Then, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng turned the topic to the concept of "seeing nature to become a Buddha".

The so-called method of seeing nature refers to the inherent possibility of becoming a Buddha for all sentient beings. That is, "Bodhi's own nature is originally pure, but with this mind, he will become a Buddha directly" and "although people have north and south, Buddha nature has no north and south", this idea I advocate is in the same vein as the Nirvana Sutra's saying that "all sentient beings have Buddha nature".

……

After the Sixth Patriarch Huineng used a vivid example to explain that "all sentient beings have Buddha nature," a monk under the hall solemnly saluted to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng Master, "The poor monk Dharma is called Mingyi, I just listened to the master explain the Dharma, and I feel that it is really mysterious. But there are still some questions, I hope you will be merciful and explain them again. ”

Master Huineng of the Sixth Ancestor said, "If you have any doubts, just ask, I should explain it to you." ”

Mingyi said: "Master, what you are talking about, is it the purpose of Patriarch Bodhidharma?" ”

Master Huineng, the Sixth Ancestor, said, "Yes." ”

Ming Yi said: "When the disciple heard that Bodhidharma had begun to transform Emperor Wu of Liang, Emperor Wu of Liang asked, 'I have spent my whole life building temples, ordaining monks and monks, giving alms of goods, and giving alms of fasting, what merit are these good deeds?' 'Bodhidharma,' in fact, has no merit. The disciple still hasn't understood the truth yet, and I hope to explain it to the master. ”

Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch said: "It is true that there is no merit, do not doubt the words of the ancestors and saints. Emperor Wu had distracting thoughts and did not understand the real Dharma, so he built temples, ordained monks, gave alms, and gave alms and fasts, which can only be called wishing for good fortune, and cannot regard the pursuit of good fortune as merit, merit exists in the Dharma body, not in the superficial good deeds for good deeds. ”

"Oh......" Ming nodded, as if he understood a little.

Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, also said: "It is merit to realize that you have Buddha nature, and it is virtuous to treat others equally, and every thought is not hindered, and you can always recognize your own nature and use it skillfully, which is called merit." Inner humility is merit, and external behavior is polite and virtuous. It is merit to achieve ten thousand kinds of Dharma by one's own nature, and it is virtue to abandon delusions in one's own mind. Not departing from one's own inherent Buddha nature is merit, and not being polluted by the outside world when using it is virtue. If you want to attain the Dharmakaya of merit, as long as you follow this principle, then that is true merit. If you want to make merits, you never despise others in your heart and always adopt an attitude of respecting others. If you always despise others in your heart, it will be difficult to break the thought of self, and there will be no merit. If one's own nature is false and untruthful, there is no virtue. This is the result of arrogance and contempt for everything. Good knowledge, every thought does not depart from the Buddha-nature is merit, and fairness and integrity in mind and action are virtues. Practicing Buddha-nature by oneself is merit, and practicing the Dharma body by oneself is virtue. Merit should be found in one's own nature, and it cannot be obtained by offering money to Buddha statues. This is the difference between seeking good fortune and merit, Emperor Wu can't know the truth, it's not that my ancestor said it wrong. ”

Mingyi asked again: "Disciples often see monks and lay believers reciting Amitabha Buddha, hoping that they can be reborn in the Western Elysium in the next life, and ask the monks, can they really be reborn there?" Please clear my doubts. ”

