Chapter 160: Interpretation
Mengxi arrived at the steps of Yuantong Hall and was about to climb up when a hand reached out from behind to support her.
Her body stiffened and she looked back. It was the Second Master who had been following her. Although she was not used to his support, she had been married before and it would not be nice to push him away. What's more, her physical condition was very weak now. It was really hard for her to climb the steep steps. So she reached out for support and walked up all the way. She kept looking ahead and did not notice that the Second Master who was supporting her had a gentle expression on his face and a slight smile on his lips.
After going up the steps and entering the Yuantong Hall, Mengxi let go of Erye's hand and was led by the little missal to a side door. Mengxi stepped in. Erye was about to follow him in when the little missal turned around, clasped his hands together, and said:
"Amitabha, please stay."
Mengxi turned around and looked at Xiao Jun, only to see him nod at her and stand by the door. Mengxi also nodded at him and walked towards the inner hall.
After entering the inner hall, I looked up and saw an old monk with white eyebrows and beard, wearing a red kasana, sitting upright on a cushion with his hands on his knees. I thought he was the abbot of Jingqu. When he saw Mengxi coming in, he clasped his hands together and said:
"Amitabha"
Mengxi walked forward slowly, clasped his hands together, and bowed:
"I pay my respects to Master Jingyun. I have heard of your great reputation for a long time. It is a great honor to meet you today."
"Amitabha, there is no need to be polite, we are destined to be together, please take a seat."
At this time, the little priest who brought Mengxi in had taken a cushion and placed it at Mengxi's feet. Mengxi bowed twice to Jingyun Fangzhang, then walked forward and knelt on the cushion.
Master Jingyun was secretly shocked when he looked at the person in front of him. After a hundred years of practice, he thought he could see through the past 500 years, but he could not see through the person in front of him. This was because he figured out that Prince Yan had ulterior motives. In order to seize the throne, he caused the suffering of the people of Da Qi and the people were living in misery. The woman in front of him was the key person to resolve this disaster. He calculated that she had this disaster in her life and needed his advice, so he came to Yuantong Hall to see her in person.
Facing this woman who was connected to the world of Da Qi, he could not calculate her future. He only felt that her future was vague and he could not see where she came from. It was as if she was not originally from Da Qi. Mengxi was sitting in front of him, but he had a sense of emptiness. He was shocked and kept chanting "Amitabha".
Damn, I asked you to interpret the fortune, not to listen to you chant the Buddha's name.
Mengxi saw that Jingyun on the opposite side did not mention the interpretation of the fortune, but looked her up and down with his eyes as bright as torches, chanting Buddha's name all the time. She felt dissatisfied, but after all, the master was highly respected and she dared not offend him.
She coughed lightly and said, "I just drew a fortune. I am confused. Please enlighten me, Master."
After saying this, he respectfully handed over the lot in his hands. Jingyun took it and read out:
"The stone contains priceless jade and treasures, but the donor has to go out to look for them. It is like holding a lamp to look for fire. It is better to stop wasting your time. Amitabha, donor, this is a good sign. The precious jade is hidden in the stone beside you, but the donor has to go out to look for it. This is like holding a lamp to look for fire. Everything will be accomplished when the time is right. Donor, you don't need to worry about anything. Just wait for the time, and you will be able to complete the merits."
In short, Lao Heshang would like to say that you are now looking for fire with a lantern. Don’t waste your time. The fire is in your hands. Just wait patiently.
Mengxi was furious after hearing this. This was simply nonsense. If you can't sign the contract, just tell me what you mean, old monk. What are the lights, fire, and busyness? There is nothing but an iceberg around her, and no jade or stone. No one would believe such nonsense. She is a five-good youth of the 21st century. It would be strange for her to believe you.
So he said with some complaints:
"I only feel darkness before my eyes. There is no way to go. I don't see the lights and fires as you said. Why did you say that?"
Looking at the extremely arrogant woman in front of him , Jingyun pondered for a moment, stroked his beard and said:
"Amitabha, this is indeed the interpretation for the donor. However, I am still a shallow practitioner and cannot figure out where the donor came from. I can only infer that the donor is a very noble person. I think the donor is not a person of this world. If the donor can tell me where he came from, I can give him some advice."
Jingyun's words made Mengxi break out in a cold sweat.
Damn, could he really have figured out that she was from the future? He put away his contempt, calmed down, met Jingyun Ruju's gaze, and said calmly:
"Master, I am the daughter of Mr. Li Qing, a Pingyang merchant. A few months ago, Mr. Xiao, the future head of the Pingyang family, was seriously ill, so I married into the Xiao family. Today, I am here with Mr. Xiao to fulfill my vow and burn incense. Of course, I am from the Xiao Mansion."
Jingyun stared at the woman in front of him for a long time, but could not see any clues. He thought to himself: She really has the capital to be arrogant. Ordinary people would have lost themselves under the pressure of the invisible Buddhist Dharma he released, but she was so calm and composed, with a pair of eyes as clear as water, without showing any timidity, as if she was as pure as a virgin and as innocent as a child, without a trace of dust. She chanted Amitabha, and he had great admiration for the woman in front of him in his heart.
