Shangguan Ru took a sip of tea, tilted her head back slightly, and savored it. Then, a little embarrassed and a little puzzled, she asked the monk across from her, "I'm clearly drinking tea, yet I can taste wine. Does that count as keeping the precepts or breaking them?"
The monk's answer was direct and crisp. "Breaking them."
"So being a monk is that hard. Good thing I have no plans to become a nun." Shangguan Ru smiled, then said to the other monk, "You must have had a hard time putting up with it."
Lian Qing, whose features were rugged, blushed and pressed his palms together. "Actually... I can't really call myself a true monk."
"What do you mean? Aren't you Zen Master Fa Yan's disciple?" Shangguan Ru asked in astonishment.
"That's true, but my situation is much like yours, female patron. I keep the precepts on the surface, but my thoughts keep straying. For instance, when I practice martial arts, I say it's to strengthen my body, but in my heart I'm thinking about how to kill. I eat vegetarian food, yet I happen to like the savory taste of mushrooms and the like, and feel as though I can taste meat in them. And so on. Before my master passed away, he said I was only a 'one-footed' monk. My other foot was still hanging in the air, wavering, so I couldn't find solid footing. Only when both feet were on the ground would I count as a true monk."
"A one-footed monk." Shangguan Ru found it amusing. She turned to the first monk. "Zen Master, isn't it said that Buddha opened many convenient paths? Why is it so hard to enter the faith? I've heard that you can attain enlightenment just by chanting Amitabha."
The monk's