In Chinese Buddhism, Daoji Zen Master is a very famous figure, and because of this, he is revered by posterity as Jigong Living Buddha, especially this sentence he said in "Jigong Li Xiuyuan", which is even more misunderstood for nearly a thousand years, that is:
"Wine and flesh pass through the intestines, and the Buddha's heart remains"
What does that mean?
Many people often take it for granted that "wine and flesh pass through the intestines, and the Buddha's heart remains" means that even if a practitioner eats meat and drinks wine, he can attain enlightenment and use this to persuade himself, which is actually a great misunderstanding, because such a view not only misunderstands the meaning expressed by the Jigong, but also violates the Buddha's teachings.
Why?
Because "wine and meat through the intestines" is not to let you drink wine and eat meat, but to let the practitioners not stick to the wine meat, that is, do not cling to the wine meat, and even do not cling to the outer edges of all external objects other than the wine meat, that is to say, "wine meat through the intestines" emphasizes "wine and meat waiting and not staying", and "passing and not staying" means that the practitioner no longer has the concept of "wine meat", let alone cling to the concept of "wine meat".
Therefore, what "wine and meat through the intestines" is actually to cut off the behavior of "drinking wine and eating meat", rather than letting people overly "drink wine and eat meat" and not care, so over the centuries, the world often reverses the meaning of this sentence said by Ji Gong, and even makes excuses for not keeping the precepts.
It is precisely because of this that we say that Ji Gong's words, that is, "wine and flesh pass through the intestines, and the Buddha's heart remains", have been misunderstood for nearly a thousand years.
So, why does this sentence of the Zen master make people have such a deep misunderstanding?
In fact, from the perspective of human nature, the world's misunderstanding has at least the following three reasons, namely:
First, make excuses for not keeping your vows
As we all know, the premise of studying Buddhism or practicing Buddhism is to take vows, and to take vows requires people to cut off all kinds of desires, of course, it is impossible to eat meat and drink like ordinary people.
There are many people who voluntarily give up their practice precisely because they cannot keep these precepts.
However, the Zen master's proposal that "wine and flesh pass through the intestines, and the Buddha's heart stays" is just in line with the appetite of these people who do not want to take vows, so they are The Zen master's sentence has made a completely opposite interpretation, so that people have been misunderstood for nearly a thousand years, which is one of the reasons.
Second, everyone in the world has the mentality of "wanting to become a Buddha, but not willing to give up worldly pleasures."
People in the world, that is, unenlightened beings, often have the mentality of "wanting to become a Buddha, but not willing to give up worldly pleasures", because sentient beings do not know how good it is to become a Buddha, so they covet worldly pleasures, such as drinking, eating meat, and the pleasures of sexual immorality, and because of this, people have some concerns about practice, and they can take vows thoroughly.
Therefore, in the depths of the heart, it is often more inclined to the psychology that both sides do not want to give up and both sides can rely on, so this sentence of Ji Gong just hits the psychology of these people, and at the same time these people will unconsciously explain the meaning of this sentence in the direction they want, which is the second reason for the misunderstanding.
Third, cling to the text, according to the meaning of the word
This is a common problem, and many people have been like this for generations, because they can't see the meaning behind the words through the surface of the words, and this is the case with this sentence of Ji Gong.
Because "wine and meat through the intestines" does not mean that the cultivation of Buddhism does not need to abstain from alcohol and meat, but emphasizes the need to abstain from alcohol and meat, and even requires practitioners not only to abstain from alcohol and meat, but also to abstain from everything other than wine and meat, that is, not to cling to wine and meat, let alone live in wine and meat, and even all external things, and only in this way can it be regarded as real practice, so the truly accomplished practice is actually not unconstrained overeating, but to constantly correct or reduce their own desires. Buddha's heart remains" is the meaning of this sentence.
However, people are often accustomed to interpreting the meaning of the sage from their own perspective and needs, which is why it has caused misunderstandings for nearly a thousand years.
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The data in this article are mainly quoted from the Jigong Li Xiuyuan, the Infinite Life Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lengyan Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the Great Compassion Heart Dravidian Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, the Ahan Sutra, the Chang Ahan Sutra, the Great Recitation Sutra