There was a Zen monk named Xingsi who had a very high understanding and was highly appreciated by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. After some exchanges, he thought very highly of Xingsi and knew that he had entered into the heart of the Buddha. He announced in public that from now on, Xingsi will serve as a monk. head.
Ying Xing suddenly jumped up from the futon, walked around Xing Si three times, and said, "Are you happy that you have a dog? Why are you laughing?"
The Sixth Patriarch said solemnly: "Ying Xing, you must not be rude! Xingsi is the first one from now on. You should listen to his guidance more."
Yingxing said aggrievedly: "He started later than me, but... Oh, by the way, you just said a lot of truths, why can't I understand a word of it?"
Fakong said: "So, you have changed from a senior brother to a junior brother! According to my guess, senior brother Xingsi is telling us that we should pursue enlightenment with the wisdom of Prajna and Kongsi and abandon the attachment to the Dharma, instead of really dismissing the scriptures. "
The Sixth Patriarch smiled and said: "Yes, Dharma is empty. Dharma is empty. Dharma is empty. All Dharmas are empty. Dharma is empty. Dharma is empty. Dharma should also be empty. A monk who practices diligently may not be greedy for the world. Wealth and sex, but it is difficult to get rid of attachment to the Dharma and classics. This is also greed and must be eradicated! A Bodhisattva should understand the Buddha's way and the true meaning of life in the universe with his original mind of emptiness and gainlessness."
At noon, everything in Baolin Temple was quiet.
Ying Xing is dozing off in the living room. A middle-aged monk who was in a hurry came in and said to Yingxing: "Brother, I..."
Ying Xing was dozing off. He waved his hands impatiently and said without opening his eyes, "Go, go, I'm no longer senior brother. I need to go see Xing Si if I have something to do."
"Who is Xingsi?"
"Of course Xingsi is Xingsi. Are you going to fight Zen with me?"
"Senior brother, I really don't know who Xing Si is."
Ying Xing yawned and said, "Why don't you even know who Xing Si is?"
He opened his eyes and found a strange monk. He quickly sat upright and asked in a humanlike manner: "Where did you come from to hang out here?"
"Disciple Fahai comes from Qujiang and wants to see the Sixth Patriarch."
Yingxing said in a pretentious manner: "My master is very busy, you..."
By chance, the Sixth Patriarch and Xing Si passed by the door. Seeing this scene, the Sixth Patriarch said, "Ying Xing, are you making the decision for me again?"
Yingxing quickly slipped down from his seat and said, "Master, please."
Fahai knew that the person coming was the Sixth Patriarch, and he quickly kowtowed and said, "Disciple Fahai, please see the Sixth Patriarch."
The Sixth Patriarch asked him to get up and sit on a Zen bench nearby. Before Fahai even sat down, he asked eagerly: "Excuse me, Master, what is the mind that is the Buddha?"
The Sixth Patriarch said: "The mind that does not arise in the past is the mind; the mind that does not cease in the mind after the mind is the Buddha; the mind that has formed all the characteristics; the Buddha that is separated from all the characteristics."
Fa Hai frowned and said devoutly: "This disciple is ignorant and cannot understand the master's sublime artistic conception. I hope the Sixth Patriarch can explain it in detail."
The Sixth Patriarch said: "All sentient beings have Buddha nature. Therefore, the nature of all sentient beings is bright, kind and pure hearts. However, because of the coverage of greed, anger, ignorance and other troubles, this original mind cannot show its true, good and beautiful side. . If you can directly see your original mind, you can become a Buddha! Well, just listen to me saying a verse."
The Sixth Patriarch chanted:
That is the name and wisdom of the heart,
That is to say, Buddha is samadhi.
Maintain concentration, wisdom, etc.
The mind is pure.
Understand this method,
By your habits.
Use nothing to make a living,
Double cultivation is righteousness.
Fahai felt as if he heard thunder, his body and mind suddenly became enlightened, and the mystery in his heart suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help being ecstatic, and he prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Thank you, master, thank you, master!" Then he also said a verse:
That is, the mind is originally a Buddha,
Self-enlightenment without enlightenment.
I know the cause of concentration and wisdom,
Double cultivation separates from all things.
The Sixth Patriarch smiled and said: "So, so, the mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the original mind. Because the original mind is pure and untainted, and the original mind can give birth to all things. Every plant, tree, mountain, water, or person in the universe, or An ant is a manifestation of the pure original mind! The original mind is pure, kind, and is a Buddha. Therefore, vegetation, mountains and rivers, humans, and animals are all kind and natural, and they are also Buddhas!"
Yingxing on the side jumped up and shouted: "Master, you are a disciple! According to what you say, then even little ants and bugs are Buddhas?"
The Sixth Patriarch said categorically: "Yes, when a Buddha sees the world, all sentient beings are Buddhas. Regardless of thatch, fragrant flowers, they are all manifestations of the pure Buddha body! There are wonderful Taoist temples everywhere in the mountains and rivers."
Xingsi said: "Zhuangzi said: 'The Tao is drowned in shit'. This is the truth."
