Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 18 Learning to Let Go—Ordinary Mind Is the Way, Perseverance Is the Demon (6)
After listening to Zen Master Daan, he practiced according to this, controlled himself, and affirmed himself.Later, he founded Weishan Chanyuan together with Zen master Lingyou, and Zen master Da'an worked hard to help Taoism.Later, after Chan Master Lingyou passed away, Chan Master Da'an was elected by the public as the abbot.

■Sentiment——

Riding a cow to find a cow is because you don't know your own Zen nature; riding a cow home, you have let go of everything.

Sitting for a day is better than being busy for a thousand years
In his later years, Zen Master Da'an returned to Fujian and lived in Yishan Courtyard, where he sat upright all day long, saying nothing and doing nothing. The public called him Chan Master Lan'an behind his back.

A Zen monk said: "If you keep silent all day long, like a tree or a stone, is that Zen?"

Another Zen monk said: "Sitting upright all day long, neither leading the Buddhist practice nor guiding the work, is this Zen?"

Zen Master Da'an's laziness has aroused everyone's disapproval.One day, he gathered all the monks and announced: "Please sit with me all day long today, without saying a word. It only takes three days, so that everyone can know themselves."

All the monks sat quietly with Zen Master Da'an for one day, and their backs were sore and their legs ached.Only then did Chan Master Da'an tell the public: "It is better for an old monk to sit for a day than to be busy for a thousand years."

Everyone was speechless and remained silent for a long time.

■Sentiment——

Chan Master Da'an was not a lazy person. When he was young, he helped Zen Master Lingyou to create Weishan Mountain and cultivated it all day long. Although carrying firewood and water is Zen, Zen is not the same as carrying firewood and water.Work is Zen, and sitting is also Zen; language is Zen, and silence is also Zen; movement is Zen, and stillness is Zen.

never ate a grain of rice
When Zen Master Yunju Daoying made a special trip to visit Zen Master Liangjia in Dongshan, Zen Master Liangjia asked, "Where are you from?"

Chan Master Daoying replied, "I came from Chan Master Cuiwei!"

Zen Master Liangfen asked again: "When you were with Chan Master Cuiwei, what did he teach?"

Zen Master Daoying said: "Chan Master Cuiwei sacrifices sixteen arhats and five hundred arhats every year in the first month, and the sacrifices are very heavy! I once asked for instructions, 'Will the arhats come to offer sacrifices with this grand ceremony?' Cuiwei The Zen master replied to me, 'Then what do you eat every day?' I think this sentence is his teaching."

After hearing this, Zen Master Liangji was very surprised and asked, "Did Chan Master Cuiwei really teach you this way?"

Zen Master Daoying replied very positively: "Yes!"

Zen Master Liangji was both happy and praised Chan Master Cuiwei.

Daoying further asked Chan Master Liangji, "Teacher, what do you eat every day?"

Without hesitation, Zen Master Liangji replied immediately: "I eat all day long, but I never eat a grain of rice; I drink tea all day long, but I never drink a drop of water."

After Zen Master Daoying heard this, he suddenly applauded and said, "Teacher! Then you can really eat rice and drink water every day."

■Sentiment——

If someone asks you what to eat every day, what you eat is not real food, because if there is food or not, it is a matter of birth and death.If you eat without eating, eat without eating, from action to inaction, from form to formlessness, from birth and death to non-birth and death, this is the so-called "living among a hundred flowers, not a single leaf touches the body".That is to eat every day, and to be free every day.This is really a relatively high state of Zen!

light in the dark
A huge warehouse covering an area of ​​more than [-] ping.

One of the believers thought for a long time and decided to spend all the 100 yuan to buy the cheapest straw.As a result, after the straw was shipped back, even half of the warehouse could not be filled.

Another believer was a little smarter. He bought toilet paper with the 100 yuan, unpacked the toilet paper, and crumpled the toilet paper one by one, hoping to fill the warehouse.But no matter how hard he crumples up the toilet paper, it still doesn't fill two-thirds of the huge warehouse.

Another believer watched the actions of the first two, and after they tried and failed, they walked into the warehouse easily, closed all the windows firmly, and asked the Zen master to walk into the warehouse.He closed the door of the warehouse, and the whole warehouse suddenly became invisible and extremely dark.At this time, he took out a match that he bought for one yuan from his pocket, and lit a small candle that was also bought for one yuan.Suddenly, the dark warehouse was filled with the light from the candles, although it was faint, it was extremely warm.

