Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 15 Learning to Let Go—Ordinary Mind Is the Way, Perseverance Is the Demon (3)
Zen Master Wude taught his disciples to draw "Dragon and Tiger Fighting", which is actually teaching us: being a human being is like practicing Zen.Only by taking a step back can we go further; only by humility and introspection can we climb higher.

There is a slight difference, the sky and the earth are separated

Fayan Wenyi, the founder of Fayan School of Zen, enjoyed a high reputation in the early tenth century AD.

One day, he asked a disciple, "How do you explain the so-called 'there is a slight difference, and the sky and the earth are separated'?"

The disciple replied: "There is a difference in the slightest, and the sky and the earth are separated."

But Fayan told him that this answer was incorrect.

The disciple said, "I can't give any other answer. How about your explanation?"

Zen Master Fayan immediately replied: "There is a difference in the slightest, and the sky and the earth are separated."

Another day, when Fayan ascended to the altar, a monk asked him: "What is a drop of Caoxi?"

Fayan replied, "A drop from Caoxi."

The monk stood there in a daze.De Shao, who was next to the monk, opened his Dharma eyes for the first time and realized the inner meaning of Zen, and the doubts hidden in his heart were completely solved now.Since then, he has become a completely different person.

■Sentiment——

What Fayan means is that as soon as we start talking about differences, we immediately and inevitably establish dualities and thus fall into the fallacy of intellectualism.We are in the water—it is true, Zen tells us to remain in the water, because as soon as we ask for water, we put ourselves in an external relationship with the water, and what has always been ours , will be taken from us.

Sleep when you want to sleep, sit when you want to sit

A monk asked Chan Master Jingling of Changsha, "What does it mean that the ordinary mind is the way?"

Zen Master Jing replied, "Sleep when you want to sleep, and sit when you want to sit."

The monk said, "I don't understand what you mean."

Zen Master Jing replied, "In summer, find a shady place; in winter, sit by the fire."

■Sentiment——

We are already living in the Tao, and we cannot be separated from the Tao at all.Master Xuansha said: "We seem to be submerged in the sea, but we stretch out our hands to ask people for water!" So when a monk asked him, "What is self?", he immediately replied, "What do you use self for? "The self and the Tao are originally one.

where is the way
A monk asked Chan Master Xingshan Weikuan, "Where is the Tao?"

Wei Kuan replied, "Only at the moment."

The monk asked, "Why didn't I see you?"

Wei Kuan said: "Because you have 'I', so I don't see you."

The monk asked: "I have 'me', so I don't see it, did the monk see it?"

Yan Weikuan said: "There is you and I, and I go back and forth, so I don't see the Tao."

The monk asked: "If there is no self and no you, can you see the Tao?"

Wei Kuan replied, "If there is no self and no you, who would seek to see the Tao?"

■Sentiment——

The Tao is in the heart, the Tao is in you and me.The Tao is not separate from you and me at all, so I can't see it, and neither can you.

Great Thousand Worlds One Zen Bed
Once, Su Dongpo heard the story of Chan Master Zhaozhou welcoming the King of Zhao. On a whim, he also went to visit Chan Master Foyin, and wrote a letter to the Chan Master in advance, asking the Chan Master to do the same as Zen Master Zhaozhou greeting the King of Zhao, and not to come out to greet him.

Su Dongpo thought he understood the subtlety of Zen, and Chan Master Foyin would pick him up with the best etiquette—no pick-up, no pick-up.

Unexpectedly, while Su Dongpo was still on the boat, he saw from a distance that Zen Master Foyin had led his disciples to greet him on the shore.Su Dongpo finally seized the opportunity to make fun of the Chan Master, and said, "Your way of life is not as free and easy as Chan Master Zhaozhou's. I told you not to come to pick me up, but you couldn't escape the cliché, and ran a long way to meet me."

Su Dongpo thought that if Chan Master Zhaozhou was moved out this time, Chan Master Foyin would definitely be at a disadvantage.

The Zen master laughed and answered a gatha:
On that day, Shao Qianguang of Zhaozhou went out of the mountain gate to meet King Zhao.

How is it like a golden heart with infinite folds, a meditation bed in the vast world.

