Chapter 2111 Flower Struggle (19)

In Japanese legend, there is a kind of monster called the ancient lantern. The protagonist in the story wakes up at night during the Bon Festival, and the yard becomes a dream world that he has never seen before. This old lantern will give people a sense of wonder.

It's an illusion that goes back to ancient times, so it's not surprising that it turns into a monster at night when no one is around.

There is also a kind of monster called Qingxing Lantern. This kind of lantern is made of cyan paper. People will play a game of "hundred ghosts" around it. Each participant has to tell a ghost story, which lasts for about 100 people.

After about a story, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl in white will appear. This girl used to be a player, but later died for unknown reasons, and then became a monster named "Qing Xing Lan".

In fact, in India, the birthplace of Buddhism, Obon Festival is no longer so popular. At least Nick did not encounter any related celebrations when he traveled in India.

It is very important for people in the southeastern coastal areas to pay homage to Mazu. The celebrations have begun a few days before Mazu's birthday. The already prosperous Guangzhou has been decorated with more flowers, lanterns and colors. Onlookers

Some sit crowded on the roof, lying next to each other in front of the window, or even lying directly on the wall. The second floor of each house is usually the women's boudoir. The girls rush to the window, waving fans in their hands.

, showing off one’s outstanding demeanor

Through the headdress, you can tell which one is older and married, and which one is the girl to be married. Married women generally wear phoenix headdresses. The phoenix is ​​the divine bird in Chinese legend. The phoenix-shaped headdress makes the head of the divine bird face towards

down, even hanging down to the forehead, with wings spread out and extending to the temples. Unmarried women let their temple hair hang down close to their faces. Although this strand of black hair made them look a little shy, they did not express concern for themselves.

The behavior felt awkward.

As for the men, they were drowned in the crowd without any distinguishing features. From a distance, it seemed that everyone was piled on top of each other, with their bald heads right next to each other. The passage was blocked by the slightest movement of them, so the government officials

Just use a short whip to drive them back to their original positions.

What puzzled Nick was why there were two men in ragged clothes behind the extravagant Buddha worship procession, each carrying a pole on their shoulders. There was a square box at each end of the pole with many small parasols inside. What happened?

Is it a symbol, or are they all commodities?

There are monuments in squares in Europe, and gate-shaped memorial buildings are often erected in public places in China, which are called "archways." These buildings are not triumphal arches commemorating victory, but are specially set up for a celebrity or special person.

, in recognition of his merits or virtues.

The archway is built of wood or stone and has three or five gates. The number of gates is mainly determined by the location where it is built.

There is a wooden archway near Guangzhou Customs. The bright vermilion and sky blue paint make it look quite elegant, and various shops have hung up various decorations to make it look really nice.

This commercial street is where the thirteen guilds and foreign guilds are located. The locals call it "The Bund". It was built along the north bank of the Pearl River and runs east-west. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, this was once the channel of the Pearl River. Later, due to the Pearl River

Siltation along the coast intensified, riverbanks developed, land gradually formed, and turned into a large market.

Nick bought a sterling silver plate here with very exquisite patterns on it. It was made in the style of Moorish silversmiths. Nick planned to go to the place where lacquerware was sold and buy a beautiful box so that he could give it to the admiral. gift and asked him to protect himself during the rest of the journey.

But near the archway, he met Harrock from the East India Company. Harrock invited Nick to a nearby club. It was located on the riverside. Not only could he overlook the scenery on the river, but also the scenery in the distance. The mosque minaret, except for the Chinese-style boats on the river, looks like it's in Istanbul.

"What are you thinking about?" Harrock asked Nick. It seemed that he had not given up on letting Nick draw a map of the coastal area.

The price offered by Harrock is very attractive. If other European friends encountered such an opportunity, they might do that.

But just when Nick hesitated, he was involved in a rather strange and even dangerous attack, which made him deep in thought.

