Excerpts from Hong Shaolin’s works

1. From birth to death

Written by Hong Shaolin

Real life is short, involuntary and meaningless. Most people live with stubbornness and prejudice, with so-called "knowledge" and various worldly habits. Countless people pay too much attention to "metaphysical" concepts and ignore that the world originally had no language and writing, no prosperity and poverty, no right and wrong, true and false, gains and losses. People's deliberate and persistent definitions have abandoned their original agility and nature. Because of such neglect, the soul is absent, and they become incomplete and inadequate, making it impossible to be complete and complete.

Every man wants a woman who is gentle and virtuous, can support and considerate of the other person, is not greedy, and does not ask for too much. Life cannot always be wonderful. Plain, the most real. True love for someone is not a responsibility, nor a comparison, nor is it your own wishful thinking. All those who have always loved others unilaterally, but have not received anything in return from the other person, but have only been constantly asked for by the other person, these people have extremely extreme thoughts!

What have life and emotional ups and downs and suffering brought to us? Bring us no self-righteousness. The more suffering you experience, the less smart you are and the more you understand and appreciate life! True love is a thorough understanding of life, mutual understanding and support, and no requirements, only giving and return. All the pressure and demands are like being locked in a narrow, dark room. Gradually, you lose your spirituality, you can't let go, your mind can't stretch, and your soul can't be free!

What is life really like? It is neither in the past nor in the future. The past cannot be changed, and no one can really be sure of the future! All enthusiasm will grow cold. All habits are very limiting. The more you care about it, the more distressed you will be. Attachment is the root of suffering!

Some people can predict the length of life, but no one can be sure. Therefore, people are small and fragile. When you look down on others, when you pursue others, when you enjoy bliss, when you are sad, it is like falling into the fog of the mortal world, sinking into the quagmire of the world and unable to extricate yourself. Feelings are originally created out of nothing. The heart is just an organ in the human body that is gradually growing and aging. People who complicate and pessimize life obviously lack wisdom.

Life was originally very simple. It requires contentment with daily necessities of life, food, clothing, housing and transportation, and mutual care between men and women. People who have seen through life gradually become fearless in life, gradually without any restraints, free and unconstrained by any earthly framework.

Whatever is in the heart will appear in life; what is not in the heart will appear in life. Will ignore it. When you have compassion in your heart, you will have a compassionate nature when you treat others. If you keep scheming against others in your heart, others will naturally scheming in the opposite direction. As the saying goes, "Those who are close to ink are black, and those who are close to vermilion are red." It is also said that "when you see people, you talk about others, when you see ghosts, you talk about ghosts." If you want a fulfilling and happy life, you should have the concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty in your heart, and you must truly believe that they must exist, so that you can use them naturally like water in your words and deeds.

Pessimistic people are stupid and unfortunate. Extreme people are confused and artificial. People live in this world. There shouldn't be any demands, there shouldn't be any extravagant expectations. When he came, he was naked, when he left, he turned into dust. People exist in this world. You should be cheerful and comfortable, you should follow the good deeds, and you should cherish what you have!

Plain is not nothing. It is the understanding of life and the thoroughness of life. With indifference, you will slowly put your floating and restless thoughts on the ground, enjoy the spiritual nourishment of nature, no longer be arrogant, no longer curious and busy, no longer insincere, no longer greedy... Only in this way can life be fulfilled. In peace and tranquility, the wonders of the world will appear one by one, all cells will open their tentacles and face the heaven and earth and breathe briskly, and all personal words and deeds will create the joy of life!

From birth to death, it is just a process. As for the process, is it happiness and contentment or self-pity? Live your life or be insensitive? Is it clear or understandable? It all depends on everyone’s practice and their own experience.

2. The poor are timid

Written by Hong Shaolin

The rich are afraid of death, while the poor are timid. When poor people are oppressed, most of them do not dare to resist. They are afraid that after resisting, they will have nothing. When poor people are criticized by officials or subject to administrative inspection, they are often frightened and fearful of losing. Because if they are lost again, even basic life will become a major problem; the rich enjoy more, and they understand the pity of the poor. So they are also afraid of losing their wealth and becoming poor. However, what they are really afraid of is not much. They are mainly afraid of death.

A timid person is naturally cowardly and can easily distort his character. Although there are some poor people who are brave enough to go barefoot and are not afraid of wearing shoes, they are in the minority after all. Other poor people still just want to live a peaceful life and live a simple life. Poor people buy a few lottery tickets from time to time. Lottery is a means of political rule. When the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider, it can stabilize people's hearts and give many poor people and people who have encountered unfair treatment a chance to turn around, so that they will not be without hope at all! And it can make money for the government and achieve multiple things with one stone. There are also some extreme people who gamble with their ideals and destiny, and their souls are often erratic from the beginning!

