After the fifth ancestor Hongren succeeded to the throne, he did not stick to the old customs, and used the "Diamond Sutra" to spread the law, and opened the "method" of Dongshan, also known as the "fifth ancestor of Dongtu".

In the fifth year of Tang Xianzong (660), Gaozong sent the five ancestors Hongren to Beijing to speak for him, but the five ancestors Hongren insisted on not going.

Gaozong had no choice but to give clothes and medicine to Dongchan Temple as provisions. The five ancestors Hongren maintained the Buddhist legacy of not leaving the mountains and alienating the hustle and bustle, and also established the practice mode that Zen disciples should strive to become Zen monks in the mountains and forests in the future.

……

At this moment, there was a sudden unhurried sound of the bell. Like an invisible sledgehammer, it broke through the floating clouds over the mountain temple, shattered the diffuse fog, and people's troubles seemed to disappear because of it.

Hearing the bell, the troubles are light, the wisdom is long, the Bodhi increases, and I am willing to become a Buddha and save all sentient beings.

The bells of the Buddha country are fluttering in the wind, sometimes light and sometimes heavy. This intermittent, formless bell makes people reverie endlessly. Like a clear spring bath, the heart and body are pure. The long bell of Qingyuan reverberates in the sky above the Buddha temple, which is particularly solemn and sacred.

Zhang Shaofei felt a kind of spiritual shock, and couldn't help kneeling down in the direction of the temple, prostrate on the ground, as if he was passionately thrown into the warm arms of his relatives.

This Zen temple was originally built by Jiangzhou Thorn Shi Huanyi for Mengyuan Zen Master, because it is located on the eastern side of Shuangfeng Mountain, so it is named.

After Hongren continued the Shuangfeng Mountain Dojo of the Abbot of the Four Ancestors Daoxin, after continuous expansion, the scale gradually increased, and the reputation was greatly boosted because of the arrival of a famous monk and a monk as the abbot, and it became a famous Buddhist temple.

The five ancestors Hongren was the abbot here, after opening up the dojo, he opened the door widely, received the group products, became famous in the Central Plains, attracted believers from all over the world, and there were more than 800 permanent disciples in the temple.

Zhang Shaofei entered the "One Day Gate" and saw that the temple halls with blue bricks and green tiles were built on the mountain, layer upon layer, and showed a bit of solemnity in the simplicity.

A childish little monk is cleaning the fallen leaves in front of the door.

The little monk's name was Huiqing, he heard footsteps, raised his head, and when he saw Zhang Shaofei, he asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Zhang Shaofei." Zhang Shaofei stepped forward and said, "Little Master is polite. ”

Huiqing had never heard anyone call him "Master", so he couldn't help but laugh and said, "I can also be called Master, so what should my Master be called?"

"You should be called the ancestor." Zhang Shaofei also replied with a smile.

Huiqing blinked her childish eyes and asked, "What are you here for?"

"I'm here to ask for a teacher." So, Zhang Shaofei explained his intention to him.

Seeing that he had a kind attitude and was not a malicious person, Huiqing asked sincerely, "What are you asking for?" ”

"Of course, it's the Fifth Ancestor Hongren Master!" Zhang Shaofei replied without thinking.

When Huiqing heard this, his face was sad, and he folded his hands sadly, sadly: "Ani Buddha, the fifth ancestor Hongren master...... He ......"

"What's wrong with the Fifth Ancestor Hongnin?" Zhang Shaofei saw that Huiqing was struggling, and he stopped talking, and asked eagerly.

Under Zhang Shaofei's repeated questioning, Huiqing finally told him the truth-

It turned out that one year the autumn wind suddenly rose, and it was almost dusk, and the autumn wind blew into the room through the window of the abbot's room, and the fifth ancestor Hongren Master sneezed a few times in a row, feeling that he was getting old, and decided to gather all the disciples that night, and there was a big announcement.

In the evening, the big bell of Dongzen Temple "Dangdang" rings, breaking the tranquility in the mountain.

In the sound of the loud bell, the eight hundred disciples of the Five Ancestors hurried from their respective monks' houses to the main hall.

The bell rings for a long time, indicating that something big is happening! The disciples looked at each other with their eyes, but they did not know why.

All the disciples entered the main hall, and dozens of oil lamps hung on the beams of the house, illuminating the hall brightly.

In the middle of the high hall of the main hall, there is a lifelike statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, with his eyes slightly open, a golden lotus flower in his hand, and a mysterious smile on his face.

This smile is exactly the same as the smile he had on the day of the Vulture Mountain more than a thousand years ago.

That day was destined to be an extraordinary day—

When the morning sun rises over the eastern horizon, when the first bird's cry breaks through the silence of the morning, the royal city of Magadha begins to come alive.

On that day, Shakyamuni, the great enlightened ——— of mankind, was going to preach the miraculous Dharma on the Vulture Mountain on the outskirts of the city.

Early in the morning, the people in the city helped the old and the young, and the traffic was rushing, pouring out of the city gate......

According to ancient legends, the top of Eagle Mountain is the place where the gods live, and it is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and it is mysterious.

However, on this day, the white clouds that permeated the mountain peaks like a curtain slowly opened, and the whole mountain peak was like a vulture eagle with wings ready to fly, looking at the field beneath its feet.

The blue sky is as clear as a wash, deep and vast.

The morning sun radiated a golden light, shining on the mountain streams, and the streams flowed like gold with tinkling songs; The sun shone among the trees, and the countless dewdrops on the leaves shimmered with a dreamlike sheen; On the gentle hillside, the grass is green and the wildflowers are blooming, as if it is covered with a colorful carpet......

