Outside the Buddhist hall of the Prince's Mansion, the person who came to deliver the meal had been waiting for a long time, but she still stood there, holding the meal in her hands. The sycamore tree in the courtyard had small brown-black fruits, and there were a few rustling trees wherever the wind passed by. It swooped down and dived into the grass.
The monk gently clasped his hands to apologize and took the meal from her hand, "It's been a long time, donor."
As soon as he finished speaking, a sycamore seed fell into the clear soup above his head. The monk looked down at the tiny ripples and said, "If it is a fallen flower, it would be a bit poetic."
Xin He said, "This is not the season for flowers to bloom."
Zhikong never looked directly at her, only took away the food and soup, and never accepted her words.
Xin He didn't stay long, but before leaving, he said, "There is a cave under the falling flower soup."
After a few monks finished using it, one of them picked up the note from under the white jade soup bowl, but he opened it and took a quick look at it before he was shocked and threw it into the unfinished soup.
The companion asked, "What's wrong, senior brother?"
He glanced at Zhikong guiltily, and when he saw that Zhikong didn't respond, he sighed helplessly, "There's nothing else, it's just a blank piece of paper."
But I know in my heart that I can't stay in this house for a long time. I have only been here for a few days, so I have to leave. It's better to leave quickly, which is the best way to avoid being entangled too much and being unable to escape even if I want to.
There was only one person in the room, Zhikong, who was knocking on the wooden fish. The young monk closed the scripture and said, "Master asked me to take care of you before he left. You and Zhikong are still young and have entered Buddhism too late. They are not yet able to understand the mud of this world. This place is no better." On the mountain, if you want to practice Buddhism, you should say goodbye to your son as soon as possible and put an end to these things as soon as possible."
"He has told the Duke that I can help find the Buddha statue. If I can't find the Buddha statue this time, there will no longer be peace in Mingyin Temple." Zhikong opened his eyes, with a look of indifference deep in his eyes.
"This... what should we do? When we came here, we were told to pray for the Prince's Mansion, but now we are looking for Buddha statues?" The senior brother was anxious.
"No, I have to write to the master and tell him everything about the situation."
Zhikong shook his head and put down the wooden fish, "How can distant water relieve the near fire?"
"You already knew that the prince had bad intentions, didn't you?"
So what if he said yes, "Even if the master makes excuses, he will try his best to let me go with him. There is nothing that the royal family and nobles cannot do. Just let him do it. The earth can always cover up some water, so that the master will not be so worried." "
"Do you have a way to deal with it?"
"No, just take a step and see."
The sound of the wooden fish is quiet, but my heart is as confused as numbness.
The next day Xinhe came again to deliver fast food.
This time, the senior brother went out early and asked Zhikong and Zhikong to stay in the Buddhist hall and chant sutras.
"Donor, just give the meal to the young monk."
"Miss, the meal must be handed over to the master in person." Xin He replied.
"You can accept the fasting meal, but this - I can't." He opened the note under the meal and secretly stuffed the invisible love into his sleeve.
"The donor went back and told Miss Baili that Zhikong is the same as us. Monks should no longer love the world, nor should they be greedy for the personal love of their children."
Xin He looked at the man behind him.
He walked directly from the person in front of him to his shoulder and put the meal in his hands.
He said, "I can't control what other people say, just like I can't persuade people with ulterior motives. If the young master is tired of it, you can explain it to her personally."
She thought that Zhikong would not answer. After all, speaking out about such a situation would really damage the reputation of the monk. But he replied to her, "Thank you, I will explain it to her."
Xin He scoffed, "Today's food lacks some flavor."
"The food in my hand is not small, but the donor's heart is really small." Zhikong suddenly said ambiguously.
The senior brother stopped him, "Shut up and hold your breath, what are you talking about!"
Zhikong bent down and put the food on the stone steps, clenched his fist and stretched it out in front of her.
"Maybe you need something like this."
"What is it?" Xin He asked.
"Happy." He said bluntly.
Xin He seemed to have heard a joke. If she didn't know how to laugh, she would have laughed out loud. "Although Master looks a few years older than the Nu family, these words really sound like what a child would say - a complete nonsense."
After that, he left without looking back.
"Zhikong, monks don't lie. What kind of witty words did you say to that donor?"
Zhikong said to himself, "Who can say that is a lie?"
"Don't make false claims again."
