Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 20 Breaking the Precepts—In the Great Thousand World, a Free Body (2)
Finally he said: "If you want to obtain the Dharma, don't be detained and deceived by others. From the inside out, you should kill the Buddha whenever you meet, kill the Buddha when you meet the ancestor, kill the Arhat when you meet the arhat, and kill the arhat when you meet your parents." Kill your parents, so that you don't stick to physical appearance, and you can truly be liberated."

■Sentiment——

Zen Master Linji got his name because he lived in Shanxi Linji Temple for a long time.He founded the "Linji Sect", which flourished after the middle Tang Dynasty.The characteristic of Linji sect is that it is "sharp and fierce", dares to "curse the Buddha and scold the ancestors", and opposes authority and classics.The "kill" here does not mean to teach people to kill and commit crimes, but to eliminate and be arrogant from the heart.Don't be superstitious about the ancestors, and don't be bound by the authority. It is precisely in this way that generations of ancestors and authorities have been produced.Only by not being superstitious can we not follow blindly; only by not being persistent can we seek ourselves; ourselves are both Zen and Buddha.

Chi Chang Slays the Snake
There was a student monk who admired Zen master Zhichang's Taoism and came to his ashram to learn.

One day, a student monk was weeding with Zen Master Zhichang, when suddenly a snake jumped out of the dense grass.Without hesitation, the Zen master raised his hoe and chopped.The student monk thought to himself: The monks have compassion in mind, how can they kill so easily?But the Zen master continued weeding as if nothing had happened. The student monk couldn't help but sneer at the Zen master and said, "The way of compassion here is well-known far and wide, so it turns out that it is deceiving the world! What I saw here with my own eyes was just a rude layman."

Zen Master Zhichang asked unhappily, "The monks talk like you! Are you rough, or am I rough?"

The student monk still contradicted unhappily: "What is rough?"

Zen Master Zhichang put down his hoe and looked directly at the student monk.

The student monk thought that he had passed the test of the Zen master, so he asked triumphantly: "What is fineness?"

The Zen master raised the hoe and repeated the posture of cutting the snake.

The student monk said inexplicably: "What do you mean by the thickness of your words? I don't think anyone can understand!"

Zen Master Zhichang changed the subject and said, "Don't understand? Then let's not talk about it. Where and when did you see me chopping the snake?"

The student monk thought that the old man was actually trying to play tricks, so he immediately said unceremoniously: "At this moment."

Zen Master Zhichang said in an admonishing tone: "You can't see yourself at this moment, but you see what the snake is doing?"

The student monk came to his senses and apologized to the Zen master hastily.

■Sentiment——

Killing is indeed the fundamental Buddhist precept, but Zhichang slays the snake, has he actually slashed it?Perhaps it is just a "cut" gesture, the purpose is to cut off the student monk's attachment to material desires and test the student monk's character.The student monk sees the wind as the rain and is obsessed with appearances, so he is criticized instead.

trampled toad

Once upon a time, there was a monk who kept the precepts strictly all his life, and he never dared to relax himself.

One day he went down the mountain to do something, and when he came back, it was already late and there was no moonlight. The monk who held the precepts hurried back to the monastery. When passing by the pond, he suddenly felt that his feet were soft as if he was stepping on something, and he heard a creaking sound. Then there was no more sound.

Hearing the painful cry from that thing, Chi Seng thought: It's broken, don't you trample a toad to death?By the pond, it was limp and screaming, yes, it must be a toad.Maybe there are many cubs in the toad's belly.God!I have killed countless lives this time!The more the monastic monk thought about it, the more frightened he became. He tossed and turned in bed at night, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Later, the monk holding the precepts fell asleep in a daze, and suddenly saw hundreds of toads coming to claim his life in a trance. He was so frightened that he was sweating profusely, and woke up with a loud cry. It turned out that he had a nightmare.

After finally waiting for dawn, the monk holding the precepts hurried to the scene of the incident.Where is there any dead toad?Just an old trampled eggplant lying by the pond.The monk holding the precepts let out a sigh of relief, and finally felt relieved.

■Sentiment——

In general practice, you must forget your emotions, and if you are stagnant, you will definitely ask for trouble.Is it a toad or an old eggplant that the precept monk stepped on at night?If it's a toad, it turns out to be an old eggplant at dawn; if it's an old eggplant, when it's dark, you think it's a female toad that's been trampled to death.Who can tell what it is?
silent thunder
The spring is in full bloom, Zen Master Wei Shan sits quietly in the abbot's room and burns an incense stick.The waiter knocked on the door and said, "Tell Master that the Master Uncle from Mount Wutai is here."

