The Meditation Essence of Zen Chapter 8
What is Chinese Buddhism?
As is known to all, Buddhism is not limited to the religion of a particular nation or country. Buddhism, which is now spread around the world, originated in India 2,500 years ago and has been circulating for a long time. During this period, because of the contact with the cultural background of the various nationalities, and in order to adapt to the needs of different ethnic groups and cultures, Buddhism has been exposed to various special qualities. However, the basic principles of Buddhism, such as the theory of causality and the law of causality, are generally adhered to by Buddhists everywhere. From the point of view of the law of karma, people can give up all self-centered values; from karma Views can make people more aware of the importance of moral life. If these principles are abandoned, it is not Buddhism.
The so-called Chinese Buddhism, which is based on the principles of Indian Buddhism or the fundamental spirit of Sakyamuni Buddha, together with several elements of Chinese Confucianism and Taoism, has become a Buddhist that is generally accepted by the Chinese.
However, from the beginning of Buddhism in China, and then to the formation of Chinese native Buddhism, it has passed the gestation period of about 350 years. Therefore, the initial Chinese Buddhism is no different from Buddhism from the Western Regions or India, such as Buddha Tucheng (AD 232 – 384) and Kumaras (3-44 – April 1) c) When the sorghum arrives in China, it not only attracts but also creates many outstanding Chinese Buddhist scholars and sorghums, such as Daoan (3:14 – 385) and Huiyuan (3:34 – 416). The emergence of Daosheng (3:5-5:4:34) and 僧肇(384-44-14) began to open up the situation of Buddhism in China. That is to say, before this period, the Chinese were only busy accepting Buddhist culture translated from the Western Region or India. After more than three hundred years of study and research, especially after continuous competition and comparison with the inherent culture of Chinese Confucianism and Taoism. These outstanding Buddhist monks have boldly evaluated the teachings of Buddhism and given a new explanation. The study of the meaning of the Wei and Jin Dynasties is an example. The so-called Chinese Buddhism was born.
Of course, China’s translation work for the absorption of Indian Buddhism began in the second century and continued in the eleventh century. It took about a thousand years and also turned Buddhism into Chinese. When this kind of work has been done in the eighth century, it has achieved great success and even reached the stage of maturity. At the same time, various Buddhist scriptures that occurred in India at that time were also translated into Chinese.
Buddhism about Chineseization can be enumerated as Pure Land, Tiantai, Huayan, and Zen Buddhism. Especially since the Song Dynasty, the Pure Land and Huayan have actually merged with Zen Buddhism. There is no specific religious group in Tiantai. In general, no matter the monks of any faction, they must follow the rules of the Buddha to follow the law. Until the time of Baizhang Huaihai (72-2 – 814), Zen monks also live in the temple, but they are free to choose. Suitable for the methods and theories they have practiced. Zen is a self-contained regiment, which is after the jungle clearing of the Zen life standard from Baizhang Huaihai.
After the establishment of the jungle system of Baizhang Huaihai Master, the Chineseization of Buddhism was considered to be fully mature. However, it has been four hundred years since the free play of the doctrine and the bold reform of the monk’s way of life. During this period, through the efforts of many high-minded and good-savvy knowledge, the final masters are Zen figures. . However, four hundred years ago, the Dao Master had advocated that the Buddha became a Buddha and that all beings had buddhaism. The result was considered by the public at that time to be a sinister, and the fate of expulsion. At that time, the ancestors of Bodhi Dharma It is still a hundred years before I arrived in China. Four hundred years later, when Huaihai founded the lifestyle of farming, it was also smashed by the people. For these two examples of breaking through the traditional old ideas, it represents the characteristics of Buddhism in China. The Zen characters can be said to be the great achievements of the Chineseization of Buddhism, so Zen also represents the transcendence of Chinese Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism
Zen, Japanese is pronounced zen, Chinese pronunciation is chan, Indian proverb is jhana, and elegant language is dhyana. From the practice of practicing Zen, the meaning can be translated as a kind of consideration. From the entity of Zen, the meaning can be translated. From the result of the practice of Zen, the meaning can be translated as the merit jungle.
