It is said that Zhang Shaofei and Zen Master Huiyuan parted reluctantly, leaving Shimen Temple and spending the night in Xiaoxing along the way. When you are hungry, you pick wild fruits from the mountains to satisfy your hunger; when you are thirsty, you go to the stream and drink a handful of water. In this way, Zhang Shaofei finally came to the border of Huangmei in Qizhou (now Hubei).
At this time, it was already the first year of Li Zhiyifeng (676 AD), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.
After walking about fifty miles north from Huangmei County, a broad river flowing with clear waves lay in front of us. There is a unique mountain peak on the other side of the river - two towering peaks reaching into the sky, facing each other dangerously.
"Ah, the holy land of Buddhism - Dongshan Huangmei Dongchan Temple has finally arrived!" Zhang Shaofei Lijiang shouted from the bottom of his heart. This is consistent with what Zen Master Huiming of Xinzhou Zenhui Temple told him about the topography of Dongshan in Qizhou.
Because Dongshan has two peaks standing side by side, it is also called Shuangfeng Mountain. On the two peaks shrouded in clouds and mist, there are palaces and temples vaguely hidden among the white clouds and green trees. The place of pilgrimage is not far away, and the Fifth Patriarch whom he has long wanted to see will soon appear in front of him. Zhang Shaofei felt inexplicably excited, and the fatigue from the journey was gone.
Zhang Shaofei took a ferry across the river. After landing, he climbed up the stone steps. Not long after climbing, the "Tiantian Gate" came into view.
This "Tiantian Gate" is built of granite stones and spans the mountain road, with three characters "Hui Chan Temple" engraved on it in seal script.
"Huichan Temple? Isn't it Dongchan Temple? Isn't it?" Zhang Shaofei couldn't help being startled, blinked, and stopped to take a closer look.
At this time, Zhang Shaofei was standing at Tiantianmen, his clothes were in rags, his shoes and socks were torn, he looked like a beggar.
His trouser legs were stained with mud of various colors, indicating that he had traveled many places and traveled far and wide, but he was still walking fast.
Green mountains come into view, beautiful, quiet, green and solemn, full of aura. Two tall peaks stand out from the mountains and reach into the clouds.
Being here, Zhang Shaofei completely forgot about the travel and dust along the way, and a sense of piety and solemnity arose spontaneously, as if he was passionately throwing himself into the warm embrace of his relatives.
At the foot of Shuangfeng Mountain, the trees are green and the springs are clear and the rocks are white. Zhang Shaofei's spirit was invigorated. He put aside the doubts in his heart and quickened his pace. He climbed up a hill and stopped to take a look.
In the distance, at the foot of Fengmao Mountain, a simple and magnificent temple is hidden among the mountains. Pieces of white floating clouds sometimes cluster under the temple - the mountain temple has no door and the clouds block the road; sometimes only a corner of the eaves is exposed - the palace in the sky seems to be an illusion; sometimes it is like a veil dancing - the temple is ethereal... In Zhang Shaofei's heart There is an indescribable feeling. The large temple looks simple, elegant, remote and aloof, as if it is quietly telling him the ethereal and flexible Zen myths and transformations——
Ever since Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, crossed the river from distant Tianzhu on reeds in the first year of Datong (AD 527) of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, he faced the wall for nine years and experienced many twists and turns. In order to seek the supreme road, Shen Guang followed the example of Buddha Sakyamuni. Muni (knocking bones to extract marrow, regardless of his own life), forgot his body for the sake of the Dharma, cut off his arm on his own, stained red snow with blood, shocked the world and wept ghosts and gods, hence the name Huike, he continued the wisdom life of the Buddha and became the second ancestor ; The third ancestor Monk Can. With his discerning eye, he accepted a young novice monk from the north as his disciple. With an opportunity and a heart-to-heart connection, the 23-year-old Daoxin took on the responsibility of inheriting the Zen bloodline.
Daoxin, who used to be the abbot of the scenic Dalin Temple in Lushan Mountain, one day climbed to the top of Wulao Peak in Lushan Mountain and looked around. He found purple air rising and auspicious clouds shrouding the mountains on the north bank of the Yangtze River. So he crossed the river and came to Qizhou Huangmei, across the river from Lushan Mountain, to investigate.
The Huangmei Stone has magnificent pines and the trees are quiet and lush. Looking from afar, it becomes even more lush. The mountain wind is blowing over, the pine waves are bursting, and the green waves are rolling, just like the endless blue waves on the sea.
What's even more magical is that two steep peaks rise from the ground in the mountains, showing off the crowd, like two giants standing shoulder to shoulder, looking up at the sun, moon and stars in the nine days, overlooking the rolling red dust on the earth, and listening. The situation is changing, and the dynasties are changing with a smile...
If there are no sages living in such magical and beautiful mountains and rivers, wouldn’t we be living up to the creation of heaven and earth?
Daoxin looked at the two mountain peaks standing side by side with a knowing smile on his lips.
At this time, an old man came down from the mountain carrying a hoe.
Daoxin stepped forward and clasped his hands together: "Amitabha. May I ask, donor, what are the names of the two mountains opposite that reach straight into the sky?"
The old man looked at Daoxin and said, "This mountain is called Potou Mountain."
When Daoxin heard this, he immediately said: "Potoushan, this is a bad name. The east and west peaks stand out from the other mountains, so it should be called Shuangfeng Mountain."
"Thank you, Master, for the name." The old man clasped his hands together and bowed deeply. It turns out that he is a pine planter in the mountains, and the pine trees all over the mountains and plains are his masterpiece over decades.
