974 Seeing Buddha (1/2)

A few days later, Ning Que, who was carrying Sangsang on his back, arrived at a field that was dozens of li away from the snow mountain. There were thousands of lakes and ponds with countless paths in between.

The banks of the ponds had willow trees and white and red lotuses. The green leaves of lotuses were like a dress, and the stems were all golden. It was very beautiful.

There were golden lights pervading the countless ponds, from lotus flowers to willow trees and even the pond water. That was the Light of Buddha.

The Light of Buddha was too bright, and the scene before them was too beautiful. Even though Ning Que held the big black umbrella very low, they couldn't avoid the ubiquitous light. Affected by the poisons in Sangsang's body, his chest and abdomen were in pain and his throat felt itchy, which was a sign that he was about to vomit blood.

This beautiful and holy world was the real Buddha land. He was sure that the Buddha was living here, but didn't know exactly where the Buddha was at this moment.

He searched the ponds with Sangsang on his back. Stepping on the narrow dirt road between the ponds and pushing aside the willow branches in front of him, he was extremely patient and looked for signs of the Buddha among the lotuses and lake stones.

Sangsang was silent the whole time. After a long time of watching Ning Que's aimless searching, she couldn't help but ask, ”Do you know where the Buddha is?”

Ning Que said, ”I don't know.”

Sangsang said, ”Then what's the point of looking around?”

Ning Que answered ”The Buddha will wake up as long as we see him, so looking around is the right way to find him.”

The Buddha would show up if seen. Ning Que walked through the golden pond with Sangsang on his back, looking at the lotuses in the pool, the clear water in the ponds, the mud at the bottom of the water, the lotus roots in the mud, the stones by the pond, the willow trees, and the golden cicada on the willow trees. And he rarely blinked, for he feared that he might miss the Buddha.

One day, while listening to the croaks from the lotus field, he thought for a while, then put Sangsang down and jumped into the water. He caught a fat frog in the depths of the lotus field.

He lifted the frog to his eyes and stared at it for a long time. The frog opened its round eyes and stared back at him. Ning Que and the frog just kept staring at each other for quite a while.

At the end, Ning Que's eyes began to get sore and silently shed tears. Sangsang taunted in his heart, ”Even though you think the thing you are doing now is indeed stupid, it's not worth crying.”

Ning Que was a little annoyed and explained, ”My eyes are sore.”

Sangsang said, ”You shouldn't stare at the frog for too long.”

Ning Que answered, ”I have looked at so many flowers, willows, and stones, but I still can't find the Buddha. After thinking it over and over again, I think the frogs in the pond are most likely to be the Buddha. Of course I have to look carefully.”

Sangsang was somewhat puzzled and asked, ”How could the Buddha be a frog?”

Ning Que replied seriously, ”The Buddhist scriptures said that the Buddha was a prince of a small country when he lived in the human world, and Ksitigarbha confirmed the story that day. So there is a chance that he may turn into a frog.”

Sangsang was even more puzzled and asked, ”What is the relationship between the frog and the prince?”

Ning Que said, ”Have you never heard of the famous story of The Frog Prince?”

Sangsang remembered the story and asked, ”Is it the fairy tale you told me when I was little?”

Ning Que nodded and said, ”The prince turned into a frog. Isn't this a hint?”

Sangsang said, ”Then you have to kiss it.”