What kind of person was Huineng who caused this violent turmoil? Hongren wanted to pass on his robe and bowl, and taught his disciples to write a verse, Shenxiu's "The body is a Bodhi tree, and his heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it frequently at all times to avoid dust."

The Fifth Patriarch Hongren passed on velvet to Huineng , establishing his status as Sixth Patriarch , and sending Huineng south to escape disputes at night.

Zen Buddhism Sixth Patriarch Huineng

This action caused a sensation in Dongshan Temple . It has been Fifth Patriarch Hongren claimed that "the method of Dongshan is all in Xiu" and the first Shen Xiu shed tears and left, and once returned to secular life.

What kind of person is Huineng who caused this violent turmoil?

Huineng pounded rice map

Huineng first entered Dongshan Temple and pounded rice for eight months.

Hongren wanted to pass on his robe and bowl, and taught his disciples to write a verse, Shenxiu 's "The body is a Bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it frequently and don't let the dust get out of it." When this verse was passed into Huineng's ears, Huineng just stepped on the pounding pounding room.

Huineng is weak and has insufficient weight. When stepping on the mortar, he must tie a stone around his waist to press it to pound rice normally. Because his common surname is Lu, he was jokingly called " Lu Xingzhe " by monks in the temple.

Shenxiu, founder of the Northern Sect of Zen,

Hearing Shenxiu's verse, Huineng sighed at Shenxiu's cultivation, but he did not agree with his opinion, so he asked casually, "There is no tree in Bodhi, and the mirror is not a platform. There is nothing in it, so where can dust be caused?"

Hearing such a retort monk, he felt the wonder of retort, and encouraged Huineng to write it down, and heard such retort monk, he felt the wonder of retort, and encouraged Huineng to write it down and participate in the verse. However, Huineng was illiterate and could not write, so he asked this monk to write on the west wall of Shenxiu's verse.

Later, the Northern School Zen was at its peak. Shenxiu, who had a reputation and top, once recommended Huineng to Wu Zetian . Huineng made a statement, "I am short and ugly. When I see , I am afraid that even my Zen method will be dragged down and not respected."

In this way, what kind of virtue can Huineng, who is ordinary, short and illiterate, help the Fifth Patriarch Hongren break the worldly views and teach the robe and mantle and become a generation of Zen Buddhism?

The reason is: Huineng has many qualities that ordinary people don’t have.

The first one is to be neither humble nor arrogant, straightforward and sincere.

When Huineng met Hongren for the first time, Hongren gave Huineng a warning in public. He heard that Huineng came from Lingnan, so he shouted sternly: " Nanman Can the people of Wuliang also come to listen to Buddhism?"

Huineng said: "People have north and south, does Buddha nature still have north and south?"

One sentence shocked Hongren very much.

First, due to the status of master and apprentice, most people will be respectful and humble. The words and deeds of the teacher are like imperial decrees. It is the way for ordinary people to keep their voices and hold their breath and dare not disobey. How could I not bow my head under the eaves of the visitor? However, Huineng did not.

The second is to refute the profound understanding of Buddhist principles and have deep wisdom.

The second is self-confidence.

Huineng is illiterate, but it did not hinder his pursuit and exploration of Buddhism.

Why do you say he is confident? Because he will not be ashamed of illiteracy. Neither at Dongshan Temple nor after the southward journey, there was no record of the Sixth Patriarch learning literature and eliminating illiteracy. People who are not confident will definitely spend a lot of energy to repair their shortcomings and let their strengths be abandoned.

However, Huineng did not do this, allowing his shortcomings to be exposed, questioned and confused, and only focused on his original intention and devoted his energy to useful places. Correct the original and do things that seem to be only knowledgeable and great. The wonderful enlightenment of Buddhism and the reason for their personality are reasonable.

It seems that " I advise the heavens to shake up , is not only academic performance, but may even push away the barriers to learning.

Zen’s Fifth Patriarch Hongren

In this sense, the Fifth Patriarch Hongren is the even more amazing Zen master.