Now, Alu and the others had been found out.
That day, Alu and several fellow disciples left Zhiyuan Monastery as usual and made their way to a secluded spot. With practiced hands, they parted the grass, pulled out their bundles, took out Daoist robes and put them on, then attached false hair, donned hair crowns, and picked up wooden swords, talisman papers, and other items.
Suddenly, the new abbot emerged from the surroundings with a group of elderly monks, catching them red-handed.
His eyes blazing with fury, an elderly monk said in anguish, "You! How dare you commit such an outrageous act! This is apostasy!"
The elderly monks escorted them to the monastery's main hall and made them kneel before the Buddha statue to repent.
When the monks who had gone out returned and saw Alu and the others kneeling there, their expressions changed.
Before all the monks, the new abbot displayed the irrefutable evidence-the Daoist robes, false hair, talisman papers, wooden swords, and so on-and announced Alu and the others' punishment. On charges of outrageous misconduct and apostasy, they would receive the harshest punishment and be expelled from the monastery.
At this, the monks all pleaded for mercy.
One disciple pleaded, "Abbot, although Senior Brother Alu was wrong, he did it for the monastery. Please forgive him this once!"
Another disciple pleaded, "Abbot, Senior Brother Alu never spent the money he earned on his own pleasure. He gave it all to the monastery. In light of his hard work and great contributions, please forgive him!"
Another disciple pleaded, "Abbot, this is Senior Brother Alu's first offense. Why punish him so severely? Why insist on expelling him from the monastery? Buddha is merciful. Just let him repent for a few days and forgive him!"
The new abbot raged, "Utter nonsense!