Empty Valley Youlan, often used as a metaphor for people of high moral character, in Chinese history, the unique group of hermits has gathered many such noble people, and now these people still exist on the vast land of China? This is the problem that has been plaguing Bill Porter. Therefore, in the late 1980s, he personally came to China to find traces of the tradition and history of hermit culture, and visited the hermits scattered in various places.
Bill Porter
A famous contemporary American writer, translator, and sinologist. In 1970, he entered Columbia University to pursue a doctorate in anthropology, and by chance, he began to study Chinese and fell in love with Chinese culture. In 1972, Bill went to a temple in Taiwan to practice, where he lived a reclusive life of twilight drums and morning bells; in 1991, he went to work for a radio station in Hong Kong and began to travel in Chinese mainland for a long time, writing a large number of books and travelogues introducing Chinese customs and customs, and translating a number of Buddhist classics and poetry collections, setting off a wave of learning traditional Chinese culture in Europe and the United States.
After the publication of Bill's work on Chinese hermits, "Empty Valley Youlan", it was warmly welcomed by readers, and it was reprinted in one edition and sold well to this day.
Throughout Chinese history, there have always been people who have been willing to spend their lives in the mountains: eating very little, wearing very bad clothes, sleeping in huts, reclaiming the land on the high mountains, not talking much, leaving even fewer words—maybe only a few poems, one or two immortal squares, or something. They are out of touch with the times, but not from the seasons; they abandon the dust of the plains for the smoke of the mountains; they are steeped in history and obscurity—they nurture the roots of spiritual life and are the most respected people in the oldest society in the world.
Chinese has always revered the hermit, and no one has ever explained this, nor has anyone asked for an explanation. The hermit existed: outside the walls of the city, in the mountains, behind the snow a few wisps of lonely cooking smoke. From the time there were written records, there were already hermits in China.
The hermit tradition is an essential part of Chinese society, and almost all people have a common, unchanging goal, which is to cultivate. For them, the Tao leads beyond the dust.
The Taoist monks at the louguan platform
Lao Tzu was the founder of the ancient Chinese philosopher, thinker and Taoist school. He once served as a historian of the Zhou royal family to manage the collection of books, and later lived in seclusion, riding a green bull west out of Hangu Pass, "I don't know what it ended."
The only last piece of information we know about Lao Tzu is the story of Lao Tzu's disappearance at Zhongnan Mountain.
Lao Tzu went out of the customs in 485 BC, Hangu Guan ling Yin Xi saw that although Lao Tzu had white hair, but his face was ruddy, his spirit was strong, his purple qi was floating on his head, and he was photographed behind Chao Xia, so that Lao Tzu in the background picture was as calm as water, and his breath was breathless, as if he were a god. Yin Hi Hi! He knows that the wise men of the world are coming!
Due to the hurry when leaving Luoyang, Lao Tzu forgot to take Guan Mu with him, and without Guan Mu, he could not pass the pass. This just gave Guan Ling Yin Xi a chance. The "Chronicle of History" records that "Guan Ling Yin Xi said: 'The son will be hidden, and he will write a book for me.' So Lao Tzu wrote the first and second chapters of the book, saying more than 5,000 words of morality and morality, and he did not know the end. "This seems to be forcing Lao Tzu to write a book." Lao Tzu is not very willing, but if he does not agree, people will not let him pass the pass.
Yin Xi saw Lao Tzu and said, "I am Yin Xi of Hangu Guan Ling, and the other day I was looking at the heavens and saw the purple qi gathering in the East, and I knew that a saint had come, and I had been waiting for a long time." May the gentleman go to the cold room for a while, and the students want to listen to the teacher's teachings. "Lao Tzu went with the flow and talked freely with him, as if he had met Zhiyin. I don't feel that dusk is coming, but I am talking by candlelight. Yin Xi asked, "Everyone in the world knows that Mr. Dao is a saint of the Dao, but it is difficult to understand your thoughts." Can sir point it out? Lao Tzu said, "My words are simple and easy to understand, but some people think that they are too broad and not specific, so they can't get the point." In fact, there are no more than three points: one is gentle and kind, and the ability to do what is right; the second is thrifty, to greed and desire; and the third is not to argue, to rule without doing anything. And he asked, "What is desire?" He also replied: "The five colors and the five tones make people deaf and blind; the five tastes and hunting make people indulge in pleasure; the search for curiosity and treasure makes people behave frugally." Therefore, the saints only seek to maintain a basic livelihood, and everything is trade-off. "Sir's thoughts are really broad and profound!" Dare to ask Mr. Kansai to travel, can you yearn? Lao Tzu replied, "I will go to the place where the widows of that small country are!" I wish that people discard all kinds of utensils, cherish life and not leave their homes; abandon cars and boats, strike wars, and return to the simplicity of nature; comfortable dwellings, happy folk customs, neighboring countries looking at each other, the sounds of chickens and dogs, and old and dead do not interact with each other. ”
Yin Xi was full of longing: "Dare to ask sir, where are the widows in the small country you are talking about?" I didn't see an answer for a long time. When watching: Lao Tzu sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, breathing evenly, and he had fallen asleep. Yin Xi said, "True is the tallest person in the world!" The next day, the East turned white, Yin Xi pushed open the door, Lao Tzu had already left, and several cases were placed bamboo strips with undried ink, a total of five thousand words. Yin Xi knew that it was written by Lao Tzu, so the title of the book was "Lao Tzu". To the Tang Dynasty changed its name to the Tao Te Ching. It is said that after Yin Xi read it, he seemed to smell the heavens, and the official did not do it, and quickly chased after Laozi. Say to Lao Tzu, "I want to run away with you!" Lao Tzu smiled, let nature take its course, and disappeared together in Zhongnan Mountain.
