The five aggregates mentioned by Buddhism are the five aggregates of color, receiving, thinking, doing, and knowing. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Except for the first aggregate, which is a material phenomenon, the other four aggregates are mental phenomena in the five aggregates.

The aggregates are actually Buddhist theories about the elements of the human body and its physical and mental phenomena. The "aggregate" of the five aggregates is a transliteration of Sanskrit, and the meaning is accumulation or union.

Buddhism believes that everything in the world is made up of the sum of the five aggregates, and that a person's life is also made up of the sum of the five aggregates.

Taoists also believe that everything in the world is generated by qi, "Tao gives birth to one, life to two, two to three, and three qi to all things." ”

Tao gives birth to one, one is qi, one qi gives birth to yin and yang, two is yin and yang, and then yin and yang give birth to three talents, and the combination of three talents gives birth to all things......

Ye Chao believes that if you want to study it in depth, then it is likely that you will not be able to study these theories in your lifetime.

Therefore, he has to be like Tao Yuanming said, "read well, don't seek to understand".

Don't seek to understand, it's not that you don't want to understand, but don't force it, go with the flow, and understand as much mystery as you can.

In fact, books are for people to read, and the real Tao is not in books.

In the same way, many times, the Buddhas' teachings are not related to words, so even reciting sutras every day is not of much use.

Zen Buddhism even has a wonderful method that does not establish words and does not teach outside the world.

Also, as far as Ye Chao knows, the famous monk Huineng of the six ancestors of Zen Buddhism is simply a person who can't read big characters.

But he became the Six Patriarchs of Zen Buddhism!

He is promoting the Dun teaching method that directly points to the hearts of the people and becomes a Buddha by seeing nature.

Huineng can't write, can't read the scriptures, is the ancient saying of the "Altar Sutra" and "Farewell Biography".

However, when Huineng heard the "Diamond Sutra", he had some understanding; as soon as he arrived at Hongren, he would say that "people have north and south, and Buddha nature has no north and south"; and from the "Altar Sutra", it seems that Huineng has a clear understanding of the "Diamond Sutra", "Vima Sutra", "Ranga Sutra", "Guanamiyus Sutra", "Lotus Sutra", "Nirvana Sutra", and "Brahmana Sutra".

Therefore, it is generally difficult to believe that Huineng is illiterate.

"Farewell Biography" says: Before coming to Huangmei, I had been to Caoxi and discussed the issue of Nirvana Buddha nature with Endless Tibetan Nun. I went to Lechang to sit in meditation from Zhiyuan Zen Master.

Therefore, the explanation that arises from this is that because I have studied the Dharma, I have been practicing for a long time.

Huineng's common surname is Lu, and he was originally from Fanyang, Hebei Province (now Daxing, Beijing). His father was demoted to Lingnan Xinzhou (now Xinxing, Guangdong) and gave birth to Huineng.

Huineng's father died when he was young, and his family was poor, so he relied on collecting firewood and selling firewood to support his mother. One day he heard the guest who bought firewood reciting the phrase "should have no place to live and give birth to his heart", if he had an understanding, he hurriedly asked the guest what kind of scripture this was, and the guest told him that this was the "Diamond Sutra", and Master Hongren was telling everyone this scripture in Huangmei Dongshan Temple.

Huineng listened, settled his mother, and went to Huangmei to meet Hongren.

When Hongren knew that he was from a remote new state, he deliberately tested him: "You are from a wild land, you are a southern barbarian, do you also want to become a Buddha?"

Huineng said without timidity: "Although there are differences between the north and the south in the place of birth, everyone's Buddha nature is the same. Although people are divided into north and south, there is no distinction between north and south to become a Buddha!"

When Hongren heard this, he was secretly happy in his heart, but he didn't show his face and asked him to go to work in the mill.

The mill is the workshop of the rice. Huineng's body is light, so he tied a stone to his waist to increase the weight of his body, so that when he was licking rice, he could easily press the lever up and lick it down. In this way, Huineng worked honestly for eight months in the mill.

On this day, in order to test the depth of the disciples' Zen level and find a successor, the five patriarchs asked everyone to write a poem and submit it.

At that time, Shinshu served as the upper seat, and the upper seat was second only to the abbot in the temple.

Shenxiu is talented, and everyone is very convinced of him, thinking that this heir is the only one who belongs to him. Shenxiu really lived up to expectations, and wrote a poem saying: The body is a Bodhi tree, the heart is like a mirror, always wipe diligently, don't make dust!

This poem was written on the wall, although it was not signed, everyone knew who wrote it, and soon, this poem spread throughout the temple.

After reading it, Hongren said to everyone, "If you can practice according to this poem in the future generations, you can also get special fruits, so you should recite it carefully!"

In this poem, Shenxiu compares the human body and mind to a Bodhi tree and a mirror platform.

The body and mind of man are pure. As a result of attachment, relative consciousness arises, so that it is constantly tainted by dirt – external afflictions.

If you want to keep your mind pure, you must "wipe it away from dust at all times", that is, through perseverance and perseverance, you can gradually become enlightened.

At that time, Huineng was working in the mill room, and after listening to everyone reciting this poem, they thought that it was not thorough enough, so they asked people to write their own verses on the wall. He said: Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a platform.

Everyone was amazed when they saw this poem. From the standpoint of dependent arising emptiness, there is no Bodhi tree, there is no mirror platform, the body and mind are like phantoms, and the troubles that interfere with our body and mind are even more skinless, and the hair will be attached.

