Zhang Shaofei once experienced such a state of mind.
In fact, everyone in the world has experienced this state of mind. Today, by chance, Zhang Shaofei took the initiative to realize it, experience it, recognize it, and grasp it.
Zhang Shaofei retreated to the edge of the forest and picked up Fengluo firewood with his hands and feet. After a while, he tied two large bundles. He picked it up on his shoulders and leisurely turned onto the mountain path and went down the mountain.
After the rain, the air in the mountain forest is very fresh and peaceful. There is a bit of wildness in the tranquility: there are residual rainwater sliding down from the tall leaves and hitting the broad leaves of wild plantains, making a "dong-dong" sound; there is a breeze whirling in the low bushes, blowing the leaves. "Rustling" sound...
Zhang Shaofei's smart and nimble heart is fully integrated into nature, feeling and appreciating that indescribable realm...
…
Carrying firewood, Zhang Shaofei walked along the winding path and turned around a mountain col. Suddenly, a burst of poetry came from the silent empty mountain:
Hold a hoe with your bare hands and ride a buffalo on foot.
People cross the bridge, but the water does not flow.
Zhang Shaofei slowed down and looked around, but when he heard the sound of poetry being recited, there was no poet in sight.
Zhang Shaofei was thoughtful and whispered softly: "Holding a hoe with bare hands, walking and riding a buffalo; people cross the bridge, but the water does not flow. People cross the bridge, does the bridge flow?"
Zhang Shaofei hummed, pondered, and began to ask and answer himself——
Doesn't it seem to make sense? Since you are empty-handed, why do you use a hoe? Since you are walking, why are you riding a buffalo? When people walk across the bridge, they can clearly see the water flowing under the bridge. How can you say that the bridge is flowing and the water is no longer flowing?
The more Zhang Shaofei thought about it, the more he felt it was interesting, Zen-like, and wonderful...
In fact, this is a great master who views the world from a higher realm, hoping that people will understand equality from differences and silence from noise. As long as a person's heart is clear and peaceful, there will be a deep forest of silence in the noisy place. This is the state of Tao Yuanming's "house in a human environment, without the noise of cars and horses".
All in all, the world is a reconciliation of contradictions.
"Holding a hoe with empty hands" means to realize everything from "emptiness", and emptiness is the void that covers everything and is also the space for people to live.
The philosopher said:
How can we breathe air if our nostrils are not empty?
If your heart is not empty, what if it is full of troubles? How does truth enter?
Therefore, only with empty hands can you grasp the world. How can it be said that "only with empty hands can you pull out the head"?
"Walking on foot and riding a buffalo" means that seeking the Tao and learning is like riding on the back of a bull. As long as you have patience and take one step after another, you will definitely reach your destination and become a sage. It is not difficult. A journey of thousands of miles can be reached by just starting from this step, no matter how far you travel over mountains and rivers. But walking here symbolizes the use of the mind.
"People cross the bridge, but the water does not flow." That is to say, don't divide things into two parts. As long as your heart remains unmoving, the grass, trees and tiles are nothing more than quiet things. Where can the flowing water move? The end of the bridge Where is the stillness? As long as we understand this truth, we can find freedom in this vastly different universe, get rid of the differences, and see the equality of all things.
In fact, whether it is a bridge flow or a current, it is all due to fluctuations in the mind. As a result, Zhang Shaofei once passed by Xihai Faxing Temple and happened to see the eminent monk Fa Zong teaching the Nirvana Sutra to the monks. Just then, a gust of wind blew the flags. A monk present suddenly had an idea and quietly said to the monk next to him: "Look, is this the wind moving or the flags moving?"
A monk closer to him retorted: "No, it's not the wind that's moving, it's the flags that are moving."
The two people held their own opinions and couldn't argue.
Zhang Shaofei said quietly from the side: "It's neither the wind nor the flags, it's your hearts that are moving."
The so-called "heartbeat of a benevolent person" does not mean that it is the heartbeat rather than the movement of the wind flags. Zhang Shaofei actually said that the wind flags are moving. It does happen. It is a phenomenon. However, this phenomenon does not originally have the concept of "moving", only the movement of the wind flags in the heart. People only call it moving when they have this definition and concept of moving. At this time, you will say "Oh, it is moving."
There is no distinction between movement and stillness in things. "Movement and stillness" are only human definitions and distinctions. They are words and images that live in the heart. Only when the heart has the distinction between "motion and stillness" can one recognize the movement of wind flags. This is the same as the Buddha’s saying that Prajna is not Prajna, but is called Prajna.
According to ordinary people's understanding: the wind blows and the flags move, this is common sense without any meaning. How can it be said that it is not the flags or the wind, but the heart of a benevolent person?
Let’s start from the level of human cognition: What we see is that the flags are moving first. This is the first level of human cognition; why are the flags moving? The flags move when the wind blows, which is the second level of human cognition; the movement of the wind is felt by the human heart, which is the third level of cognition.
This epistemology is a materialistic view of cognition. They believe that matter is primary, consciousness is secondary, and existence determines consciousness. Contrary to the knowledge of materialists, idealists believe that it is not the flags or the wind that move, but the heart.
According to the materialist point of view, since existence determines consciousness, the same existence should lead to the same cognition. But the fact is that the so-called same existence can never come to the same understanding. Some are vastly different, and some are diametrically opposed and irreconcilable, and even cannot be unified after thousands of years.
