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Chapter 89

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    The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty all respected Buddhism, and they took Tibetan Buddhism as their state religion.  But it does not exclude other religions, such as Han Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and even foreign Islam and Christianity.

    According to the statistics of the Xuanzheng Yuan of the Yuan Dynasty, by the 28th year of the Yuan Dynasty [1291], there were more than 42,000 temples in the Yuan Dynasty, and more than 21,300 monks and nuns. In addition to the false monasticism, the Taiding Emperor came to power.  At that time, it had already reached one million monks and nuns.  As you know, the total population at that time was only about 87 million people.

    The so-called temples will have an abbot, and the large-scale ones will also have an abbot. Moreover, the eminent monks who have achieved Taoism not only govern one temple, but sometimes hold positions in multiple temples.  For example, the abbot of Ganlu Temple is like this.  Ji Xu came to see the abbot with a curious heart, always wanting to see his true face.

    [1] "Fifty-five Odes to the Ancients. Part One" Zen Master Huikai. Poems

    The Zhike monk opened the door and walked into a small courtyard, and soon he came out to ask Ji Xu to go in.

    Walking into the small courtyard of the abbot, I saw an old monk sitting under a big tree meditating in Zen.  He is very old, he must be in his nineties, and his skin exposed outside the cassock is full of folds.  Hearing someone coming in, he ignored it, just sat there with his eyes closed and meditated If you didn't look carefully, you might think it was a big tree root under the big tree!

    Walking to the opposite side of the old monk, Ji Xu saluted and asked: "How is the old abbot!"

    The old monk remained silent.

    Ji Xu imitated the old monk's appearance and sat cross-legged opposite him, thinking: This old abbot is quite arrogant!  However, judging by his appearance, there is nothing special about him, except for his old age, he is slow to respond

    After a while, Ji Xu quietly asked the old monk: "Old abbot, what makes you different?"

    Listening to the tone, this kid looked down on him a bit, so the old monk opened his eyes and said one word: "Yes!"

    Ji Xu thought to himself: It's good to have it, and asked again, "What's the difference?"

    The old abbot said: "I eat when I feel hungry, and sleep when I feel tired."

    "Hehe!" Ji Xu laughed, "What's the difference? I'm the same! Besides, who doesn't eat when they're hungry and sleep when they're tired? How can this be the difference between you and others?"

    "Different!"

    "What's the difference?"

    The old monk got up and let Ji Xu into his abbot, made tea, poured a cup for Ji Xu, and said: "When someone eats, they always think about other things and don't concentrate on eating; when they sleep, they always dream.  I don¡¯t sleep well. I eat and I don¡¯t think about anything; I never dream when I sleep, so I sleep peacefully. That¡¯s what makes me different.¡±

    Ji Xu said: "It's nothing special, as long as you do one thing wholeheartedly."

    "That's right!" said the old abbot, "However, it's very difficult for the world's people to focus on it. They shuttle between gains and losses, and they are bound by the frivolous favors and disgraces, resulting in 'all kinds of thoughts' and 'thousands of delusions'.  They stay on the surface of life, which is the biggest obstacle in their life, and thus lose themselves, lose their 'normality'."

    Ji Xu asked again: "Then, what is a normal mind?"

    The old abbot took a sip of tea and recited a poem:

    "There are flowers in spring and moon in autumn,

    There is cool wind in summer and snow in winter;

    If you have nothing to worry about,

    It is a good time in the world.  "

    After listening to the poem sung by the old monk, Ji Xu said: "This poem by the old abbot is easy to understand. It is nothing more than the beauty of wind, flowers, snow and moon."

    "The wind, the flowers, the snow and the moon are all the projections of our hearts. If we are happy in our hearts, everything we see is beautiful; when we are sad, we will feel bad about everything we see. The so-called normal mind is a state of tranquility and indifference. Let go of the worries and distractions in your heart, and you will  Have a normal heart. Don¡¯t be blinded by fame and interests, be the truest self, cherish the present, and you will be happy for a lifetime.¡±

    [2] "Bodhi Gatha" Huineng Poetry Gatha

    No Bodhi tree, nor stand mirror;

    Buddha nature is always pure, where there is dust.

    The body is a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror stand;

    The bright mirror is originally clean, where is it stained with dust.

    No Bodhi tree, nor stand mirror;

    There is nothing in the first place, where is the dust.

    Bodhi is only sought from the heart, so why bother to seek mystery from the outside?

    I heard that according to this practice, the West is only at present!  "

    Ji Xu sighed: "However, how many people in the world can really not worry about their own business!?"

    The old abbotImmortal without defilement, Bodhi, the ancestor of the Western Wonderful Aspect; three or three lines of life and immortality, full of energy, full of gods, and myriads of kindness.  It can be seen that Patriarch Bodhi is also a venerable in the West. Bodhi is a symbol of Western Buddhism.

    Does this mean that Patriarch Bodhi is a Buddha and not a Dao?

    If he is a Buddha, then why does he know Taoism culture so well? If he is a Tao, why does he have the saying of "Bodhi, the ancestor of the Western Miaoxiang"?  In fact, the Buddha has transcended the cycle of the six realms. Since he is a Buddha, there is nothing unclear in all the empty space and all dharma realms.  Incarnate into the immeasurable and boundless, to save sentient beings.  Isn¡¯t Cihang Taoist the incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva? The Buddha¡¯s salvation is not necessarily in the form of a Buddha, he can be a monk or a layman, he can be a man or a woman.  In short, saving people is about being kind, mindful and convenient.

    (4) Bodhi seeds

    Bodhi is the fruit of the Tibetan bo-di-ci, not the fruit of the Bodhi tree, which is produced near the snow-capped mountains.  The tree is an annual herb with seedlings in spring. The stems are three to four feet high. The leaves are like millet, and the red and white flowers are in the shape of spikes. It is firm in summer and autumn, round and white in color, with a hard shell like enamel.  , so called Bodhi son.

    The Bodhi tree is a different species, and it is only found in Tiantai Mountain in China, which is called Tiantai Bodhi.  Also in the Compendium of Materia Medica Wuzaizi article, seven different names of Wusaizi are cited, one of which is called Bodhizi.  The Merit Sutra of Counting Beads (Big 17. Seventy-two Seven Middle School): "If the Bodhisattva is a counting bead, you can either pinch and recite it, or hold it in your hand, and count and recite it once, and the blessings will be immeasurable."

    "The Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" says: The Bodhi tree is the tree of Pippala. In the past, when the Buddha was alive, it was hundreds of feet high.  Therefore, it is called the Bodhi tree.  There are more than 30 varieties of Buddhist beads named after Bodhi.  Among them, some are named according to the place of origin, such as Tiantai Bodhi, Tianzhu Bodhi, etc., and some are named according to the texture, such as Xingyue Bodhi, Hyacinth Bodhi, etc.  (Remember the site URL: www.hlnovel.com
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