I am a bead of prayer beads in front of the Buddha.

I was originally a cloud, drifting gently above the River of Forgetfulness, without sorrow or joy, only attachment. After a heavy fog, I seemed to fall asleep, and when I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on a lotus petal, bright and translucent. That fog had changed my appearance.

I came from the clouds and descended onto the petals of a blue lotus, becoming a dewdrop on the blue lotus. The blue lotus was as gentle as water, with a faint fragrance, giving me a sense of happiness. Since then, I have been with the blue lotus, watching the bright moon and stars, the sunrise and sunset together.

The flowing river is as warm as jade. The Buddha often stands by the riverbank. When a gentle breeze comes, one can hear the deep and melodious chants. Every day, I and the blue lotus are bathed in this sacred sound. The blue lotus often cries to me, saying that I am like a pearl, but I say that I would rather be a necklace for her neck. Each time, the blue lotus's sadness becomes more intense. She says that I will leave eventually; she says that her petals cannot forever hold a necklace. I know it's true because I am just a dewdrop on the blue lotus.

My previous life was a cloud. By chance, I became a dewdrop, landing on the petals of the blue lotus. What else could I ask for? I just need to listen to the Buddha's preaching every day, silently follow the Buddha's preaching, and only hope that I can accompany the blue lotus for a little longer.

This went on for countless lifetimes. One day, I suddenly found myself and the blue lotus in the palm of the Buddha, and I had become a bead in the Buddha's hand. Looking at the blue lotus, she was still blooming slightly in the River of Forgetfulness, without me. The blue lotus was still gentle, emitting a quiet fragrance. She knew all along that I would leave, but she didn't know where I would go. I suddenly realized that my heart was full of images of the blue lotus. I realized that I had fallen in love with the blue lotus! I don't know if she will remember me, the dewdrop on her petals that wanted to be her necklace. I think she has already forgotten me. She knew all along that I would leave eventually.

The River of Forgetfulness clearly reflects all the sorrows and reunions, joys and worries of the human world. I know that this is what the Buddha calls the state of sentient beings. Countless sentient beings experience their past lives and future lives every year and every night. The Buddha looks upon all this silently from above the sentient beings. I often wonder why the Buddha does not transform all these people, why let them endure trials and tribulations through many lifetimes?

I once asked the Buddha, why does the Buddha claim to be able to save all sentient beings, yet sentient beings are always caught in the cycle of gain and loss, experiencing small joys and sorrows? Why doesn't the Buddha liberate them? The Buddha gently opened his eyes and said: "The Buddha must consider the karmic connection. Every sentient being must undergo tests and trials to gain wisdom and understanding. Without experiences, they cannot awaken, and without awakening, they naturally cannot attain liberation. The Buddha originally came from the human world, and after undergoing countless trials and minor awakenings, he became the Buddha."

In fact, I know this. I am a bead in the Buddha's hand, passing through the Buddha's fingers every day. I know the Buddha's kindness, but I still cannot bear to see the myriad states of the human world reflected in the River of Forgetfulness, especially the various tears streaming down the faces of men and women. I do not know if the blue lotus sees all this, nor do I know what thoughts arise in her heart.

The blue lotus behind the Buddha always listens quietly to the chants, unwilling to utter a single word. I do not know what she is thinking, she always lowers her head, silent like entering meditation. I often see the Buddha looking lovingly at the blue lotus, sometimes sighing lightly. Each time, I begin to roll in the Buddha's hand.

I think humans and the blue lotus must lack a karmic connection. I was originally a cloud. If there was a connection, how could I have become a dewdrop on the blue lotus, accompanying her through countless lifetimes? I asked the Buddha, but the Buddha did not answer me. He just let me pass through his fingers as usual. I also heard the conversation between the Buddha and the blue lotus. The Buddha only wanted the blue lotus to bloom beautifully.

The blue lotus no longer recognizes me. I have become a bead in the Buddha's hand. But I can see the blue lotus every day, that faint purple hue bringing a tranquil lotus fragrance.

And so, under the River of Forgetfulness, the blue lotus blooms gently. The Buddha chants solemnly, and I gaze at the blue lotus in the Buddha's hand. Days pass, and the human world experiences countless seasons. I worry about spending my days with the Buddha, gazing at the blue lotus.

One day, the blue lotus told the Buddha that she wanted to go to the human world. I know the blue lotus cannot go to the human world. She is a fairy in the River of Forgetfulness, how can she descend into the mundane world to experience human karmic connections? Unless a bead in the Buddha's hand is willing to exchange its place for her time in the human world.

