Huineng, the founder of Zen Buddhism, was deeply influenced by Laozi and Zhuangzi. Liu Yuxi commented on Huineng's thought in the Second Monument to Master Cao xi: "If you don't fix it, you will get it." It can make scholars stay away from their knowledge of nature, be fascinated by the darkness, and look up at the celestial pole. This is natural, but it cannot be inherited. "It can be said that" Tao is natural "hits the nail on the head, indicating that Zen is deeply influenced by Taoist natural inaction. Mr. Fang also pointed out: "The breadth and depth of Taoism's influence on Zen thought exceeded the inheritance of Zen thought to Indian Buddhism and the influence of Confucianism on Zen thought. "
Shen Hui, another Zen master with the same fame as Huineng, has made a deep study of Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts. Zanning's Biography of Song Monks said that God would "teach the Five Classics to follow the teacher and lead a secluded place. Looking for Laozi and Zhuangzi for the second time, the spiritual mansion is natural ... Its ironic recitation of the group classics is easy to contradict itself and full of laws. " This shows that God's thoughts are deeply influenced by Laozi and Zhuangzi. In this regard, God himself said: "Monks are natural, and so are all beings." "Buddha nature and ignorance are natural, why? All laws are based on Buddha's nature, so all laws belong to nature. " This is to regard Buddha nature and the nature of all beings as nature. The altar sutra says, "Know your true heart, your heart, and see your true nature." Through the exploration of "original mind", we can see that "nature", "original mind" and "nature" are all "nature". In this regard, Zen has a story to prove:
Xuefeng picked a piece of wood for entering the mountain, which looks like a snake. It says on the back: "White nature, not real carving" and gives it to the teacher (Da 'an Zen Master). The teacher said, "I used to live in the mountains, and there are no traces of knives and axes." ：
Although "nature", "nature" and "self-nature" of Zen all refer to the natural existence state of things without any artificial traces, and "original heart" refers to the natural state of people's hearts without any ideas. Therefore, Zen expresses the purpose of understanding true nature as "no mind for teaching, no body for the body, no habitat for the foundation" (Fa Haiben's Tanjing). This concept is consistent with the natural thought in Zhuangzi. For example, Zhuangzi said, "Horses and hooves can practice frost and snow, hair can keep out the cold, grass can drink water, and feet are stuck in the ground. This horse is also true. " Zhuangzi also regards the white state of the horse as its "truth".
The religious practice of Zen is a natural life, and reading scriptures is not the main thing, it is from the heart. Huineng opposes becoming a monk. When Huihai answered the question "How to study hard", she also said, "Sleep when you are hungry and sleep when you are sleepy." Yi Xuan also said: "Buddhism is useless, but there is nothing to do, just defecate, wear clothes to eat, and lie down when you are sleepy." . In other words, you can practice in your daily life. Why? Zen believes that "bamboo is full of dharma, gloomy and yellow flowers, nothing more than prajnaparamita." Among all kinds, there is Buddhism. This kind of "heartless and sexual" thought is exactly the same as Zhuangzi's thought of "the unity of things and me". "Among all kinds, there are buddhas ... this is everything, everything is one ... everything is there." This is no different from Taoism's belief that Tao is among all things and that everything has Tao. Please see: Zhuangzi Zhibei Tour says: "What is the so-called evil in Tao?" Zhuangzi said,' Everywhere'. ..... among ants; ..... "In the barnyard grass"; .....' on the tile wall'; ..... drowned in shit. And "Five Lights Meeting Yuan" (Volume 4), the Zen master of Zhaozhou, when answering "What is Tao", also said: "The bottom outside the wall." ..... yue: "Avenue." Said: "The avenue runs through Chang 'an. "This is the Zen version of Taoist thought. Zen says "you can see the Tao clearly", and Zhuangzi has long said: "You can't keep your voice down when you witness the Tao. "
On the theory of Buddha's nature, Zen pays attention to "returning to the original", "seeking the Lord" and "discovering the true nature of oneself", which is similar to Zhuangzi's thoughts of "returning to the original" and "melting the Tao".
