Chapter 659: Seeing the Truth, the Purpose of the Shaolin Abbot

The young monk Jiekong followed his master closely and walked to the Tiantai Sect Dharma Assembly. His face was tense and a little uneasy.

Speaking of which, he was still very excited when he set out with his master.

He came from the Shaolin Zen Sect. He has been practicing in the temple for these years, often accompanied by the ancient Buddha and the green lamp. He has never set foot in the world alone. Everything in the outside world is very new to him.

After all, who hasn't thought about the life of the world of fine clothes and horses, and the joy of revenge when he was young? Even the little monk is the same.

And the little Tianshi is in the limelight. The last trip to Longhu Mountain, the two sides had a chance encounter. He is the object of his admiration.

This time he can meet the object of his admiration, and the object of his admiration will go to the mountain when the Tiantai Sect holds a water and land Dharma Assembly. There is a good show to watch. How can he not be excited and look forward to it?

This expectation continued until he picked up a head earlier.

The moment he held the head and looked into the eyes of the dead man, his heart suddenly became heavy. This might not be a good show.

And what he saw and heard after he walked into the water and land ceremony also proved this point.

It was a mess, with a collapsed platform, broken buildings, and even the most important main hall in a temple collapsed, the golden plaque was broken, and there were corpses lying around.

Except for a few corpses with blown heads, most of the others had a blood hole in the center of their eyebrows.

And the weird thing was that behind these corpses, there were some monks standing scattered around, all of them with their eyes closed, chanting scriptures.

From their distorted facial expressions and trembling voices, it is not difficult to see their panic.

For a little monk who has lived in a temple since childhood and rarely goes out, such a scene is like a blunt knife breaking bones, which is so brutal that people dare not look directly at it.

The young monk Jiekong shuddered, and then he suddenly remembered the identity of the head in his master's hand.

That was Master Ku Rong, the abbot of the Tiantai Sect. They had met once before, at a Dharma meeting hosted by Shaolin.

At that time, he was responsible for serving tea and water to the monks from other temples. This old monk was very kind and praised him for his wisdom. He didn't expect it to turn out like this.

No wonder he felt familiar before... He felt a little choked up.

Was it all done by the little Tianshi... He looked at Zhang Zhiwei, and from Zhang Zhiwei, he felt a pure and extreme murderous intent, which made him feel inexplicably like a torrent of blood was hitting him.

His heart tightened, and he quickly quickened his pace and walked to the side of his master, close to him.

Master Henglin noticed Jiekong's behavior and said calmly: "Jiekong, I asked you to come with me before. Weren't you excited when you heard that the little celestial master was going to be there?"

"You also said that the little celestial master was someone you admired and you would definitely take him as an example in the future. Why are you so afraid of him now? What you said before, could it be that you just love dragons?"

The little monk Jiekong was silent for a moment and said: "Abbot, I really admired the little celestial master before and wanted to be like him, but now, although I still admire him, I don't want to be like him that much. I..."

He seemed to feel a little embarrassed and stammered: "I'm a little scared!"

"Fear is a good thing, and knowing yourself is even better. This is not shameful. This is a manifestation of wisdom. Only those who know what they want can understand their original mind and see the nature that is neither born nor destroyed." Master Henglin smiled.

"Wisdom, understand the original mind, see the nature that is neither born nor destroyed..." The little monk Jiekong muttered to himself.

The young monk Jiekong came from Shaolin, the ancestral home of Shaolin Zen.

Speaking of Zen, it is definitely the most special one among the eight sects of Buddhism.

Other monks, including Wu Man from the Sanlun Sect, believed in various Buddhist scriptures and regarded them as the truth. They talked about Buddha's teachings and Buddhist principles, and could talk about Buddhist scriptures for seven days and seven nights.

The reason for this is that these sects practice Buddhist principles through Buddhist scriptures, which is standing on the shoulders of their predecessors. In the early stage, their progress will be very fast, but after reaching certain levels, serious "obstacles" will often appear.

That is, what you have learned is not the same as what you have experienced personally, and your knowledge and practice are not unified, and it is difficult to be self-consistent.

This kind of "obstacle" is difficult to get through, even if you are as good as Wu Man.

But Zen is different. Zen advocates abandoning the interpretation of textual meanings and going straight to the heart source. The heart nature is pure, the Buddha nature is inherent, and enlightenment does not need to be sought outside.

They believe that "in the self-nature, all dharmas are seen; the self-existence of all dharmas is called the pure dharma body".

In short, his study of Buddhist scriptures is only auxiliary. The Buddha and principles in these books are only references. Only the Buddha in his heart is real.

