It is said that one day, one of the Buddha's disciples came to the forest outside the city to sit in meditation with the Buddha's eldest disciple.

The eldest disciple laid out a cushion next to a big tree and meditated under the tree. The disciple knew that there was a cave under a nearby cliff and that it was also a good place to practice meditation, so he went to that cave to sit and meditate.

That disciple was an old cultivator, and he quickly settled down.

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! That disciple knew very well the power of this poisonous snake, and he understood that once bitten by it, the poison would spread extremely quickly, and no medicine would have time to treat it.

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

Sure enough, that disciple had already felt the snake venom spreading rapidly in his body. But he was not frightened and called out to Sariputta as usual.

The eldest disciple heard the call and came out of meditation.

The disciple said, "Senior brother, I was bitten by a poisonous snake. Before the gas reaches my heart, please find a few people and carry me out of here. ”

The eldest disciple didn't believe it, and looked at his face seriously and said, "Won't it?" 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, fear, 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? ”

The disciple smiled and said, "Senior brother, the Buddha said a long time ago that our physical bodies are nothing but the combination 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 though my body is injured by a poisonous snake, my face will not change much. ”

The eldest disciple was greatly moved, folded his hands in front of the disciple, and said, "You are right, a bhikshu like you who has attained the holy position of an arhat has been liberated from both spirit and body, and the suffering of samsara has been cut off forever. ”

The eldest disciple called everyone and carried the disciple to the clearing in the forest.

The poison in that disciple's body 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 several months of meditation, Zhang Shaofei has fully understood: meditation is a state of mental immobility, if you blindly confine the body and sit in meditation all day long, like a stubborn stone and dead wood, it will not be of much benefit to an enlightened life.

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

After Zhang Shaofei listened, he went to visit Zen Master Huiming.

Zen Master Huiming 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.

From the conversation with Zhang Shaofei, Zen Master Huiming knew that he was a dragon elephant and was not suitable for practicing in this small temple, and said to him: "You should be a talent of Dapeng spreading his wings and roaring in the nine heavens, and this small bird's nest is not a place where you can live late." The old man heard for a long time that Master Hongren of Huangmei Shuangfeng Mountain was opening the door of Zen. He is the Five Patriarchs of the Profound Path, so you can go to him and study Buddhism. ”

Zhang Shaofei listened to the words of Zen Master Huiming and decided to stick to his original intention and go north to participate in Zen. But Zhang Shaofei is a very kind person, Huiyuan 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 Shimen Temple for some time.

One day, Zen Master Huiyuan discussed with him the wonderful use of meditation, and Zhang Shaofei 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 explodes in his ears, he will turn a blind eye and hear it. This is also meditation. In addition, people often praise good paintings and beautiful writings as a stroke of genius. It must be known that these miraculous strokes come from the author's immersion in the realm of selflessness, corresponding to the concentration, and thus a flash of inspiration...... These can be said to be the wonderful uses of meditation. ”

Zen Master Huiyuan looked at this young boy dumbfounded, as if he didn't know each other.

After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said with some sadness: "Zhang Shaofei, I originally wanted to leave you in Shimen 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. 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. ”

As a Zen master, Zen Master Huiyuan's high style and open-mindedness moved Zhang Shaofei. He respectfully kowtowed to Zen Master Huiyuan three times, reluctantly bid farewell to Shimen Temple in Xishan, continued to cross the Meiguan, and marched to the north.

That is to say, Zhang Shaofei actually had a certain understanding of the "Nirvana Sutra" before he visited the Five Patriarchs Hongren Master, and after arriving at the Dongchan Temple, the specific atmosphere there made him give full play to the understanding of Buddhism in the face of adversity.