Zhao Zhong and Monk Daoyan only replied a few words, but how could they be involved in the investigation of life and death?

There is an old saying: "Come and be happy, and be sad when you go." ”

Zhao Zhong asked Daoyan: "Where did you come from?" "How"? Dao Yan replied: "Come from everywhere" and "Come with joy", in fact, it is in line with this old saying. "Come from everywhere" is about "birth"; "Come with joy" refers to a little "dusty heart" before learning the Dharma, ordinary people always like life and death. And in the end, he answered "how to go": "Mo Shang flowers bloom, slowly return". Although he "went", he was not "sad", he was very light and light, but what he talked about was a feeling after learning Buddhism, that is, to investigate life and death.

- It's really zen.

Listened to Zhao Zhong's question: "The little monk is young, has he solved life and death?" ”

Dao Yan replied: "May my six roots always be silent, and my heart will be like a treasure moon reflecting glass." ”

"May my six roots always be silent, and my heart is like a treasure moon reflecting glass", from a poem by Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty, sent to "Wangjiangnan". The whole word is "to convert to the law, and the law is inconceivable." May my six roots always be silent, and my heart is like the moon reflecting the glass. There is no doubt about the law". It is a "Zen poem".

In terms of the sentence "May my six roots always be silent, and my heart is like a treasure moon reflecting glass", it means: "May my six roots be able to be silent and free from all troubles without being changed by circumstances." The mind is like the moonlight shining on the glass, no longer confused by the appearances of the world, but able to understand the nature of the Dharma."

Why didn't Dao Yan answer Zhao Zhong's question positively, but quoted this sentence? The reason is very simple, first of all, just like Zhao Zhong's question, "the little monk is young and ,......". He was indeed too young. No matter how talented a person is, it is impossible to completely investigate life and death at this age.

Secondly, on the other hand, since he did not investigate life and death, how could he "bloom on the flowers and return slowly"? Isn't it a contradiction? Monks can't speak, what does it mean that you haven't reached this realm, but you say things that are in this realm? Isn't it really what Jing Hui said, "scholars can't"?

Therefore, he quoted this sentence, which means "I hope that my six roots can be pure and not be confused by the appearance of the world", that is, he hopes to be able to "bloom on the Mo and return slowly".

After answering in this way, he did not say anything, and it did not make people think that he "can't learn"; At the same time, it can pass over this "talk" and no longer entangle.

Moreover, there are two other benefits to this answer. One showed his wit, the other showed his erudition. As a monk, he usually just recites scriptures, and without a certain cultural accomplishment and cultural interest, it is impossible to know Wang Anshi's poem.

Sure enough, after Zhao Zhong heard this, instead of despising him, he immediately looked at him with admiration, and said to Jing Hui with a smile: "I grew up in the north since I was a teenager, and I rarely go south. I have long heard that Jiangnan people are outstanding, Buddhism is prosperous, and there are many monks and great virtues, but unfortunately the fate is not enough, and I have not even seen one so far. Today I finally have a fate, I was able to meet two Zen masters, and I really have a name! ”

Let's talk, the group entered the city.

……

The Consul General Yidu Buddha Dao Yamen is a six-grade Yamen, which is relatively important among the large and small Yamen in Yidu, so the location of the Yamen is not remote. After entering the city, follow the main street, all the way forward, after approaching the city, turn into the street on the left, and walk a few steps to the entrance of the yamen.

At this time, the streets are crowded. They walked all the way, and although there were officials in front of them, they still did not walk quickly, and it took them more than two quarters of an hour. Jing Hui and Dao Yan and others were eye-opening.

Jing Hui said secretly: "I really didn't expect that this Yidu City is completely different from what I guessed earlier!" I thought that Deng Thief was brutal, and last year Yidu was only warned, and it would be full of depression and sparse carriages and horses, but I really didn't expect it to be so lively and prosperous! Although it can't be said that it is shoulder to shoulder, it is also sweating and raining. "It's amazing.

