Liu Gang/Wen
Where have the thinkers gone?
It is said that the Tang Dynasty was a great era, and there were many poets in that era. Poets are like stars, and even today, they are well known.
But what about thinkers? Sorry, it seems like they've all disappeared from the history of ideas. Where have the thinkers gone that have disappeared in the history of thought? The answer is: run to Zen Buddhism. They ran out of the imperial examination system, ran from under Confucius to Da Mo, and went to the rivers and lakes.
What is the "jianghu"? The source is in Zhuangzi, and the "Great Grandmaster zhuangzi" says: "When the springs are dry, the fish phase and the land are on the land, and they are wet with each other, and they are wet with each other, and it is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes." For fish, instead of the benevolent righteousness of relying on each other on land - "to froth with each other", how can it be like going their own free way - "forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes"? Jianghu is a place of freedom. The same is true for Zhuangzi.
Walking the rivers and lakes is a testing ground for ideas, and it can produce fresh ideas the most.
For the Tang Dynasty scholars, it was a question to take the career path or to take the rivers and lakes. Under the imperial examination system, the career path was greatly opened, the students were driven by learning and excellent, and took the path to enter the imperial examination, but there were heroes who refused to enter the imperial examination, and the Fourteenth volume of the Jingde Chuan Lantern Record: Danxia natural Zen master, the first to learn Confucianism, will enter Chang'an Yingju, meet a Zen guest asked: Where is the benevolent person going? A: Elect the official to go. Zen Ke Yue: How to choose an official is to choose a Buddha. A: Where should I go when I choose a Buddha? Zen Ke Yue: The birth of Master Ma in Jiangxi is the field of choosing Buddhas, and the benevolent can go. So he went straight to Jiangxi, see Master Ma.
The official was chosen or the Buddha was chosen, and Dan Xia chose the Buddha; He chose the jianghu or the jianghu. But why did he make such a choice? Because to choose a Buddha is to choose oneself, and to choose the rivers and lakes is to choose freedom.
Song Monk Zhipan's "Chronicles of the Buddha" Volume 45 Wang Anshi asked Zhang Fangping: Why did Confucius give birth to Mencius a hundred years after his death, and there was no one after him? Fang Pingyue: If there is no one, there is also a Mencius. Anshi asked: Who? Fang Pingyue: Matsu, Fenyang, Xuefeng, Yantou, Danxia, Yunmen, Gaiyin Confucian Gate is thin and cannot be cleaned up, all belong to the Shi clan. Anshi sighed. It seems that Wang Anshi accepted Zhang Fangping's statement, admitting that Matsu and others were stronger than Mencius, among them, Danxia Natural. Why is it said that "Confucianism is weak and cannot be cleaned up"? "Confucianism is thin", where is "thin"? We believe that its weak links lie in self-awareness and free thought, and confucianism "can't hold on" to these two things.
At the level of self-consciousness and free thought, Hegel probably wouldn't have thought that there was no philosophy in Zen Buddhism, as he criticized Confucius and his Analects in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy. He might frown, look at the Zen poems with a new look, and ask in a questioning tone: Can philosophy still be written like this?
Philosophy is written in logic, can it still be written in reverse logic? In Hegel's view, anti-logic is the negation of philosophy, and it is impossible to produce philosophy, but Zen Buddhism uses anti-logic to talk about philosophical problems.
The root of Zen is in Laozi, and the "anti" word proposed by Lao Tzu not only contradicts the logic of common sense, but also the logic of metaphysics, touching on language and existence in the form of poetry.
The first to touch on language and existence in the form of poetry was Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu begins by talking about "Tao Ke Dao, non-Heng Dao, name can be named, non-Heng name", talking about the relationship between language and existence. Such a question is reminiscent of the modern philosophers Wittgenstein and Heidegger, who have compared Zen thought and poetry to them.
The jianghu is a poetic space, a poetic existence. The West has a maritime civilization, China has a jianghu culture, when the temple declines, it is unbearable to show people, don't forget that we have another side - the jianghu, that is a beautiful existence. It is even more a place of freedom for those who are tired of their careers, who do not want to be bound in the system, and who want to "think freely.". So, where is the biggest "jianghu" in China?
