Besides, Shenxiu was meditating on the meditation bed in the abbot's room of Yuquan Temple in Dangyang at noon on a sunny day, when suddenly, a familiar and unfamiliar children's voice shouted eagerly: "Master, Master! ”

"It's Zhicheng, is Zhicheng back?" Shenxiu hurriedly opened her eyes.

Alas! Of course it won't be Zhicheng, Zhicheng is now a middle-aged man, how can he still make a childish childish voice!

Running into the abbot's room was a twelve- or thirteen-year-old novice. He was so nervous and excited that his little face flushed, like a ripe apple.

Master Shenxiu smiled, wiped the beads of sweat from his face for him, and said, "What's the matter?" Watch you run sweaty. ”

The little novice simply said, "The messenger sent by the Holy Spirit Emperor Zetian has arrived with the Holy Decree!" ”

Master Shenxiu sighed and said, "Alas, I'm here to welcome you into the palace again!" The emperor believes in Buddhism and is sincere. The mountain monk has resigned many times, but he has never given up. It seems that this time I have to go. ”

Master Shenxiu got down from the meditation bed and prepared to go to the mountain gate to greet Qincha.

A middle-aged Zen monk put on a robe for the master and said: "The government and Buddhism are unified, the country is more prosperous, and the road is smoother, Master, you can go to the capital." If he resigns, I'm afraid the emperor will blame. ”

The little novice said, "Master, when you go to the capital, you must take me with you." ”

The middle-aged Zen monk deliberately teased him: "Master is going to explain the law to the emperor, what are you going to do?" ”

The little novice said solemnly: "The master teaches the current old emperor the Dharma, and I will go to teach the Zen method to the future little emperor." ”

This sentence made everyone laugh.

However, who knows, decades later, this sentence will actually become a reality.

He, this little novice, really became a vigorous figure in the history of Zen Buddhism.

He is the future Zen Master Hui Zhan.

Hui Zhan (684~758 AD) was born in Xiangyang (now Xiangfan, Hubei) to a large family with the surname Gao.

Because he didn't have to herd cattle or collect firewood, he followed his teacher at a young age to read the books of sages, learn his work, prepare for a successful career, and glorify his ancestors in the future. This Xiao Hui Zhan is really godly, the book of Confucius and Mencius, never forget, poems and songs, and the export is a chapter.

In the face of this disciple, Mr. Jiaoshu didn't know what to do, so he threw "Laozi" and "Zhuangzi" to him, which he didn't know much about.

Who knows, he not only chewed deliciously, but also chewed out the mysterious philosophy. So, Mr. brought him a 130-volume tome of "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" - this time, it's enough for you to be a bookworm, right?

Xiao Hui Zhan did not read about the rise and fall of dynasties from the thick history, but discovered Buddhism from it.

So, he joined Master Haoyuan of Xiangyang Guochang Temple and became a monk.

With a profound foundation in Confucianism, it is naturally easy for him to read and recite Buddhist scriptures.

Xiangyang is not far from the Dangyang Yuquan Temple of Master Shenxiu. In the Zen forest, the demeanor of Master Shenxiu is like the glow in the sky, gorgeous and dazzling; His reputation is just like a crane singing in the sky, and the sound is shaking the world.

Naturally, Xiao Huizhan admired Master Shenxiu like the sun and the moon, so he "got it" and ran to Yuquan Temple, threw himself under the seat of Master Shenxiu, and had been participating in Zen for three years.

This year, it was the first year of Wu Zetian's long vision (700 AD), Master Shenxiu was invited by the royal family to go to the capital Luoyang to promote Zen Buddhism, and Xiaohui Zhan wanted to follow the master into Beijing to see the excitement.

Shenxiu said: "Hui Zhan, once the teacher arrives in the capital, he will be overwhelmed with daily mundane affairs, and I am afraid that there will be no time to guide you in your cultivation." So ......"

"Do you want to send me to the remote Lingnan too?" Xiaohui Zhan is a small ghost, and he has already guessed Shenxiu's intentions.

"Yes, yes, at a young age, you should follow the example of the good wealth boy, go all over the world with good knowledge, and understand the entrance of life and death. And the Enlightenment Zen method of the Six Patriarchs is precisely your knowledge of the great good. Because of him, Lingnan has become a barren land that everyone yearns for. ”

So, Xiao Hui Zhan, who was full of hope, failed to go north, but was sent south by Master Shenxiu to visit the six ancestors in Lingnan.

