Life document
Huineng (638 ~ 7 13)
China, a monk in Tang Dynasty, was the founder of Nanzong Zen. Also known as Huineng, the common surname is Lu. Originally from Fan Yang (now southwest of Beijing), he went into exile with his father in Xinzhou, Lingnan (now emerging in Guangdong). After his father died, he adopted firewood as an adoptive mother. I was moved by the chanting of the Diamond Sutra, and I went to Huangmei's forbearance to be a "walker". My practice depends entirely on hearing and remembering. When the five ancestors chose the heir, they were praised as "Bodhi has no trees, the mirror is not a platform, there is nothing, where there is dust". Give them vestments and send them to Lingnan. 16 years later. In the first year of Yifeng (676), I got full marks. The following year, he preached the epiphany method at Baolin Temple in Shaoguan. The magic show that competed with him for the position of legal heir mainly preached the law in the north and advocated "gradual enlightenment", so there were sayings of "Southampton gradually moving north" and "South can be North America". Huineng's teachings were compiled by his disciple Fahai into the Six Ancestors Tanjing. Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong wanted to be called to the capital before they died, but they resigned. After his death, Tang Xianzong was posthumously named "Jian Zhen Zen Master". Disciples include God, forbearance and thinking.
Huineng, a Zen master from a civilian background.
Wuzu Mountain in the northeast of Huangmei County, Hubei Province was called Feng Maoshan in the Tang Dynasty. There are dense trees in the mountains, and pine and bamboo intersect. It is the famous Dongshan Mountain in the history of Buddhism in China. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Hong Ren, the "five ancestors of the East Earth" of Zen, gave lectures and built houses here. Tang Gaozong (66 1) One day in the first year of Longshuo, a young man, with shabby clothes and travel-stained clothes in Ma Xie, came to the mountains to find Master Hong Ren. As soon as he saw Master Hong Ren, he called himself a disciple, and he bowed his head. Seeing his rustic appearance and vulgar manners, Hong Ren thought he must be a poor beggar and asked rudely, "Where are you from?"? What do you want me to do when you come to worship me in the mountains? " The young man replied, "The disciples are from Lingnan and Xinzhou (in Xinxing County, Guangdong Province). I came all the way to worship the teacher, asking nothing but to become a Buddha. " When the master heard that there was anger in his heart, he shouted, "You are from Lingnan and a monk. How can you become a Buddha? " The young man replied without fear: "People are different from the north and the south, and the Buddha's nature does not distinguish between the north and the south. Although jade is not as noble as its master, what is the difference in Buddha's nature? "
What a question and answer! Ask arrogantly and answer confidently. Although this young man is rustic, he is smart, courageous and knowledgeable. In a few words, Hong Ren, who has a good reputation, looks at him with new eyes. Who is he? He is a genius who will become the founder of Zen Nanzong in the future.
Huineng, whose common name is Lu, was born in the 12th year of Zhenguan in Tang Taizong (638) and died in the 2nd year of Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty (7 13). It is said that his ancestral home is Fan Yang (now Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding) and his father's name is Hang Tang. During Tang Gaozu's Wude period, he was exiled to Lingnan for crimes and became a citizen of New South Wales. But there is no reliable basis for this statement. Judging from Huineng's appearance and pronunciation when he first met Hongren, he is more likely to be an aboriginal living in Lingnan. Fan Yang Lushi was a famous scholar-bureaucrat in Tang Dynasty. The connection between Huineng's family background and Fan Yang's Lushi should be fabricated out of self-esteem after Huineng became a leader.
Huineng is lonely, poor and down-and-out, selling firewood and adopting a mother, illiterate. However, he is both clever and open-minded. One day, he sold firewood and listened to people read the Diamond Sutra, but he didn't feel enlightened. During the conversation, I learned that Master Hong Ren was practicing in Dongshan, Huangmei, and my heart was filled with envy. The Bible reader is a fanatical Buddhist. Seeing Huineng's extraordinary qualifications and dedication to the Tao, he encouraged and helped him to seek the Dharma in Dongshan. Huineng got financial aid and settled her mother, so she left her parents to go on the road, to worship Buddha, to endure, to seek enlightenment and to be an ancestor.
Seeing that Huineng's writing was novel, Hong Ren decided to accept him. Because of his humble background, he was sent to a shack to work as a rice mill. Huineng stepped on the rice in the room and met Hongren's statement of promoting to a higher position and making a fortune in the lecture hall. He pricked up his ears and listened carefully, silently thinking about the way of whispering, and slowly understood. Sometimes I am immersed in the mysterious Zen doctrine and forget the environment and myself.
