One year, I traveled to the countryside of Pingtung, passing a temple and going in to burn incense. Draw lots.
That was ten years ago. At that time, I regarded the lottery as an interesting thing, which was not surprising. However, the lottery in Pingtung Temple was unusual because it was a lottery. In my experience, lottery tickets are at least above average, and bad ones are rarely drawn. This is the only one I draw. Especially at that time, life and work were going well, so I was shocked at the moment I drew the next sign.
I'm too lazy to read what the sign says. I walked out of the temple gate, threw the sign into a ball and watched it turn into a wisp of smoke.
But when I walked out of the temple gate, I felt heavy and I slowed down unconsciously. I walked under the mango trees planted on both sides of the road, thinking about the meaning of the next sign. I don't know what it predicts, but I know that I should have a broader heart and extensive knowledge to accommodate the next constellation that life occasionally draws.
It doesn't matter what the content of the note is, but in real life, it is like a healthy person drinking a bowl of bitter medicine, which has the effect of sobering up, but it can give me some reflection and encouragement. In this way, it is not a bad thing for a person to draw a few tickets in his life. On the other hand, we occasionally win the lottery, if it doesn't bring us bright power, it will only make us happy, without any benefit.
I remember traveling in Japan and seeing the trees in front of Japanese temples covered with white paper fluttering in the wind. The reason is that the people who draw lots are not satisfied with the lot, so they tie the lot to the tree and return it to the gods, and then draw it again until they are satisfied.
In fact, the quality of a poem is not important. Its greatest significance is to make us turn a corner and make a new thinking. Therefore, it is particularly meaningful to draw a sign in prosperity and draw a sign in adversity. The former is to be prepared for danger in times of peace, and the latter is to turn defeat into victory. Isn't the fate of life the same from a bigger perspective?
In China restaurants in Europe, America and Japan, there are always auspicious signs, some hidden in chopsticks, some wrapped in steamed bread, and some put in glass bottles. These signs are generally written in the best and most beautiful language, which makes people feel very happy. I often think that if all the signs in the temple are such good sentences, it will certainly help many lovers to get married, bring hope of survival to depressed people and bring courage to the frustrated people.
Three years ago, in the early spring, I went to Japan to see the red leaves. Walking along the mountain road at night, I found a hut selling wheat flour. When eating noodles, I opened the paper bag of chopsticks and dropped a piece of paper, which read in Chinese: What a nice day today! I sang this sentence, looking at the pale blue valley in the night, the maple red in the moonlight in the valley, and suddenly felt that today is not only a beautiful day, but also a happy life!
To some extent, life is really like a piece of paper.
I stopped drawing lots after studying Buddhism. I like that there are no sign boxes in Buddhist temples. For an open life, there is white paper everywhere. It doesn't matter what words you write. Life experiences are like grass, leaves and petals floating in the water, which will eventually flow to the distance in the river of time. In this way, we can return all the shortcomings to the world with a game mood when drawing lots, and let us face the world with our true selves!
Life will inevitably encounter the following bad situations, so we can also have a tolerant heart to bear, hanging in a tree and flying in the wind, or falling into the river and flowing to the sea with the running water!