But everything has two sides. The teachings of Zen have given more people the hope of achieving enlightenment and lowered the threshold for practicing Buddhism. However, it must be admitted at all times that among the many Buddhist believers, there are also those who have changed because of this proposition.
Very unhappy, Emperor Wu of Liang was the most expressive among them...
According to legend, Emperor Wu of Liang was one of the emperors who most admired Buddhist teachings in Chinese history. He lived like a Zen disciple throughout his life. To a certain extent, he was actually a
A very devout Buddhist believer, in order to express his yearning for Buddhism, Emperor Wu of Liang did many of the most meritorious things in the eyes of Buddhists at that time: comparing
For example, as mentioned earlier, he built Buddhist temples, copied scriptures, made offerings to monks, and made golden statues of Buddhas. Not only that, he often regarded himself as a disseminator of Buddhism and promoted Buddhist teachings in his area of rule.
It was a well-known thing at that time, and Bodhidharma naturally heard about it. In order to promote his new views, Patriarch Bodhidharma once went into the palace to preach to Emperor Wu of Liang.
But after leaving the palace, he was very helpless to find that his views were very different from those of Emperor Wu of Liang.
Emperor Wu of Liang asked Bodhidharma, "Look, I have built thousands of temples across the country and had tens of thousands of scriptures copied. With my merits, can I become a Buddha in the next life?"
When Bodhidharma heard this, he shook his head and smiled and said, dear, it's useless what you did. Whether you can become a Buddha depends not on what you do, but on what you are thinking. When your inner world reaches the standard of a Buddha,
When you are a Buddha, you are a Buddha. But having said that, if you are full of fame and fortune and do those things with the goal of becoming a Buddha, then you will have fallen into the trap of fame and fortune. No matter how much you do, it will be in vain and you cannot escape.
Sea of suffering.
Furthermore, the Buddha is the master of all wisdom, and he understands very well that if your inner cultivation is not up to standard, even if you are the godfather of the Buddha, you will still be unable to do it.
After hearing these words, Emperor Wu of Liang was speechless. He slapped his forehead with his hand more than a dozen times, and then asked him, with what you said, I spent so much money and used so many people to destroy the boss.
All these things you have done with your energy are in vain? After hearing this, Bodhidharma smiled and said,
He said "yes" dazzlingly, and then gave Emperor Liang Wu a lesson in the style of a religious leader. Emperor Wu of Liang was used to hearing compliments, and when he heard it, he suddenly felt a little harsh.
Disdainful, sarcastic, and full of resentment for a while.
Just like that, within a few words, the two of them broke up their conversation. Emperor Wu of Liang was so angry that he had Patriarch Bodhidharma beaten up and thrown out of the palace, never to see each other again.
At this time, Bodhidharma must have been the most depressed. He walked to the river alone with a small bedroll and didn't even have the money to cross the river. He stayed on the river for a few days to himself. Emperor Wu of Liang also walked out of the dead end.
Erli walked out.
At this time, Emperor Wu of Liang regretted it and felt that he had gone too far. So after learning the news of Bodhidharma's departure, he immediately sent people on horseback to chase him.
Unexpectedly, when they reached the middle of Mufu Mountain, the peaks on both sides suddenly closed, and the envoy sent by Emperor Wu of Liang was sandwiched between the two peaks. At this time, he saw Patriarch Bodhidharma wandering by the river alone.
,originally
He was quite depressed, but when he saw someone coming, he suddenly became energetic. He broke a reed by the river and threw it into the river. He floated across the river on the reed. When some messengers broke free from the mountain col, Patriarch Bodhidharma
It has long since disappeared.
Since then, the story of Bodhidharma's "crossing the river with a reed" has been spread more and more widely. It is said that there is a black stone tablet in the Shaolin Temple recording this event. I have never seen what it looks like specifically.
Just heard about it.
I remember I heard this story when I was chatting with a Chinese teacher in high school. I can’t remember exactly how the topic got brought up, but it made my impression of Bodhidharma even deeper.
One of the things that happened was a short story I saw in a pictorial back then.
That pictorial was quite high-end. Such things like monsters and monsters rarely appeared. But this time it was different. There was an article on it, which was about studying a Zen leader. I don’t remember what the title was. Anyway, it was the core of the controversy.
It's about the "golden seated statue" of a monk.
This monk, whose monastic name is Hui Neng, should be the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, that is, Bodhidharma’s disciple’s disciple’s disciple’s disciple’s disciple. There are actually many legendary stories about this person. Even if you are not a believer in Buddhism, you should
I heard a poem he wrote back then.
Rumor has it that the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was originally a Huogong Tutuo, a monk who worked as a cook. In the temple, he was a kind of person with a relatively low level of education, a low status, and a very low chance of exposure.
And his master, Hongren, the fifth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, was a well-known eminent monk. He had so many disciples and so on, and he would give large lectures whenever he had nothing to do, and every time he would be packed with people.
It is said that one time, the Fifth Patriarch Hongren was giving a class to his disciples. He called the most outstanding one among them and asked him to write a poem to express his views on spiritual practice. Because this person's performance had always been excellent, everyone thought that he was the best disciple.
people are
A disciple of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, he lived up to expectations. He took a writing brush and wrote a poem on the wall of the temple. Specifically, it was about twenty words: "The body is like a Bodhi tree, the heart is like a mirror stand, always diligent
Wipe it clean and keep it away from dust."
This poem is not difficult to understand, but it borrows a little more Buddhist allusions. Generally speaking, it is like a good monk who is strict with himself at all times expressing his determination to his master.
Everyone knew what it meant, and they clapped their hands and stamped their feet and praised it in unison. But while everyone was here to praise it, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng happened to pass by. He was a low-ranking person and was not qualified to listen to the lecture here. He was carrying water while tilting his head.
He glanced at the words on the wall and suddenly laughed. Then, this guy came over and took a brush and wrote another poem crookedly on the wall.
This poem has been widely circulated, and many people can recite it: "Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the beginning, so how can it cause dust."
After writing these words, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng respectfully put down his brush and walked away carrying water. Looking at the monks, they all looked at each other and had nothing to say, because these Zen disciples could all see that this poem
What is shown in the poem is Hui Neng’s understanding of the teachings of Zen. I have to admit that his current understanding is much higher than that of the brothers here...