Mengxi was afraid that the old monk would keep chanting Buddha's name, which made her feel that the master in front of her was unfathomable. If he continued chanting, he might reveal her identity as a time traveler. Seeing Master Jingyun stroking his beard and remaining silent, she knew that he did not believe what she had just said. She coughed lightly and continued:
"Master, is there really such a thing as fate and reincarnation in this world? Is the fate ordained by God really unchangeable? If it cannot be changed, then why do we still have to come to this world? I have been confused and do not understand, and I would like to ask the master for guidance."
"Amitabha, donor, the entanglement is only in one's own mind. How can the butterfly of next year find this year's flower? Amitabha, when the marriage is destined to be, nothing is impossible. You must have infinite intentions, and what is in front of you is true."
Master Jingyun's words were like an epiphany that made Mengxi's eyes suddenly clear. She had let go of yesterday long ago and had been staying peacefully in this evil ancient times, watching the flowers bloom and fall in the courtyard with a smile. But these past few days, she had been entangled with the unknown fate, thinking that she was destined to be unable to resist, so there was no need to resist. That's why she has been depressed, depressed all the time, like a walking corpse.
Looking back and savoring it carefully, the future has not yet begun, how could I know that fate would come true and make today so unhappy? No matter what the future holds, I only pursue what I want, and I will only remember today. With this thought in mind, Mengxi stood up, bowed, and said:
"Thinking carefully, I am really too persistent. I have such deep resentment. How can I transcend it? Thank you for your guidance, Master."
"Anita Buddha, benefactor, old Na Shao will accompany you."
Looking at the master's departing figure and wiping the sweat from her forehead, Mengxi secretly made up her mind to avoid going to temples and nunneries in the future. There might be an old monster with infinite magical powers hiding inside, who would expose her identity as a time traveler and treat her as an outsider, just like the martyr of the Apollo cult, Giordano Bruno, who was burned alive as a traitor.
I walked out of the inner hall, but couldn't see the second master. I thought he was waiting outside the hall. I looked around at the Buddha statues of different heights, weights and shapes in the Yuantong Hall. I knew at first glance that this one was Guanyin Bodhisattva, who saves all living beings. The other one was naturally Manjusri Bodhisattva, who represents wisdom. Who was sitting here?
Looking at these bodhisattvas with various expressions and movements, I could see some of them gritting their teeth and glaring; some slightly parting their red lips and smiling; some sitting cross-legged with their hands clasped together; some half-closing their eyes and holding scriptures. After looking around, I could only recognize one or two.
Unconsciously, she recalled the Shaolin Temple she had visited in her previous life. It seemed that she had also visited a temple like this, where Bodhisattvas of various shapes and sizes were enshrined. The tour guide introduced each Bodhisattva to them one by one. For a moment, Mengxi seemed to have returned to her previous life, which overlapped with her current life. The same temple, the same Bodhisattva, and the same her made it difficult for her to distinguish whether what she saw was a dream or reality. It was as if this moment was just a dream she had in her previous life. When she woke up, everything would return to the track of the past. She murmured softly:
"The flower is not a flower, the fog is not a fog, it comes at midnight and leaves at dawn, it comes like a spring dream, and leaves like a morning cloud that is nowhere to be found"
When I turned around, I saw the Second Master standing at the entrance of the hall, frowning tightly.
Seeing the living Second Master in front of her, Mengxi finally came back to reality. The memories of her previous life were truly just a dream.
"Second Master"
"Xi'er's poems are good, but they make people feel that they are leaving the world. It is better to write less poems like this in the future."
Just now, Erye suddenly felt that Mengxi had become illusory. After listening to this poem, he had the illusion that she would eventually leave like a dream and would be nowhere to be found. So he hated this little poem by Mengxi very much and criticized it casually.
After all, it wasn't her poem, so let him comment on it as he pleases. Under the guidance of Master Jingyun, Mengxi has untied the knot in her heart. She is in a good mood now and doesn't bother with this nitpicking Second Master.
"I have often heard that Guanyin can save people from suffering and distress, that she will answer prayers wherever they are made, and that she is a boat that will ferry people across the sea of suffering. Is this true?"
Mengxi forgave Erye very "gracefully" and started chatting with him in a good mood.
"Of course it's true. The Buddha can cure all living beings' troubles, life and death . When people are suffering, they can always escape from the sea of suffering by asking the Buddha for protection. This time I was seriously ill, and it was my grandmother who came to pray to the Buddha in person, and I got better. That's why my grandmother asked us to come here today to fulfill our vow."
Listen to you, I am the Bodhisattva. If it weren't for me, you would have become scum long ago. Don't you believe that Guanyin can really save you? Mengxi looked at Erye indignantly, wanting to teach him a lesson and make him bow to her three times. However, reality is cruel after all. This idea can only be satisfied in her heart.
"Since it is so effective, we may as well worship it now that we are here. However, there are so many Bodhisattvas that I don't know which one to worship. I should worship them one by one."
Thinking of the piety of the ancients, Mengxi felt that since she had entered the Yuantong Hall, she should of course worship there. She counted and found there were eleven Bodhisattvas in total. She thought that if she worshipped them all, she would be exhausted to death, so she asked with a worried frown.
Xiao Jun looked at her in confusion. How could she not know such a simple thing?
"Xi'er, don't you know that once you enter a temple, no matter how many Bodhisattvas are enshrined in it, you only need to bow three times."
After hearing this, Mengxi's face turned slightly red. She walked forward slowly, knelt down on the prayer mat and bowed three times seriously. After she stood up, the Second Master also followed her and bowed three times.
