Master Sheng 'an (1686- 1734), a famous monk of Pure Land Sect in Qing Dynasty, was the founder of Pure Land Sect1/. Siqi was born in Changshu, Jiangsu. He was a common surname and was born on the eighth day of August in the 25th year of Kangxi (AD 1686). Teachers and students who don't touch meat and food have shown intelligent and mellow nature since childhood, as if they were born with a desire to be free from vulgarity. When his father died young, his mother Zhang knew that his son was predestined friends with the Buddha and became a monk. When the teacher was seven years old, Zhang led the provincial buddhist nun to buddhist nun and chose a monk as a teacher.
From studying Buddhist scriptures and studying Confucian books, to the age of fifteen in the thirty-ninth year of Kangxi (AD 1700), when he was officially shaved and entered the precepts, he had learned Buddhism and Confucianism and was good at poetry and books. However, the master of the provincial nunnery did not indulge in other occupations, but never forgot life and death. The master is knowledgeable, loyal and filial. After his mother's death, he knelt in front of the Buddha and recited "Buddha said it was difficult for parents to report scriptures" for 49 days. And every year on the anniversary of mother's death, there must be an image to repair the confession and recite the economy.
Occasionally, one day, the master of the provincial nunnery entered Renshan Temple, and suddenly a monk fell to the ground and died. Master suddenly realized that life is impermanent, and the police should practice more. Strictly observe the precepts, never leave the mantle, have lunch, and never be threatened. After that, Yunyou traveled around and visited good knowledge. In the forty-ninth year of Kangxi (A.D. 17 10), at the age of twenty-five, Master Yizhicheng and Master Shaotan studied Taoism, specializing in Mahayana, Hinayana and other classics. After three years of unchanging calendar, we finally reached the goal of three views and ten times, and the research of the two sexes was all integrated. Because the master of the provincial nunnery learned something, Master Shao Tan passed the Buddhism to the provincial nunnery and awarded it as the authentic Lingfeng IV of Tiantai.
In the fifty-third year of Kangxi (A.D. 17 14), at the age of twenty-nine, he went to study under the vulture monk's seat in Chongfu Temple and took part in the talk of "Who is chanting Buddha". After 120 days of intensive meditation, he suddenly enlightened and said, "I woke up from my dream." Since then, Ling Diao and the monk knew that the provincial nunnery was a utensil and wanted to preach the Dharma, but Master politely refused and left it as a gift.
In the second year, I closed in Zhen Ji Temple, reading Sanzang classics during the day and chanting Amitabha at night. So I studied hard day and night for three years, during which I had to recite Samadha and take time to annotate master lianchi's "Western Vows". After going through the customs, the monks of Zhen Ji Temple respectfully invited the master of the provincial nunnery to speak "Hokkekyo", and the master was promoted to give lectures, which won the sincere admiration of the monks and nuns present for his clear-cut ability and incisive theory. Later, on the orders of Master Shao Tan, he preached Confucian Classics in longxing temple, Hangzhou, and all the participants praised it as good. Since then, the master of buddhist nun Province has become more famous.
In the fifty-eighth year of Kangxi (A.D. 17 19), he went to Asoka Tower in Yi Siming to pay tribute to the Buddha relic. The teacher burned his fingers five times in front of the tower. Because he was bent on dying in the pure land of the West, he made forty-eight wishes and felt the Buddha relic shining. As the poem says, "Gavin died for two thousand years, and his relics are still brilliant." After celebrating his former student Li Shan, you have to look at the front of the tower. A pearl adorns Jason Chung, so how poor is it now? I still see my heart from the heart, not the Tathagata. There are stupas, pagodas and dust brakes in the temple. 80 thousand, no more, no less We should cherish this palace now.
Although the doctor left the medicine, he was ashamed that the idiot had not been treated. After reading Nirvana's posthumous work, I burst into tears. "So every year, on the Buddha's Nirvana Day, buddhist nun masters from all provinces will widely convene monks and nuns to satirize the classics and pay homage to the Buddha. He preached religious classics and Amitabha sutra to the public, combined with the purpose of Zen Buddhism, so that what he said benefited the public and absorbed all interests.
