There is a book "On the Middle View of Today", which describes a dialogue:
Someone asked the Buddha, "What is the method?"
Buddha said, "I said the origin." ①
The general program of Buddhism is the theory of origin; What is the "theory of origin"? A concise explanation:
"Origin has two meanings. One is that everything is born of various conditions in the past, and nothing is born unconditionally. This is the same meaning. Another meaning is that all existing things are interdependent and related, and all unrelated things are interdependent, that is, nothing exists independently. This is the second meaning of origin. " ②
Buddhism also has an "origin":
"All laws come from the source, so it is because;
The Great Saman (Buddha) said that Buddhism was predestined. "
According to the book of changes, the biography of the South China Sea was sent back to the internal law of the Tang Dynasty, and it has been published for four years.
Buddhism was in India, when it was placed on the tower base and the Buddha statue.
In fact, all kinds of Buddhist doctrines after Buddha are the development and deepening of the theory of origin. "Origin Theory" is always the main clue:
Primitive Buddhism used the theory of origin to explain the origin relationship of life phenomena; From this, the middle school refined and developed the proposition of "emptiness"; The so-called "knowledge of all laws" of the yoga school is actually based on the "origin theory"
The rise of the Middle School (Kongzong) is about Buddha (565 BC-485 BC? 500 years after his death, the founder was Dragon Tree, and disciple Tibo continued to elaborate the thoughts of "emptiness", "middle way" and "two truths"; About 900 years after the death of Buddha, the school of Yoga (Youzong) emerged. The founders are two brothers, Wu and Tianxia, and * * * advocates the epistemology of "omniscient" and "three realms of idealism".
The discussion in this paper reverses the historical order; First, "only knowledge", then "middle view", and then return to the "origin theory" of primitive Buddhism.
Always say that Buddhism is "idealism"; In fact, I studied from the perspective of "knowledge" and established my own systematic theory, mainly yoga.
However, the important theory of this school-epistemology does not deny the objective existence; It just means that there is an objective reality that can exist independently without leaving our "knowledge".
Definition of "only knowing" in Cheng Weizhi s theory;
"Only those who know, everything is not eccentric."
Is there a good reason for "everything is not centrifugal"?
"As far as modern psychology is concerned, in the process of our cognition, there are external stimuli, then afferent nerves, then transmitted to the central nervous system, and then the central nervous system' processes' the information from the afferent nerves." ③
"External information is introduced into the central nervous system, and the symbols processed by the central nervous system are not necessarily the original state of the objective situation. What we see and hear are all processed by the central nervous system. Its function is only to adapt to the outside world, but its adaptation is different. In effect, what is adapted is called right, and what is not adapted is called wrong. Based on this, we can see how profound and unique the thought and theoretical system of Buddhist epistemology is! " ④
In real life, it is indeed like this:
On the left side of my bedside, there are two circuit switches, one is up and the other is down. Every time I lay in bed and backhand them, I feel left and right.
Don't believe it? You can also try to simulate several scenes to get a feeling:
Is the external information introduced into the central nervous system and processed by the central nervous system completely the original state of the objective environment?
I want to turn off the light and go to sleep, so I press the switch on the "left" in my feeling, and it will always be the right.
When you see a foot-long object, it is likely that you and the stall owner are actually not the same length; You trust the stall owner intuitively, because his ruler, in your feeling, changes its length accordingly.
Seeing a pair of dog eyes, the feeling of size is likely to be different from others, which cannot be verified; When I was a child, I felt very long walking on the street of Pu Yin in my hometown. In recent years, I have gone for a walk, just a few steps. I used "striding" to explain it, but I didn't think about the principle of "knowing only".
Right and wrong, good and bad, love and hate are often just defined by their own "knowledge"; Then these definitions follow closely, just like the skin on your body.
An old monk gave an example:
"There is a woman: resentments look cautious, lovers look at love, children look at respect, and birds and beasts run." ⑤
This example, originally included in the theory of great wisdom, can be used to think that only knowing the truth.
