Weituo Bodhisattva Is Angry

韦陀菩萨发脾气

Today, after the wooden fish was hit three times, I could still hear people talking. According to the rules of the Chan Hall, there should be silence after the wooden fish is hit three times. Once the silent sit begins, nobody should talk and if anyone does, Weituo Bodhisattva will hit him with his jeweled pestle. Someone said, “Nobody hit me just now.” Well, Weituo Bodhisattva is not angry yet. Once he is, you will feel his fury. That is why we should always bear the rules in mind. Only by keeping the rules can we hope to have some accomplishment.

今天在敲了三槌木鱼后，我听到有人还在讲话。禅堂的规矩，敲三槌鱼叫「止静」，止静后任何人也不可以讲话，有人要是讲话，韦陀菩萨就会拿宝杵打他。有人说：「韦陀菩萨没有打我呀！」他是还没发脾气，你等韦陀菩萨发脾气那就不得了了，所以我们切记要遵守规矩，有规矩才能有成就。

Once everyone has wrapped up his or her legs and is still and sitting properly, we should begin the silent sit. The cantor should not hit the wooden fish three times too quickly while everybody is still adjusting themselves and not yet sitting properly. You are not setting off an atomic bomb! To begin the silent sit, the wooden fish should be hit slowly and only when everyone is sitting properly. If someone is still adjusting himself, we should wait for him. On the other hand, all of us should hurry up and not let the cantor wait.

维那看大家把腿包好，没有人再摇摇动动了，然后才止静；不是大家还没坐好，就敲三槌木鱼「啪啪啪」不是这样子，你不是在放原子弹！止静要打慢一点「啪」--「啪」--「啪」看大家都坐好了才能止静；有人没坐好，都要等一等他，所以大家也要快点坐好，不让维那等着。