Zen is the common noun in China. It is the abbreviation of Sanskrit Zen. In India, it is called yoga. The root of Zen is from the mind or the mind, and it is the method of practice to unify the mind and body. In the history of Indian thought, the use of the law is quite inconsistent. The Tantric Buddhism, the method to be practiced, is called yoga. The Buddhist school of knowledge, also known as yoga, means “corresponding”, that is, using the method of counting and counting. Take the scattered heart and mind, concentrate on one world, specialize in one thing, and make the heart and righteousness correspond; from the standpoint of Buddhism, it is the Taomo (stop) and the Vishna (view). Outside of Buddhism, which originated in the religion of India, one group is called the Yoga School, but its content and object of observation are obviously different from Buddhism. In short, yoga is the way in which people practice meditation through meditation, get three scorpions, reveal the religious experience and the process corresponding to the self, or the god of the outside world and me, which is the meditation.
The Buddha’s purpose in human life is to help people elucidate their own self or buddha. The Buddha has extensively explained the practice of the Zen method in the Miscellaneous Ah Sutra, which is the main cause of the original Buddhist scriptures.
Since the beginning of Buddhism in China, Buddhism has become a purely Chinese thing. The work of Buddhists is nothing more than the interpretation, study and play of the methods of practice of the Three Tibetans and the Holy Scriptures. These methods of practice can be summarized as “zen number”, “zen view”, “stop view”, “speaking Buddha” and other methods. This is only for the different types of roots of all beings, and their functions are the same.
Buddhism’s practice methods are the rules of martial arts, martial arts, and ethics. The focus is on the practice of meditation, and the five martial arts (not killing, not stealing, not swearing, not swearing, not drinking) The foundation of the foundation; the result of practicing meditation can elucidate the wisdom of the self. Only wisdom can break the troubles, so meditation is the way to stop the troubles, and the commandments can prevent the occurrence of troubles. The relationship between the three is: the basis of practice, the wisdom is the result of practice, and meditation is the focus of practice; therefore, the master of the Tiantai sect, the master of wisdom, will take the practice and call it “positive practice.” There are twenty-five preparatory work before the repair, which is called twenty-five conveniences. It can be seen that from the perspective of the function of Buddhism, there is no Buddhism except Zen.
The change of meditation in China
Zen is a common method for Buddhists to practice in India and China. Although there are a total of 257 biographies in the “Gao Biography” of Liang Daihui (4:7 – 5:4), Only twenty monks are the ones who practice meditation. However, this does not mean that there are too few people who practice meditation, but only to explain the number of people who practice meditation and not cultivating the sect and translating the classics. Not many, in the Tang Dynasty Dao Xuan lawyer (5, 9.6 – 667) in the “Continued Gao Biography”, the number of people practicing meditation has increased rapidly, and there are 117 people. These two kinds of high-pitched rumors are also distinctly different from the categories and standards of Zen chanting; the former believes that the early Zen rituals in China are the same as the Indian buddhist heads or ascetics, who practiced in accordance with the law, hidden in the rock valleys and forests, often with Spring stone and grass are the same, they can get rid of the ghosts, and make the tigers. However, since the middle of the sixth century (Liang Dynasty), the categories and standards of Zen monks are quite different. For example, the creation of Tiantai Zong’s Huisi (five-five-five-seven-seven-seventh), Zhizhi (five-eight-eight-five-seven-seven-seventh), and culmination (five-six-six-six-two), from the ancestors to the three generations of the sun, were Dao Xuan lawyers are among the Zen. In this period, the definition of the Zen is in addition to the study and development of the doctrine, especially for the practice and promotion of meditation. But at the time, I had not heard of the name of Zen. As for the people who practiced meditation, it is a sect, and it is called Zen, which is what began in the 10th century (early or early Song Dynasty).
If we examine the results of the practice of Zen, the initial Zen method from India to China advocates gradual cultivation and gradual enlightenment. It is believed that because of the strength and weakness of the practitioners and the length of time, the self-consciousness of the realization of the air is bound to be shallow. The difference is that there are three levels of distinction between the sound of the Mahayana, the sensation, and the Mahayana of the Mahayana. This is the same attitude as Indian Buddhism.