According to experts, all we can know is the four parts of things, namely "name", "meaning", "self" and "difference"; Take the teacup as an example:
Tea cups are "names";
It is a container for tea, which is its meaning; The name cannot be changed, but the meaning can be changed-the teacup can also hold other things, and hitting people with it is equivalent to a weapon.
"Self-nature" refers to the nature of things themselves; "Different" means different from other things.
However, knowing these four aspects of things is inseparable from our "knowledge".
Knowledge-only learning calls what we know, that is, the object of knowledge "separation" and this "knowledge" that we can know things "separation"; But the two are "sources"-they are both parts of the same understanding and inseparable.
If they are isolated, then there is no "origin" or connection between "seeing point" and "leaving point", that is, they are not together, so how can there be any "understanding" at this moment?
On the other hand, there is no knowledge without "knowledge", because knowledge and environment are interdependent, and a complete "knowledge" can be formed at this moment; As far as human understanding is concerned, neither knowledge nor environment can be isolated, which is the application of the theory of origin.
From the understanding of teacups to other things, and then to the understanding of all the problems in the universe, it is nothing more than the relationship between "seeing points" and "dividing points", but they are "original"; Because they can only be displayed through connections, there is no independent "entity" in each. Since they are interdependent and will not solidify, their nature is "empty".
In the form of epistemology, "knowledge" is actually to demonstrate "emptiness", and "knowledge" is only a means to talk about "emptiness"; There has always been a dispute between "epistemology" and "meso-theory" in history. In fact, there is no need to argue so fiercely, because their respective theories are the expansion and deepening of the theory of origin.
For example, in this cup, the knower first lists four items of the object he knows-name, meaning, self-nature and difference, and then analyzes them as "seeing point" and "leaving point". Since they are "origins", their nature is "emptiness"; And "middle view" also means "empty":
Teacups can be used to drink water, so they are "wonderful things"; However, beauty is from the perspective of "use" and "emptiness" is from the perspective of "reason". After all, the essence of a teacup is "empty".
Therefore, there are three things in the "middle view":
Yes, empty and medium.
"Cheap" means "cheap", which means that we should not only admit the existence of the phenomenon, but also know that it is "empty" after all. As Seng Zhao said:
"Laws (things) never exist for reasons, nor are they without reasons." (A Note to Vimalakīrti Jing)
The "middle view" thus established the "two-truth theory"; True meaning is the essence of emptiness and nothingness. Nothing is constant, and "vulgarity" is the source of "being".
Many people think that "being" is true, and "nothing" is also true. In fact, they are all wrong, because they do not conform to the middle view of "the origin is empty"; This middle view is called "middle view"
The laws in the world are similar and continuous, with endless origins and equal laws; "Life" is also born of life, so there is no place for any "creator".
Sakyamuni Buddha sat under the bodhi tree and studied for 49 days, and realized this "origin emptiness"; Specifically, it is called "Twelve Origins":
I don't know fate, I know fate, I am famous for my color, my name, my touch, my love, my love, my connection, my fate, my life and death.
I always find it difficult to get rid of the nerd's habit; Although I also know that Zen says "don't write", I still want to do some text analysis here.
Buddhism believes that people (including all sentient beings) have all kinds of greed and persistence because they don't know the truth that "all laws are empty", that is, they are in ignorance. "Doing things without knowing" and "doing things" are both secular behaviors.
The source of greed and persistence in this world lies in this ignorance!
Why do you say that? Because it is from the concept of "ignorance" that the opposition between "ability" and "place" arises-"ability" and "cognition", that is, the "seeing point" of epistemology; "What", you know, is also "separation".