When a rich person is close to a poor person, he is seen as not being too poor, caring, and good at dealing with people; when a poor person is close to a rich person, he sometimes appears to be overestimating his abilities and is often seen as following the crowd. In fact, the poor are timid, the world is unpredictable, and disease and disasters are unpredictable. It is inevitable to have a good relationship with the rich! At least give me hope and peace of mind!

The poor are timid, and the result is that many poor people put fame and fortune first in their lives. On the one hand, they would rather sell their dignity at a low price; on the other hand, they ignore some truly important emotions. Some people take desperate risks, and some people become zombies lacking independent thinking. Too many timid poor people are actually the main factor in the expansion and continuation of bureaucracy and feudalism!

The timidity of the poor makes the greedy even more greedy and the arrogant even more arrogant; causing the ruling class to generally ignore them and not taking them into consideration again and again; causing The progress of social renewal and reform, good progress, and people's livelihood projects is very slow; this has caused government decision-making to focus on external economic development while neglecting the overall construction of spiritual civilization such as integrity, morality, and kindness.

Poor people are timid, not just on an individual basis, but in large numbers created by the general environment, big policies, big forces, and human nature on a large scale. There is nothing wrong with the poor, and nothing wrong with the rich. The key to the problem lies in the size of society, the difficulty of management, and the real existence of human selfishness.

The timid poor actually need more care! Because they can't lose again or get hurt again. Otherwise, they may not be able to continue living. They will not be able to afford medical treatment, stay in hotels, or eat delicacies from the mountains and seas. The government, while respecting the rich, should also focus on the poor, earnestly seek welfare for them, and strive to prevent the souls of the poor from becoming further empty! Don't make the timid poor even more timid!

3. Temple in the Mountain

Written by Hong Shaolin

For the past seven or eight years, I have been walking alone to Zimao Mountain every Spring Festival. Walk. I don't like the busy people at home, but I like the peace and tranquility in the mountains. Zimao Mountain is located in the south of Quanzhou, about ten kilometers away from my home. I have always been disgusted with scenic spots that require tickets. I feel that even 50 cents will pollute a peaceful mood. There is no admission fee for Zimao Mountain, especially in the area around Zifu Temple, which gives me a refreshing and comfortable feeling.

It takes about forty minutes to climb from the foot of the mountain to Zifu Temple along the Nanjin Ancient Road. Sitting in front of Zifu Temple and looking at the bustling mountains below, I felt like I was in another world. In the past, there were red bricks and strips of stone, but now there are more white building roofs. Reflected in the sun, it seems to be endless. A sense of distance arises in the heart. It is precisely because of the distance that the heart feels extremely peaceful.

There is no time in the mountains, and all the time in the world is wasted. A few years ago, when I wanted to enter Zifu Temple, I was told that tourists are not allowed here. This year I finally entered the temple. The people living there seem to maintain a sense of kindness and piety, without being overly exaggerated by the world, and their smiling faces retain their original innocence.

But as I live outside the mountains, my heart is sometimes full of vicissitudes of life, with countless scars and countless disputes!

One Spring Festival, I was searching for Zifu Temple in the mountains to no avail, but accidentally walked into a carambola grove near it. The carambola tree is very tall, like a huge mushroom, covering the earth. A piece of star fruit fell on the ground, and the fragrance was all around, intoxicating the heart. However, after that, I tried to look for the carambola grove several times, but I could never find it again. It seems that it has disappeared from the world!

Not far up from Zifu Temple, there is a stone carving on a cliff with ancient writing on it: Bring it up and everything will happen, put it down and nothing will happen. It is this stone carving that makes me choose to walk in the direction of Zifu Temple. It seems that every time I see it, every time I think about it, I let go of some mundane things in my heart, forget some troubles, and feel a little more relaxed!

When you walk into Zifu Temple, you can see the portraits of Sun Yat-sen, Zhou Enlai and Song Qingling on both sides of the Buddhist hall. It is said that the nun who is the abbot of the temple has an undying relationship with these three great men. As I walked among them, I felt the patriotic sentiments of the old nun, as well as her open-mindedness and cheerfulness that allowed her to be lonely and study Buddhism quietly!

The building of Zifu Temple is not high. It seems to have been hidden in the mountains. It has no publicity and never cares about the worldly affairs. In the temple, you will never hear the noise, never see the pain, only the sound of Sanskrit, only the clear mountain breeze, only the wild flowers, only the sunshine, only the bright moon is fresh... and there is a tree in front of the temple that blooms at certain times. The tree full of white flowers, and the people sitting on the colorful stones under the tree, looking at the world in the distance and looking forward to the past and present.

Looking into the distance in front of Zifu Temple, it seems that I can see myself walking, walking away, and walking away step by step. The world of mortals, just let go, let go, give up. Desire is far away, and enjoyment does not need to be too much. Forget the years and feel peaceful inside. Only by forgetting time can you retain your mood. Visit Zifu Temple, hidden in the mountains, accompanied by blue sky and white clouds. Look at Zimao Mountain, how many rotten bones are buried, another spring breeze, and green soil and water!

