On the second day of the National Day holiday, Peng Dongjun and his girlfriend accompanied their parents to Dajue Temple in the suburbs to burn incense.

Peng Dongjun's girlfriend Cao Yushan is a behind-the-scenes staff member of the provincial TV station, although she is not as well-known as the broadcaster and host in front of the station, she is also an elite in the industry. Peng Dongjun's parents are quite satisfied with this future daughter-in-law, and the main purpose of coming to G City this time is to urge marriage. Cao Yushan didn't take Qiao either, and readily agreed. She was busy with work, and asked both parents to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac, and the wedding should be handled by both parents. Due to her work, she only had one day to accompany the second elder during the Golden Week. So on this day, the family went to the temple to burn incense and play happily.

As soon as he got in the car, Peng Dongjun found that the car was out of order, so he had to give up driving and take a taxi instead.

Dajue Temple is the most prestigious temple of G Temple, it has a history of hundreds of years, usually the incense is very strong, to the holidays, in addition to pilgrims and tourists, the people who come to the temple can be described as endless.

Most of the temples are almost the same at the entrance, there are shops selling incense candles, peace charms and souvenirs everywhere, people who come to the temple to burn incense rarely come from afar to carry incense candles, most of them buy directly in the shop at the entrance of the temple, tourists come here and buy some small souvenirs to go back, so the shop pù at the entrance of the Dajue Temple is prosperous.

Although Peng Dongjun has come to Dajue Temple countless times, he does not understand the set of burning incense and worshiping the Buddha, but the shops at the entrance of the temple are very good at doing business, and they pack the incense and candles one by one, and take the names with great intentions, such as "peace incense", "blessing incense", "fortune incense", "Pingbu Qingyun incense", "marriage incense" and so on, and mark the price, and the guests can buy according to what they want. According to Peng Dongjun's previous practice, he bought a copy casually and entered the temple. And this time, because Peng's mother is particular, she not only hopes that the family will be safe, but also hopes that her son can make progress, so she chose in the store for a long time. The store is also very good at doing business, and it grasps the old man's mentality of praying to God and worshiping Buddha.

While waiting for his family to buy incense and candles, Peng Dongjun received a call from Xiang Hui.

As soon as the phone was connected, Xiang Hui's voice came: "Where?" ”

Peng Dongjun replied simply: "Dajue Temple." ”

Xiang Hui on the other end of the phone laughed when he heard it: "What? Pray to the gods to bless you on your rise? ”

Peng Dongjun didn't answer and asked: "What's the matter?" ”

"It's nothing, I just want to treat my uncle and aunt to dinner. When is it convenient? ”

Every time Peng Dongjun's parents came over, Xiang Hui would invite them to a meal, which had been the case for many years, so he was not polite and replied casually: "It's convenient at noon." ”

Xiang Hui said, "Okay, then noon." I'll go and book a seat first. ”

Peng Dongjun thought for a while and asked, "Are you very idle today?" ”

Xiang Hui replied: "It's nothing." ”

Peng Dongjun smiled: "In this case, you can come to Dajue Temple to pick us up." My car broke down, and it's not easy to take a taxi back here. ”

Xiang Hui readily agreed.

As soon as she entered the Dajue Temple, Peng's mother was amazed.

The Daxiong Treasure Hall of Dajue Temple is magnificent, the green tile is flying, the eaves are stretched, and the four heavenly kings holding the sword, the pipa, the umbrella and the snake stand on both sides of the door. There is a folk saying: the Four Heavenly Kings are also known as "the wind and the rain are smooth". The king of southern growth holds a sword and a wind; The king of the Oriental Holding Kingdom takes the pipa and adjusts the tune; In the north, the king of heaven holds an umbrella and sis rain; The wide-eyed king of the West holds a snake, Si Shun. Combined, it becomes "wind and rain". Like all temples, the main hall is flanked by a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha and flanked by Ananda and Kasya.

