On this day, Huineng sold firewood in Juncheng, went to Mipu to buy a few kilograms of rice as usual, and walked home.
The sun slipped down from the sky and leaned lazily in the mid-air, watching the cotton-like white clouds swinging around under my feet.
When he walked to the south of the city gate, suddenly, a gray hare limped out of the grass in front of him and screamed, running desperately towards the hillside. Then, a fox with brown fur moved its hooves and chased after him.
Seeing that the injured hare was doomed, a feeling of compassion arose in Huineng's heart. He held a bamboo pole for carrying firewood and chased up the hillside. When I reached the top of the slope, I saw that the fox had bitten the tail of the hare, making a shrill cry of struggle.
Huineng rushed forward, shouted loudly, raised his bamboo pole, and hit the fox hard.
The fox was startled, opened its mouth, and ran away quickly, into the bushes on the left, and escaped without a trace.
The hare looked back at its savior, then, dragging its injured body, jumped and escaped into the two-foot-high grass.
When Hui Neng reached the top of the slope, the mountain wind blew, and there seemed to be the sound of reading aloud. He raised his eyes and looked into the distance and saw lush trees on the mountain and birds singing happily. Amidst the forest, a gray tile roof was exposed.
"What is this place?" Curiosity drove Hui Neng along the trail and up the mountain.
Huineng was destined to have a predestined relationship with Buddhism. As soon as he got involved, he embarked on a path that would forever be associated with Buddhism.
Passing through the woods, a temple suddenly came into view: the blue-gray walls were mottled by wind and rain, and a layer of dark green moss appeared at the foot of the wall.
This temple is called "Jintai Temple". In recent years, there has been war and chaos, and the temple has not been popular. The temple has been in disrepair for a long time, and some places have become ruins.
Following the rising and falling sound of reading, Huineng came to Jintai Temple.
From outside the broken wall, he saw a middle-aged monk standing on the podium, holding a scripture and reciting. He is the abbot of Jintai Temple, and his name is Zen Master Jingkong. He is not tall but stocky, with a beard about three inches long on his chin, and is wearing a gray tile-colored monk's robe.
In front of Zen Master Jingkong, there were more than twenty monks sitting on shabby futons.
Hui Neng felt strange. Then he stood outside the broken wall and listened carefully.
After Zen Master Jingkong led his disciples to recite a Sutra, he turned to the monks and explained Buddhism: "Buddhism is divided into Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Hinayana is about saving oneself, and does not care about the sufferings of all sentient beings in the world. What it seeks is He only takes good care of himself. But Mahayana is about saving all sentient beings, and what he seeks is to benefit the world. Mahayana Buddhism was brought back by Tang Sanzang when he traveled west to Tianzhu..."
After Zen Master Jingkong explained a passage, he picked up the scriptures and asked his disciples to recite the scriptures after him.
Zen Master Jingkong read to the scriptures: "This is what I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in the country of Savatthi, in the Solitary Garden, with a group of great bhikkhus, a total of one thousand two hundred and fifty people. At that time, the World Honored One, wearing robes and holding an alms bowl while eating, He went to the great city of Savatthi to beg for food. After begging in the city, he returned to his home place. After the meal, he collected his clothes and bowl, washed his feet, and sat down on his seat. At that time, the elder Subhuti was among the crowd..."
Zen Master Jingkong read a paragraph, and his disciples followed him.
Huineng was not illiterate, but the meaning of these scriptures seemed to him to be clear or dark, which aroused his great interest. As he walked back, he recalled the scriptures Zen Master Jingkong taught his disciples to recite.
In the evening, after taking a bath, Huineng lay on the bed. He recalled the scriptures he heard at Jintai Temple during the day, and started to recite them alone. The more he recited, the louder the sound became.
Mrs. Li finished her chores at home and sat in the next room doing needlework.
At night in the mountain village, except for the occasional frog drum, it seems particularly quiet.
Suddenly, Mrs. Li heard muttering intermittently.
"What is this sound?" Li listened carefully to identify it.
"...Buddha said: Subhuti, they are not sentient beings, they are not non-sentient beings. Why..."
Mrs. Li finally recognized that it was the sound of chanting sutras and reciting Buddhist scriptures, and it came from Huineng's room next door.
Li's heart immediately became confused: She and her son were the only two people at home. How could a monk come to my house to recite sutras at this night? At first, she suspected that she was old and had bad ears, so she heard wrongly. He dug his ear holes with his hands and held his breath. Then listen carefully. Yes, this is indeed the sound of chanting sutras, and it does come from the son's room.
Li felt very strange, so she quickly put down her needlework, put on her clothes, walked to Huineng's door, and put her ear against the crack of the door.