Master Huineng of the Sixth Ancestor said: "I have already talked about this question yesterday, since you asked it today, you might as well say it again." When the Lord was in the Acropolis, he spoke about the scriptures that extradite sentient beings to the Pure Land of the West, and it was clear that the West was not far from here. But if we calculate the mileage in general, it is as far as 108,000 miles, which refers to the evil or evil in sentient beings, so it is far away. To say far is to say that it is for people with low roots, and to say near is to say that it is for people who are wise and wise. There are two kinds of human beings, but there are no two kinds of Buddhism. There is a difference between attachment and enlightenment, so there is a difference between sluggishness and quickness in understanding. Obsessive people chant Buddha names in the hope of being in the West in the next life, while enlightened people pay attention to purifying their minds. That's why the Buddha said, 'As long as the mind is pure, then you have reached the pure Buddha land.' 'Mingyi you are an Oriental, but as long as you are pure in heart, you have no sin; Even the people of the Pure Land of the West are guilty of impurity of heart. The East man has made a sin, and wants to recite the Buddha's name to give birth to the West, so what land does the West want to give birth to by reciting the Buddha's name? Ordinary people who are foolish do not understand their own nature, they do not know the Pure Land in their bodies, they just want the East and the West, and the enlightened people can get the Pure Land wherever they are, so the Buddha said that they can get happiness wherever they are. As long as you don't have bad thoughts in your heart, the West is not far from here; If you have an unkind mind and want to be reborn in the world of bliss by reciting the Buddha's name, it will be difficult to achieve it. Now I advise you on good knowledge, first get rid of the evil thoughts in yourself, then you have already traveled 100,000 miles, and then get rid of the evil thoughts, then you have walked another 8,000 miles, and every thought can know your own Buddha nature and keep your actions fair and upright, then it is only a matter of a flick of your fingers to reach the Western Elysium, and you will immediately see Amitabha. As long as you practice the Ten Virtues, why do you have to beg to be reborn in the West? If you can't get rid of your evil thoughts, which Buddha will come and greet you? If you have realized the Dharma of 'no birth and no destruction' and see the Pure Land of the West in an instant, if you cannot realize the truth and want to recite the Buddha's name in order to support the West, then the road is very far away, how can you reach it! I can give you the West to move in an instant, and you can see it now, do you want to see it? ”

Everyone prayed and said, "If you can see the Pure Land of the West here, why should you beg to be reborn in the next life, and ask the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng to show mercy and show the West in front of us so that we can all see it." ”

Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch emphasized: "The public, the world itself is a city with gates, eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are also doors, these are the five gates outside, and there is another door inside, which is the meaning." The heart is the land, the nature is the king, the king dwells in the land of the heart, the nature is in the king, and the king is gone without the nature. When the nature is there, the body and spirit exist, and when the nature is gone, the body and spirit are destroyed. Buddhahood arises in nature, don't look outside the body. If your nature is confused, then you are a layman, if you are enlightened by your own nature, then you are a Buddha, if you are compassionate, then you are Guanyin Bodhisattva, if you are kind and generous, then you are the Bodhisattva of the Great Trend, if your heart is pure, you are Shakyamuni Buddha, and if you are fair and upright, you are Amitabha. Caring about the interests of people and me, I came out of Mount Meru, and the evil thought was that the sea was surging...... Good knowledge, often practice good thoughts and good deeds, and heaven is at hand; Remove the interests of people and me, and Mount Meru will fall immediately; When the evil thoughts are removed, the surging sea dries up immediately; When the troubles are gone, the waves cease; The poisonous mind is forgotten, and the fish, turtle and dragon that make trouble will be extinct. When you realize the Buddha-nature from your own mind and approach it, you will radiate the wisdom of your own nature. ”

After listening to the explanation of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, the monks at the scene clearly understood their Buddha nature, bowed to the master together, sighed and applauded, and praised in unison: "I hope that all beings in the Dharma Realm, who hear the master's explanation, can immediately become enlightened." ”

(Reminder: Master Huineng of the Six Patriarchs preached the Dharma in his hometown this time, which was regarded as a classic by the Buddhists, and later Fahai was recorded in the "Sutra of the Altar of the Six Patriarchs".) Today, more than 1,300 years later, Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch is not only well-known to people in Buddhism, but even those who do not study Buddhism are deeply interested in "Epiphany Zen" (the culture of the six ancestors of Zen Buddhism), which has profoundly influenced the philosophical thought, culture and art at home and abroad since the Tang and Song dynasties. Because of this, Westerners call Huineng the "Jesus of the East", and put him alongside Confucius and Lao Tzu, collectively known as the "Three Sages of the East", Europe listed him as "the world's top ten thinkers", Huang Weizong, president of the Pearl River Culture Research Association and professor of the Department of Chinese of Sun Yat-sen University, according to Huineng's main ideological and cultural characteristics, designated him as the philosophers of Pearl River culture, making the Six Ancestors culture an important part of traditional Chinese culture. This is a later story, and will not be stated here).