On this day, Dajue Temple coincides with the law. Yes, there is a bustling crowd in front of the Daxiong Treasure Hall. Because it is a holy place of Buddhism, it is not noisy, only the low sound of chanting and the impact of Dharma instruments came from the main hall. Incense was not allowed to be burned in the hall, and the pilgrims were unified outside the hall to burn incense. Normally, pilgrims can enter the main hall after burning incense outside the hall, but on this day, the Dharma is being carried out in the main hall. Yes, a row of futons is neatly placed outside the threshold for pilgrims to worship.

Peng's mother lit the incense and handed it to her family, and then regardless of others, she held the incense and chanted words to the Buddha statue.

Peng Dongjun didn't have to think about it to know what his mother was praying for, it was nothing more than praying for the Bodhisattva to bless the family and his son to rise step by step. He looked at the bustling pilgrims at the entrance of the big store, lowered his eyes, held three incense sticks in his hand, bowed respectfully to the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and inserted the incense into the incense burner.

Cao Yushan whispered to the side, "I thought you were a materialist." ”

Peng Dongjun said solemnly: "When you go to someone else's house, you have to say hello to the master's house, and when you go to the temple, you should say hello to the Bodhisattva." ”

Cao Yushan felt that what he said was quite reasonable. She saw that her future mother-in-law was still standing there holding incense and praying to the Bodhisattva, and then looked at the people around her, who was not praying for the Bodhisattva's blessing. She secretly asked Peng Dongjun: "There are so many people praying all over the world, do you think the Bodhisattva can take care of it?" ”

Peng Dongjun couldn't help but smile bitterly. Yes, can the Bodhisattva take care of it? If the Bodhisattva can take care of it, how can he let that little monk who sincerely serves the Buddha die? He told his girlfriend that he would go to the bathroom and come back to them later, and then go to Jizoden.

Most of the pilgrims who go to Dajue Temple to burn incense gather in the Daxiong Treasure Hall and Guanyin Pavilion. It is said that the goddess of mercy here is very spiritual, and many mothers and daughters, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law come together to ask for children. In addition to the main hall, there are many pilgrims in front of the Guanyin Pavilion, and the place with the least number of people is the Jizo Hall. It's not that no one burns incense in Jizo Hall, but pilgrims don't stay there for too long, and they usually burn incense and then leave in a hurry. But Peng Dongjun is an exception, every time he comes to Dajue Temple, he stays in the Jizo Temple for the longest time. If nothing else, it's just that there are few people here.

Peng Dongjun often comes to Dajue Temple, and like many people who come here, they come to burn incense, but the difference is that everyone comes to the temple to pray, and he comes to repent. Shi Jingming's death had nothing to do with him, he felt guilty about joining forces with others to splash dirty water on the victim.

After burning incense, Peng Dongjun entered the hall and knelt down on the futon in front of the statue of Jizo Bodhisattva. Looking up at the statue of Jizo Bodhisattva, his eyes were still slightly open, looking at all living beings with compassion. Whenever this happens, he always thinks of the breezy young man, who always stands quietly to the side, and the eyes are just as compassionate. A teenager with such a look would probably forgive himself.

It should be said that Peng Dongjun's guilt is true, and every confession he kneels in front of the Buddha is also sincere, but he has been guilty for fifteen years, and sometimes he thinks that if he turns back time, he will still choose to protect Xiang Hui as he did back then. Even so, is kneeling in front of the Buddha at this moment still called repentance? What is the point of such a confession? But he still came stubbornly, and this is where Peng Dongjun is contradictory.

Before, he thought it was right to defend good friends. Now, he thinks that Shi Jingming was dead at that time, which is a fact that cannot be changed, but Xiang Hui did not intend to harm him, if he wronged the deceased, he could give the living a chance to be destroyed, and there was nothing wrong with doing so. Whether it's justice or heavenly justice, wouldn't it be better to give a chance to a misguided teenager?

Can repentance lead to salvation? No, that's just self-deception, purely for the sake of reassurance, even for a moment.