The monotonous dwelling life, eight months have passed in an instant. As it happens, Master Hongren, according to the usual practice, intends to choose a disciple who has the deepest experience in learning Zen and pass it on as his successor. He ordered his disciples to write a poem to observe their understanding of Buddha's nature. The seated monk Shen Xiu made a face and said:
I am a bodhi tree, and my heart is like a mirror platform.
Wipe it frequently to prevent it from accumulating dust.
When this poem came out, all the monks called it wonderful, and Shen Xiu himself was secretly pleased. When the news reached Huineng's ear, he smiled and thought that such a poem was far from the true meaning of Buddha's nature. He had to spare a boy to lead the way to the south porch and make a poem for people to write on the wall. It is said that:
Bodhi trees have no trees, and the mirror platform is not a platform.
Buddha's nature is always pure, where can there be dust?
Shen Xiu's poems affirm the existence of a person's body and mind, and think that in order to gradually reach a clean state free from dust, it is necessary to practice diligently, which belongs to the traditional progressive theory of becoming a Buddha. Huineng's poems, however, think that body, mind and everything are illusory, and only the Buddha nature that everyone has is the only real existence. This kind of thought is consistent with the epiphany or Buddhism advocated by Liu Song and Zhu Daosheng in the Southern Dynasties, and also with his statement that Buddhism was not divided into north and south when he first came to Dongshan. Only after eight months of silent teaching, his thoughts became more thorough and subtle. It belongs to idealism with Shen Xiu's thought, but it is much more thorough than Shen Xiu's in understanding; If it is applied to Buddhist practice, it will be much simpler. A coolie who was born in poverty and was at the bottom of the temple made such a wonderful carol, which immediately caused a sensation. Complex feelings such as admiration, surprise, jealousy, anger and hatred suddenly enveloped the quiet temple on weekdays.
When Hong Ren saw Huineng's words, he knew that he really grasped the essence of seeking Buddha, had the intention to pass on the mantle to him, and was afraid that others would know, and deliberately kept a quiet face. That night, after midnight, Huineng was called to the hall to give him a lecture and instruction. He also warned Huineng that he would be hurt if he lived in this hospital again as him, and told him to leave Dongshan and go back to the south.
Huineng followed Hongren's instructions and left for the south overnight. After going through difficulties and obstacles along the way, I finally returned to Lingnan. From then on, he wandered among farmers, lived in editing and disappeared 16 years. After a long time, the turmoil over the mantle and the legal system gradually subsided, and Huineng was convinced that there would be no more danger to his life before he dared to listen to the law at the door of the Indian master in the South China Sea (now near Guangzhou).
One day, Yinzong asked the crowd: Look, the flag hanging on the flagpole has been blown by the wind. Is it moving or not? Everyone has different opinions and comments. Some people say that the flag is moving; Some people say that the flag is not moving, but the wind is moving automatically. Huineng suddenly stood up from his seat and said loudly, "Master! It's not the wind, it's not the flag, it's just that people think about moving and not moving. There is no movement or stillness in Buddhism. " Hearing this, Master Yinzong was horrified. Knowing that Buddhist cultivation was not as good as Huineng, he asked Huineng for advice and personally led his disciples to Huineng's residence to shave and be ordained.
Since then, Huineng has become famous and preached openly. Soon he came to Caoxi, Shaozhou (now Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province), where he received many disciples, founded many monasteries and vigorously spread his new Buddhist teachings.
Huineng's missionary work has two characteristics in form. One is not to write, the other is to teach others. I don't write because Huineng can't read. Unlike other sects, most of them are well-born, well-educated and can write books. At the same time, Huineng's disciples are not restricted by their status, and many poor people are illiterate. So Professor Huineng's apprentice is just word of mouth, and his soul mate. To teach others is to teach classics, which refers to Buddha statues, scriptures and other instruments. Don't preach to others in order to avoid complicated props and forms such as Buddha statues and scriptures. Everyone has his own Buddha nature in his heart, and the key to practice is to point directly at people's hearts and regard nature as Buddha.