The river is the Yangtze River, the largest river in China. The lakes are Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, and are also the two largest lakes in China. If you talk about walking in the rivers and lakes, it is the biggest place to go, not only is there enough space for the "free mind" to live and let you be free, but there is also enough water and soil for the "spirit of independence" to stand on and make you self-sufficient.
Nature has long arranged such a place for the Chinese who pursue freedom, where they can "take the three rivers and take the five lakes", and at the time of the Tang Dynasty, a generation of dynasties made corresponding arrangements in administrative divisions, setting up Jiangnan West Province, including Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, although it was intended to "control Jing barbarism and lead Ouyue", but opened a convenient door for "walking the rivers and lakes".
Therefore, "walking the rivers and lakes" is not only the rivers and lakes of natural geography, but also the rivers and lakes of administrative divisions - Jiangxi and Hunan, just the rise of Zen Buddhism, the south to the north, on the road of "walking the rivers and lakes" took a step ahead.
To think about the delivery of the self
From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, Zen Buddhism walked three paths. From Dharma a reed crossing the river, walking "Rulai Zen", to the Six Ancestors Huineng, all the way north to Shaolin; From the Six Ancestors sneaking south, practicing Zushi Zen, settling in Caoxi, Lingnan, taking the Caoxi all the way; Starting from Caoxi, Nanchan divided the qingyuan Xingsi and Nanyue Huairang two branches of the Legal System, along the Xianggan border to the north, to the Henglu Ershan, walking in Jiangxi Hunan, called walking the rivers and lakes, the Yuezu Divided Lantern Zen. Between the two masters of Matsu Daoyi and Shi Xiqian, walk out of the path of a river and lake with five flowers and five leaves. At that time, there were five major disciples under Huineng's door, Qingyuan Xingsi was the first, Nanyue Huai rang was the second, Shi Xiqian was from the Xingsi lineage, Matsu Dao was out of the Huaizhi lineage, Xingsi was yinke Xiqian with "although there are many horns, one scale is enough", and Huai Rang was "win my heart" in Ke Mazu.
Before the death of the sixth ancestor, Xi Qian was still young, and asked the ancestor: Xi Qian stopped? Ancestral advice: Think about it.
After the six ancestors passed away, Xi Qian meditated day by day, and when people asked him why, he replied: Bingzu's will. People laugh and say: Ru has a master and a brother who thinks, and now lives in Jizhou, and Ru's karma is on the other side. The teacher's words are very straight, and ru is self-obsessed. It turned out that what the Six Patriarchs said about "seeking to think and go" was to let Xi Qian go to the brother xingsi, so Xi Qian resigned from the ancestral shrine and went to find Xing Si.
When I got to Xingsi, Xingsi asked: Where did it come from? A: From Caoxi. Q: What did you bring? Answer: Come with the "original" of "not getting to Caoxi". Q: So what are you doing in Caoxi? Answer: If I don't get to Caoxi, how do I know that I didn't lose "originally"? With this question, Xingsi took over the "original" of Xi qian and gave birth to Xi Qian's self. Therefore, Xi Qian asked rhetorically: Does Master Cao Xi still know the monk? This is actually asking: Are you still the same xingsi from Caoxi? There are two meanings, the first of which is to ask "Have you deviated from Jogyoke"? The second floor is to ask "Have you surpassed Jogyoke"? And Xingsi's answer was: You see? Heechan said, "How can I know you?" The subtext is: You can only know yourself. Thoughts: One scale is enough.
Xi Qian also asked: When did the monk leave Caoxi, and when did he come here? That is, ask: When did you have a place to go? Xingsi replied: However, I know that sooner or later you will have to leave Caoxi and go to the Kaizong Sect yourself. Therefore, Xi Qian said: "Xi Qian does not come from Cao Xi", but comes from "original" and goes to the self. Xing Si: I also know where you go.
One day, Xingsi asked Xi Qian: Where did Ru come from? Xi Qian answered: From CaoXi. Xingsi held up the whisk and said: Does Cao Xi still have this? Xi Qian answered: Not only Caoxi, but also the Western Heavens. That whisker, which was a sign of the solipsism of the way of thinking, concentrated his free thoughts and self-consciousness, and said to Xi Qian: The reason why I told you is that I am afraid that no one will bear it in the future.
