There are only two days left, because I returned to the temple one day early, and Master Mingcheng called to inform us. He told us about the main work of returning to the temple, meaning that if you are willing, you can go back to the temple in advance, and if you are unwilling, you can go home for the New Year.

Today is the 26th and 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and a lot of preparations for the New Year will be launched. In the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month, many pilgrims and believers came to the temple to burn incense and had to prepare many miscellaneous tasks.

The three of us discussed it and agreed to go back to the temple to help. After all, in the temple, people give us Dharma charity. It is also appropriate for us to give some efforts. Teacher Wan cannot go back to his home because his family has been on vacation in Hainan. He is now going to meet and go back in a few days. There is no need.

"Don't say that there is no result, it's better to get some news. After all, you give up everything during a holiday. You can't come in vain. Since you come, you can rest assured." This is Teacher Wan's attitude.

Xiao Hu is homeless. As for me, I don’t know if I am a home. Of course, compared with Teacher Wan, I have a more firm idea. If I don’t learn to make a name for myself, how can I be embarrassed to go back to Beijing? What can I see Yanzi?

However, every holiday, we miss our family more and comfort ourselves and our family. We decided to go out together to see if there is anything to send to our family.

It’s very simple. I found some dried germs on the street, bought them, sorted them out. To express sincerity, I wrote the name, characteristics, cooking methods, and blessing words on each dried germs packaging myself. Because my parents in Beijing could also feel my affection and gratitude for them when I saw the words written by me.

I also bought a sachet for Yanzi, which was made by hand in Yunnan, with plant spices. Originally, this was used by Yunnan people when they were in love. But when I sent it to Yanzi, the packaging inside was opened together and parents could see it. Perhaps, when they saw it, I still maintained the relationship between Yanzi and I, perhaps, were a little comforted. Regardless of whether Yanzi and I were legally married, in the eyes of my parents, I was their son-in-law, and this has never changed.

Of course, Yanzi won’t feel abrupt. She likes this fragrance, and I like this fragrance too. As long as she likes it, I will express it.

Maybe when I bought it, all kinds of complex feelings rippled in my heart. The love that I had with Yanzi in Yunnan was real. Today, the scenes of the time flashed occasionally, why didn’t I feel fluctuated in my heart? I felt a little guilty when I was writing. My parents in Beijing really had nothing to say about their feelings and kindness. It was me who let them down.

Teacher Wan bought some shawls, of various colors and textures. His statement: "Your sister-in-law loves to take photos. Those who are older than her like the shape of a flickering scarf. Those who are young only need a sunglasses. And your sister-in-law's age, probably the style you like is to pull the sunglasses on her head, as if she accidentally puts a shawl. What is a little bourgeoisie? It's just a casual and artificial."

He made a good evaluation. At Teacher Wan’s age and experience, it seems that he has understood women of all ages.

When Xiao Hu followed us to do things, I obviously felt his loneliness. Because he seemed to have no relatives he wanted to miss. The person he cared about the most was that he did not dare to give gifts casually.

"Xiao Hu, don't you buy something for your sister?" I asked.

"Teacher Zhuang, I don't know if I should buy it, what should I buy?" His voice was very small, but the meaning of asking me was sincere. This kind of sincere consultation actually expressed his heart. He really wanted to give something to others, but just asked for my advice.

"Of course I should buy it. Think about it, she is your sister. During the Chinese New Year, shouldn't she be a little bit expressive? Why can't my younger brother give gifts to my sister?"

He nodded, "Oh". He continued to fall into a state of confusion in selection.

I guess he doesn't know what to send. Although this street is the off-season for tourism, the stores with specialty Yunnan have not closed. It's the New Year. Everyone hopes to open in the last few days to make some money and make some money to celebrate the New Year.

I asked in a low voice: "Have you ever given a gift to someone since you left home?"

"Well, how do you know?"

I smiled. How could I not know his little thoughts? When Teacher Wan was handling the express delivery, I whispered to Xiao Hu: "Do you, don't know what to send, which can express your blessings without causing misunderstandings from her boyfriend?"

Xiao Hu nodded and looked at me, with the intention of asking for help in his eyes.

No matter how smart a boy is, he is just a fool in front of the girl he likes.

"You treat her as your sister, and this relationship is the healthiest. Just imagine, what should I send to my sister during the Chinese New Year?"

"I have never had a sister, nor a sister, I don't know."

I almost ignored that back then, Xiao Hu's feelings for her were not just as simple as a sister or a secret love. Xiao Hu combined all the beautiful feelings for the opposite sex that he could imagine on the other party. Xiao Hu's own experience of the opposite sex was her except for the elder's grandmother. Now, if he wanted to imagine how his siblings should get along, no matter how smart he was, he could not imagine it.

