"In the north, I was promoted to be the head of all the monks, and I could be called the Dharma King." Shenxiu also said frankly at this moment, "However, in the Dongchan Temple back then, the Fifth Ancestor Hongren Master did not pass on the robes and gold bowls brought by the Bodhidharma ancestors from Tianzhu to Lao Na. ”

Wu Zetian groaned for a while, and then asked Shenxiu: "Emperor, what is the difference between the Dharma advocated by Huineng and the Zen method you practice?"

Shenxiu explained: "Lao Gong advocates the 'gradual enlightenment' of painstaking cultivation, while Huineng advocates the 'epiphany' of seeing nature and becoming a Buddha. ”

Wu Zetian stared at Shenxiu with his eyes, "Are you telling me the truth?"

Shenxiu: "The sin of bullying the king is a great crime." How could the old man have the audacity to tell a lie before the saints? ”

After Wu Zetian pondered, he suddenly realized: "Ah, you are different schools of Zen Buddhism. ”

Shenxiu nodded: "Not bad." The folk have long had the saying that 'the south can show the north' or 'the south and the north gradually'. ”

Wu Zetian asked, "Emperor, compared with Huineng and you, whose Dharma will be higher?"

Shenxiu said solemnly: "The vicissitudes of life, the past is like smoke, as the sage Confucius said, the deceased is like Sifu." Thinking back to everything that happened in Dongchan Temple back then, the two were contrasted, and I asked myself, Lao Gao's understanding of the Buddha's Zen machine was indeed under Huineng. If Lao G's understanding is compared to Lishan behind the palace, then Huineng's understanding is like the towering Mount Tai. Besides......"

Wu Zetian: "What's more?"

Shenxiu said sincerely: "Besides, Huineng has been passed on by the holy relics of the ancestors, no matter from which point of view, Huineng is the real six ancestors of Zen Buddhism!"

Wu Zetianba blinked his old eyes: "Where is the Sixth Ancestor Huineng raising the Fa now?"

Shenxiu pointed to the south: "I heard that it is in Shaozhou Baolin Temple in Lingnan." Lao Qu once sent his personal disciples Fada and Zhicheng to test them, but unexpectedly, they never returned, there is no doubt that they were influenced by his Huigen Buddha heart in Baoling Temple after listening to Huineng's teachings, and they were influenced by his Huigen Buddha heart and studied under Huineng. From the whereabouts of Fada and Zhicheng, it can be inferred that Huineng's Zen method is more popular. Holy Lord, if you really want to learn Buddhism and practice meditation, you should make a decree to summon Hui Neng into the palace. ”

Wu Zetian stood up and gently patted Shenxiu's shoulder with his hand: "Emperor, you are worthy of being a world-famous Zen sect." ”

Shenxiu's pale face was flushed with shame: "The saint praised him so much that the old man was ashamed of himself. The old sleeves asked themselves, they were immoral and incompetent. ”

"Ah, it turns out that the real six ancestors of Zen Buddhism are now in Lingnan." Wu Zetian said with emotion, and then, his eyes were fixed on Shenxiu, "Among the three religions of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in the world, those who have a little talent are often self-righteous, empty-eyed, and jealous of each other. What's more, they are ruthless and harmful. And the emperor, you are as open-minded as a man, and you do not avoid enmity, you are really a wise man of people, and the first of Buddhas!"

Wu Zetian's current moment made Shenxiu's face flush straight to the root of his ears.

There was a minister named Zhang Shuo in the imperial court who always respected the Buddha, and when he saw Shenxiu in the palace one day, he said: "Emperor, I have the heart to learn Buddhism, but I have so many affairs to do in the court, how can I learn Buddhism as soon as possible?"

Shenxiu pointed to his heart with a finger: "Use here to learn." ”

Zhang said, "You mean to learn by heart?"

Shenxiu's jaw: "Exactly." Listen to me give you a ride. ”

Zhang said: "Emperor, please read it." ”

Shenxiu said:

All the Dharma,

The heart is there.

Seek out of your heart,

His father fled.

Zhang said and nodded: "I understand." ”

The verses written by Shenxiu at this time directly point to the mind, which is similar to what he made many years ago in Dongchan Temple, Hubei, "The body is a Bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror." Always wipe diligently, don't make dust", has obviously made a big step forward in the practice of seeing nature to become a Buddha, which is also the result of his hard understanding of nature in Dangyang Yuquan Temple.

In the late autumn of the second year, witnessing the yellow leaves breaking the belt, the wind blowing away from the branches, the vast earth, a bleak place, Shenxiu felt that the end was coming, and suddenly told his disciples: "I have achieved a complete result today, and I am about to die." "It is sitting upright in the Tiangong Temple in the eastern capital, and it is the evening that will be destroyed. He was 100 years old. However, when people live to the age of 70, they already belong to the "ancient rarity", and Shenxiu is 100 years old, which is rare in the world at that time.

On the day of the funeral, it is extremely grand and glorious, the ritual and legal objects, overwhelming, connecting the ten miles of long streets, far away, tens of thousands of scholars, walking around to send the funeral in Longmen.

Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty led the ministers to personally send the funeral to the bridgehead of the Luoyang Wuqiao.

Tang Zhongzong issued an edict, in Songyang's auxiliary mountain for Shenxiu to build a thirteen-level floating slaughter, and gave it the title of "Datong Zen Master" This is a later story, not for the time being.