Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was Wu Zetian's biological son. After his restoration, he still discussed some matters with Wu Zetian.
Xue Jian was Wu Zetian's confidant. After he returned to the court, he went straight to Shangyang Palace to pay homage to Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian, who dreamed of becoming a Buddha, looked forward to it day and night, but she only expected Xue Jian to return home empty-handed. She was so angry that she stared at him on the hospital bed with bulging eyes and angry eyes.
"I hope the Great Sage Emperor will calm down. I have something important to present to you." Xue Jian knelt down and handed over the seal played by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng with both hands.
Wu Zetian opened the seal.
The table says:
Huineng was born in folk medicine, and since he was a child, he had been admiring the Taoism. He became the master of Ren and asked the Tathagata's Heart Seal to pass on the mantle of the Western Kingdom and teach the Buddha's heart in the Eastern Land. The envoy Xue Jian was sent by heaven to summon a capable person. Huineng has been living in the mountains and forests for a long time. He is old and ill. Your majesty is virtuous and has great virtues. He teaches all the people and nurtures the common people. He is kind to the common people and aims to promote the great religion. If you want to worship the Buddhist sect, please forgive Huineng for living there. The mountain nourishes the sick, cultivates Taoism, responds to the emperor's favor from above, and reaches the kings and princes below. I would like to express my gratitude. Sakyamuni Huineng paused, paused!
Wu Zetian was leaning on the sick bed, reading the seals, and after pondering for a moment, she asked: "Then what is the difference between the essence of Huineng's Zen method and that of Master Shenxiu?"
"It is indeed very different." Xue Jian explained, "Huineng advocates the method of enlightenment that 'directly points to the human heart and becomes a Buddha by seeing one's nature'."
Wu Zetian asked for a moment: "Epiphany? I have never heard of it. Please tell me more about it."
Xue Jian: "Sudden enlightenment means manifesting the Buddha from head to toe, and understanding everything through Zen. That is to say, the heart is nature, and it directly points to the human heart. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng advocated "not establishing words" when learning Buddhism and practicing Zen, and "external transmission of teachings", all living beings are With Buddha nature, one can practice spirituality while walking, standing, sitting or lying down. He also advocated “put down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha immediately. '"
"Ah, you can become a Buddha on the spot?" Wu Zetian was always cruel, and countless innocent people died at her hands. In his old age, he was tormented by nightmares every night, and when he woke up he was sweating profusely. Only then did he think of practicing Buddhism more and doing more Buddhist deeds to atone for his sins.
But Indian-style Buddhism, whether it is Mahayana Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism, has the same gist: do good deeds throughout your life, practice meditation, and become a Buddha in three lives.
At that time, Shenxiu and other Northern Sects advocated the "Jijiaowu Sect". They chanted sutras every day and practiced meditation every day, and they were inseparable from Buddhist classics.
For Wu Zetian, who knew that she had committed many sins and was old and frail, it was indeed difficult for her to achieve Buddhahood.
Moreover, according to the Zen practice methods of Shenxiu and other gradually enlightened sects, we wake up early and go to bed late every day, sitting on a futon and reciting the complicated, profound and boring meanings of scriptures. How tiring and painful it is!
Now, when she heard that she could become a Buddha in one fell swoop, which was exactly what she wanted, she asked, "So, there is no need to chant sutras and recite the Buddha's name every day, and there is no need to practice for many lifetimes?"
Xue Jian nodded: "Exactly," Huineng advocated, "If you are confused, you will experience calamity, and you will be enlightened in an instant." "He has a wise saying, which is, 'If you have a calm mind, there is no need to work on observing the precepts; if your actions are upright, there is no use practicing meditation." "
"Okay, okay, okay!" This point, like cold water on a cold day, dripped into the center of Wu Zetian's heart.
Xue Jian presented the record of that day with both hands: "This is the Dharma that my slave recorded in Caoxi, which was spoken by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng."
Wu Zetian was overjoyed and took over the recorded Huineng Dharma from Xue Jian. She read it carefully and considered it again and again. After understanding the enlightenment method he advocated, she felt even more deeply that the Sixth Patriarch Huineng's original intention was not to love glory and wealth. He is not greedy for fame and fortune, but admires his noble moral character even more.
Wu Zetian sent Xue Jian to summon Tang Zhongzong to Shangyang Palace and asked him to write an imperial edict to reward the Sixth Patriarch Huineng.