The Buddhist scriptures ask you to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha, but your heart asks you to drink alcohol and eat meat. Then drinking alcohol and eating meat is your Buddhist principle. The things in the Buddhist scriptures are just a crutch to make you drink alcohol and eat meat better.

This concept has led to the emergence of some monks in Zen who are very different from the secular image and difficult to understand.

For example, some infatuated monks like a certain woman from the bottom of their hearts. The rules of Buddhism are not applicable to him. That woman is the Zen he wants to realize.

And some monks want to eat meat and drink alcohol from the bottom of their hearts. For them, eating meat and drinking alcohol is also a kind of meditation practice. This is the case with the great monk Jigong.

Another example is the later apprentice of the monk Jiekong, the temporary worker "Great Compassion" Xiao Zizai.

This is a very conflicted person. He loves killing people, but in his heart he wants to be a good person. So he is very twisted and has turned himself into a "patient".

The reason for this is that he is not enlightened, does not have a clear understanding of his original intention, does not know what he wants, cannot see through, cannot see through, and cannot let go. This is attachment and ignorance.

If one day he has an epiphany, clearly sees his true heart, and knows his own way, then he will no longer be confused.

When the time comes, if you want to be a good person, then be a good person.

If you want to kill people, then kill them quickly and quickly. If you kill enough, you will become a Buddha immediately.

Although it sounds a bit abstract to say that after killing enough people, you will become a Buddha immediately, but in Zen Buddhism, this is not abstract.

This is the case with the much-talked-about flower monk Lu Zhishen.

He never cultivated good deeds in his life, he only loved killing people and setting fires. Suddenly he opened the golden rope and broke the jade lock here. The tide came from the Qiantang River. Today he knew that he was me. This is the portrayal of Lu Zhishen.

Lu Zhishen loves killing, not because he wants to steal money, nor because he wants to vent his anger. He has no utilitarianism.

It's a kind of love, just like a naive person who doesn't understand anything, without any other things mixed in, the love comes from instinct.

His master, Elder Zhizhen, said this when he met him, saying that he had two flaming eyes and a murderous heart, but this did not prevent him from being a good person.

So his master forged weapons for him, taught him the best way to fight on foot, and then asked him to roll down the mountain to kill people.

Because, for Lu Zhishen, murder and arson are his Zen. He may not have noticed this himself, but with his innocent heart, he has been practicing his own way and cultivating his own Zen all his life. Therefore, the tide of news comes. , once you have enlightenment, you will become a Buddha directly.

This is the special characteristic of Zen Buddhism. What you worship is not the Buddha in the hall, but the Buddha in your heart.

Therefore, many eminent Zen monks have a saying: If people in the world imitate me, it will be like entering the devil's path.

Although the young monk Jie Kong has not yet seen his true nature clearly, by chance, he was shocked by Zhang Zhiwei's murderous intention and took a step further.

Otherwise, he may have to travel around the world for several years, doing various heroic deeds, and only after gaining fame and status will he suddenly realize, ah, it turns out this is not what he wants.

This is progress in character. Although there is no immediate effect, the path in the future will undoubtedly be smoother.

The arrival of Master Henglin made all the Buddhist monks present cheer up. As if they had a backbone, they quickly clasped their hands and stepped forward to pay their respects.

Master Henglin returned the gift with one hand.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what should I say now?" Lu Ci asked.

"Master Henglin is highly respected in the world and has a reputation equal to that of my master. Now he comes here with Master Kurong's head on his head. I'm afraid the person who comes here is not good!" Lu Jin said with a worried look on his face.

Although Tiantai Sect and Zen Sect are both one of the eight sects of Buddhism, their status is different. The abbot Master Henglin is much more valuable than the abbot Master Kurong. His status in the world is equal to that of the Heavenly Master. If he wants to do it for If the Tiantai Sect comes forward, that will be difficult.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't care at all about Lu Jin's worries and said with a smile:

"Master Henglin and my master are close friends. When he comes, I naturally want to go and pay him a visit."

After saying that, he walked towards Master Henglin, cupped his hands and said:

"Junior Zhang Zhiwei has met the master."

Master Henglin put one hand on his chest and said, "The donor is fine, that's good!"

Monks in Zen Buddhism are different from monks in other sects. Monks in other sects clasp their hands together, but monks in Zen Buddhism clasp one hand together.

The reason for this comes from an allusion called the White Snow Seal Heart Bead.

