There is a Zen master at Dazhuiyuan Temple in the capital of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His name is Sengshi, and his vulgar surname is Cheng, from Xianyang. He is a very virtuous Buddhist monk.
One day at noon, the Zen master suddenly boarded the bell tower and called the bell urgently to gather the crowd, so that all monks in the temple prepared incense. The monks came with incense and asked what was going on.
The Zen master said: "At this moment, a lecture hall in a certain temple in the south of the Yangtze River is about to collapse, and more than a thousand people will be crushed. Please unite to praise Namo Avalokiteshvara for salvation." So the monks in the whole temple began to recite the Buddha and chant sutras. The sound resounded throughout the temple.
A few days later, news came from the south of the Yangtze River: It was said that at noon that day, Buddhism was being explained in a lecture hall of a temple in Yangzhou, and the audience was over 1,000. Suddenly everyone smelled the wonderful aroma floating from the northwest and heard the sound of chanting. The aroma and sound entered from the north gate of the lecture hall and went straight out of the south gate. Everyone was surprised, and walked out of the lecture hall in search of the aroma and the sound, wanting to see what happened. As soon as all the people in the lecture hall were gone, the lecture hall suddenly collapsed, but no one was injured. Later, the emperor heard about this incident and issued an edict three times to invite Zen Master Seng Shi, but the Zen Master did not come. In the third year of Baoding in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Zen Master Sengshi passed away at Dazhuiyuan Temple, and his life was eighty-eight. There are 8,989 relics of Zen Master Sengshi, and most of them have turned into the light cycle after 1960, and there are still 6 existing relics. [Note] The sincerity of one thought can make the sound and fragrance of chanting go thousands of miles away in an instant. From this we can comprehend the wonderful meaning of the Buddha's saying that "everything is generated by the mind". We will believe that cultivating blessings and transcending the souls of the dead can instantly pass through the underworld, and those who reincarnated by reciting the Buddha can reach the Sukhavati in an instant. Excerpted from An Shiquan Book "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue: Rescue the temple that is about to collapse from a distant place
Make a big vow, keep your heart unmoved, and work hard to learn Buddhism without going backwards. Only by accomplishing these three things can one be called Bodhisattva. -"Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
There are a total of 547 stories about the Buddha's life in the existing "Jataka tales", which tells the reincarnations of Bodhisattva in many lives, from four asāṃkhya 100,000 kalpas ago, when the Bodhisattva made a wish from the Dīpaṃkara Buddha, to the establishment of the Jetavana. It tells the Buddha's experience in 547 reincarnations before and after he became a Buddha.
Among them, according to the order of time, it can be divided into three stages: the first part, from the body of Yi Qie Du (All Pāramitā) to being born in Tushita, belongs to the "distant cause stories ”; the second part, from the death at Tushita to the enlightenment of bodhisattva, it belongs to the "non-distant cause stories"; the third part, from getting enlightenment to Jetavana, is a "near cause stories".
The "Jataka tales" records that Sakyamuni went through countless rebirths before becoming a Buddha. He has been a king, prince, Brahman, businessman, woman, elephant, monkey, deer, etc. Every time he reincarnated, there is a story of doing good and morality. These stories are called "Jataka tales". These stories of this life repeatedly illustrate the "laws" of reincarnation and karma, in order to persuade people to stop evil and promote good, so as to accumulate merit. It is this concise and simple Buddhist thought that attracts thousands of people who believe in good faith, and Buddhism and Buddhist culture continue and develop on the basis of such "mass".
"Jataka tales" is different from other Pali classics. In other Pali scriptures, only Buddha, Pratyekabuddha, Arahan, Biko and Bikouni are mentioned. And the 547 stories of the "Jataka tales" are all about Bodhisattvas.
Although the Pali "Jataka tales" has not been translated into Chinese by ancient monks, it has also been introduced into China through oral transmission and other minority languages. For example, "Crab and Egret" (Dai), "Monkey and Frog" (Tibetan), "Gudong" (Tibetan), "Green Bean Finch and Elephant" (Dai) in "Chinese Animal Tales" published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in 1978, They are the "Heron Jataka", "Crocodile Jataka", "DaDa Jataka" and "Quail Jataka" in the "Jataka tales".