On September 3rd of that year, at the Baolin Temple in Caoxi, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng received the imperial edict delivered by the imperial envoy:
The teacher resigned from his old illness and practiced Taoism for me, which is the blessed field of the country. If the teacher has a pure name, he entrusts Ji Viya to expound the Mahayana, convey the hearts of all Buddhas, and talk about non-dual Dharma. Master Xue Jian taught the Tathagata the knowledge and views. I am grateful for my good deeds and cultivate good roots. When the teacher was born, he had a superior enlightenment. I am grateful for the kindness of Master He, and I have no one to support myself... Along with the imperial edict, I gave a piece of Moji cassock, a crystal bowl, and 500 pieces of silk from Goryeo as tribute to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, and ordered the "Baolin Temple" to be changed. "As the "Zhongxing Temple", he also ordered the governor of Shaozhou to renovate and decorate Baolin Temple.
Tang Zhongzong was in the north, but he paid great attention to Buddhist affairs in Lingnan. I feel that the temple built by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng in Xinzhou is called "Repaying Enemy Temple" just to repay the kindness of his mother and master. This scope seems too narrow. After discussing with the ministers, they believed that the light of Buddha should shine on the vast number of people in the entire country, and it was more appropriate to change it to "Guoen Temple".
Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty adopted the suggestions of his ministers and named Baoen Temple "Guoen Temple" in the first year of Shenlong (705), and also gave Wu Zetian a plaque of "Edict to Guoen Temple" written by Wu Zetian. Today the plaque is Still hanging above the main entrance of Longshan Guoen Temple.
Since then, the "Guoen Temple" in Longshan, Xinzhou has become even more famous.
In the autumn of that year, Wu Zetian became seriously ill and became blind. Medicines and medicines were unable to save her, and the eminent monks' praising the Buddha could not save her. She died in the bleak autumn wind.
After Wu Zetian died, she lost her imperial title and was honored as "The Great Sage Queen Zetian".
What was left to this unprecedented empress was the tall and heavy wordless monument at the Qianling Mausoleum on the bank of the Wei River. As the stars change and the vicissitudes of life change, future generations can make their own comments.
Because the Sixth Patriarch Huineng refused the emperor's edict, he stayed away from imperial power and stayed away from government affairs. His image as a noble and quiet mountain Zen master won the support of Zen monks and Li people all over the world. Caoxi's Southern Zen Sudden Enlightenment Zen method had a far-reaching influence.
Time flies, the sun and the moon fly by.
Because the Sixth Patriarch Huineng insisted on the tradition of Zen masters in the past generations not to be involved in the powerful and to avoid government affairs, he always stood in the world as a pure and noble Zen monk in the mountains. He formed a pattern with Shenxiu and others who pursued glory and wealth in official Zen and Beijing Zen. A sharp contrast, in this way, the Sixth Patriarch won the favor and love of the broad masses of the people. In the future, his influence will be more far-reaching and his reputation will grow, attracting "disciples from all over the world to follow the wind."
...
The puti tree outside the abbot's room sprouts new buds and sheds yellow leaves year after year.
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng was moved by the scene and felt that he was getting old. On this day, he called his ten most proud disciples to the meditation hall. These ten disciples are: Huizhan, Fahai, Zhicheng, Fada, Zhichang, Zhitong, Zhiche, Zhidao, Fazhen, and Faru.
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng said to them sincerely: "Seeing the flowers blooming and falling in the temple, I know that I am getting old. From now on, the important responsibility of promoting Zen will fall on you. You are all my close disciples. , don’t confuse yourself with ordinary disciples. After all, Baolin Temple in Caoxi is a corner of the country. After my death, you should each go to the four directions and become the master of education. Now I will give the essence of my Zen method and the method of preaching to You declare.”
All the disciples said in unison: "I hope Master will enlighten me."
The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng said with a solemn expression: "When describing any teaching, do not speak in isolation from your true nature. You must see both the opposite side of things and their unity,"
Disciples: "Please master Wen to explain in detail the three methods and the thirty-six pairs of methods."
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng taught: "Three disciplines... If the nature pursues evil, then eighteen kinds of wrong views will be produced, that is, the nature of sentient beings; if the nature is pure, eighteen kinds of wrong views will be produced The correct view is that goodness is the expression of Buddha-nature, whether it is the nature of sentient beings or Buddha-nature, they all arise from human nature."
