There is a saying in Buddhism that it is not the disciple who looks for the master, but the master who looks for the apprentice. Let's tell the story of a high-ranking monk who crossed the river with a reed, crossed thousands of mountains and rivers, and went to find the mantle to pass on to people. Speaking of which, you probably already guessed that he was Dharma Guru.
Southern Dynasty 480 Temple
The sentence "Four hundred and eighty temples in the southern dynasty, how many buildings are in the smoke and rain" vividly describes the scene of Buddhism's flourishing during the Southern and Northern Dynasties at that time. It was also during this period that a South Indian monk Dharma, who had been entrusted by his master, landed in the South China Sea and set foot on this land.
At that time, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were constant disputes in various places, but the Yangtze River area under the rule of Xiao Yan, the Liangwu Emperor of the Southern Dynasty, had a unique atmosphere; Xiao Yan's reputation for worshipping monks and Buddhas was well known, and temples of all sizes could be seen everywhere, and the morning bells and twilight drums shrouded this land, as if it was a pure land isolated from the chaotic world.
Dharma's trip to the Eastern Lands was with a mission, and Dharma's Master specifically instructed Todamo before his death: "Sixty-seven years after my death, the Indian Dharma will be destroyed, and you will have to go to the Eastern Lands to teach the Dharma, and there are many great masters in the Eastern Lands, and the Dharma will flourish there; remember, you cannot go to the south, where the monarchs like to do their deeds; but to the north to teach the Dharma."
In this way, Dharma landed from Guangzhou with the mission of transmitting the Dharma to the east. When Damos wanted to go, he simply asked Xiao Yan, the Emperor of Liangwu, to see if Emperor Liangwu, who was known as the "Emperor Monk", could become the heir to his mantle.
Emperor Wu of Liang heard that Dharma, the twenty-eighth generation of Shakyamuni, had come from India specifically to meet himself, and he was very proud and secretly happy in his heart, thinking that needless to say, he must have built temples and cultivated Buddhism for so many years, and his reputation was far-reaching, and even Dharma Grandmaster himself came, if he could get two praises from Dharma Grandmaster, then he said, I will have to double the promotion of the Dharma in the future. So the clean water splashed the street, the loess pad road, a grand welcome scene, Emperor Liangwu was respectful to Dharma, as a guest, looking at the high monk in front of him, Emperor Liangwu was beautiful, waiting for Dharma to open his mouth to praise himself. As a result, Dharma's eyes were closed, his breath was calm, and he did not say a word. The atmosphere was a little awkward, and just when a breeze blew through, the wind chimes hanging from the eaves moved with the wind. Emperor Wu of Liang was full of smiles, and there was nothing to say, "The wind blows lingling", Dharma said, not the bell movement, but the heartbeat. A sentence choked Emperor Wu of Liang back.
There is no merit in building a temple to worship the Buddha
Slowly the two began to talk about buddhism, chatting and talking about "merit", Emperor Liangwu came to the spirit at this time, and asked Dharma with a smile on his face: "Oh, in this life, I have built temples, mostly for almsgiving, copying countless scriptures, vigorously promoting the Dharma, you see, how about my merit?" I thought Dharma had to praise himself. Unexpectedly, Dharma did not look at Emperor Liangwu squarely: "There is no merit." ”
When Emperor Wu of Liang heard this, he ripped his teeth straight in his mouth and thought to himself, This Indian monk really can't speak! "Well, according to you, how do you do it to be meritorious?" Emperor Liangwu thought to himself, as long as you can say it, I will always have a way to do it. Dharma smiled and replied, "What you have done is a promising act, a small virtue that has no form and is not enough to hang on to teeth; it is like the shadow of a person, or like the flower in the mirror and the moon in the water, it seems to have, but it is not." True merit is the wonderful and harmonious Dharma wisdom to forget oneself and attain the state of emptiness and selflessness. Such merit is not something that can be sought by worldly and promising deeds. ”
Emperor Liangwu was anxious when he heard this, and thought to himself, What's the matter? Just by your words, I dare to love that all these temple-building and chanting things I have done over the years have been in vain! It doesn't work. Then he asked, "Ask the Master, what is the highest truth that the saints seek?" Dharma replied, "This identity is actually unholy and unwise." That means that all beings are equal, everyone has Buddha-nature, and mortals and saints in the eyes of the world are equal in the eyes of The Buddha, but they are all clinging to the world's fame and fortune.
Emperor Liangwu thought to himself, Since saints and mortals are the same as you said, then I have to ask you, are you a saint or a mortal? "So who is this man who is talking to me in front of me?!". Dharma replied even more desperately, "I don't know this man either." ”
When Emperor Wu of Liang heard this, he was so angry in his heart that he thought that this was a high monk from India? This is clearly a lever! In fact, Dharma's words have a history. When Dharma was still the crown prince of the "Xiangzhi Kingdom" in South India, there was a mystery in his heart, "Who was I when I was not born, and who was I when I was born?" In order to solve the "century question" in his heart, he practiced monasticism, Dharma Dharma. It is reasonable to say that dharma at this time has not yet reached the state of perfection, and it is true that he cannot realize his final state of life, so he replied that he did not know. But Emperor Wu of Liang had such a high level of understanding. In the end, the more the two people talked, the more they couldn't talk together, and Emperor Wu of Liang simply left the next sentence of "words are not speculative", and got up and whisked his sleeves away.