When Weishan heard that Master Wutai Yinfeng was coming, he knew that this Zen master had always been straightforward, despised the rules and regulations of the world, and did not dare to neglect, so he hurriedly got up and put on cassocks, ordered the monks to dress neatly, and went out to meet him.

All the ceremonies were ready, Wei Shan arrived at the Dharma hall accompanied by the attendants, and saw Master Yinfeng's luggage was spread out on the seat of the seat, the luggage was completely opened, and things were scattered everywhere.Wei Shan was a little embarrassed, and was about to step forward to salute.Yinfeng straightened up, unbuttoned his clothes in front of everyone, stretched his hands and feet, and lay down comfortably, smiling, without saying a word.

He lay there comfortably all over his body, as if he couldn't see everyone, his hands and feet were completely spread out, like a water lily under the moonlight, or like an unpredictable cloud.

After a long while, Wei Shan finally realized that he was full of fetters and attachments, so he walked away silently, returned to the abbot's room, and continued to sit and meditate.

Yinfeng laughed loudly, packed his luggage, waved to the monks, and left gracefully.

An hour had passed, Wei Shan opened the door and asked the waiter, "Is Uncle Master still there?"

"I've already left." "Did you say anything before you left?" "No, my uncle didn't say anything."

Zen Master Wei Shan's eyes were fixed: "Mo Dao didn't speak, the voice was as astonishing as thunder!"

■Sentiment——

When the master uncle came to visit, it was enough to get up to greet him, but he had to hold a ritual ceremony to wrap up the good emotions of the rare meeting, artificially restraining people's body, mind and hands and feet.This is of course unacceptable to Zen Master Yinfeng, who has always opposed the constraints of worldly etiquette, so he had no choice but to lie down on the spot and stretch his hands and feet.He is using his actions to tell his masters and nephews the principles of cultivation.

All four are empty
One day, Zen master Foyin came to the altar to give a lecture on Zen.

After Su Dongpo heard the news, he also rushed to attend.However, when he arrived, the seats were already full of believers and there were no vacancies.

At this time, the Zen master saw Su Dongpo and said, "Everyone is full, and there is no room for you, a scholar."

Su Dongpo has always been good at Zen, and he immediately replied tit for tat to the Zen master, saying: "Since there is no place to sit here, then I will tell you, Zen master, the four elements and five aggregates (the four elements are the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, and the five aggregates are form, The body of feeling, thinking, formation, and consciousness) serves as the seat."

The Zen master saw Su Dongpo discussing Zen with him, so he said: "Scholar! I have a question for you. If you can answer it, then the body of my old monk will be your seat; if you can't answer it, then the body on your body will be your seat." The jade belt will be left to this temple as a souvenir."

Su Dongpo has always been pretentious, so he agreed.

Zen Master Foyin said: "The four elements are all empty, and the five aggregates have nothing. May I ask where should the scholar sit?"

Su Dongpo didn't know how to respond, but was at a loss for words for a while.

■Sentiment——

According to the theory of Zen, our physical body is composed of the "four elements" of earth, water, fire, and wind, or the "five aggregates" of form (body), thought (thought), feeling (emotion), action (will) and consciousness (soul). , but none of them are real, and they cannot sit here. Therefore, Su Dongpo's jade belt was lost to Zen Master Foyin, and it is still kept in Jinshan Temple.

Han Shan and Pick Up

Han Shan always sees the head but doesn't see the tail, comes and goes without a trace, and is mysterious; while Shide works as a handyman in the Guoqing Temple all day long, and his speech and behavior are quite strange.One day, when Shide was sweeping the floor, the temple master asked him, "Your name is Shide, because Fenggan picked you up. What's your surname?"

Shide put down the broom and stood with his arms crossed.

The temple master didn't understand, and asked again: "What is your last name?"

Pick up the broom and sweep away.

Han Shan on the side beat his chest and stomped his feet and cried bitterly: "God, God!"

Shide asked him, "What's the matter?"

He said: "You have never seen the dead of the Dong family, and the Xi family supports the mourning."