When the old man saw Daoxin wearing a bright red cassock, he looked very solemn and sacred. He felt envious in his heart. He had a sudden idea and stepped forward, "Master, you must be an eminent monk. I want to worship you as my teacher."
Dao Xin saw that his beard and hair were all white and asked, "Old man, will you live a long life this year?"
The old man smiled and said: "Nine out of fifty, he is still young."
Dao Xin also smiled and said, "You're not too old. However, it's still too late to be my apprentice. It would be better if you were reincarnated."
Who would have thought that this letter, once it is spoken, is really like this: the speaker has no intention, but the listener has the intention.
After hearing this, the old man walked out of the mountain.
After taking a few steps away, the old man looked back and smiled meaningfully.
Soon, a layman donated a piece of mountain land at the foot of Shuangfeng Mountain for Daoxin to open a monastery.
After several years of hard work, Daoxin's reputation has spread far and wide, and Zen monks from all over the world come here to see it. Gradually, more than 500 Zen monks gathered here.
This is the earliest group of Zen monks formed in Chinese history, and it pioneered the independence of Zen monasteries from Vinaya temples.
The initiative of the Fourth Patriarch Daoxin to establish a forest and form a Zen monks' order had a profound impact on the development of Zen Buddhism in later generations and the development of Zen Buddhism's sect style of paying equal attention to agriculture and Zen.
…
One sunny summer day, Daoxin met a group of children playing on his way back to the mountain. Among them was a little boy with strangely handsome bones. The Taoist God was so surprised that he couldn't help but take a look at him.
The child seemed to have known that Daoxin was sizing him up, so he stopped playing and looked back with a smile...
ah! When he looked back and smiled, it was like running from the depths of the distant universe, like a bolt of lightning that penetrated the soul; and like the brilliant glow of the sea, the world became pure because of him...
Oh my god, this look and expression look so familiar! However, he is only a seven-year-old child!
Daoxin bent down, stroked his head, and asked: "Child, which layman's family are you from? You look familiar to me, and I must know your father. What's your surname?"
The little boy tilted his head and said something strange: "It's unusual to ask for my last name!"
Daoxin asked curiously: "What's your last name?"
The little boy said: "It is Buddha nature."
"What? Buddha nature?" Daoxin couldn't help but be surprised.
At this time, the children who were playing with the child all said: "He has no surname, he is a child without a surname."
Daoxin asked him: "You really don't have a surname? Everyone has one, why don't you have a surname?"
"The sex (surname) is empty, so there is no surname." After the little boy finished speaking, he smiled at Daoxin as bright as morning sun and as bright as lightning.
Everyone has Buddha nature, and their own nature is empty. These profound Buddhist principles can be said from the mouth of a child. How can Daoxin not be moved by it!
You know, he has been searching for many years to find a successor to the great magic weapon.
Dao Xin said to the boy, "Pindao, will I accept you as my disciple?"
The boy said: "You have to ask his mother."
Daoxin touched the boy's round head, smiled and said, "Then take me to see your mother."
"Okay." The boy said happily and took Daoxin to a hut at the edge of the village.
Generally speaking, orphans and widowed mothers depend on each other for life. As a mother, how can she be willing to let her son leave her?
Unexpectedly, the child's mother, driven by an invisible force, readily agreed.
She said to Daoxin: "He grew up under my wings and could only become a farmer and woodcutter. Since he was invited by the master, he should have the power of Kunpeng. Besides, he was a child who came out of nowhere. Master, you can Take him away."
It turned out that eight years ago, when she was washing clothes by the river, the old man who planted pine trees in the mountains came over, bowed to her and said, "Girl, can I stay at your place for the night?"
She said: "I am the youngest daughter of the Zhou family. I have parents and elder brothers. They make the final decision on everything in the family."
The old man said: "I first need to ask for your consent."
She nodded.
The old man Zaisong disappeared in an instant.
When she returned home, she was inexplicably pregnant.
As the saying goes: When a girl gets big, everyone likes her, but when a girl has a big belly, everyone laughs at her. Pregnancy before marriage is the most shameful thing in rural areas.
So, her parents and brother kicked her out of the house.
The girl herself didn't know what was going on, so she endured the humiliation and survived, determined to give birth to the thing in her belly to see what kind of freak he was!
However, what was born was not a freak, but a smart boy. Because he has no father, he has no surname, so people in the village call him "the son without a surname".
Daoxin counted on his fingers, and the smile of the old man who had been planted eight years ago clearly emerged.
Daoxin left some money, settled the child's mother, and took the "unsurnamed child" back to Dongshan, Qizhou, ordained the child, took the Dharma name "Hongren" and began to practice.
Hongren practiced diligently at Dongzen Temple, and gradually became more advanced in Taoism. He often stayed by Daoxin's side for more than thirty years.
Under the guidance of the Fourth Patriarch Daoxin, Hongren realized in Zen that the "four rituals" of "walking, standing, sitting, and lying down" are all dojos, and the "three karma" of "body, speech, and mind" are all the Buddha's work.
He believes that "movement and stillness are the same", and there is no difference between the "stillness" and "silence" in zazen and the "chaos" and "speech" in life. "Zen" is not limited to the only way of sitting and meditating.
In the second year of Tang Yonghui's reign (651), Daoxin passed away at the age of 51.
Hongren gained Daoxin and passed down the cassock and golden bowl of Zen Buddhism, inherited the title of master, took over the lantern, and became the fifth generation master of Zen Buddhism.
