One day, the master and disciple went to the mountain to practice Zen. Chang Nian saw a tree growing very lushly on the mountain, but a tree next to it died. So Zen Master Chang Nian asked, "Is it good to be prosperous or is it good to be wither?"

The world of Zen is to transcend right and wrong, good and evil, existence or non-existence, good and bad, withering and prosperity, etc.; the world of Zen is to find another place to settle down outside life and death.

Zen Master Chang Nian has two disciples, one is called Wuyan and the other is called Wuxin.
　One day, the master and disciple went to the mountain to practice Zen. Chang Nian saw a tree growing very lush on the mountain, but a tree next to it had withered. So Zen Master Chang Nian asked, "Is it good to be prosperous or is it good to be withered?"
　Wuxin said, "Is it good to be prosperous!"
　Wu Yan replied, "Is it good to be withered!"
　At this moment, a little monk came, and Chang Nian asked him, "Do you think it's good to be prosperous or is it good to be withered?"
　The little monk said, "If you have prosperity, you can let it be withered."
　The little monk said, "If you have prosperity, you can let it be withered." 4　　

　　Zen Master Chang Nian said: "The truth of glory comes from glory, and there is also reason for relieving. The right and wrong, good and evil, and length of the world we usually refer to can be said to be understood from common sense, and they are just stuck at the boundary of distinction. However, the little monk can experience the indiscriminate nature of Tao from things that are undifferentiated, so it is said that 'If the glory is glorious, the withering is revived'."
　The world that proves without distinction is the world of reality. And the various externalities we know are all false and unreal, illusionless, and even the good and evil we hold on to are not absolute. It’s like when we punch someone for no reason, this fist is evil; if we kindly help others beat their backs, this fist becomes good again. Evil fists can become good, which shows that good and evil have no self-nature. In fact, fists themselves do not care about good and evil. All of this is just a difference and attachment to all things.
　　

　　Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter living at the foot of Lingshan Mountain. Although he made a living by harvesting firewood all day long, he was devoted to Buddha. On this day, he came back from selling firewood from the market and came to Monk Wuchen's residence with an incense bag on his back to ask about Zen.
　
　When he saw Zen Master Wuchen, he asked, "Do you think there is heaven and hell?"
　　
　　Wuchen answered him, "Yes."
　　
　　
　"Is there the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha?" the woodcutter asked again.
　　
　"Yes." Wu Chen replied.
　　
　The woodcutter asked many more questions, and Wu Chen replied, "Yes."
　　
　　
　　The woodcutter started to wonder: "I'm afraid the Zen master's answer was wrong, right?"
　　
　　　Muchen looked at the woodcutter seriously: "Have you met any monk?"
　　
　　
　"Yes, I have visited Zen Master Ruhui." The woodcutter answered truthfully.
　　
　"So how did Ruhui tell you?" the Zen master continued.
　　
　"Zen Master Ruhui said that everything is nothing." The woodcutter continued to answer.
　　
　　Wuchen pointed out the window and said, "Look at the spring scenery all over the mountains, the secular people say there, and the Buddhas say there is nothing. Do you think it is there or nothing?"
　　
　　
　　The woodcutter doesn't know how to answer.
　　
　　Wuchen asked again: "Do you have a wife and a children?"
　　
　　"Yes." The woodcutter answered without hesitation. What medicine is this old monk selling in the gourd? Before he could understand, Wu Chen asked again: "Does Zen Master Ruhui have a wife and a children?"
　　
　　
　　"No!"
　　
　　
　　The woodcutter was stunned. You old monk wouldn't be kidding me!

