Honestly, I've never been able to tell whether Coach Ma was joking or serious when he asked me to go to Jizu Mountain to seek enlightenment with him. But at this moment, I'm certain he wasn't joking, because the look in his eyes was full of longing. In his eyes, it seemed that only turning to Buddha was the only way for me, Michael, to survive. And if he could help me, it would add a merit to his compassionate Buddhist practice. These merits are like steps on his path of reincarnation, which will eventually help him reach the peak of bliss.
From this perspective, he also possessed it, but it was more forward-looking and of a higher level than ours, because we comprehended life and death, while he comprehended the Tao that transcends life and death.
I finally spoke to Coach Ma and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I'd rather live as a villain in this glamorous world than become a holy monk on Jizu Mountain."
Coach Ma tried to persuade me, but I waved my hand to stop him from continuing. Then I said to him seriously, "Let's not talk nonsense anymore. I invited you out because I have something serious to talk about... Last night, I met with Taozi... You heard me right, I'm talking about Taozi, the Taozi who's so in love with Tienan!"
Coach Ma looked at me for a while before saying, "What were you talking about?"
"She gave me a bank card with one million yuan in it, so that Tie Nan could have a livelihood after he got out... You know the conflict between Tie Nan and me, if I were to handle this, I would definitely mess it up; your relationship with Tie Nan is different, so it's safest for you to handle this... Remember two principles: first, Tie Nan can't know that the money was given to him by Tao Zi; second, he has to accept the money with dignity... Think it over carefully."
Coach Ma frowned and thought for a moment, then replied, "This is not difficult... I will donate this money to our temple as incense money, and then when Tie Nan comes out, I will reserve a spot for him to go up the mountain; from then on, the temple will be his support, ensuring that he will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life, truly achieving a life where he has someone to rely on and someone to take care of him in his old age."
"Bullshit... This is money that Peach earned by sacrificing her entire life... Are you a monster?"
Coach Ma remained unmoved and calmly replied, "Taozi sacrificed his entire life to get this money; Tienan would also have to sacrifice his entire life to get this money... Don't you think that's fair?"
I was speechless for a long time before finally replying, "Is this how Buddhas do things?"
"You'll gradually come to understand the wisdom within... Give me the card first."
I took my bank card out of my wallet, but the moment I handed it to Coach Ma, I felt something was very wrong. Coach Ma had already reached out his hand, and as he pulled it away from mine, I pulled it back forcefully, instantly creating a power struggle, to the point that both of us looked a little ferocious.
Coach Ma is a vegetarian, so he couldn't beat me, the meat-eater. He struggled for a long time, but in the end, the card was still there.
It's in my hands.
Coach Ma seemed a little embarrassed. He withdrew his hand before I could react, but still maintained a composed demeanor. Then he said to me, "You don't trust me?"
“I’m not joking with you, and this million isn’t something to joke about; if you really use it to add incense to your temple, I’ll never be able to face Taozi again for the rest of my life!”
Coach Ma thought for a moment and then asked, "You know the password for this card, right?"
"Know."
"Okay then, I'll keep the card for now, and you can keep the PIN... As for how to proceed from here, we'll see how Tie Nan is after he comes out... If he's willing to come to Jizu Mountain, there's no point in keeping this money; it's better to donate it to the temple. If he still prefers this glamorous world, then I'll find a way to give him the money, and he can spend it however he wants."
I stared at Coach Ma for a long time, feeling the hairs on my body stand on end... I always thought that his advice to me to turn to Buddhism was partly a joke or a tease, but now it seems that he is 100% serious, because he has already started to use methods to persuade people to turn to Buddhism... Not only me, but Tie Nan is also his target.
Iron Man's willpower is not as strong as mine, and with such a heavy blow, he might actually be sent to Jizu Mountain by Coach Ma. Wouldn't that mean I would be doing Peach a disservice?
While I was still in a daze, Coach Ma quickly snatched the bank card from my hand and put it in his cloth bag. He was satisfied, but I became more and more terrified.
...
I was not satisfied with how I handled this matter, so much so that I had no appetite. Seeing that Coach Ma had finished eating, I called the waiter to pay the bill, but Coach Ma was very polite to me and insisted on splitting the bill.
I said to him again, "It's not worth it to just offer you a bowl of noodles!"
The Buddha said: Fairness... each person pays their own share.
Not wanting to waste time on a bowl of noodles, I took out half a coin from my wallet; the next moment, Coach Ma also took out a 50% off voucher from his cloth bag and placed it neatly next to his bowl.
I couldn't help but exclaim, "That's fucking fair!"
...
After parting ways with Coach Ma, I went to a bar again… At that moment, the bar was only half full, but for daytime, that was already quite a high occupancy rate… I found a seat by the window, smoked a cigarette, and drank a can of “Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon” liquor. Then it started raining outside again, a strong sign that winter was approaching. The weather forecast said that tomorrow's temperature would drop to minus one degree Celsius, which is extremely rare in Dali. This caught my friends who run guesthouses completely off guard, and they were all busy buying electric blankets, heaters, and other warm equipment for their guests.
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