Sixth ancestor, Master Huineng

On February 27, 638, Master Huineng, one of the Three Saints of the East, was born.

character brief introduction

The sixth ancestor, Hui Neng, was the founder of Zen in China. He, together with Confucius and Lao Tzu, is called the "Three Great Sages of the Orient." Europe lists him as one of the "Top Ten Thinkers in the World." Their statues are displayed in the Library Square of Great Britain, England, for the world to admire. He completed the sinicization, secularization, and popularization of Buddhism, making Zen culture an important part of Chinese traditional culture, and profoundly influencing China's philosophical thoughts, culture and art since the Tang and Song Dynasties. The core of Huineng's Zen thoughts is "pointing directly to the hearts of the people and becoming a Buddha through the eyes of nature."

Xinxing County is the hometown of the Sixth Ancestor. According to the Records of Xinxing County, Hui Neng (638-713), with the usual surname of Lu, was from Xialu Village, Xinzhou (now Xinxing County) in the Tang Dynasty. His ancestral home was Fanyang, Hebei Province (now Dingxing County, Hebei Province). His father, Xing Xing, was demoted and exiled to Xinzhou in the third year of Wude of the Tang Dynasty (620). He lived in Xialu Village, 14 kilometers south of Xinzhou, and later married Li, a woman from Langcun. Huineng was born on the eighth day of February in the twelfth year of Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty (638). On the third day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar in the first year of Kaiyuan (713), Huineng died in Xinxing Guoen Temple. He lived seventy-six years old.

mainly experienced

Huineng's common surname is Lu. It is said that when he was born, he had "two different monks" to set up his name "Huineng", which was called Huineng since he was a child. (According to Buddhist practice, "Huineng" is the legal name when he became a monk.) His father was originally an official in Fanyang (now Zhuoxian County near Beijing), but was later demoted and exiled to Xinzhou (now Xinxing County, Guangdong Province), where he became a citizen of Xinzhou. Huineng was born in Xinzhou in the 12th year of Tang Zhenguan. His father died when he was young, and the mother and son who were exiled in a foreign country were lonely. After that, Huineng moved to Nanhai (Guangzhou) with his mother. He grew up selling firewood to support his mother and son.

Hui Neng's encounter with Buddhism was also very accidental. One day, he was selling firewood in the market when he suddenly heard someone in the inn reciting the Diamond Sutra aloud. He stood outside the shop and listened quietly with his knowledge of Indian. The more he listened, the more profound the truth became, and there was a feeling of enlightenment. So he put the firewood outside the shop and asked the scripture reader where the scriptures came from. The customer who read the scriptures replied that he got it from Master Hongnin of Huangmei Shuangfeng Mountain. After hearing this news, Hui Neng had the idea of going to the north to seek Buddhism.

In 670 BC, Hui Neng made arrangements for his mother's food, clothing and daily necessities, and then left his hometown and went north for teachers. There is also a saying that Hui Neng has never read a book and is illiterate. One day, when Hui Neng walked to Caoxi, Shaozhou, he met a man named Liu Zhilue. Liu Zhilue's aunt became a monk in the local Baolin Temple, and her Buddhist name was endless Tibetan nuns. Because the endless Tibetan nuns had a copy of the Nirvana Sutra in their hands, Hui Neng asked Liu Zhilue to introduce it.

After meeting, the endless Tibetan nuns handed the Nirvana Sutra to Huineng. Hui Neng did not accept it. He said that he didn't know the words, but could understand the meaning of the scriptures. Coincidentally, the old nun was worried about not being able to understand the scriptures, so she agreed to study the scriptures with Hui Neng. She kept nuns and recited the scriptures endlessly, and Hui Neng interpreted the meaning of the scriptures. In this way, their attainments in Buddhism were rapidly improved. They also co-authored a book "Nirvana Sutra Analysis of the Meaning."

After living in Baolin Temple for a while, Hui Neng continued north, came to Dongshan Temple on Shuangfeng Mountain in Huangmei, and found the fifth ancestor, Hongren.

When the fifth patriarch saw Hui Neng, he asked, "What's the matter with the layman coming to Dongshan Temple?" Hui Neng said, "I am from Lingnan, and I came to Dongshan Temple to learn Buddhism." Patriarch Hongnan said, "You are from Lingnan, how do you learn Buddhism?" Hui Neng replied, "People have north and south, but Buddha nature does not have north and south." After hearing this, Patriarch Hongnan felt that what he said was very reasonable, so he arranged for him to do some chores in the temple.