In the fifth century, the Taoist Master was born, and based on his own experience in repairing evidence, he boldly put forward the idea of ”epiphany” into a Buddha. He thought that the entry point of practice can be divided into three levels, but when they prove the natural nature of the legal body, the self-experience they experience is exactly the same as that experienced by the Buddha. . The emergence of this kind of ideological argument is in China itself, just because Buddhism was introduced to China, China already had the cultural background of Confucianism and Taoism. According to Xie Lingyun’s (38-43-43) review of Daosheng’s enlightenment thoughts, he thought that Indian Buddhism is about empirical evidence, but it only ends with gradual enlightenment. Although Confucius of Chinese Confucianism said that it was a rush, it could not be done. To be kindly evidenced. Daosheng takes the length of the two and the shortcomings of the people. When the gradual fineness comes to a sudden realization, it will be “painted and exhausted.” This is quite similar to the views of the Zen sects of the later generations. Just before Daosheng, there was already a support (three-four-three-six-six-six) that advocated the epiphany of the seven-seat position. Daoan also had the idea of gradually cultivating epiphany, but they did not reach the big epiphany. However, this should have a revelation for Daosheng. The branch was originally an expert in the study of Lao Zhuang, and used the thoughts of Lao Zhuang to explain the mundane meaning of Buddhism. In his writings, Daoan also quoted Laozi’s statement, which was influenced by the style of the time. It can be seen that although there is already a saying in the Sangha Sutra, the great epiphany like Daosheng should be influenced by Chinese Confucianism and Taoism. It can also be said that through the inherent thinking of Chinese tradition, The idea of Buddhism has advanced a big step forward.
Then examine the practice of Zen. We know that the purpose of Buddhism is to teach people how to get liberated through spiritual practice. Practice should start from the daily moral life as the basic five rings. The five precepts are of course to avoid creating more evil causes to reduce the possibility of accepting bad consequences in the future, but it is also the precondition for the practice of meditation that is the basic work of meditation. Between the three schools of quit, set, and hui, there is often a chain form that cannot be divided or indispensable.
As mentioned above, Zen is the focus of the practice method. There are also several different names of Zen in the period when Buddhism first came to China. Even among the first generations of Zen Buddhism, it was called Zen, especially focusing on Viewing the Fa, this is due to the influence of the early meditation thoughts, such as the masters of the fourth century, who applied the prajna vaginal wisdom to the inner experience of meditation, so they used the word observation as a practice. The naming of the method. For example, Bodhidharma’s “The Theory of Breaking the Phase”, also known as “The Heart of Mind”; his “two into four lines” is also known as the “four-line view” or “the Mahayana view.” The fourth ancestral Taoist letter (five to eighty-six-seven) has the saying of “sit and meditation on the heart”, and the disciple of the four ancestors, Fan Rong (5, 1949 – 6:57), has the saying “unintentional and ruthless”. Because the repair can be fixed, the cultivation can produce wisdom, so the Mahayana Zen is aiming at the wisdom of the realm, so the method of viewing the door is the focus, but this does not mean no need to work.
The most noteworthy is the master of the three ancestors of Tiantai Zong, who promoted Zen and was divided into three levels:
First, gradually stop watching: When he was in his 30s, he used the “Zen Guan” to supervise all Dharma. He made the fine-grained methods of meditation in Indian Buddhism, and was extremely faithful. Introduction, and a hierarchical arrangement and total integration articles, written as a total of twelve volumes of “Zen Men’s Certificate”, also known as “Zhu Chan Polo Honey”.
Second, the indefinite view: This is a middle-aged era, written in a volume of “Six Wonders”; and there is a volume of “Small Views”, also known as “Tong Meng Zhi Guan”, that is, today’s “study The meditation method should be described in a simple and concise way. The meditation method can be introduced in a shallow and deep way. Tell you how to prepare for the preparation of the meditation, what conditions should be met; how to take care of the mind when practicing, how to regulate the body; in the line, live, sit, lie, daily life four It can be practiced in the prestige, and how to practice on the machine; what kind of physical and mental reaction may occur in the process of practice, for example, some will initiate good roots, some will reveal the devil, and some will show Zen disease, how should It can be called enlightenment, etc., when it is treated, nursed, enchanted, treated, and repaired. Let the first-time machine to practice in the sitting and stop watching, if you are sitting in the benefits, then experience the situation.
Third, the round-up view: This is his thoughts in his later years. He applied the “stop-and-view” method to guide all the Dharma. This is his own unique concept of round-toning. He is no longer based on the views of Indian Buddhism. In the Yuquan Mountain of Jingzhou, this twenty-volume “Capricorn” was completed. It is characterized by emphasis on both doctrine and meditation, that is, combining theory and practice into one. Practice method. He has the strict organization of Indian great theorists, and also has the style of Indian big yoga, so he has systematically, hierarchically and systematically explained and stipulated the methods of practice. However, after the method of practice has been theoreticalized and organized, the less practical it is, the more difficult it is to make it, so that the round of the “Capricorn” is not universally used.
