I am not Ximen Qing.

Chapter 151 Soul Cleansing

Xu Xiake's pilgrimage to Mount Wutai was a once-in-a-lifetime event, a stroke of genius that seemed to add the finishing touch to a masterpiece. Emperor Kangxi had the deepest connection with Mount Wutai among all the emperors; his calligraphy can be found in the Shuxiang Temple, the Wuye Temple, and the Pusa Ding, as if he still manifests himself in some form. The colorful clouds in the sky above Mount Wutai often create unusual phenomena, adding to the mountain's mystique. Emperor Qianlong followed in his grandfather's footsteps, and the Dailuo Ding peak of Mount Wutai was one of his great achievements. The grand pilgrimage to the five peaks was somewhat awe-inspiring, reminiscent of Xuanzang's journey to the West, a pilgrimage to all five peaks in succession. Thus, the smaller pilgrimage to Dailuo Ding, where one can see the Manjushri Bodhisattvas of all five peaks in the Wufang Manjushri Hall, is, in Buddhist ritual terms, like a spiritual journey through the Grand Pilgrimage, especially since Emperor Qianlong ruled with filial piety. Empress Dowager Chongqing could never climb all five peaks of Mount Wutai. Climbing Dailuo Peak once was like paying homage to Manjushri Bodhisattva on all five peaks of Mount Wutai. The emperor and empress dowager visited Mount Wutai together. The number of times Qianlong and Kangxi climbed Mount Wutai was about the same. Of course, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Yang of Sui, Empress Wu Zetian, and the emperors of Yuan all built temples on Mount Wutai in accordance with the Avatamsaka Sutra. However, it was after the reigns of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty that Buddhism on Mount Wutai reached its peak.

It's clear how difficult it is to visit Mount Wutai; it requires a special opportunity. How many times did Song Yu visit Mount Wutai? Perhaps even he himself didn't know. The frequency was too high. Due to work, whenever he had free time and could drive, he could come and go as he pleased. Mount Wutai still maintains a power that cannot be explained by science. Wu Zetian's opening verse is the most convincing explanation of the subtle Dharma's power. I remember the first time I came to Mount Wutai, that selfish piety. They were afraid of not spending money to buy incense for worship and thus not receiving blessings. So, any one of Meng Liang, Song Yu, or Zhang Sheng started earning money, fearing that without spending money, they wouldn't receive blessings. Think about it, any sentient being is no different from Emperor Wu of Liang, whom Bodhidharma lamented. Is offering incense without spending money truly praying for others? Just as Emperor Wu of Liang said to Bodhidharma, did he have any merit? What is merit? Bodhidharma said that Emperor Wu of Liang had no merit because he had not reached the state of selflessness. Even if it were Emperor Wu of Liang, Bodhidharma could not liberate him.

It seems that Buddhism can save and redeem everything; the power of Buddhism can reach heaven and earth.

"Wake up."

Song Yu reminded Zhang Sheng,

"Phew, finally no more traffic jams!"

"What are you thinking? Don't you want to reach the top?"

"Sigh, sometimes I wish I could go back to the golden age of the past."

"The good old days of the golden age are gone forever."

"Are you referring to the days when people are with God?"

"The Bronze Age and the Silver Age, what age are we in now?"

"I hate dwarves, but that little devil from Game of Thrones is really awesome,"

"I'm reminded of the dwarf era, right? They were like monsters, they had patience, they weren't afraid of wasting time, they'd wear you down, wouldn't they?"

Mount Wutai, the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), and the Mountain Resort in Chengde all possess the glory brought by the Forbidden City. However, the Old Summer Palace is destroyed, while the allure of Mount Wutai remains unchanged, holding a powerful attraction for the souls and hearts of city dwellers. Of course, not everyone who comes to Mount Wutai has a karmic connection from a past life. Even buying incense and offerings is tinged with selfishness and narrow-minded worldly understanding. We are all two-faced, incredibly hypocritical in the world. Upon entering the main hall, one kneels and sits atop a blue lion beast, holding a ruyi scepter. Lifelike images of Manjushri Bodhisattva, the Eighteen Arhats, Guanyin, Sudhana, Shakyamuni Buddha, the Five Hundred Arhats, Zen Master Tieguolin, Huike, Bodhidharma, and others—their arm-severing pilgrimage and ten years of meditation can all evoke a fleeting feeling, whether it be a Dharma body, a reward body, or an incarnation—and then be forgotten. Perhaps this is the profound and subtle Dharma emphasized by Empress Wu Zetian.

