"Reading Notes on the Fayuan Temple in Beijing"

To determine the authenticity of goodness, we must look at what one has done. If one has done good, we should be kind to them and consider it as goodness; if they haven't done anything, only thinking or talking about doing good, then it doesn't count.
Useless things may unexpectedly have a purpose at some point.
Time
Loyalty
Individuals can only avoid cruel treatment by floating or sinking with the majority of the group. If an individual is too outstanding or too independent, they are likely to be persecuted by the group.
If an outstanding individual is too exceptional, they must be prepared to pay a painful price to the group as an "offense fee."
Groups are forgetful, indecisive, ungrateful, and cruel.
He said that he had experienced hardships for a long time, understood the world and the national situation, and knew that this battle should not be fought. He had already warned everyone not to fight, but everyone shouted to fight, saying that it was necessary and that not fighting would make one a traitor. As a result, they fought and were defeated, and everyone blamed him for not winning and still being a traitor. So he said that he was not responsible for the defeat in this battle.
Offside
Chi
Golden palace
Our country is not unchanging either. It started more than thirty years ago.
Only one person can rule the world; why should the world serve one person?
The belief in Buddhism is idealistic, but the temples themselves are materialistic. Is there a need for temples when we can find spirituality within ourselves and through material things?
Ego is what ordinary people consider as subjective self; dharma is what they consider as the objective universe.
Buddha has three bodies: Dharma body, reward body, and response body.
In terms of time, an instant is not short, and a kalpa is not long. Whether all things are born and die or if they live for a long time like pine trees and cranes, it is all one lifetime.
Knowing the world is like a dream, with no desires. Having no desires, the mind is universally empty and silent. It is like being in a dream, achieving the dream's merits. - "Dream" by Wang Anshi
The spirit of Buddhism is to first transform oneself into emptiness. After emptiness, there is nothing to cling to or regret. Then, one can turn back and transform emptiness into reality. This is the correct solution. After leaving the world, one can return to it, from "seeing through the mundane" to returning to the mundane. At this point, a person in this state truly has a sense of self but no attachment to self.
Xu Jiatang repents with an open heart, willing to turn into bones and ashes.
The true meaning of Buddhism tells us that we should not cling to the appearance of people, the self, or sentient beings. However, we still exist in the world due to the vastness of our nature, the unity of all beings, compassion as the measure, and the absence of self.
Cai Genyin
Pu Wenxuan
Unless we have a way to expel the black crows, if there are some that are not so black and have the potential to become a little whiter, we should not miss the opportunity. This is truly beneficial for the common people.
Remember the story of Gong Sun Chujiu. Those who do not leave and sacrifice are also doing something, doing something positive. Those who leave and do not sacrifice are also sacrificing, but it is a long-term sacrifice that is unknown. According to Gong Sun Chujiu's words, what those who do not leave and sacrifice do is actually easier; what those who leave and do not sacrifice do is comparatively more difficult.
When a person is about to die, their words are usually good. What is goodness? Goodness is a kind of virtue, a kind of honesty.
The pain of a person can only be fought against with enemies, not with friends; or it can only be fought against with friends, not with oneself.
Generally speaking, those who are willing to die willingly are usually more straightforward in their thinking and have a simpler faith. Because of their simplicity, they are more likely to have courage and not be ambivalent.
Earlier, I mentioned that there are two types of Chinese bushido. One type is the Zhuan Zhu type, and the other is the Jing Ke type. The Zhuan Zhu type of warrior sells their life for personal small goals, while the Jing Ke type of warrior sacrifices themselves for the grand goals of the nation.
The fish intestine sword, stealing the tiger tally.
The difference between heroes and ordinary people lies here. What you feel is the fundamental question of heroes and ordinary people.
In fact, this is life. You can't have it all. You have to make choices, and when you choose not to take something, you should face the loss with composure and cherish what you have.
Reincarnation is not reliable. Believing in an afterlife without any hope and dying is a kind of cowardice, a kind of selfishness. To live and die with no expectation of an afterlife is truly living and dying with dignity.
The golden sword cannot penetrate, and guns cannot harm them. They say, "Don't wear foreign cloth, don't use foreign fire... Revive the Great Qing, exterminate foreign religions." They killed foreigners and those who believed in foreign religions, burned churches and trains. The Qing court, including officials and military personnel, believed them. Even the Empress Dowager Cixi believed them. This led to the Eight-Nation Alliance by foreigners. Now they have already reached Beijing, and the Boxers cannot resist them.
After seventeen months of fleeing, the chaos subsided. China apologized to the Eight-Nation Alliance, punished the culprits, and paid reparations.
Empress Dowager Cixi used the Boxers to create a farce of cultural upheaval. This farce brought challenges and disasters to Chinese culture. The advanced culture of foreigners posed a new challenge and confirmed the fragility of Chinese culture and national strength.
I hope for a place to settle, thinking of Zhang Jian. I endure death for a moment, waiting for Du Gen. I laugh at the sky with a horizontal sword, my liver and gallbladder are as solid as Kunlun.
It is easy to be generous and heroic, but difficult to face death calmly.
Time only has meaning for life. Once it materializes, whether we live for the same length of time or live longer or shorter, what matters is whether we exist or not.
Don't forget, they are a large group, a group that thrives on oppressing others with inequality and protecting their own privileges. The entire group cannot be changed, and the awakening of one person, in the end, is just a tragedy. A person who leads a large group to do bad things that benefit the group, even though it goes against justice, will receive support. However, a person who leads a large group to do good things that harm the group, even though it is just, will face opposition. Empress Dowager Cixi represents leading a large group to do bad things.
In short, China is a nation that is most resistant to reform. When trying to reform in China, even great heroes and brave individuals cannot find a way.
When a regime is rotten to the core, it cannot talk about reform. When it is willing to reform, it is already too late. It is like a person who is forced to do good things when they have no other choice, but by then, it is often too late.
Sentient beings come to sow seeds, and fruits are produced according to the land. Without sentiment, there is no seed, and without nature, there is no life.
Everything that moves on the ground turns into dust and lies down. Only the still ancient temple stands in the cold wind, in the northern land, mournfully standing. Ah! Beijing Fayuan Temple, Beijing Fayuan Temple!
"Beijing Fayuan Temple" uses the concrete and still-standing ancient temple as the vertical line and the abstract historical figures from various dynasties as the horizontal cross-section. It discusses important themes such as life and death, ghosts and gods, monks and laypeople, coming and going, serving and hiding, court and people, family and country, ruler and subject, loyalty and treachery, barbarians and Chinese, domestic and foreign, strong and weak, self and others, public and private, emotions and reason, constancy and change, staying and leaving, cause and effect, economy (serving the world and benefiting the people), and more.