Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 14 Learning to Let Go—Ordinary Mind Is the Way, Perseverance Is the Demon (2)
It is the method of Zen to regard the non-illness as the real self.Only the incarnation can get sick, but the Dharma body is always healthy and perfect, neither born nor dead.

Zhenzhou is rich in big radishes

Master Nanquan Puyuan's Zen style is well-known far and wide, but his disciple Zhaozhou is more than blue, even better than blue.

A student monk asked Chan Master Zhaozhou: "I heard that you are a true disciple of Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan. Did he teach you any Zen methods?"

Zen Master Zhaozhou replied: "Zhenzhou is rich in big radishes."

Another time, another student monk asked Chan Master Zhaozhou for instructions: "Teacher, what does a practitioner look like?"

Zen Master Zhaozhou replied, "I am practicing seriously."

The student monk asked, "What? Does the teacher have to practice?"

Zen Master Zhaozhou replied, "I have to wear clothes and eat."

The student monk asked: "This is a daily trivial matter. What I want to know is what is practice?"

Zen Master Zhaozhou asked, "Then what do you think I do every day?"

■Sentiment——

Zen does not necessarily have to change the external environment. Zhenzhou is rich in big radishes, let him make Zhenzhou rich in big radishes.In Zen, the most important thing is to change the inner self. Since you want to change yourself, why do you care whether he teaches the Dharma or not.Just as dressing and eating are the practice of Chan Master Zhaozhou, if you think this is a trivial matter, you will lose your sense of normalcy.

go for tea

Zen Master Zhaozhou asked the new monk, "Have you been here before?"

The monk replied, "I have."

Zhaozhou said, "Go and have tea."

I asked another monk, and the monk said, "I have never been there."

Zhaozhou ordered: "Go and have tea."

Afterwards, the head of the courtyard asked: "Why do you say you have tea if you have been there, and you say you have tea if you have not been there?"

The Zen master called: "Master!"

The host answered, and the Zen master said, "Go and have some tea."

■Sentiment——

The Tao is in the ordinary mind of every action, if you think deliberately, you will be bound.Zhaozhou's "go to drink tea" is like flowing clouds and flowing water, which made us suddenly enlightened.

According to Zen Buddhism, pursuing something is delusion.Even the Buddha does not ask for it, and the Tao does not ask for it, because if people seek it, they themselves violate the will of the Buddha's way, and the more they seek, the farther they are from the Buddha's way. If you seek the way, you will lose the way" (in the words of Zen Master Yixuan).With neither intention nor desire, of course there is nothing to do.

Zhaozhou and the nun

A nun asked Zhaozhou: "What is the secret meaning of Buddhism?"

Zen Master Zhaozhou pinched her.

The nun said angrily: "Monk, you still have this!"

The Zen master said, "But you have this presence."

■Sentiment——

Zhaozhou has already understood the mind of form, but deliberately tested the nun, and the nun's heart of saving others is precisely the lack of form. Obviously, there is still a long way to go to realize the "secret meaning of Buddhism".

Heaven and hell

A believer complained to Zen Master Wude: "Master Zen! I have been practicing Zen for many years, but I still haven't been able to achieve enlightenment. Buddhist scriptures say that hell and heaven really exist. I just don't understand and don't believe it. Except us In the world of life, where is there any heaven and hell?"

Zen Master Wude didn't answer, but only asked the believers to go to the river to bring a bucket of water.The believer did as he said, and brought the water and put it in front of the Zen master.

Zen Master Wude told believers: "Go and look inside the bucket, maybe you can find hell and heaven."

The believer felt very strange when he heard it, so he leaned closer to the bucket and looked at it intently.

Zen Master Wude suddenly pushed his head into the water from behind. The believer struggled in pain and was almost out of breath before the Zen master let go.

The believer panted heavily and scolded the Zen master angrily: "Why do you feel at ease? Don't you know what it's like to be pressed in a bucket and not be able to breathe? It's like being in hell!"

The Zen master smiled and nodded, and said calmly: "Aren't you all right now, how do you feel?"

"Wonderful! Breathe freely and feel like heaven!"