Shide sang like no one else:

It has always been picked up, not by accident.I have no relatives, Han Shan is my elder brother.

The hearts of the two are similar, who can show favoritism.How old is it?The Yellow River was cleared several times.

One day, Han Shan asked Shide: "When people slander me, bully me, humiliate me, laugh at me, belittle me, or deceive me, how should I respond?"

Shi De replied: "You can only tolerate him, let him, avoid him, endure him, respect him, and ignore him."

The monastery reviews the precepts every half month to warn the monks.Once, when Guoqing Temple recited precepts as usual, Shide drove a group of buffaloes to the front of the hall, leaned on the door frame, clapped his hands and laughed.

The abbot and monk scolded him angrily: "You madman, you broke my precept!"

Shi De said: "To be free of anger is to be disciplined, and to be pure in heart is to become a monk." As he said this, he even called out some names to the cattle, and those names were the dharma names of the dead monks in the monastery!

What's even more incredible is that the cow actually blew in response.Pickup said:
If you didn't keep the precepts in your previous life, you have a human face but an animal heart.

Who do you resent for recruiting this report now?
Although the Buddha's power is great, you are indebted to the Buddha's kindness.

Seeing this, all the monks in the hall were sweating like rain, their hair stand on end.Just think, who would dare to break the precept!

——Pick up and talk about precepts, it can be said to be vivid and thrilling.

When Shide was working in the kitchen, he found that the air-dried rice noodles were often eaten by birds, and bird droppings were left on them.Instead of chasing the birds, he took his Zen stick to the Jialan Temple, the place where the temple worships the Dharma protector.While beating the statues with sticks, he scolded them: "You idiots enjoy the incense for nothing, and you can't even take care of the food. How can you protect the monastery!"

■Sentiment——

The name is just a sign, and one who realizes the Buddha-nature is one's true face, so Shide did not answer with words, but taught the temple master with a Zen machine.It's a pity that the master of the temple is a layman. Seeing that the great Zen opportunity has been missed in vain, why not make people feel sad, Han Shan cried bitterly.

Birds waste food, but when they pick it up, they beat the gods with sticks.While we couldn't help laughing, we naturally thought: If the "gods" we worship devoutly can't keep one side safe, what's the use?Zen monks never believed in gods. The only thing they believed in was themselves—only they could control their own destiny.

Flirtation
In Hangzhou, Su Dongpo had a Zen friend, Zen Master Datong.Chan Master Datong holds the precepts strictly and meticulously.One spring, it was the season when peaches and plums were blooming, and when the West Lake was singing and dancing, there was a light knock on the door of Zen Master Datong's room.As soon as he opened the door, a group of beautiful singing girls with heavy makeup and gorgeous flowers poured in.Just when he was puzzled and dazed, a smirk appeared on his face, it was Layman Dongpo.The pure meditation room turned out to be a place of unrestrained joy, how could Zen Master Datong not be stunned!

Dongpo didn't care about these things, he took out the lyrics he had written in advance, and asked the prostitutes to play the piano and sing:
Whose song is the teacher singing, who is the heir of the family?
The witty quizzes among these Zen guests are now sung by the coy singer Yue Jiaosheng Langyu, what a joke in the world!Chan Master Datong didn't know whether to laugh or cry, his face was so gloomy that water could be wrung out.

I will also act on every occasion, don't doubt it.

The clapper is also the Zen board. Like the door hammer, it is a prop used by Zen masters to guide students to understand Zen.It can also be said that, in order to inspire disciples to enlightenment, the master with a clear mind, all kinds of demonstrations are just a play on the spot.Now, this libretto also shows that Dongpo's visit with prostitutes is just a play on the occasion.Datong suddenly realized: it is also a kind of attachment that he has thoughts, hatred and troubles for this!

Chan Master Datong clasped his hands together towards Dongpo, and said, "The layman has a profound understanding of Zen, and I am ashamed of myself."

Dongpo laughed loudly, his fingers slid across the strings, and amidst a series of tinkling sounds, he recited the most famous Zen poem in the past thousand years:

If there is a qin sound on the strings, why not play it in the box?
If the words are on your fingers, why not listen to your fingers?
■Sentiment——

Dongpo said that Zen is both solemn and harmonious, fresh and watery, lively and lively, which can be said to be the "play Samadhi" of Zen.

Scale has never been received, and there is nothing when you look closely.Send a message to wipe the back of the person, and you will wave your elbow every day.Light hands, light hands!Laymen are innocent.

