Su Shi claimed to be a "lay man" and "wash his heart and return to Buddha" (Fan Shishi and Cai Jing), and his Zen words were included in Zen quotations. He himself is also regarded as the legal successor of Chang, a disciple of Huinan School of Huanglong School (Chen Zhongzhe: Su Shi's calligraphy and painting art and Buddhism), and Su Shi's character and life are indeed closely related to the influence of Buddhism.

First of all, Buddhism has a great influence on Su Shi's thought. The formation of Su Shi's ideological system is undoubtedly the result of the absorption and integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, in which Buddhism played a particularly important role. Su Zhe talked about Su Shi's scholarship in the Epitaph of the Late Brother Zhan Duanming: "When I first read Jia Yi and Lu Zhi's books, it was not empty talk to talk about managing chaos in ancient and modern times. When reading Zhuangzi, I sighed and said,' I have seen it in China before, but I can't say it. Reading Zhuangzi has won my heart now.' ..... After reading Shi's book, I understand the reality deeply, and I can learn from the old and speak freely, but I can't see my own limits. "This shows that the origin of Su Shi's thought has changed. First of all, he tried to absorb the Confucian thought of managing the world and emphasized practical learning instead of useless empty talk. After Zhuangzi became interested in Taoism, he got his heart first. After Su Shi was relegated to Huangzhou, he began to be deeply influenced by Buddhism, and finally surpassed Confucianism and Taoism with Buddhist thought, and was able to speak freely, building an outstanding independent thought and life realm.

As one of the pillars of China's traditional culture, Buddhist thought has been talked about by intellectuals in past dynasties. However, Su Shi's study of Buddhism is by no means a generalization. He really made great efforts and gained tangible results. Here are some literary works of Su Shi.

Su Shi, 59, was repeatedly relegated and placed in Huizhou. On the way south, he visited the Nanhua Temple in Caoxi, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, and wrote this song "Nanhua Temple":

If you want to meet your ancestors, you should know your true colors. The people in the pavilion tower asked me what I saw. Poor Ming's seat, doing everything. Drinking water has self-knowledge, pointing to the moon does not make you dizzy. I am a man of practice, and I have been trained for three generations. I lost my mind in the middle. Suffer the scourge of this century. The truth about the dress selection ceremony moved me to tears. I borrowed Mr. Xi Quanduan to wash my inkstone.

In the poem, "true face", "drinking water and thinking about the source" and "pointing at the moon and not dazzled" are all Zen words. Su Shi said: Why do you want to worship your ancestors? Is to recognize my true colors. I was originally a Buddhist in my last life, but unfortunately I fell into the world in a moment, which brought me lifelong troubles. Today, I fell to my knees in front of my ancestors, and my eyes were full of tears. I want to wash away my nostalgia for the floating world with this clear spring where Caoxi lived. This poem can be said to be "written evidence" of Su Shi's conversion to Zen for many years. Mr. Zhao Puchu once wrote this poem in calligraphy for Nanhua Temple, and wrote in the summary: "When writing this poem, I almost realized the karma of previous lives, so my poem is moving, not a spell."

Huangzhou's relegation can be said to be a turning point in Su Shi's life. In Huangzhou, Su Shi really began to contact Buddhism. When leaving Huangzhou, Su Shi passed by Lushan Mountain and met Changzong Zen Master in Tuolin Temple. Su Shi learned something and wrote a poem:

The sound of the stream is long, and the mountains are not clean. Speaking of 84 thousand at night, how can I mention myself like a person tomorrow?

"Wide and long tongue" is a symbol that the Buddha is good at saying things, and "staying still" refers to the achievements of the Buddha and the innate Buddha nature of all beings. Su Shi said in this poem that a little Zen, striking Bodhi and many Miao Zi are beyond words. Just like the famous sentence of Zen in the Record of Dengchuan in Jingdezhen: "Green and green bamboos are dharma bodies. The gloomy yellow flowers are nothing more than prajna. " Qingyuan only believes in Zen master's saying: When I don't participate in Zen, mountains are mountains and water is water. "The knowledge I have seen with my own eyes has entered the place today, seeing that mountains are not mountains and water is not water." This poem shows that Su Shi has also been "absorbed" and is no longer an ordinary scholar.

In the last year of his life, Su Shi was pardoned in Hainan North. On the way home, Su Shi bought two bamboo poles as epaulettes, and wrote a poem "The First Question of Quotations for Two Bamboo poles as epaulettes when Dongpo layman invited the elders of this mountain to be hospitalized":

You won two dragons and bamboos, which is popular in the north of Lingbei. A drop of Caoxi River in the bamboo rose to the 18th beach of Xijiang River.

Su Shi lamented: I can walk through the bumpy road of life in the surprised eyes of everyone because this clear spring of Caoxi flows in my heart. Su Shi fully affirmed the important role of Buddhism in his life with this poem. The influence of Buddhist thought on Su Shi's literature to be analyzed in this paper is a true reflection of the influence of Buddhist thought on Su Shi's life.