There was no choice but to help him make a decision. I knew there was a jade shop with very good goods. I was not good at Yunnan things, but I was a half-broken manuscript for jade. When I was in Beijing, my father taught me a lot and I also communicated a lot with the owner of the jade shop, and I was considered half an expert.

I pulled him to the jade store, and then said to him: "You can't buy ornaments, nor can you buy big items. Because buying ornaments is basically a matter between lovers. It is inappropriate to buy big items. After all, your sister has not started a family, so where can she put them? Choose one of these small ornaments you like the one you like the most."

He turned around and asked me, "Why is my favorite?"

"Because jade conveys feelings. If you don't like it yourself, it can bring joy to others? Besides, you have similar growth environments and similar hobbies and habits. If you like it, she will definitely like it, right?"

He nodded and looked around the glass counter. Suddenly, his eyes were fixed by a craft. It was so silenced. He looked back at me, and I looked at the craft and nodded.

This is a small crystal ornament. A little monk lays quietly and half-lived, with his hands on the pillow, one foot straightens and the other foot up, looking very happy, complacent and satisfied. He looks funny at first glance. This kind of joy is innocent, atmospheric, pure, and very infectious.

This ornament only cost more than 2,000 yuan, but Xiao Hu obviously felt much more relaxed and happy. When the store handled the express delivery, filled out the address, and was preparing to seal the box, Xiao Hu suddenly asked me: "Do I write a few words?"

"Do you have any thoughts to say?"

He thought about it and shook his head. "I don't know what to say."

"Then I won't write it, as long as she can be happy, that's fine."

In fact, the true meaning of this gift is to make Xiao Hu happy and relax. After so long of his entanglement, he was released on this gift at this moment. This materialized crystal shows the purity of feelings and the end of other ideas. This is to say goodbye to love and move towards the beginning of siblings and siblings.

When he came out, Teacher Wan was calling his sister-in-law, and Xiao Hu asked me easily: "Teacher Zhuang, should I call my parents?"

He finally got relieved, from his resentment towards his parents to normal. "You can fight, it's best to fight on New Year's Eve. After all, it's a day of reunion." When I finished saying this to Xiao Hu, I also reminded myself that on New Year's Eve, I should also call Beijing. Not only that, on the first day of the New Year, I call my uncle and wish you a New Year's greetings.

We cannot forget our social responsibilities because of our personal thoughts and hobbies to hurt the hearts of those who love us the most. We must make them feel that their longing is responsive. This is morality, responsibility, and also a basic conscience of people.

We are not qualified to be a person who escapes from society. If we do not find the path to the avenue, our escape is actually irresponsible. If our relatives and lovers care about us, can we feel at ease on the futon?

Monks should take on the responsibility of educating everyone. But if you do not have the qualifications and ability to educate, you should still fulfill your social responsibilities and do your best to repay those who care about you. If you cannot repay, you should also convey your thoughts.

As Teacher Wan said a few days ago: "How dare you look down on feelings?"

Before returning to Xiao Hu rented the farmhouse, when he saw it, he thought of leaving it for two days, and felt reluctant to leave it emotionally. If he wanted to truly be ruthless, he had to do "Tou Tuo Bu San Guansang."

After dinner, we took a simple nap and felt that we must quickly adapt to life in the temple. In the past few days, we have not strengthened our efforts in meditation. No matter how much we discuss the possibility of wisdom, we still say that we cannot eat enough. What we want is to use to show it.

The masters in the temple have always emphasized the importance of meditation and meditation. However, after we sit down, we are harassed by the inertia of thinking and emotions, we cannot achieve stability at all. According to the scriptures, true stability is the key to opening the door to wisdom.

We worked hard to meditate all afternoon. We called it the restorative training of the body. In the evening, we had tea on the balcony to discuss. I insisted on meditating every time, using the double plate in pain, and worked hard to persevere once or twice. Sometimes the sweat hurts, but I know that I can pass this level.

Due to the long meditation time, when we discuss it in the evening, it is more practical than the previous few days.

Although Teacher Wan’s skills are not necessarily high, he has more knowledge than us. I think his words make sense: “Often people cannot calm their minds. Even if they can be quiet, it is difficult for them to be calm regularly, so they still need to sit in meditation. It can also be said that Zen enlightenment does not necessarily require meditation, but the concentration of meditation helps Zen enlightenment, but meditation cannot achieve Zen enlightenment by meditation alone.”

If Zen is regarded as a means to open up wisdom, can we understand it like this: Zen does not necessarily require meditation, but it must have the basis of meditation.