In the second year of Emperor Sejong Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1724), the provincial nunnery master moved to Brahma Temple in Hangzhou, and his masterpiece "Persuading Bodhicitta" was written at this time. The words in the article are meticulous and the content is sincere and touching. Since it came out, I don't know how many Buddhist practitioners have been inspired to make progress and work hard. Because of the example and reputation of the master of the provincial nunnery, the four disciples in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and even neighboring provinces hold the master's reputation in high esteem, and more and more people study and teach under his door. Since then, although the master has traveled to several jungles, he still has many followers. If so, it lasted for nearly ten years. Later, at the invitation of yongfu temple, Puqing Temple, Haiye Temple and Xianlin Temple, he presided over the temple affairs and standardized the Dojo with strict rules and regulations. Propagandize the teachings of Tiantai Zen Sect for the benefit of the group. There are monks and customs in all directions, and participants ask scholars to get together. It can often make the Dojo prosperous and the sea peaceful.
Later, the master of the provincial nunnery retired to Xianlin Temple in Hangzhou, studied Buddhism with a pure heart, stayed at home, refused all advantages and specialized in business. At the same time, it also inspired many people to smoke and practice, and encouraged fellow practitioners to deepen their confidence, strengthen their wishes and become Buddhists with one heart, in order to live in the pure land of the West. At that time, everyone called the teacher "Master Yongming Yanshou" and came back with a wish.
Master Sheng 'an was invited by believers in his later years to live in Brahma Temple in Fengshan, Hangzhou. In order to spread the Pure Land Buddhism more widely, he was full of enthusiasm and affection. In the seventh year of Emperor Sejong Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1729), the master founded a group specializing in studying the pure land of Amitabha, and gathered people who were interested in the pure land and believed in Buddhism, taking an oath for the article. Every day, the homework was set at 20 minutes, with a very famous Buddhist chanting, nine points for meditation and one point for repentance. If so, they work hard day and night.
Under the influence of Master, fellow initiates walked with the congregation, benefiting a lot, and hundreds of people won prizes. In the 11th year of Emperor Sejong Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1733), when Laba Buddha became a monk, the master told his disciples that "I will be gone on April 14th next year". Since then, I have been practicing quietly in the room where Xiangzhai is stored, stipulating that I will recite the Buddha's name 100,000 times day and night and never change. Even on April 2 of the following year, I closed the door. On the tenth day, I told the public: "Ten days ago, I saw three western sages come to the void, so goodbye now, my life is pure land." After that, he took charge of the temple affairs, and then went to the city to resign all the dharma protectors and lay people. The waiter asked the master to leave his last words, and the master wrote: "Before the Buddha in Central China, the Buddha illuminated the purple lotus, and his heart died with the buddhas. Nothing. "
When the book was finished, Gong said, "I decided to die on the 14th. We will gather people to recite Buddha for me. " 13, I stopped eating, closed my eyes and sat quietly. 14, take a shower and change clothes at 5 o'clock, and sit cross-legged in the middle of the room. When the time came, people from far and near gathered around, made a funeral and earnestly begged the master to live. At this time, Master Sheng 'an opened his eyes again, looked at the people around him and said, "I'll come as soon as I come. Life and death are important, and each of us has no problem reading Buddha. " After that, clap your hands and call the Buddha's name. It's safe and silent. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, disciples offered spiritual bones to the west of Fushuiyan in Changre Qinchuan.
On February 15th, the seventh year of Qing Qianlong, the master disciples of Hangzhou greeted the ruins reconstruction tower on the right side of Asoka Temple. Its old tower was changed into a mantle tower. Teachers and students died on the eighth day of August in the 25th year of Kangxi (A.D. 1686) and on April 14th in the 12th year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1734). They lived for forty-nine years and became monks for twenty-five years. The master's life is not long, but his contribution to Pure Land Sect is far-reaching.
Master Sheng 'an's Buddhist Thought and Its Influence
Master Sheng 'an's Buddhist thought can be said to be a concentrated achievement of Buddhism. Since I was ordained, I have learned the precepts deeply, strictly abided by the statutes and norms, and tasted the words: "Walk in Brahma and aim at the West." In his early years, under the seats of Master Qu Cheng and Master Shao Tan, he made an in-depth study of Tiantai, Fa, Fa Hua and Guan Guan. Vulture monks who participate in spiritual practice meditate for enlightenment, and meditate in meditation to recite Buddha. This kind of experience is enough to show the profound Buddhist attainments of Master Sheng 'an. But as far as its emphasis is concerned, his Buddhist thought is mainly reflected in the view of pure land. In the book "Persuade bodhicitta", ten kinds of karma are listed to trigger bodhicitta, and the ninth karma says: "Why does the pure land hold clouds? It is said that it is also difficult to practice in this land, and it is easy to become a Tao in another land.