……

It is worth mentioning that it was this Hui Zhan, 34 years later, in the twenty-second year of Tang Xuanzong's Kaiyuan (734 AD), he went north with the epiphany Zen method of the sixth ancestor Huineng, and held an uncovered conference in Dayun Temple in Huatai (now Huaxian County, Henan), and officially declared war on the Northern Sect created by Master Shenxiu - I don't know if at this time, when Master Shenxiu asked him to go south, did he think of it?

From Dangyang, Jingzhou, to Shaozhou, Guangdong, more than 2,000 miles away, it is too far for a 13-year-old child like Hui Zhan.

Wading through mountains and rivers, sleeping in the open air, rain and sun, the bumpy road grinded a layer of blood blisters on the soles of Xiao Huizhan's feet. Because he walked non-stop, the old blood blisters had not healed, and the new ones had grinded out......

The pain can be imagined!

After the layers of blood bubbles dried, they finally coagulated into a layer of dead skin. However, when he crossed a ditch, he kicked hard, and the dead skin cracked deeply, and blood gushed incessantly......

Xiao Hui Zhan couldn't wear shoes, so he tore his clothes, wrapped the soles of his feet, limped step by step, step by step, and finally came to Cao Xi, the place where the six ancestors Huineng propagated the Dharma at that time, walked into the Baolin Temple, and walked in front of the six ancestors Huineng.

As soon as the Sixth Patriarch saw this little novice who had come to seek the Dharma without fear of thousands of mountains and rivers, he was overjoyed, and asked with a smile: "You must have come from afar, it must have been very hard, did you bring the roots?" If you bring it, you should know your own hero.。 You might as well talk about it. ”

Although Hui Zhan is young, after all, he has been studying under Master Shenxiu for three years, and knows that the root of what the six ancestors said refers to Buddha nature, so he said without thinking: "There is no dwelling as the foundation, and seeing is the master." ”

What he means is that if you are based on not being attached to any phenomenon, and that you can realize this, that is Buddha-nature.

However, the Sixth Patriarch's eyes were like torches, and he had already realized that he had no enlightenment in his heart, and he was just a parrot of words.

Zen Buddhism is the most taboo to sell other people's words.

Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng reprimanded him mercilessly: "You little novice, why are you talking so sloppily!" ”

Hui Zhan was extremely smart, extremely clever, very strong, and reacted very quickly, and he immediately asked, "Master, when your old man is sitting in meditation, do you see it or not?" ”

The naughty ghost finally met the nemesis, only to see the sixth ancestor pick up the Zen staff, knock on his head three times, and then ask: "I hit you, does it hurt or not?" ”

Can the hard Zen staff hit the top of the head of the light without pain?

Isn't it? Xiao Hui Zhan bared his teeth in pain, but he endured it and said, "It hurts, it doesn't hurt." ”

The Sixth Ancestor had long expected him to answer like this, so he smiled and said, "Then, let me tell you, I also see and see." ”

Xiao Hui Zhan keenly captured the fleeting Zen opportunity and asked, "How can it be seen and not seen?" ”

The Sixth Patriarch patiently explained: "What I mean by seeing is that I often see my own mistakes; When I say not see, I don't see the rights and wrongs of others. And what is the reason why you say that it hurts and doesn't hurt? If I strike you, if you don't feel pain, then you are like a stone or a wood. If you are in pain, then it is no different from an ordinary man, and even thoughts of hatred will arise in your heart. ”

Xiao Hui Zhan's face flushed slightly, and she hung her head unconsciously.

The Sixth Patriarch continued to compassionate and said, "You originally asked me whether I saw or not, and you went to two extremes, either/or, which is a wrong way of thinking; And the pain or pain you are talking about has not left the realm of birth and death, which shows that your body and mind have not been liberated at all. You haven't seen your own nature yet, and you still dare to play poor and trick people in front of Lao Na! ”

Hui Zhan felt that all the internal organs were clearly seen by the six ancestors, and those few flower intestines could not avoid the eyes of the ancestors. He fell to his knees with a thud and kept prostrating his head in repentance.

Seeing that he knew his mistakes and could change them, and that he was a malleable talent, the Sixth Patriarch quickly helped him up, sat him down opposite him, and continued to teach him, "If you are confused in your heart and do not see your own nature, you should go to the Master and learn the practice of clear mind and insight. If you have already realized something, you should practice according to the law. ”

As he spoke, the Six Ancestors changed the topic and suddenly asked, "You must be hungry when you come here, right?" ”

PS: Supplement the chapter No. 4.