This year, the Budai monk passed by Xuedou Mountain.

In the middle of Xuedou Mountain, there is a hundred-foot-long waterfall that rushes straight down, and there is a series of towering peaks that reach into the sky.

The waterfall falls quickly, thunders and thunders, cleansing people's souls; The lonely peak of thousands of people is steep and straight, and the wall stands in the sky, which is breathtaking.

Such a quiet place is naturally a meditation scenic spot, so many years ago, there were Zen monks who built temples here to practice.

Over the years, the Xuedou Temple in the Xuedou Mountain is also a place where Budai monks like to stay.

Because, the presiding Zen master Changtong here is his confidant and friend.

Forty years ago, Xuedou Temple came to a tall and big Zen master - Changtong Zen Master.

Chang Tong was originally a native of Xingzhou, Heshuo, and his common surname was Li.

He traveled thousands of miles from the Yellow River to the bank of the Xiangjiang River to visit Master Jingcen of Changsha. Master Jingcen of Changsha asked him, "Where are you from?" ”

He replied, "It's from Xingzhou." ”

Changsha Jingcen had no wind and waves, and suddenly showed a cold Zen machine: "I said you don't come from that place!" ”

Chang Tong did not hesitate, and immediately fought back: "Monk, have you ever lived in this place?" Master Jingcen of Changsha laughed heartily and approved of his realization.

Since then, he has inherited the Zen method of Changsha Jingcen and promoted the Zen style of Nanquan Puyuan.

After he presided over the Xuedou Temple, once, the cloth bag monk came to place an order, and he was still mixed in with the ordinary monks, like a grain of sand rolling down on the river beach.

However, Zen Master Changtong seemed to see through his whereabouts and took the initiative to say to him: "Budai, you often go to the old monk, why don't you ever ask a word of Zen?" ”

The Budai monk actually said, "What do you want me to ask?" ”

This stupid remark almost made the onlookers die of laughter - a monk who didn't know how to ask about the Dharma! How to be a Buddha? How is Zen? How is the ancestor from the west? How is the Dharma gist? ……

For thousands of years, hasn't almost every Zen practitioner asked the patriarchs this question?

Because everybody wants to get a satisfactory answer from the Master's mouth, so that they can become enlightened immediately. And this cloth bag monk, in the face of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, turned out to be demented and nonsense.

The same sentence almost choked Zen Master Changtong to death.

However, he knew in his heart that the words of the cloth bag monk seemed to be ignorant, but they were deliberately pretending to be stupid, and they also contained a rolling Zen machine.

Chang Tong is a person who is enlightened, so he is not afraid of dragging mud and water and falling into the grass all over his body, and continues to test and say: "You are also old, and you can't even ask a question!" ”

The Budai monk really asked, but he didn't ask any Buddha or Zen, but asked casually: "How is the secret room?" ”

Zen Master Changtong replied, "No letters." ”

The cloth bag monk continued to ask: "How is it a person in the secret room?" ”

Zen Master Changtong was full of arrogance and said: "Even if all the sages come to ask, they will not see each other. ”

Yes, since he is a person in the secret room, of course he doesn't meet anyone.

So, the cloth bag monk folded his hands and bowed deeply - his bow seemed to be the etiquette of the end of the question, but it hid a sharp edge - the thousand saints are gone, are they still worshipped?

Chang Tong certainly understood, and said:

A thousand saints can't think,

Halloween is non-negotiable.

Qiankun is not bad,

Void packs are not included.

Everything no matter what it is than,

The third world can't sing.

The Budai monk then teased: "You also know me, and I know you." After saying that, he carried a cloth bag on his shoulder and walked away on his own.

Zen Master Changtong chanted at his back:

bag storage,

The rod picks the sun and the moon.

Hee-hee-ha

The best among the foolish monks.

Ordered the line to be marked by a stick,

A slap and a palm of blood.

Don't be, it's like a little blood in a red furnace.

