"Listening to the teacher's words is worth ten years of reading." Fada said regretfully.
Zhang Shaofei smiled and handed Fada a pear. Fada seemed to be really thirsty and ate it all in one breath.
Zhang Shaofei asked: "Fada, you have eaten the pear. Please express your feelings accurately and concisely so that others can tell that you ate this pear instead of drinking it in the morning." of tea.”
Fada was very embarrassed and said: "This, this...Master, the feeling of eating this pear is indeed different from drinking tea every day, but this subtle difference can only be experienced, not explained in words."
Zhang Shaofei laughed and said: "Zen is indescribable, just like a person who drinks water and knows whether it is warm or cold. The mystery of Buddhism cannot be expressed in words. All scriptures, including the Lotus Sutra, are tools used by the Buddha to teach us enlightenment. . It is like a finger pointing to the moon. Its purpose is to allow us to find the moon smoothly and quickly. The finger itself is not the bright moon. If you only study the thickness, length, and color of the finger, you will never find the moon in the sky. Therefore, People who study Buddhism should directly explore the original meaning of the Dharma instead of clinging to the classics. If you recite the Lotus Sutra with such a mentality, all the wonderful Dharma will naturally come out of your mouth like a lotus!"
After listening to Zhang Shaofei's teachings, Fa Da suddenly understood. However, there was still a trace of doubt in his heart, and he hesitated and said: "Thank you, Master, for the enlightenment, but..."
"If you still have any doubts in your mind, just tell me."
Fada asked: "If this is the case, as long as you understand the meaning of the Buddhist scriptures, there is no need to recite the scriptures?"
Zhang Shaofei said: "Your mechanical understanding of 'either/or' has fallen into another kind of dogma. If there are any faults in the classics, how can it prevent you from reciting them? If you recite the scriptures with your mouth, you can also practice it in your heart. It is called 'turning the sutra'; if you are reciting the sutra with your mouth but have other thoughts in your heart, you are being turned by the sutra."
Zhang Shaofei recited another stanza to Fada:
The mind is obsessed with the Lotus, and the mind is enlightened with the Lotus. Reciting sutras without understanding for a long time makes you an enemy of righteousness. If you have no thoughts, you will be righteous; if you have thoughts, you will become evil. Regardless of everything, he always drives a white ox chariot.
The white ox cart is a metaphor in the Lotus Sutra, which represents the origin of our human nature. When Fada heard the verse, he suddenly realized it. He was filled with sorrow and joy, and knelt down in front of Zhang Shaofei with tears streaming down his face, and sincerely begged: "Master, Fada is obsessed with enlightenment and is rude to the master. Please forgive me. I hope that I will be by your side in this life, and I also ask for the kindness of the master." allow!"
As Fada spoke, he kept touching the ground with his head.
Zhang Shaofei said: "No one is a sage, how can he have no faults? If you want to stay with me, let's talk about it later."
Fada continued to kowtow: "Thank you, Master, thank you Master..." Lezhidan patted the back of his head and said, "Get up, junior brother. Are you a kowtow bug?"
Fahai said: "Le Zhidan, what are you talking nonsense about?"
Le Zhidan looked aggrieved: "I'm not talking nonsense. I started earlier than him, so naturally I am the senior sister! You all relied on the master's partiality to start later than me, but in turn you all became my senior brothers. I will no longer be polite to this Fa Da. I will definitely let him be my junior brother." She turned to Fa Da: "Isn't that right, junior brother?"
Fada said with a smile: "You have been calling each junior brother for a long time, shouldn't I be a good junior brother?" Everyone laughed.
As the sun set on the same day, in Dangyang Mountain in Jingzhou, two Zen monks ran quickly to the thatched house in the forest, knocked on the door quickly, and shouted: "Uncle, uncle."
The door opened. Seeing that the two monks were very unfamiliar, Shenxiu asked, "Who are you two..." The two Zen monks said in unison, "We are disciples of Master Faru, see Master." The two Zen monks knelt down and kowtowed.
Shenxiu returned the gift and said, "Oh, you are Fa Ru's disciples. How is Junior Brother Fa Ru doing now?"
The two monks knelt down again: "Master, his soul has passed away to the West!"
Shenxiu was startled, and two lines of clear tears slowly flowed down. Zhicheng came out of the room and let the two Zen monks who had come from afar into the room.
Shenxiu and his two apprentice nephews sat down respectively as guest and host, while Zhicheng poured tea. The older Zen monk said: "Master told us before he passed away that we must find you and ask you to come out of the mountain to take care of his disciples and lead Jiangbei Zen school."
Shenxiu said: "Junior Brother Huineng is preaching Dharma at Baolin Temple in Shaozhou. Why don't you go find him?"
Another Zen monk said: "He? He is illiterate, what ability does he have?"
Shenxiu said sternly: "Junior brother Huineng has a natural talent for wisdom. Looking at the world, who can compare with him? Unfortunately, the distance between the north and the south is far away, and I am too old to go and ask him for advice. You young disciples, why don't you hurry up? Come and listen to the teachings!”
The elder monk said: "Uncle has lived in seclusion for many years and does not know anything. In the Jiangbei Zen Forest, Master Huineng...Uncle Master has a deep prejudice. Inviting him to lead the monks in Jiangbei is probably just putting salt in the oil pan, not frying it." No room for nesting."
Another Zen monk knelt in front of Shenxiu and begged: "Uncle, except for you, no one is suitable to lead Jiangbei Zen Forest. For the sake of our master, please go out and take care of the disciples."
Shenxiu shook his head: "I have sworn many years ago not to keep disciples, not to teach the Dharma, not to write books, so as not to mislead others, so..."
The older Zen monk also knelt down and cried: "Since Master passed away, we have no one to control us and are in danger. Master, please have mercy on the disciples, Master!"
The two Zen monks burst into tears and kept kowtowing. Zhicheng was so moved that he burst into tears and knelt down: "Master, you are compassionate, please promise me!"
Shenxiu burst into tears and nodded helplessly.
The two Zen monks from Mount Song, the central mountain, invited Master Shenxiu out of seclusion in Dangyang Mountain. Originally, Shenxiu, who had achieved great enlightenment after practicing hard in seclusion for 15 years, had no intention of spreading the Dharma. He lived in isolation and built a thatched house on a mountain seven miles east of Yuquan Temple. He lived in the shade of pine trees, drank the breeze, and felt at ease. If it hadn't been for this sudden change, he would have been hiding in obscurity until he died in the mountains.
After the death of Master Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch, his Dongshan Dharma tradition was inherited by another great disciple, Fa Ru. However, unexpected events occurred. It was only three years since the banner of Dongshan Dharma was erected in the Central Plains. In the first year of Yongchang of Tang Dynasty (AD 689), Faru passed away at the age of 52. His untimely death not only made it difficult for the traditional dharma lineage to continue, but also the many disciples he left behind in Zhongyue Songshan suddenly became orphans waiting to be fed. In order to continue the Dongshan method and for his disciples to have a good destination, Fa Ru made his last will and testament: He should go to the school of Zen Master Shenxiu Yuquan in Jingzhou to consult.
