The female hermit in Zhong Nanshan once meditated 108 days and lived in seclusion for more than 40 years. Why does her son want her to leave?

In the fast pace of modern society, many people yearn for seclusion because of the heavy burden and pressure of work and life.

Because of the responsibility of supporting the family, we can only watch the videos of Li and his brothers online to express our feelings.

Some people will resolutely leave everything behind and go back to Shan Ye, where they can really get peace of mind in their simple and hard seclusion.

Recently, we can see that many young people gave up the opportunity to work hard in big cities and came to Zhong Nanshan to build their own huts, satisfying their romantic dreams of bathing in the forest air in the morning and looking up at the starry sky at night with the lowest material quality.

However, most people who lived in seclusion in Zhong Nanshan at first had their own beliefs and practiced in seclusion.

Wang Zhixia, 88, is such a hermit. She believes in Buddhism and lives in seclusion in a small hut in Zhong Nanshan, leading a very simple material life and extremely satisfying spiritual life.

Many people of the older generation will have the idea of believing in Buddhism to some extent. Even some young people will ask Buddha and Bodhisattva for blessing in the circle of friends before various exams.

However, Wang Zhixia, who will be introduced next, is not just a believer at this level.

Wang Zhixia is a native of Liu Xi, Chang 'an County, Xi 'an, Shaanxi Province. Since she was taken to the temple by her parents to burn incense when she was very young, Wang Zhixia has been a Buddhist since she was seven years old. However, at that time, Wang Zhixia, even though she believed in Buddhism, did not fully convert to Buddhism. But get married and have children like ordinary Buddhists.

But at the age of 43, I don't know what happened in my life or my mood suddenly changed. Perhaps my yearning for Buddhism has been awakened again. Wang Zhixia suddenly chose to convert to Buddhism and came to Xi Ji Xiang Temple.

A few years later, in order to make myself more able to meditate, I left the temple and came. I built a small temple called "Three Temples" on the mountainside of Xiaowutai Mountain and renamed it "Wang Charity Society". I lived there, studied Buddhism and lived in seclusion.

Wang Zhixia has lived in seclusion in a hut next to three temples for more than forty years.

Young people in many cities who are eager to retire to the mountains may be discouraged by this hard living condition when they see the hut where Wang Zhixia lives.

The huts in Wang Zhixia are much simpler than the villages in the city and the rooms in the basement now. Buddhist children who used to practice in the mountains used to use this humble residence to temper their minds.

Without water, electricity and internet, this environment can simply discourage almost all internet addiction teenagers.

Not to mention the hardships of carrying water and sweeping the floor, because of the dangers of Zhong Nanshan Mountain Road, it is also very difficult to buy daily necessities down the mountain, which requires a lot of exercise.

Because there is no electricity, studying Buddhist scriptures at night is also illuminated by candlelight. On cold days, there is no heating facility to dispel the cold. Now we ordinary people have heating, air conditioning, electric heaters and so on. Heating the house in winter. In the worst case, there will be electric blankets, electric hot water bottles and warm babies.

But these are all things that Rainbow Zhixia, a Buddhist hermit, can't have. Because the windows of the hut are all made of paper, Wang Zhixia can only use the most primitive way-thick clothes to keep out the cold.

It seems to travel through time and space and return to distant ancient times.

Some people may ask, is it worth living in seclusion in Zhong Nanshan after so many hardships?

If you throw this question directly to Wang Zhixia, the 88-year-old man will definitely answer with a smile, which is certainly worthwhile.

Wang Zhixia is a very optimistic and open-minded old man.

Unlike many people who live in seclusion, Wang Zhixia doesn't hate communicating with others, and even likes to communicate with others about Buddhism and feelings. When it comes to music, she will dance and call herself a "crazy old woman" with a childlike innocent smile.

Many people will also ask her how to pray for Buddha's blessing. This wise old man will sincerely tell them that Buddha will not arrange a person's own life, but should have a sincere heart to understand life. These words can help countless people who have lost their way, and let us see the shining Buddha nature of Wang Zhixia.

Because it is very hard to take care of his seclusion and a lot of exercise, although Wang Zhixia is an 80-year-old man, his health is still very good, which is better than many young people who work overtime and become sub-healthy in many cities.

According to Wang Zhixia's self-report, she has the longest continuous meditation experience 108 days. I have to say that Wang Zhixia, who can meditate for hundreds of days in a row, is better than most people in the world in this respect.

Wang Zhixia's seclusion is a very healthy attitude towards life. Her seclusion is not evasive or passive. As I said before, Buddhists often live in seclusion for practice.

Nowadays, many people's attitude towards life is to enjoy, keep their appetite alive and enjoy a luxurious and flashy life. In this case, it is easy for people to lose themselves in the pursuit of desire.

Buddhists such as Wang Zhixia will actively restrain their desire for foreign things and give up these temptations that can only bring temporary happiness, but are empty and have no connotation, so as to pursue their own hearts and learn the truth.

For them, the truth is contained in Buddhism, in their own hearts, and in mountains and rivers. These are what they have to experience and feel when they live in seclusion.

Wang Zhixia, and more Buddhists like her, will immerse themselves in the mysterious realm that echoes with nature and truth, temper their souls in seclusion, and pursue this wisdom all their lives.

In this process, Wang Zhixia gained a lot and lost a lot.

Wang Zhixia had a family before he converted to Buddhism. After making a major decision to convert to Buddhism, her family and children also retained her. However, Wang Zhixia is determined to leave this world of mortals and let her feel real peace, because she is getting closer to Buddhism.

Wang Zhixia, who left home, lived a hard and secluded life. Many years later, Wang Zhixia's children should get married when they grow up, but she still lived in seclusion in Zhong Nanshan for more than ten years.

Before her son got married, he also invited her down the mountain, but Wang Zhixia refused. Because for her now, family kinship, like previous lives, is an irreversible past.

A text we learned before, Preface to Sending Ma Sheng to Dongyang, said: "Those who enjoy it don't know that their mouths and bodies are not like people." This sentence also applies to Wang Zhixia, a reclusive old man. Although she lost the happiness of family life and good living conditions, the inner satisfaction she got was unimaginable.

In any case, in this materialistic society, it is indeed a clean stream in the world to pursue one's own heart and live in seclusion-Rainbow and Zhixia. Maybe we can't leave everything behind and retire like her, but at least we can try our best to keep our original heart like her and not be polluted by the world.