Why did Huineng become a monk?

No!

Master Huineng is the Buddha who has returned!

Wisdom helps all living beings,

Able to perform Buddhist deeds!

In life matters, one must have wisdom.

The Sixth Patriarch is the wisest and the most superior person. He understands all Dharma. He knows that if you want to achieve Buddhahood and reach the Pure Land, it is better to ask for things from your heart than from outside your heart. .

Because when you ask outside your heart, it is the power of others. It is "Amitabha" who accepts you, which is also a kind of compassion.

The most important thing is yourself. Your own "compassion" is "Guanyin", "joyfulness" is "the great power"; being "pure" and untainted is "Sakyamuni Buddha"; can you "Equality" treats all living beings without distinction, which is "Amitabha".

The Sixth Patriarch said: "Everyone! The human body is a city, the eyes, ears, nose and tongue are the gates. There are five gates outside and a gate of intention inside. The heart is the earth, and the nature is the king. The king resides in the heart and the earth, the nature is in the king, and the nature is gone and the king is gone. Sex exists in the body and mind, and sex disappears from the body. Buddha works toward nature, and does not seek outside himself. The delusion of self-nature is sentient beings, and the awakening of self-nature is Buddha. Compassion is Avalokitesvara, joy and equanimity are called powerful, pure energy is Sakyamuni, straightness is Amitabha; human beings are Sumeru, greed is the sea water, troubles are waves, poison is evil dragons, vanity is ghosts and gods, and worldly labor is Fish and turtle. Greed and hatred are hell, ignorance is beast. ’”

In this passage, the Sixth Patriarch was talking about the inner world. He did not talk about the outside world.

What the Sixth Patriarch means is that everyone’s body is the same as the Buddha’s kingdom. “Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body” are five external doors. There are five doors outside, and there is only one thing inside—“consciousness.” Where is your "consciousness", your "heart"? It is your "body", your "earth"; your "Buddha nature" is the "king" in this city. This "king" lives on top of the "heart and ground". When the "Buddha-nature" is there, the "King" is there; when the "Buddha-nature" is gone, the "King" is gone.

"Nature exists in the body and mind." "Buddha-nature" exists in the body and mind. Once the "Buddha-nature" disappears, the body will also be destroyed. "Buddha" originally means "Buddha nature". Do not seek "Buddha-nature" (oneself) from outside the body. If "Buddha-nature" is confused, it will be sentient beings; if "Buddha-nature" (self) is awakened, it will be Buddha. Simply put, that's it.

The Sixth Patriarch mainly said that our "body and mind" are equal to the "Western Paradise". Therefore, to see the "Western Paradise", look into your own "body and mind". If you are compassionate, you are "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva"; if you are able to rejoice and give up, you are "Mahasmaprapta Bodhisattva"; if you are completely pure, you are "Sakyamuni Buddha"; all your actions are very straight. You are "Amitabha".

You yourself and all the people are like Mount Sumeru. If you have greed, you are like all the sea water next to Mount Sumeru; the troubles you generate are like the waves of the sea water; you have been poisoned because there are Evil dragon, the one who poisons you is an evil dragon; in all voids, there are ghosts and gods; when you work hard in the world, you are like a fish in the sea and a turtle in it; if you are too greedy, you are in hell; If your anger is serious, you are in the realm of hungry ghosts; if you are foolish and have no wisdom at all, you are in the realm of animals.

This passage from the Sixth Patriarch means that each of us will experience greed in our lives. Greed! It's like living in hell; if you get angry and have a bad temper, you are in the realm of hungry ghosts; if you are stupid, have no wisdom, and don't know how to practice, you are in the realm of animals, no different from animals, and animals don't know how to practice. Therefore, "greed, hatred, and ignorance" are the three evil realms, the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, and the animal realm. Trouble is like a wave, which rises again and again before it calms down. "Greed" is the sea water, and what you see is Mount Sumeru.

The Sixth Patriarch also taught us to be compassionate! "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva" is the great mercy and compassion; if you understand the wisdom of "joy" and "equanimity", you are the "Mahasmaprapta Bodhisattva"; if your "body, speech, and mind" are pure, what does purity look like? There is no dust at all, no stain, you are "Sakyamuni Buddha"; you can see all living beings "equally" without distinction at all, your "straight heart" is the dojo, and you are "Amitabha". (Audience applause)

The Sixth Patriarch said it to us all at once, "You don't have to look at anything else, just look at yourself!" "What are you?" At this time, you can think about it. , what on earth are you?

Human life and death, in fact, enlightened people say "neither birth nor death", there is no life and no death.

But in our human eyes, there is life and death.

