Kuang Hua pestered Mai Yuan and yelled, "Mom, I'm hungry."
The two children, Kuang Hong and Kuang Shan, also looked at Mai Yuan with wide eyes and shouted in unison, "Mom, I'm hungry too."
Mai Yuan said that after a while, dad would buy rice and go home.
Kuang Hong spoke louder, Mom, you said "wait a moment" twice, but dad didn't reply.
Kuang Shan and Kuang Hua were so hungry that their eyes were black and they were about to make a noise. Maiyuan picked up a piece of charcoal, squatted down and drew a pocket of rice ears on a large bluestone in the main room. She also told a story about rice, which the children listened to with great interest, as if they had forgotten that they were hungry and no longer made any noise.
The content of the story Mai Yuan told is: According to legend, in ancient times, there was an island surrounded by the sea. A rice-growing god tied a bag of rice ears on the back of a divine dog he raised and ordered it to swim across the sea to reach the island. Go up to the vast land on the other side and give the rice ears on your back as seeds to the people on the land for planting. By then, there will be a bumper rice harvest, because the divine dog has the ability to transport the grain seeds, and most of them can be eaten by the dogs.
Unexpectedly, the divine dog heard the wrong words. Before it swam back to the island, it ordered all the mortal dogs just like the gods commanded it, saying that the rice grown would be eaten by humans, and you, the dogs, would only eat dung. Therefore, all dogs in the world still eat feces, and they eat it deliciously. On the contrary, humans all rely on rice grown from paddy fields as their staple food.
When Mai Yuan talked about this, she raised her voice a little excitedly, Kuang Hong, Kuang Shan, Kuang Hua, you are all human beings, and it is natural for you to eat rice.
After listening to the story, Kuang Hua shouted again, "Mom, I want to eat rice."
Mai Yuan looked outside the house in the dim dusk, her eyes full of hope - if her husband sold the vat of rice and cooked it in the pot, the children would be able to eat a big meal of rice!
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance, carrying a large vat on his shoulder. Mai Yuan recognized him as her husband and the father of her children at a glance, but she felt very uncomfortable.
Kuang Guangbu walked closer and closer, and when he reached the house, he unloaded the water tank from his shoulder, looking depressed.
Mai Yuan asked, why didn’t you sell the water tank?
Kuang Guangbu said ruefully that I put the water vat on Zhonghuopu Street near the entrance of Wu Xiaoda Pharmacy. No one paid attention at first, but then a few customers came to see it. Finally, one customer wanted to buy it, and the price was almost settled, but Wu Xiaoda My son Wu Daode was so immoral that he saw it while standing at the door of the drugstore, so he came over and broke it, saying that there was a crack in the bottom of my water tank. The customer happened to be in front of me, and as soon as he heard the insult, he turned around and left. Therefore, the water jar could not be sold, so I had to carry it back.
The three children knew that there was no hope of eating rice, so they all came out of the house and cried around Kuang Guangbu, shouting, "Dad, I'm hungry, I want to eat rice..."
Kuang Guangbu was so anxious that he refused to enter the house. He pushed away the children who were surrounding him, turned around and left. In the dim night, his figure became more and more blurred, and he gradually disappeared from sight.
That day, Qian Wanguan came out of the grocery store on West Street and walked in front. He kept chanting Buddha's name and could be heard by passers-by. Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan who were following him were also silently reciting the Buddha's name. Although the sound was inaudible, their mouths were moving slightly and could be seen.
Arriving at the door of Fu's old house on West Street, before Hu Youyuan could take out the bundle of sandalwood and light it, he smelled a strange fragrance that was better than sandalwood.
Fu Chunlan shouted excitedly, "Hey, do you smell it?" What a nice scent this is.
Hu Youyuan stood in front of the door, reaching out and touching the back of his head and thinking for a long time without saying anything.
Qian Wagguan said that this fragrance seems to be the fragrance of lotus, but it smells better than ordinary lotus. I remembered that it was definitely Buddha and Bodhisattva who had come here on the lotus throne to take Grandma Fu to the Pure Land. Hurrah!
