The six ancestors Hui can open the door of the Dharma in Baolin Temple, promote the Dharma, and those who come here are those who think that they have ten thousand volumes of scriptures in their chests, and those who work hard, and there are also those who work hard, and Jiangxi Hongzhou Fada is one of them.

On this day, a young monk dressed beautifully dressed and with an extraordinary demeanor walked into the mountain gate of Baoling Temple with his head tilted, and the person who came was Fada, who had come from thousands of miles away to make trouble.

As soon as he entered the mountain gate of Baolin Temple, he hit the Zen staff in his hand on the ground, shaking the ground and making a loud noise, as if to tell others, I am here, you all get out of the way for me!

Fahai, who was the secretary of the Sixth Ancestor, greeted him warmly, and Shi Li asked, "Where did Senior Brother come from, and is there anything you need me to help with?" ”

The young monk did not return the salute, and said arrogantly: "I heard that you have made an illiterate homeless man to pretend to be the Sixth Ancestor. Take me to see how high his Mount Meru is! ”

Fahai was not moved, and said without anxiety: "The sixth ancestor is not very literate, but he is definitely not pretending. If Senior Brother is willing to see Master, I can report it first. ”

The young monk snorted disdainfully.

Fahai came to the abbot's courtyard, and Master Huineng was sitting on a rattan chair in the shade of a tree to discuss things with Senior Brother Xingsi.

As soon as Fahai whispered a few words to his master, the sound of the young monk's Zen staff hitting the ground was already heard, and the air in the courtyard trembled.

Hui Neng and Xing Si looked at each other and smiled, as if they were used to this kind of behavior. Under the corridor, the baby is boiling water on the stove, and the water in the pot is tumbling and overflowing.

Xingsi pointed to the kettle and said meaningfully: "The water for boiling tea is for tea when it is opened to half of it, and it is for soup when it is opened to ten minutes." ”

The baby asked, "What should I do then?" ”

Xingsi said decisively: "It's too hot, you pour a scoop of cold water on its head!" ”

Huineng said: "Instead of raising the soup to stop boiling, it is better to draw salary from the bottom of the kettle!" ”

As they spoke, the young monk had already approached them. Seeing that Huineng and the others ignored him, and there was an insinuation in his words, he slammed his Zen staff on the ground to attract their attention.

Xu was the vibration of the Zen staff, and a leaf that had withered and yellowed due to disease fluttered to the ground. Huineng picked it up and sighed at the leaves: "It's a good time, you don't grow well, but you get sick and yellow, it's a pity, it's a pity!" ”

Fahai glanced at the young monk and said, "Who told him to provoke the insect infestation himself, he deserves it!" ”

Huineng smiled: "So, Fahai, you said, the branches and leaves of this tree, some are thriving, and some are yellow and shriveling, is it better to be prosperous or withered?" ”

"Vibrant, thriving leaves, of course."

Huineng nodded and said, "If yes, if yes, then go to Rong." ”

Huineng asked Xingsi again: "Is it better to be prosperous, or is it better to wither?" ”

This is definitely not a repetition of this move, but another Zen opportunity, Xingsi actually replied: "Withered is good." ”

Huineng still nodded: "If it is, if it is, then let it go with the flow." "Ask the baby again.

Ying Xing was extremely smart, and thought that he would be able to answer better, so he said without thinking: "What withers let him wither, and what is glorious makes him glorious." "How complete and dashing the answer was! Even the arrogant young monk had a look of admiration in his eyes.

However, Master Huineng shook his head and said, "No, no. Go with the flow and realize the Zen machine in nature is what almost every generation of patriarchs advocates. However, Zen is not pure nature, and Zen practitioners oppose laissez-faire, and emphasize human initiative and initiative. We, as children of nature, abandon evil and promote good, and transform ourselves, which is nature; To control one's own destiny and make it more in line with the laws of life in the universe is to truly go with the flow. This is the reason why a Zen person is a true wise man! ”

As he spoke, Huineng's gaze was like a warm finger, caressing the young monk's face. The young monk suddenly understood Huineng's words, but he couldn't let go of his arrogant shelf, so he reluctantly knelt down for Huineng, and said, "Wandering monk Fada, come to worship the mountain." ”

The reason why he said "worshipping the mountain" instead of worshipping his ancestors shows that he still looks down on Huineng in his heart. When he kowtowed, his forehead did not touch the ground.