Five years ago, Master Changtong passed away in July. Seventy-two years old, the relics stupa was built in the southwest corner of Xuedou Temple.

Now, after the Budai monk swept the relics stupa of Changtong Zen Master, he stood in front of the temple for a long time. The monks were puzzled and asked him; "Why have you been standing in front of the mountain gate for a long time?"

But the Budai monk said: "You only know the extinction of the Buddha, but you know that the Buddha has not been born!" ”

Everyone trembled, and immediately felt the harsh ridicule coming to the world-

Sure enough, the Budai monk continued: "If you know that you are not alive, you must know that you are not dead." As long as you understand the word ʿ no deathʾ, you will be free and easy, and you will be angry with Shakya Laozi from now on. This is a treasure of our monks, and you should be convinced. "When I finish speaking, listen to me:

No life and no death Buddhism family style,

Do not fall into the past and the present.

Touching the original Ming is often silent,

Longhua has no way to do it.

Everyone felt that this fat monk's big belly contained a lot of knowledge, so they asked him to go back to Xuedou Temple to explain the law.

The Budai monk was unusual, no longer pretending to be stupid, and really talked about the Dharma: "When you don't climb, you can experience awareness." Sex lives forever and never dies. In the absence of life, the method of life and death is revealed; In the nature of birth and destruction, the whole nirvana is true. Thou hast not judged thyself, thou hast accepted the false as the true, thou hast been clinging to the truth of the world, thou hast been willing to suffer reincarnation, and thou hast not yet woken up. If you can look back and know what is wrong, you can break the maggots, not think beyond a thought, and see the true source. ”

What he means is that when our minds are no longer moving outward, when we look back at our own nature and look inward, we will find that our own nature is immortal, pure and unstained, and can give birth to ten thousand laws. It is precisely because the nature of self-nature is immovable and unshakable that it can be reflected in the phenomenon of birth and death.

A Zen monk listened with relish, walked out of the crowd, and asked, "How is the Dharma of Enlightenment?" ”

The Budai monk recited a poem:

Your heart is wisdom,

Why do you need to ask the order?

Saints are not there,

Empty flowers fly in the sun.

The monk asked, "How is the Tao?" ”

The cloth bag monk still replied with a son:

clear water reflecting lonely peak,

The moon shines in the cold pool.

I don't know where to go,

Sumeru soles more.

The Budai monk stayed at Xuedou Temple.

One day, in a corner of the monastery, he found a monk secretly counting money.

He crept over and slapped him on the shoulder.

The monk was startled.

But he grinned, stretched out a hand, and said unashamedly, "Give me a penny." ”

The monk said, "Monk Budai, why did you fall to this point? You have to beg for even a penny! ”

"I've gotten to this point." Budai monk said.

The monk said, "If it really comes to this point, you can take a penny." ”

At this time, the Budai monk asked instead, "Why have you reached this point?" ”

The monk couldn't help but be stunned. Yes, why did a monk who left his hometown and should have cultivated his mind and enlightenment as the foundation, but why was he contaminated with the smell of copper and became a lay monk?

The Budai monk pointed at him and said, "You were originally a Buddha, why are you nostalgic for ordinary feelings?" You should quickly cut off all the conditions, cleanse yourself of bad habits, and devote all your efforts to the non-birth of the mind and body, and realize the true nature of the subtle understanding. If you have attained the wisdom of unhindered enlightenment, you are a great arhat. Otherwise, he will kill his husband in vain. ”

The monk suddenly realized that he threw down the copper coin and left.

However, the Budai monk picked up a penny and said to the onlookers: "This is from the Longhua Society." ”

Longhua will be a solemn dojo for Maitreya to become a Buddha, speak the Dharma, and purify all sentient beings, how can there be copper coins! Therefore, the crowd would not believe his nonsense no matter what, and they dispersed in a hurry.

How can it be justified, and I will not believe it; The real understanding is only known by evidence.