What is Zen?

Buddhism in China. Taking dharma as the ancestor of China, also known as Dharma; It is also known as the Buddhist Sect because it claims to have the seal of Buddha's heart. Dharma was active in Luoyang at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, advocating the principle of practicing Zen in two ways and four lines, and teaching his disciples with the Lengga Sutra. Apprentices have wisdom, and monks can pass it on. Your disciples believe in Taoism. Believer Hong Ren founded the Dongshan Method as the fifth ancestor of Zen Buddhism. I went to Beijing to preach dharma, and I was famous for a while. Among them, Shen Xiu and Huineng are divided into North Sect and South Sect. Shen Xiu lived in yuquan temple, Jingzhou, and went to Beijing in his later years. He was a teacher of three empires, and his disciples were Matsuyama Puji and Zhong Nanshan Yifu. Huineng lives in Baolin Temple in Caoxi, Shaozhou, with many students. Huineng is the sixth ancestor. Later, it was an authentic Zen. According to legend, the dispute between North and South began when Hong Ren, the fifth ancestor, chose his disciple as his successor. Shen Xiu Zuo Wei: "As a bodhi tree, my heart is like a mirror;" Always wipe it clean, don't get dust. " I thought I didn't see my true nature. Huineng also made a sentence: "Bodhi has no trees, and the mirror is not a stage; There is nothing, so there is no dust. " I thought I had Zen mind, so I gave him vestments and admitted his heir status. Later, the North Patriarch brushed the dust to see the network gradually repaired; Nanzong advocated enlightenment to become a Buddha. It is believed that the correct way to practice Zen is to put aside words, go straight to the source of the heart and realize that it is as true as nature. Its Zen method can be summarized as living without covering, that is, from determination to wisdom. Huineng's Six Ancestors Tanjing is the representative work of this school, and other works, such as Lengga Sutra, Diamond Sutra and Mahayana Belief, have great influence.

The most famous disciples in Huineng are Nanyue Huairang (677 ~ 744) and Qingyuan Hangsi (? ~740 )。 Another god will live in Heze Temple in Luoyang, founded Heze Sect, and be honored as the seventh ancestor. There are Cizhou Zhiru and Yizhou Nanyin under the door. Huai Rang lived in Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue and founded Nanyue Department. Qingyuan lived in Ji 'an, Jiangxi Province and founded Qingyuan Department. Disciples Huai rang (709 ~ 788) called themselves Mazu. Huaihai under his door has the greatest influence and is called Hongzhou Zen. The disciples of Huaihai are Berberis amurensis, a blessing language, and a spiritual blessing on Weishan. Yi Xuan (? ~ 867) founded Lin Jizong in Zhou Zhen, Hebei. Ling You and his disciple Yangshan Huiji (8 14 ~ 890) founded Yang Zong. From the stone movement coefficient (700 ~ 790) at the gate of Hangsi to the good price in Dongshan, and then to the silence of Cao Shanben, the master and apprentice created Cao Dongzong. (822 ~ 908) moved another disciple of Emperor Daowu to Yicun, and disciple Bei Chuan (885 ~ 958) founded Fayanzong and lived in Jinling Temple. The teacher is going to Yan Wen (? ~ 949) lived in Yunmen Mountain in Shaozhou and founded Yunmen Sect. From the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, Zen flourished. After the Song Dynasty, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism merged, and the Zen style changed slightly. A large number of written works such as "solving crimes" and "thinking about the past" have been published. In Song Dynasty, Lin Ji was divided into Zheng Yang founded by Fang Hui (992 ~ 1049) and Huanglong founded by Huinan (1002 ~ 1069). After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the situation of the confluence of Zen and Net was very great, and Zen declined. The introduction of Zen into Korea began with the belief and behavior of Silla monks under Shen Xiu (704 ~ 779), and then spread as northern Zen. Mazu's morality brought Nanzong Zen to Korea (820). Zen Buddhism in Vietnam was originally Tianxi Zen School, a branch of Penido (? ~ 594). In the Southern Song Dynasty, Japanese monk Rong was ordained in Tiantai Mountain, and Zen was introduced to Japan. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, monks from China traveled to Japan to spread Yangqi Zen. /kloc-At the beginning of the 3rd century, Daoyuan, a Japanese monk, brought Cao Dong Zen to Japan. Later, I learned from Baizhang Huaihai that Zen is wordless and founded the wordless Zen School. Later, there were the Caotang Zen School (1 1 century) of Huanglong School and the Zhu Lin Zen School of Lin Ji School (65438+3rd century).