I may not be human, but I cannot bear to see the blue lotus wither gradually. Therefore, I pleaded with the Buddha, saying I am willing to exchange my place for the blue lotus's time in the human world. The Buddha asked if I knew that if I exchanged places with her, I would never return to the Buddha's hand. I said I knew, for the sake of the blue lotus, I am willing to do so. Since I have been so closely connected with the blue lotus, I cannot bear to see her wither. The Buddha sighed: "Karma, karma, these two foolish ones."

I begged the Buddha not to tell the blue lotus that it was me who exchanged my place for her time in the human world. I requested the Buddha not to let her drink the water of the River of Forgetfulness when she left, I want the blue lotus to forget everything here. I know the time I can exchange for the blue lotus is limited. Ultimately, she will have to return here. The Buddha agreed. The Buddha looked at me lovingly, and also looked at the blue lotus lovingly.

Thus, the Buddha held the blue lotus in his palm and sent her into the mundane world.

The blue lotus became a person, a girl. In the winter of the year she was born, all the ponds were filled with lotus flowers. Among these countless lotus flowers, those in the village where the blue lotus lived were the most exquisite. In this pool of exquisite lotus flowers, a pale purple lotus flower was the most beautiful - the blue lotus from the River of Forgetfulness had a light purple hue. Thus, the blue lotus was given a real name: Handedan, bestowed upon her by her father in the human world.

On the third day after the birth of the blue lotus, the Buddha brought me to the blue lotus's home. I saw the blue lotus, no, I saw Handedan, a graceful girl with a clear and beautiful face. Since then, the world has another way to describe a beautiful girl: "a lotus emerging from water." Yes, the blue lotus was originally a lotus emerging from water. I do not know if the blue lotus noticed the beads in the Buddha's hand.

The blue lotus grew up slowly in the human world. Time flows really fast in the human world. The blue lotus grew into a beautiful young woman. She particularly liked light purple. She loved going to the large pond by the village to look at lotus flowers. She often recalled her life in the River of Forgetfulness, the chants, the tranquility, the bamboo groves, the bright moon, but she never knew that a bead in the Buddha's hand was often watching her.

When the blue lotus was fourteen years old, she met Qing, a man she admired deeply. I later learned that the blue lotus came to this world to love someone, someone the Buddha had chosen for her long ago. Yet my heart still couldn't help but ache. The time I could give to the blue lotus was limited. Blue Lotus, my Blue Lotus, the Blue Lotus from the River of Forgetfulness, I only wish to see you smile happily.

Qing often waited for the blue lotus by the pond. Then he began to imitate her poetry, her calligraphy. One day, Qing held the blue lotus's hand and said: "Through life and death, I will be pleased to be with you; holding your hand, I will grow old with you." The blue lotus cried deeply at Qing. I saw the touching tenderness overflow from the blue lotus's eyes. I wished I could be the one saying these words, but alas, I am just a bead in the Buddha's hand. I can only silently gaze at the blue lotus. Happy blue lotus, during that time, rarely went to see the lotus flowers anymore. The lotus pond became lonely, just like the River of Forgetfulness without the blue lotus.

When the blue lotus was eighteen years old, she married Qing. Qing called her Water Lotus. Qing loved her so much that the blue lotus almost forgot her time in the River of Forgetfulness, forgot her days with the Buddha before.

I still gaze at the blue lotus every day. She is Qing's happy daughter, and also the reason for my sacrifice. The Buddha still sighs softly, chanting softly, and I roll slowly or quickly in the Buddha's fingers. And at that time, Water Lotus, except for Qing, could no longer hear or see anything else, could no longer recall the dewdrop on the blue lotus petals, and I also sighed constantly.

After a long while, I do not know, people only know that changes in the human world happen very fast. One day, I suddenly felt that the blue lotus started to miss the days in the River of Forgetfulness, and the blue lotus started to be unhappy again. I do not understand why, so I asked the Buddha. The Buddha said that when accepting happiness, one must also accept the pain that comes with it. Sorrow and pain are originally twin sisters. The Buddha said that when the blue lotus truly gains love, it will be time for her to return to the River of Forgetfulness. I hope so much that the blue lotus can gain true love later, and return to the River of Forgetfulness earlier. Although I know that when the blue lotus returns, it will also be time for me to leave.