All the disciples, all of whom were advanced in Taoism, said that they had understood the gist of the three disciplines, and then asked, "What are the thirty-six pairs of Dharma?"
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng explained: "The thirty-six pairs of dharma refer to the thirty-six kinds of relative things. There are five pairs of external things and phenomena without emotional consciousness: that is, the sky and the earth are opposite, and the sun and the moon are opposite. , light and darkness are opposite, yin and yang are opposite, water and fire are opposite, these are the five pairs. There are twelve pairs in terms of the appearance, nature and language concept of things: language and dharma are opposite, existence and non-existence are opposite, color and non-existence Form is opposite, form is opposite to formlessness, leakage is opposite to no leakage, color is opposite to emptiness, movement is opposite to stillness, pure is opposite to turbidity, ordinary is opposite to saint, monk is opposite to layman, old is opposite to young, big is opposite to small. Relative, these are the twelve pairs. There are nineteen pairs of relative phenomena arising from the nature of the self; long and short, evil and right, ignorance and wisdom, sense and wisdom, chaos and concentration, kindness and evil. Thoughts are opposite, perfection is opposite to non-being, straightness is opposite to crookedness: inclusion is opposite to emptiness, danger is opposite to peace, worry is opposite to bodhicitta: permanence is opposite to impermanence, compassion is opposite to harm, joy is opposite to hatred, charity is opposite to stinginess: progress is the opposite. Opposite to retreat, generation to destruction, Dharmakaya to physical form, Nirvana to Sambhogakaya, this is the pair of Fengjiu."
"Opposite to wisdom, foolishness to wisdom, chaos to concentration, loving-kindness to evil thoughts, morality to non-conformity, straightness to crookedness, reality to emptiness, danger to peace, troubles to bodhicitta, permanence to impermanence. Opposite, compassion is opposite to harm, joy is opposite to hatred, charity is opposite to stinginess, advancement is opposite to withdrawal, generation is opposite to destruction, Dharmakaya is opposite to physical body, Nirvana is opposite to Sambhogakaya, these are the nineteen pairs.”
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng also emphasized: "If you master their functions, you can integrate all the teachings in the Buddhist scriptures and enter this from that. The two sides are related to each other but are not biased towards any one. When interacting with others When talking about Buddhism, you must use your own nature, be in the form but not in the form, be in the emptiness but be away from the emptiness. If you are attached to external phenomena, you will have wrong views. If you are obsessed with the inner experience of nothingness, ignorance will grow. It is wrong to slander the classics and even say that everything is empty and there is no need for written language at all. These "words" alone are just like words. Some people say that practicing according to the teachings of Zen to clarify the mind and nature, To directly achieve Buddhism, you can "not establish" words. In fact, the two words "not establish" are words in themselves. When you see what others have said, it is wrong to attack others for being obsessed with words. You should understand , it is a pity that you are deluded and ignorant of your true nature. To slander the Buddhist scriptures again would be a serious crime. In addition, if you are paranoid about external tangible things or phenomena and regard the promotion of Buddhist practices as a way to pursue Buddhism, People like this can never correctly understand their own nature. If they only listen to the teachings when learning Zen, they will not practice it. , this will only cause people to have more prejudices and evil thoughts. Therefore, you must practice according to Buddhism and not be obsessed with the appearance of things. If you preach Buddhism and practice and do things according to this principle, you will not violate the principles of our sect. That’s the point.”
When the disciples heard the instructions given by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, they all said they understood the principles, but they were still confused as to how to apply them in the specific process of teaching and enlightenment in the future.
So, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng continued to preach to them: If someone comes to ask for the teachings of this religion: "If he asks about existence, you answer with nothing; when he asks about nothing, you answer with yes. When asking about ordinary people, use the holy answer, and when asking about the holy people, answer the ordinary people. Answer. In this kind of relative things that follow each other, the true truth of the law will naturally appear. By analogy, it will not deviate from the truth."
If someone asks: "What is darkness?", you can answer this way: ʻ Light and darkness transform into each other and are conditions for each other. The disappearance of light is darkness, and the end of darkness is light. Light is used to show darkness, and darkness is used to show light. In this way They take care of each other and complement each other, and the truth of Buddhism is contained in it.' Draw inferences from one example, and when you teach the teachings to others as a master in the future, you must follow this principle and never lose the purpose of our Caoxi Dharma School."
After hearing this, all the great disciples' eyes widened and their eyes widened. They bowed and thanked him and left the meditation hall.
