Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 19 Breaking the Precepts—In the Great Thousand World, a Free Body (1)
who bound you

Among Huineng's disciples, Nanyue Huairang's line was passed down to Mazu Taoism and became very prosperous for a while. At the same time, Qingyuan Xingsi's lineage also appeared a master who was famous all over the world and had profound Zen skills. The famous Zen master Shitou Xiqian.

Xiqian (700-790), whose common surname was Chen, was from Cantonese. He had compassion in his heart when he was young.Later, he became a monk and joined Huineng's school for the first time. After Huineng passed away, Xiqian received full precepts in Luofu Mountain. Later, he practiced meditation in Qingyuan as a teacher and realized Zen.In the early years of Tianbao, he went to Hengshan Mountain in Yuannan, and built a nunnery on a big rock in front of Nansi, known as "Shishi Xiqian".Xiqian's Zen method was more rigorous. Scholars at that time were often proud of being recognized by Xiqian, and they were collectively called "two great masters of the same age" together with Master Mazu.

Shitou Xiqian's education method is very strict, and sometimes he not only seals the mouths of the students, but also beats them back.A monk asked, "What is liberation?"

Xiqian immediately asked back: "Who bound you?"

He asked again, "What is the Pure Land?"

The Zen master asked again: "Who polluted you?"

The student monk did not give up and asked, "What is Nirvana?"

Xiqian is still the same old way: "Who gave you life and death?"

■Sentiment——

The Fourth Patriarch Daoxin asked Sengcan to teach him the way of liberation, and Sengcan asked, "Who tied you up?" Daoxin said, "No one tied me up." Sengcan said, "Since no one tied you up, This is liberation, why do you need to seek liberation again?" Daoxin immediately realized.

Xiqian and the Four Patriarchs tell us that we are free without any restraints, and all precepts are man-made restraints.

There is absolute freedom in Zen
According to Yunmen: "There is absolute freedom in Zen. Sometimes it is negated, and sometimes it is affirmed. Use whatever method you like."

A monk asked him, "How can you be sure?"

Yunmen replied, "Winter goes and spring comes."

The monk asked, "What's the matter with Spring?"

Yunmen replied, "With a stick across my shoulders, I don't know whether it's east, west, north, or south. I walk in the fields and tap the stumps for joy."

■Sentiment——

There is absolute freedom in Zen, Zen is life, and our life is absolutely free.You see: "with a stick across your shoulders, regardless of east, west, north, south, walking in the fields, tapping stumps for pleasure." Free and unrestrained, why do we have to stipulate that we can't do this, and that's not allowed?Really looking for trouble.

Seeking Enlightenment
Zen master Weiyan visited Shitou Xiqian for the first time, and asked: "I heard that there is a Zen school in the south that points directly at people's hearts and becomes a Buddha by seeing one's nature. I don't understand it. I hope you will be merciful and enlighten me."

Xiqian saw that Weiyan was quite Buddhist, and said, "It's wrong to do this, it's wrong to be different, it's wrong to be like this and not like this, can you understand?"

After finishing speaking, Chan Master Xiqian saw Weiyan's perplexed look, so he said to him, "Your karma is not here. Go to Master Mazu and ask."

Wei Yan then went to Mazu, and recalled the previous conversation. Mazu was amused and said, "Sometimes I teach it to raise eyebrows and blink, sometimes I don't teach it to raise eyebrows and blink, sometimes it is it who raises eyebrows and blinks, sometimes it is not it. You How to understand."

Wei Yan said he was enlightened, and said to Ma Zu: "Being with Zen Master Xiqian is like a shadow biting an iron bull." Ma Zu agreed on the spot.