"That's right." The Sixth Patriarch said, "The difference is just the choice of people's hearts. There is a pile of cow dung on the road. Passers-by cover their noses and frown and stay away, for fear of contaminating themselves; but the old farmer who picks up dung looks at it. After getting cow dung, your eyes will be bright, for fear of being snatched away by others. Therefore, the peaks are as steep as the peaks, and the mounds are as ordinary as the mounds. Where is the green mountain without a temple? The creek is clear, the river is rushing, and the blue pool is deep. , The ocean is vast, where is the water wave without the opportunity to meditate?”
…
One day, Yingxing rode a little donkey out of the temple gate and arrived at the entrance of Caohou Village. The old woman at the food stall saw him and shouted: "Little Master Yingxing, come down and eat some glutinous rice cake."
Yingxing was actually a little embarrassed: "Every time I go down the mountain, I have to eat your glutinous rice cake. I..."
"Why are you so polite? It is our blessing to support monks. Plant a grain of millet in the spring and harvest ten thousand tons of grain in the autumn. Therefore, it is more cost-effective for you to eat glutinous rice cake than my old lady."
Yingxing was amused by the old woman and walked to a nearby tree to tie the donkey.
At this time, a young Zen monk walked over and asked the old woman: "Old woman, how can I get to Baolin Temple?"
When the old woman saw that it was a monk, she clasped her hands and said, "Master, is he from another place?"
"The student monk came from Jingzhou to Songshan Mountain, and then came all the way from Zhongyue Mountain. He wanted to join the Sixth Patriarch to study the Dharma. I don't know..."
The old woman said happily: "Okay, you have chosen the right path! The Sixth Patriarch is a once-in-a-lifetime living Bodhisattva. Just go through the village, turn left, and walk upstream along the stream."
"Thank you, old lady." He had just taken a few steps away when the old lady called from behind: "Come back, Master, please come back."
The young monk turned around.
"You must be hungry after traveling a long way. Sit down and eat some glutinous rice cakes and drink some tea. There are still several miles of mountain road to go."
The young Zen monk felt embarrassed and touched his pocket.
The old woman said: "Why are you still here? The Sixth Patriarch also ate this glutinous rice cake when he entered the mountain. I will give a few to each Dharma master who enters the mountain."
The old woman pointed to Ying Xing who had already reached the food stall and said, "This little master is a monk from Baolin Temple. You can go up the mountain together."
Yingxing and the young Zen monk put their palms together to inquire about each other, and sat down to eat glutinous rice cakes together.
By chance, another middle-aged mage carrying two large bundles of books came over. When he saw the food stall, his eyes lit up, he took off the burden on his shoulders and said to the old woman: "Old woman, please sell me some glutinous rice cakes. "
The old woman said excitedly: "Hey, Master, are you delivering scriptures to Baolin Temple?"
The middle-aged mage was startled: "Sending scriptures?" He found the old woman's eyes staring at his bookcase, and suddenly laughed: "Wonderful, wonderful! It can be said that I am sending real scriptures to the Sixth Patriarch! This This "Diamond Sutra" is my experience of studying the "Diamond Sutra" for half my life. Let the Sixth Patriarch and his so-called Dharma of not establishing words and directly seeing the heart be read carefully, so as to prevent them from deviating from the teachings and talking nonsense."
The old woman narrowed her eyes and said, "So, you are here to challenge the Sixth Patriarch?"
The middle-aged mage said arrogantly: "When I talk about challenging, I'm flattering them. Aren't they initiated by the Diamond Sutra? I'm here to teach them!"
The old woman said, "Oh? So you have a lot of experience in the Diamond Sutra? I would like to ask you a few questions."
The middle-aged mage became impatient: "If you want to ask, please ask quickly, I have to be on my way!" He sat down without invitation, picked up a bowl of tea and drank.
But the old woman said calmly: "If you can answer my question, I will give you free glutinous rice cakes. If you can't answer my question, I'm sorry. Not only will the glutinous rice cakes not be sold, I think it's time for you to go home."
What kind of Buddhism can an old rural woman who seems illiterate understand? Therefore, the middle-aged mage curled his lips disdainfully: "Humph, what profound questions can you ask!"
The old woman asked: "Excuse me, Master, does the scroll you are picking up have a sign? Does the glutinous rice cake you want have a sign or does it have no sign?"
"This, this...this, of course, has an appearance." The middle-aged mage hesitated.
The old woman pressed hard and said: "The Buddha said in the Diamond Sutra: 'All appearances are false. If you see all appearances that are not true, you will see the Tathagata.' Since 'all appearances are false', then you What's the use of broken books? Why else do you eat glutinous rice cakes?"
The middle-aged mage was shocked when he heard this, and big beads of sweat flowed from his forehead. It is clearly stated in the sutra that all appearances are false, so why would he want something false? !
The young Zen monk sitting with Yingxing was also surprised: this old woman who seemed to know nothing about Zen was actually proficient in Zen essentials and had a deep understanding of Zen principles.
The old woman smiled and said calmly: "My old woman is uneducated and doesn't know anything about Zen. She just listened to the Sixth Patriarch's lecture on the Diamond Sutra. The questions asked are too simple. For someone like you, who specializes in studying the Diamond Sutra, The Archmage is laughing."