Like all lively traditions, Zen Buddhism is full of many myths and legends in its origin, so the development of Zen Buddhism is naturally related to Sakyamuni Buddha.

It is said that once, Sakyamuni said at the Lingshan meeting that he was holding a flower in front of everyone without saying a word. At this time, the audience looked at each other and didn't know why. Only Ye Jia smiled knowingly. So Sakyamuni is happy to say:

"I have a good eye, a wonderful thought of nirvana, a real reality, a subtle method, no words, and a biography outside the teaching."

So Zen was born between a flower and a smile. You may think this story is too beautiful, but it may not be true; But I think it's too beautiful to be fake. The life of Zen does not depend on historical facts. No matter who created this story, it is obvious that he captured the spirit of Zen-because flowers bloom in smiles and laughter.

Ye Jia, who is said to be the ancestor of Indian Zen, has been handed down for twenty-seven generations after him, and Dharma is the twenty-eighth and last ancestor of Indian Zen. Since Dharma came to China, it has become the ancestor of Zen in China. Therefore, in the history of Zen Buddhism, Buddhism can be said to be a bridge between Chinese and Indian thoughts.

According to textual research, the legal system of the twenty-eight ancestors of Indian Zen Buddhism was invented by later generations (according to translation, Dr. Hu Shi has textual research in Master Heze's Biography), and there is no record of Indian Zen Buddhism legal system in Sanskrit. The word "Zen" in Zen originally evolved from the transliteration of "Zen" in Sanskrit, but it has great differences in meaning. "Zen?" It refers to a kind of spiritual concentration, a kind of meditation at different levels, and China's "Zen" refers to an understanding of noumenon or a reference to self. They repeatedly remind students that meditation and thinking will lose the spirit of Zen.

Dr. Hu Shi once said:

"China's Zen is not from Indian yoga or Zen, on the contrary, it is about yoga or Zen? A revolution. "

Perhaps this is not a purposeful revolution, but a natural change, but whether it is a revolution or a change, it is a fact that Zen is different from Zen. Dr. Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz once said, "The Zen we are talking about today cannot be found in India."

He thinks that China people's epiphany on Zen interpretation is an original idea, which also proves that China people are unwilling to absorb Indian Buddhism in one gulp. He said: "China people's imagination with practical spirit created Zen, which made them feel the greatest satisfaction in saving."

In my opinion, the formation of Zen Buddhism was first promoted by Mahayana Buddhism, otherwise the revival of Taoist thoughts such as Laozi and Zhuangzi alone would not constitute the vigorous spirit of Zen. However, this seems to be contradictory. Due to the promotion of Mahayana Buddhism, Laozi and Zhuangzi's thorough view has been revived and developed in the form of Zen. Mr. Thomas Merton once said with great insight: "It was the Zen master in the Tang Dynasty who really inherited the influence of Zhuangzi Thought."

We can also say that the most fundamental insights of Zen masters are consistent with those of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and the first and second chapters of Tao Te Ching reveal the metaphysical basis of Zen. As for the relationship between Zen and Zhuangzi, Dr. Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz made a very clear analysis. He said, "The most obvious feature of Zen master is to emphasize inner self-justification. This kind of self-testimony is exactly the same as Zhuangzi's forgetfulness, Xinzhai and Chaochi. "

If this statement is true, then the fundamental spirit of Zhuangzi is the core of Zen. The only difference is that Zhuangzi still stays in pure enlightenment, while Zen has developed into a kind of training leading to enlightenment; This kind of training is also a special contribution of Japanese Zen.

Therefore, knowing Zhuangzi's state of heart-to-heart, selflessness and worship will help us to understand the essence of Zen, which will be elaborated separately in the following works.

