Author: Shi Jianjie (Taiwan) Input: Ye Saiyang Editor: Wu Yanlong 2006/08/15 In Taiwan, this book has been ranked first in the bestseller lists of Eslite Bookstore, Blogger, Jinshitang, etc. for several months in a row. Book.What is the charm that makes readers so sought after it? Is it just for the pursuit of strange fun to enjoy flowers with the Buddha?How can the splendor of flowers and the tranquility of the Buddha's mind be integrated into one wonderfully, forming a kind of great wisdom, forming a piece of wisdom that people will never tire of reading? After reading this wonderful "Garden Walk", you will understand why this novel is so popular.

This book was originally serialized in the "Ukiyo-e" edition of "China Times", and then published as a collection.The author's writing style is fresh, delicate, full of wisdom and Zen. These meditation articles, like the breeze in the hot summer, bring coolness to us in the mundane world, and at the same time let us see The power of the soul has found a peaceful haven in my heart. In the process of editing the manuscript, I will always be moved by the small details described by the author.Between the lines, I seem to see a monk bowing his head and meditating in the process of practicing, and also read the author's love for his family and friends.The author has a mind mirror that can see ordinary flowers and plants without words, and also has a wonderful pen that can vividly interpret.If we can also be infected by it and sum up our hearts from time to time on the road of life, we will have a lot less troubles.

At the same time, we also realize that some plants in the mainland and Taiwan have different names. In order not to damage the aesthetic feeling of the work, we have annotated the scientific and common names of these plants at the end of the article, and collected pictures of corresponding flowers and plants, in order to let the mainland Readers feel more familiar with it.In order to adapt to the reading of the electronic version of the book, the relevant text has been appropriately changed during the editing process of the manuscript. Walking through the flower garden, some people saw red flowers, green leaves, and flying butterflies; some saw stumped roots and branches, and mud everywhere;But the author walks through the flower garden and sees Buddhas everywhere.

This book is also a garden dedicated to the world by the author.Because of different moods, walking through this garden, some people may read Buddhism, some people read literary talent, some people read leisurely, some people read the story of a monk... But I think, in fact, the author most hopes that readers will read the book after closing the book. , What you can read is the secret garden of your own life. May every flower in the garden bloom to its fullest. "The fragrant wind comes from time to time, blowing away the wilting flowers, and raining new ones, so it will never stop..."

When I read Buddhist scriptures in the past, when the Buddha preached in public, there were often fantastic scenes of flowers falling from the sky, which surprised and moved me.After studying Buddhism for many years, I gradually realized that behind the miraculous and gorgeous words of the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, there are real meanings. Buddha said dependent origin.In the Buddha's analysis, the world of body and mind is in the moment of birth and death change all the time. The Buddha who revealed the nature of natural phenomena to people. How many are dying.In the Buddhist scriptures, "the rain flowers of the heavens" should not only refer to the flowers of the material world, but also the flowers of the soul?!

Those of us who are fortunate to hear the Dharma should also listen to the Dharma, practice in the flowers, and practice in the flowers: when we are grateful to the World Honored One, we even offer flowers to the Buddha. I have recently read a series of proses about Buddhism by Master Jie using flowers and plants. Each piece is exquisite and clear, like a series of strings of flowers covered with light and dew, from which I can also feel the beauty of flowers for Buddha. I have known the teacher for many years, she is not very talkative, she likes natural flowers and plants, and she also has a good writing brush in her sleeve.Under the very clean and simple robe, who would guess that she has been a monk for fifteen years?

Through the newly compiled collection of essays, Master Jianjie's personality, preferences, and her views on Buddhism are presented like a gurgling stream.Even if the monks are less greedy and more resigned, from the lines of Jian Jieshi's words, she can still read her deep love for her hometown and relatives. Jian Jieshi's secular surname is Yang, a Hakka family that has lived in Meinong Town, Gao County for more than two hundred years. "When it comes to the reason why I became a monk, it is really very simple." Once, the teacher said to me: "When I was in a junior college, I joined a Buddhist club and liked Buddhism very much. Soon, a multiple-choice question occurred... At that time, it seemed that the only way to continue studying Buddhism was to become a monk. To be a monk, or not to be a monk?"

As the eldest daughter of the beloved family, but also in a traditional and rigorous Hakka family, she chose to become a monk, which must have made her parents very embarrassed.This feeling is fully revealed in the short essay on father and coconut tree written by the interviewer: "'Dad! How long has this coconut tree been planted?' I asked. 'I started planting it the year you became a monk. How long have you been a monk? , how long is the history of this coconut tree.' My father stood in front of the coconut tree and said to me..." Then, the author recalled: "My father, who teaches in elementary school, has always lent this field to neighbors unconditionally for farming. Why did I plant coconut trees all over the year I became a monk? All in all, this is a decision made by my father."

Father's coconut tree grew up and became full of shade, bearing fruit.Every year he would bring coconut juice to the temple to visit his daughter who became a monk.The author said: "That feeling is always dripping in my heart." Thus, the father throws himself into the coconut grove to maintain his love for his children. "Every time I go back, I must go to see the coconut tree with the same seniority as my monk... The breeze blows, and the coconut tree rustles... How many days my father spent here when I was not at home!" The author therefore never In the family affection that parents in the world do not ask for compensation and give without regret, they have experienced the great compassion of a Bodhisattva.

"A firm and unwavering decision can be for family affection or Buddhism." In this short prose, the author combined her father's love with the shadow of the coconut tree, and then became her own interpretation of Buddhism. Persevere, it is as strong as the stone pillar of the storm god Indra in ancient Indian mythology. "Looking back, I was deeply influenced by my father." Teacher Jian Jie said: "My father was willing to be indifferent all his life, did not seek fame and wealth, and loved nature. I am the same, I don't like artificial piles and pretentiousness, and I prefer to prove a true love from nature. The realization of the Dharma."

