The Dream of the Condor

Meng'er looked at Mrs. Ouyang and said, "Before I tell the story, can I ask 'do you have someone you can wait for, look forward to, resent, and hate'"

"Yes", Mrs. Ouyang replied.

"Then you should be lucky to have such a person that you can wait for, look forward to, resent, and hate, otherwise your life might be like a dry well with no interest in life," Meng'er said.

Mrs. Ouyang stopped talking.

Seeing that Mrs. Ouyang stopped talking, Meng'er hurriedly said, "Okay, stop talking, let me tell you a story."

"Once upon a time, a man asked a holy monk, "The Buddha is merciful and merciful, why does he sit on a lotus platform and overlook the suffering of all living beings without saving them? "

If the answer to this question is not good, it will hurt my Buddha's mercy.

The holy monk's eyes fell lightly on the man's face, with a peaceful attitude, and he said slowly: "Once upon a time there was a village where two brothers who believed in Buddhism lived. They lived by planting the fields at home. Not rich, but able to earn food and clothing.”

The man was stunned for a moment, then gathered his attention and listened to him.

"The two brothers have always wanted to change this kind of life, so when they are free, they will discuss how to change their lives together. One day, the two brothers talked about this topic again."

The younger brother said: "Brother, we have lived here since we were young, and other jobs are not easy. Why don't we work harder this year and reclaim some wasteland on the side of the mountain together? I have calculated that if we work hard In three to five years, the surplus money and food can be exchanged for some farm tools and a few more cattle. By then, we will not only be able to reclaim the wasteland on the side of the mountain with cattle and farm tools. We can build houses and buy land, and over time, we will become big landlords.”

Hearing this, the man nodded repeatedly, agreeing with what his younger brother said.

The monk continued:

After the elder brother heard what the younger brother said, he hesitated for a while and said: "I think your idea is good, but it only belongs to the small peasant consciousness, and it is an act without foresight. According to your idea, even if it takes ten or eight years, we brothers At best, he becomes a very hopeless landowner."

Then, the elder brother continued: "I think the fundamental reason why we have been living in such poverty and poverty is because we have no faith. I think the correct way is to go to the temple every day to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the Buddha, and sincerely ask for the blessing of the Buddha. In this way, the Buddha will bless us with good weather and prosperity for the rest of our lives."

After the younger brother heard what the elder brother said, he had objections in his heart, but he couldn't find anything to refute the elder brother's statement was wrong, or he didn't know how to refute the elder brother's words for a while.

The elder brother saw that the younger brother did not object, so he packed up some clothes, took most of the family money out, bought incense candles and ran to a nearby temple. , For example, which piece of land should be planted with beans and which piece of land should be planted with wheat, the younger brother kept the elder brother's explanations in mind one by one.

In this way, the elder brother lived in the temple. He worshiped the Buddha very devoutly, worshiped day and night, and prayed for the blessing of the Buddha.

On the other hand, the younger brother alone tilled his own share of the field and the share left behind by the older brother.

The weather has been good this year, and the crops are growing better than in previous years. It seems to be a good harvest year. Although my brother has worked very hard, he feels somewhat comforted.

The elder brother who worships Buddha sometimes goes down the mountain for a walk, and he is very happy to see the crops growing well, because he thinks this is his reward for worshiping Buddha.

With the arrival of autumn and the harvest time approaching, my brother suddenly became worried.It turned out that there were too many crops, and my younger brother was worried that he would be too busy. If he missed the harvest season, the food would be wasted.

So the younger brother ran to the temple where his elder brother worshiped Buddha, saw his elder brother, and said, "I'm here to tell my brother the good news of a good harvest."

The elder brother was very happy and said: "Look, if I didn't worship Buddha sincerely, how could you have such a good harvest?

The younger brother nodded and said yes with a smile. "

The elder brother was very comforted. He remembered that when he was living in the temple, his younger brother didn't say anything, but he still had some complaints on his face. Now he has proved the correctness of what he did with facts.

The younger brother said to his older brother, "Actually, I don't intend to go back this time."

The elder brother was surprised: "Why?"

The younger brother said: "I think since my elder brother praying to Buddha alone is so effective, then I also plan to move in and pray to Buddha with him, so that the harvest will be bigger and more abundant in the future."

The elder brother thought about the crops that were about to be harvested in the field, and became anxious. He asked his younger brother loudly: "You also come to worship Buddha, who will take care of the crops that are about to be harvested in the field?"

The more the elder brother talked, the angrier he became, he scolded the younger brother well, and urged the younger brother to go back quickly.

At this time, the younger brother finally couldn't help laughing, and he said, "Brother, you also know that you will not have a good harvest if you just worship Buddha and don't plant the land!"

This is the end of the story.

But the man was anxious to hear this, and he didn't care too much in his desperation, he muttered: "Holy Monk, what happened afterwards?"

The holy monk smiled and looked at the man quietly: "Did you understand this story?"

The man was confused: "What does this story have to do with the question I asked?"

The holy monk smiled slightly: "Practicing the Buddha means peace, cultivating the Buddha means tranquility, believing in the Buddha means being at ease, understanding the Buddha means being beautiful, and seeking the Buddha means indifferent, open-minded, desireless and greedy faith. It is a good thing to have faith, when you are in confusion and chaos, you will suddenly see the light and get a new life."

His eyes swept towards the man lightly: "If visiting the Buddha and worshiping the Buddha is just a posture, not a Buddha's heart, then there is no difference between worshiping or not. The knowledge and strength of thousands of years are deposited in the Buddhist scriptures. Blindly not participating, not cultivating, not enlightening, but just seeking Buddha, how can Buddha save you from suffering?"

"Everything has a limit. The Buddha's guidance is a new life. God has given you such gentle wind, moist rain, changing seasons, and fertile and rich land. Isn't it the Buddha's salvation?"

"The Buddha taught us the truth about how to behave and how to do things, but we still have to be greedy. Why should we be confused that the Buddha's light can't illuminate the common people?"

The holy monk stood up leisurely and walked away slowly.

A distant voice seemed to come from boundless: "My Buddha is merciful, and I have the suffering of all living beings in my heart, but all living beings don't realize it."

The man was left standing there blankly. "

After Meng'er finished speaking, she looked at Mrs. Ouyang and said, "God gave you a person you can wait for, look forward to, resent, and hate, let you know the taste of love, and gave you a filial and magnificent son , what else are you dissatisfied with?"

Mrs. Ouyang fell into deep thought and couldn't recover for a long time.