"The Art of Convenient Method of Enlightenment to the Tao and Rest in Mind" is a new unit. According to the previous format, the article will be accompanied by the introduction of the life of the original author, but only the notes of Mr. Yang Zengwen's proofreading of the conven

[Classic Vernacular (IV)] ": The method of entering the Tao to be convenient for peace of mind " vernacular (II) About Master Daoxin

Picture: The statue of Master Daoxin (Thirty-first ancestors brought the twenty-eight ancestors of India, plus the three masters of China)

"The method of entering the Tao to be convenient for peace of mind" is a new unit. According to the previous format, the article will be accompanied by the introduction of the life of the original author, but (I) only recorded the notes of Mr. Yang Zengwen . This is mainly because of today's reading habits. In order to reduce the amount of information readers read at one time and prevent readers from becoming tired due to the lengthy content, no author's biography was added in (I). In addition, readers are recommended to read the book "Shuangfeng Zen Talks" by Master Jinghui . Shuangfeng is the Shuangfeng Mountain in Huangmei, Hubei. More than a thousand years later, the Four Ancestors Zen Dharma was passed down in the Four Ancestors' Taoist temple. This profound cultural memory and spiritual inheritance make people cry. The following text was originally intended to be annotation for vernacular Chinese (II), but there were quite a lot of words, so I took it out separately (II) without a title, so I had to avoid being crowned with the title "About Master Daoxin". I really couldn't think of a better one.

Picture: Hubei Huangmei Four Ancestor Temple (Pictures are from the Internet)

"The Method of Enlightenment to the Path and Rest in Mind" comes from "The Record of Lankavatara Master". This is a biography written by Zen Master Jingjue in the Tang Dynasty. It introduces the inheritance of the twenty-four Lankavatara masters who specialize in promoting the "Lankavatara Sutra". It is also a precious historical material of early Chinese Zen Buddhism. It was rediscovered in the last century after being submerged for thousands of years. After several investigations, it has formed a relatively complete book now. "The Book of Lankavatara" is mainly to promote the Northern Zen, which is mainly Master Shenxiu, rather than the Southern Zen of Master , the Sixth Patriarch . It is also possible that this is one of the reasons why it has not been heard of for thousands of years.

Master Daoxin is the fourth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, with a common surname Sima, and is from Hubei. He was born in the first year of Emperor Wen of Sui and Yang Jianyuan Kaihuang ( AD 580 ), and passed away in the second year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty ( AD 651 ). Regarding the life of Master Daoxin, it is recorded in documents such as "Continuation of the Biography of the Empresses of the Great Monk", "Lankavatara Scholars", "Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders", "Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Divine Wonders of the Past Div Before the master, Zen Buddhism was almost heretical in the Chinese Buddhist community. According to some historical records, Bodhidharma masters and Huike masters had suffered more severe persecution. It was not until the Fourth Patriarch that Zen Buddhism was gradually accepted and recognized by the Buddhist community. Therefore, the beginning of the chapter on the Convenient Method says, "If you open the Zen door, it will spread in the universe." One of the core contents of this article "The Way to Enlighten the Tao to Safe and Convenient Method" is "Keep One Unchangeable". There is a passage among them:

"Those who keep in touch with one's own will use this to clean their eyes and pay attention to seeing something. During the day and night, their concentration will always remain unmoved. Their heart is about to scatter, and they will catch it quickly, like a rope tied to a bird's feet, and they will be able to fly. They can't wait to see it all day long, and their minds will be calm." The text of this paragraph of

is proficient and concise, and easy to understand. Some readers told me that the key points of meditation and some of the contents of , Liumiaomen, are not easy to read. Then this passage from Master Fourth Patriarch is the most simple and vivid practical method, which teaches us how to work hard. The so-called "control the mind in one place, and do nothing."

It is a pity that one of the characteristics of modern civilization is that people's lives become more and more artificial and fragmented, and the organization of daily life becomes more and more distant from the real source of life. Personal foundation and opportunity are constantly falling in such a torrent process.