■Sentiment——

With a closed mind, no matter how much you find, no matter how much you find, you can't fill it up. The only thing that can fill your lonely mind is yourself.

taste of life

One day, Mr. Xia Mianzun, a famous educator, came to visit Master Hongyi (played by Li Shutong).When eating, seeing that he only ate one pickle, Mr. Xia couldn't bear to say: "Don't you think this pickle is too salty?"

Master Hongyi replied: "Salty has a salty taste!"

After a while, after Master Hongyi finished eating, he held a cup of boiling water in his hand. Mr. Xia frowned again and said, "Is there no tea? Why do you drink this plain boiled water every day?"

Master Hongyi smiled and said: "Although boiled water is light, it also has a light taste."

■Sentiment——

Because Xia Mianzun was a good friend of Master Hongyi in his youth, he knew that Master Hongyi was at the same time as Uncle Li and had a prosperous life of singing and dancing, so he asked this question.However, Master Hongyi has long surpassed the distinction between salt and light. This transcendence is not the lack of taste, but the true taste of good taste and the true coolness of boiling water.

On the journey of life, sometimes you have no ability to choose, so you should learn to live with the situation and taste what you come.Gathering and parting, happiness and sorrow, disappointment and hope, if we are willing to taste, everything has a taste, and everything is indispensable in life.

lost and lost

Once upon a time, there was a spider on the beam of Yuanyin Temple who had Buddha nature.

One day, the Buddha visited Yuanyin Temple and said to the spider, "Let me ask you a question, what is the most precious thing in the world?"

The spider thought for a while, and replied: "The most precious things in the world are 'unobtainable' and 'lost'." The Buddha nodded and left.

After 1000 years, the Buddha came again and said to the spider: "Do you have a deeper understanding of that question?"

The spider said: "I think the most precious things in the world are 'unobtainable' and 'lost'."

Another 1000 years passed.One day, there was a strong wind, and the wind blew a drop of nectar onto the spider's web.Looking at the crystal clear nectar, the spider suddenly fell in love with it.Suddenly, they have whipped up strong winds, swept away the dew.The spider felt that he had lost something and was very sad.At this time the Buddha came again and asked the spider: "What is the most precious in the world?"

The spider said: "The most precious things in the world are 'unobtainable' and 'lost'."

Buddha said: "Okay, then I will let you go to the world for a while."

The spider was reincarnated into a family of officials and officials, named Zhu Er, and grew up to 16 years old in a flash, becoming a graceful girl.

One day, the emperor held a banquet for the new champion Lang Ganlu in the back garden.During the banquet, many young girls came, including Zhu'er and Princess Changfeng.The spider son thought it was the marriage bestowed on her by the Buddha.However, a few days later, the emperor ordered the newly crowned scholar Ganlu to marry Princess Changfeng; Zhu Er married Prince Zhicao.

The spider was hit hard, and the soul was about to come out of its shell.Prince Zhicao came and said to Zhuer: "Among the girls in the back garden, I fell in love with you at first sight. If you die, I will die." Then he took up the sword and wanted to kill himself.

At this time, the Buddha came, and he said to the spider: "Have you ever thought about who brought the nectar (the deer) to you? It was brought by the wind (Princess Changfeng), and in the end it was also the wind." Take it away. Ganlu belongs to Princess Changfeng, he is just an episode in your life to you. Prince Zhicao is a grass in front of Yuanyin Temple, he admired you for 3000 years, but you I have never looked down at it. Let me ask you again, what is the most precious thing in the world?"

Spider son greatly enlightened.

■Sentiment——

The most precious thing in the world is not "unobtainable" and "lost", but the happiness that can be grasped now!

Go with
In the hot summer, a young monk pointed to a piece of dying grass in the monastery and said to the master: "Look, these grasses are going to die soon, this is too detrimental to the beauty of our monastery, we should sow more grass seeds. The master waved to him and said, "Anytime!"

Many days passed, and the little monk didn't get any orders from his master, so he couldn't help but secretly worried.He waited and waited, and finally made it to the Mid-Autumn Festival.On this day, Master gave him a bag of seeds to scatter in the grass.The little monk was very happy to take the seeds and spread them.Before he finished sowing, suddenly the autumn wind blew up, and a lot of seeds were blown away by the wind.The little monk shouted: "It's not good, it's not good, the seeds were blown away by the wind."

"It doesn't matter, most of the seeds blown away are empty seeds, and they won't germinate when planted in the ground." Master said, "Follow your will!"