It means: Zhaozhou didn’t get up to meet the King of Zhao, it was because Zhaozhou was immodest, not high-level; and I, Foyin, went out to meet you, do you think I really got up? Although you saw me get up and come out Greeting you, in fact, the whole world is my meditation bed, and I am still sleeping on the Great Thousand Zen Bed! You, Su Dongpo, only know the physical bed that you can see with the naked eye, but my Buddha-sealed bed is full of emptiness and full of space. The big bed of the law world!
Su Dongpo didn't take advantage of it again this time, so he had no choice but to go back disgruntled.

■Sentiment——

There is no bed in front of Foyin's eyes, but there is a bed in his heart, and it is an invisible big bed that "completes the void and pervades the Dharma world", while Su Dongpo is obsessed with the visible bed that is visible to the naked eye.In fact, there is no bed in the world, just as the Sixth Patriarch said, "There is nothing originally", everything is created by the mind.If people can reach such a state, they will be able to be free and easy, transcend, and get rid of all shackles.

pile of cow dung

One day, Su Dongpo meditated with Zen Master Foyin.Su Dongpo thought he had practiced well, so he asked Chan Master Foyin: "Master, what do you think I look like sitting here?"

Foyin praised him and said: "The layman looks like a Buddha now."

Su Dongpo was very proud when he heard this.

At this time, Foyin asked him in turn: "What do you think I look like sitting here?"

Su Dongpo is humorous and witty by nature, and deliberately teased the Zen master: "I think you look like a pile of cow dung!"

Foyin was not angry at all when he heard this, he was still smiling.

After returning home, Su Dongpo, who thought he had taken advantage of it, proudly told his family about it.After hearing this, Su Xiaomei laughed at her brother and said: "Brother, you are still proud! You lost to the Zen master!"

Su Dongpo said, "How could I lose?"

The younger sister said: "Because Zen Master Foyin has a Buddha in his heart, everything in the world is a Buddha to him; but you haven't cultivated well, your heart is dirty, and all you see is cow dung."

After Su Dongpo heard this, he regretted so much that his realm was far behind!
■Sentiment——

The eyes are the windows to the heart, and words come from the heart.Foyin has a Buddha in his heart, so all he sees are Buddhas; while Su Dongpo's heart is polluted by the world, so all he sees is dirty cow dung.Su Dongpo is indeed far from the realm of Buddha.

With and without

Zen Master Daoshu built a monastery next to the Taoist "Taoist Temple".The Taoist could not tolerate this Buddhist temple, and always wanted to get rid of this thorn in his side.Every day he turned some demons and ghosts to disturb the monks in the temple: he called the wind and rain, made the lightning flash and thunder;Sure enough, many young monks were scared away.

However, Zen Master Daoshu was unmoved and insisted on living there for more than 10 years.In the end, the Taoist Qian donkey was so poor that he had no choice but to look for a place to live elsewhere in frustration.

Someone asked Zen Master Shu: "Taoist priests have such powerful spells, how did you defeat them? Do you have stronger spells than them?"

Zen master Daoshu said: "Their spells are very strong. I have nothing that can beat them, and I have nothing that can beat his spells. Only the word 'no' can make me beat them."

The person asked again: "People say that the Buddha's teachings are boundless. Is 'Nothing' really that powerful?"

Zen master Daoshu said: "Although he has spells, if there is one, there must be an end. If there is an end, there will be a limit, and if there is a limit, there will be a limit. ; I respond to all changes with the same, and of course the same is better than the change.”

■Sentiment——

As long as it exists, that is, "being", it will naturally be limited.Taoist priests have spells, and spells will change forever, but they will always be exhausted.The Dao tree responds to all changes with the same, and when all changes are exhausted, it is the day of the Taoist's failure.From the limited to the infinite, from the ever-changing to the unchanging, the outcome of the two has been determined from the very beginning.

See or hear
Daoshu is Shenxiu's disciple, and he and several students once lived on the mountain.

There is often a weird person there, dressed in rags, but his speech is very rough and exaggerated, and he can transform into images of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, etc. at will.The students of the Dao Tree were all terrified, wondering who this warlock really meant? What kind of tricks would he do?
This strange man has been haunting there for ten years, and one day he finally disappeared and never appeared again.