(1) heart lent:

There is a "fast" in a conversation between Confucius and Yan Hui in "The Life of Zhuangzi". It is said that Yan Hui once went to the countryside to lobby, and Confucius poured cold water on him, thinking that his kung fu had not reached the realm of purity and chaos. If we rashly remonstrate, it is not only useless, but harmful, so Yan Hui asked Confucius for advice. Confucius told him to be "wary" and said, "Be determined to win, don't listen to his words, but listen to his words." Angry people, empty people, treat things, only the Tao is empty, and empty people are fasting. "

(2) forget:

The original meaning of the word "sit and forget" is translated by Legge as "I sit and forget everything", by Ciles and Lin Yutang as "I sit and forget myself", by Feng Youlan as "forget everything" and by Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz as "forget my heart". I don't think the word "sitting" should be literally appreciated. Its meaning can be said to be a wide range of forgetting, including forgetting yourself and forgetting things. You can forget not only by sitting, but also under any circumstances. The following is Zhuangzi's story about forgetting to sit:

On one occasion, Yan Hui told Confucius that his kung fu had made great progress and he had forgotten benevolence and righteousness. Confucius thought he was not deep enough. A few days later, he told Confucius that he had forgotten the rites and music, but Confucius still refused to recognize it. After a while, he told Confucius that he had forgotten. Even Confucius doesn't know this realm. When he asked Yan Hui, Yan Hui explained, "You'll be smart if you break your limbs. You won't know until you leave, just like Datong. This is called forgetting. "

③ Fried cars

"Chaoche" is a realm of Taoist practice, and Zhuangzi once described a story about Chaoche.

Once, someone asked the girl why she was so old, but her appearance was still as immature as a child. The girl told him that it was Tao. The man asked the woman again: Can he learn Taoism? Frankly speaking, he is not the material to learn Taoism; Then tell him how he taught his students to lean on Bryan.

"In the way of a saint, tell a saint, also easy. I still have it, tell it, and then I can go abroad; I have been out of the world, I kept it for seven days, and then I can leave my things outside; It's a foreign thing. If I raise it for nine days, I can be born outside. It has been born outside, and then you can see it; Looking ahead and looking back, you can see independence, see independence, you can have no ancient and modern, no ancient and modern, you can not die. "

Above, the author quoted Zhuangzi's three paragraphs at length because they contained many seeds of Zen. Of course, we can't deny that Zen masters are all Buddhists, but their preference for Laozi and Zhuangzi has influenced them to choose those interests similar to Laozi and Zhuangzi in Buddhism and carry out special development.

In addition, Zhuangzi's thought of "real people" has also deeply influenced the Zen masters of later generations, the most famous of which is Linji Yi Xuan, and the Lin Ji school he developed regards real people as the highest realm. One of Zhuangzi's most important thoughts is that "the husband has a real person, and then he has real knowledge", emphasizing that existence precedes knowledge, which is also a major feature of Zen Buddhism-to exist first and then know. Zen thought is just the opposite of Descartes' "I think, therefore I am", but "I am thinking".

Recently, there was a professor William. C.Mcfadden, Virginia, USA, convened a three-day conference for college students to discuss the factors that make college youth nervous at present. In his article "What bothers them", he briefly described the process of the meeting:

When all possible stressors were listed, one student said, "There are hardly any of them." I always feel that there is another supplementary reason. "Another chimed in," I also feel that something unspeakable is bothering me? The other said, "this nasty thing seems to be empty, but how can you describe this emptiness?" "? Others think it is because of lack of vitality or beauty. But these views were immediately denied, and everyone felt that this thing was very trance and indescribable. Finally, a eloquent student made the following conclusion: "In our hearts, we always feel that there is a lack of space, which makes us breathless. "

Professor Mo went on to say:

"The human mind is uneasy. They seek absoluteness, immortality, eternity and infinity. But in fact, since this is absolutely infinite, it must be unpredictable and unbounded, and it is something similar to nothingness. If this infinity can be bounded, then it is no longer infinite.

The author didn't think of Zen and Taoism. But he revealed a very vivid point of view, which made us understand why Zen and Taoism are so attractive to western youth, and they hope to seek something that bothers them from Zen and Taoism. They are tired of established ideas and traditional religious beliefs. For them, traditional Zen, like geometry, only emphasizes what can be conveyed and completely ignores what cannot be conveyed. What cannot be conveyed is the world of Zen and Tao. Zen and Taoism don't really convey what can't be conveyed, but they have ways to draw it out, so that our hearts can be broadened and we can have more breathing space.

The greatest feature of China's spirit is not that he likes to systematically expound his thoughts. The poems we are most moved by are those quatrains that are "endless in meaning", but their words and sounds are not the most authentic. China's spirit can't be expressed in words, sounds and colors. It is to borrow words to write infinity, speak silently, and show invisibility, that is, to borrow things to set off the spirit.