The little monk had just finished sowing the seeds, and several foraging birds flew in the air, and they kept pecking at something on the grass. "My God, they are going to eat up the seeds. What should I do?" The little monk scratched his head and scratched his head anxiously, panicking.

"It doesn't matter, there are so many seeds that you can't finish them!" Master said, "Anything!"

In the middle of the night, there was a sudden downpour of rain, which washed the grass planted by the little monk beyond recognition.Early the next morning, the little monk rushed into the meditation room like Shang Fei: "Master, it's all over, the seeds were washed away by the heavy rain"

Master smiled and said, "Sprout wherever you go! Follow fate!"

Six or seven days passed, and many tender green grass sprouts appeared on the grass that was about to die, and even the corners of the walls that had not been sown were also full of green life.The little monk jumped up happily.

Master smiled and nodded: "Rejoice!"

■Sentiment——

Faced with the same thing, different people have different perceptions. Optimistic people tend to remember the happy side of life, so they are very happy; while pessimistic people are just the opposite, so they always feel very unfortunate .The grass withered in the scorching heat and died in the severe cold, but it will be full of vitality next spring, "the wild fire is endless, and the spring breeze blows again".This master's understanding of life has reached a mature state of open-mindedness and freedom.

thank the opponent
When a zoologist inspected the animals living on both sides of the river in Africa, he discovered a very strange phenomenon: the antelopes living on the east bank have better reproductive ability than the antelopes on the west bank, and their running ability is also quite different. Antelopes running faster than West Coast antelopes.

Zoologists are puzzled by these differences.Because the living environment and food of antelope are the same.At the zoologist's initiative, the Animal Protection Association conducted an experiment.10 were caught on the east and west banks of the river and sent to the opposite bank.As a result, 14 antelopes were sent to the west bank, and only 3 antelopes were sent to the east bank. The zoologists found that the other 7 were eaten by wolves.

The mystery was finally solved. The reason why the antelope on the east bank is strong is because there are wolves living near it.In order to survive, they live in a "competitive atmosphere" every day, but the more they live, the more "combat power".The reason why the antelopes on the West Bank are weak is precisely because they lack natural enemies and have no pressure to survive.

■Sentiment——

We don't have to hate enemies and pressure, in a sense we should be grateful for it.Because all of this will be transformed into the motivation for you to move forward and work hard.In life, sometimes what inspires you to move forward is often not your friends or good times, but your opponent or pressure.

40 years
After a young man named Wei Ze in the Song Dynasty became a monk, he practiced in the Buddha's Grotto in Cuiping Rock, Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang Province.He covered the roof with fallen leaves, formed a thatched hut, moistened his throat with clear water, and only picked wild fruits in the mountains at noon every day to satisfy his hunger.

One day, a woodcutter passed by the Buddha's Grotto and saw an old monk practicing Taoism. He asked curiously, "How long have you lived here?"

Zen Master Foku replied: "There have been about forty summers and winters."

The woodcutter asked again in amazement: "Are you practicing here alone?"

Zen Master Foku nodded and said, "In the forest and mountains, one person is already too much here. What do we need many people for?"

The woodcutter then asked, "Then you have no friends?"

The Zen master Foku clapped his hands. At this time, many tigers and leopards came out from behind the nunnery. The woodcutter felt very frightened. The Zen master Foku immediately said not to be afraid and signaled the tigers and leopards to retreat to the back of the nunnery.

Then, the Zen master said: "There are many friends. The earth, mountains, rivers, trees, flowers, grass, insects, snakes and wild animals are all friends."

Seeing this scene, the woodcutter was greatly moved and voluntarily converted as a disciple of the Zen master.The Buddha Grotto briefly explained the gist of Buddhism to the woodcutter, and the woodcutter understood it.

Since then, many people have come to Foku Temple to learn Zen principles.On Cuiping Rock, white clouds float in the sky, vegetation welcomes people, tigers walk towards deer, birds fly and insects sing, and Buddhist cave studies have gradually become a Zen sect.

■Sentiment——

40 years is definitely a long time for a life of just a few decades, but for a Zen master who realizes infinite time, enters eternal life, and has integrated into Dahua, it is just a moment.In the mind of a Zen practitioner, there is no difference between a moment and 40 years.

A stick of incense from an old monk can eliminate food for ten thousand kalpas
Huangbo had a lay student, Pei Xiu, who was a prime minister during Xuanzong's time.Pei Xiu is a devout Buddhist.Once, when he bought a Buddha statue, he knelt down and begged Huangbo to name it. Huangbo called out, "Pei Xiu."

