What period of self-nature is not birth, illness and death!
When is the self-sufficiency
What period of self-nature has not wavered!
When did self-expression give birth to thousands of methods! "
Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen
Civilian Hui Neng
Huineng, the sixth ancestor, was born in Zhuozhou, Hebei Province. His surname was Lu and his father's name was Tao. During the years of Wude, he was demoted and moved to Xinzhou, Lingnan (now emerging in Guangdong). Huineng was born in NSW on February 8th in the 12th year of Zhenguan (638). Huineng lost his father at the age of three and was raised by his mother. As an adult, the family is getting poorer and poorer, and they can only make a living by going up the mountain to collect firewood and helping people do odd jobs.
One day, Huineng went to the street to sell firewood. A customer bought his firewood and asked him to send it to Xuandian. At the entrance of the revolving shop, a guest was chanting. Huineng listened, and seemed to realize something and refused to leave for a long time. He went up to the guest and asked what scripture it was. From this guest's introduction, he learned that Zen Master Hongren, the fifth ancestor, taught in Maoshan Mountain, Huangmeifeng, qi zhou, and often persuaded Taoism and folk believers to read the Diamond Sutra. Hearing this, Huineng had the idea of going north to seek dharma. But because my mother is still alive, I can't go at once.
Seek the law from the north
Huineng was thirty-three years old when her mother died. After Huineng buried his mother, he went north to seek dharma through Caoxi (now Shaoguan) in Shaozhou (this statement is different from that recorded in the Six Ancestors Tanjing). In Shaozhou, he met Liu, a virtuous man, and became sworn brothers because of similar interests. Liu Zhi has a little aunt, a monk with endless fame, who lives in the local Shan Jian Temple and often recites Nirvana Sutra. Huineng took part in labor with Liu during the day and listened to endless Tibetan monks chanting Nirvana Sutra at night. Huineng can't read, but she has excellent understanding. After listening to the scripture, he often explains the meaning of the scripture to an endless stream of Tibetan monks. Once, with a scroll in his hand, he asked Huineng about the pronunciation and meaning of a word. Huineng replied, "I don't know this word, but I asked its meaning." The boundless Tibetan monk said, "If you don't know how to read, can you understand it?" Huineng replied, "All Buddhas are mysterious and have nothing to do with words." The boundless Tibetan monk was very surprised to hear that Huineng was a kind and respectful person. In this way, Huineng's reputation soon spread throughout the village. Although Huineng was not a monk at that time, local believers came to join in and expressed their support. A Dojo was built for Huineng on the site of the nearby ancient temple in Lin Bao. Huineng lived in this place for three years.
One day, Huineng suddenly remembered the matter of seeking dharma and said privately, "How can I stop halfway when I seek dharma?" ! "So I left the Baolin Temple the next day and continued to go north. When passing through the stone chamber in Xishan, Lechang County, Huineng met Zen master Zhiyuan and asked him about meditation. Zen master Zhiyuan told him that "the child's vision is cool and beautiful, and he almost enjoys it." "I heard that bodhidharma in the western regions was printed on Huangmei, and you should go there to participate in the decision (I think you are distinguished, and I'm afraid you are not the average person. It is said that Dharma came to Central China from the Western Regions to spread the seal of Buddha's heart and spread the five ancestors of Huangmei. Don't delay any longer, go to any monk to learn, so as to decide the matter of life and death. )
Against the five ancestors
So Huineng rushed all the way to build the Huangmei Wuzu Dojo.
Huineng lived in Lingnan since childhood, illiterate and thin, like a woodcutter in Shan Ye. So when Wuzu first met him, he called him "Ge Lao". The Five Lights Meeting Yuan, Zutang Collection and Tanjing all recorded this meeting in detail-
Wuzu asked, "Where are you from?"
Huineng said, "Since Lingnan."
Wuzu asked, "What are you doing here?"
Huineng said, "I don't want anything else, I just want to become a Buddha."
