Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 31
In the middle of the night, the main hall of Hanshan Temple was brightly lit.

Buddha statues of various colors in the hall stand quietly around them. Incense lamps are lit in front of the Buddha statues, and weak but flexible candles are shaking silently. In the wide and far-reaching hall, a figure sits cross-legged quietly in front of the Buddha. Meditate and chant scriptures on the futon, solemn and solemn, with profound artistic conception.

There was a crackling sound, and then a slender and elegant figure in a silver-pink cloak appeared at the entrance of the hall.Su Mi took off the hat of the cloak, stroked her hair, and looked at Zen Master Withered Leaf who was sitting in the hall, who seemed to have never heard of her appearance.

In this empty hall, time seemed to stand still, only the gentle and long chanting sound echoed in the hall without interruption.

Su Mi listened quietly for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I wonder what scriptures Master is reading?"

"What the poor monk recited is the Great Compassion Mantra, sympathizing with the suffering of the world, and looking forward to the mercy of my Buddha." The long chanting stopped, and the sitting body did not shake at all, Zen Master Kuye replied with a bit of leisure.

"Mercy?!" Su Mi sneered with a bit of sarcasm: "If a few Buddha mantras can save all living beings in the world, why is there so much suffering in this world? Master is a contemporary eminent monk, Why can't you figure this out?"

"What the almsgiver said is true. The Buddhist scriptures are just written by ordinary people and read by ordinary people. They are no different from the classics written by various schools of thought. When we read aloud, it is the same as the vulgar language of ordinary people and the cursing of ordinary women. There is no difference at all. The poor monk reads the Buddhist scriptures just to calm his mind and calm his mind, how can he expect to save the world with the sound of the Buddha's name?" Hearing Su Mi's provocative and mocking tone, Dead Leaf said slowly without the slightest expression .

Dead Leaf admitted the uselessness of Buddhist scriptures so frankly that Su Mi didn't know what to say for a while.

"Does the benefactor also read Buddhist scriptures?" Withered Leaf asked suddenly.

"The little girl has little knowledge, so she never dared to read Buddhist scriptures." Su Mi said with a smile, "It's just that the little girl always has a question in her heart. The master is an eminent monk, and I hope he can solve Su Mi's doubt."

"Please tell the benefactor."

"Buddha said that there are seven kinds of suffering in life, birth, old age, sickness, death, resentment and hatred, separation of love, and failure to seek. Those who perish will suffer infinitely, and those who transcend will be reborn. Then the master thinks that all kinds of suffering are perdition, and what is it? How to transcend? Do you want to 'diligently practice precepts, concentration and wisdom, and extinguish greed, hatred and ignorance'?" Su Mi asked with a smile.

"The so-called diligent cultivation of precepts, concentration and wisdom, and extinguishing greed, hatred and ignorance are just hard practice in practice, not in god, and we practice daily for monks and monks. Donors like mortals, what they pay attention to is just letting go in time." Dead Leaf said .

"Let go in time?!" Su Mi's tone suddenly became sharp, "Master is really an eminent monk, just let go lightly, and all the old feelings will disappear without leaving any traces."

"The world is prosperous, everyone wants something; the world is crowded, everyone can't get it. How can we not let it go?"

Su Mi breathed a sigh of relief, and said coldly: "It seems that I am destined not to have this opportunity to study Buddhism, and I should not slander the gods and Buddhas here for nothing."

"The benefactor doesn't read the Buddhist scriptures. I'm afraid the benefactor is not afraid of polluting the Buddhist scriptures, but because he is afraid that the Buddhist scriptures will mislead you, right?" Su Mi was just about to turn around and leave when Zen Master Kuye's voice came from behind him, which was different from the calm and indifferent voice just now. Trembling slightly, it sounded like there was a trace of concern in it: "The benefactor is persistent and hard to move. You must know that the most painful thing in this world is the word 'persistence'. Sooner or later, the benefactor's obsession will destroy others and hurt himself. "

Su Mi swayed, and after an unknown amount of time, Su Mi suddenly let out a chuckle, changed the subject suddenly, and asked with a long smile: "The Buddha often said that monks would not tell lies. Today, the master broke the precepts. It's just..." Su Mi Mi looked up at that figure's back, and said in a sarcastic tone: "Why did the master lie for Su Mi? The master is detached from the world of mortals, is it also because of nostalgia for old love?"

"People are not plants, how can they be ruthless?" Dead Leaf replied calmly.

"Since the master can't let go of his obsession, why should he persuade others?"

"Amitabha Buddha!" ​​Withered Ye Chang chanted the Buddha's name, finally stood up, turned to face Su Mi and stared at Su Mi for a moment, Su Mi was stared at by him, only felt a little timid, and then there was a kind of resentment and resentment Welling up in my heart, I looked back at the dead leaves without showing any weakness.

