There is always a great power to feel and feel when chanting Buddha and participating in Zen. This has brought us endless spiritual wealth.
After thousands of years, I read Zen poems and feel the mood of monks. It seems that I can feel the cool breeze and bright moon, and there is a faint fragrance in the air.
When understanding Zen, it seems to be connected with heaven and earth, as if everything in the universe can be mastered, and the past is like smoke.
In the world, a short Zen poem contains many great truths, waiting for you to understand.
This is the Zen poem written by this cloth bag monk. There are only four short sentences in the whole poem, which can be seen at the end of the poem, showing infinite significance.
As early as the Five Dynasties, there was a monk named Qiben who traveled around with a cloth bag on his back all the year round. Therefore, people call him a "cloth bag monk".
Once, he went on a business trip to a place where four families asked him to help transplant rice seedlings. Invite him to dinner after transplanting. He agreed with everything, and later, people found that he had magical power.
In fact, he can grow rice in two places at the same time, and he can also attend a banquet in two places. Legend has it that he was reincarnated as a Buddha, so that he could separate four members and help four families at the same time.
Someone asked him what it was like to help four families transplant rice seedlings at the same time.
Immediately, he recited a poem casually.
Song of transplanting rice seedlings
Holding young crops in hand, looking down at the water in the sky.
Six cleanness is the Tao, and backward is forward.
Although this poem is simple, it has only four short sentences. The truth contained in it is that no amount of chicken soup for the soul is as flattering as flattery.
The first two sentences, "Hold the young crops in your hands, and you can see the water in the sky with your head down", refer to the action of farmers transplanting rice seedlings. He bent down and lowered his head with a seedling in his hand. In the rice fields, the blue sky and white clouds are reflected.
Maybe you haven't found anything strange after reading this.
When people see this sentence, they just think that the next sentence is turning a corner, saying that transplanting rice seedlings is bitter and tired, or lamenting that life is busy, but there is plain happiness.
But the treatment of cloth bag monks is different. He believes that every move of transplanting rice contains profound philosophy, which can guide us how to be a man.
Just lower your head and plant seedlings, get rid of your distractions and concentrate on your work. It seems hard, but there is still a blue sky.
Reflected in the water, you can see a different world with your head down, and you can examine your heart.
"Six clean paths are the Tao", which means that when our body and mind are no longer bound by material desires, it is the time to truly embark on the road of practice.
In the eyes of Buddhists, after six clean roots, sitting and lying is the Tao, and transplanting is also the Tao. You can find your way anywhere.
The last sentence "the future is the forward" completely sublimates the whole poem.
When transplanting rice, it seems that it is retreating while inserting, but it is through this step-by-step retreat that people can insert all the rice fields.
This is the so-called "retreat is progress". Every step you take back is not necessarily every step you take to the other side.
Being a man is like transplanting rice seedlings. Sometimes, retrogression does not necessarily mean escape and failure, but an opportunity to help you examine your heart, adjust your direction and move forward bravely.
As the saying goes, "Take a step back and broaden the horizon". The road of life is so long, why rush forward without looking back, and let the noise of the world muddy your heart.
However, blindly giving in is not the right way. At an appropriate time, take a step back, stick to your original intention and stick to your principles. This is the true meaning of "backward is forward".