Wu Zudao: "You are a stubborn person and a Lingnan person. How can I become a Buddha? "
Huineng said: "Although people are divided into north and south, there is no difference in Buddha nature between north and south. Although my image and harmony are not the same, what is the difference between Buddha's nature? "
Hearing this, Wuzu knew that Huineng had good roots, not ordinary people. He wanted to talk to him more, but because he was surrounded by disciples, he was worried that Huineng would be envied and rejected by everyone in the future, so he sent him to the next workshop. It is hard work to pour rice. Huineng was born short and underweight. In order to step on the cymbal, he had to tie a stone around his waist. In this way, Huineng worked hard day and night for eight months.
Argument about clothes and bowls
One day, the five ancestors gathered the public together and told them: "Life and death are important, and impermanence is rapid. I am old, and I was elected as a legal person, so as to ensure the continuity of my ancestors. Buddhism is incredible, and the key is demonstration. Don't think you can forget what I said in French. Go down and write me a poem according to your own spiritual experience. If someone realizes the Buddha's meaning, I will pass on the vestments to him and make him the sixth ancestor. "
At that time, there were more than 700 monks under the Wuzu Association. Among them, Shen Xiu is the best. Xiu Shangzuo, a professor and teacher, is well known both at home and abroad. He often gives lectures to the public and is highly valued by the five ancestors and admired by all. Therefore, after the public retired, everyone talked about it in succession: "Who can win the title of the sixth ancestor except the show seat?" We don't have to bother to write anything. When the scholar gets the cassock and becomes the sixth ancestor, we will all stop him. "
Hearing public comments, Shen Xiu thinks that the reason why the public is afraid of writing poetry is because I am his teacher. I should introduce my son to the monks. Of course, I offered my son to seek Buddhism, not to seize my ancestral throne. If I don't introduce my son to the monk, how can the monk know the depth of my opinion? How can I get the five ancestors? Tossing and turning, thinking for two or three days, Shen Xiu has been doing a poem, secretly written on the gallery wall in the dead of night, and said:
"The body is a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror.
Wipe frequently, and don't create dust. "
The next morning, Wuzu passed by and suddenly saw this poem, knowing that it was written by Meixiu. Although this poem is not sensible, if future generations practice according to it, they can still gain great benefits and avoid evil ways. Therefore, the five ancestors praised the poem in front of everyone, and asked the public to burn incense and read it, and repair it according to it. However, privately, Wu Zu still said to Shen Xiu: "Your poems are not clear, your insights are not in place, and they are still outside the door. With such an opinion, you can't find the supreme bodhi. The supreme bodhi must be recommended from the heart and from the present. " Say that finish, five ancestors commanded Shen Xiu to make another poem. However, a few days passed, and Shen Xiu never produced a new son.
Later, one day, Huineng was cooking rice in the next workshop. When he heard a boy singing a beautiful song outside, he went forward to ask, so the boy told Huineng that the fifth ancestor had ordered the public to make a song, so that the public could worship this beautiful song. Hearing this, Huineng begged the boy, "Dear Sir, I also want to recite this poem, so that I can have an afterlife relationship with the program host." It has been more than eight months since I came here. I have been hammering rice and have never been to the front of the church. Please ask the master to lead me to worship in front of the gallery wall painted with beautiful flowers. "
So the boy led Huineng to his son. Huineng said, "I can't read. Please read it to me. " Zhang, who didn't drive in Jiangzhou at that time, was by his side every day, so he recited the song loudly for Huineng.
Huineng listened and said, "I also have a song. Please don't write for me. " Don't listen. I'm surprised. "It's rare that you can be a prostitute!" Huineng primly said, "If you want to learn Supreme Bodhi, you must not be lighter than beginners. The lower class is wise, and the upper class is unwise. If you pass people, there will be endless crimes. " If you don't listen to the driver, apologize quickly and say, "You read, I'll write for you. If you succeed in the future, don't forget to judge me first. " So Huineng said:
"Bodhi has no trees, and the mirror does not stand.
Nothing. What caused the dust? "
As soon as artistry finished writing, the public was all amazed. Seeing all this, Wuzu was worried that someone would hurt Huineng, so he wiped Huineng's concubine off with his sole and said, "There is no sex." When they saw Wuzu say this, they were able to shrug off it.
