At that time, the Sixth Patriarch lived in Baolin Temple in Caoxi, and Master Shenxiu lived in Yuquan Temple in Jingnan. At that time, the Honghua of the two sects was very prosperous, and everyone called it "South and North Show", so there was a difference between the two sects of "Nanton and North Gradual", and the general scholars did not understand the interest of the two sects.

The Sixth Patriarch said to the public: "Buddhism is originally the same purpose, but there is a difference between the north and the south. Originally, there was only one kind of Dharma, and it was only different because of the root mechanism of sentient beings. What is called a pause or a gradual? Buddhism does not have a so-called pause, but because the human root mechanism is good and blunt, so there is a so-called pause. ”

However, Master Shenxiu's disciples often ridiculed the six ancestors of the Southern Sect: "I don't know a word, what advantages can I have?"

When Master Shenxiu heard this, he said, "He has attained the wisdom of the Buddha without a teacher, and he has deeply understood the best Dharma, and I am not as good as him." Besides, my teacher, the Fifth Ancestor, personally taught him the method of clothing, was it taught out of thin air? I only hate that I can't go all the way to get close to him, and I have been in vain by the favor of the country here, so don't stay here, you can go to Caoxi to visit him, and ask him to seal it for you!"

One day, Master Shenxiu ordered Zhicheng, a disciple, to say, "You are gifted and intelligent, and you can go to Caoxi to listen to the Fa for me; If you hear about it, remember it and come back and tell me. ”

Zhicheng went to Cao Xi on the mission of Master Shenxiu, and followed the public to ask for benefits from the Six Ancestors, but did not explain where he came from. At that time, the Sixth Patriarch told the public: "Today, there are people who want to steal the Dharma secretly lurking in this festival. ”

When Zhicheng heard this, he hurriedly came out of the crowd, bowed to the Sixth Patriarch, and explained in detail the reason why he came to seek the Fa. The Sixth Ancestor said: "You are from Yuquan Temple, you should be regarded as a spy." ”

Zhicheng said: "No. ”

The Sixth Patriarch said, "Why not?"

Zhicheng said: "It can be said before that there is no explanation of the intention, but since it is explained, it is not." ”

The Sixth Patriarch said, "How does your teacher teach the people?"

Zhicheng said: "The family teacher often teaches the public to stay in one place, to become a state of thoughtlessness, and to always practice meditation without lying down. ”

The Sixth Patriarch said, "Dwelling in the mind and contemplating silence is a disease rather than Zen." What is the benefit of meditating for a long time and restraining oneself in vain to comprehend the Buddha's teachings? Listen to me: 'When you are alive you sit without lying down, but when you die, you always sit without sitting.' It's just a stinky bone, so what merit has ever been made?'"

After listening to this, Zhicheng bowed to the six ancestors and said: "The disciple has been learning the Tao from Master Shenxiu for nine years, and he can't understand the Dharma. The disciple felt that life and death were big and impermanence was rapid, and hoped that the monk would be merciful and give me instructions again. ”

The Sixth Patriarch said, "I heard that your teacher uses the precept of wisdom to teach the scholars, but I wonder what your teacher is talking about of the precept of wisdom. You tell me about it. ”

Zhicheng said: "Master Shenxiu said: 'Refraining from doing all evil things is called precept, practicing all good deeds is called wisdom, and purifying one's mind is called determination. 'He said this, I wonder what method the monk used to teach the scholars?'

The Sixth Patriarch said, "If I say that I have the Dharma for people, I am deceiving you; It's just for the sake of being obedient and convenient for everyone to release their attachments, and under the pretense of a name called Samadhi. As for what your teacher said about the wisdom of precepts, it is really incredible, and I have a different view of the wisdom of precepts. ”

Zhicheng said: "There should be only one kind of precept and wisdom, why is there a difference?"

The Sixth Patriarch said, "The precepts and wisdom that your teacher said are the leading Mahayana people, and my precepts and wisdom are the supreme people. Different comprehension and comprehension abilities lead to differences in the speed of insight. Do you hear what I say the same as what he says? The Dharma I am talking about is not separated from its own nature, and if it is said without its own nature, it is called the Dharma. Self-nature is often deluded. You must know that all the ten thousand dharmas are applied from their own nature, and this is the true precept and wisdom dharma. Listen to me: 'The absence of fault in the mind is self-discipline, the absence of obsession in the mind is self-wisdom, the absence of distraction in the mind is self-determination, the self-nature that does not increase or decrease is as strong as vajra, and the self-nature that comes and goes freely is based on samadhi. ’”

After listening to the verse, Zhicheng repented and thanked the six ancestors, and presented a poem: "The five aggregates are pseudo-synthetic illusions, how can they be illusions? Even if the dedication is true as one's own nature, if the Dharma is still impure. ”

The six ancestors praised and said yes.

The Sixth Ancestor said to Zhicheng again: "What your teacher said about the precept of Dinghui is to persuade the little root of the wise man, and the precept of the wisdom I am talking about is to persuade the big root of the wise man. If you can realize your own nature, you don't have to establish 'bodhi nirvana', and you don't have to establish 'liberation awareness'. Only when there is no one law to attain can ten thousand laws be established. If you can comprehend this truth, it is called the 'Buddha body', also called 'Bodhi Nirvana', and 'Liberation Awareness'. Those who have already seen nature can set up these Dharma names, or they can not set up them, come and go freely, without hindrance, act according to the conditions when they use them, respond to them when they say them, and manifest all their incarnations without departing from their own nature, so that they can obtain the 'Divine Power of Freedom' and the 'Samadhi of Gameplay', which is called seeing nature. ”

Zhicheng asked the Sixth Ancestor again: "What is the meaning of 'not standing'?"

The Sixth Patriarch said: "If you can use your wisdom to observe the nature of your own mind, and if you are always attached to the form of all the Dharma, you will be free and comfortable, and you can be leisurely and contented in all directions, so what else needs to be established?" Self-nature depends on one's own enlightenment, enlightenment, and enlightenment, and there is no gradual order, so there is no need to establish all the Dharma. All the dharmas are always extinguished, but what order will be established?"

After listening to this, Zhicheng bowed and thanked him, and vowed to serve the six ancestors around him, and never slackened from morning to night.

Zhiche Bhikkhu, a native of Jiangxi, is commonly surnamed Zhang and is known as Xingchang. When he was a teenager, he was a chivalrous man. Since the two sects of the north and the south were divided and propagated, although the two sect masters did not distinguish each other, the disciples competed to love and hate. At that time, the disciples of the Northern Sect set up Master Shenxiu as the sixth ancestor by themselves, and they were afraid that the matter of the five ancestors passing on the clothes to the six ancestors would be known to the world, so they sent Xingchang to assassinate the six ancestors. The Sixth Patriarch's heart was bright, and he had already foreseen this, so he first prepared ten taels of gold and put it between the beds. One night, Xingchang sneaked into the room of the six ancestors and was about to assassinate the six ancestors, the six ancestors calmly stretched out their necks and blades, and Xingchang waved the blade three times in a row, but did not hurt the six ancestors.

The Sixth Patriarch said: "The sword of justice has no evil heart, and the evil heart is not right with the sword, and I only owe you money and debts, not your life debt." ”

Xingchang was so frightened that he fainted to the ground, and it took him a long time to wake up, confess his sins to the master, ask for forgiveness, and express his desire to follow the six ancestors to become monks. The Sixth Patriarch gave the gold to Xingchang and said to him, "If you leave for the time being, I am afraid that my disciples will know that they will harm you." After a while, you can change your appearance and come back, and I will accept you.