During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei once said to his son Liu Chan before his death, "Don't do good deeds because they are small, and don't do evil because they are small." It means telling Liu Chan not to look down upon small things, as small things also contain great meaning. Small events breed great principles, and small problems contain great wisdom.
Whether one can accumulate virtue and do good deeds has nothing to do with being rich or poor, but depends on one's character. Some people are not rich, but they can give up money to help others in need and relieve others' dangers. Like Zhang Shaofei, he would rather go hungry, but he can give mooncakes to the old beggar without hesitation.
And some people have a lot of money, but they are selfish and stingy and become a miser.
There are even some people who, when they have some money, become extremely crazy, spend lavishly, and show off their wealth everywhere. In fact, this is a manifestation of spiritual poverty.
What's more, if he lost some money, he would be extremely heartbroken, but if he lost his conscience, he would be indifferent.
If you sow melons, you will reap melons, and if you sow beans, you will reap beans. If you don’t want to do good, don’t make excuses for yourself, saying that you don’t have the conditions.
In fact, good deeds and negative deeds are all created by the mind. Often people without money can accumulate great merits and virtues, but rich people may not be able to do good deeds and accumulate virtues.
"The Book of Changes" says, "A house that accumulates good deeds will always be blessed." If you accumulate virtue and do good deeds, you will first get the natural happiness, and then your descendants will continue to enjoy the remaining happiness, and your endless virtuous descendants will continue to enjoy it. How wonderful!
Don't be like Qin Shihuang, who always wants to leave an eternal legacy to his descendants, but in the end he makes his descendants even worse.
At that time, Zhang Shaofei was moved to tears by Zhang Daocheng's noble integrity, and said: "Old man, since you are so sincere, I will follow your wish. After settling my mother, I will go to Huangmei to seek Dharma, and not to seek happiness for myself." , I hope all living beings can be freed from suffering." Compared with this, Zhang Shaofei's words from the heart are so great! This is how we develop bodhicitta and Mahayana aspirations.
Bodhicitta is the "enlightened mind" and the "altruistic mind".
You must know that the first thing to learn Buddhism is to have aspiration, which must be big and righteous in order to achieve results. As the saying goes, "the greater the amount of blessing, the greater the greed."
If your intentions are not correct and your knowledge and views are wrong, it will be very troublesome.
"The Avatamsaka Sutra" says that Buddhism is like water. Like water, when cows drink it, it becomes milk, and when snakes drink it, it becomes poison. Wisdom and learning lead to Nirvana, and foolish learning increases life and death.
The slightest difference in knowledge and vision can make a huge difference in the consequences.
This means that anyone can learn Buddhism, but everyone’s benefits are different. Because the purposes are different, can the results be the same?
A righteous Buddhist must care about society, take benefiting all sentient beings as his own responsibility, perfect himself in altruism, enhance his moral cultivation, and have a spirit of dedication that does not seek happiness for himself, but hopes that all sentient beings will be freed from suffering.
Many Buddhist believers think that worshiping Buddha is reverence, and listening to sutras and chanting Buddha is practice. They do not know how to benefit society, which deviates from the original intention of Buddhism.
To study Buddhism, we must be realistic and down-to-earth, and not castles in the air, because Buddhism is inseparable from worldly laws. Putting Buddhism into practice in life is the real practice.
If you only know the Buddha's teachings but do not carry forward the Buddha's spirit in the world and apply it to all living beings, then the Buddha's teachings will only remain at the level of knowledge and will not be effective as they should be, and may even be misunderstood. It is really unfair to be accused of feudal superstition and passive world-weariness!
It would be an injustice to say that Buddhism is negative or superstitious.
Buddhism is about doing things in the world with a transcendent spirit. Buddhism is the education of the Buddha, just like the education of Confucius and Mencius, it is education.
It's just that the founder of Confucianism, Confucius, and the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, have different political statuses.
Confucius became a great educator because he was a blessing in disguise.
When he traveled around the country, he originally wanted to find an official position to show his political ideals and ambitions.
If someone uses him to be the prime minister of a vassal state, his greatest achievement will be like the Duke of Zhou, Guan Zhong, and Zhuge Liang.
But the princes did not use him and kept a distance from him, so he returned to his hometown to run education.
Confucius was the first principal of a private school in ancient times to recruit students broadly.
Before him, all aspiring young people who wanted to learn culture had to learn from him. Just think about it, what can you learn from those bureaucrats who spend all day at the wine table and take advantage of eating more?
Therefore, when Confucius started education, many talented people came to him, some were poor and some were rich; the rich included Zigong, a big shot, and the poor Yan Hui, who ate dry food and drank cold water.
No matter what his family background or talent, Confucius would accept him.
He was also very good at teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, and he taught many subjects, so his students were all-round at the time, and he was in line with the educational philosophy of all-round development.
Among his students, there were many talented people, and because of his achievements in teaching, he was revered as a teacher for all generations and the most holy teacher. This was something he never dreamed of.
If he knew that there was such a great thing, why would he travel around the country and suffer such misfortunes? It would be great to start education as soon as possible!
Not only did Confucius’ educational thoughts make great contributions to social security and ethics, he also left us a gold mine in language and art.
From the opening line of The Analects of Confucius, "It is a joy to learn and practice it over time," to the closing line, "If you don't know words, you can't understand people," almost every paragraph and every sentence is a wise saying. Confucianism is highly respected, and Buddhist theory makes even wise people convinced and admired.
