Every day when I wake up, I treat life with a brand-new concept, which is the consciousness of Zen. Some young people say at the age of twenty-five: The overall situation has been decided. What do you mean it's settled? Don't talk about this at the age of 30, don't talk about this at the age of 40, and don't talk about the overall situation at the age of 50, 60, 70 and 80. Didn't say the big picture was set.
Some people are about to retire, so they say that the overall situation is settled. That's real stupidity. If you know that there is no such thing as the overall situation, it is better than anything else. You see, some people have been in good health for decades, and their hair turns white after one year of retirement. What's this called? Call life uncomfortable. Lao Tzu put it well, "Return to the baby", and we should really understand this sentence in our life. If a person is not liberated and his mind is not young, what can he talk about practicing? Some people say that old legs get old first, which is wrong. Old hearts get old first.
Keep your whole body and mind young.
"Back to the baby"
Wake up every morning and treat life with a new concept.
Let go of your troubles and be calm.
A man told me that he was very busy at work and always felt irritable. Once sick, very ill, he suddenly thought, why are you so tired? Have a good rest. During that time, he felt very quiet. He said it was the only time in his life when he was in a particularly good mood. Later, well, life returned to the original track, so it became grumpy again.
It seems like a joke, but there is a mystery in it. Sometimes you worry about something, just let it go and feel calm.
Frankly speaking, as long as you have an understanding of this sentence, it is enough to point directly at people's hearts and see Buddha's nature. There is an unnecessary worry and pain in your heart, and you want to overcome it. The peace of mind born at that time was particularly precious. Recognizing this, we can understand why Huineng said "worry is bodhi".
What is Bodhi? It is the wisdom of Buddha and the advanced realm.
Don't try to reach the sky in one step, it is very tiring to reach the sky in one step.
We should be good at understanding the mysteries of life and be clear and comprehensive.
It needs to be quiet. A little detached. You have to be able to afford it and put it down.
Trouble is bodhi.
Everyone's life inevitably has a lot of troubles.
Things at home, work, children, the elderly, human relations and all kinds of life problems are bothering people. In this case, how to keep a peaceful mind?
Even a fairly optimistic person sometimes has some troubles. Worry is a very precious thing for a person who wants to improve his realm. There is nothing wrong with a person who thinks big. This is a small defect. Worry is bodhi, and worry is an excellent material to exercise a person.
So, how to overcome troubles?
When trouble comes, you may think: I don't want to worry, I'm not. But hard pressure, often the more pressure, the more trouble. What shall we do? There are four words "Can't drop". When you are in trouble, you should find the "true self" and "id self", and then look at the troubled heart from the perspective of "true self" and let it worry. Your "true self" will see such a process: the troubled heart is like a rolling wave, unstoppable and calm, one after another, you stand still and look on coldly. Suddenly, it faded. Anyone who has experienced this experience will know that when the tide of troubles falls, the state achieved almost exceeds the relaxation and tranquility of body and mind obtained in many meditation trainings.
Overcome troubles and turn them into bodhi, and the realm will grow.
It is easier to be quiet in silence. If you calm down in the chaos, your concentration will undoubtedly be higher. It is easier to relax and be quiet when there is no trouble; Being able to relax and be quiet when troubles strike is a higher realm.
Any resolution that can only be made through biting one's teeth is not a good resolution.
A friend who is fascinated by calligraphy asked, I go to work every day and can only practice calligraphy in my spare time. Can I quit my public office now and concentrate on my handwriting?
I told him that I had to answer the question myself. You ask this question, which shows that you are still hesitating, unable to make up your mind, and still ambivalent. You said you could still make up your mind as long as you gritted your teeth. You still have a lot to think about. You may be married, you may have children, and you need to support your parents. What do you do for a living when you are determined to devote yourself to calligraphy practice? When these practical problems are not solved, how can we make up our minds? You ask me, how can I help you make up your mind?
In my opinion, any resolution that can only be made through biting one's teeth is not a good resolution, nor is it taken for granted. A twisted melon is not sweet, but a melon that grows on a vine and must be cut with a knife is not a good melon.
This is a universal truth, but it is not easy to do it.
To put it more thoroughly, we should take a natural state of everything in life. Telling jokes is like an old dress, which you can't bear to wear. It's a pity to throw it away, but I can't bear to put it in a dustpan and take it out again. Well, you can wear it for another two days. As soon as I put it on this morning, it hissed and tore a big hole in my clothes. I couldn't wear them anymore, so you threw them away. You will be happy to take out a new dress to wear. This choice is very good. This is for nature.
On the contrary, if you do something with a very contradictory mentality and force yourself to make up your mind, this determination will generally not be good.
Just like young people fall in love, are unwilling to get married, are dissatisfied with each other, and it is difficult to be happy after marriage. Because the uneasy psychology has foreseen something, but the reason is difficult to sort out at the moment. Man-made cover-up will be exposed sooner or later.
Boredom is not indifference.
A young man said that since meditation, he didn't want to go to class, fall in love or stay at home. In short, he doesn't want to do anything. He said, I can't do anything, but I don't know how to achieve it.
There is also a friend who originally studied calligraphy and painting and achieved something. After contacting the Zen culture in the East, he felt dull about life, painting and calligraphy, and felt that life was boring. He is bent on practicing in the deep mountains and forests. He asked: did this break the insistence and see through the world of mortals?
I said: this is not what broke the insistence, but entered another kind of persistence, which is a misunderstanding.
Friend, boring doesn't matter where it is. For life, boredom is by no means a relaxed feeling, it is a great fatigue, even the most painful thing. Boredom is the first concern of many retirees.
Zen is about enlightenment, not making people make stones. Of all things, stone is the most unintentional. Don't eat or drink, squat there for thousands of years and tens of thousands of years. People don't need to practice to turn into stones, and you can't turn yourself into stones. The enlightenment of Zen is the natural state, comfortable state and free and easy state of life. Boredom is a very uncomfortable state. I don't know what I should do. My heart hasn't dropped. Nothing to refuse and nothing to worry about are two diametrically opposite concepts.
So, what is a good state?
When you do something beneficial to human beings and relatives, and do it naturally, freely, artistically and skillfully, what kind of mentality will you have? It will be quiet, bright and relaxed. When I am bored, my heart is wandering around. Is it the same as this mentality? Of course not.
Zen emphasizes opportunity. Only in this way can Zen be combined with the real opportunity of millions of people's lives, and the truth of Zen can be accepted by more people.
Zen should make people live and work more freely and philosophically.
On the contrary, they are persistent and should give up.