On this day, the Sixth Patriarch said to a group of disciples: "You have achieved Buddhahood. Now, you should separate into one party and promote our Zen path."
Although the disciples were reluctant to leave Master. But in the end, he bid farewell to Master with tears in his eyes and left Baolin Temple.
Let us say that Xuance and Yingxing traveled through autumn, winter, spring and summer and came to Yongjia, Zhejiang. On this day, Xuance and Ying were walking on the rugged mountain road of Xianyan Mountain in Ruian County. The sun at noon was like a fire, making the mountain road smoke.
Ying's walking was extremely difficult, but when he looked at Xuance, he never suggested taking a rest - "You deserve it, you are a beggar and you have to come with me!" Xuance would definitely say this if he even complained a little bit.
Xuance was secretly happy. He pointed to the pavilion halfway up the mountain in front and said, "Let's take a rest at that pavilion."
In the pavilion, there was already a man lying on a bench to rest, with a bamboo hat covering his face. Xuance and Yingxing sat down on the ground. Yingxing took off his straw sandals, looked at his red and swollen feet, and breathed out.
Xuance deliberately asked him: "What are we doing?"
Ying Xing didn't even think about it: "Let's go."
Xuance asked again: "Do you know what walking is?"
"I don't know." Yingxing answered simply.
"I don't know what's best." Xuance said enigmatically. To know is to know, and to know is not to know - said Confucius. Those who know must know something, and those who do not know everything - Master Seng Zhao said in "The Treatise on Prajna Ignorance". The sage's wisdom is ignorant, but all qualities are illuminated; the body of the Dharma has no image, but its different shapes correspond to each other - this is what the "Preface to the Vimalakīrti Sutra" says.
Ying Xing suddenly realized something! He shouted regretfully: "Oh, I have been fooled by Master again!"
"Who did you fall for?"
"Our master is that bad old man!"
Xuance smiled and said: "Master didn't ask you to come with me for a trip, you followed here willingly and secretly!"
Yingxing said with a mournful face: "It's precisely because the old monk knows that the more you don't let me come, the more I will find ways to follow you, so... it's bitter - wow - I have nothing to complain about. This is really bitter!"
"You deserve it. This is called cleverness being misled by cleverness! However, this is Master's salvation for you. Now that you are here, don't spend your time in vain. If you travel across the country and county, you can enjoy the beautiful mountains and rivers as you like; spend the winter here and spend it there. In summer, walking like migratory birds, it’s like trying to get a bucket of rice from others and losing half the family’s food for half a year! There is no benefit.”
Xuance's great truth made Yingxing very impatient. He said angrily: "Yes, yes, yes! Can you please stop nagging? I remember it all! Master said, 'Three realms are idealistic, everything is the same. Dharma is consciousness'."
Xuance suddenly shook his sharp wits: "Really? Since 'the three realms are based on the mind, and all laws are based on consciousness', then, is the big stone outside the pavilion inside your heart or outside your heart?"
Yingxing said without thinking: "The three realms are based on the mind, of course it is in the heart!"
Xuance laughed: "How can you put such a big stone in your heart? Don't you feel heavy when walking?"
Yingxing clearly felt the power of Zen from Xuance's words, but because he didn't study hard enough and practiced well, he couldn't really grasp it, let alone respond to it, so he was speechless.
This situation is like a hen hatching an egg. At a certain point, the old hen is afraid that her baby will suffocate in the hard eggshell, so she will often tentatively peck the eggshell with her beak. If the chick inside happens to be hatched and mature, it will make a sucking sound, which is called spitting. At this time, the hen pecked from the outside and the chick spat from the inside - the eggshell burst into pieces, and a new life was born.
Zen Buddhism calls this synergy between Zen masters and students "spitting and pecking at the same time."
The mechanism of spitting can only be understood suddenly if the inside and outside are corresponding and there is no gap. If it is a "stupid" or "stinky egg" and there is no reaction inside, no matter how compassionate the old hen is, it cannot peck it out.
The current baby is just like a "stupid" that has not hatched and matured.
