Li Xiuyuan glanced at the young monk and had mixed feelings for a moment, but he didn't know what to say.
With Tripitaka in front of him, there was no need for him to point the way forward for the young monk.
Right now, he is Ebony from Broken Leaf City.
It was a joyful night. After listening to his senior brother's sermon, the little monk got into his sleeping bag and dreamed.
Sanzang recited the sutra for a while, waved to Li Xiuyuan, and rested like a young monk.
This journey has not been easy, and he has to restore his energy and spirit here.
Even the horses snored.
Only Li Xiuyuan was alone, guarding a fire and silently staring at the sacred lake transformed by the spiritual spring in front of him.
In eight hundred miles of desert, there is only this wild horse spring.
For Li Xiuyuan, three people and three horses, this is a paradise, this is paradise.
Every drop of spring water here is a spiritual lake.
Looking at the two sleeping people, Li Xiuyuan was not sleepy at all. Instead, he boiled water from the spiritual spring and brewed a pot of cold plum tea.
After pouring two glasses, he picked up one and took a sip.
Looking at a few small fish in the lake, he thought for a moment and said: "Ksitigarbha, if I don't understand something, can you help me solve my problem? ... Please have tea."
Looking at the fish in the divine lake in front of him reminded him of the frozen fish he saw in the water tank in his dream.
What Master Zhang Liang said about the fish released by the businessman.
Later, he compared himself to the fish struggling in the river and even in the heavens.
Now, he seemed to have passed through the most difficult moment and saw a glimmer of hope.
But suddenly there was an illusion that nature had turned into a fish in the lake at this moment?
Are you comfortable or uncomfortable at this moment? If you don’t feel comfortable, then who will come to fish in the lake next moment?
Will he be fished away?
The stars are shining brightly tonight, and I look at the fish swimming in the water. After thinking about it, I feel that I am in a state of mind that only Jizo can understand.
So he cooked a spiritual tea that was unique in heaven and earth, and invited Ksitigarbha to come and ask for advice.
Starlight shone before his eyes, and a figure quietly appeared in front of Li Xiuyuan.
After taking a sip of the steaming spiritual tea, Ksitigarbha shook his head and said, "I have told you that if you are suffering in the future, don't come to me. I am suffering too, okay?"
Li Xiuyuan smiled faintly: "Bodhisattva, you see that I am almost buried in the vast yellow sand, so you can chat with me."
Ksitigarbha was amused by him when he heard this: "You are a monster in the world. How could these eight hundred miles of yellow sand be able to bury you?"
Even so, Ksitigarbha still sighed quietly.
Looking at him, he said seriously: "To be honest, it's really not easy for you to lead two monks and three horses across the vast yellow sand to get here."
Li Xiuyuan asked: "If I turned into a fish in the lake and was fished away the next moment, would the fisherman put me into the rivers and seas, or would he use me to cook?"
In his eyes, even this divine spring was not much different from the water tank above the nine heavens.
Ji Zang drank up the spiritual tea in the cup and sighed after watching Li Xiuyuan refill it for him.
There was no immediate answer to his question.
Instead, he said: "That day under the abyss, the fish you were thinking about was just to prevent yourself from being fished away. You wanted to be one of those fishermen in the world one day..."
"Yes, that's exactly what I want."
Li Xiuyuan replied quietly: "My master said that only with Tianqi can we understand more truths. I can't do it right now, but I want to try to understand..."
Ksitigarbha continued: "When you transformed into Amu and took Sanzang and the young monk along the way, have you ever thought that your state of mind has changed?"
Under the moonlight, fish swim freely in the clear lake water.
Looking at these fish that didn't know what to fear, Li Xiuyuan really couldn't figure out where did the fish in the desert come from?
The little monk wanted to grab one and play with it, but he stopped him.
So, what about the future? What if the next person passing by here is attracted by these grown-up fish?
