Huineng lived in Baolin Temple for a short time, and felt that it was difficult to become a great weapon without a famous teacher, and he could not forget his original intention of vowing to seek a teacher, so he said goodbye to Liu Zhiluo and other villagers, and continued to go north.

When Huineng was in Caohou Village, he heard from the laymen that there was a Zhiyuan Zen Master in the Xishan Cave Temple in nearby Lechang County. He is proficient in Zen Buddhism, has a deep understanding of zazen samadhi, and often enters meditation for more than a month.

Oh my God, for more than a month, the vultures sat there, not moving, not shaking, not eating or drinking, not even breathing, not having a heartbeat! What kind of realm is that? Huineng is very yearning.

The ancients read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles. Huineng can't read a word, and he will definitely not be able to read a book of ten thousand volumes, but he can travel thousands of miles. Doing is often more important than simply reading. What's more, Lechang West Mountain, just north of Caohou Village, is basically the same as the route to the north. So, Huineng decided to make a detour to Lechang to visit Zen Master Zhiyuan, who was rumored to be miraculous.

When Huineng arrived at the Xishan Grottoes Temple, he found that there were dozens of grottoes in front of him, with different heights and sizes, but they were all closed and there was no trace. Like, no one lives here. Huineng was puzzled, and on the road leading to the deeper part of the mountain, a monk, an old monk carrying firewood on his shoulders. Hui Neng, who was born as a woodcutter, saw that he was very kind, and hurriedly stepped forward, folded his hands and asked, "Master has worked hard. ”

The old monk said, "The heart is not bitter, but the life is bitter." Huineng was stunned. The old monk smiled, and then said: "If the heart is not bitter, why suffer!" Hui Neng was also amused by his wittyness. After laughing, he asked, "Excuse me, where does Zen Master Zhiyuan live?" "Wisdom, is there still far and near? Since you are a Zen master, where can't you live? "Zen, water spirit, lively, can only be understood, not spoken. However, a clever Zen master can inspire scholars with unique movements and unique words at any time, so that the heart has a sharp heart and suddenly understands. Under the encouragement of this old monk, Huineng Zen's heart was moved, and he couldn't help but be high-spirited, and asked tightly: "So, isn't the world all occupied by Zen masters?" So, does Zen Master Zhiyuan also live here? ”

What Huineng is pointing to is a round donkey dung egg! The old monk has his own place to turn: "I'm just a firewood monk, how do I know!" "Boom!" The old monk took out the firewood and struck it on a hollow piece of wood. After the sound, the closed doors of the grotto opened one after another, and the Zen monks came out of it one by one - no wonder it was as quiet as if no one was there, it turned out that the Zen monks were all sitting in meditation. The old monk who picked firewood was their master, Zen Master Zhiyuan. In order for his disciples to meditate with peace of mind, he personally went up the mountain to collect firewood.

While helping him pick the woodwood to the dining hall, Huineng joked: "I have been yearning for Zhiyuan Zen Master for a long time, and I came to visit from thousands of miles away, but when I came here, I only met a charcoal seller!" ”

Zen Master Zhiyuan laughed and mocked him and said, "You, I only see the charcoal seller, but you don't see Zhiyuan." Huineng pretended to be puzzled and asked, "How is Zhiyuan?" This question has a great Zen meaning, covering heaven and earth, the wind and thunder are rolling, and there are infinite Zen opportunities. Zen Master Zhiyuan knew that he had encountered a strong opponent, but he was old and refined, pretending to be crazy, pointing at the bundle of firewood and shouting: "Chai! Firewood! "Chai is Zhiyuan? Zhiyuan is chai?

Zen is so lively, so interesting!

Zen Master Zhiyuan has a mantra "Sitting for a long time has Zen". What he means is that only if you meditate for a long time and meditate deeply, you will naturally have Zen – great wisdom that comes from meditation. Therefore, he strictly demanded that his disciples not fall into a single place (do not unroll the bed at night, i.e. do not sleep), and sit in meditation day and night.