Legend has it that after Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, became enlightened, a monk named Shenguang came here to worship him and served him for a long time. He wanted to become his teacher, but Bodhidharma never agreed.

Until one day, Bodhidharma was in meditation in the pavilion, and Shenguang was standing outside the pavilion. Heavy snow fell from the sky, covering Shenguang's knees.

Bodhidharma opened his eyes and asked Shen Guang why he never left. Shen Guang said that he would become his teacher.

Bodhidharma said that he wanted him to accept his disciples unless red snow fell from the sky. After hearing this, Shen Guang cut off his left arm with a knife without saying a word. The blood dripped and dyed the surrounding white snow red.

Bodhidharma saw that he was so sincere, so he accepted him as a disciple and changed his name to Huike, the second ancestor of Zen Buddhism.

The second ancestor only had one hand and could not put his palms together, so Shaolin changed the rules and only put one palm in front of his chest to salute.

"I wonder what master wants to do when he goes up the mountain this time?" Zhang Zhiwei glanced at the head in Master Henglin's hand and said straight to the point.

Master Henglin said solemnly: "I came here to resolve a dispute, but a good friend told me that everything in the world has cause and effect."

"Kurong planted the cause of killing you, and you will naturally bear the consequences. It would be really bad if I interfered."

"But if you don't do anything, I will feel uneasy about my conscience, so I will send someone over to persuade you."

"If the little heavenly master is not strong-willed in breaking into the mountains and is willing to repay evil with kindness, then naturally the big problem will be reduced to a small one."

"If the little Heavenly Master insists on going up the mountain to retaliate directly, I won't interfere much."

Master Henglin asked: "I wonder if the justice of the little heavenly master has been recovered?"

Master Henglin's handling of this matter is somewhat similar to Zhang Jingqing's handling of the Trinity Sect matter in the plot. He wanted to help, but after asking the parties for their opinions and knowing that he was not wanted to intervene, he would not interfere.

Zhang Zhiwei pondered for a moment and said: "I have settled all my grudges here, but they..."

"Just clear it twice, just clear it twice!" Master Henglin nodded repeatedly.

Then, he raised his withered head and reached out to close his eyes, but he tried several times without success.

Zhang Zhiwei didn't understand what the old monk was planning.

Master Henglin said as he wiped the cloth: "We old guys know something about Tiantai Sect. When the temple held the Wuzhe Conference, I had a brief talk with him, but in the end it was just a chicken talking to a duck and it didn't work. The little Tianshi went up the mountain this time and used thundering methods, which also relieved me of my worries."

Zhang Zhiwei praised: "Master is really bold, no wonder he is Master's close friend."

Then he asked: "Master, is the friend who dissuaded you just now my master?"

Master Henglin shook his head: "No, it was Master Zhending who came to persuade you that day, the abbot of Ci'en Temple."

He continued: "If your master came to me to talk about this, I would directly cover his forehead with the cassock, beat him up, and let him roll back to Longhu Mountain after the beating."

Zhang Zhiwei scratched his head, not knowing what to say. Of course, he would not scold Master Henglin for such a small matter.

He could see that the other party had a good relationship with his master. He estimated that if he really beat his master black and blue, his master would say that his face was swollen accidentally when he was practicing Qi.

Master Henglin continued: "But I dare to hit your master, but I dare not hit you, little Tianshi."

"Master, what are you afraid of in your old life? Do you dare to fight back? Otherwise..."

Zhang Zhiwei laughed and said: "You try to hit me?"

As soon as this was said, everyone was speechless. Look at what you said, who dares to hit you? I'm afraid they will die if they try?

Even Master Henglin was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "In some aspects, you are really like your master!"

After laughing, he wiped Ku Rong's eyes again, but still didn't wipe it off, and said:

"He still has obsessions and refuses to close his eyes."

Zhang Zhiwei glanced at Ku Rong's head. Ku Rong's scattered eyes stared at Zhang Zhiwei, as if he still had unfulfilled wishes, so he refused to close his eyes.

"It seems that there is something in his mind?" Zhang Zhiwei asked.

Master Henglin nodded: "Yes, although he is dead, part of his consciousness still exists, and he has something that has not been passed down."

Zhang Zhiwei's heart moved. As far as he knows, almost all the major sects that have produced saints have passed down their own things. In the plot, Wang Ye has also tried this point.

When he killed Ku Rong before, he had wondered if the inheritance of Tiantai Sect in that aspect would be cut off if he did not give Ku Rong time and opportunity?

Now it seems that it will not.

"Senior, did you come here to help Tiantai Sect pass on the teachings?" Zhang Zhiwei asked.