Zhikong asked back, "If people don't have a heart that is greedy for happiness, how can they spend the rest of their lives? If everyone in the world is like the Buddha, who has no desires and no pursuits, then when we learn Buddhism, we are not going to survive the world of mortals. Who are you trying to save?"
"It's hard to save oneself, how can we talk about saving others?" his senior brother taught him.
Xin He returned to Baili Fu'e's boudoir and saw that she was still copying scriptures.
He chanted in his mouth, "These dharmas are empty, neither born nor destroyed, neither dirty nor pure, nor increasing nor decreasing. Therefore, there is no color in the air, no feelings, thoughts, and consciousness, no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, no color, sound, fragrance, or touch. There is no vision, even the realm of unconsciousness. There is no ignorance, and there is no end of ignorance, and there is no old age and death, and there is no end of old age and death, and there is no accumulation and annihilation of suffering. There is no wisdom and no gain. Because there is no gain, Bodhisattva, according to Prajnaparamita For many reasons, the mind is free of obstacles, and because of the lack of obstacles, there is no fear, and it is far away from the upside-down dreams, and it is the final nirvana."
Seeing her return, Baili Fuhe hurriedly asked, "What's the result?"
"Since what you read is 'all dharmas are empty and have ultimate nirvana', what do you ask this person who shouldn't be forced to do?" Xin He said bluntly.
She always knew that Xin He was straightforward and bold, so she simply didn't argue with her, "Do you know that feeling?"
"What is it?"
"It's a torrent that comes from the bottom of my heart and can't be stopped. It surges in my chest and turns the world upside down. This was the joy I felt when I saw him."
"Oh?" She questioned such temptation.
"Don't believe me. It's because you don't have it yourself, so you doubt the things you don't have, but love does exist."
"I don't need that joy."
"Why? I know, you are afraid. You think you are the smartest in the world, and look at others like fools. You are the most proud. Although you don't show it, your contemptuous eyes have told me that I am stupid, but I'm not blind."
Xin He said, "There is no love and no fear. There is nothing wrong with seeing through it early."
"Your wisdom is not true wisdom. In my opinion, the real insight is to experience the world, to understand, and to seek."
Xin He grasped the shortcomings in her words and said, "How can one let go after asking for something?"
"In short, a real person shouldn't be like you. Haven't the people around you told you that?"
"What did you say?" She was good-looking, but had a cold temper, never cried or laughed, and how could a calm and intelligent woman be talked about.
Baili Fucai wrote, "You are a monster."
"Nonsense!" She naturally didn't want to admit it.
"Just because I never cried or smiled, am I a monster?"
"It's very simple for you to prove to me. If you use the joy I say to treat someone sincerely, if the care he gives you makes you feel a kind of joy coming from the bottom of your heart, then you are no longer a monster. .”
Xin He refused, "I don't need to prove a ridiculous lie to anyone."
"Are you scared?"
"of course not."
Xinhe thought of him.
This time she came without any vegetarian food.
Zhikong smiled and asked her, "What are you doing here?"
"Do you still mean what you said?"
"Which sentence?"
"You said I lack joy, give me joy."
"Has the donor figured it out?"
"I want it now, can you give it to me?"
"You didn't believe me before, why do you believe me now?"
"I have always believed what you said. It's just that I hate you, so I don't want to take anything from you."
Without worrying about the second part of her sentence, he smiled again, "You and I have only met each other a few times. It's strange that you believe me."
Xin He confessed, "I don't know why, but I think you are very familiar. I believe everything you say, but I don't want to believe it."
"Why do you want to believe it now?"
"I want to exchange this joy for someone's sincerity."
"Okay." He agreed quickly.
"It's just that what comes with joy may not be joy, and what comes with sincerity may not be sincerity. Are you sure you still want it?"
She nodded and said, "Yes."
Zhikong stretched out his hand again. This time, the moment their palms touched, Xin He immediately felt a pain injected into his arm.
When the pain disappeared, she asked, "Isn't joy joyful? Why does it hurt so much?"
"Bliss is sorrow," he told her.
Finally, I added, "Sudden joy is pain. I hope you can understand that if you regret it now, I can still take it away."
"No, I am willing to bear any pain. I want to try."
"Just to not become a monster in other people's mouths?"
Xin He's eyes froze when she heard his words.
"you know?"
(End of chapter)