Seeing his embarrassment, Xuance persuaded him earnestly: "Junior brother, when we study Buddhism and practice Zen, we cannot memorize the classics, let alone take the Zen quotes of the ancestors as our own words. The Zen sayings of the ancestors Words, that is other people's experience, not ours. Zen is like drinking water, knowing whether it is hot or cold. You have to realize everything by yourself!" The man who was lying down and sleeping suddenly took off the bamboo hat on his face and sat up. It turns out that he is also a bald monk. He asked confusedly: "Who is your master?" Ying Xingzheng said angrily: "Our master, of course, is our master! Are you coming to join in the fun of fighting Zen machines?"
The bald monk said: "I am asking, which eminent monk is your master?"
Yingxing asked, "Who are you?"
The Zen monk slapped his forehead: "Oh, it was me who was abrupt."
He stood up, put his hands together and saluted: "The poor monk Xuanjue just listened to this master's words, and every sentence is in line with the Buddhist philosophy. I would like to ask for advice."
Yingxing suddenly burst into laughter: "Xuanjue, Xuance, you two are destined to be together. You are all chanting the Dharma names in a row."
Xuance glared at him and replied: "My name is Xuance, and this is my junior brother Yingxing. Senior brother, where is your treasure temple?"
Xuanjue pointed to the vast mountains and fields: "I live in a monastery in this Xianyan Mountain, and I have no attachment to any Taoist temple. However, I major in the Tiantai Sect's Samatha-Vipassana method. The scriptures and treatises I have heard are all from their own teachers. Relationship. Later, I read the Vimalakīrti Sutra and realized the Heart Sect of Buddhism. No one has verified it for me, so I don’t know if I am truly enlightened.”
Xuance said solemnly: "Before the King of Majestic Sound, there was no Buddha in the world. One could attain enlightenment by oneself without a teacher and become a Pacceka Buddha. After the King of Majestic Sound, anyone who could attain enlightenment without a teacher would of course be a heretic."
Xuanjue bowed deeply and said: "Senior brother, your speech is clear and logical, and every sentence is Zen. Especially the metaphor you just used as a stone is full of Zen ideas. So, I hope you can confirm it for me."
Xuance said humbly and sincerely: "I have little knowledge and can't confirm it for you. The Sixth Patriarch of Caoxi's Zen sect is our master. Now, seekers from all over the world are gathering around his old man to listen. He preaches Buddhism. Why don’t you ask him for advice?”
Xuanjue said, "Thank you, senior brother, for your advice. Please come to my thatched hut for a talk." Xuanjue took Xuance and Yingxing to the other side of the mountain.
This Xuanjue was born to be a Zen practitioner. He was born in the second year of Linde (665 AD), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. His common surname was Dai and his courtesy name was Daoming. The Dai family is a prominent family in Yongjia and has worshiped Buddhism for generations. Therefore, when Xuanjue was very young, he and his brother Daoyi became monks on the same day and were ordained as monks.
Xianyan Mountain stands next to the sea. The mountain is high and dust is separated. The road is dangerous and blocks the laymen. The dense forest hides the shadows of birds and the high grass hides the traces of animals. Xuanjue built a hut on Xiyan with a mountain behind and facing the sea. He learned the teachings of Tiantai religion, practiced Mahasamadhi and Vipassana, practiced meditation, and recited the Huayan Sutra and Vimalakīrti Sutra.
In front, the mighty sea washed his mind; behind him, the majestic mountains strengthened his soul; above his head, the white clouds made him feel Zen; at his feet, the clear springs conveyed the love of Taoism. As the sun rises and sets, the tide comes and goes, the spiritual energy of Xianyan Mountain nourishes Xuanjue into a handsome young monk, and the Buddha's sutras, theories, and laws cultivate him into a dashing Zen monk.
One night, when Xuanjue was reading the Vimalakīrti Sutra, he suddenly felt that the inner and outer worlds were clear. The realm described in the sutra was the same as his inner world, and his own nature was exactly the same. He wrote a letter to his friend Zen Master Zuoxi Xuanlang about his enlightenment.