From the opposition between ability and opposition, the process of "one life and two lives" has been completed, resulting in a complex and endless "separation" movement; "I don't know if there is anything. I am greedy and I am reborn." (Mahayana Cycle)
The opposition between ability and place, that is, from the subjective aspect (see points), I think there is an independent "I", that is, "I hold"; From the objective aspect (phase separation), I think that besides the object I know, there is an "objective" (phase separation) that exists independently of the subject, and that is "law enforcement"
Whether it is law enforcement or law enforcement, I mistakenly think that there is a permanent "I" or a permanent external "thing".
The second volume of On Cheng Weizhi said:
"If you only know what is true, if you are outside the country, it is also law enforcement."
It is the characteristic of epistemology to analyze "ignorance" from the perspective of ability and place to explain the theory of "origin emptiness"; Epistemology believes that the "Twelve Origins" method is based on our "mind", and they have expanded and systematized it, thus forming the theory of this school.
The "Twelve Origins", apart from "ignorance" and "knowledge", refers directly to spiritual phenomena-
"Know destiny, name and color", "name" refers to spirit or heart, "color" refers to the material structure of life, and "name and color" collectively refers to the fetus with spirit and life;
"Name, color, edge, six roots", "six roots" means "six roots", eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and heart;
"six touches" and "touch" are feelings about the external environment;
"Touching the edge" and "receiving" means receiving and storing the information you feel;
"Fate love", "love" means pursuit, greed and so on.
"Love needs" and "need" means "have" ...
It also involves people's spiritual activities; The "Twelve Origins" of primitive Buddhism mainly explains the "heart" of all beings and their reincarnation.
However, it is accurate to analyze the "Twelve Origins" from the perspective of "knowledge" ("nothing" as the source).
The original Buddhist classic "Zaagama" (Volume 36) describes that "the son of heaven has a wonderful appearance and comes to the Buddhist temple at night" and asks the Buddha; The Buddha replied in words:
"The heart holds the laws of the world and the heart leads the world. Its heart is one method, which can control the world. "
It also proves that epistemology believes that "knowledge" plays a leading role and conforms to the original intention of the Buddha.
Hua Yan Jing (60 volumes) Volume 25 says:
"The three realms are empty, but the heart creates them, and the twelve edges are all based on the heart."
This sentence clearly points out the relationship between "twelve origins" and "heart"; "Mind only" is a concept of knowing, and "virtual three realms" refers to "emptiness".
The "emptiness" of middle school theory actually comes from the "Twelve Origins", which is the development and generalization of it.
"karma" is a condition, and all laws (things) are unconditionally left. It is impossible to find a legal person except for various conditions (karma). Therefore, "all laws are empty", and everything has no real and solidified "self-nature", which is the so-called "origin emptiness"
The representative work of middle school, Zhong Lun, said in the fourth volume:
"At the end of the law, there is no cause, so all the laws are empty."
Jin Lun explains the word "Zhong" like this:
"First, the truth: the truth is the truth. In the practice of realizing what is right, what all laws should be, that is, how to return them. ...... Second, Zhongzheng: China is a circle, neither one side nor the other, just right. When the Buddha says the middle way, it will be displayed according to the origin method. ……"⑥
As can be seen from the above, the theories of "middle view" and "knowledge-only" developed from the "origin theory" of primitive Buddhism, that is, the "twelve origins"
The second part of a two-part program/book.
Indian's "middle view" theory was mainly translated by (344-4 13) and transmitted to Korea. He was a monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and later Qin Dynasty. His father, a God-given man, was born in Qiuci (now Kuqa, Xin Qiang).
Master Xuanzang (602-664) of the Tang Dynasty went to India. The classic of Yoga School is that he returned from seeking Dharma and spread it widely, and founded the "Independent Dharma School".
Later, a master of the Book of Changes (635-7 13) admired Master Xuanzang's style of seeking dharma in the West and went to India.
After coming back, they all said that Mahayana Buddhism in India was two rounds of "middle view" and "yoga"-two rounds in the heyday of Mahayana Buddhism.
