One day, Wei Tingshi set up a fasting for Master Huineng, and after eating fast, Wei Tingshi respectfully invited the master to ascend the Dharma seat, and himself, the bureaucrats, and the believers cleaned up their appearance, bowed to the master again, and asked: "The disciples listen to the monk's teachings, it is really incredibly subtle. Now I have some questions, and I hope that the monk will be merciful and explain it to us!"

The master said, "If you have any questions, ask them at once, and I will explain them to you." ”

Wei Tingshi said: "Isn't the Dharma spoken by the monk the purpose of Patriarch Bodhidharma?"

The master said, "Yes." ”

Wei Tingshi said: "When the disciples heard that Patriarch Bodhidharma was incarnating Emperor Wu of Liang back then, Emperor Wu asked: 'What merit did I have in building temples, ordaining monks, giving alms of wealth, and setting up fasting meetings in my life?' Patriarch Bodhidharma said, 'I really don't have any merit. 'The disciple doesn't understand this truth, I hope the monk will explain it to me!'

The master said, "There is really no merit to say. Do not doubt the words of the first saints! Emperor Wu of Liang had evil views and did not recognize the true Dharma. Building temples, ordaining monks, and giving alms to fasting are just asking for good fortune for those who have missed points, and should not be regarded as merit. Because merit is originally in the Dharma body, it is not sought in the matter of cultivating blessings. ”

The master also said, "To be able to know one's own nature is to be virtuous, and to be able to regard all sentient beings as virtue." There is no stagnation between thoughts, and one can always see the true use of one's true nature, and this is called merit. Humble and humble in the heart is merit, and acting according to etiquette on the outside is virtue; Establishing all the Dharma from the true nature is merit, and keeping the mind and body away from all delusions is virtue; Thinking about not departing from one's own nature is merit, and applying all ends without being stained is virtue. If one wants to seek merit Dharmakaya, as long as you follow it, it is true merit. If you are a person who is truly a person who cultivates merits, you will not despise others in your heart, but will be able to respect all sentient beings in general. If we always despise others in our hearts, and our ego is not broken, we will naturally not be meritorious. His own heart is vain and untruthful, and he naturally has no virtue; This is because of the fact that the ego is not eliminated, and the arrogance is so arrogant that we often despise everything. Good knowledge! Uninterrupted thinking is merit, and straightforward heart is virtue; Self-cultivation is merit, and self-cultivation is virtue. Good knowledge! Merit has to be seen inwardly, not by making offerings, so merit is different from merit. Emperor Wu of Liang didn't know this truth and couldn't get into, it wasn't our ancestor's fault. ”

Wei Tingshi then asked, "It is common for disciples to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha by ordinary monks or lay people, and make a wish to be reborn in the Western Elysium. Ask the monk to explain, can such a practice be reborn in the Western Elysium? I hope the monk will clear my doubts!"

The master said, "Please listen carefully to Wei Shijun!" I'll explain it to you. Shakyamuni Buddha preached the scriptures of the Western Enlightenment in the Acropolis, and it was very clear that the Western Pure Land was not far away. If we say that the West is 108,000 miles away from our Suva world, these 108,000 miles are actually the ten evils and eight evils that symbolize all sentient beings. To say that the Pure Land of the West is far away is to say it casually for ordinary people with inferior roots; To say that the Pure Land of the West is very close is to say it for the casual nature of the Homo sapiens with sharp roots. ”

The master said, "Although there are two kinds of human nature, there are two kinds of good and blunt, but there is no difference in Buddhism. Because sentient beings have the difference between confusion and enlightenment, there is a difference in the time and speed of insight. Obsessed people seek to live in the Western Pure Land by reciting the Buddha, and enlightened people only seek to purify their minds, so the Buddha said, 'With the purity of the mind, the natural Buddha land is pure.' ”

The master said, "Envoy! As long as the Oriental people can purify their hearts, they will have no sinful karma; On the other hand, even Westerners are guilty of not having a pure heart. When people in the East create sinful karma, they miss the Buddha and seek to live in the Western Elysium; So what land did Westerners create sin and chant Buddha to be born into? Ordinary fools cannot realize their own nature, and do not realize that there is a Pure Land in their bodies, so they vow to be reborn in the East or the West; Enlightened people are all the same pure land wherever they go. That's why the Buddha said, 'Wherever you live, you will always be happy.' ”

The master said, "Envoy! As long as there is no unkindness in the heart, the Western Elysium is not far from us; If the mind is not good, it will be difficult to reach the Buddha and pray for rebirth. Now I advise you on good knowledge, first of all, to get rid of the ten evils, which is equivalent to walking a hundred thousand miles; Then he got rid of the eight evils, and then he went another eight thousand miles; If you can see your own nature and often make your behavior flat and upright, then you can reach the Western Pure Land as quickly as a snap of your fingers, and you will be able to see Amitabha. ”

The master said, "Envoy! As long as you can always do the ten good deeds, why should you seek to die? If you keep getting rid of the mind that creates the ten evils, what Buddha will come and welcome you to the Pure Land of rebirth? If you can understand the Dun teachings of lifelessness and non-destruction, you will see that the Pure Land of the West is only in an instant; If you can't realize it, chanting the Buddha and praying for rebirth, then the west is far away, how can you reach it? I'm going to move the West here for you in a moment, and you can see it right now, would you all like to see the Pure Land of the West?"