As Zen masters repeatedly pointed out, the truth is always simple and unpretentious, and the methods are always readily available and ready naturally. Even if the Fourth Patriarch is so straightforward and simple, if you want to practice it in today's world, you must have the courage to persevere and persevere.

below I have translated two famous stories and the Four Patriarchs in "Five Lanterns and Masters' Performances", which should be beneficial to readers' understanding of the teachings of the Four Patriarchs better. One paragraph is the entire content of the article "The Four Ancestors Daoxin Zen Master" and the other paragraph selects part of the article "The Four Ancestors Daoxin Zen Master" and the other paragraph selects part of the article "The Four Ancestors Daoxin Zen Master" - Niutoushan Farong Zen Master".

The Four Ancestor Daoxin Zen Master ( "Five Lanterns Huiyuan" (Part 1) [Song] Puji, Zhonghua Book Company, 1984 edition, pages 50-51 )

The Four Ancestor Daoxin Master, whose common surname is Sima. The Sima family lived in Henoi for generations ( is now Qinmei County, Henan Province) and later moved to Guangji County, Qizhou ( is now Qichun County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province). The master was born and was different from ordinary people. He loved the teachings of liberation of Prajna emptiness since he was a child. If you ask the master what the reason is for early wisdom , it can only be said to be a habit of past lives. Later, the master took refuge in the Three Patriarchs, carefully followed the teachings of the Three Patriarchs, and kept his mind curing, which lasted for 60 years.

In the 13th year of Daye of the Sui Dynasty ( 617 AD ), the master led his disciples to Jizhou ( is now Jizhou District, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province). In times of trouble, Jizhou City was besieged by a group of bandits for 70 days, and it was difficult to solve the problem, and the people in the city were panicked. The master compassionately to everyone and taught them to recite the Great Prajna Sutra. The thieves outside the city looked at the city wall of Jizhou City and saw that there seemed to be a magical weapon and general hiding behind the city wall. The thieves discussed, "It seems that there must be magical people in the city, which is difficult to capture." So they had to retreat quietly in disappointment. Jizhou City rescued the siege.

In the Jiashen year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty ( AD ), the master returned to Guangji County and stationed in Potou Mountain ( is Shuangfeng Mountain, Huangmei, Qizhou), with scholars gathered. One day, the master met a child on the way to Huangmei County . Seeing that the child was so beautiful and extraordinary, the master asked him, "Child, what's your surname?" The child replied, "I have a surname, but not an ordinary surname." The master asked, "What's that surname?" The child replied, "It's Buddha nature." The master asked, "So, do you have no surname?" The child replied, "It's empty in nature, so there is no." After hearing this, the master silently regarded the child as a magic weapon in his heart. So he sent an envoy to see the child's mother and asked the mother to agree to the child's abandonment of the world and become a monk. The mother thought this was the cause and condition of her son's previous life, so she agreed without hesitation. Since then, this child has become a disciple of the master, and later inherited the master's mantle and was the fifth ancestor Hongren .

When accepting disciples, the master recited a verse: "The seeds of flowers have a natural nature, and the seeds of flowers are born in the realm. Great fate and nature are combined, and they should not be born." The literal meaning is: the seeds of flowers have the nature of growth, and they can sprout and bloom when planted in the soil. When causes and conditions meet and nature, their generation and changes are the birth of non-birth.