■Sentiment——

Xiqian's Zen techniques are strict and realistic, while Mazu's Zen techniques are smooth and broad.If you look into it carefully, Xiqian is talking about the relationship between the Tao and the human heart, emphasizing that what you do has nothing to do with the Tao. Here the emphasis is on the relationship between the mind and things, and Mazu understands it.He told Weiyan plainly that this and that are the effects of the Tao, and you will never deviate from the Tao in whatever you do, and you cannot leave it even if you want to. The Tao is the state of everyone.One played the red face and the other played the bad face, Wei Yan was finally tossed out.From this point of view, Matsu and Xiqian could be regarded as a pair of highly skilled double reeds at that time.

natural riding buddha
The famous Zen master Danxia naturally wanted fame and fame when he was young. When he met a Zen guest on the road, he said to him: "Where is it better to be an official than to be a Buddha?"

The natural wisdom root was activated, and he went to Mazu's place. When he arrived, he pushed the brim of his hat with his hands and said nothing. Mazu looked at him for a while and said, "Nanyue Shishi Xiqian is your teacher."

Naturally, he went to Xiqian's place, and when he arrived, he pushed the brim of his hat and said nothing, "Put it in the dormitory."

So I started cooking naturally for a total of three years.

One day, Shitou Xiqian told the public to remove the grass in front of the Buddha Hall the next day.The next day, all the monks removed the weeds, and only Tianran washed his head with a basin of water and knelt down in front of the stone.Seeing this, Shitou smiled and shaved off his hair.Shi Shi was about to explain the precepts, but Tianran covered his ears and walked out.

After shaving his hair naturally, he went to see Zen Master Ma Zu again, and ran into the monastery hall before seeing the ceremony, and sat on the neck of the statue, all the monks panicked.Ma Zu walked into the monastery hall in person, saw this and smiled at Tianran, "My son Tianran."

Naturally, I immediately came down to thank him and said, "Thank you, Teacher, for giving me the dharma name!"

Since then, it has been named "natural".

■Sentiment——

Someone asked Zen Master Guiren: "How to put the monk's virtue into action?" And self-restraint" are all against the restraint of precepts on people.After the bondage is lifted, "in the great world, a free body". "Natural" is such a Zen master.The Dharma name "Natural" also means to maintain one's nature, naturally, without any artificial constraints.

Burning Buddha can also keep warm
Once, Zen Master Danxia was wearing very little clothes in a Buddhist temple. It was a severe winter, with heavy snow and very cold weather.Zen Master Danxia took down the woodcarved Buddha statue from the Buddha Hall to warm it up, but the picket in the monastery saw it and shouted angrily: "Damn it! Why do you use the Buddha statue to warm up by the fire?"

Zen Master Danxia replied calmly: "I am not warming the fire, I am burning relics!"

"Nonsense! Where are the relics in the wood-carved Buddha statues?" The picket still reprimanded loudly.

However, Zen Master Danxia still took the Buddha statue calmly and put it into the fire, and said: "Since it is wood and there are no relics, why not take more to warm the fire!"

■Sentiment——

The Buddha statues that the picket knew were only woodcuts, but Danxia burnt the Buddha to get relics, so the Buddha statues he knew had spirituality.In the mind of Chan Master Danxia, ​​the dharma body of my Buddha Tathagata pervades the entire universe, not just the statue of Buddha. To Zen Master, that statue of Buddha has already surpassed the shape and quality. Characterization!
Danxia back beauty

Once, Chan Master Danxia crossed the river with a colleague, and the small wooden bridge on the river was washed away by the water for some reason.At this time, there happened to be a young and beautiful woman who was about to cross the river. Seeing the flowing river, she didn't know what to do for a while.

Zen Master Danxia carried the beauty across the river without saying a word.

The same door couldn't help asking him: "Senior brother, we monks are not close to women, how can you carry other girls across the river?"

Danxia asked back: "That woman, I put her down a long time ago, junior brother, are you still carrying it?"

The same door touched his head and stood there in a daze, speechless.