Qian Wanguan pushed open the ajar door and walked straight to the woodshed, followed by Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan. When he arrived at the woodshed, he saw Fu's mother sitting cross-legged on a futon, facing a statue on the Buddhist altar. The Buddha statue remains motionless, as if it has become a Buddha statue itself. She didn't even notice Qian Wanguan coming with her granddaughter and grandson-in-law.
The fragrance of lotus flowers in the woodshed is even stronger.
At this time, Hu Guiyuan gently untied the bundle of sandalwood, took out one by one and lit it. The green smoke curled up towards the incense burner in front of the Buddhist niche.
Fu's mother noticed they were coming and was about to speak. Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan shouted in unison first, "Hello, grandma!"
Fu Chunlan looked at Qian Wanguan and said, "Uncle Qian, my grandma is meditating well here. Why do you say she is going to die at noon today?"
Qian Wankuan replied, Amitabha! Disciple Qian did not lie.
Fu's mother said, Chunlan, what your uncle Qian said is true. I will just wait until you come and give me a brief explanation before passing away.
Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan said in unison, "Grandma, if you have any instructions, we, the future students, will definitely obey them."
Mother Fu looked at them with kind eyes and murmured: Youyuan, Chunlan, and Wan Guan, you all heard me, I will tell you three things:
First, you must not touch me within 12 hours after I pass away;
Second, arrange my funeral arrangements, don’t let me go, let me go in peace!
Third, keep the funeral simple and don’t treat guests. Even if you treat guests, they must only eat vegetarian food and never eat meat. Remember?
Qian Waguan, Hu Youyuan, and Fu Chunlan rushed to answer, remember.
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Fu's mother again. She turned her head again and faced the Buddha statue. After a while, she became motionless. Qian Wagguan, who was silently chanting Buddha's name, suddenly said that his grandma had passed away.
At this time, a burst of Buddhist music sounded on the roof of Fu's house, which was pleasant to the ears. Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan did not listen carefully. They looked at Fu's mother sitting on the futon with a peaceful expression and a smile on her lips. Their granddaughter and grandson-in-law, who originally wanted to cry, stopped crying and instead clasped their hands together like Qian Waguan. , kneeling on the ground, facing the Buddha statue, and chanting the Buddha's name loudly.
Qian Wagguan suddenly paused, Hu Youyuan and Fu Chunlan also paused, and turned to look at Qian Wagguan who was paying homage to the Buddha statue.
After a while, Qian Waguan also sat on a futon and appeared to be meditating.
Qian Wankuan clasped his hands together and chanted in a rich voice, Amitabha! Qian was originally a heinous sinner. He occasionally heard the Buddhist teachings, eliminated evil obstacles, devoted himself to good deeds, and practiced precepts. I have taken care of Grandma Fu for many years. Today I have completed my mission and will be reborn in the Pure Land. I sincerely thank our Buddha for his compassionate salvation!
Fu Chunlan asked in surprise, Uncle Qian, do you also want to be reborn in the Pure Land?
Qian Wanguan said, yes, Uncle Qian used to be a guest of Saha for a while, but soon he would meet people in the lotus pond. Uncle Qian had only one sentence to explain. After I leave, the funeral arrangements will be as simple and frugal as your grandma's. Amitabha!
Looking again, Qian Wanguan was already motionless, his eyelids were slightly closed, as peacefully as sleeping. Hu Youyuan suddenly screamed, Chunlan, look—
Fu Chunlan looked intently and saw a huge lotus blooming on each of Grandma Fu and Qian Wankuan. One was red, the other was yellow. They were delicate, fragrant and magnificent.
At this moment, bursts of Buddhist music resounded from the roof to the sky.
Many residents on West Street gathered outside the Fu family's old house and looked up. They saw the legendary Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva riding on the lotus platform and appearing in the sky. They waved their hands kindly, and Fu's mother and Qian Wanguan came up. They walked up to the lotus platform that looked like a spaceship and said goodbye frequently to the people looking up at them below.
Suddenly, Fu Chunlan and Hu Youyuan, who came out of the house, took the lead in reciting the Buddha's name, and everyone followed suit. For a moment, the sound of the Buddha's name on the ground and the sound of Buddha's music in the sky merged into one, presenting an incomparable and extraordinary landscape!