Picture: Xiangyun Cypress on the Four Ancestors Temple in Huangmei, Hubei (proverbally planted by the Fourth Ancestor Daoxin himself) (Picture source from the Internet)

Later one day, the master said to his disciples: "When I went to Lushan during the Wude period, I stood on the highest peak and looked at Potou Mountain from afar. I saw purple clouds on the mountain like a cover, and there was white air under the clouds, which were divided into six paths. Do you know what this means?" Everyone was silent, not knowing what to explain. At this time, Fifth Ancestor stood up and replied, "Monster, will you come up with a Dharma lineage in the future?" The master replied, "Yes." ( is the rank of Zen Master Niutou Farong )

Zhenguan In the year of Guimao ( 17th year of Zhenguan, 643 AD ), Tang Taizong year old for the master's wonderful taste of Taoism and law, and wanted to see the style, he issued an edict to order the master to go to the capital Chang'an. The master said politely. After the two of them asked for such thanks three times, the master simply refused to go to Beijing because of illness. When Emperor Taizong invited the master to the capital for the fourth time, he ordered the envoy to pass on a message: "If you refuse to leave, I will have someone take your head back!" After hearing the envoy read the imperial edict, the master immediately stretched out his neck and placed it under the blade, with a calm and solemn expression. The envoy was surprised and returned to Taizong to report to him. After hearing this, Emperor Taizong admired the master even more, so he stopped forcing him and gave him purple robes to show his respect and favor, so as to fulfill his ambition to be indifferent and innocent.

On the fourth day of the leap September of the 1911 year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty (, the second year of Yonghui, 651 AD), the master suddenly taught his disciples: "All things are originally liberation. Please protect your heart and broaden sentient beings in the future." After that, he died at the age of 72. After the master's body was installed in the tower, it was placed in Potou Mountain.On April 8 of the next year, the tower gate suddenly opened automatically. The people of the gate went to check and saw that the master looked like he was alive, so they did not dare to close the tower gate again.

Many years later, Emperor Daizong of Tang posthumously awarded the title of "" Zen Master " to the master, and gave the name of the tower of the body: the Tower of Ciyun.

Picture: Ciyun Tower Arch in the Four Patriarchs of Huangmei, Hubei (Pictures are from the Internet)

Picture: Viagra Pagoda (True Body Pagoda) in Huangmei, Hubei (Pictures are from the Internet)

The Four Patriarchs Great Medicine Zen Master Fashen - Niutoushan Zen Master Farong ( "Five Lanterns and Yuan" (Part 1) [Song] Puji, written by Zhonghua Book Company, 1984 edition, pages 59-60 )

Zen Master Farong in Niutoushan, from Yanling, Runzhou ( is now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province), whose common surname is Wei. When the Zen master was nineteen years old, he was already proficient in classics and history. Later, I read the Great Prajna Sutra and understood the purpose of Prajna's true emptiness. One day he suddenly sighed, "The worldly classics of Confucianism and Taoism are not ultimate. Only the right view of Prajna is the boat and carriage that is beyond the world." So he became a monk and lived in seclusion in Maoshan . Later, he entered the cliff stone chamber north of the Youqi Temple in Niutou Mountain ( now outside the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), and there was a strange phenomenon of hundreds of birds carrying flowers coming to give them.

Picture: Zen Master Niutou Farong (Picture source from the Internet)

During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, the Fourth Patriarch watched the weather in Jinling . He knew that there must be strange people in the mountains there, so he went to search in person. The Fourth Patriarch asked the monks in Youqi Temple, "Is there a Taoist here?" The monk replied, "Who is a monk not a Taoist?" The Fourth Patriarch continued, "Then which Taoist is a Taoist?" The monk couldn't answer. At this time, another monk said, "From here, about ten miles to the mountain, there is a monk named 'Lao Rong' who neither cares nor holds his hands when he sees anyone. Could it be that he is the Taoist you are looking for?"

