Recently, I read a book about the biography of Master Hongyi, which recorded a lot of facts about Master Hongyi before and after his ordination, and I was touched by his versatility, as well as his attitude towards life and cultivation. After his renunciation, he was willing to be lonely and enjoyed solitude, and wrote many Buddhist writings that influenced many monks. He devoted all his time to the cause of Buddhism, even during his illness and before his death. The brilliance of his life illuminated my humble life, making me feel the shame of wasting time and wasting my life.
Many years ago, in order to complete my master's thesis, I read a lot of books on Buddhism and ecology, learned about some Buddhist practices and precepts, recorded a lot of materials, and had some influence on my life and thought. The Buddhist precepts made my life simple and eliminated unnecessary desires. This time, out of personal interest, I read the biography of Master Hongyi and once again came into contact with the Buddhist Qing cultivation. There is a question that has always haunted me: What do people live for?
Philosophical explanations of this question have spread all over the world, and everyone in ancient and modern China and abroad has explained their understanding and given the guidance of many people's hearts, but most of them are abstract preaching, and to me, it seems that there is not much impression. Those high-sounding words never made it into my life experience. It's not that it's not correct, it just doesn't get to my pain points.
People like me are most likely to walk into the dead end of thinking. If you can't figure it out all the time, you are most likely to get mental illness. What do people live for? I have a few thoughts.
Life is not simple to live in the world, and it is even more difficult to live well. Cold and summer, everyone rushed forward with heavy bags. With dreams and hopes in mind, one day, we will return to our hometown and achieve a great cause, which is what most people want. Is this what people live for? I think that as long as people live with a certain guarantee of life, they should not desperately want more material enjoyment, there are more important things than material things. For example, companionship.
Recently watched a step in the niche film "Everything Like You", with many short films composed of a touching story about accompanying the elderly and children. Each story is very short, showing a touching moment. Either the children ignore their father's dreams, or the elderly live alone, and these elderly people lack companionship. There is a short video of an elderly man in a wheelchair basking in the sun, and the protagonist asks him, what are he doing? He always replied: Waiting for death? This is to accompany the old father and the old mother. On the road of life, you still have lovers, children, friends, and lovers who need to accompany them through a period of life journey, which is the real winner in life.
We are all ordinary people, neither Li Bai's otherworldly, nor Master Hongyi's feat of seeing through the red dust, but there must always be a fulcrum and courage to support your life. People are emotional animals, and only emotions can touch your nerves. Even the asshole murderer has a feeling of loving his children or parents. Even the most unbearable beggars have a respectable backbone. Why are people alive and what is the meaning of being alive? Everyone has everyone's experience.
![Star Huang Hong co-directed the film "Everything Like You" at Beijing City University[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)