There were also many eminent monks in the Han Dynasty, who wrote numerous essays and interpreted "middle view" and "only knowledge".
There was also a Fazang (643-7 12) in the Tang Dynasty, which concentrated on the thought of "Huayan Sect". Hua Yanzong's learning is said to be the highest philosophy of Buddhism in China.
Hua Yanzong summarized all the teaching methods of the Buddha as "the theory of origin"; According to the different observation angles and the depth of its significance, it can be divided into:
On the Origin of Karma (primitive Buddhism);
On the Origin of the Middle Way (Middle School);
Araille's Theory of the Origin of Knowledge (Yoga School);
⑦ On the Origin of Tathagata;
On the Origin of Law (Hua Yanzong);
Coupled with the "Six Origins Theory" (Shinrikyo) introduced to Japan at that time, there are five theories to explain the "Origins Theory"!
Fazang wrote Hua Yan Jin Shi Zhang Zi, which means "origin";
"If it is endless, it is like a pure pearl of the Emperor of Heaven, which is called the Indra Netgate".
In Indian mythology, Indra's palace is decorated with a treasure net with countless pearls; Each orb can reflect the shadow of other orbs like a mirror, and even reflect countless pearls contained in other orbs.
The causes of "Hua Yan Jin Zhang Shi" in the French collection are as follows:
He explained the theory of "Hua Yan" to Wu Zetian in Luoyang Buddhist Temple. When talking about the meanings of "Ten-fold Xuanmen" and "Six-phase Harmony", Wu Zetian couldn't understand it, so she pointed to the golden lion in front of the temple as a metaphor.
This explanation, recorded by disciples, became this book; It is said that Fazang is characterized by "cleverness and charm".
The explanation and discussion of the theory can deepen understanding, but it also has a weakness:
"There seems to be something wrong."
This sentence was said by Huairang (677-744), a great Zen master of Nanzong, and is found in Volume III of Five Lights Meeting Yuan. Huairang studied Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Zen in Shaozhou (now Guangdong).
People in Henan often say "miss", which means nothing; Nan Zongchan also advocated:
Stop thinking and sweep away concepts; Touching the class is the Tao, that is, the truth; At present, clarify the boundaries between subject and object, ability, inside and outside, and things and me.
Nanzong Zen was founded by Huineng monk (638-7 13). Originally, he was just an illiterate woodcutter, who understood the endless "origin" with "heartfelt existentialism"-Nanzong flourished in the later period, but it was not included in the discussion of "origin theory" by Fazang.
But this Sect is very close to primitive Buddhism; The teacup quoted many times in the last article was later broken by a young Zen monk named Yixiu in Japan.
There used to be this teacup, but it was still broken. And judging from this broken teacup, there are no words like "middle view" and "only knowledge", and Zen advocates "no writing", which is also the reason:
Many times, "truth" is not as simple and direct as "intuition"!
Take a break and ask the master:
"Can anyone not die?"
Master a:
"How can there be a fairy?"
Have a rest and then ask:
"So, is there anything that won't break?"
The master replied again:
"Although the fate is gathered, the fate is scattered and bad; Nothing can be an exception. "
Take a break and say:
"Well, here's a sentence,' It's not good for fate to break up'; Your teacup, I broke it, won't be very distressed? "
The master sighed:
"Well, if it's broken, it will be broken."
Ok, no longer feel bad; Come through thick and thin, "think without thinking."
To be exact:
"Qingshan has changed to Huangshan several times, and the world is always busy.
There is dust in the eyes, but there is no bed width in the heart. "
The author of this poem, who is also Japanese, is called Dream Window Buddhist.
However, it is not easy for the world to let go of "I" and "Fa"!
For example, although I also know a broken story, a poem in a dream window, which really reveals a profound philosophy of life, it is always "the eyes are dusty and the three worlds are narrow."
Knowing that the day of death is not far away when you are old, weak and sick-that day, you will be forced to give up; However, there will always be a lot of nostalgia, continue to be persistent, can not let go.
