of which were obviously newly built. The large pots on the stoves were steaming with gruel that had been cooked freshly this morning.
There were several baskets of green leafy vegetables placed next to the stove. Tao Hongfang couldn't recognize them. After asking Master Hongjin, he found out that these were wild vegetables picked from the nearby mountains and forests. However, in recent days, even wild vegetables have been hard to find. When all these are cooked into porridge, it will be more or less a vegetable porridge.
"Sir, this porridge is not only a relief for the people outside the temple, but also a ration for the monks in this temple. What we eat every day is the same as the people outside the temple."
"We have mobilized the people outside the temple to find dry firewood and wild vegetables nearby, which can be sent to the temple in exchange for food. But even so, the firewood and wild vegetables sent are still getting less and less."
When Master Hongjin mentioned this, he couldn't help but reveal a wry smile: "If it weren't for the government sending food every day, this temple would not be able to survive long ago!"
Master Hongjin repeatedly mentioned the support provided by the government to Dabaoen Temple. Of course Tao Hongfang understood what he meant and hoped that the government could continue to maintain such assistance.
But even if he didn't mention it, Tao Hongfang knew the importance of this move. Once the aid is interrupted, the tens of thousands of refugees near Yuhuatai will soon turn into a homeless mob doing anything in order to survive. By then, it will not be a problem that can be solved by eating two porridges a day. But the purpose of Tao Hongfang's visit to the city today to inspect the refugee situation was not just to understand what supplies these temples needed from the government. He hopes that through this trip, he can find a quick solution to the current situation.
Tao Hongfang took the initiative and said: "Master, I still have something to ask, please find a quiet place."
Master Hongjin had a clear expression on his face, nodded and said, "Sir, please follow this poor monk."
Master Hongjin brought Tao Hongfang to the Zen room where he lived. He was the abbot of Da Baoen Temple. Naturally, his residence was not a dormitory room where ordinary monks lived, but an independent small courtyard in the temple. He also thoughtfully placed A small garden is arranged in the courtyard.
However, upon entering the house, Tao Hong saw that the furnishings in this Zen room were very simple, and there were only a few pieces of furniture. At first glance, he was afraid that the items in the whole house were only worth one or twenty taels of silver. He thought to himself that this Hongjin The Master is a practitioner who can uphold the precepts.
"The conditions of this poor monk's meditation room are poor, please forgive me."
Master Hongjin immediately ordered the monk Zhike to bring hot tea to Tao Hongfang.
"There is not much food in the temple, but there is a lot of good tea. Every year, dignitaries in Nanjing come to the temple to offer incense and worship Buddha, and they will send some tea from other places."
Tao Hongfang was a knowledgeable person. He gently picked up the tea cup and looked at it, then held it up to his nose and took a whiff. He nodded and said, "This is good Longjing tea. It costs about thirty to fifty taels of silver per catty on the market." .”
Master Hongjin said: "If all these tea leaves can be exchanged for food, the poor monk will be happy to donate all the tea leaves in the temple."
Tao Hongfang said: "Master, although releasing food can relieve the temporary difficulties, it is definitely not possible to evacuate these refugees as soon as possible. And the longer the food is released, the easier it is for these people to become dependent and stay here. Don’t leave.”
Master Hongjin said: "Please give me some advice!"
Tao Hongfang said: "I don't dare to take it seriously. I actually want to ask the Master if there is any way to fundamentally solve the current refugee problem in Nanjing?"
Master Hongjin said: "Since ancient times, disaster relief has been nothing more than two methods. One is the food and porridge we currently use, so that the refugees can disperse on their own after passing through the difficulties. The second is to provide work-for-relief and organize refugees to work nearby. Work so that they can have a livelihood and manage it at the same time.”
"Your Excellency, you feel that the first method cannot solve the current problem, so you might as well try the second method. However, the work-for-relief method requires the use of a lot of resources, and given the capabilities of this temple, it is somewhat powerless."
Tao Hongfang said: "I just took office yesterday and have limited knowledge of the local situation. May I ask Master, if the government plans to use work as a relief, are there any suitable projects near Nanjing City?"
Master Hongjin said: "Sir, if you really plan to organize these people to work, there are actually many places where they can work, such as dredging the Qinhuai River, building water conservancy, or renovating official roads leading to other state capitals, or even rebuilding Nanjing’s city defenses can use a lot of labor.”