This dialogue between Zen should be the beginning of the "Yuezu Zen", that is, the beginning of transcending Indian Zen and initiating the creation of indigenous Zen. The development of Zen Buddhism has taken a path of "Yuezu", before the Six Ancestors Zen, can be described as "Zushi Zen", is a transcendence of the "Rulai Zen" brought by the Dharma Ancestors, so that Indian Zen is transformed into Chinese Zen, which can also be described as the transcendence of Chinese Zen to Indian Zen, and the Zen after that is generally called "Yuezu Divided Lamp Zen".
To take the step of "Yuezu", it is necessary to have the responsibility of the thinker, not only the disciple must have the ambition of "Yuezu", but also be willing to be the ladder of "Yuezu" for the teacher, so that the disciple can stand on the shoulder of the teacher, or even on the top of his head. "Yue Zu" out, this is the so-called "wisdom in the teacher, reduce the teacher and half the virtue; Wisdom is too much to teach, Fang Kan teaches", "Also, xingsi is like this to Xi Qian."
Xi moved to Nanyue, xingsi asked him to carry a letter to Huai Rang Zen Master, and when he saw Huai Rang, before the letter was taken out, he asked: How is it when the spirit is not important if you do not admire the saints? What does "spirit" mean? Is it a mind related to the heart, or a soul related to the soul? Or is it an illusory state of self-existence? Perhaps the spirit that contains all three aspects, if the "spirit" is not placed on the yearning for the saints and cherishing oneself, then what will it be like? That is, what is its true face?
Huai Jean said: You are asking this question too highly and deeply, why not ask it downwards? Xi Qian replied: It is better to suffer eternal destruction than to seek liberation from the saints! The words are categorical, like the verdict, showing the responsibility of the thinker.
This is the same as when Xingsi asked the Six Patriarchs: What should be done, that is, not to fall into class? The Six Patriarchs asked, "What did Ru do?" Answer: The Noble Truth is not. The Six Patriarchs also know: What class is it? Xingsi answered: The Noble Truth is not yet there, what a class! Six sets of good temptations, such as Socrates asking and asking again, let you tell the conclusion yourself. The conclusion of the practice is that there is no difference between the holy and the noble. It seems that Huai Rang is not as good as the six ancestors to guide, and does not follow the trend of the waterfall that flows straight down, and introduce it into the river of response, but instead makes it condescending and refuses to restrain the horse from the cliff.
Later, some people said that Xi Qian was overly self-responsible and too high-profile and compelling. Others argue that Wai Rang should slap him on the back and should not stop without saying a word. This is the difference between Huai Rang and Xing Si Zong Feng. At that time, the two of them were in front of the Gate of Caoxi, asking the question of the Six Ancestors, thinking about the electric light and flint, and answering at the moment, while Huai Rang had to wait for a cloud to open and the rain was blue. When Huai Rang first saw Matsu, Matsu still had ignorance, and Xi Moved here, he was already ripe, and he had reached the time of Tiluo. Therefore, Huai Let go and stop, and Xi Qian returned.
Xingsi asked: How quickly will the son return? Epistles? Xi Qian replied: The book does not pass, nor does the letter reach, and in a few days, the monk will grant a blunt axe, only to ask for it now. So, with a single step of thought, he prayed. Why did the monk stretch out a foot and worship him? Did he worship that foot? Apparently not. So what exactly did he worship? It is the "one" that is worshiped. This "one" is very important, from Lao Tzu, "one life two, two births three, three births of all things", "the heavens have one to be clear, the earth to get one to be peaceful", contains the meaning of "one is everything", in the Zen case, in addition to thinking "hanging one foot", there are also monks who "put up a finger".
Xi Qian took Xingsi's "one foot" and an unblanched blunt axe and headed to Nanyue again. This time, instead of visiting, he went to kaishan. Of course, Kaishan can't use a blunt axe, but must use the self-consciousness he carries with him- "one" to open the mountain, to create a sharp axe that can never be recovered, so as to open up a "Yuezu" world where "one is everything".
Put the Buddha in your heart
Xi moved to Nanyue, lived in Hengshan South Temple, there was a stone on the east side of the temple, it was convenient for the stone to be built, known as the stone Xiqian, and then at the request of the doormen, he went down the mountain to Honghua, and from Nanyue Huai to Honghua, Jiangxi, Matsu Daoyi, known as the Second Master of the World.