"Benefactor Su is blaming and resenting the poor monk?"

"Grandmaster enjoys Daqi's enshrining, and is Daqi's supreme national teacher, how can Su Mi have any resentment?"

"Alas," Withered Leaf sighed, "No matter what you think in your heart, I always hate myself."

He shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and finally looked at Su Mi and said: "Why don't I want to save him. When I took Qingting as a disciple, I can see that he is upright by nature, and he is easy to break, I am afraid that it is destiny. "

Hearing his father's name suddenly being mentioned, Su Mi's head was in pain like being pricked by a needle.

The Zen master withered leaves in front of her is the tutor of her father Gu Qingting. When Gu Qingting was young, he traveled to study in the world, and he was fortunate to worship under his disciples. He taught him all the martial arts, but the whereabouts of the dead leaves are elusive. He likes to show off his own master's family, and Zen Master Kuye has a relationship with the Qi State. As a general, he hastily mentioned it, which will inevitably lead to the gossip of interested people in the court, so few people know about this relationship between master and apprentice.But Su Mi, who is a daughter, of course knows.

"Master is considering the interests of the Qi country. In the face of righteousness, how can you care about the small things?" Su Mi said calmly.

Withered Ye stared at her face, suddenly smiled wryly and said, "You still hate me, but this kind of hatred is really not worth mentioning compared to your resentment towards Daqi."

"I remember when you were just born, I went to Weiguo to meet you. I didn't expect that in just a dozen years, things have changed. Back then, I thought about persuading your father not to be too persistent. Forget about retiring to the countryside, but..." Speaking of his apprentice, Dead Leaf also felt sad for a moment: "I thought that even if he suffered misfortune, his family could be saved, but I didn't expect Ni Yuan's hatred to be so deep."

He looked at Su Mi standing in front of the threshold and asked, "Do you hate Qi?"

The surrounding air froze suddenly. Su Mi remained silent for a moment. She stepped over the high threshold and walked into the main hall. The Buddhas in the hall were either solemn, ferocious, majestic, or majestic. Solemn, all looking down at all kinds of worshipers.

Su Mi stared at these clay statues unmoved: "Master, do you believe that there are gods and Buddhas in this world?"

"Of course I believe it." Dead Leaf said.

"Then, master, can you tell me where the gods and Buddhas are? Why do these gods and Buddhas all over the sky only know how to enjoy the sacrifices and offerings of the world, without any compassion for the world, making this world full of suffering and twists and turns?"

"The heart of compassion is at home, so why bother to find it in the gods and Buddhas?"

"Compassion, if I have compassion for others, who will have compassion for me? Since the power of gods and Buddhas is boundless, why don't I see a trace of rain and dew descending on me, but because I don't respect Buddhas and gods because of?"

"Buddha statues are just clay statues, dead things, how can they really protect the human body?" Dead Leaf said.

"Then why does the master respect these dead things?" Su Mi immediately asked without giving an inch.

"If there is a Buddha in the heart, there will naturally be a Buddha in this world. If there is no Buddha in the heart, even if you search all over the world of mortals, you will hardly see the slightest miracle. Although the Buddha statue is a dead thing, the human heart is alive. A dead Buddha statue If you enter into the heart of a living person, you will naturally be alive. What I respect is nothing more than the gods and Buddhas in people's hearts, and the compassion in people's hearts."

"Master should really go to be elected to the government, instead of teaching scriptures and laws here." Su Mi shook his head and said, "Although I don't understand the profound theory, I can understand the meaning of what the master said. It refers to the people's will. I wonder how the master determined the people's will?" Su Mi asked softly, she knew that Zen Master Kuye chose Qi State to support, but there is no reason to say that Qi State is what the people want.

Dead Leaf looked at her, shook her head suddenly, turned to look at these god statues, and asked: "The benefactor knows the rituals well, do you know how many years have been since the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty, the overthrow of the Han Dynasty, and the invasion of the Hulu?"

Su Mi was slightly surprised, and replied: "It has been more than 200 years since Emperor Ai's rebellion led to the forced entry of captives."

"As of this year, it happens to be 210 years." Withered Leaf's face showed a trace of seriousness: "Then, does the benefactor know what kind of life the people have lived in these 210 years?"

Su Mi smiled sadly and said: "Although I don't know much, I also know that it is nothing more than a situation where the nations are in conflict and the people are struggling to survive."