The Zen master solemnly taught: "In the blink of an eye, you have come from hell to heaven. Why don't you believe in the existence of heaven and hell?"

■Sentiment——

Of course, there is no "heaven" or "hell" in the real world. Why can the little monk go to heaven at one time and go to hell at another?Of course it's the mood.It seems that heaven and hell are just like the world of Buddha and the world of demons, they are not outside of us, but just in our hearts.As long as we open our minds and maintain a normal heart, wouldn't we live in heaven forever?
Where are the clouds and no one born?

Someone asked what is Tiantongjing, and Zen Master Tiantong replied: "Where is the cloud without a seed, and who can teach the water to go and not return."

Tang Suzong asked Zen Master Huizhong:

"What is the teaching?"

The Zen master asked him back: "Do you see a cloud in the sky?"

The emperor said he saw it.

The Zen master asked again: "Is this cloud nailed or hung?"

■Sentiment——

What Tiantong and Huizhong mean is that Buddhism is like a cloud in the sky, which is naturally formed and floats in the air naturally, without any human factors.Zen requires us to integrate our body and mind into nature as much as possible.Just like the famous Yongming Edict: "If you want to know the Eternal Ming Edict, there is a lake in front of the gate, where the sun shines brightly, and the wind blows and waves rise."

It's better to give up and go to find spring

Song Dynasty Taoists Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, who regarded themselves as orthodox Confucianists, were deeply influenced by Zen.Zhu Xi once wrote a seven-character quatrain, which goes:
Kawahara's red and green are new for a while, and the evening rain and morning sunshine are even more pleasant.When is the book buried, it is better to give up and look for spring.

Lu Jiuyuan, who had a fierce dispute with Zhu Xi at the Goose Lake meeting, found out and said excitedly: "Zhu Xi has finally awakened!"

■Sentiment——

Zhu Xi, who was immersed in Confucian classics all day long, was deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism and finally became enlightened.Contemplating nature is a kind of free and easy life that follows nature.Therefore, when Li Ao asked what Tao is, Zen Master Weiyan replied, "Clouds are in the blue sky and water is in bottles"; when Zen Master Dashan answered what is the essence of Buddhism, he said, "The rooster crows in spring, and the dog barks in the Mid-Autumn Festival"; Zen Master Huihai said that it is "the shadow of the moon in the deep pool, and you can rub it at will"; when someone asked what is the monk's family style, Zen Master Yu'an said that "green mountains and green waters are clear everywhere"; The Zen master said it was "the sound of water in Yanxi".

good times

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zen master Jingcen and Zen master Yangshan admired the moon together. Zen master Yangshan pointed to the sky and said, "Everyone has this, but because of ignorance, they can't make full use of it."

Zen Master Jingcen said disapprovingly: "Since everyone has it, how can no one make full use of it? It just so happens that the opportunity meets today. This bright moon is waiting for you to use it. Give it a try!"

Zen Master Yangshan said: "That's very interesting. Let's use the moonlight. Please try it first!"

Zen Master Jingcen was not polite, he jumped up and kicked Zen Master Yangshan down.Instead of being angry, Chan Master Yangshan exclaimed, "It's really like a tiger!"
Another time, Zen Master Jingcen came back from a mountain tour. When he reached the gate, Zen Master Yangshan asked, "Where did Zen Master come back from?"

Zen Master Jingcen replied: "Come back from the mountain tour!"

Zen Master Yangshan still asked: "What mountain are you visiting?"

Zen Master Jingcen said: "At the beginning, I followed the fragrant grass, and then I chased the falling flowers back."

Zen Master Yangshan praised it very much: "It's like spring!"

Zen Master Jingcen said: "It is also better than autumn dew and lotus leaves."

■Sentiment——

According to the records of "Five Lanterns Huiyuan", there was a lay Buddhist doctor Wang in Weizhou who believed in Buddhism at home. Wild husband mad.” Zen monks love nature and enjoy nature. In the bright spring, Zen monks gather together, “Everyone dances the spring breeze upside down, and the apricot blossoms are startled and the apricot blossoms are flying red”, which is really happy.

