……

Miraculous meditation enables Hui Neng to escape from the sea of fire and be unharmed. After Huineng reluctantly left Baoling Temple, he went all the way to the west, and within a day, he returned to Xialu Village, Xinzhou.

Longshan is still winding, and the village is still safe.

The sunset in winter is very gorgeous and short-lived, and the dusk in the mountains is even shorter. Seeing a few wisps of smoke, the cattle slowly walked down from the hills around the village in a thin twilight haze. And so, twilight crept into the streets, into the alleys, and permeated every courtyard......

Gradually, the watery night flooded the houses and trees, flattened the whole valley, and at last, it was completely still, and it became a lake without wind and waves.

Wangwang...... A few dog barks, like a fish that can't bear the loneliness and jumps out of the water. However, they are not birds, and they cannot glide through the air for long, so they have to dive back into smooth calm. The night became quieter. Huineng touched down the mountain and saw the lights of his house, and his heart was warm. The firewood was opened. As soon as he walked into the courtyard, there was a sound of happy laughter in the room. Curious, he approached the window and peered in.

Inside, the mother, who has not been seen for nearly a year, is in good spirits and is playing with a little girl of seven or eight years old.

Their hands are reflected in the light as puppies for a while, and then into rabbits again, and the old and the young are happy.

After playing enough, Li took the little girl in his arms and said lovingly: "Zhenzhen, it's not early, you should go to bed, and grandma should also chant Buddha." ”

The little girl asked curiously, "Grandma, what are you doing chanting Buddhism?" ”

Li said with a smile: "Chanting the Buddha is chanting the Buddha, and asking what to do!" ”

The girl also smiled: "I'm asking, what's the use of you chanting Amitabha Buddha all day long?" ”

Li said, "Reciting Amitabha Buddha, you can be reborn in the Western Elysium after death." ”

The girl was even more curious: "Where is the Western Elysium?" Is it better than our village? ”

"Of course! There is no strong wind, no rainstorm, there are treasures everywhere, people don't worry about food, they don't worry about clothing, they don't bully each other, there is no bad person, do you say it's good? ”

"Ah, so beautiful! So, grandma, can you go to the Western Elysium by chanting Buddha? ”

Li said: "You can't just recite the Buddha, you still have to practice." ”

"What is cultivation?"

"To practice is to do more good and not to do evil.

Like your mother, if you come to be the companion of me, a lonely old woman, and sleep with me, you are doing good.

The girl then asked, "How much good do you have to reach Elysium?" ”

Li replied: "When a person lives, he must do good, do good all his life, and he must not think or do any bad things." If you do something hurtful, your heart will not be clean. People who are not clean in their hearts, Amitabha Buddha is afraid that you will stain his Pure Land, so he will not lead you. ”

The girl asked, "If everyone does good, helps others wholeheartedly, and doesn't do anything bad, does Amitabha Buddha want it?" ”

"Absolutely."

The girl thought for a while and said, "If our world is full of good people, and there is no bad person, our world is not bad, so we don't have to go all the way to the Western Elysium." ”

Li Shi was stunned, and hesitated and said, "Grandma doesn't know, maybe it'......"

The girl fell into a sweet sleep in Lee's arms. Lee gently lowered her to the bed.

She had just walked to the offering table and was about to sit down to recite the Buddha, when she suddenly heard someone shouting "Niang" outside the door.

Li smiled self-deprecatingly, shook his head slightly, and said to himself, "It's another hallucination." In the past few days, I always hear Neng'er's voice calling her mother. I'm old, and my ears are useless......"

"Mother, you're not hallucinating this time, it's really me coming back!"

Huineng knocked on the door and said, "Mother, you open the door, it's really Huineng back!" ”

Li was surprised and delighted: "God, this time it's not a dream, it's really a capability!" ”

She opened the door, and Hui Neng stepped in, called "Mother", and knelt down.

