The sun is scorching. The weather in Harbin in summer is always particularly violent. And this is Xue Jianing's favorite season.
Every summer, she always likes to sit on the swing in the yard, while gently rippling, while fantasizing about the distance. Her gaze seemed to penetrate the sky and see the other end of fame and success.
17-year-old Xue Jianing has already emerged. In the eyes of the teacher, she is talented and intelligent, and has a distinct acting talent; In the eyes of her classmates, she is beautiful and eloquent, and everyone is envious; But he is far less glamorous than he looks.
Xue Jianing didn't dare to confide in anyone, and she also recalled those scenes over and over again: her father was drunk, and her mother was idle...... She will never forget those cold and desperate nights, as well as the sadness and panic that accompanied loneliness.
At a young age, he walked alone with a heavy burden. Xue Jianing never confided in anyone, and blindly pretended to be strong. Even if her heart is full of holes, she always can't help but hide it.
However, the dream never stops. When the sky-high advertising contract of 500,000 yuan was finalized, Xue Jianing was pleasantly surprised, and she was moved to tears.
On a 17-year-old summer day, the sun was scorching, but the girl's eyes were full of stars. She firmly believes that in the near future, she will become the light at the center of the stage!
Shanghai, 2003.
The premiere of the play "Unparalleled in the World" was held here. In the audience, 21-year-old Xue Jianing was sitting in danger.
Three years later, the relationship between the two was exposed. At that time, Hu Ge had become a rising star of a new generation of Xiaosheng, and Xue Jianing's popularity and works had also increased geometrically. It turned out that love not only opened the hearts of the two, but also made their careers! That year was the peak of Xue Jianing's acting career, and the film and television dramas she starred in were even more popular.
However, the good times were short-lived. A year later, the two chose to break up, and at the same time, Xue Jianing also began to face a bottleneck in her career. She slipped from the women's first line and gradually became the third female or even further behind.
The audience also began to forget about this "outdated actress", and her 28-year acting career seemed to be in vain. The media only called her "Hu Ge's ex-girlfriend", as if only this relationship was the meaning of her existence.
The low point in life is always without warning. Xue Jianing fell from the clouds, and suddenly there was no return.
Xue Jianing, who is frustrated in both career and relationship, has a bleak life. Like a lost lamb, she wanders in the desert of acting, longing to find an oasis.
In 2015, Xue Jianing began an aimless wandering. She went to the mountains, to the grasslands, and to remote and quiet villages. These places were away from the hustle and bustle, and she regained peace of mind.
Gradually, Xue Jianing became fascinated by the simple houses in the village and the solemn scene in the temple.
She began to meditate in the temple, reciting Buddhist scriptures day after day. And the philosophy of life contained in it gradually enlightened the light of her soul. Two years later, Xue Jianing officially converted to Buddhism.
She learned to forgive and accept, and found great spiritual solace from it.
Buddhism taught her that neither love nor career is necessary for an exceptional life. Only the sublimation of the soul is the true meaning of success. Now, Xue Jianing has finally learned to open her heart and truly love herself; I finally dared to face those imperfect pasts and truly embrace myself.
Time flies, and more than ten years have passed in a blink of an eye.
Hu Ge, who was once a young boy, has started a family and married a good marriage. His mother has also been smiling in the nine springs for a hundred years. Now he can finally love and protect the person in his heart regardless of everything.
And the heroine Xue Jianing is 45 years old. She let the years carve the vicissitudes of life on her face, but she also gained the elegant intellect of a middle-aged woman.
Under the tempering of Buddhism, Xue Jianing looks down on fame, fortune and external conditions, and she can also wait for the sincere but rare beauty.
Youth is gone, and feelings have been extinguished. After all, they are like two distant peaks in the mountains, and they never intersect again.
We should not be sad or lamented by Xue Jianing's current situation. She lives a chic and comfortable life, and returns home; I also learn to understand the true meaning of life in the ordinary. This is her greatest happiness and success today.
Let's cherish what we have in front of us and let go of the lingering of the past. Separated by mountains and rivers is life. Let them drift all over the world, and each of them will be well.
We need to redefine what it means to be successful.
Society often uses career success and love happiness as the only criteria for judging a person's success. But this no longer applies to the present, nor should it be applied to Xue Jianing's life.
She has the courage to explore the meaning of life and gain spiritual comfort in Buddhism, which is Xue Jianing's greatest success. We should not belittle her for "failing" without a career and love, because that is not what she wants, nor is it the criterion for success.
Some people say that one flower is one world, one leaf is one Bodhi. Each individual is repeating the cycle of life and death, and the goal they strive to achieve is also different.
Looking at today's deteriorating environment, spiritual emptiness, and moral decline, Xue Jianing's choice may be the most important way to explore the meaning of life in this era. She deserves to be learned Xi and reflected.
There should be no single answer to success. Judging the success or failure of others requires a sense of tolerance. Perhaps aside from external fame and fortune, we all need to find our own direction on the long road.