The eternal perplexity of life

"How to do?"

"Will everything be okay once you reach the top of the platform? Manjushri is omnipresent, what worries could there be?"

Previously, Zhang Sheng would always turn back after reaching Luohou Temple. Even now, the Bodhisattva Peak on Lingjiu Peak remains unattainable for him. The true form of Manjushri, the sacred site of Manjushri with the arrow—in the past, when troubled, he would go to Hongluo Temple in Huairou to worship Master Hongyi's Guanyin path, then enter the Guanyin Temple to worship the Guanyin who grants children, and then climb 108 steps to worship the Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas enshrined in a temple halfway up the mountain. The best time to visit is usually in the romantic spring months of March and April! Beside the mountain path leading out of the temple stands a wild apricot tree, bursting into enchanting blossoms every year. Located on the path leading to Zhongtianmen, Zhang Sheng cherishes the fragrance of its blossoms every spring. This is a secret hidden deep in his heart. So many pilgrims come to Hongluo Temple to burn incense; the unassuming apricot blossoms bloom only for these flower lovers. It's a testament to deep affection. Hongluo Mountain has witnessed countless tales of love and delusion. Through the crisscrossing apricot groves, gazing at the azure sky above Hongluo Mountain, Song Yu and his beloved have visited this place countless times. Yet, neither of them noticed this apricot tree, much less its gracefully blooming blossoms in spring.

The monastery is a wondrous place for quiet cultivation, ironically, almost all the devout men and women who come are trapped by pure love and romantic love, seeking liberation. All troubles originate from the eternal cycle of love and death at the gate of life and death. Without the succumbing to love and romantic love, so-called liberation, enlightenment, and nirvana are just another form, like a dream, a bubble. Some things suddenly become clear, because we finally begin to move forward along the winding mountain road, a sense of anxiety and fear creeping into my heart! The Honda car speeds along the winding mountain pass, requiring not only driving skills but also a strong physique. Looking down from the car window, the awe is enough to shake one's soul, a fear that is palpable. Yes, like a spirit seeking liberation, one is prone to illusions. What is there to fear? Below the road is a deep abyss, a canyon formed by the buffer of a valley. Below, one can vaguely see scattered manors and courtyards. The shifting fabric of time and space causes a moment of disorientation, dizziness, suffocation, the pain of oxygen deprivation from climbing, and a sudden loss of strength throughout the body.

"Scared,"

"I'm a little afraid of heights"

"You haven't even been to Tibet yet,"

Did you go?

"How about we go to the Potala Palace sometime?"

"Drive carefully, you don't need to go so fast."

There was a mother in the world who always felt her son, Song Yu, was immature. Driving, with its passion and imagination, transcends the realm of movies like Fast and Furious. While modern society's greatest creations include airplanes, cars, and cell phones, the car, fully integrated into life and unleashing one's instincts, undoubtedly has an advantage over cell phones. A sports car is the best tool for a man to attract women. Cell phones can only enhance social skills, but a car ignites a woman's inner love; she sits in the passenger seat, speeding along, and the feeling is naturally like a gentle breeze.

"What's this? Last year, I spent New Year's with her. Mom, you were so good to me. You weren't angry at all. You didn't come home. It was snowing heavily on Mount Wutai, a vast, endless snow-covered world. The snow completely covered the mountain paths. Regardless of the danger, this was just a minor matter. We went without hesitation, leaving life and death to fate, and smoothly made it to the top of the East Peak."

"The power of love is truly great,"

"I don't know if it's love or what, but we just felt it was too boring to be together, so we drove here to get some fresh air. The air in the mountains feels different, so we breathed in some fresh air. Otherwise, it's too oppressive. Can love create oppression?"

The young girlfriend and Song Yu have begun preparing for the final prelude of their love trilogy: walking down the aisle.

