Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, Altar Sutra

Chapter 13
Xiu Nai thought, it's better to write a book in the corridor. Seeing from his monk, if he suddenly said something good, he went out to worship, and the cloud is a show.If the way is unbearable, what way should one practice in the mountains for several years and be worshiped by others?

It was the third watch of the night, and without letting others know, I held up a lamp and wrote verses on the wall of the south corridor, presenting what I saw in my heart.The verse says:
The body is a bodhi tree, and the mind is like a mirror.

Wipe it frequently so as not to cause dust.

After Xiushu wrote the gatha, he went back to his room, and people never knew.Xiufu thought: The fifth patriarch will be happy to see the verse tomorrow, that is, I have a predestined relationship with the Dharma.Thinking in the room, restless until five o'clock.

注释
① Sea of ​​life and death suffering: Buddhism believes that people are in the six delusional worlds of heaven, man, asura, hungry ghost, animal, and hell, where life and death are continuous and endless.Symmetrical to "Nirvana".The sea of ​​suffering of life and death refers to the world of all kinds of suffering, that is, the three realms and six realms of life and death samsara.All living beings sink into the misery of the Three Realms, boundless, just like sinking in the ocean and it is difficult to get out, so it is compared with the vast and boundless sea.

②Prajna: Also known as Boruo, Prajna, and Borajna.Sanskrit transliteration.Literally translated as Hui, Wisdom.The profound wisdom of seeing all things and truths clearly is called Prajna.

③ Verse (jì): Translated into Song.Psalmists, beautiful songs too.It generally refers to a kind of rhyming diction that is slightly similar to poetry, whether it is three words, four words or even more words, usually a gatha of forty days.Commonly used in Buddhist scriptures.

④ Clothing method: refers to clothing and method.In the inheritance of Zen Buddhism, the teaching of the Dharma by the teacher and the disciples is represented by the cassock given, and passing on the clothes is the meaning of teaching the Dharma.The heart method is transmitted internally to confirm the Buddhist heart and purpose of the sect, and the monk's clothes are transmitted externally to show the faithfulness of the master's inheritance.Clothing, pointing out the cassock of the family.Dharma, orthodox Dharma, refers to the letter of teaching Dharma.

⑤ Thinking is useless: It shows that Zen believes that if you want to understand the original mind, it is useless to think and analyze, and it cannot be achieved.To consider means to consider and measure the truth.

⑥Lun Dao Going to Battle: Refers to going to battle, dancing the sword like a spinning wheel.

⑦Clarify the mind: make the mind calm and calm, and concentrate on thinking.

⑧Shenxiu Shangzu: Tang Dynasty Zen monk (605-706), one of the disciples of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren.A native of the Wei family in Bianzhou, the common surname is Li.He is eight feet long, has beautiful eyes, has majestic might and virtue, reads less scriptures and history, and is erudite.Go to Dongshan Temple in Shuangfeng, Qizhou, and visit the Five Patriarchs to seek Taoism.Hongren held him in high esteem and ordered him to be a teacher. Because he was the first among the five patriarchs, he was known as Master Shenxiu.After Hongren passed away, Master Shenxiu moved to Dangyang Mountain in Jiangling to teach the Dharma, and his moral reputation was greatly acclaimed.In the Zen sect, he and Huineng are called "Southern Energy and Northern Beauty".The northern sect of Zen is different from the "sudden enlightenment" theory of the southern sect. Its teaching method advocates the theory of gradual enlightenment, so the history of Zen is called "Southern Sudden and Northern Gradual".In the second year of Shenlong (706), Shenxiu passed away and lived one or two years.Shangzuo refers to the name of the monastery's monk position. Before Tang Dynasty, Shangzuo was the head of the temple, and after Tang Dynasty, Shangzuo was the position under the abbot of Zen temples.

⑨Professor: It is a trainer who is responsible for teaching disciples' dignity and manners, and teaches monks who have received full precepts about the manners of walking, sitting, sitting, and lying down.

[-] Relying on: It means to depend on and stop.It generally refers to relying on the place of the powerful and virtuous without leaving, also known as relying on.

B11 thinking: that is, thinking and reasoning.Thinking about the true truth is called right thinking, which is one of the Eightfold Paths; otherwise, it is called evil thinking (wrong thinking), which is one of the eight evils.