Pei Xiu replied in response.Huangbo said, "Okay! I've already chosen a name for you."

Another time, Pei Xiu showed Huang Po a manuscript explaining Buddhism. Huang Po put the text aside and asked Pei Xiu after a while, "Do you understand?"

Pei Xiu replied, "I don't understand."

Huangbo then said: "If you use the method I have shown to understand, you may be able to grasp one or two things. If you want to express it in words, you will completely lose the spirit of my sect."

Pei Xiu's son, Pei Wende, won the first prize at a young age and was conferred the title of Hanlin by the emperor, but Pei Xiu didn't want his son to be successful so early.So he was sent to the monastery to practice and study, and he was asked to start with hard work.This young Hanlin scholar, carrying water and chopping firewood in the monastery every day, made him physically and mentally exhausted and troubled, he kept muttering in his heart, resenting his father from time to time for sending him to this kind of ancient temple in the deep mountains to be a cow He is a horse, but because of his father's order, he has to endure it reluctantly.

However, after doing this unwillingly for a period of time, Pei Wende finally couldn't bear it anymore, and complained full of resentment: "Hanlin carries water and sweat, how can the monk get rid of it after eating it?"

Zen Master Wude, the abbot of the temple, happened to hear it, smiled slightly, and replied with a poem: "A stick of incense, an old monk, can consume food for ten thousand kalpas."

Pei Wende was taken aback, and from then on he collected his body and mind and worked hard.

■Sentiment——

A great man does not sit in a high position to be worshiped by others, but a Zen master does it personally and sharpens his will from humble work and hard labor.Zen sect pays more attention to ascetic toutuo, labor experience.If you burn incense like a Zen monk, your heart can travel across ten directions, your performance will be exhausted vertically, and your mind will reach a certain level.

gain and loss

Once upon a time, there was a couple who sold tofu. They got up early and worked in the dark every day to run a small business.Although they can't earn a lot of money, their life is stable and they can still have enough food and clothing all year round, so they are very contented, and there are often happy laughter in the hut.

Next door to them lived a rich man.Listening to the laughter flying out of the hut every day, the rich man was very puzzled and very uncomfortable.So one night, after the couple who sold the tofu fell asleep, the rich man quietly threw a piece of gold into the courtyard next door.

The next morning, the couple found the gold in the yard and were very excited, but they had conflicts over how to dispose of the gold.Be a rich man, the gold is obviously not enough; there is too little to renovate the house; if you put it at home, you are afraid of being stolen.The couple discussed and discussed, but they still couldn't come up with the best solution.

So, they guarded the gold and worried, and they didn't have the heart to make tofu. Since then, there has been no laughter in the house.

Seeing this scene, the rich man smiled knowingly.

■Sentiment——

Money sometimes buys some superficial things, but it cannot represent real joy and happiness.Being able to maintain a healthy and optimistic heart in a poor life is a happiness that is hard to buy.A simple and ordinary life may be the most beautiful.Even the rich would envy such a life.

beyond trouble
A believer asked Chan Master Zhaozhou Congchen: "Does the Buddha have afflictions?" Chan Master Zhaozhou replied: "Yes!"

The believer asked: "Then why? The Buddha is a liberated person, how could he have afflictions?" Zen Master Zhaozhou replied: "That's because you haven't been saved yet."

The believer asked: "If I am saved in practice, will the Buddha have any troubles?" Zen Master Zhaozhou replied: "Yes!"

The believer asked: "Since I have been saved, why does the Buddha still have troubles?" Zen Master Zhaozhou replied: "Because there are all sentient beings!"

The believer asked: "Of course all sentient beings cannot be saved, so the Buddha is always in affliction and cannot go beyond?" Chan Master Zhaozhou replied: "It has been surpassed, and there is no affliction."

The believer asked: "Since all living beings have not been saved, why is the Buddha not troubled?" Zen Master Zhaozhou replied: "All the living beings in the Buddha's own nature have been saved." The believer seems to have realized something under his words.

■Sentiment——

The afflictions of ordinary people are caused by delusion, but the Buddha's afflictions are born of compassion, and the most feared thing is that afflictions arise from afflictions.Once you have love, you will create karma and afflictions. All afflictions and unvirtuous actions are related to love.

In the world, there is no one who has no troubles, and everyone has a hard-to-recite scripture.It's just that some people are good at finding happiness, while some people only struggle in the sea of ​​troubles.

(End of this chapter)