In 2008, a girl who was in her sophomore year at Shandong University in 985 often had a strange dream. The scene in each dream was similar, and she dreamed that she had become a little boy next to Buddha.

In 2008, a girl who was in the sophomore year at 985 colleges and universities Shandong University often had a strange dream. Every time the scene in the dream was similar, it was dreaming that she had become a little boy next to Buddha. Such a dream means a call for her, who has had a lot of Buddhist connections since she was a child, so she decided to follow the instructions of the Bodhisattva in the dream and become a monk. She is Shi Zheng Xiaotong, who is called the "most beautiful nun" by netizens.

01

Dreams are called the mirror of people's subconscious mind. I have thoughts on the day and dreams on the night. Many people think it is too hasty to choose to become a monk just because of a dream? But for Shi Zhengxiaotong, such a dream may be the embodiment of her subconscious mind, and she may have had the idea of ​​becoming a monk for a long time.

In 1989, Shi Zhengxiaotong was born in an ordinary family in Henan. My parents are down-to-earth and kind-hearted, especially my mother, who is a devout Buddhist. She often recites scriptures and meditates and practices at home. She always likes to go to some temples to burn incense and worship Buddha. Under the influence of such a family atmosphere, the seeds of Buddhahood were also planted for Shi Zhengxiaotong. She would often listen to her mother chanting scriptures and follow her to the temple.

In the eyes of parents, it is a good thing for children to be quiet and listen to Buddhist scriptures, but they have never thought about letting their children become monks. Therefore, in the education of Shi Zhengxiaotong, they did not relax. In addition to speeding up the cultural courses in the school, they also cultivated Shi Zhengxiaotong's many talents in their spare time, such as singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, etc.

, Shi Zhengxiaotong is also very successful, and his academic performance has always been among the best, and he can play and sing. In Henan, known as the hell mode of college entrance examination, Shi Zhengxiaotong was invincible through his unremitting efforts and finally got admitted to Shandong University, a key university in 985.

02

After getting admitted to university, the family was very happy. In order to celebrate her daughter's golden list, Shi Zhengxiaotong's parents decided to take her out for a trip during the summer vacation. They chose Tiantai Temple, a famous Buddhist temple in Hong'an, Hubei.

Tiantai Temple has a history of more than 1,400 years and is a place of pilgrimage for many Buddhists. Unlike other temples, the monks here are generally younger, with the majority under 35 years old. Here we have both a very strict orthodox Buddhist inheritance, as well as innovative practice propositions and culture. This unique atmosphere suddenly hit Shi Zhengxiaotong's heart.

Shi Zhengxiaotong, who wandered in this thousand-year-old temple, listened to the pine waves and the Zen music , the troubles of the world suddenly disappeared. After she came to this temple, she felt like she was returning home, and her heart suddenly became quiet. She followed the masters in the temple to meditate. After just a few days, she quickly adapted to life in the temple, and such a simple life was exactly what she longed for. She didn't want to leave the temple, but considering that she still had an unopened university life, she hesitated and finally left Tiantai Temple reluctantly.

After coming to Shandong University, Shi Zhengxiaotong quickly integrated into university life. She looks outstanding and knowledgeable, and is known as a goddess in school.

But Shi Zhengxiaotong was disdainful of such titles. In addition to completing professional courses, she ran to the library as soon as she had time, found Buddhist books, and studied hard eagerly.

Other people’s college life is rich and colorful, participating in clubs, dating, and participating in various activities, but Shi Zheng Xiaotong’s college life is simple, three points and one line, dormitory, classroom, and library.

Shi Zhengxiao is outstanding in appearance, but she never spends too much time dressing herself up. She always faces her face and wears ordinary clothes. She seems to have always been insulated from the flower world outside.