4. Lies of adults

Written by Hong Shaolin

In my impression, some lies are harmless and can often make people laugh, so They are generally popular in social situations among vulgar and vain adults. But, they always disgust me! Some adults often say something like this: My child has always missed you! When you were not here, you always said that you were very good to him... After hearing these words, the adults then said: This child is so good and smart! So awesome! At this moment, the children around you will generally neither admit nor deny anything. Some children who have a strong desire to imitate and have learned vanity will repeat the words of adults involuntarily. When they saw the adults laughing, they also smiled inexplicably shyly. Laughter is not necessarily "happy". Some laughter is a kind of helplessness, a numbness that goes with the flow. Are these ridiculous things a form of self-deception? Does it contain ignorance and confusion?

In this way, there are countless lies made by adults to make children appear smart and clever. Adults get talk and vanity among themselves. But what did these words ultimately accomplish? It has created a mentality of comparison and rebellion, and perhaps even created children to learn lies, leading them to think that they can gain the flattery of others through opportunism and appear insignificant without effort and wisdom. Little do they know that the flattery is just a cycle of lies. When I was young, I once had a relatively poor relative come to visit me. My family looked down on each other. When I had no words, they took the initiative to smile and said to each other: My child is not sensible. Just now in the house, he said that your child's shoes had a hole... …At that time, I was young and ignorant, and I was so nervous that I couldn’t speak a word because of the adults making things out of nothing.

This incident is extremely easy to remember in the era of widespread poverty in China. At that time, the adults and children of my poor relatives pretended to smile on the surface, but in fact they felt extremely lonely and sad in their hearts. They were unable to get angry at the scene and could only swallow the tears in their hearts. Many years later, the children of the once wronged relative now have successful careers, fame and fortune, but now my family situation is declining year by year.

Things are unpredictable. Looking back on the scene back then, I also felt a sense of grievance and was unable to express it. The misunderstanding was already very pale to explain. People who were once complacent and thought they were wise may still be unable to see themselves clearly; people who were once in pain can now feel relieved!

Every child is actually innocent at first. When they make mistakes, the first thing people should consider is the quality of their living environment and the artificial environment? When others can truly understand, they will naturally have tolerance, and then be moved and loved, so that they can be better guided and correct their mistakes!

Most of the lies in the world are imitated, spread and contrived by people from generation to generation. Children are always innocent. We were all children once, and most of us have been hurt by lies. We should all review the lies we have told in front of our children, and we must no longer use lies to cause confusion, conflict and sadness to our children in the future!

5. Stretch out the tentacles of perception

Written by Hong Shaolin

Sing while walking. Life is a song, sing your own song and sing the songs of others. Shed her own tears and shed the tears of others. There is joy and sadness in the singing. Crying is singing, and laughing is singing. As long as you can sing aloud while walking, you will definitely have a touching artistic conception, and you will be more motivated to move forward.

There is neither wind or rain nor sunshine. Once proud and frivolous, once depressed and desperate. I finally understand that wind and rain and sunny days are the inevitable precursors of fate. If you want to be simple, want to be dull, and want to avoid loneliness, you should give up fun first. When everything is normal and there is no more wind or rain, life will naturally get rid of all the illusions that are made out of nothing.

When will you grow up? I am accustomed to looking at the other shore from this shore, and I am accustomed to thinking about this shore from the other shore. In life, there is no such thing as real growth. There is only the heaviness of wind and rain and the difference in mood. Growing up can only be compared to the past. Maturity is only a manifestation in the world.

Cheers. I am tired, wandering, and in pain, so I want to stop walking, pick up the long-lost courage, scream with all my strength, and get drunk. In fact, tiredness and pain are all caused by caring too much. All labor is just a habit of thinking and has no meaning in itself.

True love lasts a lifetime. No one lacks beautiful fantasies, and no one does not need the warmth of love. However, everyone will become weak after running, and everyone will also see through love. When the soul can break free from the shackles of hormones, love may only sink to a lower place.

Capture passion. We are crazy because of our ignorance. When I was young, the sky would not be pale, and the river would have countless white waves. At that time, the sky was full of passion, until the storm hit...

No more chatting. I want to pause in order to chase better. In the process of climbing to the top, greater power is gathered in silence. Only by giving up can you gain more. Being able to concentrate means getting rid of excess.

Boring. I don’t want to be pretentious anymore, and I don’t want to be hypocritical. After seeing through the worldly world, there is nothing in this world worthy of my passion. It's just a feeling, some one-sided and narrow perception. However, no one can deny its usual existence.

Every soul will eventually yearn for peace and harmony! Everyone can actually be kind and gentle. The environment promotes thoughts, and thoughts condone words and deeds. Although life has countless branches and misunderstandings, it can never stop us from using our spiritual perception in the secular world to discover the beauty of all things through the gaps in the dust and see the true nature of life!