Unexpectedly, this historic meeting was so unhappy. At this time, Dharma also understood in his heart that an emperor like Emperor Liangwu, who was considered by the world to be single-minded in cultivating Buddhism, was only pursuing form, not a true cultivator, let alone the heir to his own mantle. Remembering that before his master died, he let himself go to the north, so Dharma left the capital of Emperor Wu of Liang and continued to the north...
Here, Emperor Liangwu told his side to the Guoshi, who was a well-trained monk, and when he heard something wrong, he quickly asked where this senior monk was now? Emperor Wu of Liang said that he did not know, and it was estimated that he should have gone. Guoshi chanted "Amitabha Buddha." Dharma Dharma is a high monk who has received the true transmission of the Dharma, and this trip must be for the promotion of the Dharma. When Emperor Wu of Liang heard Guoshi say this, he also felt as if he was too reckless and snubbed the monk. What to do? Hurriedly gave the order, sent the cavalry to chase, no matter what, I had to invite Master Dharma back to me.
A reed crosses the river
Coming out of the palace, Dharma did not idle for a moment, and rushed north day and night. On this day, walking and walking, a large river appeared in front of him to block his way. I saw that this big river, the water was turbulent and choppy, and suddenly I heard the sound of a large group of people and horses behind me. Dharma looked back, and sure enough, the cavalry sent by Emperor Wu of Liang came after him. At this time, Dharma, who had already made up his mind, casually folded a reed by the river, waved his hand, threw it in the river, jumped on the reed, rode the wind and waves, and galloped towards the other side of the river. The dozen or so cavalrymen who had chased after them were all dumbfounded.
The Shaolin Temple passed on the mantle
Among the Five Mountains, The Shaolin Mountain, the mountains are majestic and densely forested, hence the name of the Shaolin Temple. Dharma walked here and immediately felt comfortable, the Buddha's door was pure, as it should be, he stepped into the Shaolin Temple. As soon as I heard that the Indian monk Dharma had personally visited the Shaolin Temple, the monastery could open the pot, and the abbot hurriedly led the monks to line up to greet him; here arranged for the kitchen to prepare a good meal and clean the meditation room. The old abbot repeatedly asked Dharma to give a lecture on the Dharma for the monks, only to see that Dharma sat on the pulpit for a full hour, without saying a word, and suddenly got up and left the table, leaving a group of monks, looking at each other, and no one could understand which sub-sutra this was reciting.
Dharma is to enlighten everyone in this way, and the root of cultivation lies in quietly cultivating oneself to the heart, not in the vigorous superficial form, but no one among the monks can understand, which is no fate. Dharma felt that his mantle was passed down to this Shaolin Temple, perhaps because this person had not yet come, or perhaps his own cultivation was not enough to choose the mantle of the mantle. So Dharma meditated in a cave on the mountain behind the Shaolin Temple. The news spread, and we all knew that a foreign monk had come to the Shaolin Temple and was not moving here.
This sitting has been nine years, accumulating day by day, and a thick layer of dust has already fallen on the body, and the grass has grown on the body, and even the shadows have been printed in the stone. On this day, a monk came to visit, and without saying a word, he threw himself on his knees in front of Dharma's cave and knelt down. On this day, it snowed heavily, and the snow fell more and more, and the next morning, I saw that the monk outside the cave, half of his body was already buried in the snow, only the upper body was still standing upright in the snow, and he was respectful. At this time, Dharma spoke: "You have been kneeling in the snow and wind for so long, is there anything you ask me for?" ”
The monk hurriedly said, "Disciple has a wish, please accept me as an apprentice." Spread the Dharma widely, universal to all sentient beings. ”
Dharma said, "The Dharma is the supreme path of the Great Dharma, so how can it be easily accepted and passed on to others?" Unless the snow that falls from heaven turns red. The monk thought for a moment, took out a knife from his arms, raised the knife in his hand, cut off his left arm, poof, a stream of blood spewed out, immediately stained the snow red, and his right hand respectfully placed the broken arm in front of Dharma to show his sincerity and determination in cultivation. In the end, Dharma was touched by the monk's piety and bravery, and agreed to accept him as an apprentice, and gave him the name Huike, which is the second ancestor of Zen Buddhism, and the two also achieved a period of master-apprenticeship.
Someone summed up this allusion to a couplet: "Where a reed crosses the river, nine years face the wall and wait for people to come." ”
Just go west
According to historical records, after Dharma passed on the mantle to Hui Ke at the Shaolin Temple, he went to Dinglin Temple under Bears Ears Mountain to teach the Dharma for five years, and died in December of the second year of Emperor Datong of Liangwu (536 AD), at the age of 150. Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu personally wrote the inscription "Ode and Preface to master Bodhidharma of the Southern Dynasty" to commemorate Master Dharma.
It is said that a few years later someone met Dharma in the western region, holding a staff zen and carrying a shoe to the west. When the emperor heard about this, he thought it was very strange, so he ordered someone to dig up the tomb of Dharma, only to see that there was only one shoe inside the coffin. At this time, people believed even more that Dharma had found his own mantle in China to complete the mission and complete the achievements.