"For us, we don't have to take the moral values ​​of the Qing government seriously." Harrock said after handing Nick a glass of whiskey. "And we don't have to be frightened by their stupid ban. In order to ensure trade balance, we need to put some fine products into the market." With the harbor and even an island in our hands, our trade prospects will be fully protected and our growth momentum will be unstoppable."

Harrock's statement seems to be full of truth and appeal, but in fact it is a sophistry to beautify trade policy. In this era, what kind of moral interests are strong enough to resist commercial interests?

In recent centuries, no trade has expanded so rapidly except the opium trade, and India has monopolized this business.

The Qing government was already extremely worried about the increasing prevalence of opium and banned its import and stopped imposing tariffs, even though it was originally imported as a medicine.

Smuggling activities are becoming increasingly rampant when formal trade channels are blocked. The two governments should work together and make great efforts to destroy this trading system. However, as more and more capital is invested in this system, once harsh measures are used Countermeasures will inevitably affect the interests of people who seek huge profits from it.

Nick could not agree with Harrock's statement of "not taking other people's moral values ​​seriously". Although it was a pity that the journey for drawing was interesting, he refused Harrock's request.

Bonaparte chuckled.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"Nothing." He said with a deliberate smile.

Georgiana glared at him.

Now there are two very red rouges on her face. He applied too much rouge. Not only did it not have any effect on her face, it looked like she was drunk.

She didn't wipe it off just because it looked ugly. What should I say? If someone laughed at her, the person who laughed at her would have no idea why Bonaparte would be angry, because it wasn't her who was "unskilled".

She began to read Nick Polo's travel notes again.

Unsolvable mysteries often need to be tried by discerning judges. There is a popular official named Bao Zheng, who was a figure in the Song Dynasty. After leaving the "Bund", Harlock went to the old street and performed in the old theater.

The story is about him, and its name is "Bao Dai Zhi Zhi Kan Hui Lan Ji". This is a replica of King Solomon's Zhi Juan dispute case recorded in the Bible, except that the protagonist of the story is replaced by a Chinese judge.

A woman went to court over a dispute over a child. When Bao Zheng reviewed the case, he ordered someone to draw a bar on the court steps with lime, place the child in it, and declare that whoever pulled the child out first would be the biological mother. After two rounds,

After several rounds of pulling, the child's biological mother was defeated, but the other woman ignored it and tried to pull the child fiercely. From this, the wise Bao Zheng saw who the real mother was and made a fair judgment.

There is also a short story that is popular among the public, "The Pleasure Picture". This novel also tells the story of a similar case. After an old man died, he planned to leave his inheritance to his concubine, but he did not want his eldest son to resent his concubine, so he hid the will.

In a painting, this mysterious painting was later deciphered by a perceptive judge. The painting contained the will of the deceased old man. According to the will, the brothers divided the inheritance equally.

Like the practice in Europe, this story was adapted into a short play, and many audiences cheered.

If it weren't for that note, Nick wouldn't have believed that Guangzhou was about to be in chaos.

Perhaps, he was like the protagonist in the story of Gulonghuo. When he woke up, the yard turned into a dream world, and he accidentally walked into the yard from the house.

The Buddha also has a story about a dancer named Amopa Liyuan. She is not only young and beautiful, but also has excellent dancing skills. However, she does not perform for random people, but also performs for people who behave badly or do not suit her wishes.

No matter how much money she had, she would not perform for them. When she was sixteen years old, she experienced a heartbreaking love affair. She fell in love with the then young Prince Bimbasara, and she gave birth to his son Xubojia.

.But no one in the palace was willing to accept Amopali and her son, claiming that Shubojia was just an abandoned baby that the prince picked up next to a big bucket on the roadside. Because of these false accusations, Amopali's self-esteem was greatly damaged.

Because the people in the palace were jealous of her, she endured the humiliation. In the end, she realized that her freedom was the only thing worth protecting. She no longer lived in the palace and vowed never to give up her freedom again.