The crowd bowed to Master Huineng and said, "If you can see the Pure Land of the West here, why bother to reincarnate in the West?" I hope that the monk will be merciful and facilitate the manifestation of the Western Pure Land, so that everyone can see it!"

Master Huineng said, "Everyone! The flesh of a man in the world is like a city, and the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are like the gates of the city. There are five gates on the outside, and one gate on the inside, and the heart is the land, and sex is the king, and the king of sex dwells in the heart. Self-nature is not centrifugal, and the king exists; If the self is separated from the heart, the king does not exist. Therefore, if the self-nature is there, then the body and mind exist; If sex is separated, it will be physically and mentally bad. If you want to be a Buddha, you must seek from your own nature, and you must not seek to become a Buddha from outside your body! If one's nature is lost, one is sentient beings; If you are self-conscious, you are a Buddha. With compassion in mind, he is himself a Guanyin Bodhisattva; To be able to rejoice, he is the Bodhisattva of the general trend; It can purify the body and mind, and he is Shakyamuni Buddha himself; The heart is equal and upright, and he is Amitabha Buddha himself. ”

Master Huineng said: "To separate people and me in my heart is to create a Mount Meru for myself that hinders the right path; The heart has greedy and evil thoughts, which are the turbulent seas; The afflictions of ignorance are the rolling waves; If you have poison in your heart, you are a fierce dragon; The heart is hypocritical and arrogant, it is a disturbing spirit; often running around in the dust, like a fish and turtle; Greed is tantamount to self-inflicted hell; If you are ignorant, you are an ignorant beast. ”

Master Huineng said, "Good knowledge! If you practice the Ten Virtues regularly, Heaven will appear. Except for the separation between man and me, Mount Meru will collapse; Stop greed, and the sea will dry up; If troubles are not born, the waves will subside; Forget the poisonous heart, and the ichthyosaur will be extinct. As a result, the true consciousness in one's heart will naturally magnify the light, and the six doors will be pure and unstained, and it can break the karma of the six days of desire. By looking inside the nature of one's own mind, the three poisons of greed, ignorance, and ignorance can be eliminated, and the karma of hell and other sins can also be eliminated. Such a clear inner and outer light is like the pure Western Pure Land of Bliss, and if you don't practice like this, how can you go to the Western Blissful World?"

After listening to Master Huineng's teachings, everyone understood clearly and saw their own nature, so they bowed respectfully to the six ancestors and exclaimed in unison: "Wonderful!" He also chanted: "I hope that all sentient beings in the Dharma Realm, those who hear about it, will be immediately enlightened. ”

The Master said, "Good knowledge! If you want to practice and study Buddhism, you can do it at home, and you don't have to be a monk to live in a monastery. If the family can practice according to the law, it is like the Oriental people are kind-hearted; If you can't practice according to the law, you can't practice in a monastery, just like a Westerner is not good-hearted. As long as one's mind can be pure, it is the Western Elysium of one's own nature. ”

Wei Shushi asked again: "How do you practice in your family?" May the monks teach us!"

The master said, "I will say a song for everyone, and as long as you practice according to it, it will be as if you are always in the same place with me. If you don't practice like this, even if you shave your hair, what good will you do on the path?"

The verse says:

Equality of heart, why bother to keep the vows? Where do you still need to practice meditation?

If you know how to repay your kindness, you can be filial to your parents, and if you understand righteousness, you can pity each other.

If you know how to be humble, you can respect and be harmonious, and if you can endure humiliation, you can stop all evils.

If you can cultivate as diligently as you drill wood to make fire, red lotus will definitely grow in the sludge.

He who is bitter is always a good medicine for the sick, and he who is against the ear will be a good word of advice.

Correcting mistakes must give birth to wisdom, and maintaining shortcomings must be unvirtuous in the heart.

In daily life, we always benefit others, and enlightenment is not just about giving money.

Bodhi only needs to look inwardly, so why bother in vain to seek the mysteries outward?

After listening to me, follow this practice, and the Western Pure Land of Bliss is at present.

Master Huineng said again: "Good knowledge! Everyone should practice according to the verses, to see that the truth is like one's own nature, and to achieve the Buddha's path directly, and time will not wait for people. Now that the meeting is adjourned, I am going back to Caoxi, and if you have any questions, please come to Caoxi and ask me. ”

At that time, the Wei Tingshi, the officials, and the good men and women who listened to the Dharma were all enlightened, understood, and believed in it, and were determined to carry it out.