Legend has it that there were more than 700 people in Dongshan Monastery at that time, but only a few monks were pounding rice, so the amount of labor was particularly large. In order to learn more Buddhist scriptures, Hui Neng proposed to the brothers who were pounding rice with him that the literate people read the scriptures in shifts for everyone to listen to. In this way, the people who read the scriptures could get a rest, but Hui Neng couldn't read, so he pounded rice all day while explaining to everyone, never resting.

The news that Hui Neng worked hard and could teach scriptures quickly spread to the fifth ancestor Hongren. Hongren no longer asked Hui Neng to do the work of pounding rice, but arranged for him to concentrate on studying and understanding Buddhist principles. Hui Neng went with everyone every day to listen to Hongren's preaching scriptures, and Hui Neng's attainments in Buddhism became higher and higher.

When the sixth ancestor Hui Neng followed the fifth ancestor Hong Nin to practice Buddhism, Hong Nin was old and wanted to find disciples among the many disciples. He chose disciples by making a verse each to clarify the true meaning of Zen.

Among the disciples of the fifth ancestor Hongren, there was a monk named Shenxiu. Shenxiu was from Weishi County, Kaifeng City. She studied Confucianism in her early years and read many Confucian classics and historical books. She was very talented. He first became a monk in Tiangong Temple in Luoyang, and then became a disciple of Hongren. For six consecutive years, he worked on gathering firewood and carrying water on Shuangfeng Mountain in Huangmei, hoping that Hongren could pass on the Dharma to him. He was also very knowledgeable about the Zen Dharma taught by Hongren and has always been valued by Hongren's founder.

As soon as Founder Hongren said to let the disciples do the verses, Shenxiu immediately made a song: The body is a Bodhi tree, the heart is like a mirror stage, there is nothing in the past, so don't make dust. Hongren praised it after reading it.

But Hui Neng didn't agree. He also made a gatha and asked others to write it next to Shenxiu's gatha on his behalf. The verse written by Hui Neng is: Bodhi has no tree, and a mirror is not a platform; the Buddha's heart is originally pure, so where can it stir dust? When everyone saw this, they immediately reported to Hongren. After reading it, Hong Ren thought that Hui Neng had the most thorough thoughts of "emptiness". Immediately that night, he summoned Hui Neng in his monk's room, decided to let Hui Neng be his successor, and passed on his mantle to Hui Neng.

When teaching the mantle, Master Hiroshinori also told Hui Neng: "This is the token of Master Dharma's teaching, you must be careful to protect it, and the patriarch of our patriarchy. Since ancient times, the vestments have been the focus of disputes. If I pass the mantle to you, your life will be very dangerous. You must leave now, or your life will be in danger."

Hui Neng took the mantle and kowtowed several times. Patriarch Hongren helped him up and sent him to Jiujiang Ferry. Then they parted with tears.

Not long after Hui Neng left, the monks of Dongshan Monastery knew that Wu Zu Hong Neng had passed on the Dharma to Hui Neng, so some people helped Shenxiu make the Unfair Dancong Tea. Among them, a monk named Chen Huiming chased Hui Neng all the way and wanted to seize the dharma clothes. He was later influenced by Hui Neng and became Hui Neng's guardian disciple. Chen Huiming was not the only one who couldn't get through with Hui Neng, but also a knight named Zhang Xingchang was bought by Shenxiu's apprentice and grandson, and also assassinated Hui Neng many times. Later, he became a monk under the influence of Hui Neng.

After Huineng bid farewell to Hong Ren, he returned to Lingnan. Legend has it that Huineng's martial arts are also very strong. On the way back to Lingnan, he met two tigers who were about to eat a young woman. I saw Huineng and the tigers fighting for a few rounds, and the tigers were defeated and fled in embarrassment.

As soon as the tiger was beaten away, a group of hunters with long spears and large swords came over and invited Hui Neng to join the hunting team. Hui Neng thought that he was always in danger of being hunted down, and it would be much safer if he joined the hunting team, so he readily agreed.

In this way, Hui Neng stayed in the hunting team for fifteen years, and later went to Faxing Temple in Guangzhou, where he met Master Yinzong. Nowadays, Faxing Temple still exists, named Guangxiao Temple, and remains such as the Sixth Ancestral Hall are still preserved. Later, under the escort of Master Yinzong, Hui Neng returned to Baolin Temple. Baolin Temple still has relics preserved. Its current name is Nanhua Temple in Caoxi, Guangdong. Hui Neng recruited many disciples in Baolin Temple, taught Dharma and discussed Tao, and compiled the "Magic Weapon Altar Sutra". He stayed in Baolin Temple for 30 years. During this period, Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong had recruited him to enter Beijing, but he refused.