In the bright morning light, the Buddha appeared with his 1,250 disciples. They calmly walked through the grass to the foot of Vulture Mountain.

The bhikshus sat on the floor in an orderly manner, and the attendant Ananda laid out his seat and helped the Buddha to ascend to the Vajra throne.

The Buddha closed his eyes and sat quietly for a moment, slowly opening his eyes, and his kind gaze slowly passed over everyone's eyes, so that all of them experienced an infinite warm pleasure. People can't help but say, "There is no Shakyamuni Buddha in the south." ”

At this time, King Brahma walked down from the top of the Vulture Mountain, knelt on one knee, and offered a rare golden lotus flower to Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Buddha took the budding flower, a mysterious smile on the corner of his mouth, and then silently displayed the beautiful flower in front of the public.

Seeing the Buddha showing the public with flowers, the thousands of monks sitting quietly below, and tens of thousands of people, although they all felt a wonderful atmosphere, it was like looking at flowers in the fog, looking at the moon in the water, hazy, ethereal, beautiful, wonderful, but I didn't quite understand what the Buddha meant.

In a daze, only the Buddha's great disciple, Venerable Kasya, suddenly realized the true meaning of life in the universe from the Buddha's smile.

He couldn't help but smile knowingly; At this moment, he was in touch with the Buddha's heart, heart-to-heart – it seemed as if there was a stream of the most wonderful, true, and clear truths flowing from the Buddha's heart into his heart......

A beam of spiritual light penetrates the universe, and the smile dews the Zen machine.

It was only a brief moment, but this moment became a wonderful eternity.

Shakyamuni Buddha used his thumb and index finger to hold the flower stem, and the other three fingers were slightly cocked, his hand was like a budding, beautiful and pure flower bud!

The Buddha displayed the golden lotus flower in this elegant gesture and then said, "I have the Dharma Eye, the Nirvana Wonderful Mind, the Reality without Appearance, the Subtle Dharma, the Dharma, the Dharma, the Mahakasya. ”

Everyone turned their heads to look at Venerable Kasya.

I saw that his eyes were always fixed on the lotus flower in the Buddha's hand, and his face was filled with a dreamy smile - as fresh as a flower, as natural, as fragrant, as wonderful as a smile.

Under the gaze of millions of eyes, the Buddha handed the lotus flower, which seemed to radiate golden light, to the Venerable Kasya.

At this moment, in the sapphire-like sky, white cranes danced, and birds sang to their heart's content;

In the vast field, the fragrant grass overflows with fragrance, and the flower buds bloom one after another......

Shakyamuni untied the golden robe from his body and put it on His Holiness Kasya. This gold-threaded robe was hand-woven by the Buddha's aunt, Princess Mahapajapati, who raised him, and is a symbol of His Holiness.

The Buddha earnestly instructed the Venerable Gyalpa, "I have passed on to you the secret teachings of Zen, and you must protect them well, and in the future, you will pass them on to Ananda and from generation to generation, and do not let them be cut off." ”

The heart is clear.

The most wonderful, the most magical, the most incredible Zen has been passed down in this way.

……

The vicissitudes of the world, the flowers bloom and fall, and now, the Buddha is smiling as before, but the rows of orderly and silent standing in the main hall are his junior disciples.

Accompanied by the melodious chime, the elegant Sanskrit singing of "Praise of Incense" echoed in the main hall...... The fifth ancestor wore a golden robe embroidered with gold thread, and held a golden monk's bowl in his left hand.

This robe and golden bowl were brought by the first ancestor Bodhidharma from Tianzhu and passed down from generation to generation of Buddhas.

This treasure, just like the jade seal of the supreme Zhenguo owned by the emperor, is a symbol of the supreme power of Buddhism.

Standing in front of Shenxiu saw these two holy relics, he couldn't help but feel excited: he has been to Dongchan Temple for so many years, this holy relic has been hidden in the secret room of the temple, the five ancestors have never been so grand in front of the monks through the robe, it seems that the five ancestors are already old, and they feel that they are not far from the period of death and ascension. When these treasures fall into his own hands, he will become the sixth generation of the Zen Forest.

Just when the gods of the upper seat wanted to get into the wrong, they saw the eyes of the five ancestors open suddenly, and their deep gaze slowly swept across the audience, so that every monk's attention was focused on his eyes.

The calm voice of the Fifth Patriarch slowly sent to every corner of the main hall: "Listen, all of you, the laity of the world attach great importance to the pleasures of the flesh, and refuse to practice Buddhism, the most precious truth in the universe, and only seek to satisfy their desires. Some of you monks seem to be sitting in meditation and reciting sutras, but they are not dedicated to the Tao. If some people seek blessings all day long and lose their nature, how can the blessings of the world save you from the misery of life? ”

The Fifth Patriarch paused for a moment, saw that the monks were speechless, and then repeatedly said, "You should know that if you lose your original Buddha nature, what if you cultivate merit? Can it help you and all beings to get rid of suffering? Since all of you have become monks, you should redouble your efforts to manifest the awakened mind and Buddha nature that everyone has, so that your heart can be enlightened and you will achieve the Buddha's path! ”

Shenxiu, Faru and others felt the revelations of the five ancestors, and they all bowed slightly.

The Fifth Patriarch took a break and continued: "The vicissitudes of the world, the reincarnation of the sun and the moon, now, I have reached the time when the oil is dry and the lamp is extinguished, I want to teach you the secrets of Zen Buddhism, so as to continue the lineage of Zen Buddhism." When the Fifth Ancestor said this, his cloudy eyes looked down, and he saw all the disciples listening with their ears sideways, holding their breath in awe, for fear of hearing it wrong and missing every sentence and word, and the entire hall was so quiet that even the sound of a mosquito flying over could be heard......