The Buddha gently said to her: "The birth and death of beauty is just like other phenomena. It is exactly the same as fame and wealth. Only the peace, joy and freedom obtained from meditation are the real happiness. Amapali

, it is very important that you cherish every moment left in your life and not let yourself get lost in unconscious or meaningless entertainment."

The Buddha told Amobhali how she could rearrange her daily life - practicing breathing, meditation, working mindfully and observing the five precepts. She was very happy to receive these precious warnings from the Buddha. Before leaving, she said: "I am here

There is a mango jungle outside the city, which is cool and peaceful. I hope you and your monks will consider a visit there. It would be a great honor for my son and me. Lord Buddha, please consider my invitation."

Buddha smiled and accepted.

After she left, a monk asked the Buddha, "Master, how should a monk deal with beauty? Will beauty, especially the beauty of women, hinder spiritual practice?"

The Buddha smiled and replied, "Beauty and ugliness are just concepts created in our minds. They are inseparable from the five aggregates. In the eyes of an artist, a cloud, a leaf, a flower, a ray of light, or a golden afternoon are all

We all have different beauties, and the golden bamboo next to us is also beautiful, but perhaps no beauty can make a man more attracted to him than the beauty of a woman. When a liberated person looks at beauty, he will also see the unbeautiful parts.

, this person understands the impermanence and emptiness of everything, including all beauty and ugliness, so he will not be confused by beauty, nor will he resist ugliness. The only thing that will not fade away and cause suffering is beauty, which is compassion and liberation.

In your heart, the peace and joy of beauty are not affected by external factors and environments. Practice diligently, and you will also realize true beauty."

When the rainy season was over, the Buddha suggested that the monk who asked the question leave. By then he had become a monk. He knew that people in the capital were surprised to see his current appearance, but at the same time he felt a little regretful to leave this bamboo forest.

Nick writes in the book that if the painter's job is to discover the beauty created by the Creator in a cloud, a leaf, a flower, a ray of light, or a golden afternoon, then what the Buddhist pursues is the beauty that is free from all this.

, does this have something to do with what Mencius said about people who tend to be good, but turn to evil due to external influences?

Georgiana felt that if Qing Xingdeng was a beautiful girl, even if she was a monster, would people still be afraid of her?

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, walking in the deep Prajnaparamita for a long time, saw that the five aggregates are empty, and survived all the hardships.

Relics, color is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from color, color is emptiness, emptiness is color, and the same is true for feelings, thoughts, and consciousness.

Relics are all dharmas that are empty, neither born nor destroyed, neither dirty nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing.

Therefore, there is no color in the air, no thoughts, no eyes and ears, no color, no scent, no touch, no vision, no unconscious world. There is no ignorance, no end of ignorance, no old age and death, and no end of old age and death.

.No suffering will destroy the path, no wisdom and no gain.

Because there is nothing to gain, Bodhisattva, because of Prajnaparamita, the mind is free from obstacles, and because there are no obstacles, there is no fear, and we stay away from upside-down dreams, and finally reach Nirvana.

The Buddhas of the three generations, according to Prajnaparamita, achieved Anuttarasamyaksambodhi.

Therefore, we know that Prajna Paramita is a great divine mantra, a great enlightenment mantra, a supreme mantra, an incomparable mantra, which can eliminate all suffering and is true and true.

Therefore, when we say the Prajna Paramita mantra, we say the mantra: Reveal the truth, reveal the truth, Polo monk, reveal the truth, Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva.

The young monk asked the old monk, "Master, after you recited the mantra, why are the tigers at the foot of the mountain still so cute?"

The old monk patted the young monk's bald head and said, "Still think it's cute? Why don't you go down a mountain if your six roots are impure? Go up the mountain and continue practicing."

After that, the old monk dragged the young monk by his collar and led him back to the bamboo forest.
Chapter completed!