"Master, who do you say is more powerful, Guanyin Bodhisattva or Zhenwu Emperor?" an old woman asked loudly, standing up from the low stool.

Master Fa Sheng sat cross-legged on the futon, gently stroked the Buddha beads with both hands, nodded slightly to the old woman, and said with a smile, "What the donor asked, the poor monk is really difficult to answer, and he is ashamed and ashamed." The disciple under the Fa Sheng seat said that this old woman deliberately made things difficult, and was about to get up, and wanted to go over to stop her from asking again, but saw the master shake his head slightly.

The old woman looked suspicious and asked loudly, "People say that you know a lot of miles, and you can answer any question?" I have been bothering me for many years with this problem!"

"Oh, that being the case, the old monk is very willing to answer your doubts, but you need to know the reason. Fa Sheng asked, "The question of the right talent has no cause and effect, so why does it confuse you?"

The old woman said in a loud voice, "The old woman's family has always believed in the Bodhisattva, and several families in the neighborhood believe in Zhenwu. Nine years ago, on February 19, when the grandson of the old Zhang family in the neighborhood was one year old, the mother-in-law of the Zhang family asked me to go to have a drink. It happened that day was Guanyin Niangniang's birthday, I called her and said, 'Today is Niangniang's birthday, I have to go to the temple to offer incense, I can't eat wine and meat', Zhang's mother-in-law said angrily, 'Zhenwu Emperor's birthday is not so important, he Guanyin Niangniang's birthday you don't even come to eat my only grandson's first birthday wine!' I fought with her, 'Zhenwu Emperor's birthday is naturally not tight, but Guanyin Niangniang's birthday is not to be neglected. After I finished speaking, a few neighbors next to me stopped me, and instead of reasoning with me, I had to fight for a high position for Emperor Zhenwu, and I was better than Guanyin Niangniang. Since that day, I have always been unhappy in my heart and in my body. In the past nine years, I am afraid that Guanyin Niangniang will blame me, because I can't sleep well and I can't eat well. After saying that, tears fell from his eyes, and he began to cry with a whimper.

"Amitabha!" Master Fa Sheng folded his hands and said, "The Buddha and the Tao are both for crossing oneself and others, so there is no difference between high and low." The world is a sea of suffering, and the sea of suffering is endless. The children of Buddhism of my generation, although they are dedicated to the Buddha, they only force themselves to get rid of the seven sufferings, and they are determined to cross people, but they are not able to do it after all. Although Buddhism is boundless, after all, it only crosses those who are destined. The donor's neighbors have no relationship with my Buddha, and the Taoist Gate can cross them, so that there are fewer lost lambs in the sea of suffering, which is the most good virtue, and my Buddha is merciful and relieved. The Tao seeks infinity, and the Buddha seeks emptiness. Although the teachings of Taoism and Buddhism are different, they seek the same realm, and the so-called seeking common ground while reserving differences is precisely this principle. The donor and the neighbors have their own way, each has its own taste, and it is only when they live in harmony and mutual respect. ”

"Oh, is that so?" said the old woman as if she understood, "that's the size of Guanyin Bodhisattva and Emperor Zhenwu!" the old woman waved her hand and grinned, "I don't care about that." As long as Guanyin Niangniang is not lower than the god next to her. ”

"Amitabha!" Fa Sheng recited a Buddha name and said softly, "May the benefactor get rid of this hatred, and henceforth be safe and happy, and sleep and eat peacefully!"

The old woman also thanked her, "Master Xie, the old woman is going to have a good night's sleep tonight!"

"Good, good!" Fa Sheng said with a smile.

"Master, what are the seven sufferings you are talking about? Can you tell me in detail?" As soon as the old woman sat down, Mei Yuanchen stood up and bowed and asked.