This poem transforms the long practice process of Zen into an epiphany at the moment, saying that the true nature of human beings is originally pure and unstained. As long as you realize this, you can become a Buddha on the ground.

Master Hongren saw this poem, and gently patted Huineng on the head three times, Huineng knew what the master meant, and came to the abbot's room in the middle of the night, Hongren took off his robe to cover the light of the candle, secretly taught Huineng Zen, and passed the mantle to Huineng.

Considering that the other disciples attached great importance to this position, for fear of causing a dispute, and worried about Huineng's safety, Hongren sent him to the Jiujiang ferry and asked him to go south overnight.

Hongnin said, "I'll cross you." ”

Huineng said: "When I am lost, I will cross me, and when I am enlightened, I will live by myself." ”

Hongren knew that his cultivation had matured, and his heart was very steady.

Huineng followed the master's teachings, returned to Guangdong, and hid in Sihui and Huaiji.

More than ten years later, when I came to the Fa Sex Temple in Guangzhou, I saw a flag hanging in front of the temple and two monks debating. One said, "It's the wind." The other said, "It's the flags that move." The two fought with red faces and refused to give in to each other.

Huineng said: "It's not the wind, it's not the flag, it's the benevolent!"

When the two of them heard this, they were taken aback, and felt that this person's level was really good, so they hurriedly reported it to Master Yinzong.

Master Yin Zong invited Hui Neng to the temple and asked, "I have heard that Master Hongren's Zen method has spread to the south, could it be that you are his successor?"

Huineng said, "Exactly." Then he took out the robe and bowl, and when everyone saw it, they prayed and asked Huineng to say Zen. In this way, Huineng officially went out of the mountain to say Zen.

Thorn Shi Wei Xuan invited Hui Neng to enter the city, in the lecture hall of the Dafan Temple for the public, the disciple Fahai recorded his French, and added the later French, that is, the world to practice the "Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra".

Since then, Hui Neng has been teaching the Dharma in Caoxi Baolin Temple for more than 30 years. Zhongzong sent an envoy to Cao Xi to summon him to Beijing, but he insisted on not leaving.

The imperial court then ordered that the former residence of Huineng Xinzhou should be used as the National Grace Temple.

Huineng later died at Xinzhou Guoen Temple at the age of 76. The disciples welcomed his body to Cao Xi. After Huineng passed away, the body was not bad, and the disciple Fang Fang was wrapped in silk and painted on it, and the image was vivid and realistic, and it was now in Nanhua Temple (that is, the ancient Baolin Temple).

Master Shenxiu also inherited the teachings of the five ancestors and traveled in the north, known as the Northern Zen.

The southern sect master had an epiphany, and the northern sect master gradually cultivated, so in the history of Zen Buddhism, it is called "the south and the north".

Shenxiu is a native of Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan, born in the early years of Emperor Yang of Sui, first studied Confucianism, erudite and knowledgeable, Tang Gaozu Wude eight years, with full precepts in Tiangong Temple. Later, he met the five ancestors Hongren, and was the first to sit under his meeting.

When the five ancestors and disciples made their own intentions, they also admired Shenxiu's "body like a Bodhi tree". When the five ancestors were silent, they once said to the public: "The law of Dongshan is all in Xiu!"

Shenxiu later abbot Jingzhou Dumen Temple, the reputation of the world.

However, his disciples and the disciples of Master Huineng were not convinced by each other, and Shenxiu always admonished his disciples: "Zen Master Huineng has gained the wisdom of self-masteredness and has a deep understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, which is not as good as him." And he personally inherited the clothes of the five ancestors. Don't stay with me all the time, you should go to Caoxi to further study. ”

In the first year of Emperor Tang Zetian's long vision (700), Wu Zetian summoned Shenxiu to Beijing and gave him a very high respect.

There are many people in the capital who come to worship every day. Zhang Shuo is also his disciple, and Zhang Shuo said to people: "The Zen master is eight feet long, with beautiful eyebrows, majestic virtue, and the weapon of the king!"

After Shenxiu entered Beijing, he lived in the inner dojo with Hui'an Guoshi and was supported by the royal family. In the first year of Zhongzong Shenlong (705), the imperial book that summoned Huineng into Beijing said: "I Yan'an (Hui'an) Xiu (Shenxiu) Second Master Gong ** raises, every time I study a multiplication, the second master and pushes and says: 'Nannan Neng Zen Master secretly taught the ninja master clothes, and he should be asked. ’”

This shows the humble virtue of Shenxiu Zen Master.

Shenxiu's Zen style is the inheritance of Bodhidharma's series of two into four elements, with "always diligently wipe, do not make dust" as the practice method, and its gradual cultivation method, and the four volumes of the "Ranga Sutra" as the law.

Shenxiu instructed the public: "All the Dharma is inherent in the heart, ask for it outside the heart, and flee away from the father." ”

This is the same as Huineng's "Buddha works to his own nature, not to seek outside the body".

There are more than 40 disciples under Huineng, among which Nanyue Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi are particularly prosperous. In the Xingsi branch, it was divided into Caodong Sect, Yunmen Sect and Dharma Eye Sect in later generations, and in Huairang Branch, it was divided into Linji Sect and Weiyang Sect in later generations, fulfilling the prophecy of "one flower blooms and five leaves, and the result will come naturally" as stated in the Dharma Transmission Verse.

At this point, Zen Buddhism flourished in China.