Abandoning Attachment

 The video clip I recorded and uploaded to social media a couple of days ago—showing me playing "Traces of the Monk in Cold Mountain" on a xiao—has received a lot of attention. This song is a typical example of a simple melody with a deep philosophy. It tells the story of a man climbing Cold Mountain to visit a monk and find answers to a puzzle of life. Unfortunately, he failed to meet the monk. However, as he was leaving, he was suddenly enlightened by the mountain view, realizing that his puzzle was actually caused by the attachment of his own mind.

I have never been to Cold Mountain. When I was playing the music, I was reminded of Yutai Temple on Guifeng Mountain in my hometown. I visited there almost every Lunar New Year when I was young. My most memorable experience was in 2008, a few months before I graduated with a bachelor's degree. I knelt before the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva and shook the bamboo container holding the fortune sticks. It was a traditional practice to obtain guidance from the Bodhisattva by drawing a stick.

"Congratulations!" the staff member responsible for interpreting the stick told me. "This is a good stick. The story is about Shang Lu in ancient times. He took first place as the Zhuangyuan in the imperial examination. Are you a high school student who is going to take the university entrance examination?" he asked.

"No, I am already a university student, and I will graduate in July," I told him. "I asked Guanyin Bodhisattva for guidance on how to find a suitable job."

"If you're an undergraduate student graduating this year, then the Bodhisattva's instruction is likely to continue your studies for a postgraduate degree—preferably a PhD if you can. I think nowadays a bachelor's degree is very common and doesn't compare to being a Zhuangyuan in the old days. I think a PhD degree is a better match," he said.

While I was playing the music, I was recalling this past event while also reflecting on the story behind the music. I achieved an emotional depth in my playing that I normally couldn't produce. From the view count and the feedback from the audience, I know that I interpreted this piece of music well.