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Chapter 68: Watching the Sunset While Reciting Buddha's Epithet That day, dusk befell as rays of sunlight illuminated the evening sky. The sun was just about to drop over the horizon. The sun was as round as an egg and as red as an egg yolk, like a circular saucer, entirely bright but not offending to the eye. I looked around. Behind me were undulating hills, shaping into a valley that wrapped around my two sides. In front of me was a brightly blazing ball of fire, swiveling, being eaten up bit by bit by the horizon. Sunsets are always beautiful. The setting sun is forever bloodshot,
forever gentle. The great sun seemed to be quivering and jumping about, so that one could almost hear a sound when it entered the sea. It was as if the sun was tiptoeing on the horizon, but took a fall and as a result, crimson paint spilled across the surface of the vast ocean. This scenery would forever be etched into my heart - Ah! It was at Puerto Vallarta in Mexico that we watched the sunset together. Behind us was a mountain village, in front of us the sea, and to our left and right highways flanked the coastline, but the lights were not lit. The sunset was serene and enchanting. Also present at Puerto Vallarta were Master Lian Xiang, Lotus Su Ming, and four little girls from Los Angeles. "Life offers little opportunity for such a rare treat!" I said. "How many times can we watch the sunset together?" "Once," I answered. "Why once?" "This would be the only occasion where we would find ourselves all together, at the same place and time, would it not?" "This is worth treasuring!" Everyone was very quiet, watching the sun slowly sink into the sea, until it totally disappeared. No one spoke a word. "Amitabha." No one really knew who recited the Buddha's epithet, but all who watched the sunset pressed their palms together at that moment. Today, I am watching the sunset around my little hut of seclusion and retreat. The only difference is that now it's only me, the solitary old man. I recited the Buddha's epithet facing the sunset. Unknowingly, tears swept across my face!
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