2023-09-16

I went to the Jade Buddha Temple with my homies a while ago. Inside, there were these intimidating golden statues.

I stared straight into their golden eyes, thinking that inside they were just clay – people are actually worshiping their own hearts: “Offer some incense to you, and in return, grant me peace of mind for the coming year.”

When I was a kid, I had a copy of Tsai Chih-chung’s comic Zen Speaks at home (later I found and read all the others). So whenever I see the solemn Buddha statues, I recall the saying: “A special transmission outside the scriptures; no reliance on words or letters; directly pointing to the mind; seeing one’s nature and attaining Buddhahood.”

Buddha is an awakened human. No worship is needed. In fact, an awakened person fears worship the most. Because worship implies admitting the existence of a higher order above oneself. But humans – we are all orphans of the universe born on this Earth. Where could there be an order higher than humanity?

As a child, I despised these false idols.

Only later did I realize that many forms of offering are actually transactions: “Offer some incense to you, and in return, please bless me with riches next year.”

It’s just buying a clear conscience through supposed heavenly justice.

Humans are creatures that feed on information. Insufficient information drives us crazy. And most things in this world are like that old saying: “Seeking with a way, obtaining with fate – seeking does not help the obtaining, because what we seek is external.” People make decisions based on incomplete information, often with a touch of gambling. So they feel doubtful. Sometimes, working hard all the way is just to construct a sense of order to calm oneself down.

But alas, the moon remains the moon. The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. In the end, I can’t fool myself into believing this.

I recall going with my grandma to the Jade Spring Temple at the foot of Mount Hua when I was little. She said, “Go bow! Go watch them tap the wooden fish!”

Inside the temple, it was actually the non-idol things that caught my attention, like these beautiful lotus-shaped rain spouts on a rainy day. Rainwater dripped from the eaves, passed through the hole in the center, and was caught and released by one lotus after another with a pitter-patter.

Finally found the exit. Time to go home and sleep!

• 🧩 A Fragment of Life