Although the meditation thought of Zhisheng is not consistent with the face of Zen later, the three stages of meditation he explained illustrate the evolution of the Chinese meditation method: that is, the meditation of India, and the transition And the abortion set up the epiphany method that the Chinese themselves explained. What’s more, the later Zen Buddhism, although it is upwards and non-fake, only refers to the human heart and sees sex into a Buddha. However, when the beginners are introduced, methods such as “Small Views” and “Six Wonders” are still A tool that helps to move toward the door of enlightenment. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for Dao Xuan to count him as a Zen master when he wrote The Gaochun Biography.
Zen characteristics
The so-called characteristics of Zen are the characteristics of Chinese Buddhism and the characteristics under the influence of Chinese cultural background. The background of Chinese culture, in a nutshell, is based on the Confucian and Taoist ideas. Confucianism pays attention to the common relationship and social relationship between people. The Tao pays attention to the harmony and unity between the individual and the natural world. Most of Confucianism and activities are in the north of the Yellow River where the climate is serious. The cradle of Taoism is in southern China, with a mild climate, beautiful mountains and rivers and rich products. This is due to the cultivation of two different living environments, which produced two cultural backgrounds with different personalities.
Zen is to try to adapt to the two different humanistic environments of China, and it has produced a new Buddhist face. We know that in the ancient religious field of India, there has been extreme asceticism and extreme hedonism. Sakyamuni combines these two extremes and advocates unsuccessful medianism. Buddhism came to China. In order to conform to the ethical relationship that Confucianism pays attention to and the Taoist laissez-faire nature, the spirit of discipline is used to cooperate with the moral life of Confucianism, and the content of meditation and wisdom is used to induce Taoist naturalism. The commandments make the life of Buddhists clean and honest; meditation and wisdom can make the inner self of the practitioners feel peaceful and comfortable. Therefore, Xi Chan will not become an escapist or cynical negative because of letting nature, nor will it become a rigid religious tool because of the rules of discipline, so that they can still perform in a lively and comfortable life. A refined and solemn spirit of monasticism. The masters of Zen reject all forms of idols in form, dogma and ideology, emphasizing the principle of keeping the “normal heart” as a monk, and going to the normal life of ordinary people with constant peace. The Zen masters have extraordinary religious experience and abilities, but they never reveal it easily. Therefore, the life forms and concepts of Zen masters are quite different from those of the early Chinese Zen.
Also, due to the economic foundation of Chinese society, since ancient times, except for the few people who are engaged in business and business, the vast majority of Chinese people have lived through the economic system of agricultural society and lived on farming, although some are for the sake of the world. The noble hermit is also a method of making a living between the mountains and the mountains. If it is not a disaster, or if it is a laissez-faire, it will never be awkward. When Buddhism was introduced to China, Buddhist monks changed the way India practiced by relying on the door to feed for a living. They could not rely on the government’s supply and the support of the donors for a long time, especially when they met the government’s religious policy. When there is a change, or when the social economy is in a recession, the Buddhist monks in China will face the inability to make a living. If it relies solely on the support of government policies or the support of believers, then whenever it is tested by the way of life, it will tend to be gradually declining. Therefore, the mountain forest Buddhism, which seeks to support itself, will be ready for business. That is Baizhang. The farming life of the jungle system advocated by Huaihai. They regard the cultivation of mountain forests as the main living resources, and the followers of believers belong to the second. However, the Huaihai Zen Master was degraded by the then obedient, because they believed that the Indian monks should be noble in the way of foraging, so they did not advocate any other way to seek food and clothing. However, since the Tang and Song Dynasties (the ninth century), Buddhism can still be developed in China’s Mian Ting, and it should be said that it was given by the meditation of the jungle system created by the Huaihai Zen Master.
Equality and simple jungle life
According to the records of historical documents, we know that Zen Buddhism’s four ancestors’ Taoist dynasties (five to eighty-six-seven) and five ancestors’ glory (six-two-six-seven-seven) have lived in Zen. The one-time change has been divorced and become a crowd of people gathered under the masters. Therefore, they often follow the two people who live together for more than 500 people to more than a thousand people, even practicing in the same field. It has been for more than sixty years. Moreover, we have learned from the literature that their source of life has been able to lead a self-sufficient lifestyle. The work of stepping on glutinous rice, gardening, farmland cultivation, and harvesting of firewood is jointly performed by the temple public. At the same time, a set of statutes for living together is also established. By analogy, it can be known that it was The jungle clearing rules have already had a prototype in the era of the four ancestors and the five ancestors of Zen.
