Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 75 Cultivating the Mind of Wisdom with the Buddha’s Mind——Great Enlightenment, Infinite Wisdom (4)
Li Ao was even more confused, so he could only quietly ask the temple director standing aside, what did the master mean by his answer just now?The steward said: "The Zen master's surname is Han, and Han is cold. It's winter now, isn't it 'Han'?"

After hearing this, Zen master Weiyan said: "Nonsense! If he came to summer and asked and answered questions like this, wouldn't it be 'hot'?"

Li Ao couldn't help laughing, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.He asked the Zen master what Tao is.Zen Master Weiyan pointed to the sky and the ground with his fingers, and then asked him, "Have you noticed it?" Li Ao shook his head and said, "I didn't pay attention to it."

The Zen master said again: "The clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle." Li Ao was still puzzled.

Zen master Weiyan's "clouds are in the blue sky and water is in the bottle" has two meanings. One is that the clouds are in the sky and the water is in the bottle. They are just like the eyes and nose. They are the original appearance of things, and there is nothing special about them. .As long as you understand the essence of things and realize your true colors, you will understand what Tao is.The second is that the water in a bottle is like the human heart. As long as it is kept clean and untainted, the heart is as clear as water. No matter what bottle it is placed in, it can be round according to the square. It has a strong adaptability and can Hard and soft, big and small, just like the white clouds in the blue sky, free and easy.

At this time, a ray of sunlight suddenly shot down, and happened to see the clean water in the bottle. Li Ao suddenly realized something, and couldn't help reciting a verse casually: "You can make your body look like a crane, and two scriptures under a thousand pine trees. I Come to ask and Wu Yu said, the cloud is in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle."

I don't know if he has understood the Zen mechanism Wei Yan said, or he is praising the old Zen master for his good words, or saying that the old Zen master has a high morality.Anyway, this poem has become a Zen gatha that has been sung throughout the ages.

Zen Master Weiyan deliberately ignored Li Ao at the beginning, in order to dampen his arrogance and anger, so that he could put himself into the state of meditation and questioning, and finally saw that he was calm and peaceful, and then told him the true meaning of enlightenment: the cloud is in the blue sky water in bottle.

"The cloud is in the blue sky, the water is in the bottle" is a poem that Zen masters love to inspire scholars, telling people to maintain a normal mind that is not surprised by honor or disgrace, and forgets both things and me.Because, in the view of Zen, the ordinary mind is the Tao, which is Zen.

The saying "Ordinary mind is the way" was first put forward by Zen master Mazu Daoyi. In his quotations, it is impressively written: "No artificiality, no right and wrong, no choice, no interruption, nothing ordinary and holy. Only now Walking, standing, sitting and lying down, responding to the situation, is the way.”

What is a normal mind?In fact, a normal mind refers to a state of mind that lets nature take its course and does not push too hard, that is, sleep when you want to sleep, sit or stand when you want to sit, take cool when it is hot, and take fire when it is cold, without distinguishing between pretense and transcendence. Dye the natural life of net treats.The ordinary mind mentioned in Zen Buddhism is a full manifestation of the original pure self-nature mind, and it is still somewhat different from the ordinary mind that people call today.

However, whether it is the ordinary mind mentioned in Zen or the ordinary mind mentioned by people today, most of them refer to a kind of good cultivation in life. Of course, it is difficult to do this if you do not have certain experience and mind. of.Normal heart is the way.This sentence means that one should be down-to-earth and do everything calmly without thinking of quick success and quick gain. This is the Tao.In ancient times, there was a wise man, Fan Zhongyan, who "never delighted in things, nor saddened by oneself", and today, Mr. Li Ka-shing said, "In good times, never be too optimistic, and in bad times, never too pessimistic." These are the true portrayals of ordinary hearts.

At that time, Zhuge Kongming was full of economics and thought about the affairs of the world, but he didn't seek to be famous among the princes and hid in Genglong. How leisurely is the feather fan and scarf on the thatched cottage!Later, I met Liu Bei and visited the thatched cottage three times before leaving the mountain.He fought against Confucianism, burned Chibi, outwitted the middle of Shu, united with Sun Wu in the east, resisted Cao Wei in the north, captured Meng Huo seven times, and pacified the south.The Shu Han under his rule did not close their homes and roads at night and did not pick up things, which can be described as outstanding achievements.Just imagine that if Zhuge was impetuous and pretentious at the beginning, and couldn't wait to throw himself into the mediocre master in order to become famous, perhaps it would be difficult to find the famous name of Marquis Wu in the history books now.

Such examples are too numerous to mention, and they have created monuments in life with their ordinary hearts.