"The world is not benevolent, and the people are miserable. In the past 200 years, heroes have stood up several times, hoping to unify the world, but they have only repeatedly brought about a new round of wars. The previous Liang Kingdom, and then the Great Zhou, the Great Jin, and the Great Qin It’s all like this. Hundreds of years of war, the people’s livelihood is hard, the bustling cities are also men as slaves, women are prostitutes, and the ordinary countryside is empty, thousands of miles without smoke. Until the rise of Daqi in recent years.”

Dead Leaf looked into the distance and said word by word: "The people in this world can no longer wait."

"Now the Northern Liao is covetous, with strong troops and strong horses, and is ready to go south at any time. Once it breaks through, it will be another tragedy in chaos. Only by defending against strong enemies and internally improving state affairs can the people live and work in peace and contentment. Supporting Daqi is really for the sake of the world and the people, so I think this is what the people want."

"The benefactor just asked what the people's hearts are. What the people's hearts care about is to end this troubled world as soon as possible. No matter whether it is Qi, Nanchen, or Wei, as long as they have the ability to unify the world as soon as possible and free the people from the sea of ​​suffering, they are the people's hearts." where."

Su Mi swayed. She felt that these words made sense, but they made her feel heavy. She felt a kind of indescribable aggrievedness. She wanted to say something to refute, but faced with such righteous words , but could not find the slightest reason.

"Then why does our family have to be victims of the Great Qi Unification and suffer such an experience? What's wrong with me wanting revenge?" Su Mi shouted. Gu went to remember and avenge my family, the two have nothing to do with each other.

"If the country hates the family, the benefactor naturally has the right to take revenge, but is it really Daqi who hurt the benefactor's family and caused the benefactor's country to be ruined?" Withered Leaf suddenly raised his head and asked: "The country of Wei is weak and the Lord is mediocre. Loyal ministers and good generals, but they cannot be used, and sooner or later they will be absorbed by a powerful country, whether it is the Great Qi, the Southern Chen, or the Northern Liao."

"It's not necessarily like this..." Su Mi struggled.

"You're right, of course it's not certain." Withered Leaf said calmly, "The country of Wei may also become stronger, and your father may lead the army of guards to attack other countries, slaughter other people's cities, and perish. Destroy other people's families and make the Wei country stronger, relying on other people's blood and hatred..."

"Father wouldn't do that..." Su Mi retorted.

"In troubled times, this is the rule of survival. If you don't devour others, others will devour you." Withered Ye said with a sad smile, "It wasn't Da Qi or Ni Yuan who destroyed your homeland, it was just Zhan Luan. This is a chaotic world that lasts for more than a hundred years."

Su Mi trembled, only feeling pain and confusion in her head.

"The benefactor is now deeply involved in the court. I'm afraid this truth is clearer than others. Could it be that the benefactor does not have the blood of innocent people on his hands, and has he not suffered the hatred of innocent people?" Withered Leaf stared into her eyes and asked.

Su Mi suddenly thought, although the Imperial Physician He and the palace servants who served Concubine Zheng in the Caiwei Palace were not killed by himself, what is the difference between him and himself? !

"These people don't have relatives, friends, parents and children. How would they feel?"

She felt that her mind was about to explode, and a voice couldn't get out of her mind, what is the difference between yourself and these people? !It's all about murder!They are all ruining other people's families!

But no, I was out for revenge, for my family...

But are all the ones you kill really your enemies?They are all innocent implicators, they are all unknown, they are just ordinary people who work hard for three meals and one night, and a safe life.

Su Mi's face became paler and paler, as if lost.

"Amitabha Buddha!" ​​Suddenly, the Buddha's name hit her eardrums hard like a drum in the evening and a bell in the morning, and it also hit her heart.

Su Mi raised her head in a daze, and the dead leaves were staring at her with pity and concern in her eyes.

Su Mi swayed and calmed down, "The power of the Master's Pure Heart Exorcism Curse is really extraordinary. It's too wasteful to use it on me, right?"

"The benefactor has not recovered from a serious illness, and his mood is difficult to settle. Just now, he almost entered the body with demons. It is better to rest earlier." Withered Leaf said: "If the benefactor wants to practice Zen, you may as well understand these Buddhist principles slowly."

Su Mi didn't speak, she walked to the door, and asked suddenly: "Since the master knows that I have evil intentions towards Da Qi, if I am stubborn and hateful, you can reveal all the secrets of my life experience, for Da Qi's sake." Qi, remove my hidden danger for the world?"

Withered Ye stood behind her silently, but her eyes were complicated and unspeakable.

Su Mi's distant figure looked even more lonely and cold in this lonely cold night.Seeing that white shadow drifting away, the expression of the dead leaves was indescribably bitter.

Just based on Su Mi's last sentence, he knew that Su Mi still had a knot in his heart.

(End of this chapter)