One day, when he didn't wear a robe to eat, a monk asked, "Is Mo vulgar?" and the teacher said, "Is it a monk now?"
——"Five Lantern Huiyuan" Volume 6 Yongquan Jingxin Zen Master
Literal translation in the vernacular:
One day, Yongquan Jingxin did not wear a robe when he ate, so a monk asked him: "Aren't you acting like a layman?"
Yongquan Jingxin replied, "Am I a monk now?"
Prompt:
It is best to read the original text and ponder the meaning behind the words repeatedly. If you really can't read it, you can read the "literal translation of the vernacular" first, and interpret it literally for the time being. "Appreciation and commentary" is a personal interpretation of the public case, if you can see it, just watch it, just watch it, don't take it seriously.
Appreciation:
Coincidentally, on the issue of "monks and laymen", Zen Master Nanquan Puyuan also had a similar public case, to the effect that:
A monk came to worship Nanquan Puyuan, arched his hand and stood aside casually. Nanquan Puyuan said: "You look a little too casual, you look like a layman." ”
Hearing this, the monk hurriedly folded his palms together in front of his chest as a sign of respect.
Nanquan Puyuan said: "This is too restrained, and at first glance it is a monk." ”
The monk was at a loss for a moment, not knowing what to do.
If you cling to the so-called norms such as rules and guidelines, you are doomed to fall into a dilemma, just like the monk in the text, and eventually you will be at a loss.
Does a monk have to wear a robe, and he has to put his palms together when he sees someone? Any criterion of "convention and custom" is a limited understanding of people, and what is revealed is not the truth. What kind of person you are is determined by the amount of dress, words and deeds, and hair?
If the "heart" moves with the ten thousand laws and the "thoughts" are born with the environment, you will never get the truth, and you will always fall into a dilemma!
People are always following these "conventions" and doing things, and there are not a few people who are judged by their appearance. Those who wear yellow jackets are all food delivery, those in suits and leather shoes are either selling houses or selling insurance, and the real big bosses are all "cheap" of unknown brands......
What kind of people wear what kind of clothes, what kind of words they say, what kind of breakfast they eat...... There are all kinds of strange "limitations", but the sad thing is that people still agree that even if they go against their will, they should move closer to a higher "class", for fear that they will "fall behind".
That's the saddest part, that people fall into this limitation of identity without realizing it.
When you consider yourself a "human" and claim to be the spirit of all things, you will make a distinction with all other things and trample on the lives of others.
When you think of yourself as a "successful person", you will isolate yourself from other colleagues, and always love to "point out the country", "find faults", and "Lao Tzu is the best in the world".
When you think that you are a "gentleman", you will be different from other "laypeople", and you will only appreciate your own "high-minded talk" and "once a wind and moon", and you will not be used to looking down on other people's "firewood, rice, oil and salt" and "parents' shortcomings".
As long as there is recognition, it loses its original face. As long as you think you are "what", then all contradictions, all "uncomfortable" arise.
Therefore, when the Buddha taught people to practice, he did not want to teach them any superb skills, but he only needed to let go of the "conventions". A Buddha doesn't identify himself as an enlightened being, and a Buddha doesn't identify himself as a Buddha, so he can be completely liberated.
There is no difference in the truth of the world, the original face of all things is what it is now, it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter what it is, it doesn't matter what exists objectively.
Since all concepts are "promising" ideas, don't care about those unreal illusions. You can do what you think, don't care about other people's eyes and comments, but how many people can be so free and easy in reality?
In fact, it is not difficult to be a "comfortable" person, just a thought. You just need to feel yourself at the moment and accept him. "He" is the closest brother, you should hug him well, and don't dislike him anymore.
If you are content with the present, you will not be moved by the situation, if you do not move, where is not at ease? As the poem says:
"There are flowers in spring, there are moons in autumn, cool breeze in summer, and snow in winter. Don't worry about idle things, it is a good time in the world. ”
It is often ourselves who block our own lives, and from the moment we identify with the word "I", everything is imprisoned and uncomfortable. There are infinite possibilities in life, so why cling to "monks" or "laymen"?
If a layman does not know that he is a layman, he is not self-aware and is "stupid"; if a layman admits that he is a layman, he tends to agree with him and is "self-grasping"!
"Foolishness" and "self-grasping" should be abandoned, feel yourself, know yourself, but don't look down on yourself, and that's enough. Abandoning all the "dualistic independence" of "sangha" and "layman", the true self will naturally appear.