The sixteenth year of Yongshuang in the Dajing Dynasty was the eighth year of Yuanyou in the Dafeng Dynasty. It was midsummer at this time. Two brothers and sisters who had traveled thousands of miles, one stayed in the Dafeng Dynasty, and the other finally returned home.
During the more than a month since his sister left, Guiliu still traveled northward, trekking through mountains and rivers, eating and sleeping in the open air, in order to practice spiritual practice.
You are not alone along the way, because there is always a lively little girl running around in front of and behind the man. Sometimes she chases butterflies, and sometimes she catches a little frog from nowhere. When she gets tired of running, she pulls on the man's robe and plays rogue. , and the result is that her wish is always fulfilled. Even if the man is not tired at all, he will choose a cool place to rest temporarily.
This section of the road may seem like a boring way to kill time, but it is indispensable. Letting go in the mountains and rivers, temporarily forgetting all the troubles, healing the mind and heart, healing the wounds, at least focusing on this landscape, he will not think of her often, and he will not be in the same pain as before.
The little girl from a native family in Dafeng was supposed to go home with Gui Qing. Before leaving, she learned that the man did not intend to go back together. She refused to leave at that time. There was still room for negotiation. After all, she was a child. At worst, she would have spent some time coaxing her, but Gui Qing instead poured oil on the pot and said, "You don't want to go back, but I don't want to take you with me."
As you can imagine, the little girl confirmed her thoughts and would not go back no matter what. She would rather follow the man and live in a world of no fixed abode.
As an older brother, how could Geiliu not know the little thoughts of his younger sister? In fact, although she didn't like this little girl, she was definitely not upset. The reason why she was so unkind was because she wanted the brother she cared about to be with her.
So after Guiliu persuaded him several times, he allowed the little girl to follow him.
At dusk, the burning fire clouds gradually dispersed, leaving only a lavender afterglow on the horizon.
After a day's journey, two people, one large and one small, stood on the valley. Looking from a distance, they could already see a small city. According to the orthodox royal family of Dafeng, this city was the same as the two cities further north. This city is the dividing line between north and south, and it is also the yin and yang prophecy line mentioned by Feng Shui magicians.
After these three cities, there is a vast battlefield, and further north is the retreat place of the surviving Dafeng royal family.
The hope of leaving the territory of the Dafeng rebels is just around the corner, but in these three thunder ponds, even a flying bird will be shot dead. It is almost as difficult as climbing to the sky to escape from them unharmed.
The little girl in green clothes was sweating slightly and her cheeks were red because she had so much fun running just now.
Geiliu was wearing a coarse linen robe, stained with dust, and his face was covered with a lifelike ugly face. If he were put in this outfit among the crowd, he would probably be classified as a refugee.
However, although he himself suffered, he never treated the little girl badly. In the bag carried behind her, apart from the Immortal Killing Sword and a set of snow-white robes, the rest were all the little girl's clean clothes.
Looking at it this way, it looks a bit like a young father leading his little daughter to escape the war.
"Are you tired?" Guiliu asked with a smile.
"A little." The little girl rubbed her belly, "Xiao Liu, I'm hungry."
"Xiao Liu" was her name for the man in front of her. The pronunciation of the word "Liu" in Dafeng Mandarin is very similar to the word "五" in the local pronunciation. "Xiaowu" is a special name known to every household in Dafeng. It is generally used by the master to address the servant, and the two of them played guessing games before. When she was young, Guiliu lost to the little girl, and she was willing to admit defeat. From now on, she would have to be called Her Royal Highness, so the title "Xiaoliu" was perfect.
Gui Liu had no temper at all and said with a smile: "Then what do you want to eat, Your Highness the Princess?"
The little girl held her cheek and thought for a while, then said, "I want to eat fish."
Gui Liu's eyes naturally aimed at the gurgling stream in the valley.
"Forget it, let's have some more solid food." The little girl seemed to be remembering the past and said to herself: "In the past, I couldn't even afford solid food. When I was hungry, I would look for wild vegetables, and if there were no wild vegetables, I would nibble on tree bark. Now at least I can eat it every day. If you are full, what else is there to be unsatisfied about?”
Gui Liu was stunned, and suddenly remembered the debate between Confucianism and Buddhism that took place in the Imperial College a hundred years ago and was watched by thousands of people.
The monk who only believed in Buddhism in his life was the first to attack: "The understanding of all dharma is like an illusion, like a flame, like the moon in the water."
This sentence means that after escaping into Buddhism, you will realize that all life is nothing but nothingness.
Whether it is poverty or poverty, whether it is glory or wealth, it is just as illusory as the moon in the water, and it will shatter at the touch of it.
The old Jijiu from the Imperial Academy, who had mastered the great achievements of Confucianism, responded this way: "What you do is done when you have something to do, and what I do is done when there is nothing to do."
This sentence is somewhat obscure and difficult to understand, and very few listeners can immediately understand the gist of it.
Giliu also consulted the imperial master before he understood the meaning of Lao Jijiu's words.
"Confucianism's pursuit of worldly utility is not based on its original purpose. On the contrary, the reason why it pursues worldly utility and happiness is because it should be done, and it is its own purpose."
So what Lao Jijiu is saying is: "You Buddhists tell all living beings to practice hard in order to achieve ultimate happiness. Worldly pleasures are bad consequences, such as good clothes and three meals. Excessive sleep, etc. are worldly greed. You must keep the precepts and few desires to stay away from this." It is definitely not the Dharma. Your true heart is toward the Buddha. This is your true desire and you do it for something. Doesn’t this count as the greed you talk about?"
