A few weeks later, Lao Zhou took Mingxin to meet a monk. The temple was small—just one hall, a courtyard, and an old bodhi tree. The monk's name was Master Jinghui. He was in his seventies, thin and small, with eyes that looked at you like they had already seen everything you were about to say.
几周后，老周带明心去见一位和尚。寺庙很小——一间殿、一个院子、一棵老菩提树。和尚叫净慧法师。七十多岁，又瘦又小，看你的眼神像已经见过你接下来要说的话。
They sat under the tree. The monk poured tea. He didn't ask who Mingxin was or why he had come. He just started talking.
他们坐在树下。和尚倒茶。他没问明心是谁，也没问他为什么来。他只是开口了。
"Have you heard the story of Huangbo and the emperor?" he asked.
"你听过黄檗和皇帝的故事吗？"他问。
Mingxin shook his head.
明心摇了摇头。
"Huangbo was a great Zen master," the monk said. "Before Tang Xuanzong became emperor, he was a monk too. They traveled together. One day, they were crossing a stream. The stream was fast and strong. Huangbo said:
"黄檗是大禅宗祖师，"和尚说，"唐宣宗当皇帝之前也是个僧人。他们一起行脚。有一天，他们过溪。溪水急而湍。黄檗说：
"A thousand cliffs and ten thousand valleys never refuse to toil."
"千岩万壑不辞劳。"
"The future emperor answered:
"未来的皇帝对了一句：
"From afar one sees the source is high."
"远看方知出处高。"
"Huangbo said:
"黄檗说：
"How can a mountain stream ever be contained?"
"溪涧岂能留得住。"
"The future emperor finished it:
"未来的皇帝收尾：
"In the end it becomes waves in the great sea."
"终归大海作波涛。"
The monk paused. He looked at Mingxin.
和尚停顿了一下。他看着明心。
"Do you see the difference? Both were looking at the same stream. One saw something that cannot be contained. The other saw something that becomes part of something larger. That's the difference in nature. Huangbo was a monk who saw freedom. The emperor saw destiny. Neither was wrong. But they were not the same."
"你看见区别了吗？两个人看同一条溪。一个看见了无法被束缚的东西。另一个看见了成为更大事物一部分的东西。那是种性的不同。黄檗是看见自由的僧人。皇帝看见了天命。两个都没错。但他们不一样。"
He took a sip of tea.
他呷了一口茶。
"Your nature isn't good or bad. It just is. The question is whether you can recognize it. Whether you can stop selling the idle field and start living in it."
"你的本性不善不恶。它只是存在。问题是你认不认得它。你能不能停止买卖那块闲田地，开始住在里面。"