The sound of chanting scriptures echoed in the room and came from the crack in the door.
Li knocked on the door with her hand: "Huineng, please open the door."
When Hui Neng heard the cry, he stopped chanting and asked, "Mother, it's so late and you don't sleep. Is there anything important?"
Ms. Li urged: "You can talk after you open the door."
Huineng had no choice but to get out of bed and open the door.
Mrs. Li did not step in, but stood on the threshold, stretching her neck to look east and west inside.
Although there was no light in Huineng's room, the bright moonlight shone in from the window lattice, and everything inside could still be seen clearly.
Li's behavior was abnormal. Hui Neng was puzzled: "Mother, what are you looking for?"
Li murmured: "Where is the monk in your room?"
Huineng was confused: "The monk in my room? Why did mother say this? Are you asleep? What are you dreaming about?"
Li waved her hands: "I didn't fall asleep, let alone have any dreams."
Hui Neng confessed again: "My child, I am sleeping alone in the room. How could any monk come to the inner room?"
Li Shiba blinked: "Without a monk, how could there be the sound of chanting sutras in your room at night?"
Huineng suddenly understood and couldn't help laughing.
Ms. Li scolded: "You are not young yet, and you are not serious yet. Why are you laughing?"
Huineng pointed at himself: "That monk is me!"
"That's you?" Mrs. Li was even more puzzled, "When did you become a monk?"
Huineng said seriously: "I did not become a monk, but those scriptures were indeed recited by me."
Li didn't believe it: "You don't know a few characters, so what sutras do you know?"
Huineng explained: "Although I am illiterate, I can follow people's words."
Li asked: "Who did you learn to recite the sutra from?"
Huineng: "I secretly followed the monks of Jintai Temple to learn the sutras."
Li was surprised: "What, you went to Jintai Temple?"
"Yes, mother, please listen to me tell you the whole story." So, Huineng told Li about the chance encounter at Jintai Temple.
After hearing this, Mrs. Li breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, that's it!"
Huineng said rather ambiguously: "Those scriptures sound really interesting."
Ms. Li urged: "Read it to me again."
"Mother, listen," Huineng recited the scripture he heard again.
Mr. Li has listened to his father, a village doctor, preach the scriptures since he was a child. He also likes to read scriptures, so he knows a little about various classics in the world. When she heard Huineng reciting scriptures, she asked, "Do you know what scriptures the great master taught his disciples to recite?"
Huineng shook his head: "I don't know."
Li: "That's called the Diamond Sutra, and its full name is the Diamond Prajnaparamita Sutra."
Huinengba blinked: "Where did the Diamond Sutra come from? Was it written by the master of Jintai Temple himself?"
This time, it was Li's turn to laugh.
Huineng asked in confusion: "Mother, why are you laughing?"
Li said seriously: "How could the old monk from Jintai Temple write such a penetrating classic? I heard that the Diamond Sutra was transmitted from Tianzhu."
Huineng asked: "Mother, do you understand the meaning of these scriptures?"
"I don't quite understand. How can I, a country woman, understand such profound Buddhist principles?" Li said frankly, "However, I have heard some Buddhist legends and stories from adults since I was a child."
Huineng moved a wooden stool to Mrs. Li and said, "Mother, sit down and slowly tell me the Buddhist stories you know."
So Li told Huineng the stories she knew about Buddhism and Buddhist scriptures.
Hui Neng became more and more interested as he listened.
For several days, after Huineng sold firewood, he didn't even bother to wipe his sweat. With fatigue, he climbed up the mountain and came to the outside of Jintai Temple. He stood by the stone wall and listened carefully to the monks reciting scriptures. .
Zen Master Jingkong, the abbot of Jintai Temple, noticed the strange behavior of this layman.
On this day, after teaching his disciples to recite sutras, Zen Master Jingkong took advantage of his free time to walk to the broken wall, saluted Huineng, and clasped his hands together: "Amitabha."
Huineng also bent down and returned the gesture.
Zen Master Jingkong asked Huineng, "If I saw it right, the donor must be a firewood collector, right?"
"Exactly, it's been ten years since I was fourteen years old when I went to the mountains to collect firewood and chop wood." Huineng scratched his head with his hand and asked strangely, "Master, I have never spoken to you. Your discernment is really amazing. How do you know I am a firewood collector?"
Zen Master Jingkong pointed to his machete, bamboo pole and rope: "Everything in the world has its own characteristics. People also care about understanding. Although your machete, bamboo pole and rope are silent, don't they tell me?"
Hui Neng said with admiration: "Oh, your understanding is so high."
Zen Master Jingkong: "Is the donor someone from nearby?"
Huineng pointed to Longshan in the south: "Xialu Village is not far from here."