Since Tao is everywhere, it is natural to practice Buddhism in real daily life. Therefore, Ma Zhu said, "Tao is unyielding. If it is repaired, it will be broken, that is, hearing the same voice: it will be the same if it is not repaired. " The cultivation of Zen Buddhism is based on "practice without practice" and "freedom on all sides, nothing but Dojo". This idea of Zen should also be said to have originated from Taoism. The word "practice without practice" is different from the Taoist "doing nothing without doing anything" In fact, Zhuangzi pursues Tao in a natural and inflexible way of life. "Zhuangzi Dechong Fu" says: "Often white but not healthy." "I have no name, no politics, no service, no knowledge of the Lord, no endless travel, and I suffer from heaven." "When I say Tibetan, I just want his life to belong to him." Zhuangzi's monasticism also advocates that "people do not forget what they have forgotten, and forgetting what they have forgotten is called sincere forgetting". "Don't forget" is Tao, "Tao; What you forget is things and yourself. Zen's view of natural life, and the concepts of "a normal mind is the Tao" and "a careless mind is the Tao" are in the same strain as Zhuangzi. Zen seeks Tao with a "normal mind" in daily life, and Zhuangzi also seeks Tao in a natural way. Of course, the Tao pursued by Zen Buddhism is quite different from that pursued by Zhuangzi. Zen is to make yourself disappear in daily life. Zhuangzi, on the other hand, pursues a realm of "governing by doing nothing" ("governing evil") and "freedom".
In practice, Zen opposes the traditional Buddhist practice methods and advocates "hunger and sleep", "destiny" and "nature", which is the embodiment of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi's natural inaction spirit. Zen advocates "mind is Buddha" and "nature is Buddha", and Buddhist practice should be "no phase", "no mind" and "no living". This has nothing to do with Zhuangzi's emphasis on "doing nothing without doing anything"; Forgetting, nothingness and forgetfulness, ruthlessness and harmony; Forget yourself "is consistent. In the later period of Zen Buddhism, it was more clear: "The mind is evil by things, and things are right by the heart." It's nothing. "But love is not attached." . This is "forgetting things". "One more question:' How to keep your job?' The emperor said:' I am willful and carefree, so I am open. However, there is no divine solution. ""This is that people and things are forgotten.
Since "a normal mind is the Tao", blindly reading classics is not a natural life. Therefore, Zen does not give priority to reading classics, and even opposes reading classics. What's more, the Buddhist scriptures were burned. Xia Huihai of South Vietnam Department said: "The Buddha is created by the mind, and the questioning is fascinating, and the enlightened person is aware of it by the mind: the fascinating practice cause and effect, and the enlightened person reads it without phase." Xi Yun also said: "Ontology is created by the mind, and it can be sought by words." In Zen's view, the metaphysical ontology, that is, the will of the Buddha, is beyond language and writing, and can only be understood but difficult to express. Just as Huihai said in reply to "Why don't you recite the scriptures", "You can't preach the Buddha's meaning through scriptures ... There are more proud people than Buddha's words, more people who understand the truth than words, and more laws than words. What do you want from several sentences? Therefore, those who send bodhi are proud to forget their words, and those who realize reason and forget the law still forget the fish and the hoof. " The word "forgetting fish" shows that this idea originated from Zhuangzi. "Zhuangzi Know the North Tour" said: "The Tao can't be said, the words are not true, the shape is not true, and the Tao is not justified." In other words, Tao, as the noumenon of the world, can't be completely and accurately expressed in words and characters. Language and writing can only give us a certain understanding of Tao, but they can't reach Tao itself. In Zhuangzi Foreign Things, a metaphor is used to explain it: "A fisherman is so addicted to fish that he forgets it. The hoof was on the rabbit, so he got the rabbit and forgot the hoof. The speaker was so concerned that he forgot to say it proudly. " In addition, he also used the experience of a car mechanic to ridicule the fable of Henggong's reading to emphasize his point of view: "The ancients died without passing it on, and the scholar was married."
The development of Zen in the Song Dynasty further reflected the Taoist color of Zhuangzi. Let's take a look at the general situation of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty.
In Tang Wuzong (845), after Zhou Shizong destroyed the Buddha in the later Zhou Dynasty, basically only Zen and Pure Land Sect survived, and Zen was the most prosperous. The closest contact with literati is Zen. As far as Zen is concerned, there are mainly Cao Dongzong and Lin Jizong. The leader of Lin Ji is Yang Qi Jiao.