Give an example of other people with better perception:
There is a book that I like very much; Once, when I turned it out, I found that because of the continuous rain in the warehouse, the water kept rising and getting wet, and the pages were stuck; After sighing for half a day, I got up in the middle of the night and opened the pages in various ways until the window turned white.
The "persistence" in the world, in my opinion, is only the nature of things and their "elegance" customs, which are different from each other; * * * In the same way, I always think that "I" can live forever, and "things" can live forever; By me and the law, and the new greed, even as the ancients said:
"Running around all day just to satisfy hunger, thinking about clothes when you are full.
I have no worries about food and clothing, and I want to be a beautiful wife.
If you marry a beautiful wife and have children, you hate having no land and no foundation.
What a vast field, there are no boats and few horses to go in and out.
Mules and horses are at the head of the trough, sighing that no official is out of shape.
Xiancheng's main thin is still too small, and he wants to hang purple clothes in the morning.
If the world wants to be satisfied, only Conan dreams of the west. "⑧
In recent years, from rough and hard work to disheartened, I finally turned around and wanted to read some Buddhist books; However, there are countless classics with complicated meanings, and my nature is the most blunt and impatient.
An old gentleman described an experience:
"In the process of learning only knowledge and the middle view, our ideological firepower met a dead end and we felt bored, but every time we were bored, we just relaxed and freed ourselves by reading Zen words ..." Pet-name ruby
This is exactly:
"It's not surprising to climb a tree and give up her husband on the cliff.
It is difficult to find cold fish on a cold night, so leave the boat blank and indicate the month. "(Kawashima Zen Master in Song Dynasty)
The night is cold, and the fish don't catch; At this time of regret, I suddenly saw the empty sky above the ship-full of bright moon; There is still a bright moon in the empty boat, and I feel that I am also in a state of mind and feel very happy.
Monk Huineng is a good monk. In the Tanjing, he used his wisdom to make the complicated truths of the Buddha's origin thought and "only knowledge" and "middle view" so simple and easy to understand.
His phrase "all laws are inseparable from self" also summarizes the truth of "only knowing"; From the Diamond Sutra, I realized that "the origin is empty" and enlightened my disciples with the "middle view" thought of "not holding two sides".
All kinds of fatigue also come from physical decline, lack of energy and mental fatigue; Then I'll make it simple and easy, focusing on an altar sutra.
Of course, the above is just my own specific situation-I didn't say anyone else, so I will do the same.
The Tanjing represents Buddhism in China, which mainly combines the primitive culture of China, including Taoism and Confucianism. This is the genius. The theory permeates the specific national conditions, and is easily accepted by the general public, including scholars. It is more popular and easy to understand, simple and easy to understand, and popularization is conducive to communication.
However, the main idea of Buddhism, Tanjing, has not changed. In order to get rid of "self-discipline" and "law-discipline", monk Huineng and Sakyamuni realized the same truth; This truth is:
"the origin is empty"!
note:
(1) "today's theory", page 27; Shun Zhonghua Book Company.
(2) The Human Dharma, 30 pages; Jing Hui, editor-in-chief, published by Chinese Buddhist Association. The schoolbag contains the article "The Basic Thought of Buddhism" by Shuigu Xing Zheng (Japan), which is quoted in this article.
(3) on enlightenment, 9 1 page; Jia Titao, Sichuan People's Publishing House.
(4) with the book, 92 pages.
(5) the theory of today's view, 49 pages.
6. The same book, 7 pages.
⑦ It is also called "the truth is the origin theory", which is based on the Mahayana belief theory. The Mahayana belief theory is called the translation of truth, and some people suspect that it was written by China people.
8 quoted from Mencius Bypass, p. 199; Nan, Fudan University Press.
Pet-name ruby "on enlightenment", page 65.
February 29, 2020, written in Ningbo and Bai Cuixi Lane.