The setting sun swayed the afterglow, and the afterglow reflected the sunset in the west,

Under the sunset, there is a mountain in the distance, and in front of the mountain is this village that seems to be a little quiet at the foot of the mountain.

The brick house is black tiles, and the smoke is scattered in front of the mountain,

On the winding village road, villagers carrying hoes and farm tools walk by from time to time, from the fields in front of the house and behind the house, walking towards their homes.

With the roosters and dogs barking, the breeze of the villagers' voices blows through the village from time to time and blows to the front of the village.

Under the tree at the entrance of the village, the old monk sat against the densely branched tree, and the branch was also leaning against the side.

The branches and leaves of the tree drooped down in front of the old monk, gently swaying with the breeze.

The old monk's face was a little tired, he tilted his head and looked at the peaceful village with a somewhat cloudy gaze.

......

Along the entrance of the village again, looking at the peaceful village, Lian Ge retracted his gaze, glanced at the old monk who was leaning against the tree, moved his footsteps, and walked over.

“...... The poor monk's skin is a little useless, and it delays the trip of the cheap donor. ”

Seeing Lian Ge approaching, the old monk took a breath and said with some effort,

"There is no destination, where is the delay. ”

Lian Ge glanced at the old monk, turned his gaze, looked at the village, and said in a calm tone.

Hearing this, the old monk was silent, then turned his head again, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and looked at the village.

......

The sunset was gradually obscured by the mountains in the distance, and only the sunset was left in the west, and the sky gradually became dark.

Along the village road, the lights gradually turned on in the houses, and the lights shined through the doors, illuminating the village roads.

“...... Old Wu, what are you eating......"

"Just eaten. Let's have a bite to eat. You've just come back from the field?"

"You eat, you eat, I've cooked the rice at home...... Isn't this the cabbage seedlings planted a few days ago that were beaten by the rain, and I happened to be free today, so I went to Lao Xu's house to ask for a few seedlings and made up for the ......"

“...... It's been raining a lot these days. I planted eggplant seedlings a few days ago, and they drowned before they could grow, and I have to buy some more seedlings another day to make up for him......"

“...... Then you eat slowly, I'll go back first......"

......

"The housekeeper, the salt in the house is gone, you can go to the village store and buy a bag and come back......"

"Cheng, I'll change my shoes and go...... It rained last night, and the mud in the ground was sticky......"

"You take it off and put it in the yard first, and I'll take it to wash you after eating later......"

......

The words were mixed, on the village road, in the yards of every house, and in every house, they sounded, and they came from time to time with the breeze.

At the entrance of the village, under the trees, it is becoming more and more quiet.

“...... When I was a child, I lived in that village, and it was as peaceful as it was in this village. ”

The old monk leaned against the tree, sitting, looking at this peaceful village, his cloudy eyes were a little trance-like, and he lost his mind.

“...... At that time, there were no electric lights, and the family was reluctant to light kerosene lamps and candles. Dinner should be earlier in the evening. ”

"From the afternoon when the sun began to set to the west, my mother would finish feeding the chickens and ducks, and she would be busy with dinner, and I would sit in the yard, on the edge of the eaves, and help my mother watch the chickens in the yard, and sometimes the chicken would fly up and flutter on the cherry tree, and I would go into the house and call my mother, and sometimes my mother would tell me to let him stay in the tree, and when it was night, he would come down and go back to the chicken pen by himself. ”

“...... When the sun goes down and the sky is still bright, my father, who is busy working in the fields, will return. My mother's meal was ready, and our family would be eating in the courtyard with a rice bowl in the courtyard, taking advantage of the day before it got dark.

Most of the time, the rice is covered with some vegetables that my mother picked from the ground the day before yesterday, and at that time, there are not many seasonings for stir-frying, most of the time, there is some salt, and when there is ginger and onions in the ground, some will be put in. It seems to smell good...... For a while after the New Year, sometimes a few slices of bacon made by my mother would be put on the dish......"

The old monk looked at the village, his cloudy eyes were distracted, and he said in a calm tone.

In the village, more and more houses along the village road are lit up.

“...... I followed the poor monk master up the mountain, and after arriving at the temple, for a while, the poor monk always had difficulty sleeping, and some tossed and turned. ”

The old monk was silent for a moment and continued,

"At this time, my master would sit on the edge of my bed and read some Buddhist scriptures to me and tell me some stories, and in the stories he told, there were not so many ghosts and gods, but more people.

When I listen to his stories and recite Buddhist scriptures, I always feel at ease, and it is easy to fall asleep...... For the poor monks, at that time, the poor monk master was the Buddha. ”

“...... In the first two years of the temple, although the poor monk often turned over the scriptures in the temple and practiced with the master, he did not shave his ordination. Every once in a while, the poor monk would go to the town to buy some chicken and duck meat for the poor monk to eat.

The poor monks were eating chicken, and the master and brother were drinking porridge, and sometimes the poor monks would ask the master and brother why they didn't eat chicken. The senior brother would then tell the poor monk that the ordained bhikshu monk had the precept of not eating meat.

The master, on the other hand, smiled and told the poor monk that he had not practiced enough, so he could not eat chicken.

The poor monk asked him when it would be enough to practice. He told me that when you eat meat, it is only when you eat meat. ”

The old monk looked at the village and said,

“...... After that, the poor monk was also ordained in the temple and shaved his degree. After shaving, the poor monk master passed on the scriptures to the poor monk and also said the Vinaya. He told me that the precepts are like a boat, which can cross the poor monks out of the sea of suffering and reach the other side, so they need to practice the precepts, and since then, the poor monks have practiced the Dharma and have never broken the precepts again. ”

“...... When he was young, the poor monk read a lot of Buddhist scriptures, visited a lot of eminent monks, and when he was more than forty years old, he thought he had gained, but more than ten years ago, he was confused again...... The more I practice, the more I feel that the Dharma is boundless and the sea of suffering is endless......"

The old monk's eyes were a little dazed, and he said, and then fell silent again,

“...... Later, the poor monk seemed to understand a little. ”

“...... Master Poor Monk told me that the precepts of Buddhism can be used as a boat to carry poor monks on the sea of suffering. But he didn't tell me that without oars and sails, the boat could only let the poor monk stand on the bitter sea, and with the waves of the bitter sea, he floated on the bitter sea, but he couldn't reach the other side. And the oars ......"

The old monk looked at the village, his cloudy eyes were distracted, and he said calmly,

"It's ...... in the sea of suffering"

The old monk spoke, sat under the tree, leaned against the trunk, and fell silent again.

Lian Ge turned his gaze, glanced at the old monk, didn't say anything, turned his gaze, and looked at the houses that had been lit up.

There are many people in every house, and it seems that a family member is sitting around, talking about some trivial things and eating dinner.

Lights shine through the doors, dispelling the deepening of the night, illuminating and dotting the peaceful village.

From time to time, the breeze blew through the branches and leaves hanging in front of the old monk, and the branches and leaves swayed gently, and became quieter and quieter.

......

"Buzz...... Buzz ......"

And at this moment, a faint humming sound sounded closely,

Lian Ge turned his gaze, and the old monk turned his head.

A cicada that had stopped crying trembled its wings, and seemed to be a little weak to fly, undulating, slowly landing on the old monk's shoulder, on the monk's robe with traces of sewing, and stopped, moving its wings slightly.

Glancing at the cicada, and then at the old monk, Lian Ge didn't say much.

The old monk looked at the cicada, his eyes were in a trance,

“...... Amitabha. ”

Raising his hands and putting them together, the old monk recited the Buddha's name.