The water is very clear and clean, but the mud is naturally filthy.However, from the perspective of Zen, whether the water is clean or dirty, its nature is empty, so Dongpo said that they are "neither of them."The self-nature is inherently quiet, therefore, those who are discouraged (the oath practice) can "handle lightly" as much as possible.

Dongpo and the Prostitute

Once, Su Dongpo and his friends swam in the West Lake.When literati and refined scholars get together, it is natural to recruit prostitutes to sing and dance.

He found that one of the prostitutes named "Qin Cao" was fresh, refined and outstanding.Although she is trapped in the world, she seems to be independent on the top of the mountain and beside the river.Dongpo was very surprised, and asked again and again, and learned that Qin Cao was from Kuaiji, and his original surname was Ren.Due to the death of her parents when she was young, she unfortunately became a prostitute.Dongpo tried to guide her with Buddhism.Unexpectedly, this piano exercise has good roots, and it can be enlightened a thousand times. The essence of Buddhism and Zen is like an old lesson.

One day, Dongpo took the flower boat she was on to visit the lake, pointed to the West Lake and asked, "What is the scene in the lake?"

Knowing that Layman Dongpo was asking about Zen, Qin Cao answered casually: "Sunset clouds and solitary desires fly together, and the autumn waters are the same color as the sky."

"What is a man in the scene?" Dongpo asked again.

Under his encouragement, Qin Cao's Zen flourished, and his Zen machine was awe-inspiring. He said: "The skirt drags six pieces of water from the Xiangjiang River, and the topknot pulls a section of clouds on Wushan Mountain."

"What is the middle scene of a person?"

"Golden horses neigh in the fragrant grassland, and the people of Yulou are drunk with apricot blossoms."

Dongpo continued to ask, "What exactly?"

"There are few cars and horses in front of the door, and the eldest is married as a businessman's wife."

As soon as the words came out, Qin Cao suddenly realized.She said a deep blessing to Layman Dongpo, threw away the piano and boat, and drifted away.On the same day, he shaved his hair and became a nun, whose legal name is Qinchao.She submerged herself in self-cultivation, her roots were sharp, and soon she deeply comprehended the profound purpose and realized it thoroughly.

■Sentiment——

The sadness of the ups and downs in his official career has already made Dongpo layman free and easy.He has already understood his true colors, so his movement and movement are the same, and all dharmas are equal.In his mind, misfortunes, blessings, joys and sorrows, honors and disgraces, are just relative terms, just different feelings.Not pleased, not to have compassion:

How does life seem to be everywhere?It should be like Feihong stepping on slush.

Fingers and claws are left by chance in the soil, and Hongfei counts things.

"Jade Plate" Zen Master

When Dongpo was dispatched to Huizhou, he met Zen friend Liu Shian.Liu Shi'an knew that he had a lot of contacts with those famous Zen masters in the jungle, so he asked him to guide him. He also wanted to meet some Zen masters who are proficient in Buddhism and have profound practice, so that they can ask for advice at any time.One day after the rain, Layman Dongpo came to invite Liu Shi'an, saying that they were going to visit Zen master "Yuban" together.Dongpo also said that Zen master "Yuban" is not only good at demonstrating the true meaning of Buddhism, but also can save people's lives.

Liu Shi'an heard him speak so miraculously that he happily followed him to a monastery outside the city.However, Dongpo neither went to the Dharma hall where he taught scriptures or Zen, nor did he go to the abbot where the eminent monks lived, but took him to the bamboo forest behind the temple.After the spring rain, it is time for the bamboo shoots to break through the ground.Dongpo picked fresh and tender spring bamboo shoots, cut them into thin slices, and burned them on the fire to eat.

Liu Shi'an had never eaten such a delicacy, so he asked Dongpo, who is known as a gourmet, the name of this delicacy.Dongpo laughed, pointing to the bamboo shoots that were warm in color and fine in texture like jade, and said, "This is called a jade plate. This old man not only demonstrates the laws of nature vividly and vividly, but also can wrap people's stomachs and satisfy their hunger." .”

Only then did Liu Shi'an know that the Zen Master Dongpo referred to as the "Yuban" was a fresh and tender bamboo shoot.

