True Cultivators Take You to Read the Sutra, Translation of the Sutra of the Six Patriarchs, Chapter 7: What are the questions you need to know to understand the Sutra of the Altar?
Mencius said that once upon a time there was a mountain called Niu Mountain, which was lush and green, and the water and grass were abundant. But later, two large countries developed next to Niushan, and national construction needed production, so people came to Niushan every day to cut trees, graze, and hunt, and Niushan slowly became a bald mountain, and the flowers and trees were gone, replaced by bare rocks. Now when everyone talks about Niu Mountain, they all say that it is a lifeless convex mountain.
But Mencius said that the vitality of Niu Mountain is still there, and the seedlings on the mountain are receiving the moisture of rain and dew day and night, but the grass has just sprouted, and it is eaten by cattle and sheep, and the small trees have not grown up, and they are cut down by knives and axes. As long as Niu Shan is allowed to recuperate for a few years, it will definitely become lush again.
Mencius said that mountains can grow lush vegetation, which is the nature of mountains. It is human nature that people can rise up to the righteousness of Haoran (Confucianism is called benevolence, and Buddhism is called Vajra Dharma Body). Our people's yang energy is like a cow mountain, rising day and night, and finally helping us to rise up to the mighty righteous vajra Dharma body. But the bad thing is that our greed, hatred, ignorance, slowness, joy, anger, sorrow, and other emotions and desires are like knives and axes, cutting down the small shoots and saplings that we raise every day. So we seem to be in a state of disarray, and we live in fear.
Mencius said that as long as we don't cut down indiscriminately, then sooner or later the mountains will become lush and green, and sooner or later people will become a big Buddha.
Mencius said that if we sleep well at night, then when we come together the next day, we will feel refreshed, and this feeling of refreshment is the feeling of abundant yang energy. It can be seen that as long as we are not greedy, hateful, and slow at night, we have such an effect, so our human body is a very powerful magic weapon for nourishing qi (called Dan furnace in Taoism). But the bad thing is that the yang energy we raise overnight, and after a while, as soon as all kinds of lust comes, it begins to consume these yang energy, and then it is all consumed at night, and it can't be stored at all.
Put away your axe, hold your mind, use the method of contemplating your mind (Portal: What is Clear Mind), and take care of your greed, hatred, ignorance, joy, anger, and sorrow, and don't let them get in your way. As long as you are empty, then your Dan furnace will naturally raise yang energy day and night, which is our human nature.
This yang energy in our human body is the same as the endless qi of nature, so what does it feel like to say that Haoran righteousness? It is the same as the feeling of grandeur, tranquility, and peace that springs up in your heart when you appreciate the mountains and rivers, the rain, snow, wind and frost, the sun, the moon and the stars, because this is the same yang energy. The ancients gave this feeling a very apt word, called "Tai", the Tai of Tai and Tai. Yes, seeing sex is when your body is filled with a sense of harmony.
We are always seeing nature, just like the mountains are growing flowers and plants all the time. But why don't we see sex? Because we're cutting down every day, we're cutting ourselves down into a bald mountain, so we don't see sex. At present, most of the translators of the "Altar Sutra" are literary scholars, not cultivators. I still remember the difficulty of getting started, groping for many years but not even touching the door, fortunately with the guidance of the true master, I realized the root of the cultivation of life. In order to facilitate the latecomers to avoid detours, I aim to use the most understandable language of modern people to spread the great wisdom of the ancient saints and Buddhas in self-cultivation and cultivation.