03

But Shi Zhengxiaotong didn't find such a life boring, because she found faith, sustenance, and happiness in the world of Buddhism. Until for a while, she frequently dreamed that she had become a boy around the Buddha. She felt that God was hinting that she was converting to Buddhism, and saving everyone. The idea of ​​becoming a monk is becoming more and more urgent. On the one hand, she was admitted to a university after studying hard for more than ten years, and on the other hand, she was her own love. After a lot of trouble, she decided that she could not wait any longer and dropped out of school and became a monk now.

When her teacher and classmates learned about this decision, they both said it was difficult to understand. Why should a college student who is beautiful, talented, and has a bright youth and a bright future choose to accompany the ancient Buddha of Qingdeng for the rest of his life? Graduates from key universities will definitely find a good job in the future. Why do you waste such a good opportunity?

What is rare is that Shi Zhengxiaotong's parents expressed their understanding of their daughter's decision. They are also Buddhists and understand where the motivation for their daughter to focus on Buddha comes from, so they did not dissuade her and let her drop out of school.

Shi Zhengxiaotong knew that after becoming a monk, he needed to purify the six senses and resolve the worldly relationship, and he could no longer be filial to his parents in the future. But parents think that Buddha's heart is filial piety, and compassion for the world is the greatest filial piety. Such comfort made Shi Zhengxiao and let go of their burdens.

After Shi Zhengxiaotong dropped out of school, he came to Tiantai Temple as he wished to become a monk.

Tiantai Temple has the first all-monk art troupe in the history of Chinese Zen Music Tiantai Temple Guangxuan Art Troupe , and also creatively regards Zen music training as a practice method for Tiantai monks. "Nothing is good at changing customs and customs." Art monks promote Buddhism through beautiful and noble art, and under the influence of Zen music, people's minds are also purified.

Shi Zhengxiaotong joined the Tiantai Temple Guangxuan Art Troupe with his own talent. Because of his good education, good eloquence and logical structure, he served as the host in the art troupe. With the art troupe, he went to various places to promote Buddhism.

The life in the temple is regular and hard. Every day, you have to get up before dawn to do morning classes. In addition to daily practice, monks in the art troupe also need to practice four hours of vocal music. They will quietly play Zen music in a quiet place in the mountains and fields, and while improving their skills, they will also cultivate their own hearts.

Shi Zhengxiaotong was in the meditation day by day, and he was even more convinced that his original choice was correct.

04

Once, during a performance, Shi Zhengxiao played the violin with his eyes closed and intoxicatedly was taken by the audience and posted on the Internet. She looked sweet and had a charming smile and was therefore called the "most beautiful nun" and became popular on the Internet.

After becoming a "Internet celebrity" nun, many people ran to Tiantai Temple to see Shi Zheng Xiaotong's true face, but she still did whatever she should do, without any impact.

Some people expressed support for Shi Zheng Xiaotong's experience, believing that his life is the decision of his own life, and converting to Buddhism is not a way of life; some people say bad things, thinking that she may be hyping up and making a name for popularity, and becoming a monk is pretending, and she will not last for a few days; some people expressed a pity that they believed that a top student did not use the knowledge she had learned for many years to repay society, and did not respect her parents, but chose to become a monk and let down the cultivation of her motherland and her parents.

For a moment, everyone said anything. But in the face of external concerns and troubles, Shi Zhengxiaotong did not cause too much trouble and still repeated his daily homework. For her, as long as she doesn’t have any distracting thoughts, the world will still be quiet.

Get up early to recite scriptures, carry water and chop wood, practice Zen music, wear the simplest monk's robes, eat the simplest vegetarian meal, and sleep on a hard bed. To outsiders, such a hard life may be a torment, but in Shi Zhengxiaotong's heart, such a life is the life she yearns for since childhood, and she enjoys it and enjoys it.

At the age of 19, Shi Zhengxiaotong chose to become a monk. Now, 14 years have passed, and at the age of 33, she still lives a simple and unpretentious life. Her parents often visit her, and sometimes they will tentatively ask her if she wants to return to secular life. She shook her head firmly, indicating that she will only be with the Buddha in this life, and the rest are all dusty for me.

