Important: Du Fu was deeply influenced by Buddhism since he was a child, and this thought was further confirmed when he drifted southwest. A large number of landscape poems in his later years were deeply influenced by Zen, with the characteristics of leisure, calmness and love for everything. Du Fu's view of Zen is not contradictory to his Confucian thought, but his concept of compassion is in harmony with Confucian consciousness of benevolence.
Keywords: Du Fu; Landscape poetry; Zen; Buddhist thought; Benevolence consciousness
There have been many differences in the study of Du Fu's thought. Most scholars follow Liu Xizai's theory of Qing Dynasty, and think that Shaoling "only lived in the Confucian world all his life". Feng Zhi mentioned that "there is no karma between him (Du Fu) and Buddhism" (2), and Xiao Difei also said that "as for Taoism and Buddhism, they do not occupy any position in Du Fu's ideological field ... In his mind, Buddhism and Taoism are only as fleeting as a flash in the pan, especially Buddhism's thoughts" (3). However, some scholars, represented by Guo Moruo, think that Du Fu is a staunch Buddhist believer, and his religious beliefs are getting older and more faithful. In fact, the glory of ancestors and the background of the middle class greatly inspired Du Fu's political ambition and enthusiasm, which made him cling to the ideal of "serving Confucianism and guarding officials, not falling into a vegetarian career" in his early years, but he lost his ambition in his later years and lived in Southwest China for ten years. His mentality, thoughts and theme style of his works have changed greatly. If we try to judge or divide Du Fu's thoughts in an extreme "one size fits all" way, it will inevitably lead to a misunderstanding of the great poet's art and humanity.
1
Du Fu's family background is closely related to Buddhism. While paying attention to Du Fu's being deeply influenced by Confucianism since childhood, people often ignore that Du Fu was accompanied by Buddhist thoughts during his growth. His grandfather Du Shenyan had contacts with several monks and left behind poems related to Buddhism. In the first year of Tianbao (742), Du Fu lived in his aunt's life. Du Fu wrote "The Epitaph of Du Fu in Jun Jingzhao County, Tang Dynasty", from which we can know that Du Fu was actually raised by his aunt, and "the mother of Yigong died early and was born in her aunt". The epitaph records aunt Du Fu's devotion to the Buddha:
He has returned it after ten years, and he has a tacit understanding of the principle of taking advantage of it, and he absolutely refuses to eat meat and blood in the Zen flavor, and he is mixed up in the door. The words of the raft are not left behind, but the sound and meaning are reached when the book is opened. The mother instrument uses things, and the family follows them.
It can be seen that her aunt believes in Buddhism and the whole family practices it. "Epitaph" also contains his aunt's dying orders to "rise from the tower and be buried" (5), hoping that everything behind him will be done according to Buddhist rituals, which shows that he is deeply convinced of Buddhism. Du Fu lived in such a family with sincere Buddhist beliefs.
From the macro environment, since Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been given equal attention, and "it is very difficult for the literati class in such an era to be free from the influence of Buddhism". Guo Moruo's investigation of Du Fu's Buddhist beliefs begins with his poem "Youlong Menfengxian Temple" when he visited Luoyang in the 24th year of Kaiyuan (736). When Du Fu was twenty-five years old, the poem had a strong Buddhist flavor. The poem says:
I have traveled from Zhaoti and stayed in Zhaoti. Shadows and valleys create empty sounds, and the moon forest scatters clear shadows. The sky is like a weft, and the clouds are cold. It is thought-provoking to smell the morning bell.