Eating fish and not wanting to be eaten seems simple, but when he thought about it carefully, the whole thing was too mysterious, and he was stunned for a moment.
Ji Zang took a sip of spiritual tea, followed his gaze into the lake, and asked, "Are you tempted?"
With a wry smile, Li Xiuyuan replied: "I was thinking about the compassion of Bodhisattva. Can I take these fish to larger lakes and rivers? I was also thinking, where do the fish in this desert come from?"
Ksitigarbha looked at him and said seriously: "Even if we change a big lake for them as you said, will there be big fish eating small fish there? Will the big lake also dry up one day?"
Trembling slightly, Li Xiuyuan didn't know what to say.
He had thought about this question while standing by the water tank in the inn. If those frozen fish were put into the pool outside the inn, would they be eaten by the big fish?
What does my momentary compassion mean?
"As for where the fish come from, as long as there is wind and water, there will be fish. You can imagine them like, after a strong wind and heavy rain, there will be fish..."
When Ksitigarbha said this, he pointed at the spiritual tea in the cup and said with a smile: "The tea is good, hurry up and boil the water."
Reaching out to add spring water to the pot and boiling it, Li Xiuyuan sighed quietly.
Sometimes I think of myself as a small fish, sometimes I think of myself as the businessman who releases the fish, and sometimes I think of myself as the big fish that wants to eat the small fish.
For a moment, I couldn't help but be stunned.
He raised his head, looked at Jizo and said seriously: "Such a simple thing, but the more I think about it, the more trouble I get."
Jizo replied quietly: "Some things seem simple, but if you think about it carefully, they are a complicated matter."
Suddenly, Li Xiuyuan no longer thought about Buddhism, but remembered the principles taught by his master.
Looking at Ksitigarbha, he murmured to himself: "Are you talking about the principle of great simplicity?"
"I seem to understand a little bit. Although the Great Dao is extremely simple, I am afraid that practitioners will become more and more crazy as they practice, and they will either become obsessed or become a fool..."
"That's why we have to simplify the complex, start with the simplest principles, and practice the most complicated and obscure principles in the world? Like the fish in this lake?"
Li Xiuyuan seemed to understand, but also seemed to be more confused.
The water in the pot was whining. Li Xiuyuan picked it up and dropped it into the purple sand, adding spiritual tea to their cups.
Pointing at the fish swimming under the moonlight, he laughed at himself: "Bodhisattva, am I pretending to be compassionate, or am I thinking too much?"
The Bodhisattva shook his head and said: "No, a mayfly has to live and die every day, let alone a fish? You are not a fish, how do you know what they are thinking?"
Li Xiuyuan thought for a while, was shocked and speechless, and murmured: "I was just thinking about what they should do if they encounter irresistible danger?"
"I was just thinking what would I do if I were a fish?"
Holding a cup of spiritual tea, Li Xiuyuan smiled bitterly and said, "Oh, I really shouldn't have called the Bodhisattva here. As a result, I became more and more confused."
Jizo looked at him with a smile on his face.
He said quietly: "When you are that fish, you only think about struggling to reach a wider world, fighting for the crossing, and getting across."
"But when you were crossing the 800-mile desert of death, you were thinking about Sanzang and the little monk, and the three horses, and wanted to lead them out of this long world of yellow sand..."
Ksitigarbha looked at the confused Li Xiuyuan and asked, "Have you ever thought that this inadvertent change of yours is actually practicing Buddhism?"
Shaking his head, Li Xiuyuan said he hadn't figured it out yet.
Sanzang continued: "When you were a fish, you only wanted to save yourself; when you were an ebony, you only wanted to save others..."
Sitting blankly in front of the Buddha, Li Xiuyuan tried to suppress the chaotic emotions in his heart.
He smiled bitterly and said: "Bodhisattva, am I wrong? It seems that I have no choice... I can't watch them get lost in the desert, right?"
"That's right. Your thought coincides with the two realms of Buddhism."
