Miaopu Master, with the courtesy name Xingkong, was from Hanzhou. He was born in 4th year of Xining Reign, in the Song Dynasty, and died in 12th year of Shaoxing Reign in the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1071 to 1142. MiaoPu Master was upright and honest, who did not fake in communicating with friends and even pointed out their mistakes directly. People were in awe and regarded him as a true friend. He always traveled to famous mountains and jungles with a bamboo stick and ragged clothes. Sometimes he lived alone in an old temple, and sometimes boarded in an old house. Later he visited the dead-hearted master Huanglong, deeply agreed with his opinions and soon decided not to travel around and worshipped him as a teacher.
In the early years of Jianyan Reign, Xu Ming rebelled and killed people, and people suffered a lot. The bandits robbed in Wuzhen. The Master happened here and saw terrible things and corpses everywhere. So he went to the enemies' camp alone. The soldiers suspected that the Master was a traitor and want to kill him. The Master laughed and said, "I am a monk, and I just want to go to Miyin Temple. I am not one of you. Human bodies are composed of five accumulations. Nothing is meaningful. If you want to kill me, just do it. Why so angry? However, I just have a request, please give me a bowl of rice, and let me die full!"
When they saw the Master was calm and fearless, they had to give him a bowl of rice according to his request. After the Master enjoyed the delicious meal, he said to the soldiers, "Since you want to kill me, why nobody could write a funeral oration for me for future generations?" The soldiers looked at each other with wonder. The Master looked at them and said to himself, "Since no one can write for me, I'll write for myself!" Then he grasped the pen and wrote on the mottled broken wall, and the soldiers competed to watch his inscription. The Master threw down his pen and suddenly shouted, "I'm a happy man. If you gonna kill me, do it!" “The soldiers were shocked by his unyielding attitude. They immediately released him and left Wuzhen. The people of the town were thus saved.
Since then, Master's fame has spread widely. Taoism and custom have always admired the seekers, while Master still led his enjoyable life.
Keyword: Miaopu Master