As far as ideology is concerned, Huineng's theory has three pillars. One is the monism of sincerity in the world view, that is, the theory that truth is the source. The second is the theory of Buddha nature in liberation theory; The third is the epiphany thought in religious practice. Sincerity and truth are also called Buddha nature, law nature, reality, self-nature, nature, dharma body, original heart and so on. Huineng believes that no matter what, north or south, respect or inferiority, everyone has Buddha nature, and Buddha nature is often pure; He also believes that in self-nature, we can see all the laws; Freedom of all laws is called pure dharma body. And so on, all show from different angles that truth is an eternal, absolute and highest spiritual entity, as well as a universal entity and the source of the world. Huineng affirms this entity and origin, but thinks that everything else is illusory and empty. This kind of monism of sincerity or truth is the core of Huineng's thought and the theoretical basis of his Buddhism. The other two pillars are derived from this. For example, the theory of Buddha's nature in Liberation is based on the fact that everyone has Buddha's nature. Because all living beings have Buddha nature, the way to become a Buddha is not to practice outside, nor to pray in the Western Heaven. As long as you "point directly at the heart", you can "see the nature and become a Buddha." This in turn determines that Huineng School advocates epiphany in religious practice. Because everyone has Buddha nature, but he is charming and doesn't know it. Lost in sex, only in one thought. When you think of goodness, wisdom comes into being. Yi Deng can put out the darkness for a thousand years, and wisdom can put out the stupidity for a thousand years. If this idea hasn't arrived yet, even if you practice hard, it's useless to "wipe it from time to time". The characteristics of Huineng Buddhism are also reflected in his unique views on Zen and pure land. The traditional Zen method advocates * * * to converge the mind, while Huineng thinks that the realm of Zen can also be experienced in walking, living, sitting, lying, walking and speaking at any time. Northern Zen Buddhism inherited the traditional Zen viewpoint and taught people to look at the heart, thinking that if the heart is divided into two like that, wisdom cannot be born from the heart. Huineng teaches people to start with no thoughts, not limited to * * *.
Huineng also had another view on the pure land law that Buddhist monks and nuns wished to live in the Western Heaven at that time. He emphasized "seeing one's purity, self-cultivation, self-cultivation and self-cultivation". He once said to Wei Kun, the secretariat of Shaozhou, "There are two kinds of people in the world, but there are no two ways. There is a difference between misunderstanding and terminal illness. Charming chanting for survival, enlightened people purify the soul. Therefore, the Buddha's words are pure with their hearts, that is, the Buddha's land is pure. Any stupid person can't understand his own nature, and he doesn't know the pure land in himself. He is willing to go to the east and the west. It is common to realize that people are everywhere. So the Buddha said: be content with your place of residence. Why do you have to die after doing ten good deeds? "
The characteristics of Huineng Buddhism in ideological system and missionary way make its Sect have a strong civilian religious color. He believes that all people have Buddha nature, and all living beings can become Buddhas, breaking the monopoly of aristocratic bureaucrats on the founders of Buddhas. He moved the paradise that everyone yearned for from the distant west to everyone's hearts, and at the same time simplified the way of practice as much as possible, eliminating cumbersome rituals. Even saying that "if you want to practice, you can do it at home, not in the temple" is tantamount to broadening the way to heaven and is naturally welcomed by people from all walks of life. He affirmed the authenticity and eternity of "truth" and opposed the decadent and nihilistic thought that everything was empty, which was in line with the desire of the emerging landlord class in Buyi to forge ahead and protect vested interests, so he was most supported and supported by this class. However, he also believes that merit lies not in building temples, giving alms and supporting others, but in being honest and clean, and not selling yourself short. This is obviously beneficial to the poor working people, not to the rich exploiters. Huineng's theory can consider the working people. His missionary way of not writing outside the church and teaching others meets the needs of the poor, so his Sect attracts a large number of lower class people. These are great changes to traditional Buddhism and severe challenges to the old aristocratic sects. In fact, Huineng, from a humble background, actually ascended the throne as a "monk", which is full of the meaning of breaking away from tradition. After his successful missionary work, his reputation spread far and wide. Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong sent letters to North Korea successively, but he refused on the grounds of illness. Although there are factors that fear persecution by conservative Christians in the north, it does show that he is different from those snobbish monks who are proud of making friends with powerful people, which reflects the unusual nature of him and his Sect, thus winning the respect and love of the majority of believers. The huge advantages in theory and method make Huineng's followers expand rapidly. He said that he was promoted to the site of Dafan Temple in Shaozhou, where there were 10000 monks and nuns and Taoist customs. More than 30 officials and more than 30 Confucian scholars, the secretariat of Shaozhou, also came to listen to his sermon. He has been preaching in Shao Guangguo for more than 30 years, and his disciples are often no less than three or five thousand. Zhicheng, one of the great disciples of Huineng 10, was originally a disciple of Beizong Shenxiu. Shen Xiu sent him to listen to Huineng's statement, but after hearing Huineng's statement, Zhicheng thought it was clearer, deeper and easier to understand than Shen Xiu's, so he took the initiative to tell the truth that he was ordered to spy on the truth, unwilling to leave, and became a big disciple of Huineng. Shen Hui, another big disciple of Huineng, was born smart. He learned to master Buddhist scriptures and Laozi and Zhuangzi since childhood, and then paid attention to Buddhism. After becoming a monk, it is easy to satirize Buddhist scriptures. /kloc-When I was 0/4 years old, I heard that Master Huineng was preaching Dharma in Caoxi, and the literati were like a hundred rivers, so I came to pay homage. Soon after the conversation, I was impressed by Huineng and threw myself under the door, becoming Huineng's foot. These examples all illustrate the high prestige of Huineng and the great appeal of his sect.
