Zhang Shaofei took over the cassock and golden bowl and became the master of Huimen.
This Wisdom Gate is essentially Zen Buddhism, but it has a different name. The reincarnation of the Fifth Patriarch has hinted that in order to avoid conflicts between the same sects, the Buddhist lantern will no longer be passed down after the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. From this point of view, Zhang Shaofei actually succeeded the Sixth Patriarch. Moreover, he had long been taught by the Sixth Patriarch in his dreams and became a Buddha.
When talking about enlightenment and becoming a Buddha, one cannot help but think of the Buddha, Sakyamuni, who attained enlightenment and became a Buddha. His hardships in seeking the Buddha are timeless and his spirit inspires those who come after him.
Let us follow this line of thought, travel through time and space, and return to those passionate and passionate years when the Buddha struggled to seek the Buddha's path -——
The founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni (Buddha), was born in Kapilavastu in ancient Central India in 566 BC. He was a member of the Sakyamuni tribe.
At the beginning, before the Buddha became enlightened, he was not called Sakyamuni, but Siddhartha. He was a prince who gave up his right to inherit the throne.
"Sakyamuni" is the abbreviation of the Sakyamuni clan, and "Muni" refers to the enlightened one.
On the eighth day of the second lunar month of the year when Sakyamuni was twenty-nine years old, he took advantage of the fact that his karma had matured. While his concubines, bodyguards, and others were sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, he got up, summoned his servants to hide in his chariot, and prepared to ride on his horse Qianzhi, telling him He will go out of the city together to drink from the dew spring.
Channi already knew what his intention was, and could not dissuade him for a moment, so he had to hold on to the horse's tail with all his strength. Sakyamuni had no choice but to not open the palace door, leaped on his horse bravely, and flew across the north city with Channi.
The unfolding of this scene is also the beginning of Siddhartha (Sakyamuni)'s life of showing great courage and compassion. Compare it with the heroes who wear millions of armors, are invincible, throw whips to cut off the flow of water, and are all-powerful. , Undoubtedly, this feat of leaping on horseback and leaving the city to become a monk is a huge difference depending on the former's magnanimity.
A heroic career can conquer the world, but it is impossible to conquer yourself. But this was not the case with Sakyamuni. He conquered himself with a fearless spirit, destroyed the heart and mind to the point of no form, and acted like a weakling. Therefore, he was able to transform into a mortal and become a saint, which is enough to serve as a role model for others.
As soon as Siddhartha left the northern city, he galloped eastward. The beast was as fast as flying, and he arrived at the ascetic forest of the sage Bhaga. At this time, the night had passed and the light was in front of him. He decided to go into the mountain to ask questions, so he ordered his chariot. Return to the palace in hiding. He also took off the pearls in his hair to honor his father, and the necklace on his body to honor his aunt. The rest of his solemn clothes were given to Yasodhara.
After everything was clearly explained, he drew his sword, shaved off his beard and hair, and changed his robes to show his determination to move forward and practice Taoism.
At the same time, he swore to himself: "If I don't live and die, I will never return to the palace. If I don't become a Buddha, I will never see my father again. If I don't fulfill my love, I will never see my aunt and my second concubine again." At that time, After getting the car, he was so frightened and wept that he fainted from boredom. When he woke up, he had to go back to the city to report. The prince became a monk, which brought sorrow to the whole city, and also brought sighs to the whole country!
From then on, Siddhartha traveled around and studied everywhere. He once saw the practice place of Immortal Bagha and saw many people practicing asceticism, some wearing straw clothes and some wearing tree bark. They all ate flowers and fruits to satisfy their hunger, either one meal a day, one meal every two days, or one meal every three days, in order to achieve enlightenment through ascetic practices.
They worship common things, or worship water or fire, or worship the sun and moon in temples, or lie in the dirt, or sleep on thorns, or live beside water and fire for many years, suffering from steaming and burning.