Daoshu said to his students: "This warlock uses all kinds of tricks to deceive people's hearts. But my way of dealing with him is just not to hear. Although his tricks are endless, there will always be a day when he runs out, and I don't see and don't hear." But it's not over."

A monk heard this and said, "You can't go anywhere."

■Sentiment——

Daoshu's method is to use a word "nothing" in Lao Tzu, and use "nothing" to make "yes".Because no matter how extensive and solid this "being" is, it always has a limit and a point of exhaustion.But this "nothingness" is the greatest without outside, the smallest with no inside, dissolving sticking and grasping, for infinite use.Therefore, Lao Tzu advocates inaction, and Zen advocates inaction.

old monk like a donkey

Zen Master Guangyong came back from teaching the Dharma in other places and went to visit his teacher, Zen Master Yangshan.

As soon as he entered the hall, Yang Shan asked him: "What are you doing back?"

Guangyong put his palms together solemnly, paid respects to the teacher, and said respectfully:

"Come to see the teacher, thank you for your teaching."

Zen Master Yangshan pointed to himself and asked, "Can you see me, or can't you see me?"

Guang Yong replied affirmatively, "I can see it!"

Zen Master Yangshan asked again very seriously: "Do I look like a donkey?"

Without hesitation, Guang Yong told each other bluntly: "You don't look like a Buddha either!"

Zen Master Yangshan pointed at himself again, and asked, "Then what do you think I look like?"

Guang Yong replied disapprovingly: "If you have to say what you look like, what does it matter if you look like a donkey? There is no difference between all things."

After listening to his disciple's answer, Zen Master Yangshan laughed heartily and praised with satisfaction: "I have been waiting for this sentence for 10 years. For many years, I have been using this sentence to test others, and no one can fully understand it. You have reached the state where all the saints are one, you don’t know the world from the perspective of separation, you don’t understand the world from the perspective of separation, it’s really great, you must maintain this state well!”

■Sentiment——

In a previous story, Su Dongpo said that the Buddha seal is like cow dung, which shows that the realm is still very low; so what about Buddha?The realm is not the highest, because there is still an attachment in the heart, that is, the attachment to becoming a Buddha.So, Foyin didn't say anything, just laughed.If a person thinks that he is "nothing like a donkey", then he has lost his mind of discrimination to a large extent. Only in this way can he see that he is integrated with everything around him, that man and nature are one, and his wisdom and realm of life will reach the highest level. high level.

good and evil

A Taoist priest asked Zen Master Dazhu Huihai: "Is there any law in the world that surpasses 'nature'?"

The Zen master replied affirmatively, "Yes."

The Taoist asked, "What law is that?"

The Zen master replied calmly: "A person who can understand nature."

The Taoist asked unwillingly: "Is vitality the 'Tao'?"

Zen master: "No."

Taoist: "According to what you said, vitality and Tao are two different things."

Zen master: "No."

The Taoist asked again: "What is righteousness and what is evil?"

Zen master: "It is evil if the mind blindly pursues external objects, and righteousness is when external objects follow the mind."

■Sentiment——

All things are one, there is no distinction.Yuan Qi and Dao are the same thing.Then, why did Hui Hai say that "the vitality is the vitality, and the way is the way"?Huihai only refers to the difference in the names of Yuan Qi and Dao, and their essence is the same.

When the mind chases things outside, people will lose their autonomy and be controlled by things, which is naturally evil; if there is nothing outside the mind, and we get rid of the fetters of things, our hearts will be free and naturally be righteous.

a hundred years a dream
One day, Captain Li Duanyuan asked Chan Master Tanying, "Master Tanying, may I ask whether there is hell or not?"

Chan Master Tanying replied: "To speak of existence in nothing is like seeing a mirage, and it seems that there is nothing. It is really funny that the Taiwei is looking for nothing from existence. If people see hell in front of their eyes, why can't they see heaven in their hearts? Heaven and hell It's all in one thought. Taiwei's heart is calm and free of worries, so naturally he has no doubts."