In modern society, social material wealth has developed to a certain height, but people's pursuit and desire for material wealth has also surpassed any period in the previous society.Logically speaking, within the scope allowed by society, the pursuit of a certain amount of material wealth is conducive to improving people's living standards, and there should be no problem.However, as the saying goes, desires are hard to fill, some people blindly pursue the enjoyment of life, but abandon a precious normal heart.The specific manifestations are impetuousness, eagerness for quick success, and frequent treachery, crossing rivers and demolishing bridges, and forgetting righteousness for profit.

Of course, those who are obsessed with material enjoyment and willfully abandon their common sense are only a few who are not good at dealing with the world.In life, there are still many people who are good at dealing with the world, they can hold a normal heart, do not take pleasure in things, do not feel sad for themselves, tolerance is great, and no desire is strong; they believe that success or failure is just a process, and hard work will pay off, so Be bearish on success and pursue more than ever.

It can be seen that a normal mind is conducive to people's clear understanding of society and their own lives, to maintaining a calm and good attitude, and to realizing their great ambitions.Therefore, it is better to practice a normal mind as soon as possible, which is of great benefit to a perfect life!
Normal mind exists in our daily life and exists around us.As a philosophy of life, it does not advocate the idea of ​​wasting one's life like mediocrity, doing nothing, and resigning oneself to fate.Qi Baishi's late blooming is an epiphany based on his long-term hard work and progress.In fact, this is the result of Baishi's precious normal heart!Doesn't Jia Dao's metaphor of "sharpening a sword in ten years" also contain the poet's enterprising and understanding of this kind of light full of wisdom?Therefore, no matter what class you are in or what kind of job you are in, don't blame others.Do your job well in a down-to-earth manner, even if you can't be vigorous, you will feel full in your heart, because after all, you have done your best.

A normal mind is a realm.It is a very high state of life for a person to face everything calmly in his life, to be undisturbed by ups and downs, not to be shocked by honor or disgrace, and to accept the evaluation of himself by the society; Chasing fame and fortune can only be tiring and exhausting.Keep a normal mind, and the chance of success will always be with you.

"There is no ambition without indifference, and no distance without tranquility."A normal heart is not only a manifestation of open-mindedness, but also a state of being a human being.In a person's life, there are bound to be ups and downs and difficulties, so we must learn to look at them with a normal heart.Moreover, a peaceful state of mind can eliminate narrow-mindedness and arrogance, let go of impetuousness and vanity, and face life with a normal heart, and life will become more peaceful and calm.

Do not take greed and hatred, lift the iron shackles of desire

In life, no matter how much money you make, you will always feel that there is one room missing in the house, one piece of clothing is missing, and a sum of money is missing.If a person can really understand the laws of heaven and nature, then the gifted life is enough to be fulfilled.If you can make good use of the original authenticity of life and adapt to the real world, you will be able to enjoy leisure and contentment.If one forgets the beauty and goodness of the original life, but instead uses the abundance of the original life to expand desires and hope for endless satisfaction, then infinite bitterness will definitely be incurred.

"Having good things will eventually tire the body." A person who has hobbies in his life must drag himself down.

Buddhism believes: "One inch of Tao and nine inches of magic." It shows that cultivating moral character is a very difficult thing, and one must always restrain one's desires in order to benefit.For a person who pursues success, rational restraint is not a chain of restraint, but a strong body armor. Although wearing it is a bit cumbersome, it can help you avoid going astray and achieve your goals as soon as possible.If you can't restrain your desires, even though you have worked hard, you will still fail in the end.

Legend has it that two people met Puxian Bodhisattva by chance. The Bodhisattva taught them the method of brewing wine and told them to choose the ripe and plump rice on the day of Duanyang, blend it with the water drops from the mountains, waterfalls and flowing springs when the ice and snow first melted, and then pour it into the wine for thousands of years. The pottery urn made of purple sand clay is finally wrapped tightly with the first fresh lotus that bathes in the morning sun in early summer, and sealed for 49 days, until the rooster crows three times in the early morning before it can be unsealed.

These two people kept the Bodhisattva's secret recipe in mind, went through untold hardships, trekked thousands of mountains and rivers, ate and slept in the open, worked hard to find all the necessary materials, reconciled and sealed their dreams and expectations, and then waited for the exciting day with all their heart. moment.

Time passed day by day, what a long guard.When the 49th day came, the wine that was about to be opened made the two of them so excited that they couldn't fall asleep all night. They pricked up their ears all night to listen to the sound of cock crowing.Finally, from a distance, the first rooster crow was heard, which was long and high-pitched.After a long, long time, there was a second sound, slow and low.Wait, wait, why did the third cock crow come so slowly, when will it sound?One of them couldn't hold back any longer, he gave up and couldn't wait to open the pottery urn, but the result left him stunned...

It was just a puddle of water, turbid, yellow, sour like vinegar, bitter as gallbladder, and had an unpleasant smell.How could this be?He regretted it, but it was all over, even with all his stomping and self-blaming and sighing.In the end, he could only pour out the water in disappointment.

