As a bodhi tree, my heart is like a mirror platform.
Wipe frequently, and don't create dust.
Bodhi has no trees, and the mirror is not a stage.
There is nothing, so there is no dust.
This is a four-sentence poem by Huineng, the sixth ancestor, which originated from Shen Xiu and Huineng.
Shen Xiu said, "I am a bodhi tree, and my heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it often to avoid dust. "
Interpretation: Disciples are like bodhi trees, under which Sakyamuni Buddha realizes the Tao. The disciples' hearts are like a bright stage mirror. (Twisting flowers and smiling, the first case of Zen heart-to-heart communication (allusions) We should constantly brush it to prevent it from being polluted by dust and dirt and obstructing the bright nature.
Huineng said, "Bodhi has no trees, and the mirror is not a stage. There is nothing, so there is no dust. "
Interpretation: Bodhi is a metaphor of wisdom, while Spiegel is a metaphor of peace of mind. Where is the original quiet place, where will it be contaminated with dust?
This poem can be found in the Tanjing written by Dunhuang. As for the origin of this poem, there is a clear record in the fourth to eighth sections of the Tanjing: Hongren, the fifth ancestor, "called all his disciples one day" and asked everyone to "write a poem". He also said, "If you get the gist", that is, "Fu Yi is as good as the law, this is a legacy of six generations." Shen Xiu, the last disciple of Hong Ren, wrote a poem in front of the door: "I am a bodhi tree, and my heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it often so that there is no dust. " When Hong Ren learned this, he "summoned the abbot" and said, "If you do this, you won't get it when you see it" and "If you find the supreme bodhi, you won't get it", so he asked him to "write another poem". And "if you go to the show for a few days, you can't do it." Huineng's poems are directed at Shen Xiu's Five Fragrant Books. According to the Tanjing, Huineng is illiterate. He first "asked someone to read" the beautiful melody, and then wrote this song "Ask a scholar to write it at the Western Wall".
This poem, like that beautiful one, is different in principle in practice methods. Shen Xiu's song "No Love" made him lose the qualification of being a red man, but he became the founder of Beizong. Because Shen Xiu emphasized "being always clean", later generations called it "gradual revision school". Huineng's poetry is a complete denial of beauty, that is, subjective idealism is a complete denial of objective idealism, which directly grasps the key to "seeing nature as a Buddha" and is called "Epiphany School".
Huineng pointed out in the 20th section of the Tanjing: "Human nature is self-purification, and all laws are self-nature. To think of all evil things is to do evil; Think about all the good deeds and then practice them. " This is the basis of Huineng's epiphany theory. In his view, there is no insurmountable gap between "fools" and "wise men", "good people" and "wicked people", and between them and "Buddha". From "infatuation" to "enlightenment", it is only between one thought. This thought of "putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot" not only played a great role in the evolution of Buddhism in China, but also had a great influence on China's philosophical theory.