After reading China's poems translated by Gals, Lytton Strachey compared the differences between Greek and China's poems, and said: "Greek art is the most perfect in the world in terms of writing, and it always seeks the best performance. The most wonderful lyric poems in Greek poetry collections are essentially aphorisms, which are quite different from China's lyric poems. China's poems are not aphorisms, but leave an impression. Impression is not the end, but the beginning of infinite realm. It is completely presented in an incredible atmosphere that can only be expressed in words. "

For example, Li Bai's five-character quatrains:

"How beautiful she is, opening the pearl window and sitting in Emei. Now you can see the bright tears on her face, but not the one she loves so painfully."

Strickland urged the Committee to comment on the poem and said:

"Suddenly, the curtain rolled up, and in a flash, a moving picture appeared in front of us. Turn our thoughts into a yacht, floating in an incredible and expanding river of imagination. This kind of poem is full of freehand brushwork, but it is not a photographic record, but a subtle expression of my own experience. "

This is the style of China's poetry, painting and life art, and this is also the style of Zen. In this respect, Zen can be said to be a symbol of China's spirit.

Western civilization, which can be said to be the product of Greek spirit, has developed to saturation, so people who are eager to learn and have ideas in the West feel inadequate, and then they realize the greatness of the East. Because orientals are anti-focusing on western scientific civilization, the plight of Zen is far more attractive to westerners than to orientals. In fact, the Zen spirit has penetrated into the forefront of western thought today, and will in turn affect the East in the future. Human nature is consistent, surpassing the east and the west; Only by transcending things can we synthesize things. If I had to make a prediction, I would say that this kind of synthesis should first mature in the west and then spread to the whole world.

Orientals had better remember what Allen Watts said: As the source of Zen, Zhuangzi's philosophy is closely related to the situation of modern people. Witt thinks that Zhuangzi and Xia Dan are consistent in regarding the universe as an organic whole. This view is obviously closer to the science of the twentieth century than Newton's view of the universe as the mechanization of billiards impact.

On the other hand, West Renye Fang should think that Qing Zen is not completely irrational and rhythmic. It has its own rules in madness, and the silent lamp says it well:

"Zen, which is popular in some western circles, is only suitable for mental confusion. It shows their incomprehensible dissatisfaction with customs, ethics and religion. It symbolizes their urgent need to restore their self-nature in a world choked by machinery. However, because it only restores the conscious experience, the western Zen Buddhism has the color of moral laissez-faire, while ignoring the strict training and serious tradition of Zen Buddhism in China and Japan. So is Zhuangzi's thought. He is easily mistaken for unruly by ordinary people today. In fact, Zhuangzi has long emphasized not to persuade others to do things they don't know. We should understand that Zhuangzi's criticism of Confucianism is suspicious and practical. In essence, Zhuangzi's philosophy is religious and mysterious, and it pursues an absolutely perfect realm. " . The author's purpose in writing this book is to describe the true face of Zen. The reason why this book only writes about the great Zen masters in the Tang Dynasty is that they created Zen because of their thorough understanding and unique personality.

In the hands of Huineng, the sixth ancestor, China's Zen Buddhism was formed. Since then, Zen masters such as Nanyue Huairang, Qingyuan Hangsi, Mazu Yi Dao, Shi Buqian, Baizhang Huaihai, Nanquan Puyuan, Zhaozhou Calm, Yaoshan Wei Yan and Huang Baiyun Xi have all developed Zen into a mature stage and evolved into five major Zen factions. In fact, these five families all originated from * * *. Although each has its own traditions, they all come from Huineng and are rooted in Laozi and Zhuangzi.

Lu Yezong emphasized the difference between machine and use, position and position, and speech and god. Weishan is just like Zhuangzi in this respect.

Cao Dongzong realized himself through selflessness.

Lin Jizong believes that no real person is who he really is.

Yunmen Sect has a long life and returns to the world.

Fayanzong was completely based on Zhuangzi's "Heaven and earth coexist with me, and everything is one with me".

Zen can be said to be the crystallization of enlightenment and salvation enthusiasm of Taoism combined with Buddhism. If Buddhism is the father and Taoism is the mother, then Zen is undeniably more like his mother.