05

also made the same choice as Shi Zhengxiao. There is also a monk and nun with the Dharma name Caizhenwangmu . Her original name is Ma Ying . She was born in 1988 and graduated from Qingdao University . After graduation, she did not choose to find a job, but chose to ordain Dongzhi Temple in Ganzi, Sichuan, which is more than 4,000 meters above sea level and became a monk.

Many people also expressed their incomprehension. A good little girl who doesn’t feel and experience the wonderful life, why do you choose to live a hard life that is not as good as the world? Have you been stimulated? Or is there any physical illness?

In response to this, Caizhenwangmu said: "Every time someone asks me why I became a monk, I don't know how to answer. Nothing happened, and there is no escape. Finally, I can only reply to one sentence: I became a monk because the Buddha was right."

She wrote in her diary of becoming a monk: "I will live up to my wishes in this life, and be sad as a sail as a boat. If a person knows the treasure in his heart, he will return it in a thousand years." Perhaps the Buddha is her "treasure in his heart". Even if life seems particularly difficult in the eyes of outsiders, she also feels that being able to "repay in one day", and being able to do this is to live up to my life.

"There is no tree in Bodhi, and the mirror is not a platform. There is nothing in it, so where can dust be caused?" Most of us live in this world. For fame and fortune, parents and children, and for houses and cars, there are always too many bonds that those who do not have great perseverance cannot give up.

Even if there are three thousand worries on the head, it is not enough to cut it just by cutting it. Like Shi Zheng Xiaotong and Cai Zhenwangmu, they let go of everything in the world, are not burdened by material things, are not trapped by love, and find their faith when they are very young and find the life they want. It requires courage, but also a kind of luck?

Mortals think it takes courage to give up everything in the world, but as some people say, if you find gold, does it take courage to give up scrap iron? For Shi Zhengxiaotong, being a monk and being a companion to Buddha means finding gold. The fame and fortune that outsiders care about are all scrap iron, so naturally they can let go without courage.

Too many of us are busy chasing material wealth, but we don’t know that the most precious wealth is a calm and calm heart.

@Aimier Say

I saw a sentence before saying that if everyone can make themselves happy, it is their greatest contribution to the world.

I think although this sentence has not changed the world, promoted social progress, helped people in need, and even the simplest way to take good care of their family members, it sounds so high and positive. But it is indeed a reasonable sentence: Don’t everyone have to take responsibility for themselves first when they are alive?

and make yourself happy seems very simple to say, as long as you are a little selfish, it is not. After you remove all the tools for society, for others, and for your family, you can still be happy and not ask for it. It is actually quite difficult.

So like the heroine in the article, you know what you want at a young age and choose a life that makes you calm and happy is actually quite good. Some people will live in other people's expectations all their lives, but most of them have not figured out what they really want.

Some people also felt that at the beginning, she would not have been able to live long. Not to mention that she has been through more than ten years, even if she has been through a year and a half, she feels that it is not suitable for her and then makes a new choice, it is understandable.

Life is a process of constantly trying and experiencing and making choices. In any kind of life, as long as it is not harmful to the law and is not illegal, there is no distinction between high and low, and good or bad is just a subjective feeling.

Actually, I have always been quite interested in Buddhism. But from my youth to now, I still miss this colorful world and always want to find some interesting things in this world. When I was young, I went to fall in love and seize the feeling of love; when I was young, I went to work, entered society, tried to do different jobs, and hoped to find my own love and sense of value; then when I reach middle age, I have old age and young people, and I begin to take on various responsibilities.

Sometimes I also think about experiencing these things bit by bit. After they are dispersed, I will pursue a lifestyle. Some people are looking forward to traveling around the world, while others are looking for a place with beautiful mountains and rivers to live a simple and repetitive life. It’s all life, just think it’s good.

is the same thing. If everyone can make themselves happy, it will make the greatest contribution to the world.