Ying Xing jumped over, pointed to his head and said, "You are young, and it is a big mistake to meet the arrogant and rude elder; And then he kowtowed and did not touch the ground, which was even more wrong than wrong. If you have no respect, you might as well not prostrate! ”

With his own cleverness, Fada said disapprerovingly: "The four monks are empty, so why bother with formalities? Besides, if I kowtow and don't touch the ground and bow down, it's equivalent to touching the ground and bowing, so why do you have to tell so clearly? ”

Xing Si smiled: "You have some eloquence. Transcending all forms in the world, not being trapped by forms, this is indeed Zen. ”

Fada became more and more proud, and glanced at Hui Neng. Who knows, the baby jumped up unexpectedly and slapped him hard - "Smack!" ”

Fada was furious and shouted, "Monks, why are you so rude? He even started beating people! ”

Ying Xing said-for-tat, "If I beat you, I didn't beat you, so why should you be so serious about parting?" ”

With his spear and his shield, Fada was stunned.

Ying Xing once suffered from Huineng because of this kind of thing, and this time he finally got back the capital on Fada. He didn't give up and said, "Besides, the four major monks are empty, your body belongs to the earth, and it should have been empty a long time ago. If you feel pain, it proves that you haven't cultivated to the four great emptiness, and I'm here to help you practice! ”

Fada looked embarrassed, and everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Ying Xing also said: "If you are now separated when you are beaten, and you can feel the difference between being beaten and not being beaten, then it proves that your forehead did not touch the ground when you kowtowed just now, and it was deliberately rude." Shouldn't the rude be beaten? ”

Fada was speechless, and his arrogance faded away.

Huineng spoke: "Where are you from?" You must have something hidden in your heart! ”

"I am from Hongzhou, Jiangxi. He became a monk at the age of seven, and once read the Tripitaka in retreat, with 10,000 volumes of scriptures in his chest. I have recited the Lotus Sutra more than 3,000 times so far! As he spoke, Fada's head was tilted up again, and he was very proud of his hard work.

Huineng said, "You are working hard. If you have recited tens of thousands of sutras and understood the teachings of the Buddhist scriptures, then you can be my teacher. But you are so proud that you have recited the Lotus Sutra 3,000 times, and you seem so naïve that you don't know your fault! ”

Huineng poured tea into an empty bowl and said, "Alas, this tea bowl, I don't know if it has tasted tea after hundreds of thousands of times?" The brush that printed the Lotus Sutra has read the Sutra countless times, but I have never seen it become a Buddha! In the same way, it is useless to recite it a million more times with an arrogant appearance like yours! ”

Fada couldn't help but hang his head.

Huineng continued: "Monks bow not only to show respect for others, but also to convince their own 'slow' heart. This is because, once the habit of arrogance remains in the minds of the monks, if the 'self-grasping' is not eliminated, they will not be able to realize the truth of life in the universe. You just recite the sutras verbally, but you don't understand the meaning of the sutras. ”

The Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng took a sip of tea and said, "Your name is Fada, but how can you reach the Fa!" So he knocked lightly with his hand on the stone table, and said to the beat:

The gift book is slowed down, and the head is not ridiculed. If you have sinned with me, you will live, and you will be blessed with forgetfulness. Thou art now known as Fada, and thou shalt recite it without rest. Empty recitation but following the sound, the clear mind is a bodhisattva. Thou hast a reason for thy sake, and I speak for thee. But the Buddha is silent, and the lotus flower comes from the mouth.

Fada listened quietly, a hesitant look on his face. Although he was still standing, he looked left and right to hide the shame and irritability in his heart.

The Sixth Patriarch Master said slowly: "Huineng's family is poor and his father died early, he has never read and written, and he is loved by the Fifth Patriarch Master, and he has only recited the "Diamond Sutra" with his old man once in his life, and he has a clear understanding because of a scripture. As far as I know, all the scriptures are enlightening our innate awareness, Buddha-nature, and prajna wisdom. ”

Fada lowered his head, his face full of joy and sorrow, shame and remorse. He repented and said, "Fada is young and ignorant, and from now on he must be humble and respectful. ”

The baby is an adult who eats melons and says: "If you know your mistakes, you will change them, and you are a good child!" Come, sit down! ”

Everyone couldn't help but laugh again. Fada sat on the stool brought by the infant with half his buttocks, and asked Huineng with a twist: "When a disciple recites the Lotus Sutra, he does not understand the meaning of the scriptures, and he often has doubts. The master is full of wisdom, please explain it to me. ”

"Fada, the Dharma is originally accessible, but your mind is not accessible, and the Buddhist scriptures have no doubts, but you have doubts in your heart. If you read the Lotus Sutra, you must know what the Sutra says: the knowledge of opening the Buddha, the knowledge of the Buddha, the understanding of the Buddha, and the knowledge of entering the Buddha, right? "I'm ashamed, the disciple only knows the literal meaning."