Naturally, Huineng also relies on Zen Master Zhiyuan every day to practice meditation.

meditation, also known as "samadhi"; The Sanskrit word for "dhyana", also known as "meditation" and "meditation", is a means of Buddhist practice. It is a collective term for "Ding" and "Hui". "Enlightenment is wisdom, and cultivation is determined." Meditation is inseparable from cultivation, and cultivation is inseparable from concentration. Later Tantric Master Guifeng said: "A fixed line is the most wonderful, it can initiate the wisdom of sex without leakage, all the wonderful uses, all the lines, and even the supernatural light, all have a fixed hair." Therefore, if you want to seek the holy path, you must meditate. There is no way from here, there is no way from here. ”

Yes, how can we calm our chaotic mind without thinking and meditating? If the mind is not quiet, how can the light of wisdom be revealed?

Actually, meditation is not something mysterious, and it is not unique to Buddhism. For example, Huineng reinterpreted the Confucian classic "University" to Liu Zhiluo: "The way of the university lies in Ming Mingde, in being close to the people, and in stopping at perfection." Knowing and then there is certainty, and then there is stability, and then it can be quiet, and then it can be peaceful, and then it can be considered, and then it can be obtained. ”

"The way of university is in Mingmingde", how to "Mingmingde"? First of all, we have to do "stop", stop the kung fu to the home will have "stability", the body and mind can be settled down to be able to achieve real "quiet", after the mind is calm, can be peaceful, can think, can think, through thinking, meditation, in order to open the door of wisdom.

In life, concentration is meditation. The difference is that ordinary people have not undergone special meditation training, and their concentration is short, so it is difficult for them to completely forget the world and completely forget themselves. As for Buddhist practitioners, the concentration they have developed from meditation is incredible.

Bhikshu Upasana, one of the early disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni. One day, after begging for food in the royal palace, he went to the forest outside the city to sit in meditation with his good friend Sariputta, a great disciple of the Buddha. Sariputta laid out a cushion beside a large tree with lush foliage and meditated under the tree. Bhikkhu Yubhashana knew that there was a cave under a nearby cliff that was also a good place to meditate, so he went to that cave to sit and meditate.

Bhikshu Yubosena was an old cultivator and soon settled. After some time, he suddenly felt something bite on his body. He immediately came out of his state of meditation, opened his eyes, and found that it was a very small poisonous snake! Bhikkhu Yuposena was well aware of the power of this poisonous snake, and he knew that once bitten by it, the poison would spread very quickly, and no medicine would have time to cure it.

That said, it won't be long before he dies.

Sure enough, Bhikkhu Yuboshena had already felt the snake venom spreading rapidly in his body. But he was not frightened and called out to Sariputta as usual. Hearing the call of his friend, Sariputta slowly got up from his meditation and walked in unhurriedly, for the voice of the bhikkhu did not change at all, and did not reveal the gravity of the situation in the slightest. Bhikkhu Yuposana said, "I'm sorry to disturb your practice. Brother Sariputta, I was bitten by a poisonous snake. Before the gas reaches my heart, I ask you to find a few people and carry me out of here. ”

Sariputta didn't believe it, but looked at his face seriously and said, "No, right? The voice in which you called to me has not changed, and now I see that your face has not changed. I have seen people who have been bitten by poisonous snakes, and the panic, horror, despair, and pain on their faces are indescribable! And you, if you are really bitten by a poisonous snake, how can your face be so calm, so serene, and so indifferent? ”

Bhikkhu Yubhashana smiled and said, "Sariputta, the Buddha said a long time ago that our physical bodies are nothing but the union of the four great ones. For a bhikshu who has attained the emptiness of his nature, his mind is always in meditation, as if it were not moving, so even if my body is injured by a poisonous snake, my face will not change much! ”

Sariputta was so moved that he folded his hands in front of Bhikshu Upasana and said, "You are right, a bhikshu like you who has attained the holy position of an arhat has attained liberation from both spirit and body, and has forever stopped the suffering of samsara. ”

Sariputta called the people and carried the bhikkhu to the clearing in the forest.