Guo Moruo said: "How can you say that Buddhism has never happened with such deep religious feelings? ..... It's like a monk writing a poem. " ⑦
It can be seen that due to social and family reasons, Du Fu was really influenced by Buddhist thought from his early years and had some contacts with Buddhism. However, Du Fu in his youth, after all, lived a frivolous life, smearing romanticism on his own life and society, so that he would not "be in the Shuangfeng Temple and seek seven ancestors for Zen" as he said later. Studying Du Fu's last ten years wandering southwest, we will find more dense Buddhist images and poems than before. Among them, the most important ones are "To Brother Lu Qiu, a monk of Shu" and "To send Wang Shilang to Xinjin Temple with Peidideng", which were written in the first year of Shangyuan (76), and "To send Pei Di to Si 'an Temple Bell Tower at dusk", "You Xiujue Temple" and "Houyou (Xiujue Temple)" which were written in the second year of Shangyuan (761). In the first year of Guangde (763), Shangdou Leads the Temple, Wangdou Leads the Temple, Shangniutou Temple, Wangniutou Temple and Mountain Temple, and in the second year of Dali (767), Qiukui House pays tribute to Li's guests, Lan Ruo, a great monk. The appearance of a large number of crisp works in Du Fu's later period has certain social factors and ideological roots.
During Du Fu's wandering in the southwest in his later years, Jing Zhongzong and Bao Tang Zong were actively preaching the Dharma in Sichuan. According to "The Magic Weapons of Past Dynasties", there was a three-or four-year-long dispute of following the law in the first year of Baoying (762), and Yanwu, Gao Shi and others who had close contacts with Du Fu were deeply involved in this matter. In addition, many officials related to the advocacy and legal disputes of Jingzhong and Baotang schools also have close relations with Du Fu, such as Leeb in Du Fu's Twelve Rhymes of Li Yuan, Wei Youxia in Wei Youxia's Langzhong, Di Boji in Di Ming Fu Boji, and Cen Can in Ji Cen's History. Du Fu, who entered Shu, experienced several years of displacement, poverty and illness. Although he still had patriotism, his pursuit of political value was inevitably lost. During this period, Du Fu gradually weakened, and finally became a sick and disabled old man who was "sick and worried about wasting his feet" ("Living in a Guest House") and "left deaf with half teeth" ("Returning"). In this case, it is inevitable and understandable that the poet is psychologically dependent on Buddhism and has the idea of living in Buddhism. Just like Ernst? 6? 1 Cahill said, "Philosophers and kneaders often tell us that the real ultimate root of religion lies in people's dependence", and "kneading from moral obligation to religious freedom is not achieved by some choice", but is facilitated by the real experience of the subject's mind.
2
Du Fu is not famous for his landscape poems, but he left a large number of them in two periods: First, in the prime of life, there were a large number of landscape poems and some famous works, but the description of scenery lacked individuality and feelings were not integrated with reason and interest; Second, after entering Shu, there were not only a huge number of landscape poems, but also abundant contents and diverse styles. The appearance of the latter phenomenon has much to do with the poet's temporary stability after long-term displacement and the comfort and enlightenment of the beautiful mountains and rivers in Sichuan. In addition, it is also greatly influenced by Sichuan Zen.
Du Fu lived a carefree life after he settled in the thatched cottage in Shu, which can be regarded as the double trauma of reality and spirit caused by his political ideal, and his landscape poems were mostly leisurely, pleasant and calm. The first of "Two Poems of Heartwarming by Water Threshold":
Guo Xuan is open, and there is no village overlooking the credit. Bi water, almost submerged both sides of the strait; Green trees, blooming flowers in the evening. Drizzle Misty, the fish jump out of the water happily; The breeze blew gently, and the swallow tilted over the sky. The city is crowded with hundreds of thousands of people; There are only two or three lights here, and they are free.