Seemingly impeccable, the monk replied: "When falsehood is true, truth is also false. Where there is nothing, there is nothing."
When the false is taken as true, the true is false. If everyone believes in things that "do not exist", then things that "really exist" will be regarded as things that should not exist.
In response to this sentence, Lao Jijiu stopped tit-for-tat and asked elsewhere.
In the end, the old priest won the argument about Confucianism and Buddhism, which was written into many schools of thought.
However, Giliu still remembers what the Imperial Master said. In fact, there were no winners or losers in this debate between Confucianism and Buddhism. The old sacrificial wine won on the stage, and the monk won off the stage. The knowledge of Lao Jijiu was not yet arrogant, and the monk who came from nowhere was not truly enlightened, so neither of them could truly represent the two schools. Therefore, this debate was just a matter of victory or defeat between two people.
The reason why Guiliu remembered such a debate a hundred years ago was because of what the little girl said to herself just now.
When a person has suffered so much, should he take the initiative and strive to pursue happiness in this world, or should he endure and practice hard and wait for happiness to knock on the door?
Confucianism says that if you are fed up with the life of eating wild vegetables and chewing tree roots, then work hard and strive to eat big fish and meat.
Buddhism says, you can't eat fish, it's greed! You have to practice hard, abide by the precepts and perform meritorious deeds, and eventually you will naturally eat the "big fish" in the Paradise of Paradise.
One focuses on happiness in this world, and the other focuses on happiness in the next life. Which one is wrong and which one is right?
Guiliu neither believes in Buddhism nor is he a disciple of Confucianism, so it is difficult to draw any conclusions. But if you think about the problem with a normal person's mind, why don't you pick up money on the ground? Don’t you want the girl who came to your door for free? The fresh and tender fish meat is right in front of you, but you insist on chewing the wrinkled dry food?
Guiliu squatted in front of the little girl and said with rare seriousness: "You are Her Royal Highness the Princess. You won't eat big fish and meat, and you won't let go unless you hold a piece of dry food?"
The little girl curled her lips and said, "Isn't it possible that the princess is used to eating delicacies from all over the world and wants to eat something different?"
Guiliu couldn't help but laugh, thinking that his sister had grown up in the palace, unlike her brother, who had traveled far away and suffered several times. But even the princess with such a privileged life did not say that she was tired of the palace food and wanted to try some dry food.
What's more, you, a little girl, have never enjoyed a good day. You have only had enough food for a few days, and you secretly warned yourself to be satisfied and not to be greedy.
Such a child should be born into a wealthy family. Born in a poor family, such sensible behavior will only make people feel heartbroken.
Guiliu hugged her and said softly: "In the future, maybe you will really get tired of eating those delicacies. At that time, if you want to eat dry food, you will have the same feeling. You will think, you have already eaten delicacies, why should I still eat them?" If you are not satisfied, why do you have to eat dry food? At that time, even if you wanted to chew tree bark or eat wild vegetables, I would find it for you. So now, you obviously want to eat fish, so don’t put on a show You look like you understand the truth. You are still young and are not a Buddha or a Master, so you don’t need to keep the precepts and self-denial. The world is big and the food is the biggest. You can eat whatever you want. Why do you need to take care of so much?"
Guiliu stood up and looked at her, "Do you understand what I said?"
The little girl seemed to understand, so she hummed, scratched her head, and said sheepishly: "Actually, I'm just afraid that you might fall to death while climbing up and down the valley. After all, compared with a meal of fish and a meal of dry food, I would still choose a meal of dry food. .”
Guiliu's face suddenly darkened, and his forehead wrinkled with black lines one after another. Coupled with that ugly disguised face, anyone who looked at it would be frightened.
The little girl forced a smile and said at a loss, "Well, I'm just kidding... You are world-famous in martial arts, so falling to death is too unrealistic, don't you think?"
The man did not speak, but sat on the ground, took out a crumpled piece of dry food from his bag, and wolfed it down.
The little girl didn't dare to step forward or speak. She could only watch him eating deliciously and then swallow her saliva.
Not only was there no fish to eat, but there was also no dry food.
After the man was full, he took out the wine gourd, raised his head and drank some saliva, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and continued to play with the half of the willow leaf in his hand.
After a day's journey, the little girl, who was hungry and sleepy, lay on a boulder and stared blankly at the darkening sky, and fell asleep unconsciously.
She woke up from hunger.
The moment I opened my eyes, the starry sky was bright, the Milky Way was flowing, and the valley under the moonlight seemed to be coated with a layer of bright silver.
She sat up without strength, looked around, and found that the man was missing.
Thinking of the man's extremely angry expression before, she knew that the man must have abandoned her.
So, the little girl who had nowhere to turn to in the valley burst into tears.
The sound echoed from the mountain tops through the valleys.
Suddenly, a man's deliberate cough echoed down the valley.
The little girl quickly held her breath, lay down and stretched out her head to look down.
Under the moonlight, the gurgling stream in the valley looks like a thin strip of light. The man bent over, swimming in the water to catch fish, shattering the snow-white moon and bright stars.
The little girl didn't know that even her clear eyes were filled with beautiful stars.
Meeting him was a great start for her.
Meeting her is her best salvation.