Bai Letian, a layman in Xiangshan

The biography of Zen figures "Wu Deng Hui Yuan" is a very rigorous work, and the standard of its included characters is almost harsh.It is extraordinary that Bai Juyi can be ranked among them as a layman who has attained the Dharma.

Bai Juyi (772-846 A.D.), a Jinshi in Zhenyuan, with the word Letian and the dharma name Xiangshan Jushi.

At that time, Zen master Foguang Ruman came to the capital from the Jinge Temple in Mount Wutai.Bai Juyi officially worshiped him as his teacher and practiced Zen diligently.Zen Master Foguang Ruman is the master of Mazu Daoyi, and his Zen practice is unfathomable.It is said that it was his words that made Tang Shunzong determined to cede the throne.In 805 AD, one of the "pig emperors" of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Dezong Li Shi died, and the frail and sick prince Li Song ascended the throne as Tang Shunzong.Li Song once asked Zen Master Foguang Ruman some questions about the coming and going, birth and death, seeing through and letting go of Buddhas.Zen Master Ruman's answer satisfied Shunzong very much.Soon thereafter, Li Song, who had only been emperor for six months, was determined not to be tortured by this drudgery, and gave up the throne to the young and powerful prince Li Chun.

Under the guidance of a famous teacher, Bai Juyi's comprehension of Zen advanced by leaps and bounds.In the fourth year of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, another disciple of Matsu——Zhan Master Weikuan was invited by the emperor to the capital to abbot Xingshan Temple, a royal monastery.How could Bai Juyi let go of this good opportunity to study Zen? The uncle taught him: "The mind of Zen is empty, no matter whether it is dirty or clean, don't think about everything."

Bai Juyi was puzzled, frowned and asked: "Of course you can't think about dirty things, why can't you even have pure thoughts?"

Zen Master Xingshan Weikuan said: "Are gold flakes precious? How about putting them in your eyes?"

Bai Juyi suddenly came to his senses.

Ten years later, Bai Juyi became the prefect of Hangzhou.He heard that there was a Zen master Bird's Nest on Qinwang Mountain in the suburbs.So he asked Zen master Bird Nest: "What is the most profound Buddhist teaching?"

Zen Master Niaochao said: "Don't do any evil, but do all good."

Bai Juyi curled his lips in disdain: "Even a three-year-old child can understand such a simple truth!"

The bird's nest said: "Although a three-year-old child can do the right thing, an eighty-year-old man can't do it!"

It was like a thunderbolt exploding above Bai Juyi's head, which made him sweat like rain.Yes, Buddhism is a common sense that everyone understands, the key is to put it into practice!From then on, he changed the fault of literati talking about mantras, and worked hard to study them in practice, and he really got into the wonderful Zen mechanism.His comprehension is extremely high. For example, the imaginative chapters and sentences in "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" are not fabricated out of thin air, but the real state of the meditation process!
One day, Bai Juyi strolled into Yugou Temple, a small temple deep in the mountains. From the name alone, he knew that it was an ordinary and commonplace temple in a wilderness village.However, in this ordinary small temple, there are extraordinary people and things: the abbot, the old monk, has a deep understanding of the principles of Zen, his speech is sharp, his gestures are like Zen; there is an ancient pine tree in the courtyard, the green Such as cast iron, twists and turns like a horned dragon.On the walls of the courtyard, there are densely distributed poems written by literati and scholars of the past dynasties chanting ancient pine trees.

Bai Juyi stared at the old pine, then looked at the wall covered with new and old ink, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.The abbot Zen Master's eyes were like a torch, and he said: "Xiangshan Layman must have felt something, you might as well sing it out and listen."

Bai Juyi softly recited:

The tobacco leaves are verdant and dusty, and the frosty skin is stripped of purple dragon scales.

If you want to know, Song Lao looks at the dust wall, but when he dies, he writes many poems.

The sky and the earth are still empty, the sun and the moon of Qin, the mountains and rivers do not see the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty.

The pines are still proud of the wind and frost, where can I find the poet?
In his later years, Bai Juyi poured all his money into rebuilding the Xiangshan Temple in Luoyang.This is the reason why he is called "Xiangshan Layman".Naturally, Zen Master Ninggong, the abbot of Xiangshan Temple, is his confidant and Taoist friend.

