One day, Huineng helped the villagers at the foot of the mountain to return to Shang'ai Ling. Not far from the Turtle Tsui Rock, I saw a monk fainting on the side of the mountain road, dying.

Huineng hurriedly ran over, checked the pulse for the monk, knew that he was hungry and sick, looked around, picked some mountain herbs, kneaded them, stuffed them into the monk's mouth, poured a few mouthfuls of water for him, and rubbed the meridians in the human body for him, not long after, the monk woke up, opened his eyes, saw Huineng's charitable face, and nodded to him gratefully to express his gratitude.

After Hui Neng saluted, he said, "May I ask the master, where are you a wandering monk?" ”

The monk's voice was still weak, and he replied, "The poor monk's name is Tan Huang. ”

Huineng: "Which master did you study Buddhism with?" ”

Tan Huang replied: "I am the apprentice of Master Fa Rong. ”

When Huineng was in Dongchan Temple in Hubei, he heard some old monks talk about the anecdotes of the ancestors of the past dynasties, and he thought of something, and asked: "Is it the 'Niutou Sect' Farong Master who was authorized by the Four Ancestors Daoxin to set up his own door under his lineage?" ”

The Fourth Patriarch Daoxin is a figure in the history of Zen thought, whose Zen thought is rich in connotation and feasible in practice. The second brother of its establishment and the convenience of starting with it, this gradual practice of meditation has a direct impact on the thoughts of the five ancestors Hongren and other descendants. The Niutouzong of Farong is full of epiphany thoughts, and later generations evaluate his "Heart Inscription" as no less than the "Faith Inscription" of the Three Patriarch Monks.

This mountain and wild person actually knows everything about Buddhism, and Tan Huang feels strange: "Ah, you are a layman, how can you know so much about Buddhism?" ”

"This ......," Hui Neng said after a while, "I firmly believe in Buddhism and Zen Buddhism, so I also know a little about it." ”

Tan Huang inquired and asked, "Which school of Zen do you believe in?" ”

Hui Neng saw that he looked kind, and replied bluntly: "Dunxiu." ”

Tan Huang was overjoyed: "It turned out to be a fellow practitioner." ”

Huineng: "I wonder what you think about this?" ”

Tan Huang opened the conversation:

Master Sanzu Sangchan, in his book "Faith Inscription", proposed that "there is no need to seek truth, but to see." This is the earliest outline of the practice of the Enlightenment Zen Method, and the Four Patriarchs Daoxin and the Five Patriarchs Hongren are all in the same lineage. It's a pity that after the sixth ancestor Huineng, the lamp bearer of the five ancestors, fled south, he was like a mud cow into the sea, and there was no trace.

The more Tan Huang continued, the weaker his voice became, and he seemed weak.

Hui Neng saw that Tan Huang was too hungry, so he took out his own dry food for him to eat, and then asked, "How did you come to the deep mountains and forests of Huailing?" ”

After hesitating for a moment, seeing Hui Neng's kind eyebrows, he replied bluntly: "When I was promoting Buddhism in the mountains at the junction of Anhui and Zhejiang, I was wanted by the government. ”

Huineng was puzzled: "Promoting Buddhism will also be wanted by the government?" ”

Tan Huang sighed: "There are wicked people who have framed me, saying that I have colluded with the local Chen Shuozhen rebel army. I can't argue now, and I can only rush away and avoid it. ”

"It turned out that he was also to avoid disaster," the same people who fell to the end of the world, and they were all people in Buddhism, but they were hunted down and killed by others. For the sake of prudence, Huineng did not reveal his true identity to Tan Huang, but only asked, "Where are you going now?" ”

Tan Huang's face was pious: "When I come here, I don't want to go anywhere again." ”

Huineng: "Why? ”

Tan Huang stood up and pointed to the bottom of the mountain: "Look! ”

Tan Huang's action, Hui Neng has already understood, and said: "You mean that the mountains and rivers here are unusual. ”

"Hmm," Tan Huang nodded and asked rhetorically, "Do you feel like this too?" ”

Hui Neng pointed out solemnly: "Look, the circular slope under Shangai Ridge is like a futon on the knees of a monk, and the round stones on the base of the pond are arranged in an orderly manner, like a string of Buddhist beads in the hands of monks." The shape of the mound over there is flat and round, and it resembles the wooden fish that is knocked on when chanting sutras in the temple. ”

Tan Huang's face showed joy: "Heh, everything you say is related to Buddhism, just like my Buddhism." And one more point, it seems to ......"