Two hunters were hunting in the forest. Suddenly, they found a corpse. There was a hut in the forest, and there was a man living there. They knocked on the door of the hut, and knocked, and knocked, and the door opened. The two hunters said, "We found a body in the forest. We thought it was you." "The man asked: "What is the body wearing?" The two hunters said, "The body is wearing yellow clothes." The owner of the house said, "I am wearing brown clothes." The owner of the house asked again: "Does this person have a beard?" The hunter said, "This person doesn't have a beard." The owner of the house said, "I have a beard, which shows that this person is not me."

Do you understand this? ? This joke is so cold. That is to say, even though the owner of the house is alive, he still has to ask: "What clothes are you wearing? Does he have a beard?" He still has to confirm whether he is alive or not? Isn't it a strange thing?

What does Master look like? This is what the mirror reflects. But do you know your inner self? Is it the "Buddha nature" within you? Are you "compassionate"? Are you "happy to give up"? Are you "pure"? Are you "straight"? If you don’t know anymore, you are lost, you are all sentient beings.

"Of course I know I live in Taichung", but, do you know? Are you in the "Western Paradise"? Or are you in the "Three Evil Realms"? Therefore, you must observe yourself very clearly and not be confused. One thing must be understood clearly, not just a little bit.

There was a person who said he was going to Italy for a two-week tour. Italy, a 2-week tour. He went to the bookstore to buy a book. He asked, "Is there any book about traveling to Italy?" "Yes. I just arrived. The book is called "Ten Days in Italy"." The person who wanted to buy the book said, "I What should I do if I buy this book from you - "Ten Days in Italy" but there are four days left?"

This is stupidity! Wouldn’t it turn a ten-day trip into a fourteen-day trip? Be smart! He also said: "This book is not suitable for me." Do I need a bookstore to publish a book called "Two Weeks in Italy" before I can buy this book? For a ten-day trip to Italy, you can also allocate your own among the fourteen days!

So, we wise people know how to study Buddhism and achieve success, instead of following books, which may not necessarily be useful.

It’s like a doctor wants to do an anatomy and buys a book on “Anatomy”. “Is there the latest “Anatomy”?” The clerk said: ““Anatomy” is “Anatomy” "Study", is there any latest one? Is it true that the heart is on the right side? Or is the mouth located in the stomach? Is there any latest one in "Anatomy"?

"Anatomy" has always been like this "Anatomy"? "This is the ignorance of the clerk. The latest "Anatomy" may have the latest anatomy method. This is called "The Latest Anatomy". The clerk doesn't know because there are new ones. Invention requires "New Anatomy".

In life matters, one must have wisdom. The Sixth Patriarch is the wisest and the most superior person. He understands all Dharma. He knows that in order to achieve Buddhahood and reach the Pure Land, it is better to ask from your heart than from outside your heart. Because when you ask outside your heart, it is the power of others, it is "Amitabha" who comes to accept you, and it is also a kind of compassion. The most important thing is yourself. Your own "compassion" is "Guanyin", and "joyfulness" is "the great situation". ”; if you can be “pure” and without dirt, you are “Sakyamuni Buddha”; if you can treat all living beings “equally” without distinction, you are “Amitabha Buddha”.

He teaches you to do this, and you will see your Buddhist world, instead of saying, as the Master said last time, look inside the Master's sleeve, "I see a Rolex watch." That's not the case. What you see is not that the Sixth Patriarch moved the "Western Paradise" in front of you to show you, no, but to teach you to see yourself. (Applause)

A wife asked her husband: "What do you admire about me?" Her husband did not raise his head, and the wife asked again: "Do you admire my beautiful face? Or do you appreciate it? My sexy figure?" Her husband finally raised his head and looked at her from head to toe, three times in a row, and said, "I appreciate your sense of humor.

” (Audience laughs)

People must be self-aware! Now ask everyone: "What do you admire about yourself?" What exactly do you admire?

He is like this, with a small triangular face, a thin and dry body, and not very tall. The temple is so tall and he is so short, so he must have some ability. I personally appreciate Padmasambhava's "straightness", he is so "straight"! "Anyway, I'll just do it." I'm not greedy or anything, "I'll just keep doing it." What you need to appreciate is - "Amitabha"! He is Amitabha. (Audience applauds)

Everyone has his own place to appreciate. When you want to appreciate yourself, you must know that you are the "Western Paradise" Buddha country; "Amitabha" is "straight" "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva" means "compassion"; "Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva" means wisdom and understands "joy and equanimity"; if you want to "purify" yourself, you will become "Sakyamuni Buddha".