The Fourth Patriarch entered the mountain as he said, and indeed saw a Taoist who was meditating, Zen Master Farong. The Zen master sat upright as usual, as if he didn't know that someone was coming. The Fourth Patriarch stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing here?" The Zen Master replied, "Seeing the mind." The Fourth Patriarch asked, "Who can see who can see? What is the mind you are observing?" The Zen Master was speechless, so he stood up and bowed, and asked, "How dare you ask where do you live?" The Fourth Patriarch replied, "I have no fixed residence, sometimes to the east and sometimes to the west." The Zen Master asked, "Do you know Zen Master Daoxin?" The Fourth Patriarch asked, "You ask." What did he do? "The Zen Master replied, "I have admired his virtue for a long time, and I hope to see him." The Fourth Patriarch said, "The Zen Master Daoxin you mentioned is my Dao Dao." The Zen Master hurriedly asked, "Why did you come here?" The Fourth Patriarch said, "I am here to visit you. Do you have any other residence?" The Zen Master pointed behind him and said, "There is a small temple there." After that, he led the Fourth Patriarch to visit the temple, and the two of them surrounded the temple. When the Fourth Patriarch saw that there were beasts such as tigers and wolves appearing around, he raised his hands and showed a frightened posture. The Zen master said, "You still have this." The Fourth Patriarch asked back, "What is this?" The Zen master was speechless. After a while, the Fourth Patriarch wrote the word "Buddha" on the stone where the Zen Master was meditating. When the Zen Master saw it, he felt uneasy and afraid and dared not sit down again. The Fourth Patriarch said, "You still have this." The Zen master did not understand the meaning of it, so he hurriedly bowed and asked the Fourth Patriarch to explain the true intention of Buddhism. The Fourth Patriarch said:

"Millions of methods belong to the heart of a square inch, such as Ganges sand , and all the virtues and wonderful uses of virtues and wonderful things like Ganges sand , also come from the source of the mind. All three studies of precepts, concentration and wisdom, supernatural powers, etc., are inherently complete by the mind. Troubles and karma are originally empty and silent; cause and effect are like dreams. There are no three realms that require us to escape, and there is no Bodhi that requires us to pursue. Sensitive sentient beings and ruthless earth and wood, both in nature and in appearance, are equal. The ultimate realm of enlightenment is empty and empty, and the thoughts are cut off. Such great Dharmas are now a little bit and a lot of things. What is the difference between you and the Buddha? Therefore, there is no other method. From now on, you only need to let your mind be free, no longer observe your mind and act, nor do you need to keep your inner tranquility. No greed and anger, no worries.The heart is open and polite, free and erratic, without any obstacles, nor do you have to consider doing good or evil things. This is the purest state. When walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, everything is in accordance with the circumstances, because everything that is encountered in our eyes that constitutes our existence and life is the wonderful use of the Buddha. If you are so happy and worry-free, you are called Buddha. "

After hearing this, Zen Master asked, "Since the mind has everything, what is Buddha? What is the heart? "The Fourth Patriarch replied: "If there is no mind, there is no question like Buddha. What is Buddha is also the mind. "

Zen master asked again: "If you are not allowed to observe and practice according to what you said, then how should I deal with it when I have a mind when I am in the environment? "The Fourth Patriarch replied: "There is no distinction between good and bad in the external environment. Good and bad originate from your heart. If the mind does not impose such a certainty of good and bad in the external environment, where will the false emotional consciousness come from? If the mind does not have any attachment, does not make any distinctions, and does not arise in delusions, the true mind can be free and knowledgeable everywhere. You just need to be at ease and don’t have to think about how to deal with it. This is called the eternal Dharma body and will not change. I have been sacred by Master Sengcan , and now I am entrusted to you. You should listen carefully to my teachings and live only in this mountain and do not leave. Five people will come here in the future to inherit your mystery. "

The Fourth Patriarch finished paying the Dharma and returned to Potou Mountain until his old age. Since then, Zen Master Niutou Farong has been in great success. This is the Zen Niutou Sect lineage of many great Zen masters.

or above are two paragraphs in "Five Lanterns Collection". This is the teaching of the Fourth Patriarch is very famous, and the ultimate principles of Buddhism have been fully explained. To borrow Master Xuyun's words, it is exactly: "A real man is straightforward", "Nothing is a bit convenient to the guaro" ( " Introduction to Meditation ", written by Mr. Xuyun, and compiled by Shufuyan, Jiuzhou Publishing House , 2018 edition, page 149 ).