On a spring day, Bai Juyi came to Xiangshan Temple again.When he was about to walk in front of Ning Gong's abbot, a breeze blew by, and a faint fragrance of flowers wafted in.Looking up, the flower bed in front of the Buddha Hall is colorful and beautiful.From this, he sang a unique song "Monastery Flower":
It is a Buddhist thing to realize color and emptiness, so a fragrant tree is planted in the monk's house.

If you look closely, you will know the Huayan gatha, the flower of convenience blooms the flower of wisdom.

This interesting Zen poem can be said to be deeply rooted in the "Flower Way Samadhi": Zen monks plant flowers in temples to allow people to appreciate the beauty of flowers and at the same time feel that "form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form" The Zen mechanism of Zen; the flowers bloom and fall in the flowerbed, and the truth it shows is like a wonderful principle, which can urge you to bloom the flower of wisdom that will never fade.

Bai Juyi insisted on meditating at night for many years.One late night, after sitting in meditation, he walked as usual, passed through the surrounding houses unknowingly, and walked out of the town. There was a peaceful and peaceful natural scenery in front of him:

Frost grass and insects are in abundance, and there are no pedestrians in the south of the village and the north of the village.

Looking at Noda in front of the door alone, the buckwheat flowers are like snow in the moonlight.

■Sentiment——

It is indeed not easy for Bai Juyi to have such a profound cultivation in Zen Buddhism. On the one hand, he benefited from meeting many "experts"; on the other hand, the most important thing is his extremely high understanding.Therefore, in the spiritual world of Zen, Bai Juyi obtained the joy of Zen like nectar, and found the never-fading spring: "The world is full of fragrance in April, and the peach blossoms in mountain temples are beginning to bloom. I don't know where to turn to this come." Bai Juyi's poetry and his Zen are integrated.

Xuedou does not work as a postman
Xuedou Temple is located in Siming Mountain, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. There have been eminent monks in the past, and these eminent monks mostly use Xuedou as their name, but the Zen master Xuedou in the Zen koan below refers to Zen master Xuedou Chongxian who is righteous.

Master Xuedou is compassionate and tirelessly preaching the true meaning of Buddhism, making people realize the original meaning of life. He is unique and unconventional in the Zen forest.Scholars all over the world, monks and monks, all compete with each other and compete with each other to prove it.

After the master lived in Xuedou Temple, the solemn Buddhist land, a new look, became the new ancestral home of the Yunmen patriarchal family in the Zen Forest.During this period, other Zen sects seemed to be in decline, but Yunmen was the only one that prospered, so the world called it "Yunmen Zhongxing".

At the beginning, Zen Master Xuedou met the prefect Zenghui by the Huai River.Zeng would ask him where he was going.He said, maybe go to Qiantang, maybe go to Tiantai.

Zeng Hui suggested: "The abbot of Lingyin Temple, Zen Master Shan, is very kind to me. I will write a letter of introduction and bring it to you. He will definitely treat you well."

But when Zen Master Xuedou arrived at Lingyin Temple, he didn't show the letter of introduction to see the abbot, and stayed among the masses for three years.When Zenghui was sent to Zhejiang three years later, he went to Lingyin Temple to find Zen Master Xuedou, but no one in the temple knew that there was such a person.

Zeng Hui didn't believe it, so he went to the monk's house to search for it, and found Xuedou among more than 1000 monks. He asked, "Why didn't you go to see the abbot and hide here? Did I write it for you?" Lost your letter of introduction?"

Xuedou: "Don't dare, dare not, because I am a monk of snow and water, I don't want anything, so I won't be your postman!"

He immediately took out the original letter of introduction from his sleeve and handed it back to Zeng Hui, both of them laughed.

■Sentiment——

In real life, we always do everything possible to find ways and relationships, and the story of Zen Master Xuedou's improper postman really makes us ashamed: We have been postmen all our lives!And what do you really want to do, or what is your original self like?We don't know anything.

not angry

The Zen masters of the Jin Dynasty loved orchids very much. They planted hundreds of pots of orchids of various varieties in the courtyard beside the temple. They always took care of them wholeheartedly after preaching scriptures. Everyone said that orchids seemed to be the life of the Zen masters of the Jin Dynasty.