Due to the specific social and historical conditions in the Song Dynasty, the secularization of Buddhism was quite serious. The jungle economy was replaced by the landlord-style manor economy. In order to get support and protection, monks made friends with the literati class, which led to the richer the rich, the poorer the poor, and the polarization became more and more serious. This fundamentally changed the ethos of Buddhism, but also changed the social status of Buddhism, and Buddhism and society were increasingly integrated. The secularization of Buddhism is the result of Taoism and its influence. The original Indian Buddhism is an innate monk religion, which follows the Buddha's doctrine of "keeping aloof from the world and making good friends". But after it was introduced into China, it had to make adaptive changes. Hui Yuan's "On Shaman's Disrespect for the King" was influenced by Zhuangzi's thought, showing traces of reconciling the inside and outside of the Party. Later, in the repeated conflicts between Buddhism and China's inherent culture, Buddhists established the belief that "it is difficult to legislate without meeting the country's master". It is the theory of "one mind and two doors" in Mahayana Belief, a Buddhist classic born in China. "One heart" means "the heart of all beings", "two doors" means "being as true as a door" and "the field of life and death", and "taking all secular laws and secular laws for the sake of heart", thus being in harmony with the world and being born. The theory of Mahayana's initial belief had a wide and far-reaching influence in the early Sui Dynasty. Tiantai Sect's theory of "sexual tools", Hua Yanzong's theory of "director harmony", "merit" and "following fate", and Zen Buddhism's theory of "truth is thinking about body, thinking about using truth" are all the results of its influence. Laozi advocated "harmony but difference", and Zhuangzi advocated mixing the world and traveling around the world. Early Taoist classics, such as Notes of Laozi Sier, Official Seal Sentences of Laozi on the River, Taiping Jing, etc., are also full of the idea that people are not far from Taoism and Taoism does not leave people. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi dominated the ideological circle, which had a great influence on Buddhism, which was eager to establish itself in China and occupy the spiritual world of China people. It is in this context that the theory of Mahayana belief has been upgraded from doctrine to the world and the world. By the time of Li Tang, Laozi Li Er was regarded as the ancestor, and Taoism was revered to an unparalleled position. The thought of "Birth" in Born continues to exert a strong and profound influence on Buddhism, and Zen, as a rising star in various schools, has extended this point to the peak. This profoundly influenced Buddhism after the Tang Dynasty, especially in the Song Dynasty.
A prominent feature of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty is the continuous integration of various ideas, including Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Among them, the integration of Tao and Tao is particularly prominent. The first reason is that the main body of Buddhist belief at this time is the literati class. During this period, the views and voices of the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism became * * * knowledge among the literati class. In order to spread Zen, we must be close to Confucianism and Taoism, which is familiar to the literati class. On the other hand, it is also related to the religious policy of the rulers. Song Huizong rejected Buddhism and believed in Taoism, trying to paint his rule with a sacred aura and cover up his inferiority and military failure compared with Liao and Jin. In his later years, he pursued the Taoist policy of Buddhism, forcibly changed temples into Taoist temples, and changed the title of Buddhist monks and nuns into Taoist titles, thus obliterating the difference between Buddhism and Taoism. Although this policy has not been implemented for a long time, it has had a far-reaching impact on the development of Buddhism. It prompted some Zen masters to introduce Taoist ideas and concepts into Zen. This is manifested in two aspects. On the one hand, the introduction of Taoism and Taoist viewpoints to explain Zen views and myths in the history of Zen has led to some fundamental changes in Zen thought. For example, someone clearly said, "Laozi and Buddha are not the same." In response to this phenomenon, Zhu also said: "It is absurd for Zhuang Sheng to say that he is next to the sun and the moon, holding Ningzhou and swinging at the octupole." Don. It says: light is silent, everything is impassable. Those who don't move around the Dojo in the Dharma circle of the Zhou Dynasty will be fascinated by illusion, and I will taste it first. When people in this world talk about Laozi, they must want to unite the two families and think that God is always full of courage and omnipotence. This is what Shi Zhuang said, not what Laozi meant. "It can be