A high-paying job offer to stay in the capital, Beijing, and an offer of admission from the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are just a mix of both.
But in 2010, a mathematical genius from Peking University made the decision to give up in these two temptations, and instead devoted himself to Buddhism and became a poor monk.
Exactly 13 years later, what is the current state of this mathematical genius?
priest
When Liu Zhiyu first showed his interest in Buddhism and wanted to become a monk, his classmates or family members around him thought he was joking, after all, in their eyes, Liu Zhiyu has been a "genius" since he was a child, and people like him are destined to be admitted to colleges and universities and achieve a career.
Won the gold medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad and was sent to Peking University...... An achievement that many people can't think of happened to Yoo Ji-woo, a young man, but unexpectedly, Yoo Ji-woo's thinking changed during his college years.
There is such a saying, genius thinking has always been lonely, and Liu Zhiyu is the same.
He loved mathematics from an early age, not just because of his extraordinary talent, but because he found that pure joy in mathematics.
The convergence and collision of numbers extend out a kaleidoscope of magnificent results, which seems to be able to dissect the world, and Liu Zhiyu looks at the world from the perspective of numbers, but when he enters the small society of university life, he feels unprecedentedly lost.
This confusion does not come from a specific event, but from the interaction between people and the constraints of people under social rules, and these subtle influences begin to make Liu Zhiyu doubt the once pure world in his eyes.
"Society is different from mathematics, there is no right or wrong, and if you don't choose to fit in, then you will become that outlier. ”
It was in this confusion and confusion that Yoo Zhiyu began to come into contact with Buddhism.
Buddhism meditation is a quiet place in the world, and Liu Zhiyufu was deeply attracted by it as soon as he came into contact with Buddhism.
So in his spare time, he began to learn Xi knowledge and teachings of Buddhism frequently, and went to the monastery to experience the temple life in person.
In 2010, Liu Zhiyu was about to graduate from the Department of Mathematics of Peking University, but in the face of the retention of well-known local companies and the invitation to enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a full scholarship, Liu Zhiyu made a jaw-dropping decision.
Despite the dissuasion of his relatives, friends, and teachers, he resolutely became a monk.
Longquan Temple
In 2010, Longquan Temple in Xishan, Beijing, added a monk with the Dharma name "Xianyu", who was Liu Zhiyu after becoming a monk.
In order to explore the truth about Liu Zhiyu's ordination and dig up the news, some people drove to Longquan Temple one after another, wanting to interview Longquan Temple.
However, at that time, Yoo Zhiyu had officially become a monk, and refused to be interviewed, and the visitors could only ask for some information about Yoo Zhiyu from other monks and volunteers in the temple.
I don't know if I don't know, the visitors were surprised to find that in addition to Liu Zhiyu, who is known as an IQ genius, Longquan Temple actually also Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, hiding many masters in the academic world.
Just a volunteer who is responsible for cleaning the main store is a senior academic talent from a 985 school in Northeast China, not to mention the graduate students from Tsinghua University and Peking University who were learned by knocking on their side and inquiring, and some people who have returned from studying in foreign universities, are actually committed to this temple.
This incident caused an uproar in the society, and people's attention changed from Liu Zhiyu to the entire Longquan Temple, in which the abbot of the temple came forward to reply to the questions from the society.
The abbot believes that all Buddhist beings are equal, and Longquan Temple will not choose whether to accept a person because of his past experience, on the contrary, these well-known figures in the industry take the initiative to come to Longquan Temple to explore the true meaning of life and find inner peace.
And when this topic returned to Liu Zhiyu, the abbot smiled slightly and said, "He has an epiphany." ”
The abbot explained: "The inspiration is in his heart, and the epiphany at this time has allowed him to escape into the empty door, and maybe one day he will have another epiphany and return to the red dust." ”
In 2022, Liu Zhiyu, who has been a monk for many years, appeared in a video released by Yu Minhong, in which Yu Minhong and Liu Zhiyu talked to each other, Liu Zhiyu is no longer dressed as a monk, and he also admitted that he has returned to the world and has a like-minded wife.
Also vulgar
It is not uncommon for a monk to be vulgar, but because of the uproar about Liu Zhiyu's ordination, people unconsciously focused their attention on the fact that he was still vulgar at the moment.
At the same time, there is also a lot of controversy on the Internet about Liu Zhiyu's renunciation and vulgarity, some people criticize him for being a show and can't start from the beginning, and some people think that he is hypocritical and nothing more than a person who sells his reputation and reputation.
But in the face of these controversies, Liu Zhiyu has always been indifferent.
According to his own account, after many years of practicing at Longquan Temple, he felt that his soul was impregnated with Buddhism, and he was able to see the world with a more peaceful and transparent vision.
Therefore, if he has the Dharma in his heart, he no longer has to be attached to the Buddhist temple, but has a passion to give back to this society.
Since 2018, he has left Buddhist monasteries as a layman, traveled all over the world, and finally obtained a degree in psychology, officially returned to the world in 2022, and is now a professional psychological counselor.
And his wife, who is also a devout Buddhist, the two of them have similar interests, and they also like to lecture and meditate together on weekdays, and when it comes to their married life, Liu Zhiyu is not shy about it, he said that he and his wife do not want children, and the future life will be walked hand in hand.
As the abbot said, Liu Zhiyu is also a kind of epiphany, he escaped into the empty door because of confusion, and chose to return to the world because of transparency, Buddhism has achieved today's Liu Zhiyu, and also achieved his life.