In fact, if he had come earlier, he would not have seen such a scene. Yidu began to be lively, but it was just a matter of the past few months, and the main hero was, of course, Wu Henian.

After Wu Henian succeeded Yan Zhixi as the prefect of Yidu, with the support of Deng She, he successively implemented several new policies, on the one hand, vigorously recruiting displaced people and restoring agriculture, and on the other hand, joining forces with Laizhou and other coastal ports to increase commercial trade with Liaodong, Korea, South Korea and other provinces.

In order to attract wealthy businessmen from North Korea and South Korea, mainly from North Korea and South Korea, to do trade, Wu Henian specially lowered taxes, and even did not collect taxes on items urgently needed locally, or even reversed.

——, upside down is Deng She's idea, in the name of "voyage subsidy", for some urgently needed and lacking items, such as grain, seeds, cattle, cloth, etc., by the left and right divisions to give businessmen a certain amount of subsidies. In other words, when these things were in the goods brought by merchants from afar, not only did they not pay taxes, but the yamen would also subsidize some money. To put it bluntly, this is the "tax rebate" policy in later generations, which is mostly used to encourage exports. It's just that now it's used to "encourage imports".

Just such a move attracted a large number of Haidong businessmen. After the news spread, it even attracted a lot of wealthy businessmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

What does a businessman do? No profit can not afford to be early. In today's troubled times, there are many checkpoints and taxes everywhere, even if you don't talk about safety issues, you only collect taxes. For a penny, sometimes the tax paid is not only several times, or even dozens of times. Suddenly, there is such a place, which does not collect taxes, but also sticks upside down, of course, it is like a rush.

Moreover, there is another advantage of doing business with Yidu, you don't have to take too many land routes, you can just take the sea route. For example, from Pyongyang or South Korea, sail with the wind, and if you are fast, you can reach Laiju in half a day. Or from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it won't take too long. The sea route is not far, and at the same time, there are sailors in Haidong, which is enough to ensure safety, and there is no need to worry about problems such as pirates and pirates. Therefore, it is safer than onshore business.

It is safe and saves money, and if you don't pay taxes, or pay less taxes, why don't merchants come as well as the tide?

Yes, the western part of Zhejiang is now Zhang Shicheng's sphere of influence, and Deng Shegang's seizure of Xuzhou and Suzhou must have aroused Zhang Shicheng's hostility. It is foreseeable that he may soon issue an order to ban trade between the coast and Yidu. But what does it matter? Zhang Shicheng lacks a sailor, he can manage the land, but not the sea. There are enough profits to attract in the front, and there is no fear that the people of western Zhejiang will not take risks and smuggle.

No matter what time it is, there are always people who are bold and brave enough to ask for money.

Moreover, even if Zhang Shicheng can really completely ban overseas trade, he is not afraid. There are also Taizhou and other places. Although the territory of Fang Guozhen in Taizhou is relatively small, there are only three counties, but there is at least one of them, and there is no shortage of food. As long as Dunsheken raises the "offshore subsidy", he is not afraid that they will not come.

As for whether Fang Guozhen will prohibit his residents from going to sea?

First of all, he started at sea, "guarding the three counties and riding on the sea", not letting him go to sea, isn't it equivalent to breaking his foundation? He had sent envoys to Pyongyang before Dunshe had conquered South Korea. Why go? It's not just for trade! His territory is not big, and if he doesn't let him go to sea to trade, in the face of the aggressive Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Shicheng, and Chen Youding in Fujian, what will he do to persevere?

Secondly, Fang Guozhen is a person who wants to remain self-reliant at both ends and does not dare to offend the strong.

It can be seen from his dealings with Zhu Yuanzhang that as early as the year before last, that is, in the nineteenth year of Zhizheng, because he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was gradually gaining power, he sent people to Jinling, "to offer the three counties of Wen, Tai, and Qingyuan", wanting to dedicate the land of the three states under his jurisdiction to Zhu Yuanzhang, and wanted to leave his second son as a hostage. The words are very beautiful, but that is to say, because at the same time, he still obeyed the name of the first year of Meng; And at the same time, as early as the seventeenth year of Zhizheng, he and Zhang Shicheng "got married".

