Although this kind of meeting usually lasts only about two hours, it takes us about nine hours to go back and forth by train, plus the time to go to the railway station, it takes more than ten hours on the way. We go out after breakfast and won't get home until after ten o'clock in the evening. Both meals have to be settled on the train, so I don't like to go.
The thought of going back and forth that day made the whole person uncomfortable.
Before going out, I hurriedly pulled out a book from the bookcase, which was Heart of the Zen Master 2, the opening record of Japanese Zen master Suzuki Shunliu.
Influenced by Huineng, the sixth ancestor, Suzuki Shunliu went to the United States to spread Buddhism and established the first Zen temple in the West. His masterpiece "The Heart of a Zen Man" is a must-read for western Zen. It is also an excellent reader for Buddhist lovers and a book I have always wanted to read.
But I went to several bookstores and didn't buy it, but I bought its sequel "The Heart of Zen". This book is compiled from 35 lectures of Zen master Suzuki Zhenliu in his last three years. It teaches us how to open our nature, find our true self, return to a broad mind, transcend gain and loss, honor and disgrace, and enjoy real life.
I have bought this book for more than a year and haven't had time to read it. Today's travel companion is it.
As soon as I opened the book, I was immediately attracted. The noisy world in the moving car seems to have disappeared. I am completely immersed in the book and feel the Zen world created by every word.
The book talks about the Buddha's enlightenment of Tao. The Buddha said, "When you receive food and water, receiving it is like receiving good medicine." Zen master believes that the Buddha wants you to accept the support wholeheartedly, and there is no binary opposition between "you" and "food".
Therefore, we "receive" or "accept" food, not "take" food, because "take" does not include complete acceptance.
"When you receive it, you already have it. If you accept it with great appreciation-thank you very much-that is the real behavior of restraining many of your desires taught by the Buddha."
After reading this passage, I suddenly remembered an article I read about Master Hongyi before, saying that after he entered the Buddha, no matter what food people gave him, he was filled with joy and sincerely thanked him, which was in sharp contrast to his previous high demand for food and clothing.
At that time, I thought Master Hongyi was an ascetic, trying to temper himself and deliberately suffering. Now I understand that what he actually did was to practice Buddha's enlightenment.
He has completely accepted everything, and naturally accepts and accepts food unconditionally. Therefore, Master Hongyi's gratitude and satisfaction are from the heart. He doesn't need to temper himself by suffering, and more importantly, he doesn't think it's suffering.
I thought of the image of all beings at the buffet. In the face of a wide variety of food and drinks, we have to take, take, pick, and sometimes fight, grab, eat what we have in our mouths, look at what we have in our bowls, complain that we are not smart enough, hate that we have not eaten enough, and can pick out a bunch of food. So it is often a hearty meal, and the mood is not much better.
This is another example of the Buddha's statement: we have endless pain because of endless desires, so we have accumulated one problem after another, giving birth to bottomless fear.
If we can have this completely accepted and accepted attitude and treat food like this, we will naturally be grateful for any food on the plate and will not be picky about the food we eat.
By extension, everything is the same. We will also make good use of what we buy and respect everything; I will cherish my lover; Even for our own work, colleagues and bosses, as long as we choose this job, we will willingly accept everything it brings. There will be fewer disputes and complaints, and the world will become beautiful and harmonious.
Of course, this requires us to cultivate a big heart, open and broad, and inclusive. According to the Zen master, that is the true self, and that is where we practice.
When our hearts are big enough, we will be one with everything and have everything.
"When we understand that we already have everything, we won't cling to anything. Actually, we have everything. Even if we don't land on the moon, we still have it. If we try to go to the moon, it means that we don't think the moon belongs to us. "
This is what the Zen master said at that time about the first moon landing. It's amazing! The so-called challenge and conquest are all actions we take because we feel that we can't get it, aren't they? If we have it, we naturally don't have to try to conquer it, we just need to appreciate and enjoy it.
Zen master is good at explaining Buddhism in simple terms with ordinary life scenes and humorous language.
For example, he told a famous case in Ping Ding Lu: A man climbs to the top of a hundred feet, and if he stops there, he will not be enlightened; Maybe he will be enlightened when he jumps off the pole.
The Zen master said that understanding this case is to understand the way of practice.
He taught us how to understand this case with the usual thing that his wife urged him to have breakfast: "forget this moment and live in the next." This is the only way. " In other words, "forget to rest at the top of the bamboo pole and live where you are."
Isn't "further progress" the height you have reached after your life's struggle? If you can live in the present and concentrate on what you should do, you won't feel lonely at the top.
People always hope that they can always be on top, and they are looking forward to "further progress." But everything is developing and changing, never stopping, and the pole will always be long, so don't cling to anything, don't cling to anyone, including yourself who once made a big difference. Forget everything about yourself and start over. In this way, we can face all the ups and downs calmly.
As the Zen master said, "To learn Buddhism is to study yourself; To study yourself is to forget yourself at all times. Then, everything will help you, and everything will ensure your enlightenment. "
We are always too persistent, even if we read a casual book, we always want to finish it as soon as possible. When reading and thinking, I always look out of the window. Although looking at the scenery outside the window, I still think about the words in the book and turn a blind eye to everything.
When I saw the inspiration from the Zen master, I immediately put down my book and everything I thought, felt the refreshing autumn scenery in the field, enjoyed the natural beauty presented by nature, relaxed my body and mind, and completely settled in the present.
Then pick up the book and continue reading, no hurry, no delay, very at ease. This made me regard the hard work of going back and forth by train that day as a pleasant trip.
The Zen master put special emphasis on meditation and often taught his disciples: "Just meditate." He said; "Practicing meditation is like setting an alarm clock. It's no use unless you set the alarm clock. "
This is very different from what I took for granted before that meditation is for enlightenment. I see, meditation is just a ritual, a conscious way to remind myself.
When you meditate, don't have a purpose or gain anything, but fully relax, accept all your thoughts and images with a frank and open heart, appreciate things and people with a calm and clear heart, accept everything and tolerate everything that happens. This is what the Zen master said: cultivate and hold a big heart.
Practice means being with everything, but don't be bound by practice. You can share your practice with everything. When you can tolerate everything, you find your true self.
As ordinary mortals, most of us can't just meditate, but we can often reflect on ourselves, consciously remind ourselves and enlarge our minds. If we really give up narrow-minded thinking, there will be no fear and emotional problems. Our hearts are always calm and live in the present.
Zen is actually our way of life, and meditation is to awaken our innate Buddha heart, find our true nature, and not lose our kindness. Therefore, strengthening self-cultivation, expanding mind and cultivating tolerance in daily life can make us accept others better, underestimate the success or failure of gains and losses, get rid of external fetters and enjoy life better.
I think this is the place and significance of our ordinary people practicing Zen, and it is also the inspiration brought to me by this book.