Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, Altar Sutra

Chapter 31

This article describes the reasons why Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong sent their servant Xue Jian to invite the sixth patriarch Huineng to the palace to make offerings.Later, at the request of Xue Jian, the master gave a lecture, and analyzed for him the disadvantages of sitting meditation that the Northern School blindly emphasized. , the real way to obtain the Dharma lies in self-realization, and then points out that "afflictions are Bodhi", which shows the ideological purpose of seeking liberation in the world, and realizing Nirvana without separation from life and death.It shows the world to stand on the present and affirm life.This has profound inner guiding significance for the later modern humanistic Buddhism.Finally, Xue Jian's performance and the imperial court's reward were explained.

Original
On the first day of Shangyuan in the first year of Shenlong, Zetian Zhongzong said: I invite the second master Anxiu to make offerings in the palace.In the spare time of all opportunities, every time one multiplies ④.The second master pushed and said: "There is a Zen master Neng in the south, who secretly taught Master Ninja the clothes and the Buddha's heart seal, please ask him."Today, Xue Jian, the internal servant, is dispatched to welcome the invitation. I hope that the master will be kind and go to Beijing as soon as possible.

The master expresses his illness and wishes to die in Lin Lu.

注释
① Shangyuan Day in the first year of Shenlong: Shenlong is the year name of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, and the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is Shangyuan.

② Zetian Zhongzong: Refers to Empress Dowager Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong Li Xian.

③Second Master Anxiu: "An" refers to Hui'an Guoshi, a disciple of Hongren, who was valued by Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong.Because he lives in Songshan, he is also called Songshan Hui'an. There is a biography in Volume [-] of "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records". "Xiu" refers to Master Shenxiu of the Northern School.

④ One vehicle: Seal refers to the Buddha vehicle, and it is also called one Buddha vehicle, one vehicle teaching, one vehicle ultimate teaching, one vehicle method, one way, etc.Multiplication means "means of transportation", and here refers to the teaching method of becoming a Buddha.The teaching of Buddhism is the only truth, because it can teach all living beings to become Buddhas, so it is called the One Vehicle.

Translation
On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of Emperor Zhongzong's Shenlong (705), the Empress Dowager Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhongzong issued an edict, saying: "I welcome the two masters of Songshan Hui'an and Jingnan Yuquan Temple to come to the palace and sincerely make offerings. When I had free time, I asked the two masters for advice and studied Buddhism. The two masters were very humble and recommended Master Huineng. They said: "There is a master Huineng in the south who secretly received the mantle and teachings from the fifth patriarch Hongren. You can invite him to come to the palace to ask him for advice after passing on the heart seal of the Dharma. 'Now I send my servant Xue Jian to deliver an edict to welcome the master, and I hope the master will be merciful and rush to the capital immediately."

Master Huineng submitted a seal, declined the invitation on the grounds of physical illness, and expressed his willingness to live in the mountains and forests forever until the end of his life.

Original
Xue Jian said: The virtues of Zen in the capital all say: If you want to know the way, you must sit in meditation and practice meditation; if you don't get liberation through meditation, you will never have it.What did the uncensored judge say?

The master said: The Tao comes from the mind, how can it be sitting?The scriptures say: If you talk about the Tathagata, if you sit, if you lie down, you are walking in an evil way.why?Nothing comes from, nothing goes, no birth and no death, this is the Tathagata's pure meditation; all dharmas are empty and quiet, this is the Tathagata's pure sitting.After all, there is no certificate, let alone sitting?
Jian said: "When the disciples return to Beijing, the Lord will ask them."May the teacher be merciful, give instructions to the heart, and pass it on to the two palaces and the Taoists in the capital.For example, one lamp, but hundreds of thousands of lamps, all of them are bright, and the brightness is endless.