The poison in the body of Bhikkhu Uposana began to kick in. But he sat there, as he usually meditated, with a calm and serene demeanor until the end of his life.

This is the magical power of meditation for a Zen practitioner. Throughout the ages, thousands of Zen masters have shown this incredible wonder!

Meditation can lead to a state of meditation, however, meditation is not the same as meditation. After a few months of meditation, Huineng has fully understood that meditation is a state of immobility in the mind, and if you blindly confine your body and sit in meditation all day long, it will not be of much benefit to enlighten your life.

One day, he overheard Zen Master Hui Ji, who lived next door, reciting "Toutuo". After chanting for a while, Zen Master Hui Ji sighed, "What is the use of making me sit empty? ”

When Hui Neng heard this, he went to visit Zen Master Hui Ji. Zen Master Hui Ji came from Lushan Dalin Temple. Dalin Temple is only separated by a river from Huangmei Dongshan Temple, so he is very familiar with the five ancestors of Zen Buddhism, Master Hongren. He said to Hui Neng, "Have you heard of Master Hongren? He is in Huangmei Dahong Zen Gate, preaching the unique Dongshan Zen method. You can go there and study. ”

After listening to the words of Zen Master Huiji, Huineng decided to stick to his original intention and go north to participate in Zen. But Huineng is a very kind person, Zhiyuan Zen Master is very important to him, he can not bear to live up to the old Zen master's good intentions, let alone say goodbye, so he had to stay in the cave temple for some time.

One day, Zen Master Zhiyuan discussed with him the wonderful use of meditation, and Huineng said: "Meditation does not only exist in meditation, but in our daily life, concentrating on one thing and working without distractions is meditation." It is often said that 'where sincerity goes, the gold and stone are open', and this concentration is also the power of meditation. If people do not have perseverance and single-mindedness, they will not be able to achieve anything. For example, when a person thinks deeply about a difficult problem, his mind is focused on this point, not only does he forget to sleep and eat, but even if Mount Tai collapses in front of him and thunder rings in his ears, he turns a blind eye and hears it. This is also meditation. In addition, people often praise good paintings and beautiful writings as 'divine brushes'. It must be known that these 'divine brushes' all come from the author's immersion in the realm of selflessness, corresponding to the concentration, and thus the flash of inspiration...... These can be said to be the wonderful uses of meditation. ”

During the conversation between Zen Master Hui Ji and Hui Neng, he knew that he was a dragon elephant and was not suitable for practicing in this small temple, so he said to him: "I wanted to leave you in the cave temple and inherit my mantle in the future." I didn't expect your comprehension ability to be so extraordinary, it seems that I really don't have the ability to teach you. You should be a roc who spreads his wings and roars in the sky, this small bird's nest is not a place for you to perch late. What you just said seems to correspond to Master Huangmei Hongren's Zen method. His Dongshan method is inherited by Patriarch Bodhidharma, you go and worship him as a teacher. ”

Hui Ji's words were in line with Hui Neng's original intention, so he made up his mind to continue to cross the Mei Pass and march to the north.

In other words, before Hui Neng visited the Five Patriarchs Hongren, he actually had a certain understanding of the "Nirvana Sutra" and so on, and after arriving at the Dongchan Temple, the specific atmosphere there made him play the understanding of Buddhism more vividly in the face of adversity.

As a Zen master, Zen Master Zhiyuan's high style and open-mindedness moved Hui Neng. He respectfully kowtowed to Zen Master Zhiyuan three times, and reluctantly bid farewell to the Xishan Cave Temple in Lechang.