　　
　　Wu Chen ignored it, stroked his beard and smiled, "Ru Hui said 'no'."
　　
　　There are both opposites. In the eyes of Zen masters, everything is there from material to material, but spiritually, nothing, because their realm transcends the general concept of existence and nothing. For them, it doesn’t matter whether they have or not. What matters is how to act and be a person.
　　
　　Li Yi is good at medical skills, but many patients still die, so he is afraid of the shadow of death every day. Once I met a monk on the way to the clinic, so I asked, "What is Zen?"
　　
　　The monk replied, "I don't know how to tell you, but I can be sure that once I learn to practice Zen, I don't have to be afraid of death."After the monk's prompt, Li Yi went to visit Zen Master Huilai.
　　
　　　　　　　　Mr. Huilai said: "Zen is not difficult to learn. Since you are a doctor, you should treat the patient well. This is Zen!" Li Yi seemed to understand and visited Zen Master Huilai three times. Zen Master Huilai always said: "Doctors should not spend time in the temple. Go back and take care of your patients!"
　　
　　　　Li Yi thought in confusion: How can this kind of teaching eliminate the fear of death? When he visited the fourth time, he complained: "A monk told me that once a person learns Zen, he is not afraid of death. Every time I get here, you always ask me to take care of my patients. If this is what is called Zen, I won’t have to ask you again in the future. ”
　　
　　Zen Master Huilai smiled and said, "You must know that 'nothing' is the truth. If you treat patients well without knowing what they are kind, you will be free from the worries of life and death. From selflessness to selflessness, the Zen mind appears. "
　　
　How can a person give up his responsibilities and love be able to enter Zen? Only by understanding the true meaning of "nothingness", from having a mind to not being mindful, from having self to not being self, from having birth to not being born, that is a wonderful state of Zen. As long as you understand these, why should you emphasize whether it is there or not?
　　
　　Wang Cong is well-read in poetry and books, smart and clever. Although he is not a monk, he likes to practice Zen and enlighten the truth. This heaven He went to pay homage to the famous Zen Master Yaoshan.
　　
　　　
　　Why did you come here?”
　　　
　　　Wang Cong replied, “I’ll come to see you, I’ll pay you my respects!”
　　　
　　　　　Yaoshan asked, “Since you are here to greet me, do you see me?”
　　
　　"I saw it. "Wang Cong did not think.
　　
　　　
　　Yaoshan then asked, "Do you think I look like a donkey?"
　　
　　　
　　　Wang Cong replied, "You don't look like a donkey, but you don't look like a Buddha!" ​​
　　　
　　Yaoshan then asked him, "I don't look like a donkey, but I don't look like a Buddha, so what do you look like?"
　　
　　　Wang Cong asked back, "Why do you have to look like something? Besides, what is the difference between being like a donkey and being like a Buddha? As for what you look like, just think about it. "
　　
　　The Zen Master Yaoshan was shocked when he heard this. Wang Cong was really not simple. Although he was not a monk, he had such a deep understanding of Zen. Yaoshan often used this topic to test others. Those who were tested either were attached to the Buddha's appearance or the world's appearance, or were attached to the word "emptiness". The first person who was as attached to Wang Cong, had nothing to worry about, and was not bound by secular concepts.
　　
　　The Zen Master Yaoshan had to look at light hibernation with admiration. He couldn't help but exclaim: "I use this question to test others. No one's answer has been satisfied for more than ten years, only your answer is the most perfect. You are amazing. I am willing to accept you as my true disciple and teach you the true fruits of my decades of cultivation. "Wang Cong nodded and agreed. From then on, he devoted himself to practicing meditation at Yaoshan Gate and finally became a Buddha.
　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The Buddha and the donkey are things in the eyes of secular people. Those who truly become Buddhas do not think they are Buddhas. In their eyes, there is no difference between Buddhas and donkeys. This is the so-called state of great enlightenment. Ordinary people always cannot escape from the world, so how can they achieve great enlightenment?
　　　　
　　The four majesties have never been lost,
　　　　　　　There is no interruption in the present and ancient times.
　　　
　　There is no mutation in the hell,
　　　
　　The willows are as green as silk.
　　　——Tang Dynasty Xiang Yan Zhixian

"After the monk's prompt, Li Yi went to visit Zen Master Huilai.
　　
　　　　　　　　Mr. Huilai said: "Zen is not difficult to learn. Since you are a doctor, you should treat the patient well. This is Zen!" Li Yi seemed to understand and visited Zen Master Huilai three times. Zen Master Huilai always said: "Doctors should not spend time in the temple. Go back and take care of your patients!"
　　
　　　　Li Yi thought in confusion: How can this kind of teaching eliminate the fear of death? When he visited the fourth time, he complained: "A monk told me that once a person learns Zen, he is not afraid of death. Every time I get here, you always ask me to take care of my patients. If this is what is called Zen, I won’t have to ask you again in the future. ”
　　
　　Zen Master Huilai smiled and said, "You must know that 'nothing' is the truth. If you treat patients well without knowing what they are kind, you will be free from the worries of life and death. From selflessness to selflessness, the Zen mind appears. "
　　
　How can a person give up his responsibilities and love be able to enter Zen? Only by understanding the true meaning of "nothingness", from having a mind to not being mindful, from having self to not being self, from having birth to not being born, that is a wonderful state of Zen. As long as you understand these, why should you emphasize whether it is there or not?
　　
　　Wang Cong is well-read in poetry and books, smart and clever. Although he is not a monk, he likes to practice Zen and enlighten the truth. This heaven He went to pay homage to the famous Zen Master Yaoshan.
　　
　　　
　　Why did you come here?”
　　　
　　　Wang Cong replied, “I’ll come to see you, I’ll pay you my respects!”
　　　
　　　　　Yaoshan asked, “Since you are here to greet me, do you see me?”
　　
　　"I saw it. "Wang Cong did not think.
　　
　　　
　　Yaoshan then asked, "Do you think I look like a donkey?"
　　
　　　
　　　Wang Cong replied, "You don't look like a donkey, but you don't look like a Buddha!" ​​
　　　
　　Yaoshan then asked him, "I don't look like a donkey, but I don't look like a Buddha, so what do you look like?"
　　
　　　Wang Cong asked back, "Why do you have to look like something? Besides, what is the difference between being like a donkey and being like a Buddha? As for what you look like, just think about it. "
　　
　　The Zen Master Yaoshan was shocked when he heard this. Wang Cong was really not simple. Although he was not a monk, he had such a deep understanding of Zen. Yaoshan often used this topic to test others. Those who were tested either were attached to the Buddha's appearance or the world's appearance, or were attached to the word "emptiness". The first person who was as attached to Wang Cong, had nothing to worry about, and was not bound by secular concepts.
　　
　　The Zen Master Yaoshan had to look at light hibernation with admiration. He couldn't help but exclaim: "I use this question to test others. No one's answer has been satisfied for more than ten years, only your answer is the most perfect. You are amazing. I am willing to accept you as my true disciple and teach you the true fruits of my decades of cultivation. "Wang Cong nodded and agreed. From then on, he devoted himself to practicing meditation at Yaoshan Gate and finally became a Buddha.
　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The Buddha and the donkey are things in the eyes of secular people. Those who truly become Buddhas do not think they are Buddhas. In their eyes, there is no difference between Buddhas and donkeys. This is the so-called state of great enlightenment. Ordinary people always cannot escape from the world, so how can they achieve great enlightenment?
　　　　
　　The four majesties have never been lost,
　　　　　　　There is no interruption in the present and ancient times.
　　　
　　There is no mutation in the hell,
　　　
　　The willows are as green as silk.
　　　——Tang Dynasty Xiang Yan Zhixian