Hongren sent Huineng to cross the river and return to Dongchan Temple alone, and no longer went to the church to preach the scriptures, but meditated and participated in Zen behind closed doors.
1. Seek to rob the robe
After a few days like this, the disciples couldn't sit still, and they discussed and speculated, "Master, what's the matter? If you don't go to church, don't lecture on the scriptures, and don't mention the inheritance of the mantle anymore, is it already ......?"
The more everyone discussed, the more they felt that something was wrong, and their suspicions deepened, so they didn't care about the law, and came to the abbot's room together to ask: "Master hasn't gone out for many days, is it unwell, or has he encountered some trouble?"
Hiroshi said, "The body is fine, and there are no worries. ”
The crowd asked, "Then why did you keep your door closed and stop going to court?"
Hongren did not hide it, and said calmly: "The clothes have been spread, and Zen Buddhism will surely flourish in the world, what else do I have to say? You don't need to inquire or inquire about this matter anymore." ”
As soon as everyone heard that "the clothes law has been spread", there was no movement at all in such a big matter, and they were even more puzzled, for fear that the clothes law would be left behind. Then he asked, "To whom did the cloth pass on?"
"Those who can get it", Hongren stopped talking after saying this, and sat there calmly and peacefully with his eyes closed.
"Those who are capable will get it," is there a capable person? Apart from Shenxiu's first seat, who else has this ability? But I didn't hear Shenxiu say that Master had already taught him the Fa! Everyone looked at Shenxiu, but Shenxiu just shook his head lonely.
Everyone was even more confused by the second monk.
Then everyone discussed: "Wasn't there a walker surnamed Lu from the south more than half a year ago, and there was a word "can" in his name, could it be him?"
Immediately, everyone split up to look for Huineng, but Huineng was not found in the mill, and there was no trace of Huineng in the entire Dongchan Temple. At this time, the disciples were anxiously red-eyed, and they began to talk nonsense:
"Hui Neng is just a practitioner who has only been here for eight months, and he is not an official disciple of the master, I have followed the master for more than ten years, is it not as good as him?"
"Even if my qualifications are not as low as that southerner, but Senior Brother Shenxiu, he is the best inheritor in terms of professional ability and prestige. Moreover, the master has already affirmed Senior Brother's "Wuxiang Verse", and the Yifa will inevitably be passed on to Senior Brother Shenxiu, why did it suddenly pass it on to Huineng?"
Could it be that the master fell for some kind of "bewitchment" of that southerner and lost his mind? Huineng used improper means, and he did not deserve to have a golden robe. ”
"The golden robe is an authentic token of the Zen sect, how can it fall into the hands of a fang? No, you must go and snatch the golden robe back!"
After a while of discussion and discussion, everyone unanimously agreed to chase Huineng and recapture the robe, so let's set off quickly!
Although it was not all of the Dongzen Temple, at least hundreds of people joined the team to catch up with Huineng. Some of them are not convinced, some want to take the robe for themselves, some want to be polished after contributing to the gods, and some are pure and not afraid of big things...... In short, they embarked on the road south with their own calculations.
Second, Hui Ming:
Hui Neng said goodbye to Hong Ren and then went to the south, because the road is not familiar, and in order to hide people's eyes, most of them take the mountain road, stop and go, and finally come to a place called Da Yuling. This mountain range is the watershed of the Ganjiang River and the Beijiang River, the dividing line between Jiangxi and Guangdong, also known as Meiling.
It is about 1,500 miles from Huangmei, Hubei Province to Da Yuling (Meiling Town), and Huineng feels that no one should be able to catch up with him, so he slows down and prepares to rest here before making plans.
Among the people who came to take the robes was a senior brother named Hui Ming, who was once a four-rank general, as powerful as an ox, and his physical fitness was extraordinary. He walked like a fly, leaving the rest of the chasing group far behind. When he caught up with Da Yuling, he finally caught up with Huineng.
Huineng saw that Hui Ming was coming to the ridge, and he couldn't run by himself, and he was definitely not an opponent. So he put his golden robe on a large rock by the side of the road, and hid himself in the grass.
Huineng pondered: This is a token handed down by the ancestors of the past generations, how can it be taken away by violence?
Hui Ming saw the corner of the robe exposed from the burden on the stone, and knew that this was a Zen token, so he thought that Hui Neng voluntarily offered the robe for self-preservation. So he hurried forward to get the baggage.
But no matter how much effort Hui Ming uses, he just can't carry this burden. After all, Hui Ming has followed Hongren to practice for many years, and knows that some things cannot be forced, and it seems that Hongren's teaching of clothes to Huineng is really the will of heaven and cannot be forced.
