|
THE FREE LIFE POND 放生池 The peaks of Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang are green and black. They stand like an ornamental screen. People come from far away to enjoy the scenery here. 浙江天台山的山峰是青黛色的，犹如竖起的画屏。远客纷沓而至，观其美景。 For thousands of years， there have been many temples in these beautiful mountains. The head of a big temple there was called Zhihyi. He lived from about 539 to 597 AD. Because he was so wise， the Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty gave him the title The Wise Master， and this is how he is known even today. 几千年来，这些秀丽的山峰上都建有许多的寺庙。有一个大庙的主持名叫智顗，约生活在公元539-597年间。因为他的智慧， 隋炀帝赐封他为智者大师，这个名字至今仍为人们所知。 At the time， The Wise Master felt that people were too cruel， especially when they wanted something to eat. They would kill almost anything that moved and eat it. 当时，智者大师觉得当时的人们过于残忍，尤其是满足口腹之欲时。他们可以杀掉任何活物，然后吃掉。 He decided something had to be done. But how? Monks dont have any money. So The Wise Master became a beggar for several years until he finally got enough money to get some land and hire some workers to build him a pond. | 