■Sentiment——

When we go to Buddhist temples, we often see a statue of Maitreya Buddha sitting there with a grin on his mouth and his belly uncovered. The prototype of this Maitreya Buddha is the famous Zen master Budai monk in the Tang Dynasty of China.The reason why Maitreya Buddha's belly is big is because he was drunk with wine.There is a couplet in the temple that praises Maitreya Buddha's way: "A big belly can tolerate things that are difficult to tolerate in the world; open your mouth and smile often, and laugh at the ridiculous people in the world." Sleepy, this is not just a matter of courage, but has reached the realm of freedom.

form is emptiness, emptiness is form

According to historical records, two brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, Neo-Confucians of the Song Dynasty, went to a banquet together once.When Cheng Yi sees two prostitutes in the seat, he immediately walks away, while Cheng Hao breaks up happily with the people in the seat.

The next day, Cheng Yi found Cheng Hao with an angry look on his face, wanting to ask the teacher for his crime.His brother Cheng Hao replied:
"A certain person was drinking there at that time, and there were prostitutes in the seat, but there were no prostitutes in his heart; my brother is at the head of the fasting today, and there are no prostitutes in the fasting, but there are still prostitutes in his heart."

■Sentiment——

The "Heart Sutra" said straight to the point: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from form."

Qingyuan Yuishin said: "When a person does not practice Zen, he sees that mountains are mountains and water is water; when he sees the principles of Zen through the teaching of a good teacher, he sees that mountains are not mountains, and water is not water; When he really has a resting place, he sees mountains again as mountains, and sees water as water again.”

Su Tungpo also expresses this idea in the following poem:
Lushan misty rain Zhejiang tide,
I can't wait until I arrive.

until nothing happens,
Lushan misty rain Zhejiang tide.

It seems that brother Cheng Hao has already reached the realm of "form is emptiness".

Emperor Wu of Liang and Bodhidharma
According to the records of "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records", after Bodhidharma arrived in China, the first nobleman to talk to him was Emperor Liang Wu, the biggest Dharma protector of Buddhism at that time.

Emperor Liangwu asked Bodhidharma: "Since I came to the throne, I have built many temples, printed many scriptures, and supported many monks and nuns. How much merit do you think I have?"

Bodhidharma replied frankly: "There is no merit!"

Emperor Wu of Liang asked strangely: "Why is there no merit?"

So Bodhidharma said a reason to answer:

"All of these are just a little remedy for your own omissions. They are still worldly, like shadows that follow the shape. They seem to be real, but they are actually empty. As for the real merit, that is pure wisdom, that is Harmonious and wonderful, its nature is emptiness, and such merits cannot be achieved by worldly methods.”

So Emperor Wu of Liang asked again: "What is the first principle of the Noble Truth?"

Bodhidharma replied: "There is nothing holy."

Emperor Wu asked again: "Since there is no saint, who is speaking to me now?"

Bodhidharma replied, "I don't know."

■Sentiment——

Bodhidharma's answer was quite simple and clear, but this devout and knowledgeable Buddhist emperor could not grasp the spirit of Bodhidharma's attitude, which meant that Buddha was not cultivated, but natural.Bodhidharma found that he would have no other help for the emperor, so he left Emperor Wu of Liang and went to the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan.It is said that he sat facing the wall all day for nine years, and later others called him a Brahman watching the wall.

close your eyes
A certain Confucian student lives next door to a Zen temple. While studying "Zhihu Zhe Ye" in the school, he also learned Zen from monks in a decent way. Therefore, while pretending to be knowledgeable, he also comprehended a lot of Zen in his heart.And the teacher who taught them was an old pedant, unsmiling, and looked like a serious teacher all day long.

On a festival day, Confucian scholars and their classmates met in Wangjiang Tower.There are delicious food and wine in Wangjiang Tower, as well as elegant dancing and soft singing voice.On the street, they met Mr. unexpectedly.So, Mr. was invited by them to come to Wangjiang Tower together.

Mr. was naturally invited to the main seat.After drinking for three rounds, the sound of silk and bamboo sounded, and young maiko appeared on the stage.She turned all her tenderness into a beautiful dance, which won the applause of the whole house.

Do not listen to evil, do not see evil.Keeping in mind the teachings of the sages, Mr. closed his eyes tightly, sat in a well-behaved manner, and was not moved by the noise and frolicking around him at all.After the banquet was over, when the maiko came to ask people for rewards, the Confucian scholar called her over and whispered something in her ear.So, the singing girl came straight to her husband, bowed her knees and asked him to reward her with money.