On the contrary, different people often have very different perceptions of the same environment (object), and some are even completely opposite; the same person often has different perceptions of the same environment (object); people often have dreams. , illusions, zazen meditators can also enter realms that no one has seen before. These "realms" either do not match the reality or do not exist. These three types of phenomena proposed by consciousness-only scholars are what people often face.
As for Zhang Shaofei's astonishing "The heart of a benevolent person is moved" at that time, his inspiration has something to do with this ethereal poetry.
At that time, there was a young monk Wu Neng who circled around Zhang Shaofei and murmured: "I know who you are, I know! You are..."
The monks were listening to Wu Neng's words.
Unexpectedly, Wu Neng stood in front of Zhang Shaofei and asked: "Are you right?"
The monks felt that Wu Neng's words made no sense.
But Zhang Shaofei answered with a smile, and his answer was even more inexplicable: "If you think I am, of course I am."
So, the two people laughed inexplicably, looking very happy.
There was an old monk at the scene. When he saw Zhang Shaofei smiling inexplicably, he seemed a little unhappy: "This donor, all living beings have Buddha nature. It has been said in the Nirvana Sutra. This is common sense in Buddhism. What is there to be proud of?" !”
"Well, distinguished monks and great virtues, today's fate is rare, so I will simply say a few more words. From the perspective of Buddhism, everything in the universe comes into being for a reason. The same is true for the fluttering of flags and streamers. If If there is no wind, the flags will not move; if there are no flags, no matter how strong the wind is, the flags will not flutter. So, I say, it is not the wind that moves, nor the flags."
Suddenly, the noisy noise stopped.
Master Fa Zong got down from the high throne and walked towards Zhang Shaofei.
He bowed deeply to Zhang Shaofei and said with a smile on his face: "The practitioner's conversation is extraordinary, and every sentence is true to Zen principles. He must not be an ordinary person!
Zhang Shaofei also smiled and said in return: "I dare not. Zhang Shaofei is a woodcutter."
Master Fazong said loudly: "You were born with a dignified appearance, extraordinary manners, and amazing words. In this time of trouble, you lived among the people. You took care of it on behalf of your parents, collecting firewood in the mountains and training. Heaven is going to give you a great responsibility, and you will have to work hard on your muscles and bones first. Your mind is suffering, and you are also cultivating the way of Zen! In the past, Huineng was a woodcutter. Later, he went to Dongchan Temple to seek Buddhism. He pounded rice, chopped firewood, and mixed grains to realize the Tao. He achieved enlightenment and became the Sixth Patriarch. The practitioner's understanding is not inferior to Huineng's. In the future, The master who must achieve the right results and become wise, please accept the worship of the poor monk!"
Master Fa Zong knelt on the ground and bowed to Zhang Shaofei. Zhang Shaofei rushed forward, pulled him up, and said, "Buddhist rules state that only lay people should worship monks. How can there be any reason to bow to me!"
"Why should practitioners be too modest? In the world of etiquette, the one who first hears the Tao is the teacher; in the Buddhist rules, the one who has been saved early is respected. You are a genius of a generation, and we should pay homage and accept your teachings!"
Wuneng didn't care, he squeezed over and said nonchalantly: "Are you really you?" Zhang Shaofei smiled: "Of course I am me."
Wu Neng said: "Are you the son of your parents who seize other people's love and tear them apart for life?"
Master Fa Zong shouted: "Wu Neng, don't be rude!"
"It doesn't matter. If so, good and evil will eventually be rewarded." Zhang Shaofei's words, which are full of Buddhist philosophy, originated from his long-term practice of collecting firewood in Yunwu Mountain.
However, this Zhang Shaofei took part in the imperial examination in the future, and was very proud of himself from the college examination, provincial examination, joint examination, and palace examination. Although he failed to be the top scorer in high school, he still got a Jinshi and was named the governor of Zhongzhou by the imperial court. His ancestors were honored and distinguished. For a while.
It's a pity that once on the way back from the imperial court, he suddenly had a sudden impulse and decided to visit Shi Wenlong, the governor of Chang'an. When Shi Wenlong saw Zhang Shaofei, his classmate, classmate and subject, arrived, he hosted a banquet in honor of him. After three rounds of drinking, he was in a good mood, so he asked the waiter to go to the wine cabinet and bring out a pair of small wine glasses to cheer him up.
When Zhang Shaofei saw it, he couldn't put it down on the spot. He even said that the wine glass was exquisite and exquisite, which is rare in the world. Taking advantage of the wine, he raised his glass and recited: "Exquisite wine glass and mellow wine, a perfect match, a perfect match!" After chanting, he still had more meaning, "If What else can I ask for if I get this cup? Brother Wenlong, you are so lucky!"
Shi Wenlong said magnanimously: "It's rare to be in the same class, in the same school, and in the same subject as brother Shaofei. We brothers share the blessings and make progress together." After saying this, he gave Zhang Shaofei a cup on the spot.
Zhang Shaofei didn't refuse, he thanked her happily and returned with a glass of wine.
As the saying goes, "A wise man does not show off his own merits, and a gentleman does not take away others' love." Although Shi Wenlong and Zhang Shaofei were born as Jinshi, they committed sexual promiscuity while drinking and committed a taboo. They could not escape the hidden curse of the wine glass, which led to this The governor Zhang of Zhongzhou, who was in the midst of the spring breeze, began to experience bad luck and fell into poverty and became a common man.