Meditation is good for our body and mind. It can promote physical health and psychological balance, reduce our attachment, and make our mind calmer and clearer; further, it can generate wisdom and open up the spiritual realm. However, from the perspective of Zen, without the guidance of Buddhism, the wisdom generated by meditation is still troubled. Because his egocentrism is still there, once he encounters people, things, and scenery that conflict with himself, his heart will struggle in pain.

I remember that whether it is emphasized by Brother Liu or explained by Master Falu in the temple, there are similar requirements. There are three things to pay attention to when sitting in meditation: regulating the body, regulating the breath, and regulating the mind.

The so-called body adjustment refers to the correct and comfortable sitting posture and the body reaction during meditation. Corresponding to the posture is the seven-pin sitting method. Of course, I cannot enter the double plate smoothly, but it actually only means that I failed this level. I have to try my best to exercise with the double plate, and even if I endure the pain, I have to persist for two days. Based on my experience in the army training, any muscle reaction can be naturally relieved after 48 hours of high-intensity training. I decided to endure these 48 hours and be more ruthless to myself.

As for breath regulation, it refers to breathing, which can be divided into four levels according to the depth of each person's concentration: nasal breathing, abdominal breathing, fetal breathing, and turtle breathing. Nasal breathing is a natural breathing that uses the nostrils to enter and exit. During abdominal breathing, although air enters and exits from the nostrils, it is not important to pay attention to the nostrils and do not feel that it is breathing through the nostrils, but only the abdomen is undulating. The so-called fetal breathing means that you do not breathe with the nostrils, and every pore in the whole body can become a breathing organ. At this time, the universe is the mother and fetus, and it is the fetus. The turtle breathing does not need to breathe the air outside the body, and even the heart stops beating. At this time, the body of the practitioner can form a universe independently, using the energy or energy in his body to operate, and be self-sufficient, and there is no need to provide air or nutrients from the outside of the body.

Of course, I have basically reached the stage of abdominal breathing, but the level of turtle breathing is probably the business of a great monk.

As for how to take care of your mind? Generally, you use the method of meditation and observation to concentrate your mind. You can achieve your goal by counting breaths, observing the impurity of your body, chanting Buddha's name, worshiping, meditation, meditation and other methods. The method I used is just counting breaths. This is also what Teacher Qian taught me last time. He said that from counting one to ten and then from ten to one, repeating this way, and insisting well, and starting over again after mistakes. With this method, you can restrain your attention, and over time, your mind will not run out.

This method is relatively safe. After all, if you don’t have any questions in the past two days, it will be difficult to deal with if you don’t have any guidance from your master.

Whether it is a classic record or a story about it by people, the purpose of meditation is the beginning of starting wisdom. The main purpose of meditation is to concentrate the distracted mind and gradually become a unified mind. Usually, when people get the unity of the mind, they think that they have no self and have reached the stage of selflessness. In fact, that is only the level of meditation, or concentration.

Level. The experience of concentration also has high or low levels, so there are four meditations and eight concentrations, but none of them come from the scope of a unified mind, and have not yet reached the realization of the wisdom of unconscious mind and empty wisdom. From the above, we can see that if we look at it from the perspective of Chinese Buddhist Zen enlightenment, the experience of concentration may not be equal to the meditation of Zen.

So, what is Zen meditation? None of us has reached that state, so of course we can't explain it clearly. After discussion, we roughly feel that the Sixth Patriarch's words are more simple and we can also understand some meaning.

The "Platform Sutra" by Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch said: Leaving appearance outside means meditation, and not being confused inside means concentration. Do not see the right and wrong of people, good and evil, and not being confused. When you come into contact with various external conditions, your mind is not confused. In every thought, you will see that the nature of nature is pure. It can be seen that the meditation of Zen is in the pure wisdom observation, not in the state of unity of mind, because if you live in the state of unity of mind, you will still not be free from attachment.

What does the so-called attachment mean? When you face any person, thing, or thing, first emphasize what I see and add value judgment, that is attachment. So what is the so-called non-attachment in Zen?

Xiao Hu said: "The state of no self is very difficult. I have experienced it a few times, and it is an accidental phenomenon. For example, suddenly encountering dangerous dullness is a kind of no self. Sometimes, when you see the white clouds floating, your mind flies to outer space, and occasionally forget yourself. But I have no experience in how to enter the no self in the Zen state."

But Teacher Wan saw more things and understood more. He explained: "No self is not without me, but without my subjective initiative. For example, when any thing, any thing, any person appears in front of him, he will not put any opinions on it, but what the other party needs appropriately gives him a reaction."

