The Qing Dynasty poet Shu Wei wrote a poem: "The origin of wealth is like a dream, and there are no immortals who do not read." "Mortals should study harder. So, what books should we read? Read the classics, and it took thousands of years to produce a book that has been handed down. The master of Chinese studies suggested that young people should read Confucian classics, Taoist classics in middle age, and Buddhist classics in old age.
How to read the classics? Exclusive reading, reading and reciting the classics is "specialized", not "reading". We read the scriptures for only one purpose, and that is to achieve "stillness, emptiness, and nothingness." "University" said: "Knowing and then there is determination, and then there is calmness." The Tao Te Ching says: "To the extreme, keep quiet." The Diamond Sutra says, "The mind should be born without dwelling." Confucianism talks about "determination", Taoism talks about "nothingness", and Buddhism talks about "emptiness".
How can we achieve the state of "stillness, nothingness, and emptiness" in reading and reciting the classics? Reading the classics is "specialization," which means "oneness," and reading without distractions. No mortal can have no desires and desires, so he must first achieve less selfishness and few desires, and if he cannot achieve his mind without distractions, he must first achieve one thought instead of ten thousand thoughts. Because 1 is closest to 0. When we read the scriptures, we must not be cranky and absent-minded. If you can "live in one place", you will eventually be able to "have no place to live in your heart". Therefore, when we read the scriptures, we don't care what language we use to read them. He does not know Sanskrit, he reads Chinese, he does not know Chinese, he reads Tibetan, he does not know Mandarin, he reads Teochew. It makes no difference in what language you use to read the Bible, only in your heart.
Legend has it that there was a monk who traveled all over the world, went to a remote mountain village, saw a dilapidated house with a golden roof, and was very surprised, and only saw an old woman when he entered the house. The old monk asked, "Old man, do you have any methods to practice?" The old lady said, "I can't read or write, and I have only been concentrating on reciting the Buddha's name for decades." The monk asked, "What Buddha name do you read?" and the grandmother replied, "There is Amitabha Buddha in the south." The monk was taken aback when he heard this, and said, "Old man, you are wrong, it is no Amitabha Buddha in the south, not Amitabha Buddha in the south." The old man regretted it very much when he heard it, and felt that he had recited the Buddha name wrong for decades, and was disrespectful to the Buddha, so he immediately changed his mind to "Nan Wu Amitabha Buddha". As soon as the monk went out, he looked back and saw that the golden light on the roof was gone, and he regretted it very much, so he quickly returned to the old house and said to the old grandmother: "Old man, I was wrong just now, and you are right to have Amitabha Buddha in the south." The old woman was very happy when she heard this, and she changed her mind again. The monk said goodbye, went out to see, and the golden light reappeared.
It can be seen from this that reading the classics is only "specialized", not "reading", and sincerity is spiritual.