Religious life and monastic practices similar to these in Indian cultural traditions, whether Brahman, yoga, or even Hinduism, were obviously prevalent before and after Siddhartha became a monk and have been passed down...
At that time, Siddhartha saw these situations, and he exchanged views with the sage Bhaga and had a rigorous discussion.
He asked Immortal Vajya, "What is the purpose of those various ascetics?" Immortal Vajya replied, "By working hard on yourself, you can win the blessing of ascending to heaven."
However, Siddhartha believed: “Bitterness and joy are in opposition, sin and blessing are multiplied, and we are still trapped in the barriers of reincarnation. We cannot escape from life and death. Although asceticism can purify the mind and get rid of burdens, it may not be able to truly escape from life and death. , become unruly." Therefore, he stayed here for one night and then resigned immediately.
Later, Siddhartha went to learn the famous meditation technique in India at that time and practiced "contemplation without thinking".
The so-called "contemplation-free" meditation technique takes the annihilation of thoughts as the highest method. Through practice, he actually became free from thoughts and worries. But in the end he thought: "This is not the true way, so he gave it up and left."
Because this state is also caused by one's own mind. As for what is the root of this mind's dominance? After all, we still don’t know.
Therefore, Siddhartha went to the sage Aro Siam again to learn "neither perception nor non-contemplation". The so-called "non-thoughts" are delusions of thought that are not ordinary mental activities. The so-called "non-non-thinking" means that although there is no ordinary delusional thinking, you can still understand everything.
Many people think that meditation skills are unattainable at this point. In fact, they fall into the confusion of subtle worries.
Siddhartha proposed: "In the non-perception and non-perception concentration, is there a self? Is there no self? If we say no-self, we should not say neither non-perception nor non-perception; if we say there is a self, it is not liberation. Because all living beings are just because of All suffering arises only when there is a self. In the concentration of neither thinking nor non-thinking, although gross delusions and troubles can be suspended, subtle troubles still exist. If you cannot give up the self-image and self-conception, how can you achieve true liberation?"
Therefore, Siddhartha left here again.
During the days when Siddhartha went to the mountains to practice, he visited famous Taoists, but because there was no real master, he gained nothing.
At that time, he had practiced all kinds of cultivation methods, no matter how difficult or difficult the asceticism was, and he was extremely proficient in them.
During this period, his father once inquired about his whereabouts and sent the king's ministers to persuade him. However, he was still unmoved, so he had to leave the ministers and other young masters, such as Chen Ru and five other people, to follow the prince to practice. Protection, these were the famous five early disciples of Sakyamuni, of whom Kauchenru was the first.
At the same time, because Siddhartha visited various teachers but could not find the way to ultimate liberation, he temporarily stayed in Pantapa Mountain and often went to Rajagaha to beg for food. But the city lord, King Bimbasara, soon learned of his whereabouts and came to persuade him to return to secular life, and even offered to give up the throne, but Siddhartha also declined politely.
King Bimbisara finally had no choice but to make an agreement with Siddhartha: "If he becomes enlightened, I would like to see him first." Therefore, after Siddhartha attained enlightenment, he often lived in Rajagaha and promoted his Dharma.
On this day, Siddhartha arrived near the Niranjan River, at the southern end of Mount Gaya (i.e. Elephant Head Mountain), near the snow-capped mountains, and gathered in the ascetic forest, where he sat quietly, thought, practiced asceticism, and either had a daily eclipse or a daily eclipse. One meter, or one hemp rice in two days, or even one hemp rice in seven days. Because he sat down and practiced hard, did not walk, could not blink his eyes, and had no fear in his heart, he became emaciated, his beard and hair were as tangled as basil, and magpies mistook him for grass and built a nest on his head.
The reeds on the ground are coiled around the knees. At this time, Siddhartha was very weak, just like a decaying and dying person. He practiced this kind of difficult asceticism for a long time, and then suddenly thought, what is the difference between this and the general belief that asceticism and self-cultivation are the true way? So he left here and headed south alone.