seen that the confluence of Zhuang and Zen was still a common phenomenon until the Southern Song Dynasty. On the other hand, a large number of Zen practices were introduced into Taoism, which linked the practice of Zen with the pregnancy and longevity of Taoism, and the purpose of Zen practice changed from understanding nature to longevity. In fact, this tendency has been very prominent in the founders of Tiantai Sect and Tantric Sect, but it should be said that it was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that Buddhism changed its basic teachings and became consistent with Taoism. For example, when Zen master Huihai explained the "divine power", he said: "The divine world is well informed and the dharma world is all over the week. Mountains and rivers have no walls, and there is no obstacle to going back and forth. In an instant Wan Li, there was no trace of going back and forth, the fire was endless, the water was endless, and the fool had no brains, trying to get four big flies. Li also said that the person who becomes a Buddha is "the sky and I are empty, and I am one with everything." In their eyes, the Buddha is just a fairy of "floating things". This will certainly cause criticism from the orthodox Zen master. For example, Keqin said, "I watched the first-class blind wild foxes, but I never dreamed of my ancestors. However, I misinformed Mo about the baby, saying that it was a way to save the fans. I even quoted the world's highest masters, such as An and Zhao Zhou, who did the same, and boasted that their ancestors only walked with shoes and popularized empty coffins, all of which showed that this technique was effective. "... after a period of time, under the guise of" ancestor's fetal interest theory ",Zhaozhou's Twelve o'clock farewell song and Pangju's Zhuanjiang Chefu, they handed instructions to each other and passed them on in secret, in order to get out in K years, or hope to be two or five hundred years old. As everyone knows, this is really a delusion! ”。 But this tendency can't be stopped by Keqin, just as Keqin himself frankly said: "It is universal, and nothing can stop it."
Monks in Cao Dongzong stop feeling and advocate silent meditation. It is based on Huineng's thoughts of mind and nature and Prajna's empty view, and it also absorbs Laozi's nihilistic thoughts, Zhuangzi's thoughts of "being wary", "sitting and forgetting" and "materializing", and further emphasizes the illusory experience of "looking back and looking inside" in meditation, and thinks that the meditation method and Zhuangzi's cultivation are "the same way". For example, he said: "Sit and forget right and wrong, silently see different things, practice Buddhism, and the scope of heaven and earth." ..... Kirin step medicine, golden lion. When you meet each other, the road will return together. ""shape instrument as light as, chest and abdomen empty. Lazy don't learn Buddhism, stupid don't understand books, calmly deal with all reasons, silently accommodate everything, dream of butterflies, enjoy watching fish, the canal is just me, I am not a canal. "The state of emptiness pursued by meditation is really similar to the unity of heaven and man in Zhuangzi, which obliterates the differences between things and things, things and me. Its meditation, rest and ethereal spirit are similar to those of Zhuangzi.
The Taoist nature of Zen is particularly prominent in the talking Zen of Yuan Wu Keqin and Dahui Gaozong. Zhuangzi is also a weapon for Kanyu Zen to criticize Mizhao Zen. Zheng Ang (Shang Ming), who believes in meditation, rebuked Gao Zong and said, "Meditation is the first resting place for practice. Monks are willing to vilify greatness, fearing that monks can't reach this field, so they can't believe it. " The emperor replied:
Zhuangzi said, "Keep your word, and always keep your word. Words are not enough, and (then) all day long. Tao is so extreme that words are not enough to carry it. Not silence, meaning (discussion) is extreme. " I didn't read Guo Xiang's note, I made it up to break your silence. ..... Tao and things are both extreme, without words, without silence, without words, without silence. What the public said was not what Zhuangzi meant, let alone what Sakyamuni Lao Tzu (Sakyamuni Buddha) and the mage meant? It means that if you don't even know the meaning of Zhuangzi, how can you know the meaning of Buddhism? The meaning behind this is that I don't know Zhuangzi thought in the world, let alone Zen thought in the world. How can I know! As far as the relationship between words and meaning is concerned, Emperor Gaozong opposes both clinging to words and clinging to silence, thus negating meditation with silence. But he also opposed the idea of completely giving up silence:
At present, people who study Taoism only seek quick results and don't know where they are wrong. However, it is said that I should read a few more volumes of scriptures, read a few Buddhist scriptures, and repent of the crimes I have committed in my life, so as to avoid the stick in my hand. This is what fools do.