(Why can't you pick it up?) There is no need to scrutinize it, this is how the "Altar Sutra" records.) But there may be another possibility: Hui Ming has come all the way and has felt the pressure of "conceiving his guilt", this robe is not a good thing, but a curse. He stood in front of the robe and thought about the road, and when he reached out to take it, he immediately dispelled the thought. In the eyes of outsiders, it is not wrong to say that you can't afford it. ）
Then he turned his mind and shouted loudly: "Walker, walker, I am here to seek the Dharma, not to make a mantle." ”
Hearing Hui Ming's shout, Hui Neng came out of the grass and sat cross-legged on the stone, Hui Ming stepped forward to salute him and said, "I hope the walker can speak for me." ”
Huineng saw that he was sincerely seeking the Fa, and then said: "Since you are here to seek the Fa, you should first ignore all the outer edges and external circumstances, and don't have a single thought, so that I can speak the Dharma for you." ”
Hui Ming listened to Hui Neng's instructions, was silent for a long time, and meditated.
Hui Neng saw that he was in a calm mood and breathing for a long time, and then said: "Don't think about good, don't think about evil, at this time, you take a good look, which is your true face?"
When Hui Ming heard this, he seemed to be struck by lightning, and suddenly his heart was empty:
"I can't let the Zen token fall into the hands of the Nanban who can't enter the stream, so I came to take the robe, thinking that this is a "good deed". But Huineng's robe was handed down by his father, and it was against my teacher's will to take it away, which can also be said to be an "evil act". Is that good or evil?"
"Just now, a hunter at the bottom of the ridge gave a large piece of venison to the lonely old man in the neighborhood, which can be regarded as a "good deed"! But the fawn lying on the side of the road was clearly starved on the side of the road because it had lost the care of the doe, and the hunter killed its mother, isn't this an "evil act"?
"If you look at it carefully, good is evil, and evil is good. What is the difference between good and evil? There is no absolute good or evil, and if we don't think about good and evil, then that's all we have left!"
"This" is the reality of the moment: I came to chase Huineng, and Huineng gave me the explanation, the hunter kills the deer, and the hunter distributes the venison to the old man, and that's it. It doesn't matter if it's "good or evil", it doesn't matter if it's "good or bad", that's what it is. ”
"You don't have to use your mind to feed back everything on the outside world, you can see it as it is. All the thoughts that arise under the outer edge of oneself are false illusions. ”
"The reason why there is good and evil is because the heart is moved, and you must know that the things that are born from the outside world are not the original things. ”
Hui Ming immediately comprehended, and then asked, "In addition to what you just said, are there any other better tantric methods that have been passed down by the ancestors of the past generations?"
Huineng smiled at Hui Ming, stood up and said, "Actually, there is no secret method, what I told you just now is already all, since I can talk about it, it is not a secret." If you can always focus on the present, you will not be delusional, and you will be at ease all the time. ”
Hui Ming no longer had the slightest doubt, hurriedly saluted Hui Neng, and sighed: "Hey, thinking that I have been in Huangmei for so many years, it is a waste of time, and I have been looking for those ethereal things. Now, thanks to the instructions of the practitioners, I have realized that it is really like a person who knows how cold and warm he is drinking water, and it is difficult to explain it! If you don't give up, you are my master. As he spoke, he immediately bowed down to Huineng.
Huineng hurriedly stopped and said: "When your master is not necessary, if you think what I said is true, then let's call ourselves brothers and sisters, Hongren is our common master! ”
Huineng sorted out his belongings and prepared to continue south. Hui Ming saw that Hui Neng was leaving, and he didn't know where he should go, so he asked, "So where should I go in the future?"
Huineng said: "When you meet Yuan, you stop, and when you meet Meng, you live." Later, Hui Ming later settled in Mengshan, Yuanzhou, Jiangxi, and participated in Zen teachings, and Dahong Huineng Zen Dharma.
Hui Ming was grateful for Hui Neng's guidance, and he told Hui Neng that a large number of people would be chasing after him, asking him to set off as soon as possible. Huineng didn't do much nostalgia, and continued to embark on the road to the south, and over this mountain range is Guangdong.
Hui Ming returned the same way and met the group of men and horses behind him at the bottom of the ridge. Hui Ming said to them: "I have already gone up to see the ridge, there is only a cliff, there is no trace of people, presumably Hui Neng did not go up the ridge but went to the other road below the ridge." ”
Everyone saw Hui Ming, who had just come down from the ridge, sweating profusely and kicking angrily, without the slightest suspicion, so everyone hurried to another road to chase over. Huineng turned over the Great Yuling, and Shaozhou was close at hand.
Recalling the scene when he left Caoxi Village in Shaozhou, Huineng was full of emotion, but he didn't expect to come back so soon.