The master jumped up and said angrily: "I didn't even look at you!" Maiko grabbed his lapel and said according to what the Confucian scholar had just taught her: "It's nothing to look at with your eyes open, at most you can see you." Outer clothes. You close your eyes and think, That's great, I'm afraid it will do everything. So, old gentleman, you must pay double.

■Sentiment——

Ordinary people "see color is color", it is easy to see color and get distracted, and can't stand the temptation; people who have been educated by Confucianism are "seeing color is not color", even if they see color, they pretend not to see it, so as to avoid temptation. Just like this old master, but doing so is actually abstinence, and of course it is against human nature; those Confucian scholars have returned to "seeing color is color", seeing it is seeing it, and will not deceive themselves and others, which is in line with human nature. Nature, this is the state of the highest cultivation.

Two bowls of noodles
Once upon a time, there was a layman who went to a famous Zen monastery to visit a Zen master.After meeting with the Zen master, they talked very speculatively. Before they knew it, it was lunch time, and the Zen master stayed with the lay people for dinner.

The waiter made two bowls of noodles for them. The noodles tasted delicious, but one bowl was big and the other bowl was small.The two sat down, and the Zen master looked at the noodles, then pushed the big bowl in front of the layman and said, "You eat this big bowl."

Originally, according to common sense, the layman should be modest and push the big bowl back in front of the Zen master to show respect.Unexpectedly, the layman didn't even look at the Zen master, and just lowered his head and started eating.Upon seeing this, the Zen master frowned, a little displeased.The layman didn't notice it, and ate alone with relish.

After he finished eating, he looked up and saw that the Zen master's bowl and chopsticks hadn't moved at all, so he asked with a smile, "Why doesn't Master eat?"

The Zen master sighed and said nothing.

The layman smiled again and said, "Master is angry with me? Do you think I don't understand etiquette and just gobble it up?"

The Zen master didn't answer, just sighed again.

The layman then asked: "May I ask Zen Master, what is the purpose of our pushing back and forth like this?"

"Let the other party eat a big bowl." The Zen master finally answered.

"That's right, letting the other party eat a big bowl is the ultimate goal. Then, as you think, when are you pushing back and forth, when will you eat the noodles? I ate the big bowl of noodles, and you feel unhappy , isn’t the purpose of your modesty sincere? You eat as you eat, and I eat as you eat, so what’s the point of pushing back and forth?”

After listening to the layman's words, the Zen master had an epiphany in his heart.

■Sentiment——

There are many clear rules and etiquettes in Buddhism. Some monks with low level of cultivation tend to hesitate in front of these clear rules and etiquettes, and as a result, they do not make any progress in their practice. The Zen master above is just that.In fact, the purpose of Zen is not to let these etiquettes bind people's hands and feet, but to let us be free and easy.

Buddha's compassion

During the Song Dynasty, Zen Master Eisai, who returned to Japan from studying in China, raised funds everywhere and began to build the first Zen temple in Japan.The Zen temple is about to be completed, and only the gold decoration of the Buddha statues remains.

The monastery bought gold with the remaining funds, beat it into thin gold leaf, and prepared to paste it on the body of the Buddha statue.

Just the night before the preparation for loading gold, the weather was extremely cold, and suddenly a haggard man ran to the temple.

He knelt on the ground and said to Zen Master Rongxi: "Our family is suffering from hunger and cold. I beg the teacher to help us. I really have no other choice."

After hearing this, Zen Master Rongxi was very embarrassed at first, so he tried his best to think of a way to save them.Suddenly seeing the gold leaf used to paint the Tathagata statue, I was overjoyed and said to him, "Take this gold leaf for emergency!"

At that time, the disciples were surprised and looked very sorry, and asked, "Master, what a pity! How could you do this?"

Zen Master Rongxi explained to them calmly: "I am just practicing compassion. The so-called Buddha's compassion is a heart of great compassion. If the Buddha saw these poor people, he would help them even if he sacrificed his life. If I therefore And going to hell, I don’t have any regrets. Think about it, why are you cultivating?”