The neck couplets are quiet, while the couplets are moving, but the movement is wonderful, and a peaceful and quiet evening scene of Jiangcun comes to life. And the first couplet's "overlooking the credit" highlights the spacious, remote and open vision of the residence. A kind of leisure and pleasure far away from the hubbub is induced by the rhythm of nature's life and the harmony of natural environment. More importantly, from Du Fu's many landscape poems, we can see that the poet seems to be far away from his early years of begging for politics and wandering, giving up his political ideal that his love hurts him deeply, and his quiet life completely relaxes his tired psychology and wants nothing (at least the poet's psychological state should be like this when creating crisp poems). This kind of artistic conception embodied in Du Fu's landscape poems is precisely the essence of pure Zen-no memory, no thoughts and no mistakes. Out of proportion: "No memory is a precept, no thought is a certainty, and no mistake is wisdom. These three sentences are always holding the door ","I was handed down by the founder of Dharma, and these three sentences are always holding the door. If you can't afford to read, it's a warning. If you can't afford to read, it's a fixed door. If you can't afford to read, you will be wise. " Attending according to the "Magic Weapons of Past Dynasties", Wuxiang was initiated by Dr. Zhang Qiu during the Tianbao period. "In December and the first month of every year, Jinhe was blessed by four hundred million people, and the Dojo was strictly set up and placed in a high position" [11]. It can be seen that Jing Zhong and Bao Tang Zen inherited the characteristics of Hongren Dongshan Dharma, and adopted an open method to preach Zen. In "The Residence of Shixing Temple, the Secretary of Bieli", the poet wrote:
Re-reading the Western Buddhist scriptures, and being old in an ancient temple. His wife and children waited for Miche to return, and he came to listen with a stick.
It is also said in
Failing to cut off his wife, Bu Zhai approached the peak.
It can be seen that Du Fu still has the experience and habit of "asking questions" and "listening to classics" in his life. [12]
In Du Fu's poems, the last two sentences of "Wangniutou Temple" directly reflect the influence of Jingzhong Zen: "Don't be crazy about singing old, you can't look back." The word "can't live without heart" is quoted from the Diamond Sutra, which explains its origin, and this statement in the Diamond Sutra is precisely played by Zen Buddhism. "Therefore, this Zen method that Du Fu deliberately showed off in this poem is also likely to be known through the net door. ..... Du Fu's statement of' restless heart' clearly shows that he has adopted the method of non-mindfulness of Jingzhong or Nanzong, not the method of separation of Beizong. " [13]
Again, it is regarded as a poem "After Traveling" in the second year of Shangyuan (761):
The temple recalls the place where it once traveled, and the bridge flows again. The beautiful scenery seems to be waiting for me there. Flowers also split smile, willow also twisted waist, selfless dedication to everything, welcome me to board again. The wild smoke is thin, and the sand is late. All the worries of the guests are reduced, so why not give up this?
The theme of this poem is a visit to a Buddhist temple, which is simple and elegant, but "thinking is special and profound" [14]. In the early morning, the mist in Yuan Ye lingers, and the afterglow in the evening lingers on the sandy shore, and the landscape is full of business. In such a selfless and beautiful natural environment, the poet's emotions are blended with "pity" and "sorrow", which can be described as intentional and affectionate. These two poems are very meaningful, which reveal the poet's feelings about the indifference of the world. The implication is that nature is affectionate and selfless, but the world is ruthless and selfish. As Xue Xue, a Qing dynasty, said, "The flower willows are selfless, and the next word" self "will make you feel hurt when you leave the chaos, and it will be on the paper" [15]. The last two paragraphs of the poem show the great power of Buddhism to "reduce worries" and the author's mental journey and firm determination to be attracted by Buddhism and expect to approach Buddhism.
Zen often says that there are three realms. The first realm is "but in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes, how should I ever find his footprints!", which means that the Zen ontology cannot be found; The second situation is "empty mountains and no one, water and flowers bloom", which means that enlightenment seems to be lacking; The third realm is "the eternal sky, once the wind and the moon", which is the ultimate realm of Zen at the moment. [16] Du Fu's "Travel at night to express my feelings" after two sentences "flitting, flitting, what am I like? But a sand-snipe in the wide, wide world!'s reading is clear, exquisite and natural. Isn't it the realm of "eternal sky, once romantic"? There is no will to struggle in this kind of landscape poems living in Sichuan, but the poet's spirit of trying to keep his mind calm and harmonious is just related to Zen.