Although this statement is similar to the classics, it is difficult to operate. He continued to explain: "For example, when it comes to parent-child relationships, male-female relationships and property issues, it is most likely that we feel self-centered attachment; secondly, reputation and concepts. For practitioners, the most difficult attachment to resolve is to feel that they have self-achievement and self-experience. They can do nothing, but they cannot put down their own opinions and experience values, so they still have arrogance. Therefore, any value of self-existence affirmation is that they have no real liberation, nor do they truly complete the wisdom of non-leakage."

When we discuss enlightenment or seeing the nature, we roughly understand it as seeing the true birth of wisdom. What is that state?

I told my understanding: "These are also seen from the book. You can criticize whether it is right or wrong. When Zen is enlightened, it is called seeing the nature. After seeing the nature, you must maintain it and increase it. Therefore, you must practice it after enlightenment and cultivate it. Although Zen emphasizes that after enlightenment, his view is exactly the same as that of the Buddha, but he is not a Buddha; it is like a Tibetan practicing, visualizing himself as himself as the deity, but even if he is cultivated, he is still the deity, and he is still him. However, there is more compassion than before practicing."

Teacher Wan laughed: "You are both the deity and Zen master, have you learned a lot?"

Xiao Hu defended me: "My vow to learn Buddhism is boundless, and Teacher Zhuang is serious. I think that on Yunju Mountain, a senior brother who grows vegetables talked to me about his attitude towards enlightenment. He only talked about Zen. He said that Chinese Zen masters should practice well before they are enlightened. After they are enlightened, they should find a better teacher. Only after they are enlightened can they know what kind of people are good teachers. Then, they have to work harder."

Teacher Wan said: "Zen does not necessarily require meditation. Therefore, the "Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch" says: In this place, when sitting in meditation, one cannot be attached to the mind, nor does it be purity, nor does it move. It also says: Some people teach you to sit, look at the mind and see purity, and do not rise, and from then on, you can't be able to make me motivate, and then you will become obsessed. The Sixth Patriarch advocates: concentration is the body of wisdom, and wisdom is the function of concentration. That is, the time of wisdom is concentration, and wisdom is concentration. Therefore, we have not seen the practice of the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng in meditation. When the second generation of Zen Master Huairang saw the third generation of Zen Master Mazu Daoyi meditation, he also said a metaphor: Is it not that I can become a Buddha by meditation when I can become a brick?

I laughed: "You are afraid of sitting, are you trying to find an excuse to be lazy?"

He shook his head and said, "Who is the Sixth Patriarch? How dare I be lazy? The years have not been effective, which is probably related to my desire to be lazy and meditate and relax. In fact, from many Zen records, we have seen that many Zen masters also need to meditate. In the "Qing Rules" established by Mazu's disciple Baizhang, there are also records of meditation for a long time, but they do not pay attention to meditation, but think that any time and action in daily life is practice."

We see the principles of life of Zen Master Baizhang. He did not record how much time he had to meditate in a day. Instead, he once said, "Don't do it for a day, and don't eat for a day", which means that his main practice is to go up the mountain and go out to the slope and go down the fields to farm.

In fact, the same is true for the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. Before he went to meet the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, he was a firewood man. After meeting the Fifth Patriarch, he did not ask him to meditate, but instead asked him to go to the kitchen to pile rice. We must understand that when he works, his heart is often in a very stable, calm, and without emotional fluctuations. Only in this way can people achieve true enlightenment.

I sat down this afternoon, my legs were numb and my feet hurt, but I became more and more confident. I admitted: "If anything is done, it is impossible to be lazy, and I must work hard."

Teacher Wan said: "It is not enough to have hard work alone, and it must also be guided by ideas. Master Huineng's true enlightenment was that he heard the Diamond Sutra, so that he could realize the so-called attachment and non-attachment, the same and different places, such as self and non-self. From this, it can be seen that concepts are still very important. Although Zen Buddhism says that it is not possible to establish words, it means that it is impossible to attach to language and words, but it still needs to get information from language and words and get correct guidance, which is called the enlightenment of the sect through the teachings."

By understanding the sect through teaching, this is also the barrier to wisdom. In addition to meditation, direction and principles are derived through scriptures and teachings.

If the Sixth Patriarch did not hear the Diamond Sutra, "The mind should be born without dwelling", he would not be enlightened; if he just hugs and clings to the Diamond Sutra, he would not be enlightened either. Therefore, Zen compares the function of the sutra to "indicating the moon". If there are no fingers, the charming will not know where the moon is. If the charming only looks at the fingers and refuses to look at the moon pointed by the hand, the fingers will become useless. If the charming has followed the fingers and seen the moon, the fingers will no longer be useful.

If our talk in the previous few days was about increasing entropy, now we have completely returned to the professional field of practice and teachings, and concentrate our main time on this practice, it may be considered to reduce entropy.
Chapter completed!