Seeing that Master Jie became a monk at the time, it was purely a girl's sensitivity to the impermanence and pain of life touched by Buddhism, so she decided to pursue the goal of "freeing from greed, anger, and ignorance, and realizing the supreme liberation".Fifteen years have passed, and it is hard to tell from the outside how many traces the years have left on her face.She smiled brightly and said, "The more I experience in the world, the more determined I am to take refuge in the Buddha." I have been writing continuously for more than two years, and it has become a wonderful achievement so far.The viewing content includes "Garden of Troubles", "Garden of Practice" and "Garden of Silence", a total of 60 kinds of flowers and plants of different subjects.Although the titles of the chapters are lively and amusing, after careful reading, the Buddhist teachings confirmed by natural aesthetics are very pertinent.From this, we can see Master Jianjie's persistence in "law". Nature is amiable and approachable. What the Buddha's Dharma reveals is nothing more than the principles hidden in nature, and it should be amiable and approachable.In the analysis of dependent origination in Buddhism, the world of body and mind arises and dies in an instant, just like flowers bloom and fade in nature.As for how to practice, let us try to imitate the words of the Buddha, or it can be said as follows: Blossoms are joyful, so enjoy the joy!However, can you let go of the attachment that arises later? Withering of flowers is sad, so let's see the pain clearly!Let's see if you can endure this suffering without feeling repulsion and hatred in your heart? There is also the season without flowers, as if there is no pain and no medicine, can you call it boring or peaceful?At this time, don't be pretentious, let go of ignorance, maybe you can gain the power of contemplation that is as clear as a mirror! In this way, life is in the three basic feelings of happiness, suffering, and neither suffering nor happiness, which rotate according to causes and conditions; and practitioners are in the blooming and fading of flowers and the birth and death of the mind mirror.If you can let go of your greed, hatred, and ignorance bit by bit, the mind of freedom and liberation will gradually become clear. Meet Jieshi, bless you, bless me, bless everyone. In the night of early spring, when I chanted scriptures alone, the ups and downs of my mind and emotions during the day gradually calmed down like the ebb of the sea.The Buddha's compassionate eyes were lowered, as if staring at the lotus flower on the altar table that was placed obliquely in the vase. The brocade-like reddish petals bloomed slowly like the morning glow... Does the Buddha also watch the flowers bloom and wither? In the early morning, when I went to the Buddhist hall, I saw Lu Lianhua shedding a petal and lying quietly in front of the Buddha.At the dawn of dawn, a gleam of light from the sky slanted in from the window and shone on the Buddha who was watching the falling flowers.The world is born and died like this, shining like a flower blooming and withering like a flower fading.When will we be able to see through the impermanent world like the Buddha, and refine the true wisdom, instead of suddenly sad, happy, and at a loss? This book was originally a collection of the "Secret Garden of Buddhism" column in the "Floating Painting" edition of "China Times".During the writing of these essays, I was facing a major turning point in my practice years—leaving the monastery where I had been a monk for more than ten years, looking for a new way of cultivating life. A mood of "watching the flowers bloom and fade quietly". Every time I settle down, I am used to planting some plants.Those lush green flowers and plants, some elegant and elegant, some charming and bright, and some fragrant and fragrant secretly attacking people, admiring the uncanny workmanship of nature, adding a bit of leisure, and bringing infinite vitality. I like mountain climbing.For any green hill, the wild flowers, weeds, and fruit trees along the way always show different styles with the change of seasons.I like to come to uninhabited mountains the most. Surrounded by mountains, I look at the mountains in the distance, and the mountains are in full bloom. Despite the passage of time and the change of personnel, some plants have been exuding fragrance in the corner of memory—the jasmine in the yard of my childhood hometown, the crab orchid by the well, the poinciana by the small river in front of the door, the plum tree in the years of Nantou mountain residence, Mountain Hibiscus... It seems that in the depths of my memory, there is a small road waiting for me to return from time to time. Isn't the vast world and the human heart a "secret garden of Buddhism"?I often stop to stare and listen, facing the wind and thinking about the flowers, trees, plants and trees in the garden.And those plants of all shapes and sizes are telling me about the "boundless troubles" of all living beings: human habits are like euphemism in the forest, which is difficult to get rid of; The attachment of all beings is more sticky than ghost needle grass... Inspired me to practice in the present, so as not to miss today's blue star flower; to find the left-handed incense that can cure heat and affliction; to learn Buddhism, it takes a long time, and it is better than planting The ivy is still long... It also reveals the truth of "the loneliness of life": walk out of the troubled house and experience the coolness of the bamboo forest; look forward to the completeness of the flowers and fruits; Bai Juyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Monastery Flowers": "If you want to realize the color and emptiness, it is a Buddhist thing, so you plant a fragrant tree in the Buddhist home." Bamboo, lush yellow flowers, nothing more than prajna." By observing the external world and the "bitterness, emptiness, and impermanence" of one's own mind, one can let go of the attachment to "self" and "what I have".The profound and vast "great compassion of the same body" and the clear and clear "wisdom without self" are produced in it. I like this sentence very much: "Seeing through the world is nothing but a Buddha!" ​​Usually people only see the phenomena of flowers blooming and withering, life gathering and dispersing, success and failure, etc., so they regret the past or fantasize about the future; See the truth of impermanence and selflessness after seeing the appearance from the perspective of flowers blooming and withering!Reflect on your own mind and find the true refuge of life. The Buddha once said: "All conditioned dharmas are like dreams and bubbles, like dew and electricity, and should be viewed as such." Let's enjoy the flowers with the Buddha!When you understand all impermanence, you can be a comfortable flower appreciator.