Because of his observance of the first year of Meng, Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to question him last year, asking him why he "did not serve Zhengshuo", that is, why he still used "Zhizheng" instead of the "dragon and phoenix" era name of the Song regime.

He replied: "At the beginning, the three counties were offered, and in order to protect the people, the kingdom was asked to send more troops and horses to defend it and return the city." If Feng Zhengshuo is fought, Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youding will attack, and if the aid is not in time, it will be dangerous. If you take it as a name, he will not sin against me. If you want to obey your fate, you must send more military horses, that is, when the three counties are returned, Guozhen is willing to lead his brother and nephew to Beijing to obey orders, stop begging, and repay the kindness of Yuan. ”

As with the previous dedication, he said these words beautifully.

But what kind of character is Zhu Yuanzhang? Heroes of the world! How can you be confused by this? At that time, he said: "Leave it alone, let me conquer Suzhou, although he wants to serve Zhengshuo, it will be late!" ”

All in all, in Fang Guozhen's own words, he made up his mind that "a wise man is not the beginning of a disaster, not a blessing." Although the court has no way, it can still prolong the years; Although the heroes are together, they are evenly matched. However, Mo Shi is the main thing, and the people are protected by the real people, and Si Wuzhi is also. ”

What does it mean to "protect the territory and the people so that real people can come out"? still uses his own words to explain, that is: "Don't obey ,......, to see what happens."

From this, it can be seen that his "heart holds two ends".

Although Deng She is far away, he is very strong, he can make a draw with Chakhan Timur, and he also has a sailor, so he can go south and south at any time. It can be said that he is also one of the qualified "real person" candidates, and Fang Guozhen naturally refuses to offend. Therefore, there is no need to worry about whether he will also be forbidden to go to sea and trade with Yidu like Zhang Shicheng.

In fact, the reason why Deng She proposed the "offshore subsidy" was largely for the maritime merchants in western Zhejiang and Taizhou. In any case, Liaodong, Korea, and South Korea are his own territory, and of course there is no communication within the territory, but it is not as good as attracting merchants from Jiangnan to come across the sea.

The restoration of agriculture, the development of commerce, and the fact that Yidu is the capital of Shandong must have invested the most money here, and various reasons have combined to create the current prosperity and bustle.

……

Jing Hui's thoughts in his heart, his amazement, for the time being, did not say, only said that he and Dao Yan followed Zhao Zhong into the Buddhist Taoist Yamen, entered the hall, raised his eyes to look, and saw that there were many people sitting in the room.

Except for a small official dressed as a small official, the others were all bald.

Seeing Zhao Zhong coming, everyone in the room, both monks and laymen, got up. See each other. Some of them made a gesture and some of them joined together, and they looked at each other as they bowed.

A monk in his thirties folded his hands, bowed, and asked, "I wonder which one is Monk Jinghui?" ”

After coming to the yamen, Zhao Zhong left his entourage and followers outside, and only led Jing Hui and Daoyan into the room. Jing Hui returned the salute and said, "Poor monk Jing Hui." Ask the name of the Zen master? ”

"What is outside the body of a famous person, why should you be obsessed."

Jing Hui and Dao Yan glanced at each other, and both of them thought in their hearts: "Good monk! asked us who Jinghui was, but when we asked, instead of answering, he was even more persistent. I knew that after we came, there would definitely be a fight, but why are you so anxious about your bald head? ”

Jing Hui studied under Fan Qi, and Fan Qi's reputation is very high, whether it is communication or unconvinced, the monks of Yidu will definitely not let them go. In fact, they have been mentally prepared for this for a long time. However, just as they were dissatisfied, this monk was really anxious, and he didn't wait for them to sit down, and he didn't even let them drink tea, so he started the "fighting method".

Jing Hui sneered in her heart, her face was as usual, and she asked rhetorically: "Ask the monk, what is persistence?" ”

"Attachment is stupidity, and stupidity is persistence."