Dr. Wheeler, the father of the world's geometric mechanics, also said that without the Buddhist law of cause and effect, the universe would be chaos. Such a noble and perfect wisdom education - Buddhism, Eleven Young Masters have no choice but to introduce it to everyone to avoid misunderstandings.
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, is also a real historical figure. He was born in the sixth century BC. His father was King Suddhodana, his mother was Maya, and his country was called Kapilavastu. His life experience and the process of cultivating Taoism are clearly recorded in Buddhist scriptures and historical records.
He is not a loser in the officialdom, but a winner. He has a very distinguished political status and is the prince and future king of Kapilavastu.
However, he gave up the throne and engaged in education, because only education can truly benefit people and change customs.
Why are youth crime rates still high around the world? The main reason is education errors, which only focus on the cultivation of knowledge and skills and ignore moral education. We all know that children with virtue and talent are superior products, those with virtue but no talent are inferior products, those without virtue and talent are trash, and those without virtue and talent are drugs, which is very terrible. For this reason, Eleven Shao joined the "Research Association on the Thought and Culture of the Sixth Patriarch of Zen", aiming to pass on the moral style of the ancient sages to thousands of households, and bring benefits such as refraining from doing evil, eliminating evil and promoting good, and being harmonious. The care of all sentient beings makes every family happy and everyone happy.
…
Sakyamuni Buddha's life was full of wisdom. In order to benefit the world and the people, he founded Buddhism, asking people to "stop doing evil, practice good deeds, and purify their minds." As for what this sentence means, Zhang Shaofei has his own detailed discussion after he became Huizu, and I will list it in detail later.
Okay, let’s get back to the main story. It was said that it was already evening when Zhang Shaofei returned to Qiuxian County on Zhang Daocheng's cargo ship.
After Zhang Shaofei got off the boat and said goodbye to Zhang Daocheng, he went straight to Houliang Village.
During the time since Zhang Shaofei left, Lu Huilan's father's health has improved a lot and she can get up and move around. As for walking, she still needs the help of crutches. The wild herbs Zhang Shaofei picked before heading to the West Sea have long been used up.
When Zhang Shaofei appeared at the door of Lu Xue's Confucian home, the whole family was overjoyed. Lu Huilan's mother was moved to welcome him out. Her cloudy eyes were full of blurred tears and her voice was trembling as she said: "A Fei, you are back." …”
Zhang Shaofei hurriedly stepped forward and said happily: "Auntie, I'm back with Ganoderma lucidum. My uncle's illness is cured!"
With the support of Lu Huilan, Lu Xueru got up and came out to greet Zhang Shaofei despite his inconvenience in walking. His weathered face showed a smile that he had not seen in nearly half a year. For a long time, Lu Xueru twirled his thumbs and kept mumbling: "A Fei, it's really... it's... it's so difficult for you.
…
Zhang Shaofei approached the door of his house and saw the light coming from the window. It was the light of his mother watching her son's return.
"Is Fei'er back?"
Zhang Shaofei hesitated for a moment before replying: "It's me, grandma." He opened the door. My mother was sitting on the futon in front of the Buddhist altar, her eyes half-squinted, showing concern on her face.
"Fei'er, have you gone to Xihai during this period to buy back Zhi Ling?" Wang Shaoxiang looked at Zhang Shaofei with concern. They had been apart for several months. When they met, the first thing they asked him was not to ask him how he was doing along the way. Instead, he was eager to ask about buying Zhi Ling, which also reflected Wang Shaoxiang's feelings of "caring for others and benefiting others" from one aspect.
Zhang Shaofei reached out and wiped the sweat from his head, and said happily: "Aniang, I bought it. On the way back, I went to see Shang Lanmei's father and put Zhiling at her house."
Wang Shaoxiang asked again: "How has Alan's father's injury been recently? Has it improved?"
"It's much better. I can already get out of bed and walk a few steps. However, the medicine I went to the mountains to collect last time has been used up." Zhang Shaofei looked at Wang Shaoxiang and said.
"Aniang went to the kitchen to heat up the food first. During these days, Aniang has cooked your meals every day. When you come back to eat, rinse the food with hot water and cool it down. Go to bed early and go to the mountains to collect herbs tomorrow." Wang Shaoxiang said as he went into the kitchen to heat the food.
Zhang Shaofei said hurriedly: "Mom, I had supper at A Lanmei's house, and I'm still full now."
"Then take a shower and go to bed early. It's already midnight. After Wang Shaoxiang finished speaking, he went to the bedroom to rest."
Zhang Shaofei originally wanted to meet Zhang Daocheng in the West Sea, become enlightened after reading the Diamond Sutra, receive a gift of money from him to settle down with his mother, and then go north to Huangmei Dong Zen Temple in Hubei Province to seek Buddhism and enlightenment to his mother. But seeing that it was already late at night, Wang Shaoxiang went back to the bedroom again...
After Zhang Shaofei took a shower, he sat on the rosewood chair on the left side of the hall, thinking: It would be better not to tell my mother about this for now. First, it was too late at night. If grandma found it difficult to accept this matter, then no one would be able to have a good sleep that night. If we talk about it in the future, it would be difficult; second, Lu Huilan’s father was still full of hope. Waiting for him to collect medicines to cure the disease, he has become the support and spiritual support of Lu Huilan's family... If Lu Huilan's father finds out and worsens the illness, it will be tantamount to him...
When Zhang Shaofei thought of this, he didn't dare to think any more. He felt sleepy and yawned twice. He stood up and stretched his waist. As soon as he returned to the room, he fell on the bed and fell asleep after a while. .
