After eating one stone of rice, one can be enlightened; after eating 100 stone of rice, one can be enlightened. Some people awaken after eating 60 kilograms of food from childhood to adulthood; some people awaken after eating 6,000 kilograms of food from childhood to adulthood. One can be enlightened in one lifetime; one can be enlightened in one calamity. Some people awaken in this lifetime and will not have another lifetime; some people awaken after experiencing 26.8768 billion years of reincarnation. Daily material enjoyment supports the continuation of the body, which is also the continuation of the spiritual carrier. As for the evolution speed of the spirit itself, it varies greatly. The book says that when all materials are abundant, it is difficult to have the motivation for spiritual evolution. For example, in the Northern Continent of the Four Continents, the people there have a fixed lifespan of one thousand years, and there is no disease and suffering, so they indulge in pleasure and have no Dharma because there is no opportunity.
Zhuangzi saw something different: bacteria that only exist in the morning have no idea how long a month is. Because crickets only live for a few months, they don't know how long a year is. This is a relatively small length of time. There is a big tree in the south of Chu State called Ming Ling. Their life cycle is that every 500 years is counted as spring, and every 500 years is counted as autumn. In ancient times, there was a big chrysanthemum tree. Spring was eight thousand years old and autumn was eight thousand years old. This is a greater length of time.
So Zhuangzi’s Happy Journey talks about different realms.
The same thing in Zhuangzi's eyes: Once upon a time, Zhuangzhou dreamed that he had turned into a butterfly. The butterfly was very vivid and lively. He forgot that there was Zhuang Zhou. Soon Zhuang Zhou woke up and found that Zhuang Zhou was the only one here, and there were no butterflies. He really didn’t know whether Zhuang Zhou dreamed of becoming a butterfly or whether a butterfly dreamed of becoming Zhuang Zhou.
Therefore, Zhuangzi’s Theory of Equality of Things talks about the unity of all things.
Zhuangzi’s Tao is the heart of Zen.
Saṃyukta Āgama 742 says that if you focus your mind on the inevitable death, you will not be attached, will not waste time, and will know clearly what to stay away from. According to statistics from the Asian Development Bank, in China, about 39.7% of people are supported and buried by their spouses, 26.1% are supported and buried by their children, and the remaining 34.2% are supported and buried by others. In other words, the probability that the two types of relatives that people are most attached to - spouses and children - can accompany them to the end of their lives is no more than 40%. Imagine that in a person's later years, there is no spouse and children, or even no spouse and children at the funeral. This is a very difficult but very realistic thing to accept. And this thing itself can effectively solve most of the sources of troubles for everyone. If you let go of your attachments, especially your attachment to your relatives, everyone's troubles will be reduced. Letting go and seeing through does not mean indifference, but staying detached at the right temperature.
Why are there different ways of birth for living beings: oviparous, viviparous, wet, and metamorphosed? For those who were born from eggs: those who were greedy for power in their previous lives are birds in this life; those who were scheming in their previous lives are fish. For those who are greedy for sex, they are born from the womb. Among them, those with upright minds are upright as humans, while those with treacherous minds are treacherous as beasts. Those who are greedy for wine and meat are reborn in water and moisture, like rotten maggots and toilet worms. Those who are right in face but wrong in back are reborn from metamorphosis. The cause of rebirth without support is the uncertainty of the mind. Both humans and animals have all four ways of birth. For example, humans at the beginning of the kalpa (when the world was first formed) were reborn from metamorphosis rather than from the womb. Some dragons and Garudas have four ways of birth. There are also two ways of birth for hungry ghosts: viviparous and metamorphosed. All ways of birth depend on the mind at the time of rebirth and the karma of the previous life.
