Chapter 8 Indonesian Stories (7)

The old fourth Lai gave the family 40 minutes of whole-hearted attention, charging 25 cents.He would do the same thing if they didn't have money; that's what being a therapist is all about.He can't turn anyone down, or the gods will undo his healing talents.Lai has about ten Balinese visitors a day, all of whom need his help or ask about gods or medical treatment.During the festive season, when everyone wants a special wish, the number of visitors can be in the hundreds. "are not you tired?" "It's my job," he told me, "and my hobby—being a pharmacist."

A few more patients came throughout the afternoon, but Grandpa Lai and I also found time to stay alone on the balcony together.Getting along with this pharmacist is very comfortable, just like being with my grandfather.He gave me my first Balinese meditation class.He told me that there are many ways to find God, but most of them are too complicated for Westerners, so he wanted to teach me a simple method of meditation.Basically something like this: Sit still and smile.I like it.He was also smiling while teaching me.Sit still and smile.great. "Xiaoli, are you learning yoga in India?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." "You can do yoga," he said, "but it's too hard." Here he twisted himself into a lotus position, his face contorted into a comical, constipated look.Then he relaxed and said with a smile: "Why do you always look so serious when you practice yoga? Such a serious face will scare away the good energy. You only need to smile when you sit in meditation. Smile with your face, smile with your heart, and good energy will come to you , to drive away dirty energy. Even make your liver smile. Practice at the hostel tonight. Don't rush, don't try too hard. Being too serious can make you sick. Smiling brings good energy. That's it for today. See you later. Come back tomorrow. I'm glad to see you, Lily. Let your conscience guide you. If you have friends in Bali, ask them to come and read my palm - my bank is pretty empty right now after the bombing."

The fourth Lai Ye told his life story like this: "My family has been a pharmacist for nine generations. My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all pharmacists. They wanted me to be a pharmacist because they saw that I had wisdom roots. They saw that I had beauty and wisdom. But I don't want to be a pharmacist. Nian Tai Too many books! Too much information! And I don't believe in pharmacists! I want to be a painter! I want to be an artist! I have a talent for painting. "When I was young, I met a very rich American, probably a New Yorker like you. He liked my paintings. He wanted to pay a high price for my large paintings, about a meter in size. The seller This money is enough to make me a rich man. I paint every day, paint, paint, and even paint at night. There used to be no light bulbs like today, only lamps. Oil lamps, do you understand? Oil lamps, you have to pump oil. OK. I light oil lamps every night to draw.

"One night the oil lamp was dim so I smoked and smoked and it exploded! My arm was on fire! The burnt arm put me in the hospital for two months and caused an infection which infected my heart. The doctor said I Had to go to Singapore for an amputation, to have my arm removed. I didn't like that. But the doctor said I had to go to Singapore for an operation to remove my arm. I told the doctor - I had to go home in the village first. "That night in the village, I had a dream. My father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather all came to me in the dream, gathered together and told me how to heal my burned arm. They asked me to extract the juice of saffron and sandalwood, Put the juice on the burns and grind the saffron and sandalwood into powder and put the powder on the burns. They tell me to do it so you don't lose an arm. This dream is so real, it's like they are in the house with me Gather together.

"I woke up and didn't know what to do, because dreams are just a joke sometimes, you know? But I went home and put the juice of saffron and sandalwood on my arms and ground the saffron and sandalwood into powder Apply it on my arm. My arm had a bad infection and it was sore and swollen a lot. But after applying the juice and powder it became cool and cooled down and started to feel better. Within ten days my arm was fine and healed up. "So, I started to believe. I dreamed again, and my father, grandfather, great-grandfather told me that now I have to become a medicine man. I have to give my soul to God. So I have to fast for six days, understand? No food, no food. Drink. Skip breakfast. It’s not easy. Fasting makes me thirsty and I go to the rice field early in the morning before the sun comes out. I sit in the rice field, open my mouth, and drink the water in the air. The water in the air in the rice field in the morning, how Say? Dew? Yes. Dew. For six days I only drank dew. Didn't eat anything but dew. On the fifth day, I lost consciousness. I saw yellow everywhere. No, not yellow—it was gold. I saw Gold everywhere, even in my heart, I'm happy. I understand now. This gold is God, and it's in me. God and my heart are the same thing, both the same, both the same.