"How do I quit attachment?"

"There is no self in all laws, and I have no laws."

There are two main kinds of attachment in Buddhism, one is "self-grasping" and the other is "dharma-grasping". The so-called "self-grasping" refers to the "self" that is stubbornly and unchanging, which gives rise to all kinds of "self-seeing"; The so-called "legal attachment" refers to the stubbornness of the existence of the external environment, which gives rise to the "legal view" of false distinction. So, how to break the attachment? How do you quit attachment? To put it simply, just let it go. "Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot".

Therefore, the monk replied, "There is no self in the Dharma, and I have no Dharma."

Listening to his answer, Jing Hui didn't say a word, stepped forward, raised his hand, knocked the door of his bright head, and scolded: "Stupid! What kind of bullshit are you answering? Counting on this understanding, do you still want to be liberated from life and death? ”

It's funny to say, it was this monk who asked him aggressively, but he didn't say two words, but it became Jing Hui to teach this monk a fierce lesson. The monk was stunned, took two steps back, covered his head, and subconsciously said, "Then please ask the monk for instructions, how to break the attachment?" ”

"You ask me."

"How do I quit attachment?"

"There is no self in all laws, and I have no laws."

The monks in the room looked at each other. Jing Hui's answer was exactly the same as that of the monk, but no one could say that he was not. Why? Zen Buddhism is all about this. This way of answering is also a means of playing the edge and talking head.

After a short period of cold in the room, the momentum of the monk who spoke first had disappeared, and he saw that he was no longer Jing Hui's opponent. Another monk spoke, "This is how the abstinence is. How is liberation? ”

Monk Jinghui glanced at the monk, did not answer, and asked aggressively, "Who binds you?" ”

"How is the Pure Land?"

Monk Jinghui still didn't answer: "Who is dirty?" ”

"How is Nirvana?"

"Who will live and die with you?"

With three rhetorical questions in a row, Jing Hui's momentum has almost reached its peak. The second monk who spoke was sweating on his forehead, and he didn't know how to reply, so he reluctantly asked again: "How to get to the Three Realms?" ”

Jing Hui raised her eyebrows and said "duh", and her voice was like thunder: "Where are you now?" Again, a rhetorical question. The second monk was shocked by his lion's roar, and his mind was immediately distracted, and he was so frightened that he was speechless and speechless.

The third monk took over the battle and asked, "How is the ancestor from the west?" ”

"Don't slander the patriarch."

"What's the point?"

"I won't."

"The patriarch came to the west", the one who asked was Dharma ses. What did Damoses come for? Is it for the sake of spreading the Dharma? "To spread the Dharma" is also a kind of attachment. Dharma is only an objective fact, and there is no need to investigate its meaning. So Jing Hui replied: "Don't slander the patriarch." The third monk did not understand what he meant and asked, "What is the purpose?" Is it "what do you mean"? Jing Hui didn't bother to say more to him, so she simply replied: "I won't." "I won't", you can realize it yourself.

Zen Buddhism has paid attention to "do not establish words, do not teach outside the teaching." Pointing directly to people's hearts, seeing nature and becoming a Buddha". I've already talked about this level, but I haven't realized it yet, and I'm losing studying Buddhism all day! It's no wonder that Jing Hui doesn't bother to say much.

Although the third monk did not understand what he meant, he heard the contempt and went down with a red face.

The fourth monk stepped forward.

With the three of them fighting in a row, they have seen Jing Hui's power, and the fourth monk sword went sideways, refusing to ask Jing Hui again, and asked Dao Yan instead. - Dao Yan is young, just in his early twenties. The fourth monk thought he was a disciple of Jing Hui, and asked, "What is the transmission from generation to generation?" ”

Dao Yan smiled and replied, "You ask me, I ask you." ”

"All laws are one, where is one?"

"Hungry eats and sleeps."

"Zhao Zhouyun: 'I'm in Qingzhou, and my shirt weighs seven pounds'. What is the intent? ”

"Life is like wearing a shirt, and death is also the same as taking off the clothes."