Master Fa Sheng saw Mei Yuanchen standing up and asking questions, his demeanor was gentle, he nodded slightly, and said, "The world is like an endless sea of suffering, and this sea of suffering is full of these seven sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, love and separation, unwanted, and resentful. The suffering of life refers to the suffering of hunger, cold, heat, and pain that people have endured since birth. The suffering of life is the source of all suffering, because of birth there is disease, because of life there is old age, because of life there is death... And so it is. The so-called old suffering, the years are fleeting, the youth is no more, and all the good things in the past will abandon you. The third suffering in the world is sickness. Wind, cold, heat, dryness, dampness, fire, poison, boils, miasma, etc., can all cause people to be infected with diseases, so as to endure the torture of illness. The fourth affliction is death. There is nothing to be afraid of death, but the remembrance of life makes it painful. And the four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death, from the king to the people, are not immune. In addition, love is the supreme goodness of human beings, and it is divided into the love of parents and children, the love of brothers and sisters, the love of close friends, the love of male and female lovers, and so on. However, love and parting often make people feel painful and do not want to live, suffering in words, the so-called supreme good, but at this time it has become the most poisonous and evil in the world! And it is said that everyone has desires, or to seek abundant family wealth, or to ask for a full house of children and grandchildren, or to seek happiness in marriage, or to seek the title of the gold list, or to seek meritorious deeds, and so on. The Buddha said that resentment and hatred will be bitter, but it means that love cannot be bridged, and love gives birth to hatred and love gives rise to resentment, and these hatreds and resentments often hurt themselves when they hurt others, making people suffer from them. This is what the Buddha said about the seven sufferings in the world. Amitabha, good, good!"

Mei Yuanchen listened attentively, only to feel that this statement was really exquisite, and he really deserved the boundless Dharma, bowed deeply and thanked him, and asked again after the ceremony, "Master, the younger generation has been taught." The juniors have another question, can you give me an answer?"

"But if the poor monk can solve it, he will not answer. Seeing that he was very respectful, Fa Sheng folded his hands in reply to the world and replied.

"The younger generation wants to know, since people are in such an extremely difficult situation, how can they cross themselves?" Mei Yuanchen asked again.

Master Fa Sheng closed his eyes, kept plucking the Buddha beads, and said in a clear voice, "The sea of bitterness is endless, turning back is the shore, and getting out of the sea of bitterness lies in giving up." Sacrifice life, sacrifice three poisons, give up seven feelings, give up six desires. The three poisons refer to people's greed, hatred, and ignorance. Greed is the source of hungry ghosts, which refers to people's desire to take possession of the people, things, and things they love. Anger is the source of hell, which refers to people's disgust with people, things, and things that do not go their way, which gives rise to feelings of anger, hatred, repetition, annoyance, jealousy, and harm. Ignorance is the source of animal life, acting according to one's own nature, following oneself is happy, and disobeying oneself is angry, completely ignorant of reason, and does not know restraint. To abandon these three poisons, we need to learn three things: precept, concentration, and wisdom. The meaning of precept is to stop mistakes, the meaning of determination is to dismiss thoughts, and the meaning of wisdom lies in wisdom. Master Fa Sheng's speech was suddenly interrupted by a shouting voice.

"Ah~~!ah!ah!!" shouted a filthy, ragged man, and Master Fa Sheng's words were interrupted by him.

For a while, hundreds of people in the courtyard looked at him in unison. And he only looked at Mei Yuanchen directly, his face seemed to be afraid and remorseful.

Mei Yuanchen didn't know why he screamed so suddenly, let alone what this person's strange scream had to do with him, why he looked at himself so directly, and could only look at him with kindness.

"It's not me, it's not me, Brother Baili, it's really not me!" the man shouted, and he ran away.

"If you recognize the wrong person, then it has nothing to do with me. Mei Yuanchen thought.

Master Fa Sheng continued, "The seven emotions refer to people's joy, anger, sorrow, thoughts, sorrow, fear, and surprise. The six desires are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind..."

Although the scene of Shicai has passed, and the filthy man has long since disappeared, Mei Yuanchen faintly feels uneasy. "'It's not me, it's not me, Brother Baili, it's really not me!' Why did that man say this, why did he look at himself so directly?" Mei Yuanchen couldn't help but think.

"Did he mistake me for someone?" Mei Yuanchen didn't know why his heart was beating faster and faster, "Does he know someone who looks like me?"

"Ah, it's uncle!" Mei Yuanchen woke up suddenly, and with a "boom" turned into a streamer of light and flew out of the courtyard.

Seeing this situation, none of the hundreds of people in the courtyard were stunned, dumbfounded, and didn't know what to say.

Mei Yuanchen used all his strength to urge his body to run as fast as possible, and his mother's words came to his mind over and over again: "You are the same as your uncle when he was a child..."

"Uncle and I look the same!"

"I forgot that my uncle and I are the same!"

"Uncle's name is Bailien, is the 'Baili Brother' in that man's mouth an uncle?"

The more Mei Yuanchen thought about it, the more anxious he became, the more painful he became, his feet couldn't be faster, and two lines of tears were scattered in the endless wind.