First of all, explain the meaning of the word "sports". In ancient times, both samurai and swordsmen emphasized the treasure knife and sword. How to make a treasure sword? It is made of iron, and this casting process is called forging iron to make iron. Iron can be refined into good iron and then into steel, pure steel and fine steel. In ancient times, the old-fashioned indigenous method was used to make iron, and the technology and method were emphasized. Therefore, the prescription must choose a famous teacher. Like Taoist alchemy, it pays special attention to inheritance and has a unique secret recipe. Iron castings must be burned in a special fire and then beaten by hand. Bad technology, not only can't make steel, all iron will be beaten into iron slag; Only when you are skilled can you remove iron slag and forge it into pure steel, so a blacksmith with poor skills can only make sickles, axes or kitchen knives, but can't make excellent treasure knives and swords. Similarly, the movement of the human heart should be guided by the master in the right way. Before explaining the method of training the heart, we should make a survey of the human heart.
heart
A person's concept, personality, words and deeds are all dominated by the heart. As the saying goes, "people have different ideas." There are no two identical faces in the world. A hundred people have a hundred different faces, and a hundred people have a hundred different hearts. Although some people's faces look alike, or twins look almost identical, they can't tell who is who, but as long as their personalities are displayed, they will know who is who. No two people in the world have the same heart. If there is, the world is peaceful, and the world is not for the world.
Society is a combination of the masses, and countless people live together. This is a big dye vat. Because everyone has different ideas and concepts, and in order to ensure their survival in a highly competitive environment, people learn to protect themselves and fight for their rights and interests everywhere to avoid losses. So everyone has their own plans and ideas, everyone becomes selfish and builds their relationship on "profit". They are dishonest with each other. As the saying goes, "Every man for himself, the devil takes the hindmost. There is nothing wrong with it, otherwise you can't live; However, there are many disharmonious phenomena between people, intrigue, disturbance and disputes, and there will never be peace. Therefore, no matter how intimate and personal, friends are not only faithful, but also staged a tragedy in which father and son turned against each other, husband and wife had different dreams and brothers read the wall.
People's thoughts are different and it is not easy to unify. From individuals to individuals, to groups, races, countries, or between people and animals, many problems will arise, resulting in confrontation and conflict. So I made an introduction on the topic of "unity of contradictions".
In the final analysis, these phenomena occur because the untrained heart is unpredictable and unpredictable, just like a runaway wild horse, which is difficult to control and subdue. Therefore, we must cultivate our minds in order to seek balance, harmony and unity in contradictions, opposites and conflicts.
The method of refining the heart
Let's talk about the methods of heart training, which are divided into three stages and three levels.
First, through education or religious belief, the distorted mind is trained into an upright mind.
Physiologically speaking, the human heart grows on the left side of the chest, not in the middle, so it is normal to be eccentric and biased towards one family, one nation, one nation. Deviation is abnormal, deviation is different from deviation, deviation is distortion, and intentional harm is deviation. Fortunately, there are still many people who do harm to others and themselves in this world. The so-called saints, heroes and bodhisattvas are always fragrant. Most people live together because they are related to each other, each needs something and gains something from each other. This is called mutual assistance and reciprocity, but it is still a prerequisite for self-interest. For example, when there was a surplus of agricultural products in the United States, farmers relied on subsidies and farmland was barren. We know that thousands of people die of malnutrition in Asia and Africa every year, and we have to turn a blind eye to protect the living standards of the American people from destruction. So what Americans do first emphasizes the interests of Americans. In fact, the United States is already the most generous country in the world to other backward areas.
People with ulterior motives, who obtain unreasonable benefits by improper means, such as intentional failure, vicious bankruptcy, deception, robbery, extortion, etc., may get a temporary fluke, and it is not difficult to predict the future. Even if the world can escape legal sanctions, their descendants and their descendants will never have a good end.
Buddhism uses causal theory to educate all beings, and good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil. Therefore, people who believe in Buddhism know the causal cycle and dare not do things that are against their conscience. Instead, they do things that are beneficial to others. Therefore, Buddhist education can change people from a distorted heart to an upright heart. General religion can also reach this level, which is the most basic requirement in Buddhism.
Second, use the method of spiritual practice to exercise distraction and confusion into a unified heart.
