1300 days ago, one day, Zen Master Shenxiu quietly came to the door of the Fifth Ancestor of Hongren alone, and wrote a verse on his wall: "The body is the Bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it frequently at all times to avoid dust."
Although this verse has been praised by the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, it is not the best candidate in his heart.
instead, his junior brother Huineng 's verse: " Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a platform. There is nothing in it, so where can dust be caused?" He was recognized by the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, and in his heart, Huineng was recognized as the descendant of his robe and bowl.
It is precisely because of this that Master Shenxiu missed the battle with his robe and bowl and was defeated by his junior brother Huineng. Later, after his master passed away, Master Shenxiu established the Northern School Zen and formed a two-legged stalemate with Master Huineng's Southern School Zen.
In theory, the early Zen Master Shenxiu was not only in full swing, but also had the reputation of "the master of the two capitals (Chang'an, Luoyang ), and the national teacher of the Three Emperors (Wu Zetian, Tang Zhongzong, Tang Ruizong)".
What about Master Huineng? At this time, he was still famous. With the influence of Shenxiu at that time, he could repay the hatred for losing his mantle back then.
But what about? Not only did he not do this, he also highly praised his junior brother Huineng. So, why did he do this?
1. Promoting
As we all know, among the ten disciples of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, Master Huineng and Zen Master Shenxiu were particularly well-known to Master Huineng. Although Zen Master Shenxiu was defeated by Huineng, he had no regrets and instead praised Huineng.
In 675 AD, the fifth ancestor Hongren passed away. His ten great disciples began to spread the Dharma separately. Zen Master Shenxiu came to Yuquan Temple to preach the Dharma. For a while, he became famous.
Then, Wu Zetian was welcomed into Kyoto and was deeply respected by him, and his Northern School Zen was spread and developed rapidly.
Finally, when Wu Zetian wanted to invite Zen Master Shenxiu to be the national master, Zen Master Shenxiu said that he was not qualified and mentioned his junior brother, Master Huineng, and said that Huineng was the successor of the robe and mantle.
From this point of view, we can see that Zen Master Shenxiu did not forget his original intention. It was Zen Master Shenxiu that Wu Zetian knew the name of Master Huineng.
And what about Master Huineng at that time? Since the fifth ancestor Hongren obtained the inheritance of his robe and mantle, he has kept in seclusion for 16 years (and 5 years of sayings). Although he was promoted at this time, he was not famous.
It was Zen Master Shenxiu's move that indirectly promoted the development and spread of Master Huineng's Southern School. Later, Wu Zetian invited Master Huineng to Kyoto three times. Although he did not go, Master Huineng's name was well-known.
In addition, Zen Master Shenxiu not only mentioned Master Huineng many times in front of Wu Zetian, but also recommended Master Huineng in front of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. Isn’t this a praise for Master Huineng?
In addition, Zen Master Shenxiu also asked his disciples to listen to Master Huineng's preaching. This was recorded in " Platform Sutra ". The original text is as follows: "I wish I could not get far away and get the favor of the country. You and others should not be stuck here, but you can go to Caoxi to participate in the trial."
It can be seen from this that Zen Master Shenxiu did not feel displeased with Master Huineng because he lost the qualification to inherit his legacy, but instead praised him.
2. Inheriting
Of course, some people have such doubts in their hearts. Since Zen Master Shenxiu advocates Master Huineng so much, why should we establish Northern School Zen and fight against Master Huineng’s Southern School Zen?
In fact, this point is based on spreading the Dharma. After all, there were 10 disciples of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren at that time, and they had different understandings of Zen, so they spread the Dharma separately for the inheritance and development of Zen.
Although the early stage was the same purpose, in the later stage, because the disciples of Zen Master Shenxiu could not stick to their original aspirations and stayed away from this purpose, the main reason why Shenxiu's disciple Puji wanted to define Zen Master Shenxiu as the Sixth Patriarch .
Moreover, Master Huineng once said: "The Dharma is a sect, and people have north and south." Doesn't this show Master Huineng's affirmation of Zen Master Shenxiu's "northern abduction"?
Finally, although Zen Master Shenxiu’s Northern School Zen has developed, he also remembered his master’s teachings and believed that Master Huineng’s Southern School Zen is the true teaching, which is also the Dharma lineage of Zen. Only when the junior brother’s Southern School Zen is developed and spread can the Zen school be truly developed and promoted, and this is even more related to the inheritance of Zen.
As a high monk, Zen Master Shenxiu naturally understood the truth, and Zen Buddhism has always focused on understanding the mind and seeing the nature. Therefore, when he loses the qualification to inherit his mantle, he will not have any trouble in his heart, but will be determined to adhere to the mission of promoting Zen Buddhism. This is why he has always praised Master Huineng.
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