Master Huineng elaborated: "The knowledge of the Buddha is also the knowledge of enlightenment. Buddha is enlightenment. There are four types of enlightenment, the wisdom of opening enlightenment, the wisdom of manifesting enlightenment, the wisdom of comprehending enlightenment, and the wisdom of deep enlightenment. If you hear enlightenment, you can go deep into the wisdom of enlightenment, and this is the wisdom of enlightenment, and your own consciousness and nature will be revealed. The wisdom of a Buddha is actually your own mind, and there is no other Buddha. People often cover themselves with the light of their nature, are obsessed with all kinds of superficial phenomena, are disturbed by their own lusts, and are willingly driven by material desires. That's why the Buddha Shakyamuni used all kinds of methods to preach painstakingly, exhorting people to settle down and collect their minds, not to seek out of their hearts, if you have the right cognition and opinions, you will always have wisdom, look at your own mind, stop evil and do good, and this opens up the wisdom of the Buddha. ”

"I'm ashamed that my Fada has always only recited according to the words of the scriptures, read the scriptures to death, read the scriptures to death. Listening to the teacher's words is better than reading a book for ten years. ”

Huineng smiled and handed Fada a bowl of tea. Fada seemed to be really thirsty, and drank all the essence in one go.

Huineng asked, "Fada, you have drunk the tea, please express your feelings accurately in concise language, so that others will know that you are drinking this bowl of tea, not the tea you drank in the morning." ”

Fada was very embarrassed and said, "This, this...... Master, the feeling of drinking this bowl of tea is indeed different from drinking tea every day, but this subtle difference can only be tasted, not spoken. ”

Huineng laughed and said: "Zen, it is unspeakable, like a person drinking water, he knows whether he is warm or cold." The mysteries of the Dharma cannot be expressed in words. All sutras, including the Lotus Sutra, are tools for the Buddha to teach us enlightenment. It's like a finger pointing to the moon, so that we can find the moon smoothly and quickly. And the finger itself is not the bright moon. If you only study the thickness, length, and color of your fingers, you will never find the moon in the sky. Therefore, those who study Buddhism should directly explore the original meaning of the Dharma, rather than clinging to the scriptures. If you recite the Lotus Sutra with such an attitude, all the wonderful dharma will naturally come out of your mouth like a lotus flower! ”

Fada listened to Huineng's teachings and suddenly felt relieved, but he still had a trace of doubt in his heart, and hesitated and said, "Master Xie has taught, but it's not ......."

"If you have any doubts in your heart, say them."

Fada asked, "If this is the case, as long as you understand the teachings of the Buddhist scriptures, you don't need to recite the scriptures?" ”

Huineng said: "Your mechanical understanding of 'either/or' has fallen into another dogma. What is wrong with the scriptures that can hinder you from reciting them? If you recite the scriptures in your mouth, you can also practice the practice in your heart, which is 'turning the scriptures', and if you recite the scriptures in your mouth and you have something else in your heart, you are being turned by the scriptures. ”

Huineng recited another poem to Fada:

The heart is fascinated by the Lotus and the mind is turned into the Lotus flower. The chanting has been unknown for a long time, and he is an enemy of righteousness. If there is no thought, it is right, and if there is a thought, it becomes evil. Regardless of whether there is or not, the long royal white ox cart.

The white oxcart is a metaphor in the Lotus Sutra that represents the origin of our human nature. When Fada heard this, he suddenly realized. He was full of joy and sorrow, and knelt down in front of Huineng with tears in his eyes, and sincerely pleaded: "Master, Master of the Sixth Ancestor, Fada is obsessed and rude to the master, please forgive me." I hope that I will be by your side in this life and this life, and please ask the master for permission! ”

Fada said, touching the ground with his head "knock knock". Huineng said: "If a person is not a virtuous saint, who can be without fault? Well, you just stay. Fada still kowtowed: "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master......"

The baby patted him on the back of the head and said, "Get up, junior brother." Did you become a kowtow worm? ”

Fahai said: "Baby, what nonsense are you talking about? ”

Ying Xing looked aggrieved: "I didn't talk nonsense, I started earlier than him, so I am naturally a senior brother!" Relying on Master's eccentric eyes, you all started later than me, but in turn you all became my senior brothers. I won't be polite to this Fada, and I will definitely let him be my junior brother. ”