The disciples were amazed when they heard this.

■Sentiment——

Zen Master Rongxi is right, the Buddha is merciful, and our respect for the Buddha does not mean just respecting the Buddha, but more importantly, we should learn from the Buddha and have a compassionate heart like the Buddha.If one pays homage to the Buddha on the one hand, and on the other hand ignores the life and death of others, then one does not truly believe in and respect the Buddha, because he does not have a heart of compassion at all.

rescue
Once, there was a shortage of food in the monastery where Zen Master Rongxi lived, and everyone was starving.It happened that a person gave two bolts of silk to the Zen master.The Zen master happily took it back to the temple, and said to everyone: "These two bolts of silk will become porridge tomorrow morning. We really want to thank that benefactor!"

Just when everyone was happy, a man in ragged clothes ran into the temple and asked: "I have nowhere to go. You see, I don't even have a decent dress. Can you give these two bolts of silk to the temple?" And me?"

The Zen master gave it to him without saying a word.

This time he taught his disciples again: "Everyone is here to seek the Dharma. If we endure the pain of hunger and save people in disasters, isn't that what we have long wished for?" All the disciples nodded in agreement. .

■Sentiment——

Zen Master Rongxi's compassion has been verified again.

Do not worship Buddha
The tomb of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, is in Wupo, Xiong'er Mountain, Henan Province.According to legend from ancient times, every Zen master must visit here once in his life.There is a Zen monk who has never seen the face of Bodhidharma, but he is willing to guard the tomb of Bodhidharma for life.During the Tang Dynasty, the tomb of the Patriarch Bodhidharma was given the title of "Pagoda of Master Yuanjue Kongguan", so everyone called the Zen monk guarding the tomb the owner of the pagoda.

Once, the No.11 successor of Patriarch Bodhidharma, the world-renowned Chan Master Linji came to the tomb of Patriarch Bodhidharma.After meeting him, the Pagoda Master asked, "Excuse me, Elder, your dharma is here. Do you pay respects to the Buddha first? Or to the ancestors first?"

Zen Master Linji said: "The purpose of my coming here is neither to worship the Buddha nor to worship the ancestors!"

After hearing this, the pagoda owner asked puzzledly: "Excuse me, Dharma Master, does the Buddha and the Patriarch have any enmity with you?"

Upon hearing this, Zen Master Linji asked, "You have spoken on behalf of the Buddha and the Patriarch. Do the Buddha and the Patriarch have any favors for you?"

When the tower master heard it, he was at a loss as to how to answer.After a long time, the tower owner asked: "Then how should I deal with myself?"

Zen Master Linji said: "Only by eradicating grievances and enmity and realizing the equality of the Zen method can we see the true face of the Patriarch."

The tower master suddenly understood.

■Sentiment——

Zen Master Linji obtained the Dharma from Zen Master Huangbo. Linji must have a deep understanding of Huangbo's Zen state of "seeking not for the Buddha, not for the Dharma, not for the monk".This time I saw the pagoda tomb of Patriarch Bodhidharma, with the supreme gift of no request, it fit into the heart of the ancestors, but the pagoda owner didn't understand, and with a different point of view, asked whether Zen Master Linji was a Buddha or not. It is impolite to be with the ancestors, but the Buddha and the ancestors in the self-nature have already become one.

Kill the Buddha when you meet the Buddha, and kill the ancestor when you meet the ancestors

Once, when Linji gave a lecture on the Dharma, he said amazingly: "The twelve classics of Buddhism are old papers for wiping buttocks; the Buddha is an illusory body; Patriarch Bodhidharma is just an old monk." Seeing some monks turn pale with shock, he He explained unhurriedly: "Buddhas, like us, were born and raised by parents. They have life and death. If you want to become a Buddha, you will be caught by Buddha demons; if you want to beg ancestors, you will be caught by ancestor demons. If Asking for something is hard work, it is better to ask for nothing.”

(End of this chapter)