Short Story · Great Wisdom Treasury. 3

Author: Guo Xin, Yang Xiaomin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features:
Gathers the essence of Small Story Selection over two decades, exploring the path of growth and experiencing genuine human emotions.
Gathers the essence of Small Story Selection over two decades, exploring the path of growth and experiencing genuine human emotions.
Life is both long and short. As we walk along, various memories leave imprints in our hearts—about the people we have encountered, the things we have experienced, the scenery and emotions we have witnessed, some beautiful, some painful. Some are worth remembering, cherishing, and reflecting upon for a lifetime, while others deserve our effort to discard, lose, and forget. Through wind and rain, experiencing every step of growth, and feeling the highest human emotions, we will eventually understand life and grasp the wisdom and truth of it.
The book is divided into three parts:
Ⅰ About Growing Up—80 fragments of joy in growth;
Ⅱ True Love is Buddha—89 moments of genuine emotion;
Ⅲ Heartfelt Comfort—92 instants of life’s insights.
It allows you to succeed in understanding the truth of love, experience genuine human emotions, grasp the flavors of life, and accompany your heart’s journey with warm and enriching experiences.
01 True Love is Buddha
01 True Love is Buddha
One winter evening, it was snowing. The snow wasn’t heavy, but it fell gracefully and persistently. Due to some trivial household matters, my wife and I had an argument. Her sharp tongue was like a machine gun, driving me crazy. I felt like a balloon about to burst. In anger, I stormed out of the house.
Outside was a white expanse. Only then did I realize where to go. Looking back home, the “smoke of war” still hung there, making it impossible to return. Well, I hadn’t visited my dear old uncle in a long time. Let me go to his place.
My dear old uncle was over seventy and lived alone at the edge of the village. I used to visit him often and learned many life lessons from him. He was a very wise man.
When I entered, he was surprised and smiled, saying, “It’s been a long time since you’ve come.”
I replied, “Yes.”
He handed me a stool and said, “Sit down.” I smiled bitterly and said, “Uncle, I haven’t heard you tell stories in a long time. Tell me one!”
He looked at me for a moment and said, “Alright.”
It was a story from long ago about a mother and son who relied on each other. When the son was in his early twenties, he became obsessed with practicing to become a Buddha. Since young people’s minds were always occupied with burning incense and chanting prayers, all the household chores fell to his mother. One day, the son heard that on Longshan, a thousand miles away, there was an enlightened monk—arguably the wisest and most accomplished sage in the world, who could not be troubled by anything. The young man thought: “I burn incense and chant prayers with such devotion every day, yet I’ve never seen the real Buddha. No, I must go to Longshan.”
It was also winter when the young man secretly packed his bags and sneaked off to Longshan without his mother’s knowledge.
He climbed many mountains and crossed many rivers before finally reaching Longshan and meeting the sage. The young man was so devout that he bowed down at once, asking the sage for guidance.
He asked the sage, “I burn incense and chant prayers every day, yet I’ve never seen a Buddha. Does the world really have a Buddha?”
The sage replied, “Yes, how could there not be?”
The young man asked, “How can I see the Buddha?”
After learning about the young man’s situation, the sage knew he was a very devout practitioner and said, “The Buddha is actually very easy to see. The key is whether your eyes can see.”
The young man said his eyesight was excellent; he could see clearly even in the darkest night from 100 meters away.
The sage smiled and said, “The Buddha is actually very easy to find—it’s the person who opens the door for you with bare feet!”