B12 Worship: official name.Refers to officials employed by the imperial court or the royal family, most of whom are good at various arts such as literature and fine arts.Langa Sutra: It is a Buddhist classic, its full name is "Langa Abadara Treasure Sutra" or "Into Lenga Sutra", four volumes, translated by Liu Songqiu Nabadara in the Southern Dynasties, collected in volume No. 16 of the Taisho Collection.Langa, the name of the mountain; Abaduoluo, the meaning of "entering".It means the precious sutra that the Buddha said when he came to this mountain. This sutra declares that everything in the world is created by the heart, and the object of human knowledge is not in the outside world but in the heart. The Lenga Sutra had a great influence on Chinese Zen.Disguise: Refers to the depiction of the Buddha's Jataka story, or the solemnity of the pure land, the appearance of hell, etc., according to the records of the classics, to promote the teachings.It is also used as image transformation and cross-painting, which is abbreviated as change.Changing means to change and transform, that is, to describe all kinds of real dynamics with pictures or sculptures.

B13 Support: The meaning of support, it means closeness, service, and respect to the superior, and the meaning of sympathy, pity, and love to the inferior.It is also used as an offering, offering, offering, and begging, which means offering food, clothes, etc. to the Three Jewels, teachers, parents, and the deceased.At the beginning, offerings were mainly physical behaviors, and later also included pure spiritual offerings, so there are status offerings and heart offerings.

B14 Heavy residential karma: also known as residential work.Buddhism says that karma refers to the good and evil karma created in the past life.Obstacles refer to troubles, troubles can hinder the holy way, hence the name barriers. "Heavy karma" refers to the heavy afflictions of bad karma done in the past life, which affect people's understanding of their original mind.

B15 Sacred Will: This refers to Hongren’s will.

Translation
One day, Master Hongren summoned all his disciples and said: "How to liberate people from life and death is a very important issue. You only know how to observe the precepts and practice good deeds all day long to pursue the blessings of human beings and heaven, but you don't know how to cultivate wisdom and get rid of the sea of ​​life and death. Your own Buddha If your nature is lost, how can doing meritorious deeds and seeking a field of blessings save you from the sea of ​​suffering? Go back, use your own wisdom to contemplate your original mind and self-nature, and write a gatha about recognizing the Buddhadharma and send it to me. If you have Whoever can understand the essence of Buddhism, I will pass on the mantle and teachings to him, and he will become the sixth-generation patriarch. You should go back and do it without delay. It is useless to think and analyze, because you can recognize your own mind and insight A person who is truly Buddha-nature can reveal it with just a few words. A person like this can see enlightenment even in the blink of an eye while swinging a knife like a wheel on the battlefield."

After listening to the order, everyone retreated and discussed with each other: "People like us don't need to think about and expend energy to compose gatha and present it to the master. It must belong to him; it is really a waste of energy for us people to take the liberty to write verses lightly." After hearing this, everyone gave up the idea of ​​verses, and said: "We will just follow Zen Master Shenxiu from now on, why bother?" What about verses?"

Shenxiu thought in his heart: Everyone doesn't write a verse to submit to the master because I am their teacher, but I have to write a verse to submit to the master.If I don’t submit a gatha, how will the Fifth Patriarch know whether my understanding of Buddhism is deep or shallow.If I write a verse to submit to the Fifth Patriarch, if it is for seeking the Dharma, then it is good. If it is for the purpose of obtaining the seat of the Sixth Patriarch, then it is not right. How is it different from ordinary people who are trying their best to seek the holy position?But if you don’t write a gatha and submit it, you won’t be able to obtain the Fa after all. It’s really too difficult, too difficult!

There are three corridors in front of the hall of the Fifth Patriarch. Originally, Lu Zhen was going to be enshrined here to draw the "Lenggao Sutra in Disguise" and "The Bloodline Map of the Five Patriarchs", which will be passed on forever and received by others.After Shenxiu finished writing the gatha, she wanted to present it to the Fifth Patriarch several times, but as soon as she got to the hall, she was so nervous that she was in a daze, sweating all over her body, and trying to submit the gatha was always unsuccessful.After four days, I wanted to submit it thirteen times, but I never had the courage to submit it.

Shenxiu thought again: Why don't I write the gatha I wrote in the corridor in front of the hall, and let the Fifth Patriarch see it. If I suddenly praised this gatha, I would come out and salute the Fifth Patriarch, explaining that it was written by me, Shenxiu. .If the Fifth Patriarch says this gatha is really not good, then even if I have cultivated in the mountains for so many years in vain, and I have been respected by everyone in vain, what else should I practice?
At three o'clock that night, Shenxiu secretly held a candle and wrote the finished gatha on the wall of the south corridor without letting others know, showing his understanding of Buddhism.The verse says this:
The body is a bodhi tree, and the mind is like a mirror.

Wipe it frequently to avoid dust.