At first, he did not have as high profile as Xiqian, he ran away from Hengyue, first went to Fujian, then transferred from Fujian to Jiangxi, lived in Linchuan and Nankang for about 30 years, and then came to Hongzhou and founded Hongzhou Zen. Before coming to Hongzhou, he did not seem to show signs of super-master yuezu, and compared with Xi Qian, he was quite low-key.
But later, the situation of the two seems to have reversed, the stone is still lonely, waiting for twists and turns, and the depth of its portal must meander, just as Matsu commented on him, the so-called "stone road slippery". Matsu, on the other hand, was dominated by dragons and tigers, connected by mountains and seas, and the pattern was getting bigger and bigger, not only establishing a free ideological line for the development of Zen Buddhism, but also formulating a self-disciplined organizational line, so that Zen Buddhism had a situation of "Matsu opening the jungle and establishing clear rules for hundreds of people" and arranging homes for thinkers.
Matsu's Zen thoughts are not only scattered points of the spirit, such as "large pearls and small pearls falling on the jade plate", but also with "that is, the heart is a Buddha - not the heart is not a Buddha - ordinary mind is the Tao" to form a consistent line of clear mind, in terms of thinking methods, it is manifested as "touching the situation as it is", "everywhere is true", in the way of cultivation, in the way of practice, with the "Tao does not need to cultivate", "let the heart for cultivation" the way of receiving the truth, using hidden words, gestures, chanting, props, fists and feet and other most primitive, simplest, and most direct ways to guide scholars. Return to the "original" place where there is no language and no writing at the beginning of man, and exchange ideas.
Disciple Deng Yinfeng came to bid farewell to Matsu, Zu Yue: Where to go? Feng Yun: Go to the stone.
Zu Yue: The stone road is slippery, you have to be careful. Feng Yun: I have poles and wood with me, and I make a scene every scene.
When he reached the stone, he went around the Zen bed, vibrated the tin, and asked: What is the purpose? Stone answered: Heaven, heaven. Feng was speechless to respond, and came back to Matsu and said, Zu Yue: Ru went again, and when he saw him in the heavens, Ru booed twice. The peak went again, as asked before. Unexpectedly, the stone booed twice. Feng returned without words, saying to Matsu, Zu Yue: Stone road slippery.
It seemed that this feng monk had already revealed the signs of a super master and ancestor, but he had not yet reached the fire. When the stone is called "Heaven", it is like Confucius's meaning of "Heaven And What Words". At this point, the language tends to be minimalist, close to wordless, with "boo" in response, but a natural voice, breaking through the air, such as "four hours of action", spring, summer, autumn and winter, never wordless. The peak was not enough, on the occasion of the heavens, there was no way to deal with it, and after being booed, it was even more deserted and fled, so that when he fell, Matsu said that "the stone road is slippery", and this was fulfilled in him.
But this peak monk also had extraordinary deeds. One day, the peak bulldozer passed by, and Matsu sat on the road with his feet outstretched. Feng Yun: Please ask the teacher to close the foot. Zu Yun: The exhibition is not accepted. Feng Yun: You can't go back. Say it, and push the cart over. Matsu's foot was damaged, returned to the Dharma Hall, and the axe was carried out: the monk who had just crushed the old monk's foot came out. The peak came out, and Yu Zu led his neck in front of him, and Zu Nai threw the axe. As soon as the Zen machine moves, there is no retreat, God blocks the killing of God, Buddha blocks the killing of Buddha, let alone crushes Matsu's feet? Feng also looks like a Yuezu style.
The monk asked: How is it the intention of coming from the west? Matsu answered: Pray! As soon as the monk prayed, Matsu kicked him. Monk Dawu, stood up, clapped his hands, laughed, cloud: also great strange, also great strange! A hundred thousand and three ambiguities, immeasurable and wonderful meanings, only to a hairy head, you will know the root. After praying and retreating, he told the clouds: Since eating Ma Shi, he has been laughing endlessly until now.
What did Matsu kick him? Of course, it is the "intention from the west", the "intention from the west", which is nothing more than teaching people to worship the Buddha. However, when he worshipped, Matsu suddenly kicked him, causing his attention to shift to himself at once. But the Buddha still doesn't have any feelings, and the only one who feels at the moment is himself. As soon as Matsu kicked, he reminded him: What do you worship the Buddha who has no feelings? To worship, worship the sentient self, worship your "original" face and self-awareness.