For the life of the meditation practitioners in the jungle temples, it also wiped out the vain and prosperous architectural forms, and even eliminated the study of the cultivating and cultivating words, regardless of the customs and rituals that came from India. They set up Buddhist temples, not for Buddha statues, but for the construction of the temple; the four disciples did not have private sleeping rooms. Everyone lived in the meditation hall, and the place where they lived was the place where they were sitting, the shacks of the deacons, and even the abbots. The abbot room is a place for office and individual teaching. The industry is also allowed to live in the family, as long as they are eager to participate in the Zen and prepare to be a monk. There are no different things in the clothes, food, and dwellings of the four people. Only the vulgar form is different. There is no distinction between good and bad. When they were in the temple, they wore the shackles that symbolize the identity of the monks. When they were working in the labor service, when they practiced in the meditation hall, they all used the traditional Tang clothing (Chinese clothing), except for the shaved head, they were like the laity.
In their day classes, the strictest rule is “universal”. From the monk’s monk to every believer who lives in the monastery, except for sick leave and leave, they should be generally invited to their respective jobs. To carry out labor production, Huaihai itself strictly practices the creed of “do not do one day, not eat one day.” Because the temple people can self-cultivate themselves, they don’t have to ask for anything like the Indian monks. And the strict regulations in the jungle: 荤腥 and wine, can not enter the door; after the day, no longer eat. The economy in the temple is absolutely open, and the property is not private. If it is used in the simple life of the public, there is still room for it, and it can be used in the charity relief of the society. And no matter who it is, as long as it violates the norms of life, the plot is heavy, gather the public, first hit with a rod, then burn his clothes and props, and then expel it from the temple.
The life of a Zen like this can not only adapt to the Chinese social environment, but also violate the Buddhist spirit that Sakyamuni Buddha preached. In fact, this is more effective in showing the fundamental spirit of the Buddha to the world, from the real life. That is to say: Let all the disciples of the four people live a life of purity, harmony, freedom, freedom, progress, equality, compassion, less desire, contentment, no form, no extremes, and always follow the instructions.
Buddhism is a belief in rationality, so it has many teachings and constantly clarifies the Buddha’s true feelings. However, the legality, buddha nature, or self-sufficiency cannot be expressed in words and words, and must not be seen in the syllabus of the language structure. The so-called upward movement must be practiced from meditation. Come and experience or prove it yourself. Therefore, the masters of Zen, the theory in the classics, is called the “Geng Tengluo”, but it is an obstacle to Zen practice. However, Zen does not have to exclude the classics. For example, Bodhidharma revealed that the second ancestor Hui Ke should be based on the four volumes of the Sangha Sutra; when he went to the Five Masters, he only changed the “Diamond Sutra” to the heart; At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty (the ninth century), afterwards, the Zen Zen of China attached equal importance to the “Yuanjue Sutra” and “Sui Yan Jing”, especially as a master of Zen. After his enlightenment, he still had to read more about teaching and learning. All laws, with a wide range of sentimental sentient beings, for example, Zen has two good books – “Linji Record” and “Biyan Record”, and there are many places where the living people use the teachings.
Enlightenment provided by Zen
From the above analysis, it can be seen that Zen in China can not only get rid of the shackles of religious forms, but also lead a monastic life that is simple and simple and self-reliant. It is not limited by religious theories, nor can it abandon the lively use of classical teachings.
Moreover, the people who are deeply trained in meditation have many benefits. The mere meditation can benefit the health of the body, and the application of the method can at least bring peace of mind. Therefore, the initial effect of Xichen is to achieve a balance between body and mind health and stability. As for the most mysterious and curious feelings of ordinary people, it is the so-called enlightened religious experience. As long as you can unconditionally believe in a high-minded Zen master, and based on his guidance to you, do not hesitate to practice, as long as the opportunity is mature Then there will be a day of personal identification. However, according to the experience of the high-ranking morals, the basic condition for enlightenment is to abandon the self-interested self and break the sense of responsibility or mission. Naturally, you can enter no one, no self, no flaws. In the state, it is only before the enlightenment is present. At that time, your body, mind, and world will show a new atmosphere of purity, beauty, goodness, truthfulness, fulfillment, and perfection. Therefore, the first thing the Zen Masters want to help you is to remove your physical and mental obstacles and morbidities, such as selfishness, pride, inferiority, weakness, and other unsound psychology, because these are the biggest obstacles to entering the realm of enlightenment.
Finally, we can be sure that only those who have been deeply acquainted with the religious experience of Zen can gain the true health of mind and body, and that they are the ones who can truly reveal themselves. The so-called real person can truly know, so he will sincerely confirm the meaning of life and the original direction of efforts, and the ultimate goal.