Zen Master Xuanlang encouraged him to go outside the mountains and visit the great Zen masters in the vast world. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it was an opportunity that had matured somewhere. On that day, he was about to go out for a wander, but unexpectedly met Xuance and Yingxing at Banshan Pavilion.
Both he and Xuance were well-read in scriptures, so they hit it off immediately and their conversations were very congenial. So the two decided to return to Caoxi, Shaozhou together to pay homage to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng.
What about Ying Xing? Yingxing continued to wander alone. In the vast world, it seems that there are traces of him everywhere, and his figure is everywhere...
When Xuanjue and Xuance came to Baolin Temple, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was meditating on the Zen bed.
Xuanjue didn't wait for Xuance's introduction. He rushed forward, shook the tin staff in his hand, and circled the Sixth Patriarch three times. Then he stood upright on the ground, neither worshiping nor making a sound.
The Sixth Patriarch glanced at him and said slowly: "Looking at your behavior, it seems that you have been a monk for many years. Then, you should know that as a monk, you should possess three thousand majesty and eighty thousand fine conduct. May I ask where you come from to be like this? arrogant?"
Xuanjue didn't care and said: "Escape from life and death is the most important thing in life. Moreover, all kinds of causes and conditions change rapidly and impermanently. Other things are not important to me. How can I have time to care about dignity and etiquette?" Is it disrespectful?"
The Sixth Patriarch asked again: "In that case, why don't you understand the truth of neither birth nor death, nor speed nor slowness?"
Xuanjue replied: "According to my experience, if you understand your own nature, you will know that everything in the world does not have life and death, existence or nonexistence; if you understand your original mind, you will realize that there is no speed or slowness in the universe."
The Sixth Patriarch patted the Zen bed with great joy and praised sincerely: "That's it, Zen, that's it." The monks standing on both sides of the abbot were very surprised, because the Sixth Patriarch rarely praised people like this. From this point of view, this new Yunshui monk is very unusual! After receiving the seal of the Sixth Patriarch, Xuanjue arranged his cassocks, spread out the worship utensils, and kowtowed three times to the Sixth Patriarch in accordance with the etiquette and rules of Zen monks visiting mountains and visiting senior monks.
This Xuanjue is arrogant at first and then respectful, which is beyond ordinary people's expectations.
Who would have expected, even more unexpectedly, that as soon as he finished kowtowing, he said goodbye to the Sixth Patriarch and was about to go back down the mountain. It can be said that everything comes in a hurry and goes in a hurry.
The Sixth Patriarch said, "Are you really going to leave? Now that you are here, why are you leaving so soon?"
Xuanjue Wu Fengqiu once again took the initiative to provoke a legal battle with the Sixth Patriarch. He said: "I haven't moved in the first place, that is, I have no coming and no going. How is there any difference between pleasure and unhappiness?"
The Sixth Patriarch said calmly but with insight: "Who knows if you have moved?"
Xuanjue refused to give in and replied lawlessly: "Master, you must have made a distinction in your own heart."
The Sixth Patriarch nodded and affirmed Xuanjue: "You have realized the true meaning of inanimation."
No birth is Nirvana, the highest state of Buddhism. To realize the non-life is to obtain the highest wisdom that eliminates all worries and stays away from life and death.
This means that Xuanjue has attained enlightenment and has been officially recognized by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng.
However, Xuanjue did not give up when things got better. He still refused to give up, and pushed the lightning, thunder, ever-changing, and interesting Zen concept to a deeper level. He said: "Since there is no life, is there any intention?"
Yes, does the so-called enlightenment mean gain? Are the various forms of everything in the world intentional? There is death only after there is life. If there is no birth, there will naturally be no death.
The Sixth Patriarch Huineng naturally did not panic at the meeting, and said slowly: "Whether it is intentional or unintentional, who is aware of it and who is distinguishing it?"
Sure enough, Xuanjue smiled knowingly.
He was like a child, smiling happily.
Then, he summarized this wonderful master-disciple battle:
Goodness can distinguish all things, but it is not conscious, let alone deliberate. Just like the moon reflected in the blue pool, because it is unintentional, it can be reflected objectively regardless of whether it is cloudy or sunny.
