Monkey and Feather

After that, the monster monkey said that he would take me to a place, a place full of memories.

We walked through the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and came to a magnificent temple in a short time.

We landed on the roof of the tallest house.

The monster monkey stared at the front and said: "You only know that I broke the sky eight times, but you don't know that the first person to break the sky is not me."

"Eh!? Not you?" I was taken aback, because in my impression, no one should have such ability and courage.

This is not flattery at all, to be honest, besides this guy, I really can't think of another person.

The demon monkey saw my thoughts, shook his head, then stretched out his finger and pointed towards the front and bottom: "He!"

I looked in the direction of his finger, and saw a monk sitting upright with a calm face on the solemn altar.

The monk squinted his eyes slightly, wrapped in a gleaming cassock, and was preaching the unknown Dharma to thousands of monks below the hall.

"He is?" Actually, I had already guessed in my heart, but I still asked.

The monster monkey's eyes were bright, and there was a look of respect that had never been seen on his face: "My master, Tang Xuanzang! Mysterious Xuan, the buried Zan."

Sure enough, my guess was right, but what I couldn't believe was that this seemingly gentle and weak monk would be the first person to break the sky?I believe no one can believe it.

The monster monkey seemed to see the doubts in my heart, couldn't help but sneered for a while, and then told me the cause and effect of this.

"After the four of us, the master and the apprentice, returned from learning the scriptures, we each performed our duties and lived our lives quietly.

Master, he still recites Buddhist scriptures every day. Buddhist scriptures are his belief. He believes in everything said in the scriptures. "The monster monkey said this and shook his head helplessly with a wry smile.

"And after this world has experienced a huge catastrophe, the number of suffering people in the three realms is increasing day by day, and there is a mess everywhere.

So the master wanted to use the Dharma he learned to teach others to escape from the sea of ​​suffering, and at the same time, he also hoped to use practice to verify the truth in the scriptures. Since then, he has started a life of wandering around alone. "

Hearing this, a lonely figure of an ascetic monk walking in the vast world immediately appeared in my mind.Then I looked at the person who was tirelessly preaching the Dharma with a pious face, and I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.

The monster monkey put on a solemn expression and continued to recall the past.

One day, the master met a woman who was about to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff in the mortal world. After he rescued the woman, he asked her why she couldn't think about it so much. So the woman told the master that her husband was there Died in the next great catastrophe.

People cannot be resurrected after death, so the master decided to use what he had learned to comfort the woman.In his heart, every suffering person should be redeemed, which is also the only way to the boundless truth of Buddhism in his heart. "

I was afraid that the monster monkey would be thirsty, so I took out a jug of wine from my backpack and handed it to the monster monkey, but this time he refused.Instead, he took out a gourd out of nowhere, a gourd filled with clean water.

He took a few sips lightly, ignored the doubt in my eyes, and continued talking.

"But Master never expected that this time he failed to save others, but was redeemed by others."

"Saved by others?" Seeing the profound expression on the monster monkey's face, I became even more confused.

"Master, as usual, told the woman the truth of this world. He told the woman to look at the world of mortals and see the essence behind the real thing..."

The monster monkey said a lot, but I couldn't hear it, so I had to repeatedly ask him to talk to me in a simpler language.

I have never studied Buddhist scriptures, but some of what he said really benefited me a lot.And the dialogue between his master and this woman left me speechless.

I tried my best to express it clearly, and tried to restore their dialogue with my own narrative.

Tang Xuanzang and the woman said: The reason why people suffer is because of desire.When people have desires and cannot get them, they will suffer.

The woman said: But pain is pain, and the heart is painful. You can't deceive others, let alone yourself.

Xuan Zan said: Therefore, people need to practice.

The woman said: I just want to be with the one I love.He's gone, and I'm gone after him.To live is like a walking dead.

Xuan Zan said: He is still there, but has fallen into reincarnation.This is something everyone goes through constantly.If two people are destined, in this endless reincarnation, they will still be together in the end.But you have to have good thoughts in your heart and get rid of evil thoughts in order to exchange for good karma.