After Shenxiu finished writing the gatha, she went back to her room, and the whole temple didn't know about it.Shenxiu thought again: If the Fifth Patriarch sees the gatha tomorrow, if he feels happy, it means that I have a predestined relationship with Buddhism.If it is really not possible, it means that my mind is still delusional, the sins of the previous life were too serious, and I should not have received the Buddhadharma, and the holy will of the Fifth Patriarch is really unpredictable.Shenxiu was thinking in the room, restless, tossing and tossing until five o'clock.

Original
The ancestors knew that Shenxiu hadn't gotten to the beginning, and he didn't see his self-nature.At dawn, the ancestor called Lu to worship, and painted pictures on the wall of the south corridor, and suddenly saw his gatha.Report: Worship without painting, Raul is far away.The scriptures say: All appearances are false.But keep this gatha and recite it with others.Practice according to this gatha, so as not to fall into the evil path②.According to this gatha practice, there are great benefits.Ask the disciples to burn incense and pay homage ③, and recite this gatha completely, and then you will see your nature.

The disciples recited the gatha, and they all lamented how good it is.

The ancestor called Xiu into the hall at the third watch, and asked, "Did you write the gatha?"
Xiuyan: It is really a show, and I dare not ask for the throne of my ancestors.Look at the compassion of the monk ⑤, see if the disciple has little wisdom?

The ancestor said: When you wrote this gatha, you did not see your true nature. You only went outside the door, not inside the door.With such a view, it is impossible to find the supreme Bodhi11.Unsurpassed Bodhi, one must know one's own original mind and see one's own original nature.Unborn and immortal⑦, at all times⑧, you can see yourself when you think about it⑨, all dharmas are without stagnation, one truth is all true, and all situations are free and easy⑩.Like the heart, that is the real B[-].If you see it like this, it is the self-nature of the Supreme Bodhisattva.You go to think about it for a day or two, and write a verse. In the future, I will read your verse, and if you enter the door, I will pay you the clothes.

Shenxiu bowed and came out, and after a few days, he couldn't finish the gatha, his mind was in a trance, his thoughts were restless, just like in a dream, and he was unhappy in walking and sitting.

Two days later, there was a boy B12 who passed B13 in Duifang and chanted his gatha.As soon as Huineng heard it, he knew that this gatha had not seen his true nature.Although I have not been taught, I have long been aware of the carelessness.Then he asked the boy, "What gatha are you reciting?"
The boy said: "You don't know this Liao."The master said that life and death are important matters in the world. If you want to pass on the Dharma, you will ask your disciples to compose a gatha to read it.If you realize the general idea, you will pay the clothes and become the sixth patriarch.Master Shenxiu wrote the Wuxiang verse on the wall of the south corridor, and the master made everyone recite it. If you practice according to this verse, you will avoid falling into the evil path.According to this gatha practice, there are great benefits.

Huineng said: I also want to recite this, so as to form a predestined relationship for future lives.Venerable Venerable B14, I have been stepping on the sandstone for more than eight months, but I have not walked to the front of the hall. I hope that the Venerable Venerable will lead me to pray before the gatha.

The boy leads to worship before the gatha.Huineng said: Huineng is illiterate, please ask the Master to read it for you.

From time to time, there was Biejia B15 in Jiangzhou. His surname was Zhang and his first name was Riyong, so he read it aloud.Huineng heard about it, so he said: "There is also a verse, I hope Biejia is a book."

Don't say: You also write gatha, which is rare.

注释
① All appearances are false: from the "Diamond Sutra", which means that all phenomena in the world are illusory and unreal.Phase refers to all tangible things and phenomena that can be felt by people.Emptiness means nothing.False, it is not true.False means false, untrue.

② Evil way: It is the symmetry of "good way", which is synonymous with "evil place", that is, it refers to the place of suffering and evil that one creates evil karma in life and goes to after death, mainly referring to hell.Among the six paths, hell, hungry ghosts, and animals are generally called the three evil paths, while Asura, the human world, and heaven are called the three good paths.

③ Sticking incense: that is, burning incense and burning incense.Respect: Also known as salute, that is, the meaning of worship and respect.

④ Shanzai: The words of praise are the words of praise that suit my wishes.In ancient India, this phrase was used when expressing approval during the meeting and resolution; and when Sakyamuni or other Buddhas agreed with the opinions of their disciples, they also issued this phrase.

⑤ Compassion: Compassion with Lemu, loving all living beings and giving happiness; eradicating suffering is compassion, feeling the same pain, sympathizing with all living beings and eradicating their suffering.Together they are called compassion.The Buddha's compassion is a state of sympathy for the suffering of all living beings, so it is called the great compassion of the same body; and because of its vast and endless compassion, it is called the great compassion of no cover.

⑥Supreme Bodhi: Refers to the supreme enlightenment.There are three classes of Bodhi: Buddha, Enlightened Enlightenment, and Shravaka. The enlightenment and wisdom obtained by each of their fruits is called Bodhi.Among them, the Bodhi obtained by the Buddha has no faults and is the ultimate ultimate, so it is called the supreme Bodhi.