Ksitigarbha explained quietly: "It is Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism, and for these two kinds of Buddhism, sometimes it is just a change between your thoughts."
Li Xiuyuan smiled bitterly and said, "Please Bodhisattva speak the Dharma for me."
Ksitigarbha says: "The Hinayana Buddhism requires abandoning the world and transcending the three realms, that is, transcending the world to practice. The Mahayana Buddhism requires not giving up all living beings in the world, entering the vast world of mortals to save people, and practicing in the world."
"The Hinayana Buddhism pursues its own interests only to save oneself; the Mahayana Buddhism is for the benefit of all sentient beings, and everything is for the sake of saving all sentient beings."
Li Xiuyuan lowered his head and pondered for a while, then said with a wry smile: "It seems to make some sense."
Ksitigarbha continued: "When you were a weak and helpless fish, all you thought about was perfecting yourself; when you were transformed into ebony, you thought about Sanzang Wuliang and the three horses..."
Staring into Li Xiuyuan's eyes, Ksitigarbha said: "You can understand these two different states of mind as the choice between Mahayana and Hinayana in Buddhism."
Li Xiuyuan said in disbelief: "According to what Bodhisattva said, wouldn't I be walking between the Mahayana and Hinayana of Buddhism?"
Ksitigarbha looked at him and nodded, then said seriously: "Good, how about you join my Buddhist sect?"
This time, Li Xiuyuan did not refute, because he knew the cause and effect on himself.
Instead, he replaced the spiritual tea with spiritual wine and poured a cup for Ksitigarbha, while he held a cup of tasteless spiritual tea and took a sip.
Looking at the stars in the night sky, he said: "I can't enter the Buddha's door, but you are here, Bodhisattva."
Ji Zang was deeply shocked by Li Xiuyuan's unintentional words.
He picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it in one gulp.
After enduring it in silence for a long time, he said softly: "That's right, regardless of whether you enter Buddhism or not, Buddhism has been imprinted into your flesh, blood, soul..."
"Before he became a Buddha, the Buddha practiced Bodhisattva practice and made great vows to save all living beings... Just like the Tripitaka in front of you, he wants to use the six methods of giving, observing the precepts, and enduring humiliation to help all living beings in the world escape the sea of suffering and reach the other shore."
Li Xiuyuan looked back at Sanzang in his dream and smiled lightly.
Said: "Sanzang has great compassion in his heart and wants to save all sentient beings in the Tang Dynasty. One day he will become a holy monk like the Bodhisattva."
Ksitigarbha also knew that the paths of Li Xiuyuan and Sanzang were ultimately different, so he no longer forced him to do so, and he no longer discussed the principles of Buddhism with him.
Perhaps in his opinion, Li Xiuyuan's current thoughts have turned into fish in the lake, wanting to swim to the heavens.
And he is not the one fishing with a pole.
So Ksitigarbha looked at him and asked: "Where will your future go? When will you tell Sanzang that you are you?"
"Broken Leaf City."
Li Xiuyuan looked at the fish swimming in the lake and couldn't help but take a piece of cake, crush it into pieces, and gently throw it into the lake.
He replied: "When they arrive at Suiye City, I will no longer accompany them. I will tell him the truth then."
"Yes, you have the other side of your cultivation. You don't have to turn yourself into Tripitaka... But you are not a fish in this lake."
Ji Zang looked at the fish snatching food in the lake, and watched the stars in the sky falling on Li Xiuyuan.
It was like facing the vast starry sky in the night sky, and I was stunned and speechless for a moment.
Li Xiuyuan sat like this all night by the Yema Spring Lake in the Mohe Yanqi Desert. For him at this time, the fish in the lake were trying to break out of this world.
Whether you come or not, the mountain is here.
Love it or hate it, I'm here.
Whether I can enter Buddhism or not, Bodhisattvas are all here. I like these three chapters.