The woman disagreed: After all, there are few Buddhas. A few Buddhas go to tell the majority that this is the truth. Don’t they look like liars?It is also said that people should not have desires, so that people can accumulate virtue and do good deeds in exchange for good results. Isn't this the so-called utilitarianism?Isn't it just a desire?

Xuan Zan said: People should not have a mind of discrimination, let alone look at things only to see right and wrong.To distinguish between right and wrong is to be possessed by demons.Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.How can everything escape the word reincarnation.What you see may change into another in the next second.

The woman said: What you said is too profound, I don't understand.But I know that at this moment, a woman only wants to be happy in her life.As for the afterlife, since it changes rapidly, why bother about it.

Even if you do a lot of evil, as the Buddha said, even if you suffer all kinds of suffering, it is just what the person in it has to bear at that moment.

Before Xuan Zan could speak, the woman said again: I remember a Bodhisattva said that hell is not empty and vowed not to be a Buddha.But everyone knows that hell will never be empty.Where samsara exists, all opposites exist.

Therefore, in my opinion, Dzogchen is nothing more than deception.Even if you don't say or do something, some things will continue to exist endlessly.

Xuanzang said: Amitabha, why do you think there are still people going to tell fortunes?Could it be said that people can do nothing if their fate is counted?Of course this is not right.Therefore, it is not fortune-telling, but life-telling.Fate lies in people's actions, and your thoughts are also part of your actions.

The woman said: Then can I change my life?

Xuan Zan said: Destiny is created by people's determination to pursue something.Without this persistent pursuit, that is, the desire mentioned above, this destiny...

The woman interrupted Xuanzang and said: But I don't want to give up this obsession, what should I do?Could it be that there is really no way?

Xuan Zan said: Amitabha.

The woman said: Have you never had this simplest and most ordinary pursuit?So, you don't understand.The Dharma you learn is nothing more than seeing and hearing.

But I didn't really want to do it in my heart.It can also be said that you are born a Buddha, how can you understand the thoughts of ordinary people like me?

Xuan Zan stopped talking.

The woman said: You have converted many people, but there are also some people that you cannot convert.If you really want to transform those of us, you first have to become like us.

Xuan Zan said: Become people like you?

The woman said: Then let me ask you, what have you learned?Buddhist scriptures?Advise people to be kind?I don't think so, it should be, you haven't been able to see through the truth of this world.

Do you dare to say that all you have learned and seen is all this?Since this world is boundless, who dares to say that everything is clear?

Xuan Zan seriously thought about the woman's words, he knew that the other party was just nonsense, but he felt vaguely that he seemed to be missing something.

The woman said: It is said that the Dao has no form, and the Buddhadharma spoken out is not the Buddhadharma. The Buddhadharma cannot be taught to others. Only by realizing it personally can one realize the Tao.

Hearsay, it is better to take the time to go around this world and have a look.Feel it with the most basic five senses of ordinary people.Forget all the so-called Mahayana that you have learned.Only then will you not be bound by this world.

Having said that, the story I told can also come to an end.Because, the monster monkey said, after the woman said this, she disappeared.

Even though Tang Xuanzang was very capable at that time, he couldn't find this person, but the words of that person took root in his heart.

What I said is a little superficial, there is no way, as I said above, I don't understand.

The monster monkey sighed for a long time, as if he, like me, sighed endlessly.

Tang Xuanzang has stopped traveling since then.He said he wanted to fill that void in his heart.

Although, he didn't know what to look for.But he knew that his belief seemed to be shaken like never before.

The author has something to say:

I don't understand Buddhism, but I just read some Buddhist and Taoist books out of interest. If there is something wrong, I hope the Buddhist and Taoist experts can point it out.

If readers don’t understand, they can also ask questions. Their dialogue is actually for foreshadowing, but it must also conform to certain principles, so it took a lot of trouble to write it, and it took half a day with an umbrella~~ Fortunately, I caught up~