Daoyan's Zen style is different from Jinghui's. Jing Hui is aggressive, while he is softer. I asked and answered with this fourth monk, and the answers were like a stream.

Everyone in the room applauded, and the fifth monk, who had not spoken, stepped out of the ranks and asked: "Xuanzang Great Monk Yun: If a person drinks water, he knows his own warmth and coldness." What is this knowledge? ”

"At first, I didn't realize it, but I was suddenly tempted."

"If a person drinks water, he knows himself whether he is warm or cold", this is an allusion. Master Xuanzang went west to learn scriptures, and at that time, someone in India asked Buddhists: "What is the state when you see the Tao?" The Buddhists replied, "Nothingness, inability to see, and the death of both can be seen, that is, the state of non-seeing, and the effect of non-seeing." But if you have nothing to see and nothing to see, how can you know that you have "seen the way"? Therefore, this question stopped people and stuck for several years.

It wasn't until Master Xuanzang came that he replied: "If a person drinks water, he knows his own warmth and coldness." This settled the controversy. Seeing the Tao is like a person drinking water, knowing the warmth and coldness. However, the question arises again, as the fifth monk asked, "If a person drinks water, he knows whether he is warm or cold." What is this knowledge? ”

It's a difficult question to answer. "Knowing" is something that can only be understood, not spoken. How to describe it in words? Monk Daoyan replied, "I didn't realize it at first, but I suddenly moved." Very apt.

Everyone in the room, including the four monks before them, all admired and chanted the Buddha's name: "Amitabha! ”

……

At this point, the fighting method has come to an end, but it is not over. Can't just ask the monk Yidu, Jing Hui and Dao Yan also want to ask. It just so happened that the fifth monk asked a question: "How is Zen?" ”

Dao Yan replied: "Fry in oil. Without waiting for him to continue asking, he asked, "How is Zen?" ”

The fifth monk smiled slightly, did not answer, and only nodded in the air with his hand.

The two smiled at each other.

"How is Zen"? This question is very broad and can be answered in a variety of ways. "Frying in oil", the point is that learning Zen requires great perseverance to resist the intrusion of the environment. "Empty with your hands", but the focus is on "seeing through the red dust". Dao Yan and the monk's answers, although their respective focuses are different, are both correct.

Dao Yan asked again, "How is the general idea of the Dharma?" ”

"On the cloudless ridge, there is the heart of the moon and waves."

"What is the difference between Buddhism and Confucianism and Taoism?"

"Walk all over the green mountains and walk until the water is poor."

"What's the same?"

"Like biting a hard stone."

"Walking all over the green mountains and walking until the water is poor", the paths of the three religions are different; "Like biting a hard stone", the similarity is that if you want to achieve something, you need perseverance.

"Like biting a hard stone" corresponds to what the Daoyan monk said before, "frying on a fierce fire".

The two monks cherished each other more and more.

The Tao Yan joined together and said, "Amitabha." ”

The fifth monk replied, "Good, good." ”

They looked at each other and smiled. Everything is in this laugh, no need to say more.

Taking advantage of the pause of this "fighting method", Zhao Zhong saw the stitches and said with a smile: "Several Zen masters, you come and go, or drink sticks, or pick flowers, and they are witty and witty. It really made my onlookers excited. ......, everyone, how about you sit down and drink some tea, and then discuss the Buddha's meaning? ”

First of all, the skills of the monks are not as good as others, and then there is the sympathy between Dao Yan and the fifth monk, and each side takes a step back, and they also need to take a rest, and then fight again, so they all respond: "Okay." ”

……

Sitting here, there was a person outside, who had been eavesdropping for a long time, and took advantage of this gap to turn around and leave. Out of the Buddhist Yamen, turn into the main street in the city, and come to a big mansion, you don't need to report, just enter.

Behind him, the sun shines brightly, reflecting on the lintel of this house, on which hangs a golden horizontal plaque, which reads: "Yanwangfu".