Dongpo saw that he didn't understand the mystery, and his face showed disappointment, so he talked about the Zen mechanism in a poetic way, reciting:
The jungle is really hundreds of feet, and the heirs of the law have horizontal branches.

Don't be afraid of the stone road, come to join the jade board master.

Chatting with cypress trees, and asking Shea Longer.

The rubble can still be said, but this gentleman doesn't know?
"The jungle is truly hundreds of feet" - Master Baizhang Huaihai has a saying: "One day without work, one day without food." He pioneered the Zen jungle "work is meditation", allowing his disciples to understand the true meaning of Zen in their daily lives.Therefore, eating bamboo shoots can also comprehend Zen!
"Don't be afraid of stone roads" - Mazu Daoyi said in his evaluation of Shitou Xiqian's Zen method: "The stone roads are slippery".Because Patriarch Shitou's Zen method is like a phoenix singing in the sky, and there are few friends.Similarly, springing up bamboo shoots also contains a wonderful Zen mechanism, who can interpret it?

"Talk about the cypress tree" - a Zen monk asked Master Zhaozhou Congjian: "What is the Zen essentials of Patriarch Bodhidharma?" Old Zhaozhou pointed to the cypress tree in front of the main hall and said: "The cypress tree in front of the court." That is to say , the vegetation also naturally contains the mystery of Zen.

"Debris can still speak" - Manjusri Bodhisattva, known for his wisdom, said: "Wall rubble can also speak about Buddhism." The disciple of the Sixth Patriarch and Master Nanyang Huizhong once had a wonderful theory of "ruthless Dharma".Flowers and trees, stones and rubble, sun, moon and stars, birds and insects, all are Dharma, all are Zen!Throughout the ages, there have been many great Zen masters who have comprehended the true meaning of Buddhism from the Zen machine presented by nature, so that they can see their nature clearly and fully realize it.

■Sentiment——

Su Dongpo was demoted many times in his life, and even sat in prison, almost losing his life.However, he is very open-minded about his own honors, disgraces, gains and losses, which is not unrelated to his understanding of Zen.Since he practiced Zen and became enlightened, ups and downs do not hurt his feelings, and pain and happiness do not affect his heart.When he was demoted again and again, he was still so detached and free and easy:
The heart is like a tree that has ashes, and the body is like a boat that is not tied.

Ask Ruping's achievements in his life, Huangzhou, Huizhou, Qiongzhou.

slippery stone road
The so-called "slippery stone road" is the praise of Ma Zudao and Xiqian.Deng Yinfeng, a disciple of Matsu, was going to visit Zen Master Xiqian once, and bid farewell to Matsu. Matsu warned: "The stone road is slippery."

Yinfeng said nonchalantly: "I'm just going here to adapt to the situation and play on the occasion. Teacher, you don't have to worry." After finishing speaking, he left.

As soon as he arrived at Xiqian's Zen room, Yinfeng walked around Xiqian's Zen bed in a frame pose, vibrating his tin stick and making a clang, and asked, "What's the purpose of this?"

Stone immediately said: "Heaven! Heaven!"

Yinfeng was going to ask Shitou Xiqian by surprise, but Xiqian kicked the ball back, which made Yinfeng don't know what to say, so he had to go back to Mazu and report the trip to Mazu.Mazu smiled and said, "Go again, if he calls you Heaven, you will boo him."

Yinfeng returned to Xiqian's side and repeated the last action, asking, "What's the purpose of this?"

Shi Shi immediately "hush" to Yinfeng twice, but Yinfeng had nothing to say.

After returning, Zen Master Mazu said: "I warned you earlier, the stone road is slippery!"

■Sentiment——

In this koan, although Chan Master Yinfeng knew that he should be flexible in responding to the Zen machine, he regarded Zen as a bit more noble after all. When the stone called "Chang Tian" to him twice, he immediately broke his original thinking.It can be seen that Yinfeng's state at that time was only rational understanding, not yet at the point where the Tao was everywhere and the directors were harmonious, so once the original thinking was broken, he no longer had the confidence.

Matsu is like firewood
Xiqian once taught another disciple of Matsu even more harshly.The monk came to visit Xiqian after gaining some enlightenment from studying under Mazu's school.Xiqian asked, "Where are you from?"

The monk replied, "From Jiangxi."

"Have you met Master Mazu?"

The monk replied, "Yes."

Xiqian pointed to the firewood on the ground: "Master Ma looks like this?"

(End of this chapter)