The Taiwei asked: "So, how can you be free from worries?"

Chan Master Tan Ying replied: "Do not think about good or evil."

The Taiwei asked again: "If you don't think about it, where does your heart go?"

Chan Master Tanying said: "The heart has nowhere to go."

The Taiwei asked again: "If a person dies, where does he go?"

Chan Master Tanying asked, "If you don't know life, how can you know death?"

Taiwei said: "But I already knew about it."

Chan Master Tan Ying asked again: "Then, tell me, where did you come from?"

When Taiwei was contemplating, Chan Master Tan Ying touched his chest with his hand and said, "What are you thinking about here?"

Taiwei said: "Yes, I only know that life is long, but I don't realize that the years are wasted."

Chan Master Tan Ying said: "A hundred years is like a dream."

■Sentiment——

Floating life is like a dream, everything is illusory, and it doesn't matter to come or go.The human body is nothing but the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind that make up the world, and they are temporarily put together due to certain opportunities. They should not be mistaken as belonging to themselves, but to the universe.The man is upright and aboveboard, able to control himself, act rashly,...go and stay freely.As for death, it is the door of Nirvana opened by the Buddhas and saints in the past to enable people to obtain great liberation, return to the original pure and empty state, and embody the way of inaction, so it is worthy of praise and celebration.

Pain and happiness
Zen Master Tanzhao talks to believers every day, and he cannot do without: "Happy! Happy! Life is so happy!"

But one time he fell ill, and during his illness he cried out from time to time: "It's painful! It's painful! It's so painful!"

When the abbot heard this, he came to scold him: "Hey! A monk is sick, and he keeps complaining about suffering, suffering, and not looking good!"

Zen Master Xianzhao said: "It is natural to be healthy and happy, but sick and painful. Why can't we complain about suffering?"

The abbot monk said: "I remember that once when you fell into the water and were about to drown, you didn't change your face, that fearless look, and looked at death as if you were home. Where is your pride at that time? You usually talk about being happy. Why? When you are sick, do you want to talk about pain and suffering?"

Chan Master Tanzhao said to the abbot monk: "Come, come, come to my bed!"

When the abbot came to his bedside, Chan Master Tanzhao asked softly: "Master abbot, you just said that I used to talk about happiness, happiness, but now I talk about pain, pain, please tell me, what do you mean by happiness?" Is it right? Or is it right to talk about pain?"

■Sentiment——

Life has both sides of suffering and happiness. If it is too bitter, of course we should bring up our inner happiness; if it is too happy, we should also understand the truth of life’s suffering.There is no joy without pain, and vice versa, there is no pain without pleasure.The two sides of suffering and happiness must be compared and experienced before they can be derived.How can we know pain without experiencing pleasure?Similarly, how can we know happiness without experiencing pain?The bitterness and joy in life are all normal tastes, and only these tastes make life tasteful.

salt sauce is life

When Zen Master Baizhang, a disciple of Zen Master Mazu, lived in Daxiong Mountain, Mazu sent his attendants to give him three altars of sauce.When Zen master Baizhang received the three altar sauces, he immediately rang the bell and gathered the crowd to the hall. He pointed at the altar sauce with a stick and said to the public: "This is the salt sauce sent by the teacher. If anyone of you speaks out the principles of Zen, you will not break it. You can't just say it and break it!"

The apprentice monks looked at each other, but no one answered.

With a sound of "touch", Zen Master Baizhang broke all three sauce jars with his stick.

When the attendant returned from Daxiong Mountain to Zen Master Mazu, Zen Master Mazu asked, "Have you delivered the sauce yet?"

The waiter replied: "Send it."

Zen Master Mazu asked again: "After Baizhang received my salt sauce, how did he express it? What did he say?"

The waiter replied: "After Zen Master Baizhang received the salt sauce, he gathered the people to attend the hall. Because no one explained the principles of Zen, he broke the sauce jar with a stick."

After Mazu heard this, he laughed and praised happily: "This kid is not bad."

