"What's your name?" Master Shi Hui asked again.
Huineng said: "My surname is Lu and my first name is Huineng."
"Huineng?" Master Shi Hui shuddered and stared at Huineng, "You are a layman, why did you take a Buddhist name?"
"I don't know. My father gave me this name since I was a child."
Master Shi Hui murmured: "Perhaps you will have a fate with our Buddhist family in the future."
Seeing the abbot in the temple talking to the firewood collector outside the broken wall, the monks gathered around.
Master Shi Hui asked in confusion: "You have been coming to our temple for many days, and you stand outside the broken wall every day and listen so fascinated. Why is this?"
Huineng spread his hands outward: "I don't know the reason. In short, since I came outside this temple and heard you leading your disciples to chant sutras, I couldn't help but come here after selling firewood every day. .”
"Ah, it seems that you have an inexplicable fate with our Buddhist school." Master Shi Hui raised the scripture in his hand, handed it to Huineng, and asked, "You have been standing outside the broken wall listening for a few days. Do you know What kind of scripture is this?”
Hui Neng saw that the yellow scriptures were printed with a few vertical lines of seal characters like dragons and snakes, and he answered truthfully: "Master, I feel ashamed to say this. I am a firewood boy. Because my family is poor, I have never gone to school, so I don't want to go to school." Literacy.”
Master Shi Hui was greatly confused: "You are illiterate, but you are so interested in chanting sutras and reciting the Buddha's name?"
Huineng: "Yes."
Master Shi Hui stared at him: "Do you understand the scriptures I teach?"
Huineng answered casually: "These verses are easy to remember, but I don't understand them very well."
"Is the sutra easy to remember?" Master Shi Hui frowned. Unexpectedly, this woodcutter looked so honest and honest, but spoke so arrogantly. He said, "This Sutra of Vajra Prajnaparamita is... The ancestor Bodhidharma brought it from Tianzhu. It was not easy for us monks in the East to recite it at the beginning, let alone to remember it. Why do you say that the sutra is easy to memorize right from the start?"
Huineng answered frankly: "I do remember it."
Master Shi Hui was still doubtful: "There is no such thing as a joke in Buddhism. Can you really recite it?"
"Well." Huineng nodded and said loudly, "I never tell lies."
Master Shi Hui asked tentatively: "How many passages can you recite?"
The simple Huineng answered straightforwardly: "I can recite them all."
"Wow, you really feel bad after eating garlic!" Master Shi Hui and the other monks were all shocked by his answer.
Master Shi Hui stared at him with wide eyes: "What? Can you recite all the scriptures in the Diamond Sutra?"
Hearing the loud talk of the firewood boy, an older monk came up to him and said, "Wood collector, it's delicious to eat too much, but it's hard to talk too much!"
A young monk even said in a sarcastic tone: "Master teaches me face to face during the day, and we memorize it by ourselves at night. I racked my brains and struggled to recite such a short paragraph."
Some monks wanted to prank the woodcutter in person and make him suffer a little, so they encouraged Master Shi Hui: "Master, since he keeps saying that the sutras are easy to memorize, he can also recite the entire "Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra". Then let him recite it to us on the spot."
Master Shi Hui seemed to be troubled by something, and said to Huineng: "What people are most afraid of is talking in vain. Chaiman, please recite the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra to us!"
"Okay!" Huineng cleared his throat, clasped his hands behind his back, raised his head slightly towards the sky, half-squinted his eyes, opened his mouth, and the scriptures flowed out like a chatterbox, like the mountains and streams next to the temple. The same trickle continued: "I have heard that. At one time, the Buddha was in the country of Savatthi, in a lonely garden with ash trees, together 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, entered the great city of Savatthi. Begging for food. After begging one after another 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..."
At first, the monks at Jintai Temple did not take this dark-skinned firewood collector seriously at all, but when Huineng recited the first paragraph fluently, they were impressed. Some even took out scriptures to compare and see. Did he pronounce it wrong?
Master Shi Hui practiced Zen very deeply, so he naturally kept the Diamond Sutra in mind and listened quietly.
Hui Neng recited: "...Why should Yun give a speech to others? It does not depend on the appearance, but the image does not move. Why? All conditioned dharmas are like the bubbles of a dream. They are like dew and lightning. They should be viewed in this way."
Master Shi Hui: “What about the last paragraph?”
Hui Neng swallowed his saliva and continued to recite: "The Buddha said this is the meaning of the sutra. Elder Subhuti, as well as the monks, bhikshunis, Upasakas, Upasikas, and all the gods and asuras in the world were very happy when they heard what the Buddha said. Believe it and follow it.”
Until Huineng recited all the scriptures of the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra, Master Shi Hui and all the monks were so shocked that their mouths opened wide.
The monks who listened to Huineng's recitation and compared it with the scriptures all exclaimed in unison: "Ah, I missed every word!"
A naughty little monk posed another problem to Hui Neng: "Watcher, can you recite the sutra from back to front and backwards?"
Master Shi Hui gave the young monk an angry look: "Can you ask me to recite it backwards like this?"
The little monk stuck out his tongue and then retracted it.
"You want me to recite it backwards?" Huineng readily agreed, okay!"
Master Shi Hui: “Can you really recite it backwards?”
"Of course! Listen, practice and accept the faith, like everything, say what the Buddha has heard..." So, Huineng really recited the Diamond Sutra backwards from behind, and he recited it equally fluently, which is even more All the monks in Jintai Temple, from the oldest to the youngest, could not close their mouths, and they were all convinced by this firewood boy.
