When did I start to believe in the antecedent, I can't remember.I have imagined countless times, what was my previous life, was it an actor?Poets?Is it a embroidered girl?It wasn't until one day that I walked into the ancient Buddhist temple and met the Buddha that I realized that my previous life must have been an oil lamp in front of the Buddha.Because the moment I lit it, I knew that this encounter was a reunion after a long absence.In my previous life, I devoted myself to cultivating in the palace, not to become a Buddha or immortal, but just to transform into a human being in this life. I also learned from the thousand-year-old white fox in the mountains and forests, and formed a relationship with a certain scholar or ordinary person.

The Buddha said that it took five hundred years of practice to exchange shoulders in this life.Every day, I brush shoulders with many passers-by in a hurry; every day, I form indissoluble bonds with all living beings.I know that with just a smile and a look back, I can find the person who is destined for three lives with me.I am fortunate to be able to write down the Zen stories of the eminent monks of the past with flowing pen and ink in this life.I believe that their souls will come to my window on a quiet night, but they are reluctant to disturb my dusty dream. I also went to Hanshan to search for monks, I also went to the Buddhist country to obtain the Heart Sutra, and I once picked a lotus, and secretly believed that it was the one I loved in my previous life.When I was young, I thought that Buddha was ruthless, and those who become monks should leave the dust and seclude the world, and end all love.Only later did I realize that the Buddha is affectionate. He gave his emotions to all living beings and left his indifference to himself.Although many eminent monks can comprehend the mysteries of fate, they cannot change their pre-arranged fates.They, like us, have to go through the cycle of reincarnation continuously, just to one day reach the state of Nirvana.As for you and me who are indulging in the mortal world, the only wish is to be exiled to the other shore where the lotus blooms in a blue-leaf boat.

The so-called goodness is like a stream, it is like this, my way out today may be your way back tomorrow.One day, if we meet each other on the Naihe Bridge, please don’t forget the green time we shared in the world of mortals; don’t forget the old alliance in Lingshan that we once knelt together and made in front of the Buddha.How many bright purples and reds have been let down for no reason by the meager time; how many pleasures have been locked in ordinary courtyards inexplicably.Since you can't keep your youth and missed the flower of yesterday, how can you miss the pot of tea today.

I firmly believe that these eminent monks and I have an inseparable fate from life to life.I am like a wandering soul in the Tao of reincarnation, in the story of their meditation and enlightenment, I practiced a period of Bodhi time.From now on, my world is simple and peaceful, and the faint fragrance of lotus submerges my last desire for the mortal world.Watching their backs drifting away again and again, I didn't stand still and watch, but turned around suddenly, thinking that the years to come were still so long in the dirty world.In the Buddha's benevolent and clear eyes, I saw the agreement that has been like water for many years, and I saw the unavoidable tenderness and deep affection.

I am so unintentional, under a half-opened window, let the words of Zen bloom in many quiet nights.It is not to plant a deep foreshadowing for a certain story, but to plant a bodhi in the hearts of all living beings.Please believe that all encounters in the world are reunions after a long absence.Maybe I am the chess game that you have never been able to solve in your previous life, and you are the answer that I will never be able to guess in this life. Bai Luomei Taihu Lake on October 27, 2010