There are many ancient temples in famous mountains, and ancient temples have vegetarian food. Facing the dusk rain in the Zen forest, I felt the charm of bamboo beside the gable wall and the Sanskrit sound in the empty space. After the rain, crystal clear water drops rolled down from the strange rocks in front of the mountain temple, echoing the Sanskrit sounds in the empty valley, calming the impetuous mind. At this time, the sage's opinion that "the light taste is the true taste" penetrated into my state of mind. From this, it reminds me of the "wonderful encounter" with ancient temple vegetarian food after decades of collecting notes...

The beauty of the vegetarian food in South Putuo of Xiamen and North Putuo of Zhoushan lies in its freshness and lightness. It reveals a bit of "unspeakable" taste, no matter the shape, texture, color, eating environment... it can make people feel the long aftertaste after chewing. I remember that at that time, I felt like I was dining, meditating on Zen, and appreciating the exquisite evolution of nature.

Looking through historical records, I once noticed the special vegetarian food created by Zen Forest. The album "Qing Bailei Chao", a compilation of anecdotes from the Qing Dynasty, only introduces a few parts: "The temples and nunneries famous for their vegetarian cuisine were Fayuan Temple in the capital, Dinghui Temple in Zhenjiang, Baiyun Temple in Shanghai, and Baiyun Temple in Hangzhou. "Yanxia Cave."

The first time I tasted real vegetarian food was at Xi Lei Xiaozhuang in Putuo, Zhoushan City. It was a day when apricot blossoms rained down. The inside and outside of the store are elegant and simple. When I leaned on the railing to admire the cranes, looked at the sea, listened to the piano, and sipped tea attentively, my feelings were far beyond the words "pleasure". After tasting the fast food made of three mushrooms and six ears, taro bamboo shoots and tofu, we went to Chaoyin Cave to listen to the waves and look at the bamboos in the purple bamboo forest. My heart felt so relaxed and clear...

A Shen Zhongchun, when I climbed Mount Jiuhua, the "Lotus Buddha Land" for the second time, and the receptionist arranged lunch, I expressed the idea of ??"tastefulness". Because, a few years ago, when I visited Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the first time, I stood on the top of the rooftop and looked at the Jiuhua Street where cigarette smoke was lingering, the sound of bells, wooden fish, and chanting sutras symphonic. , but the interview was still in progress and I had no time to enjoy it.

I think that Anhui cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines, has been famous for its outstanding flavor, bright and not greasy a long time ago, especially the traditional famous dishes that have been carried forward by the historical trends. If they are refined, , can be included in the Buddhist vegetarian feast, such as Wenzhengshan bamboo shoots, Bagongshan tofu, Baohe lotus root noodles, etc.

Climbing Jiuhua Mountain again, I saw the Julong Hotel, Dongya Hotel and other places of accommodation and exquisite vegetarian food. In particular, the "vegetarian and meat" dishes are unique.

That night, a pot of Jiuhua Maofeng and a table of exquisite vegetarian meals were accompanied by long stories of history...

The Yingjiang Temple and Zhenfeng Tower built in the Northern Song Dynasty are famous in Anqing, Anhui Province. landscape. Going to worship with a heart of admiration, the most pleasant lunch should be the masterpiece of Yingjiang Temple Tea House - vegetarian pot stickers.

Vegetarian pot stickers, which are brown on the outside and delicious on the inside, come with a variety of fillings, including mushrooms, magnolia slices, or dried tea. The side dishes are differentiated by season. In autumn and winter, it is paired with cabbage, in spring, it is paired with ground vegetables, and in summer, it is paired with artemisia. Different seasons have corresponding flavors.

I believe that elegant vegetarian food should not stick to the grade and scale, but should be palatable. When Taiwanese Master Hsing Yun visited Nanjing, I found a breakfast recipe that made him extremely satisfied. I treasure it carefully and read it every time with great interest. The first day is, shredded celery, mixed wild vegetables, kimchi, bean curd, vegetarian dumplings, Xiangda wheat field, assorted vegetarian fried noodles, mustard buns; the second day is, screw pickles, coriander mixed with sauerkraut, crispy peach kernels, and arugula heart, vegetarian vegetable buns, magnolia cakes, tea-stuffed yuanxiao, pickled vegetables and cat ears; on the third day, vegetables mixed with yuba, peanuts mixed with moss, assorted pickles, mushrooms, bean paste pancakes, vegetarian steamed dumplings, mushroom oil noodles, sesame candy Lantern Festival and Xiangda wheat field.

With the help of my profession, I spent decades collecting notes, visiting famous mountains and ancient temples, and tasting exquisite vegetarian food, which became a ray of sunshine in my impression. When I prayed at ancient temples in the south of the Yangtze River many times, silk rain fell from the sky, which made it even more apparent that the green moss and green bamboos in the monastery, and the sound of wooden fish in the depths of the mist, seemed to be there or not. I remember that at the Lingyin Ancient Temple in Hangzhou, I heard a rumor related to the temple: On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the fire-headed monk in the temple was cooking chestnut porridge in the middle of the night, he suddenly saw countless osmanthus flowers falling from the sky and falling right into the cooked chestnut porridge. . The next day, all the monks felt that the porridge was fragrant with flowers and regarded it as a strange porridge. It turns out that these osmanthus flowers were scattered by Chang'e of the Moon Palace to express her love for her relatives in her homeland. From then on, there were many osmanthus trees around the temple and in the city of Hangzhou. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the fragrance of osmanthus flowers filled the city and outside. As a result, the delicacy "Osmanthus and Fresh Chestnut Soup" was passed down. The method is quite simple: cut the fresh chestnut meat into thin slices, put the chestnut meat and sugar into the pot after the water boils. When it boils again, skim off the foam and reduce the heat to low, mix the fresh lotus root powder into the pot, and when it becomes soup-like, take it out of the pot and put it in. In the bowl, cut the green plums into thin slices and garnish them on the soup noodles, sprinkle with osmanthus and rose petals, the color is red, yellow, green and white, and the taste is sweet and smooth. At this time, I close my eyes and listen to the moon spring pine songs in the ancient temple, and my mood is particularly clear.