■Sentiment——

Zen masters communicate with each other, and they also have a side of secular human feelings, but they all have another meaning: salt sauce is an indispensable food in life.Mazu gave the salt paste to Zen master Baizhang, which meant that he should take care of the way of Zen in life, and not to leave life and practice blindly.Zen master Baizhang broke the soy sauce altar, which means that our Zen way, there is nothing lacking, so we don’t need to worry about the teacher.

Water flows east, sun goes west

A student monk saw a tortoise by the side of the nunnery, so he asked Chan Master Da Sui for instructions: "All living beings are covered with skin and bones, why is the tortoise covered with bones?"

After hearing this, Zen Master Da Sui didn't answer, but took off his straw sandals and covered the turtle's back.

Zen Master Shouduan once composed a verse for Da Sui's behavior. The verse said:
"It's clear that the skin is full of bones, and the hexagrams and paintings are more impressive. The straw sandals are covered, but this monk was deceived by the big followers!"

Zen master Fodeng also wrote a verse in praise:

"The law does not arise alone, it grows by fighting against the environment, the tortoise cannot understand the wall, and the straw sandals follow the foot of the person."

Zen Master Baofeng pointed out more clearly: "Where is the belief in the past and the present?"

Zen master Fodeng praised: "Toss a golden bell, roll an iron bone, the water flows east, and the sun goes west!"

■Sentiment——

When a student monk sees a turtle covered in flesh, he becomes curious, but this kind of curiosity can be used for seeking knowledge, but it is not good for enlightening Taoism, because enlightenment requires a normal heart.Zen master Da Sui covered it with straw sandals, that is, the curiosity that covered the root of this illusion.Zen Master Fodeng's "turtle can't understand the wall, straw sandals follow people's feet", Zen Master Baofeng's "Water flows east, sun goes west", etc., are all common things in the world.To understand this truth is to be enlightened.

two boats

Emperor Kangxi and Zen Master Xiangqing, the abbot of Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, stood on the tall Wangjiang Tower, and saw hundreds of boats vying for the Yangtze River.

Suddenly, Emperor Kangxi pointed to the river and asked Zen Master Xiangqing: "How many boats are there on this river?"

Zen Master Xiangqing took his time and stretched out two fingers: "No more, no less, there are two boats."

Kangxi asked: "At a glance, there are more than a hundred or a thousand boats on the river! How can it be said that there are only two?"

"One comes for fame, and the other goes for profit." Chan Master Xiangqing said.

■Sentiment——

Zen master Xiangqing told people that seeking pleasure and fame and fortune in the world are meaningless, everything is illusory, and they are asking for troubles.Zen master Weikuan said: "Although gold flakes are precious, they are also a disease in the eyes." There is nothing worth pursuing.Zen master Huai Lian said: "How many people are deluded in the worldly law; how many people are drunk in the Buddhist law!" Whether it is indulging in secular life or persistently pursuing a spiritual life beyond the world, it is all confusion.Zen is to be a broad-minded person who neither indulges in the pursuit of secular life nor blindly follows the precepts of Buddhism.

Dingzhao Zen Master
In the Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong of Song learned that Furong Daokai’s virtues were extraordinary and his Zen techniques were miraculous, so he bestowed purple clothes on him and personally named him “Zen Master Dingzhao”.

Daokai refused to accept this honor.He said: "I'm a monk, and I just concentrate on studying Buddhism and practicing Zen. What's the use of these worldly fame and fortune?"

Song Huizong felt that the dignity of the royal family was damaged and his authority was challenged, so he couldn't help being furious.He issued an imperial decree, ordering Dali Temple to take Daokai into custody and deal with it severely!
Either go to heaven or go to hell.However, Zen master Daokai would rather go to prison than be moved by fame and fortune.So, he accepted the punishment calmly, put on shackles and chains, and embarked on the long road of exile in the barren sand.

■Sentiment——

This is the Zen person, and this is the style of the Zen person: great wisdom and courage, free and easy and magical.Fame and fortune, life and death, are all just passing clouds. "There is a room on the top of Qianfeng Mountain, half of which is filled with clouds and half of the room is filled with clouds. Last night, the clouds went with the wind and rain, and it was not like the old monk was idle in the end." Said Zen Master Gui Zong Zhizhi.

reluctant to leave one person

(End of this chapter)