What you need to appreciate is this, not worries, greed, distinction between others and me, harming others, and speaking some false words. Among all living beings, working hard like this, being greedy and getting angry. , and it is ignorance, which cannot be appreciated and must be eliminated.

We have many troubles in life. There is a troublesome joke. The wife asked her husband: "Why do you keep looking at the same thing?" Her husband said: "I didn't do anything, I just looked at it. That thing." "You didn't do anything. You looked at our marriage certificate for a full hour. Why did you look at that marriage certificate so carefully?" Her husband said, "I'm looking for it! Find it. When is the expiration date?” (Audience laughs)

This gentleman is really troubled, and his troubles are the waves of his life.

There is always no way to stop people's greed, but we practitioners must always reduce our greed. Greed is not allowed, and greed for money and sex is not allowed. Greed for money, sex, and greed are not allowed. Fame and greed for position are both bad. Follow it naturally and don't deliberately be greedy. This is a style of our practitioners. The style of practitioners is to follow the fate, follow the branch, and keep one's duty. Otherwise, It's beyond the scope of greed.

A little child said to his mother: "This morning, I was riding a bus with my father, and my father asked me to give up my seat to a lady." His mother said, "Well! "Your father is right, you should give up your seat to the lady." The child said, "But I am sitting on my father's lap." His mother had nothing to say. This is also not allowed. We should give up our seats when taking the bus, but we should not sit on your lap. This is not allowed.

Life! What a delusion of man! It’s nothing more than wealth, nothing more than sex, nothing more than status, but we shouldn’t pursue it deliberately or force it. Like us practitioners, speaking in terms of wealth, what someone gives me and is willing to support is called offering, and offering is called offering. What we are doing today is a fire offering, called Fire offering. Yes or no? Of course! When someone gives us an offering that we are happy to offer, you have to refuse it first and say, "No! No! No! No!" After three times, if someone offers you another offering, you can accept it. This is obedience. If someone insists on giving it to you, then you must take it; if someone doesn't give it to you, it's not good to force it to you.

Did you know? My son-in-law Andy is a very honest person, a very straight American person, very straight. Everyone saw that Fo Qing was the daughter of the Master. When he was in New York, Sister Lian Wei (the head of Vajra Lei Cang Temple in New York) would bring some things to Andy and say, "This is for Fo Qing, so you can "Take it!" Andy was very rude when people gave it to him, so he just took it. Fo Qing taught him: "You! If you say: "No! Thank you." "No! Thank you." "No! Thank you" three times, people still have to give it to you, so you can accept it." So, every time Once someone wants to give Andy something, Andy will say: "No! Thank you. No! Thank you. No! Thank you. Okay." and then accept it.

Fo Qing and Andy once traveled to Europe. Fo Qing bought a lot of things, including clothes, shoes, electrical appliances, decorations and cosmetics, and packed them back with large and small bags. .

After passing the US customs, Fo Qing wrote "I didn't buy anything", which means zero, no need to pay taxes. When Andy saw it, his face turned green and he said, "You go your way, and I'll go mine. You obviously bought something." "How can you say you didn't buy anything?"

Fo Qing said to him: "I didn't buy a lot! The total is less than four hundred dollars. You want to list them one by one, so I don't need to list them." It doesn’t cost more than 800 yuan for two people! So just write: “No purchase.” He said, it must be written clearly, otherwise he will not go out with her. That's the kind of person he is.

Once, at the Sheng-yen Lu Foundation, Fo Qing and Andy were there. Some people called their home for the Fo Qing. Fo Qing told him: "I was busy, busy looking at the computer. "Hey, please tell me, "I'm not here now."" Andy took the phone and put it down: "Can I say this? You are obviously here!" Fo Qing said to him, "Tell him: "I'm not here now. I'll be back in a while." Andy: "I can't say it, I don't dare to say it. This way, you can go out and stand outside the door now, so that I can say: "Fo Qing is not here, she is. Outside.’” He’s going to ask her to get out!

I think Andy is "Amitabha"! He is really "straight", which is what many foreigners and foreigners are like. He is such a "straight" person, very honest, very straight, and never tells lies. He is really "Amitabha". When I saw it, I said, "Wow! "Amitabha" is standing in front of me." This. He is a very upright and upright person, so I am very relieved. There are very few such people in this world.

The Sixth Patriarch said, "Look at your own heart", "your own Buddha nature", "your own nature", are you "greatly compassionate"? Are you a "great joyful person"? Are you "innocent"? Are you "pure"? Are you "straight"? At this time, your own "body and mind" is the "Western Paradise". This sentence is the key point.

Om Mani Hum.