Li Shi held his face, looked at it carefully, and muttered, "It's thin, it's darker, but it's stronger." ”

Huineng stood up and helped her mother to sit down on the futon in front of the Buddha shrine. Li asked, "Neng'er, why are you back again?" ”

"Hmm......" Huineng nodded, and told Li a little about what had happened.

"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Lee's face turned pale with fright.

Huineng hurriedly said: "Mother, look at you! Isn't that what I'm doing? ”

Li Shi looked out the window nervously: "Then why don't you hide quickly, what are you doing when you come back?" ”

Huineng said: "My master also asked me to hide first and not show my face for the time being. On the one hand, I still need to practice diligently. On the other hand, stay out of the limelight to prevent them from harming me. However, I was worried that my mother was home alone...... I want to move with my mother to a place that no one knows......"

"I'm doing well alone. You can see it, the villagers and neighbors take good care of me. The good people in the city also often sent me some pocket money. Let's put it this way, my mother's life is better now than when you were there. ”

"But ......"

Li interrupted Huineng: "But what? Don't forget, you're out for refuge! My mother follows you, doesn't my mother also have to hide in Tibet and be displaced? Besides, with your mother dragging you down, how do you practice? In case there is a wind and grass and you can't get out, won't you live up to the original intention of the Five Ancestors to pass on your mantle? ”

"However, I really don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone."

"Huineng, why are you confused about studying Buddhism? The five patriarchs passed on your mantle to let you think of saving the common people in the world, and to promote Buddhism and purify all sentient beings as your own responsibility! ”

Huineng wanted to speak, but his mother stopped him: "Okay, don't say anything." You go immediately, find a safe place, hone your Buddha nature, improve your Buddhist path, wait for the opportunity to ripen, promote the Dharma, and educate sentient beings. ”

After speaking, Li counted the prayer beads in his hands, closed his eyes and meditated, silently recited the Buddha, and ignored Hui Neng anymore.

Huineng was helpless, took out a bag of silver from his arms, and said, "Mother, these twenty taels of silver are the coils that the master gave me, and you keep them to live ......"

Li still didn't open his eyes and didn't say anything. Huineng had no choice but to wipe away from his tears and throw himself into the vast night.

Two huge teardrops, oozing from the corners of Lee's eyes, shimmered in the light.

In the area of Huaiji and Sihui in northwest Guangdong, the mountains are continuous, the ravines are vertical and horizontal, the grass is deep and the forests are dense, and there are no people. This is the kingdom of wild animals.

In the depths of the vast mountains, a series of peaks emerged, standing upright between heaven and earth. It is the Guizui Rock of Shangai Ridge in Huaiji County. On a flat field beneath the cliffs of the valley, a dozen hunters are performing worship rituals in the darkness of the night.

At the bottom of the cliff, there is a black and slimy cave, like a greedy mouth. On the stone table in front of the cave were charred boar heads, bloody pheasants, and antlers with half a skull.

In the middle of the flatland, a bonfire burns. Several young hunters had their faces painted in various colors, their upper bodies naked, a piece of animal skin tied around their waists, and long knives in their hands, and they danced primitive and strange dances. People sitting around, singing old songs to the beat. The low and rugged male voice, echoing under the cliff, is full of power, full of wildness, calling for bravery, but also for a bloody desire.

Broken bamboo, continuous bamboo, flying soil, chasing meat. Stretch my bow and threaten my arrow. Send a small pig, and kill this big one. ……

The dances of the hunters became more and more frenzied, and their singing became hoarse roars, like the spirits of the night, as if attached to a mysterious magic. For thousands of years, they have been singing and dancing like this. In their hearts, they look forward to an invisible but ever-present deity who listens to their songs, watches them dance, eats their offerings, and blesses them with peace......

"Rustle...... Rustling ......" Suddenly, a strange sound came from somewhere. The hunters who prayed to the gods felt numb in their scalps, and the song was frozen in their throats, and their dancing bodies suddenly became statues...... Beyond the campfire, there is darkness like an abyss. In the darkness, a shadow staggered towards the firelight. Luckily, it was a man, a stranger who had just struggled to the campfire and fainted.