PureInsight | June 23, 2024
[PureInsight.org] After three years, which was the ninth year since the construction of the first golden tower, Mo Cai dreamt of the Giant Buddha again. The Giant Buddha looked at her with compassion, and Mo Cai was filled with joy and excitement.
In the morning, Mo Cai told her brother about her dream and how she felt when she saw the Buddha. Mo Le fell into deep thought and said, "I have never seen a standing Buddha, but your description seems so familiar to me. I believe that the Buddha has been watching over us through countless lives."
Wen Mei added, "Do you remember when the construction of the Buddha Tower was almost complete, the stone layers closed automatically, revealing an altar with the words 'Ten years to open the altar, build the golden tower again' on it? Although the words disappeared after three days, they reminded us that we still need to build another golden tower and create a Buddha statue." Mo Cai and Mo Le exchanged a meaningful glance, lost in thought.
Mo Cai could not stop thinking about the great Buddha in her heart. She said to Mo Le, "Brother, I feel more and more strongly that we should enshrine the great Buddha. I will go to the priest and ask him to help us decide."
When Mo Cai talked to the priest about what she saw, he said, "Our country is going to build a new golden tower, and this time it will be the largest one, enshrining the great Buddha. The Buddha's radiance will illuminate every corner of the world. He suggested that the princess should talk to Kunlun, the son of the old craftsman Kunya, who was skilled in sculpture and in charge of making the deity statues for the new pagoda.
Kunlun, whose name meant "tall and majestic" in the language at the time, was moved by what the princess had seen and asked her to quiet her mind and draw the image of the Buddha she had seen. After some contemplation, she brought her drawing to Kunlun, who asked her to come to his meditation room, a spacious and elegant place. She noticed a white cloth covering a square frame and wondered what mystery lay beneath it. Kunlun gently lifted the cloth to reveal a giant Buddha painting that looked exactly like the one she had seen in her dream. She was astonished and speechless.
After paying homage to the Buddha image and showing Kunlun her drawing, she said she felt they were identical. Kunlun accepted her drawing with reverence and was moved to tears. He said he had never painted such a Buddha before, but felt a strong sense of familiarity and was deeply moved and inspired by the image.
After returning, Mo Cai told her brother and sister-in-law about the Buddha statue painted by Kunlun. They were surprised and wanted to see it too. When the Crown Prince Mo Qi heard about it, he also wanted to go with them. Therefore, the four members of the royal family went to Kunlun's residence.
Kunlun was surprised to see the King coming and wanted to bow, but was stopped by Mo Le. They went to the meditation room and saw the Buddha's image. Mo Le and Wen Mei both felt a sense of joy and shock in their hearts. They paid homage to the Buddha's image one after another, while the Crown Prince Mo Qi kept bowing and said, "The great Buddha is so great."
After leaving the meditation room, Mo Le was still immersed in the wonderful feeling of seeing the Buddha's image. Kunlun led them to a room and asked them to sit down. Mo Le asked Kunlun to sit down too. Kunlun declined, but Mo Le said, "In front of the great Buddha, we are all equal, there is no difference, and we are all children of the Buddha." Kunlun no longer declined and they all sat together, talking about the wonderful feelings, they had after seeing Buddha's image. Mo Le entrusted the task of casting the giant Buddha statue to Kunlun.
Prince Mo Qi saw the adults discussing something, so he went out and saw a little girl in the courtyard. She had delicate eyebrows and eyes, and was cute and obedient. The little girl saw him and said, "Big brother, are you also here to find my dad like the other adults?" Mo Qi pretended to be an adult and said, "Yes, I'm an adult and I'm older than you." The little girl was happy and the two children quickly became acquainted. Mo Qi learned that the little girl was the daughter of Kunlun and her name was Ruolian. Ruolian showed Mo Qi around and took out her sculpted little things to show him, including small animals and people. Mo Qi was surprised and said, "Did you make all of these? They're amazing!"
The adults finished their discussion and came out. They saw Mo Qi and Ruolian, and Mo Qi immediately liked Ruolian when he saw her. Ruolian's eyes lit up and she thought that the guest today was very special. She greeted him with elegance and grace, which surprised Mo Qi. When Ruolian and the guest said goodbye, they were reluctant to part. Mo Qi said to his mother, "Mother, can we have someone pick up my sister and bring her to the palace to play tomorrow?" Wen Mei nodded.
After returning to the palace, Mo Cai still could not forget about Ruolian. One night, she had a dream about an immortal freely roaming in the clouds, and a lotus flower blooming gracefully in a lotus pond. Among the lotus flowers, there was one that was particularly spiritual and could move around freely. It often ran out of the lotus pond to play and sometimes flew to a beautiful immortal. This immortal wore a colorful garment and had a lotus flower rotating on her head. Her attendants called her the "Five-Colored Lotus Queen". The lotus queen would place the flying lotus flower on her fingertip and blow on it, causing the flower to spin by itself. Over time, a little girl's image emerged from the flying lotus flower, wearing purple clothes, sometimes flying out to play. The lotus queen called her the "Purple Lotus".
After waking up from the dream, Mo Cai felt that the dream was beautiful and wanted to experience the feeling of beauty again. She quickly went back to sleep, but she dreamt of herself with white hair, lying in a cramped room and feeling restless. A woman painted a portrait and stuck it on her forehead, which made her feel comfortable. Upon closer examination, the woman looked like a grown-up version of Ruolian, except for a red dot on her forehead. Behind Ruolian, there was a strong man directing people to build a strange building, saying that it was a gift for himself. Mo Cai woke up and fell into deep thought. She felt that she had a strong connection with Ruolian. From the dream, Ruolian had helped her, so Mo Cai thought that she should go and help Ruolian. She did not feel it was appropriate to recognize Ruolian as her daughter, so she came up with an idea: she would let her sister-in-law adopt the girl, which would also benefit the child's future.
During breakfast, Wen Mei said, "When I was reciting the Buddha's name, I saw a scene. I saw Mo Qi and Ruolian each in a halo, both feeling extraordinary." Mo Cai said, "Since our fate is so sacred, let's have my sister-in-law recognize Ruolian as her daughter!" Wen Mei was very happy to hear this and said, "I liked the child when I saw her yesterday. Today, I'll send someone to pick up Ruolian, and when she gets familiar with it here, we'll talk to Kunlun."
When Ruolian arrived at the palace, everyone there loved her innocence and thought she looked like a princess. When Mo Qi studied, Ruolian also listened and understood very well. The wise person who taught Mo Qi thought Ruolian was extraordinary. Eight days later, Mo Le sent someone to invite Kunlun to the palace. Wen Mei said to Kunlun, "I want to adopt Ruolian as my daughter. I hope you can agree." Kunlun's expression was both surprised and moved, but he could only say, "Okay, okay." He could not say anything else.
(To be continued)
Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/242489