A group of people gathered together to see a peerless beauty. There was a man, holding a bowl full of oil, walking through the crowd. Behind this man was a killer with a knife. As long as this man spilled a drop of oil, the killer would kill the man holding the oil bowl. Would the man holding the oil bowl look at the peerless beauty while walking through the crowd? The Buddhist scriptures use this metaphor to illustrate that practitioners must always guard their thoughts, just like the man holding the oil bowl, always reminding themselves not to be attracted by all kinds of distracting thoughts, and always correct their hearts. - "Saṃyukta Āgama. 623"
There is a restaurant in Melbourne called Northeast People(Dongbeirenjia). The dumplings in this restaurant are very popular. I used to buy dumplings there. I often saw Indians eating green dumplings in this restaurant. Once, I ordered this green dumpling with a try-it attitude. I realized it was pure vegetarian when I ate it. The fillings were mainly black fungus and carrots. When I ate it, I didn't have the same enjoyment as the Indians. At that time, I admired their ability to control their appetite. A few years later, my wife said today that one of her colleagues, 24 years old, was very determined to order a vegetarian dish when facing a table full of fish and meat at a company dinner. This young man is also Indian and only eats vegetarian food. He said that he felt sick when he saw meat. I listened for a long time without saying anything. Then I heard about another Indian child, who is a classmate of my child, 12 years old, born in Australia and raised in Australia. He went to India with his parents to visit relatives during the holiday half a year ago. After returning from India, this child insisted on eating only vegetarian meals for every meal. His mother chatted with my wife and said that everyone in their family eats meat except this child, including his brother. This child has been a vegetarian for half a year. His mother has no choice but to prepare vegetarian food for him for every meal. I was also moved after hearing this. In Ji Xiaolan's story, someone was reborn as a pig. Because he remembered that he was a human in his previous life, he thought it was disgusting that pigs often eat feces, but in the end he ate feces because he was too hungry. In the eyes of many vegetarians, meat is a corpse, no matter what kind of meat it is, it is a corpse. So eating corpses is a disgusting thing. But I personally can't help eating meat at present. When I heard about the two Indians today, I felt that there is indeed a difference in the fate of people. They may have shallow karma and don't have to eat corpses. I still have deep karma, and I eat with the corpse in my arms. I think that although the 12-year-old child and the 24-year-old young man are young, they must have made more progress in their souls than me. If you are a meat eater reading this post, please don't scold me. I say whatever I think, and I don't mean to offend you.
Falsehood refers to telling unfounded lies. Gossip refers to gossiping between two people and spreading rumors. Harsh words refer to cursing or slandering after disagreeing with others. Flirtatious words refer to words that sound nice and clever but have no practical meaning, or flattery for one's own purposes, or frivolous, rude and improper words.
It is better to keep silent than to lie. It is better to speak loving words than to keep silent. Loving words: kind words, joyful words, and beneficial words.
Three Zen Stories
One day, a professor who taught Zen at a university came to ask Master Nanyin what Zen is.
Master Nanyin treated him with tea. He poured water into the guest's cup. The cup was full, but Master Nanyin didn't seem to notice and continued to pour water into the cup. Watching the tea overflow from the cup and all over the table, the professor was busy wiping the water with a tissue and said to Master Nanyin: "The cup is full, the tea has overflowed, Master, don't pour any more."
Master Nanyin stopped.
"You are like this cup," he smiled and said: "Your mind is full of your views and ideas about Zen, but you come to ask me. If you want me to tell you what Zen is, you have to empty your cup first."
Two Zen masters were walking on a muddy road. When they reached a shallow ford, they saw a beautiful girl hesitating there. Because she was wearing a silk hem, she couldn't step across the shallow ford.
"Come on! Little girl, I'll carry you over." The senior brother said, and carried the girl on his back.
After crossing the shallows, he put the girl down, and then continued to move forward with his junior brother.
The junior brother followed behind his senior brother, feeling unhappy all the way, but he kept silent. At night, after staying in the temple, he couldn't help it and said to his senior brother: "We monks must abide by the precepts and cannot get close to women. Why did you carry that woman across the river today?"
"Ah! You are talking about that woman! I let her go a long time ago, but you are still worried about her?"
For many days, Ikkyu monk sat alone in meditation, silent. The master saw the mystery and smiled and led him out of the temple gate. Outside the temple, there was a beautiful spring scene. Looking around, the sky and the earth were filled with fresh air, half-green grass buds, obliquely flying birds, and the emotional river...
Ikkyu took a deep breath and peeked at his master, who was meditating peacefully on the hillside.
Ikkyu was a little puzzled, wondering what the master was up to.
After an afternoon, the master stood up, without saying a word, and with a gesture, he led Ikkyu back to the temple.
As soon as he entered the temple gate, the master suddenly stepped forward, gently closed the two wooden doors, and locked Ikkyu outside the temple.
Ikkyu did not understand the master's intention, and sat alone outside the door, thinking about the master's meaning.
Soon the sky darkened, and the fog covered the surrounding hills. The woods, streams, and even the sound of birds and water were no longer clear.
At this time, the master called Ikkyu's name loudly in the temple.
Ikkyu pushed open the temple door and walked in.
The master asked: "What's it like outside?"
"It's all dark."
"Is there anything else?"
"Nothing."
"No," the master said: "Outside, the breeze, green fields, flowers and grass, streams..., everything is there."
Ikkyu suddenly understood the master's painstaking efforts.