Huineng preaches the law without words, but by mouth. Because he used the daily spoken language at that time, used vivid metaphors and simple dialectics skillfully, his lectures were very infectious and convincing, and the effect was very good. For example, he explained the relationship between Ding Hui and said, "What kind of person is Ding Hui? Like lights. Where there is a lamp, there is light; Where there is no light, there is no light. Light is the body of light, and light is the purpose of light. " Explain clearly and thoroughly the relationship between Ding and Hui. For another example, he inspired his disciples to treat Buddha chanting correctly, saying, "The mind turns to Dharma, not Dharma; The heart is turning to Fahua, and the evil heart is turning to Fahua. " He added: "chanting Buddha in vain, but following the sound, calls the bodhisattva to understand." "Explain in layman's terms that chanting Buddha must be single-minded.
Fahai, a disciple of Huineng, recorded his teachings, questions and answers with his disciples, and his last words, and compiled them into a book, which was regarded as a classic. The altar sutra named "Mahayana Prajna Paramita Sutra" by Nanzongdun School is called "The Six Ancestors' Magic Weapon Tanjing", which was cast by Master Huineng at Dafan Temple in Shaozhou. The altar refers to the altar where Huineng usually teaches dharma. Huineng's disciples regard Huineng as a Buddha, and its dharma words are like Buddhist scriptures, so it is called Tanjing. The works of monks in China are called "Classics", and "Tanjing" is the first and only one. After Huineng's death, his disciples taught the Tanjing, which was inherited from the teacher. If there is no altar sutra, that is, there is no gift, it will not be recognized as a disciple of Nanzong. It can be seen that the influence of Tanjing on the history of Zen in China is enormous and far-reaching.
Huineng was unable to spread Buddhism outside Lingnan before his death, and the foundation of the southern Sect of Zen he founded was mainly in the south. Later, Huineng disciple Shenhui went north to attack Shen Xiu, a northern faction, and won a great victory. Since then, the influence of the Southern Sect of Zen has spread all over the country. Huineng's disciples and re-disciples spread the Zen initiated by Huineng in different regions, and formed many factions according to their different understandings. The most important ones are Qingyuan Hangsi and Nanyue Huairang, from which there are five schools and seven schools. By the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Buddhist sects other than Huineng Zen had declined one after another, and only five sects and seven sects had developed and grown. Since then, the history of Buddhism has almost become the history of Zen.
Huineng's influence is not limited to Buddhism. He has a great and far-reaching influence on the whole ideological and cultural circles in China. As early as the Tang Dynasty, scholars liked to ponder Zen, which penetrated into many scholars' poems, paintings and philosophy of life. Huineng, as the founder of Zen Buddhism, is especially admired and admired by scholars. Great writers Wang Wei, Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi successively wrote inscriptions for Huineng; In the 10th year of Yuanhe in Tang Xianzong (8 15), the court also specially named Huineng as "the emperor's father". After the Tang Dynasty, Zen thought continued to exert a profound influence on the ideological and cultural circles. Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties absorbed the most abundant and obvious information of Zen thought, which was actually the product of the combination of traditional Confucianism and Zen thought in China.
In the history of Zen, Huineng was listed as the sixth ancestor of Dongtu, which means that Dharma, who came to China to spread Zen, was the ancestor of Zen in China. Dharma preached Hui Ke, Hui Ke preached monk's letter, monk's letter preached tolerance, and tolerance preached Huineng, so Huineng was the sixth ancestor of Zen in China. But in fact, until the Hongren generation, there was only Zen, and there was no Zen. The real Zen was founded by Huineng, the leader of the new Sect of Zen and the ancestor of Zen. In the history of China's thought, he also occupies an important position. He is a cultural great man of civilian origin in the history of China.