When Hui Neng was older, he passed on his mantle and magic tools to the Seventh Ancestor God Association. After arranging all this properly, he took his disciple Monk Jingzang to Shaolin Temple to visit his ancestors, and left Monk Jingzang in Shaolin Temple to promote Zen techniques. Later, Monk Jingzang passed away in Huishan Temple east of Shaolin Temple.

Main achievements

Hui Neng's Zen thoughts can be found in the "Magic Weapon Altar Sutra" written by his disciple Fa Hai Ji. This scripture was later adapted by the Shenhui Department as a scripture for spreading the sect, so it was mixed with later theories. However, it can also be seen that Hui Neng advocated abandoning the meaning of the text and clarifying the source of the heart. He said that this realm is 'like a person drinking water, knowing the cold and warm.' He also said: The mind is vast, it surrounds the Dharma realm, comes and goes freely, and the mind and body are free to stagnate, which is Prajna. All Prajna wisdom comes from the nature of the self and does not come from the outside. If you know your own nature, you will reach the Buddha's land once you realize it.

Huineng's Zen method is based on Dinghui. He thought that determination was the body of wisdom and wisdom was the use of determination, just like a lamp. If there is a lamp, there is light, and the lamp is the body of light. This is the so-called integrated view of determination and wisdom. He also believes that awareness is inherent, but worries are inherent. Direct evidence of awareness is epiphany. He said that the mind neither follows good and evil, nor can it remain silent. That is, it must learn widely, know its own heart, and understand the principles of Buddhism. Therefore, he did not consider meditation to calm his mind. He could also experience the realm of meditation even if he walked, lived, sat, and lay all the time. This is different from the Northern Sect's teaching people to sit quietly and look at their hearts, thinking that this way divides the state of mind into two parts and cannot produce wisdom from one's own mind. He teaches people to start from mindlessness and is not limited to meditation.

Hui Neng emphasized'seeing the purity of one's own nature, self-cultivation and self-dharma body, self-cultivation and self-realization of the Buddha, and self-realization of the Buddha's path '. Therefore, he had another view on the Pure Land Dharma, which was used by monks and laymen at that time to chant Buddhism and wish to be born in the West. He said to Wei Zhishi:' There are two kinds of people, and there are no different kinds of dharma. There are special things in enlightenment, and there are late diseases. Charming to chant Buddha to seek life from there, and to realize that people purify their hearts. Therefore, the Buddha said, let their minds be pure, that is, the Buddha's soil is pure. Anyone who is not stupid and does not know the pure land in their body, wishes for the east and the west. It is common to realize that people are everywhere. That's

There were many disciples of Hui Neng, and both the Book of Transmission of the Dharma by Jingde and the Authentic Records of Transmission of the Dharma contained forty-three disciples of the Dharma. The Dharma Treasure Altar Sutra says that there are ten disciples, and the Book of Ancestral Hall lists eight. But the most famous ones in later generations are Qingyuan Xingsi, Nanyue Huailang, Heze Shenhui, Nanyang Huizhong, and Yongjia Xuanjue. After they obtained the Dharma, they all became a family. Among them, Qingyuan and Nanyue were the two most prosperous schools; Nanyue Xiadu was passed down into Linji and Weiyang schools; Qingyuan Xiadu was passed down into Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan three schools, forming the five schools of Zen.

In addition, Jing Zang (675-746), who was not recorded in the "Monk Zhuan" and "Chuandeng Lu" but was also a well-known disciple of the Sixth Ancestor. He introduced Nanzong Zen to Songshan Mountain ("Jin Shi Cui Bian", Volume 87,"Jing Zang Zen Master's Body and Pagoda Inscription").

main influencing

Master Cao Xi Huineng, who is revered as the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, has a profound and solid significance for the promotion of Chinese Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. Huineng was taught the mantle by the fifth patriarch Hongnen, inherited the Dongshan Dharma, and established the Southern Sect, promoting the Dun teaching method of "pointing directly at the heart of the people, seeing sex and becoming Buddha". He was promoted in Lingnan, and also had a certain enlightenment and influence on the border area and overseas cultures. Wang Wei's "Inscription of Master Neng Chan" says that it "really helped the transformation of the emperor"; at the same time, it also aroused the respect and support of the Central Plains royal family. The royal family repeatedly welcomed Huineng into the palace and built temples and towers for him. After the Wuzhuang Conference of Sliding Platform Dayun Temple, through the debate on right and wrong between the north and the south, the status of Cao Xi Chan in Zen Buddhism was established. One hundred years after Huineng's entry into and extinction, Zen practitioners are no longer enough to talk about Zen. Liu Zongyuan wrote the "Stele of the Zen Master Gave the Postgraduate Great Kam" and said: "All words of Zen are based on Cao Xi." After the destruction of martial arts, Cao Xi Chan became the mainstream of Chinese Buddhism.