Huineng didn't wait for Tan Huang to finish speaking, and picked up the conversation again: "The small gang not far away looks like gossip, and it also looks like a half-open and half-closed scripture. The mountain peaks that stand in order in the distance are called the thirteen peaks of Huashi, you see it is smoky, hidden from time to time, just like the Buddha cave sky. It has a unique artistic conception. ”

Tan Huang listened to Huineng's guidance and explanation, and said with the same feeling: "The surrounding clouds are steaming and ethereal, making people feel like they are in the place of 'Prajna Samadhi' and 'Unstained Ten Thousand Realms'. The distant mountains float in the sea of clouds, like ten thousand Buddhas coming to court. It seems that it is a creation of heaven, and the mountains and rivers given by God here have such a strong Buddha aura.

Huineng: "That's how I see it, too. ”

Tan Huang laughed: "So, you and the poor monk have the same opinion? ”

Huineng: "Didn't you say that we are fellow believers?" ”

Tan Huang and Hui Neng looked at each other and smiled.

Huineng pointed to the Turtle Tsui Rock and sincerely invited: "If you don't dislike it, go there and live with me." ”

Tan Huang was overjoyed and smiled: "When I was down, I was fortunate to get along with Lu Jushi day and night, and the poor monk couldn't ask for it. ”

It's rare to know each other in life.

After that, Huineng and Tan Huang lived at the Turtle Tsui Rock in Shang'ai Ling.

These two fellow Taoists who lived together in the lonely peak in the midst of tribulation usually went down the mountain together to help the villagers work, plough the fields and rake the fields, and did everything. Find food and share it together. Find the spring water and taste it together. If you encounter difficulties, discuss and solve them. Usually when they are together, they talk more about scriptures and meanings, and exchange Zen teachings.

Three years later, Tan Huang received news from the business and travel office that the unjust case he was involved in had been clarified, and the government had revoked the arrest warrant for him. Tan Huang felt that the land here was vast and sparsely populated, and the foundation of the Zen Dharma he promoted was not deep, and the number of followers who supported him here was not as large as that in the north, so he decided to return to the north and promote Buddhism.

Although Huineng is reluctant to leave this Buddhist friend who gets along with him day and night, he also knows that people have their own ambitions and cannot be forced. Tan Huang's return to the north was indeed a great thing for the promotion and widespread dissemination of Buddhism, so he did not intervene to stop it.

Tan Huang gave Huineng manuscripts such as "The Theory of Absolute Views" and "Heart Inscriptions" written by Fa Rong to Huineng, and said: "These scriptures are my hard work for many years. Now I leave it to you that the meditation experience of the ancestors is good for you. I don't know your past though I don't know; But when I talk to you about Zen and Taoism, I have a vague premonition that you will have an extraordinary future. ”

After bidding farewell to Tan Huang, those rare scriptures accompanied Huineng through countless days and nights.

Huineng's comprehension is already extremely high, and he has obtained the true inheritance of the five ancestors Hongren. In addition, he got along with Fa Rong's disciple Tan Huang for three years, studied the scriptures and the teachings, and studied Buddhism, Taoism and Zen, which played a great role in his cultivation of Buddha nature and understanding of the law.

Later, in 677 A.D., when Huineng left Lengkeng Shangailing and was about to embark on the journey to Guangzhou, he also burned a stick of incense and solemnly recited the "Heart Inscription" and "Absolute Views" that Tan Huang gave him when he was leaving.