Inherit the mantle
The next day, Wuzu came to Xiafang in private, and when he saw Huineng with stones and rice hanging around his waist, he said, "Those who seek the Tao should be like you if they forget themselves for the Dharma." Ask again: "Is the rice paste cooked?" Huineng replied: "The rice has been cooked for a long time and needs to be screened." The fifth ancestor knocked the pheasant on the head three times with a cane and left. Huineng understood Wuzu's meaning, so she sneaked into Wuzu's office in the middle of the night. The fifth ancestor surrounded Huineng with cassock to avoid being discovered by others, and explained the Diamond Sutra to him. When it comes to "living without a fixed place and having a heart", Huineng suddenly realizes. It turns out that everything can't be separated from self! Huineng said five times in a row to express his surprise and epiphany when he realized the Tao:
"What period of self-nature is self-purification!
What period of self-nature is not birth, illness and death!
When is the self-sufficiency
What period of self-nature has not wavered!
When did self-expression give birth to thousands of methods! "
Knowing that Huineng had changed his mind, the fifth ancestor handed Huineng the teachings of Buddhism and the mantle of his ancestors, saying, "The birth of Buddhas is a great event, so it is guided by random size, so there are ten places, three times, and teaching in sequence. However, it was handed over to the venerable Sakyamuni in the most subtle, mysterious and authentic way, and it has been passed down to the 28th century. When Buddhism was born in this land, it was handed down by the master, so that today, it is paid to you with a magic robe. Good self-protection, no cut-off orders. Listen to me:
Love to plant, because the fruit is still alive.
Ruthlessness has neither seeds nor asexual life. "
After kneeling down and accepting the rules of clothes, Master Huineng asked, "Since I accepted the rules, who should pay for the clothes?"
Wu Zu replied, "Master Dharma, who came to this land for the first time, didn't believe him, so he handed this dress down as a letter and handed it down from generation to generation. Since the Enlightenment, the principle of heart-to-heart communication has become self-evident. Since ancient times, the Buddha only passed on the noumenon, and the teacher paid attention to the heart. Clothes are a dispute that prevents you from spreading. If you wear this dress, your life will be in danger You must go quickly before others hurt you. "
Master Huineng asked again, "Where should I hide?"
Wuzu replied: "Stop when you are pregnant and hide when you meet."
After that, Wuzu personally sent Huineng to Jiujiang Station overnight. Before leaving, the five ancestors told Huineng: "Buddhism will flourish through you in the future." After you leave Huangmei for three years, I will be silent. Go to the south quickly, so you can take care of yourself. Don't rush out to preach Buddhism. You will have a disaster. "
Go south to avoid disaster
Master Huineng bowed to the Five Curses again, then set off south, and arrived at Dayuling in less than two months.
After Wuzu sent Huineng away, he didn't come to class for several days. Everyone wanted to know if the old monk was ill, so they went to offer their condolences. Five ancestors told them: "I'm not sick. My ancestors' clothes and pulse have spread to the south!" " "Everyone was scared and asked," Who got the mantle? "Five ancestors answered:" Those who can get it. "
All this just suddenly enlighted. Since then, there have been a series of thrilling stories in which hundreds of people went south to pursue Master Huineng and tried to seize the mantle. In order to avoid accidents, Master Huineng once spent fifteen years with hunters. After that, when karma was ripe, Master Huineng came to Huozhuoji, Guangzhou, where he was shaved under the seat of Master Yinzong, and began his brilliant career of teaching Buddhism.
Before Master Huineng, Zen was a single biography. Since Zen master Huineng began, Zen has been widely spread in the north and south of the Yangtze River, forming a prosperous situation of "one flower and five leaves". Master Huineng has many disciples. According to the Tanjing, there are more than 1000. Among them, the more famous ones are Fahai, Fada, Zhichang, Zhiche and Shenhui. Very influential Zen masters in the history of Zen, such as Qingyuan Hangsi, Nanyue Huairang, Nanyang Bell Club,
They are also the legal heirs of Master Huineng.
Master Huineng died in the first year of birth (7 12), in the spring and autumn of 76. Disciple Fahai edited his main teachings into a book, which we are reading now. In the history of Buddhism, China people's writings are called classics, and Huineng Zen Master is the only one.