The second level of mind training method is mainly meditation practice. The first level is based on the method of abstinence. The negative position of abstinence is not to do all evil, and the positive position of abstinence is to do all good. If you want to turn the confused and scattered delusional heart into a centralized and unified heart, you must use fixed power.
A delusional mind and a scattered mind are the same thing, but they are different in nature. Distracted mood refers to distracted mind, scattered thoughts and no certain direction and goal. Delusion is thinking without thinking, thinking without thinking, which may be rambling or methodical. For example, some people like smoking, drinking and gambling, knowing that these are bad habits, but if they don't smoke, drink or gamble, their hearts will be sad and their hands will itch, especially when they are addicted, it is not easy to quit, let alone easy.
Some disciples who follow my practice often tell me that he often thinks of things that don't need to be thought about and shouldn't be thought about, and he feels guilty. Others say that whenever he meditates and recites Buddha, he has delusions and criminal thoughts, and he feels very sad. I told them: "Don't think like this, if you can get rid of delusions and distractions, your practice will have been successful;" It is because of the initial stage of practice that I can't concentrate on Buddhism and meditation. In fact, there will be bad ideas in our daily life, but our brains are too complicated to realize them. When meditating, chanting, worshiping Buddha and holding spells, the mind is more focused and clear, and when bad thoughts appear, it is easy to be detected. I didn't mean to think for myself, but the potential consciousness suddenly floated up when it was not suppressed.
How to treat scattered mind and delusional mind? Then we should practice. There are many ways to practice, among which Zen has achieved remarkable and practical results. There are many methods of Zen, and the introductory method we teach is the concept of calculating interest. The concept of counting interest is to use the method of counting interest to hit the iron, and always tie the heart to the method. The relationship between method and heart should be like the relationship between monkey and chain, and the method cannot be transferred, just like tying the monkey's chain to a pile, so that the monkey can never leave the pile. When he is on the outer edge carefully, he will be immediately pulled back to the method, always tied his heart to the method, and be alert as soon as he leaves the method; The concept of calculating interest is the easiest for us to wake up and find out whether our own is out of the way.
Using methods can make scattered delusions disappear. This is not to say that delusions are destroyed by methods, or that bandits are eliminated by methods like military and police forces. Using methods means using methods, not using methods to eliminate delusions, and finally delusions disappear naturally.
In this level of practice, you may experience failure again and again, not success; It is to find more delusions, not the concentration and unity of the heart. You must be patient and persistent.
Third, use Zen to crush the centralized and unified heart.
When the mental training is completed at the second level, the mind can be centralized and unified. If you can concentrate, you can reduce the time of delusion; Concentrated, clear-headed, able to cope with daily life. Doing things in an orderly way can improve efficiency, so that people will not be confused, flustered and confused. At this point, the average person has gained great benefits, further from concentration to unity, that is, the truth that "heaven and earth are rooted in me, and everything is integrated with me" has been discovered. If there is a saint in the world who can become a saint, there must be such an experience.
However, whether it is concentration or the unity of mind, there is still a stage of "self": the heart that can concentrate is the affirmation of "self"; A unified heart is the realization of the "greater self". When you experience the unity of the higher self, there will be no worrying separation; However, when you return from the state of unity to the state of separation, you will have a strong self-confidence. However, the stronger my self-confidence, the more persistent I am, and his "I" is very strong. He believes that what he says, sees, thinks and does is absolutely correct. He is confident that he is a person with infinite compassion, compassion, sense of mission and authority. Unfortunately, conflicts, conflicts, wars and persecution among many religions are self-confidence, because strong self-confidence is arrogance and extremism.
From the standpoint of Buddhism, although we must have self-confidence, we must also have no self. I mean, I don't think I'm everything, and I don't think I'm a rescuer with unlimited power. The so-called liberation is the degree of all beings themselves. So the bodhisattva became a sentient being, but there was no sentient being. This is self-absence.
How can we achieve the goal of "no self"? Only through Zen can we practice. The method of Zen is to crush the heart that has been centralized and unified; It is to destroy and dissipate the solid self. When "I" does not exist, it is a great liberation and a great implementation. If we achieve this goal, we should practice the Zen method of kicking over Gan Kun.