Shi Yun: Dao has no light and shade, and light and shade are the meaning of metabolism.Obviously endless, there is also endless, waiting for each other to establish a name.Therefore, the Jingming Sutra says: Dharma is incomparable, and there is no mutual treatment.Jian said: It is a metaphor for wisdom and a metaphor for troubles.People who practice the Tao, if they don't use wisdom to break through afflictions, life and death without beginning, how can they leave?
The teacher said: Afflictions are Bodhi, there is no difference.If one uses wisdom to shed light on afflictions, this is the view of the two vehicles, sheep and deer wait for opportunity ②; the great root of wisdom is not as good as this.

Jane said: How is Mahayana view?
The teacher said: Brightness and ignorance[-], ordinary people see two; wise people understand, their nature is the same.The nature of nonduality is reality.Those who are true to nature, do not decrease when they are foolish, do not increase when they are sages, live in afflictions and do not become chaotic, and live in meditation but do not remain silent.Constantly infrequent, neither coming nor going, not in the middle, and inside and outside.It is neither born nor destroyed, its nature is the same, it is permanent and does not move, and it is called the Tao.

Jian said: The teacher said that there is no birth and no death, how is it different from heretics?
The teacher said: Heretics say that there is no birth and no death, they will stop life after death, and show death by birth, and death is still immortal, and life says no birth.When I say that there is no birth and no death, it has no birth in itself, and it is also immortal today, so it is different from heretics.If you want to know the essentials of your mind, but don’t think about all good and evil, you will naturally enter a pure mind body, deep and eternally silent, and use the constant sand wonderfully.

Jianmeng enlightened him suddenly.The etiquette is returned to the que, and the words of the teacher are played.

注释
① Tathagata Pure Chan: The abbreviation of "Tathagata Chan", one of the four kinds of Zen mentioned in the "Langa Sutra".The Zen directly transmitted by the Tathagata or the meditation obtained by the Tathagata, that is, enter the Tathagata's land, realize the three kinds of happiness of the holy wisdom, and show the inconceivable vast and wonderful use for the benefit of all living beings.It is also one of the five kinds of Zen (Five Flavors Zen).Zongmi divides Zen into five types, among which the "Supreme Vehicle Zen" is called Tathagata Pure Chan (abbreviated as Tathagata Zen), also known as One-Year Samadhi and Zhenru Samadhi.The purport of this Zen is to suddenly realize that one's own mind is originally pure and free from troubles, possessing the wisdom of no leaks, and this kind of pure mind is no different from Buddha, and this mind is Buddha.

② Two-way view, sheep and deer wait for opportunity: Two-way refers to the vehicle of sound and hearing and the vehicle of predestined enlightenment.Sheep and deer refer to sheep carts and deer carts.Here it refers to the fact that there are few sentient beings who are enlightened by the two vehicles.For details, please refer to the note of "Three Cars" in the seventh article.

③ Ming and ignorance: Ming is wisdom and knowledge.Therefore, the semantic meaning of "ignorance" is ignorance.Ignorance is another name for affliction, that is, not knowing the truth and ignoring things.

Translation
Xue Jian said: "All the Zen masters in the capital said: 'If you want to understand Buddhism, you must practice meditation; if you can get liberation without practicing meditation, such a person has never appeared.' I don’t know. Master, what is the teaching method that you are talking about?"

Master Huineng said: "Becoming a Buddha depends on self-enlightenment. How can it be in long-term meditation? The Buddhist scriptures say: 'If the Buddha seems to be sitting or lying down, then he is practicing evil ways.' This is What is the reason? There is neither a place to come nor a place to go. There is no birth and no destruction. This is the pure meditation of the Buddha. All things appear illusory and empty. This is the pure sitting of the Buddha. There is no way to prove it, not to mention long-term meditation.”

Xue Jian said: "Disciple, when I return to the capital, the empress dowager will definitely ask the master's teachings. I hope the master will be merciful and give me some pointers on the main points of the teaching. Buddhists. This is like a single lamp that ignites millions of lamps, so that even darkness is illuminated. There is no end to the light of lamps."