It's easy to make a career, but difficult to rob it. It is the sage of the past, and everyone is interested. After thousands of arguments, it means everywhere. So much for doomsday training. However, it is said that less good is not born, but more happiness is the result. If you say a lot of blessings, you will hold a name, and if you say a lot of goodness, you will send a big heart. It is better to hold the title temporarily than to use it for a hundred years, and it is more important than practice. Gainian Buddha is the Buddha of this period, but he doesn't care. Do you think it's funny? The original intention is to practice, and it is easy to retreat if you don't have pure land. Plant bodhi seeds, plough with Buddha, and the fruit of Tao will grow naturally. Take a big boat and enter the pure land sea, and the west will die. "Concise, to the point, won the hearts of the people. You read them carefully, bodhicitta arises spontaneously, and the pure land naturally wants to go. At the end of "Persuade Bodhi Mind", the master said: "If the public can not abandon my language, then Bodhi will get married. The Associated Press Zongmeng, from today. I would like to live in the pure land together, watch Tommy together, assimilate all beings together, and be enlightened together. "If so, can be said to be well-intentioned, well-intentioned.
Master Sheng 'an went from Zen to pure land. Based on his early achievements in meditation, he synthesized the practical experience of Pure Land Method. He once wrote such a eulogy. It can be said that he advised practitioners to return to the pure land like themselves. He said: "Amitabha's words will solve the problem, and there is no other discussion." If the fire gathers, it will burn at the touch, such as Tai 'a ",the Buddhist thought revealed in these poems will certainly affect the ideas of many practitioners.
The master himself was also good at secular poetry when he was a teenager. Later, although he devoted himself to Buddhism, his poems were all works such as "Poems of chanting Buddha" and "Poems of urging the Pure Land". For example, "it is important to read the essence of Tomi Buddha, read the merits and virtues, and read the purity." Thinking about the real body, the voice awakened the original people. Babies often call their mothers when they fall into the water, and they don't see their loved ones until they get home. " But when she said goodbye, she sobbed and cried. It is said that disgust is an obstacle, but it is difficult to get rid of it without cutting it off, and it is easy to live without deep love.
The master's poems are completely spontaneous in practice, not artificial. In order to prevent disciples from indulging in poetry and delaying their practice, he once taught: "When people breathe, they have no leisure to learn the truth of the world. If you miss this opportunity a little, it will become another world and it will be difficult to turn back! " In order to persuade the practitioners who come to study, cherish the unique karma, return to the pure land, and read Buddha for survival. As a warning to the world, he said, "In a big dream, who can get it in the long night?" . If you love your dream, you will wake up and do it again. If you don't do as well as before, you will make many mistakes. I advise you to turn back early and go straight west. Let go of everything and attend clean classes frequently. Looking forward to returning home day and night, seeking enlightenment with one heart, and suddenly being ethereal is the real pure land. "Amitabha was like this before it suddenly appeared.
The poems listed above can roughly describe the pure land thought of Master Zhisheng 'an. If you want to have a comprehensive understanding, you can look at the works of the masters, such as Persuading Bodhi Mind, Pure Land Poetry, Quotations from the Master of the Temple of the Province, and the suicide note of the Master of the Temple of the Province, which will definitely make you feel refreshed and take this as the standard.
The above is just a brief overview of the Buddhist thought and influence of Master Sheng 'an. The words may not be satisfactory, but the quoted words are the master's practice experience, simple and sincere. I hope that people who are destined to read it can feel deeply and deeply, and believe that the Buddha will survive in the pure land of the West. I think this is also the last wish of Master Sheng 'an. After the teachers and students, many scholars paid tribute to them, and I want to record two of them as the conclusion of this article.
Ode:
Broad-minded, bodhicitta.
Forty-eight wishes, may the strength be great and deep.
I see the truth. Swiss Premier League has morality.
Lianzong is a vein that lasts forever.
And praise yue:
It is difficult for a hidden person to get personal proof. He understands that the source of the heart is magnificent and pure.
To let the world know why, write a poem to show the Buddha's command.
Bodhisattva is a guide, and I really believe in logistics.
If you can have this extraordinary method, you will be born extraordinary and holy.