A Pang jushi came to ask Matsu: Who is a person who does not associate with the Ten Thousand Laws? This question is an answer to the only one who has no treatment, and the Bible's "Genesis" is an answer. Obviously, Matsu did not like this way of asking questions, he said: When Ru sucks up the water of the West River, he will go to Ru. You can take a sip, drink the water of the Xijiang River dry, go back to the way it was when it originated, and I will tell you again. What do you mean by that? If you can't even drink a piece of Water from the West River, don't ask about the origin of the universe.
Layman Youyun: Don't be ignorant of the original people, please ask the teacher to keep his eyes high. Don't forget that the original man, but also from a higher point of view, from the high place of the origin of the universe to see the original man, that person is the only creator, that is, the Creator God in the Bible. But Matsu's original place is not here, but in the human heart, that is, the mind is the Buddha, then the Buddha is the original person. For the "original", do not seek from the boundless, the beginningless and the endless, but from the limited "my heart" of the present, "my heart is the universe".
A monk came to ask Matsu: Why do you say, "That is, the mind is the Buddha"? Matsu said: I say this to stop the child's crying. It should be noted that the "little children" here, when they are not young children, refer to those who have not become adults in Buddha-nature, so they do not know how to settle their bodies and minds, and they cry in fear all day long, so they must be given a definite truth so that they can be quiet. So, I said to them, there is a place where you can settle down and live, and that is your original mind, and the Buddha is in your heart - "that is, the mind is the Buddha." The monk asked again: What do you say when the crying has stopped? Matsu said: At that time, I will say to them, "Not the mind is not the Buddha." From a methodological point of view, there must be a positive side, there must be an opposite, and when we talk about "that is, the mind is the Buddha", we must talk about "non-mind and non-Buddha", even if it is the truth, it cannot be grasped forever, it must be broken, and it must be denied in order to move towards a higher truth.
Simply speaking of "the mind is the Buddha" does not start with Matsu. The Six Patriarchs spoke of it in the Tantra, and the Six Patriarchs also spoke of it in the Heart King's Ming before, but the proposal of "that is, the mind is the Buddha" and "non-mind is not a Buddha" as a pair of children began with Matsu. It can be said that "non-heart non-Buddha" is the most challenging "Yuezu" lamp that Matsu provoked, so that later the Zen style changed again, and those masters of the founding sect followed him to "non-mind non-Buddha".
There are also those who have the original intention and refuse to follow. Dameishan Dharma Zen master Chu visited Matsu and asked, "How is it a Buddha?" Zu Yun: "That is, the mind is the Buddha." "Fa Chang da enlightenment, and later lived in Damei Mountain." When The ancestor lived on the mountain, he ordered a monk to ask Yun, "When the monk saw what Master Ma had, he lived on this mountain?" Fa Changyun: "Master Ma said to me: That is, the mind is a Buddha, so I live here." Monk Yun: "Master Ma has been saying goodbye to Buddhism recently." Chang Yun: "Why do you have to say goodbye?" Monk Yun: "Recently, I said again: "Non-mind is not a Buddha." Chang Yun: "This old man has not had a day to confuse people!" Ren Ru is not a Buddha, I just want to be a Buddha. The monk replied to Matsu, Zu Yun: "Plum ripe also!" ”
The Chinese Zen style, to the six ancestors one change, with "that is, the heart is the Buddha" to change "Rulai Zen" into Zushi Zen, to Matsu another change, with "non-heart non-Buddha" to change Zushi Zen into "Yuezu Dividing Lights Zen", these are two ideological revolutions within Zen Buddhism. And The Fa Chang Zen master did not forget the original intention of the Six Ancestors, and always cherished the purpose of the Ancestral Master Zen, so he refused to follow Matsu's "non-heart and non-Buddha", and it was precisely because of this that Matsu said that "the plum is ripe", although this is also a kind of praise, but it is not what he advocates. What he advocates is not a mature proposition, but a fresh idea, and within Zen Buddhism, if you want to continue to "cross the ancestors", you can't rely on mature ideas, you have to rely on fresh ideas.
(The author is close to "Cultural Rivers and Mountains", volumes 1-7, CITIC Publishing House)