Like meditation, Keqin and Gaozong who advocated meditation also absorbed a lot of Zhuangzi's thoughts, or were deeply influenced by Zhuangzi's thoughts. For example, Ke Qin once said, "Words are just a device carrying Tao, but I don't know what the ancients meant. I just want to see the ancient road in the sentence: the road is silent, and I forget it because I show it and see it. If you come here, give me the first chance. " Obviously, these thoughts come from the distinction between words and meanings in Zhuangzi. Dai Zong also advocated that the conversation head should be regarded as a "living sentence" and should not be interpreted as a "dead sentence". Gao Zong also clearly pointed out: "In the daily four powers, let go of fate and let nature take its course." . This is related to Zhuangzi's "satisfaction; There is almost no difference in the thought of forgetting words. He added: "Now, when things are in front of us, they are either reversed or smooth, so we don't have to worry about it. If we worry about it, it will disturb our hearts. "But all temporary rewards are naturally in line with this truth." Everything should conform to nature, to fate, and not to man-made. Even if you "see from the Buddha, see from the law, see from all beings, think differently, be wise and tell the truth", "it doesn't matter." . Because it is "the law of the world and Buddhism is the law of the world." It is from this perspective that Gao Zong advocated the unity of the three religions and clearly pointed out: "The Zen master mainly lies in the heart of the Buddha. If you have a clear heart, you will know that this heart is not only the heart of Buddha, but also the heart of Confucius and the heart of Laozi. " . This thought should be said to have a great effect on breaking the dogmatism of Buddhism. Gao Zong thinks that as long as he is telling the truth, it doesn't matter whether he conforms to what Buddhism, Laozi and Confucius said. But for the purpose of helping others to accept it, he can express it by the appearances of Buddhism, Laozi and Confucius: "The ancients were down-to-earth and did not doubt Buddhism, Confucius and Laojun, and then vented their anger through the nostrils of Laojun, Confucius and Buddha." This kind of open and liberated thought has much to do with Laozi's skepticism and Zhuangzi's relativism.
Regarding the relationship between Zen and Taoism, Lv Cheng said: "It may be that Buddhism came to China, which was originally accepted and developed on the basis of metaphysics, and then the two sides separated; In the late Zen period, it returned to the aspect of combining with metaphysics. " Metaphysics belongs to Wei and Jin Dynasties and also to Tang and Song Dynasties. Metaphysics in Tang Dynasty was still San Xuan: Yi called it True Metaphysics, Lao Zi called it Empty Metaphysics, and Zhuangzi called it On Metaphysics. In such an ideological environment, Zen also showed a tendency of metaphysics, which continued until the Song Dynasty: regarding the Book of Changes, Cao Dongzong's "Samadhi in the Treasure Classic" said that the Book of Changes explained five images. Zen masters often use Yijing to explain Huayan Jing. Cheng Yichuan said: "Reading divination is not as good as reading Huayan Sutra", which reflects the ideological trend of the times. As for Laozi, there are two words "nothingness" in the speeches of Zen masters, such as "where to go when all laws are unified", "parents were their true colors before their death" and "robbing the nameless". As speeches, they are similar in thought to the words "born in nothingness" in Laozi. As for Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi Tianxia said, "Take the world as a dark cloud and don't talk to Zhuang". It means that people who talk to ordinary people will cry by this name and will not be understood. He divided the language used into three categories: "proverbs (auxiliary words) as the extension, tautology (old saying) as the truth, and fables as the broad model". This means that people need to understand the meaning of words. Inspired by "Zhuangzi", Zen generally speaks three sentences as three levels to test people. Lin Ji himself said: "In a word, there must be a San Xuan Gate, and a mysterious door must have three essentials, power and use." In the Song Dynasty, because the mainstream of Taoist thought changed from "Outer Dan" to "Inner Dan", Inner Dan Taoism, which has a distinct ideological color, had to take Zhuangzi as the standard when seeking ideological basis from classics, but the influence of Zhuangzi thought surpassed that of Laozi.
To sum up, it can be seen that the influence of Zhuangzi Thought on Zen has penetrated into the bone marrow. However, although Zen absorbed the thoughts of Taoism, especially Zhuangzi, it did not lose its distinctive features. The essence of Zen is the theory of origin emptiness. Nature is a vacuum, the heart is illusory and unreal, and the pursuit of nirvana silence and "starting and ending heaven and earth with the heart" are still the characteristics of Zen.