Zhang Liang's ancestors were ministers of Korea (present-day Henan Province). In 230 BC, in the process of unifying all of China by the Qin Dynasty, Korea was annexed. As a loyal servant of filial piety, Zhang Liang vowed to avenge the honor of his family and country. But to make sure he could get long enough to fulfill that ambition, at first he went into seclusion in the mountains. During his seclusion, he met an old man who tested his humble qualities. The old man, who looked like a Taoist immortal, rewarded Zhang Liang with a long-lost volume of Lü Shang's Taigong Art of War. It turns out that Zhang Liang was indeed a clever student - after leaving a secluded life, he helped Liu Bang overthrow the Qin Dynasty and found the Han Dynasty.
Liu Bang claimed to be empress, and in order to express his gratitude to Zhang Liang, he was willing to give him any fiefdom he wanted, so Zhang Liang chose Liuba on the southern slope of Zhongnan Mountain, saying that he wanted to withdraw from worldly things. Zhang Liang is well aware of the truth that "the bird hides with a bow, and the rabbit cooks with a dead dog", he is not only for self-preservation, but also a virtue of "not being ashamed, and living in the void for success". Therefore, he can not only protect himself, but also be able to live for hundreds of lifetimes, and reach the realm of Lao Tzu's thought: "Husbands and wives live in the same place, but they do not go". Then he began to cut the valley and practice pranayama, hoping to make himself light enough to soar into the heavens. In 187 BC, he finally did so.
Human nature is consistent with the nature of heaven. All things are born, and all things are transported in different directions. But sooner or later they will return to the same place. The goal of this universe, its highest goal is nothingness. "Nothing" means not nothing, but regression.
"Nothingness" is the body of the Tao.
Not only man, but also animals and plants and all living things are part of this "nothingness." There is no second thing in the universe. To prove this is not only the goal of Taoism, but also the goal of Buddhism. Everything in the world is changing. What Taoists and Buddhists seek is what is unchanging. That's why they don't pursue fame and profit. All they seek is the Tao, the "nothing" to which we are born and return to. Our goal is to become one with this natural process.
Xue Daochang, on the top of Mount Hua for forty-five years
As a Taoist sacred place, the significance of Mount Hua is even beyond the prehistoric period, and in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Mount Zhonghua is described as "cut into four squares, and its height is 5,000 taels".
In the beginning, chaos split into yin and yang. Yin and yang divide again, becoming old yin, old yang and less yin, less yang. These four forces interact to produce various kinds of life. The first of these lives is Pangu. When Pangu was born, he picked up a hammer and a chisel and used his life's energy to open up the world—the space in which we all live today.
He did not spend seven days, but eighteen thousand years. When he finally fell to the ground and died, his body transformed into Wuyue: his head transformed into Mount Taishan of Dongyue, his arms transformed into Mount Hengshan of North Yue and Mount Heng of South Yue, his abdomen transformed into Mount Song of Zhongyue, and his feet transformed into Mount Hua of West Yue.
After thousands of years of weathering, Pangu's feet gradually became like flowers on a stone leaf, so early Chinese called Xiyue "Huashan" - Huashan. It opened in the heart of China's earliest tribal civilization, and to this day, Chinese still like to call themselves "Chinese". The title shows how significant the mountain once had to our ancestors.
Kailong, a graduate of peking university's Chinese department, took a group photo in front of his newly built hut
Like Taoism, ZhongnanShan also became the background for the development of a new religion such as Buddhism. Of the eight major Buddhist sects that emerged in China, seven were founded in or near Zhongnan Mountain.
Pure Land Buddhism: He believes that a person who practices Buddhahood can be born into the Western "Pure Land" (Elysium) after death, and he does not teach people to liberate themselves by themselves alone, but to teach people to believe in the power of Amitabha Buddha, and he will bring his followers to his Elysium.
Vinaya: The birthplace is Jingye Temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi. It is named for its emphasis on studying and passing on the precepts. The actual founder is Daoxuan of the Tang Dynasty. Fuyin Dao proclaimed the residence of the Ultimate South Mountain, and was also known as the Nanshan Vinaya or the Nanshan Sect. The main doctrine of the sect is the theory of ordination. The ordination body is the Dharma body that the ordained disciple receives from the mind when he ordained from his teacher. That is, the accepted practice psychologically constitutes a function of preventing non-stop evil. This is the core theory of legal theory. During the Republic of China, the famous Vinaya masters were Master Hongyi (Li Shutong, the eleventh generation ancestor of the Vinaya).
Zen Buddhism: It is required to meditate and stop distracting thoughts while practicing, believing that by persevering in this way one can achieve some mysterious state. According to legend, it was founded by the Late Song Dynasty Tianzhu (ancient India) monk Bodhidharma when he came to China to preach the scriptures. In the Tang Dynasty, it was divided into two factions, the Southern Sect advocated epiphany, and the Northern Sect advocated gradual enlightenment. The post-Nanzong epiphany was prevalent, and one of the poems of Master Huineng of the Six Patriarchs of Zen Buddhism was the most famous:
Bodhi has no tree, nor is the mirror a platform; there is nothing in the original, where to stir up dust!
Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green.
The evening wind blows the willow flute, and the sunset is outside the mountain.
The end of the sky, the corner of the earth, the knowledge of the half-scattered.
A pot of turbid wine is all over the place, don't dream cold tonight.
Ask the jun when to come here, and when he comes, don't linger.
Life is rare to have a happy gathering, but there is no separation.
Li Shutong, "Farewell"