One day, the Zen master of the Jin Dynasty went out for business. A disciple accepted the master's instruction and watered the orchids, but accidentally tripped the orchid stand, and the whole pot of orchids was knocked over. He thought: Master came back and saw the beloved I don't know how angry I should be at the scene of the pot orchids.So I discussed with other teachers and brothers, and when the Zen master came back, he had the courage to admit his mistakes and was willing to accept any punishment.

After the Zen master of the Jin Dynasty came back, he was not angry at all when he saw this incident. Instead, he comforted his disciples calmly and said: "The reason why I love orchids is to use fragrant flowers to worship the Buddha, and also to beautify the environment of the Buddhist monastery. Only anger is planted! Everything in the world is impermanent, don’t cling to the things you love and make it hard to let go, because that’s not the behavior of a Zen practitioner!”

After hearing this, the disciple let go of his anxiety and practiced more diligently.

■Sentiment——

In life, the most difficult thing to do is to let go. Of course you can't let go of what you like, and you can't let go of what you don't like.Therefore, the thoughts of love and hate occupy our hearts, where can we find happiness? If we can let go of the things we love; we can accept disobedience, and then we can achieve no love and no hatred, so that we can be free and easy physically and mentally. up.

Farmers buying land
Someone asked Chan Master Dingyuan: "What is the scariest thing in the world?"

The Zen master replied: "Desire." Then he told him a story:
A farmer wants to spend 10 yuan to buy land, and a landlord tells him that as long as he pays 10 yuan, all the land circled by steps within a day (from sunrise to sunset) will belong to the buyer, but in the end he must return to the starting point.

It is not difficult to predict that the farmer will exchange a day's hard work for the widest land.So, as soon as the sun came out of the horizon the next day, he set off and walked forward all the way without stopping for a minute.It was only when I looked back that I could no longer see the starting point that I thought of turning.

Before he knew it, the sun was about to set, but he was already far away from the starting point, so he had to take a slope to rush to the starting point.But the sun was about to fall below the horizon, and because his strength was exhausted, he finally fell down two steps away from the starting point and never got up again.However, when he fell, his hands just touched the starting line, so he exchanged his life for that "broad" land.

■Sentiment——

People's hearts are not enough to swallow elephants.The greedy farmer only wanted to get as much land as possible, and ended up ruining his life for nothing.Today, although it is impossible for a story like this farmer to happen, the huge profits from the land will still send countless corrupt officials and real estate developers who "enclose the land" to prison or even to the guillotine.This is the horror of desire.

Backward turns out to be forward
A student monk had nothing to do after fasting, so he began to paint on the stone table in the Buddhist monastery.In the painting, the dragon is fighting against the tiger, so majestic.I saw the dragon hovering in the clouds, and the tiger perched on the top of the mountain, ready to pounce.However, the student monk described and erased several revisions, but it is still more than imposing but not dynamic enough.

Just when Chan Master Wude came back from the outside, he saw the student monk pondering before and after writing, and finally he was still undecided. Several disciples gathered around and pointed, so he went forward to watch.The student monk saw Zen Master Wude coming, so he asked the Zen master to comment.

The Zen master looked at it and said: "The appearance of the dragon and the tiger is good, but their temperament is not enough. You must know that before the dragon attacks, its head retreats; when the tiger is about to pounce, its head must be pressed down. The bigger the tiger's head, the faster it can rush; the closer the tiger's head is to the ground, the higher it can jump."

After hearing this, the student monk admired the Zen master's insights very much.So he said, "Teacher is really insightful. Not only did I draw the dragon's head too far forward, but the tiger's head was also raised too high. No wonder I always feel that there is not enough movement."

■Sentiment——

There is a saying in Zen:

Plant the green seedlings in the fields with your hands, and you can see the sky in the water when you bow your head; the way is to be pure in body and mind, and it turns out to be forward when you step back.

(End of this chapter)