Master Huineng said: "There is no distinction between light and darkness in Buddhism. The meaning of light and darkness is mutual metabolism and interdependence. It is said that there is no end to light, but in fact there is an end after all. Light and darkness are opposite to each other. , each other is a pair of conceptual categories. Therefore, "Jing Ming Jing" said: "There is nothing in Buddhism that can be compared with it, and there is nothing that can correspond to it." This is what he said." Xue Jian said: "Brightness is a metaphor for wisdom. , Darkness is a metaphor for afflictions. If people who practice Buddhism do not use wisdom to contemplate and eliminate afflictions, how can life and death from beginningless time rely on detachment?"

Master Huineng said: "Afflictions are Bodhi. They are not two things. They are the same in essence and there is no difference. If you want to use wisdom to contemplate and repel afflictions, then this is the view of the two vehicles of sound and hearing and predestined enlightenment. The views of those who ride sheep and deer carts mentioned above; people with superior wisdom and great faculties do not understand it this way."

Xue Jian said, "What is the Mahayana view?"

Master Huineng said: "Brightness and wisdom and ignorance and darkness, what ordinary people see are the different natures of the two things; those who are wise understand that there is no difference between them in essence. This non-discriminatory, equal and consistent nature It is the true Buddha nature. The true Buddha nature will not decrease when you are in a worldly and foolish situation, and will not increase when you are in a wise and holy situation; you will not be distracted in afflictions, and you will not die in meditation. There is no severance and no eternity. There is no coming and no going, and it does not stay in an intermediate state, nor does it exist inside or outside. There is no generation and destruction, the nature and appearance are true and one, and there is no change in eternal existence, which is called the Buddha Way."

Xue Jian said: "The master said that there is no generation and destruction, so what is the difference with heretics?"

Master Huineng said: "Heretics say that there is no generation and destruction. They use destruction to stop generation and use generation to show destruction. This kind of destruction is equal to no destruction. Generation can also be said to be non-generation. I said no generation and no destruction. There is no generation in the first place, and there is no destruction now, so it is different from heretics. If you want to know the essence of the experience, as long as you don’t think about it and measure it, you will naturally realize the pure heart, clear and pure, and eternal Silence has as many uses as the sands of the Ganges."

Xue Jian was instructed and enlightened, and she suddenly became enlightened.Paying respects and farewell to Master Huineng and returning to the palace, the above table reports the teachings of Master Huineng.

Original
On September [-]rd of the same year, there was an imperial edict to reward the master, saying: Master said goodbye to his old illness and cultivated Taoism for me, the country's blessing.Master Ruo Jingming, Tuoji Biye, expounds the Mahayana, conveys the mind of all Buddhas, and talks about the Dharma of non-duality.Xue Jian passed on the Tathagata's knowledge and insight from his master. I have accumulated goodness for more than a year, and I have planted good roots. I was born as a teacher, and I have an epiphany.He also presented mona cassocks and crystal bowls, ordered the governor of Shaozhou to decorate the temple, and bestowed the teacher's former residence as Guoen Temple.

注释
①Viya: It is the city of Viya, which is the residence of Vimo Lay.

② Grinding cassock: a kind of cassock.According to legend, it was produced in Korea and is made of extremely delicate fabrics.Mill, that is, purple mill, belongs to the category of silk.

Translation
On September [-]rd of this year, the imperial court issued an edict to praise and praise Master Huineng, saying: "Master Huineng resigned from the invitation due to old age and sickness, and devoted himself to practicing Buddhism and Taoism. This is a blessing for the country. Master is like Vimalakirti. Like a layman, he avoided his illness and lived in the city of Viyali, so as to vigorously promote Mahayana Buddhism, impart the heart seal of all Buddhas, and preach the teaching of the equality of Buddha nature. Xue Jian has already shown the Buddha wisdom taught by the master. My opinion, the good deeds accumulated in the past have brought me today’s blessings, which are the roots of goodness planted in the previous life. When the master was born and transformed into deeds, I immediately realized the superiority of Buddhism. I am very grateful for the blessing of the master. I am very grateful. At the same time, I will give Grinding cassocks and crystal bowls, ordered Shaozhou Governor to repair and renovate the temple halls, and named the former residence of the master as Guoen Temple."

(End of this chapter)