Master Shi Hui gently stroked the short beard on his chin with his right hand and stared at the firewood boy in front of him. He couldn't help but have a lot of emotions: the average monk of Jintai Temple has to read these scriptures dozens of times before he can memorize them. . I received guidance from the Fifth Patriarch at Dongzen Temple and practiced a lot, but it took me more than ten times to memorize a sutra. And this firewood boy could memorize it so well after just listening to it a few times without any Buddhist scriptures to read and no famous teachers to enlighten him.
In Xinzhou, the trees are so ordinary; the streams are so ordinary; the living beings coming and going are so ordinary. But the firewood boy in front of him was a genius, a peerless genius. A wave of enthusiasm hit Master Shi Hui's heart, and a mysterious feeling gripped him tightly.
After pondering for a long time, Master Shi Hui said to Huineng: "Don't stand outside the broken wall all the time. Come into the temple."
"Okay." Huineng pushed his feet lightly, and his strong body jumped in like a civet cat. Master Shi Hui raised the sutra book in his hand and asked, "It's really not easy for you to recite this sutra. Is there anyone in your family who can recite sutras?"
Huineng answered truthfully: "My mother often recites sutras at home."
Master Shi Hui: "Your mother also recites sutras?"
Huineng said: "She has been reciting some sutras at home since she was a child. But compared with Master, she is miles away. Even though I recite the sutras, I don't understand the meaning of the sutras. I hope Master will give me some guidance." I point and point.”
Seeing Huineng's sincere attitude, Master Shi Hui gave a brief explanation: "'Vajra' is a metaphor for indestructibility; 'Prajna' is the finger of wisdom; 'Paramit' means reaching; and 'Sutra' That is the pointer of Tao and the meaning of practice."
"Ah, it turns out that the Diamond Sutra refers to these." Huineng seemed to understand a lot. He pulled the sleeve of Master Shi Hui's robe and begged, "Master, your Taoism is really high."
Master Shi Hui waved his hand humbly: "My Taoism is not high, my master is the master."
Huineng: "Who is your master?"
"Master Hongren, he is the fifth ancestor of Zen." Master Shi Hui was originally born in Dongchan Temple and was a disciple of the fifth ancestor, Hongren. His speech was full of pious and admiring tone, "Buddhas in the past all highly praised the Lankavatara Sutra. But Master Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch, encourages us to read the Diamond Sutra."
Huineng asked: "What is the difference between those two kinds of sutras?"
Master Shi Hui: "The Lankavatara Sect's theory of 'knowing one's mind and seeing one's nature' is reflected in the Lankavatara Sutra. It believes that only by doing good deeds throughout your life and practicing hard can you become a Buddha; while the Nirvana Sect of the Shanghai School holds the theory of 'sudden enlightenment and gradual enlightenment' , concentrated in the Diamond Sutra, which believes that everything in the world is illusory and uncertain, and one should not be too attached to everything in the world."
Huineng's heartstrings twitched: "Where is the Fifth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism now?"
Master Shi Hui pointed to the north: "Dongchan Temple in Huangmei County, Qizhou."
Huineng: "Is Dongzenji Temple very big?"
"Me," Master Shi Hui nodded, "there are more than 800 monks in the temple."
Huineng was surprised: "Ah, there are more than 800 people in the temple. This is more people than our entire Xialu Village! There must be many eminent monks inside, right?"
Master Shi Hui replied with admiration: "There are indeed many. Their understanding of various classics is much deeper than Lao Monk."
Huineng: "Master, could you please explain to me the meaning of the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra?"
"Okay." Master Shi Hui briefly explained the meaning of the Diamond Sutra.
Listening, listening, Huineng seemed to be led by Master Shi Hui into the hall of the Buddha, with brilliant brilliance and colorful auspicious clouds rising in front of his eyes.
After listening to Master Shi Hui's explanation, Huineng said with emotion: "Ah, it would be great if I could go to Dongchan Temple and listen to the teachings of the Fifth Patriarch with my own ears!"
Master Shi Hui sincerely said: "I see that you have extraordinary Buddha roots. If you focus on Buddha, you will surely achieve enlightenment in the future."
Hui Neng raised his head and asked, "Does Master have virtual blindness?"
Master Shi Hui sincerely said: "I believe that my old eyes are not dim. I only came up with your prospects based on my own feelings. As the meaning of the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra implies, everything in the world has no inherent nature. , is illusory and unreal, so you should have no attachment to the real world. If you are really interested in Buddhism, go north to practice Zen, and our Jintai Temple can support you in Panchuan."
"Thank you, Master." Huineng was extremely happy.
Master Shi Hui took a step forward and faced Hui Neng with a solemn expression: "A monk must not only see through the world of mortals and abstain from drinking and sex; but he must also remain determined and devote himself to hard training. Only then can he achieve enlightenment."
"Although the stone is hard, a drop of water can penetrate it!" Huineng's attitude was very determined.
Master Shi Hui thought for a moment: "However, if you become a monk and enter Buddhism, you will stay there for the rest of your life. This must be done with the consent of your family. Do you have a wife's room?"
"No."
"Who else is at home?"
"Only my loving mother is here."
"So, you are an only child and depend on your mother for life. Will she let you go north?"
"It depends on you. I'll convince her."
Huineng said goodbye to Master Shi Hui and hurried back home.