"Love is finally about to blossom and bear fruit,"

Song Yu stopped responding to Zhang Sheng's topic because he both feared and longed for marriage. Of course, this wasn't the first time he and his girlfriend had taken her to Mount Wutai. When Song Yu and his darling first climbed the East Peak of Mount Wutai, weren't they also thinking about love? Even the most romantic love needs marriage to crown it. Love is perfect, but reality is harsh. A marriage can end in an instant. One party might think that the kite in the sky has a strong string that has broken, and that the kite is just going to drift away. At first, there might be a sad feeling, a kind of crocodile tears, but looking back, his darling is already someone else's wife and the mother of a child. Song Yu is now a complete outsider. Love is not like fine wine, which gets better with age.

Five years of love was a self-deceiving lie. Song Yu and Da Baobei's relationship had evolved into something beyond romantic love—a familial bond, perhaps even bordering on Rousseauian neo-Heloise. Sometimes, Da Baobei would complain to Song Yu about her unhappy married life, and occasionally they would reminisce about the thrill of their secret trysts. Perhaps lust isn't just a male prerogative; women also have the instinctive allure of being surrounded by different men. Women have a sixth sense. Since Song Yu started dating his younger girlfriend, Da Baobei had disappeared from his life. Of all Song Yu's girlfriends, his mother approved of Da Baobei the most, saying she was the most feminine.

Men always encounter such dark moments. Churchill showed no fear or panic after the German bombing raids on London, a testament to the last vestiges of the British Empire's century-long glory. Churchill merely retained a sliver of that glory. For Song Yu, marriage was a double blow to his life's dreams! Oh, the inherent pride and prejudice of women like Elizabeth, the inherent instincts of men like Mr. Darcy—realistically, women are always searching for the rib God used to create them, while men are driven by pure, fickle, carnal instincts. Now, not only does Song Yu feel threatened, but he also doesn't want to get married. It seems Cupid has left him no way out. His girlfriend manipulates him perfectly; he's like an onion, layer upon layer, waiting to be peeled. Perhaps he's too sentimental, too resentful. Humanity's original sin, besides life and death, includes love and romance. Farewell—not Hemingway's weapon, but the most precious thing a man possesses. He has to say goodbye to pure freedom, unbridled romance, only to realize how wonderful the golden age has been lost.

He was a part of Zeus, freely dating city girls, living a life purely based on love. The golden age had ended; what was lost wasn't just physical freedom, but also the soul, imagination, time and space, and love. Farewell, young man about to lose your freedom. But Zhang Sheng's nature remained unchanged, not significantly. Song Yu, however, was different; somewhat eccentric, he wandered freely among sacred places, observing everything and everyone around him. His observations were as detailed as a diary. The most disgusting invention in the world was undoubtedly the mobile phone—a destroyer of art and crafts, the beginning of AI evolution, a portable monitoring terminal. Various client software on mobile phones further enriched the already compromised right to privacy.

Dating a girl requires a place of love, whether it's a hotel, inn, guesthouse, or bathhouse, unless it's in a car, but with a GPS tracking. This effectively protects the shared property under marriage, not just the body, soul, spirit, and thoughts, but also the right to privacy and ownership of property. Poor Song Yu keeps sending pictures and voice messages from his distant girlfriend in electromagnetic space, emphasizing her ownership of Song Yu's soul and body, even threatening him with the loss of his private property rights.

It seems that Song Yu's girlfriend has discovered something about her. Zhang Sheng realizes that Song Yu has lost her freedom and can no longer freely attend various parties, fashion shows, or say goodbye to the Queen's salon. However, she absolutely cannot be alone with a man for more than 30 minutes, except for work. This is to show that his girlfriend is rational and not irrationally unreasonable. After all, love always has a price to pay. Otherwise, how can you prove that love is unique?

Love can mask a girlfriend's crazy behavior. A girl in love is bound to be exceptionally sensitive—it's instinctive—but her sensitivity is a bit excessive. She's absolutely capable of things like installing tracking devices and recording equipment in her car. After all, there's a sixteen or seventeen-year age gap, a fairly common relationship arrangement in China these days. So, the problems will gradually surface after the initial sensitive period. Song Yu can't possibly live a life of asceticism like a monk or Taoist priest, can he? He certainly can't avoid dating and interacting with girls. His charming young woman is clearly asking a question she already knows the answer to, isn't she? Men who remain unmarried past a certain age often have rich romantic histories and are known for their charm and charisma.