⑦Unborn and Immortal: Birth and death refer to arising and extinction, which is synonymous with "life and death".The permanent existence that is separated from cause and condition and is eternal is the law of inaction, neither birth nor death, neither birth nor death.To exist according to the combination of causes and conditions is called birth; to disappear due to the separation of causes and conditions is called extinction.There is birth and death, which is the law of action, and there is no birth and death, which is the law of inaction. "Immortality and Immortality" is the relative term of "birth and death", an alias for permanent residence, and it also means eternal life.All Buddhist scriptures have nothing more than this meaning.

⑧In all times: refers to all times in the past, present and future, instant moment.All times refer to the endless time since beginningless, called all times.All times, including past, present, and future, are called all times.

⑨Thinking about self-seeing: Buddhism believes that the rapid change of things and phenomena is nothing more than the rise and fall of people's thoughts.Niannian means an instant, which means an extremely short period of time.

⑩Wanjingziruru: Wanjing refers to all realms, that is, all things and phenomena that people feel and think.Ruru, that is, "as true as".It is the state of self-nature that is immobile, silent, equal, and not upside down."Everything is free" means that everything is true and equal, and there is no difference.

B11 Truth: Free from delusion and delusion, it is called truth.Corresponding to "Convenience Right and Leave".Body and mouth are different, and words and thoughts are false, which is called hypocrisy.If the outside and the inside are the same, and there is no falsehood, then it is true.

B12 Tongzi: A title for young people in monasteries who have not officially become monks.

B13 Duifang: A room for pounding rice.

B14 Venerable Master: A person of supreme virtue.It is a respectful title for eminent monks who have both wisdom and virtue and can be the monks and teachers of all the monks. The volume of "Shishi Yaolan" says that there is wisdom and virtue inside, and superior deeds outside, and those who are above everyone are called masters.Later, it gradually became a respectful title for monks.This is Huineng's respectful title for the boy.

B15 Don't drive: official name.It was established in the Han Dynasty as the assistant of the governor.It got its name because when the state officials went out to patrol the jurisdiction, don't take a post car to accompany them.

Translation
The Fifth Patriarch had already understood that Shenxiu was not yet truly human, nor could he see his own mind and nature.After daybreak, the Fifth Patriarch invited Lu Zhen to worship and took him to the south porch to ask him to paint murals. When he suddenly saw this gatha written by Shenxiu, he declared to Lu Zhen: "I don't need to paint any more for offering. Please drive me all the way away." Come. The Buddhist scriptures say: All things that have a shape are illusory and unreal. Only leave this gatha for people to recite and uphold, and practice according to this gatha, so as to avoid falling into the evil way; according to Practicing the principles of this gatha will bring great benefits.” Then, the Fifth Patriarch asked his disciples to burn incense and salute, and all recite this gatha so that they can see their own nature.

The disciples recited this gatha according to the words of the Fifth Patriarch, and they all praised it with joy.

The Fifth Patriarch called Shenxiu to the hall at the third watch of the night and asked, "Did you write the gatha?"

Shenxiu replied: "It is indeed Shenxiu who did it. I don't dare to hope for the position of the sixth generation patriarch. I just hope that the master will show mercy and measure whether I still have a little wisdom as a disciple?"

The Fifth Patriarch said: "The gatha you have written has not yet realized your true nature. You have only entered the door and have not entered the room. According to this view, it is impossible to obtain the supreme enlightenment. The so-called supreme Enlightenment is the need to know the mind and see the nature at the moment. Realize that the Buddha nature of the original mind does not arise and destroy, and can be clearly understood at any time, in every thought, every moment, everywhere. All things and phenomena are inter-integrated Without hindrance, the nature of things is true, so all dharmas are true and true, and they are presented as they really are. Embodying the Buddha-nature, and presenting your own mind as it is, is real. If you have such a view, you will realize the nature of supreme enlightenment. You first Go back and think about it for a day or two, and write a new gatha for me to read. If the rewritten gatha shows that you have really started, I will pass on the mantle to you."

Shenxiu bowed to the Fifth Patriarch and withdrew.After a few more days, the gatha was still not completed, and my heart was in a trance all day long, and my spirit was restless, as if in a dream, and I was depressed when I walked, stood, sat, and lay down.

Two days later, a boy passed by Duifang, chanting the gatha written by Shenxiu.As soon as Huineng heard this verse, he knew that he had not realized the original mind and nature.Although Huineng had never received enlightenment, he had already understood the essence of Buddhism in his heart.So he asked the boy, "What gatha are you reciting?"

(End of this chapter)