The other person, although the desire in his heart was burning like a wildfire, he was so roasted that he wanted to reach out to lift the lid of the urn several times, but just as he was about to reach out, he gritted his teeth and held on until the third rooster crowed through the sky, A red sun is slowly rising in the east... Ah, what a clear, sweet, refreshing nectar!
Desire is something that everyone will have. Without desire, there will be no motivation, just like stagnant water.However, to be successful you must use your desire well and not be controlled by it.The biggest difference between success and failure is often not the difference in IQ and ability, but the difference in resilience and patience, and the difference in the degree of inner desire restraint.

A single thought of greed and selfish desire will turn the upright character into cowardice and cowardice, make the originally clever brain become dull and foolish, make the originally kind heart become cruel and cruel, and make the originally pure character become ruthless. Dirty and dirty, the result is a lifetime of bad character.Therefore, the ancients used non-greediness as the magic weapon of being a human being, and relied on this magic weapon to spend their holy lives.

This adage speaks of an important point in public-private relationships: abstain from greed.

Greed is the desire to "eat alone" and "eat alone".The reason why greed must be avoided is that we can see clearly from both public and private perspectives.

First of all, from the perspective of "public", greed is a taboo in the external world.What is public?One is private and two are public.A matter that two or more people participate in together is called public affairs. "Only those who have one body can pay for all things with everything; those who return the world to the world can go out of the world." ("Cai Gen Tan") Only those who can manage themselves well can entrust him to handle everything.Only those who can serve the people of the world with the power endowed by the people of the world can do the worldly things with a heart that transcends the world. "There is a second language for officials, saying: If you are public, you will be bright; if you are honest, you will be powerful." ("Cai Gen Tan") When a person is in charge of a part of power, remember two sentences, that is: only for the public , will be aboveboard; only honesty, will enjoy prestige.If a person with great power concentrates on turning the power in his hands into a personal resource for personal gain, and if others cannot satisfy his greed, he will use this self-interest to vent his personal anger and take revenge, such a person will be abused sooner or later. Reported.

Anyone who covets small gains will lose his way.As soon as there is hope for a business, some people are impatient to want to occupy more and monopolize it, so the business declines and people disperse, and the failure is immediately seen.This is the most common break-up phenomenon.

From the perspective of "selfishness", greed is the great poison of the inner world.Greed is the chief demon of the heart.A single thought of greed burns the forest of virtue, destroys the heart of benevolence, the heart of equality, the heart of purity, and the root of a tree. It will become a majestic tree with sky-high clouds. Once the root dies, the branches and leaves will grow The leaves will all be necrotic and become dry leaves.As the adage says, it is inevitable that rigidity becomes softness, knowledge becomes faintness, kindness becomes misery, and cleanness becomes filth.The root is broken, and there is no possibility of recovery, so what kind of person is there?
Everything in the world is in constant motion, the sun and the moon also have waxing and waning, and the changes are endless, not to mention the small world, how can everything be perfect and be free and at ease all the time?That hard work is certain.It is just to learn to sneak in while you are busy, be content with your deficiencies, flexibly control your own life rules, moderate your busy schedule, and combine work and rest.Heaven doesn't care about physical and mental matters, and the earth doesn't care about them. You can manage them by yourself.

The commercial society is like a beautiful girl in a distant place, full of provocation and temptation, making you have hopes and fantasies about her, but she is absolutely vain and snobbish, the closer you get to her, the more indifferent and distant she feels .The prosperity and wealth fly and fly, making you want to run before you stand still, want to fly before you run, and don't care about taking a rest.

However, the movement of celestial bodies in nature and the movement of life in the "mere human world" are different in generality and particularity after all.The movement of celestial bodies is endless in time and boundless in space.However, the life movement of "mere human world" is limited in time and limited in scope of action.A person's whole life, unceasingly, can obtain and achieve achievements that are so small and insignificant. "Desire is like sea water, the more you drink, the thirstier you become", not to mention that you can't drink up any piece of sea water.

So there is a rational choice of which things must be, which things cannot be, and which things are necessary or not.The answer to the two-way life is: put growth first, be clean and happy, be healthy and live long, and have family, love, and friendship. These are the must-haves; but greed, despicableness, and taking are not to be had; fame and fortune are all but to be. If you don’t want it, as Xu Zhimo said: “I’m lucky if I get it; if I don’t, it’s my fate, that’s all.”

Even if you are engaged in a job that has to be done day and night, as long as you understand this way of life, you can "hold the worries of the body and mind" and "indulge in the fun of the wind and the moon".As Dale Carnegie said: "Complete the boring work very interestingly." Find your patience, confidence and perseverance to adapt to the environment when you concentrate on your work.When we find it, happiness will arise spontaneously, and we will find the true meaning of growth in an interesting job.

(End of this chapter)