Don’t know happiness and suffering, just like the earth has no intention.-Jātaka
People who can endure humiliation and get rid of anger can be rewarded with good looks. -"Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
There used to be a heaven emperor, and he has already shown signs of death. And he knew that when he died, he would be reborn as a donkey in the pottery house. He was very sad, thinking that among the Three Realms, only the Buddha could save people from suffering. So he rushed to the place where the Buddha lived, bowed his head to the ground, and took refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and holy people. Before he got up, his life suddenly came to an end, and his divine consciousness entered the womb of a donkey. At this moment, the female donkey stepped on the master's pottery adobe, and the master was angry and hit it, immediately hurting the fetus. As a result, the divine consciousness of the emperor returned to its original body, still the emperor of heaven. The Buddha commended the emperor and said: "It's great! You can take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha when you are dying." So the Buddha explained the Dharma for him. When the emperor heard the Dharma, he immediately attained Sutuhuan. Excerpted from An Shiquan Book "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue": Avoid being reborn as a donkey
Brush the dust of the soul
Cut all evil, cultivate all good, save all sentient beings.
If there are respectful offerings, swearing and slapping, the heart is no different; if there are treasures, tiles, etc., it is the same; if there is a knife to cut the hands and feet, and the body is covered with sandalwood, it is no different.
Without dyeing love, the heart can be liberated.
Endure humiliation, get rid of anger.
The reason why Maitreya Bodhisattva does not eat meat:
When Buddha Shakyamuni lived in Magadha, there was a Bodhisattva named Maitreya, with a golden body, good looks, and immense dignity.
Maitreya came to the Buddha's place. At this time, there were five hundred people. They saw Maitreya's pure appearance from a distance, and asked Shakyamuni Buddha: "World Lord, this Maitreya boy is infinitely bright and indistinguishable from the Buddha. Which Buddha was he in front of to begin with Buddhism? What sutras has he received? Please explain for us."
Buddha Shakyamuni talked about the causes of Maitreya in the past: Before infinite and boundless asāṃkhya kalpas, there was a world named Sheng Huafu. The Buddha named Maitreya at that time often taught everything with Mettā. The name of the sutra spoken by the Buddha at that time was the Great Compassion Sutra. If someone hears that scripture, he can surpass the sin of millions of kalpas of life and death, and he will become a Buddha.
At that time, there were Great Brahmins in the country, named All Wisdom and Light. He is wise and has learned a wide range of sutras. He has heard of the Buddha's birth and the Great Compassion Sutra. He said, I am chanting the Great Compassion Sutra today, and I hope I will become a Buddha in the future, and I am also named Maitreya.
So he left home and entered the mountains and became a immortal. For eight thousand years, he had no desires, and survived only by begging for food.
One day, the continuous rain not only caused the flood to soar. After seven days, the immortal could not beg for food. There were five hundred white rabbits in the forest. There was a Rabbit Queen, with her kids, who saw the immortal who did not eat for seven days, and said: "This immortal does not eat for many days for the sake of Buddhism. He will die soon, so will his practice with Buddhism. In order to prevent the Dharma from ending, I now want to lay down my life for him."
Therefore, the Rabbit Queen immediately told the rabbits: "All deeds are impermanent.The body that all beings love is born from empty and die to empty. I want to be a bridge for all living beings. Let Dharma stay for a long time to support the Master. I want to use my body now to support him. You and others should be happy for this."
The tree god at that time lit a flame. The mother and son of the Rabbit King circled the fairy’s seven laps and said: "Master. I now offer you for the sake of Dharma."
The immortal heard this and said, "You are a beast, how can you do it even though you have compassion?"
The Rabbit Queen said to the immortal: "I will use my body to provide for the benevolent. In order to allow the Dharma to live for a long time, so all sentient beings can benefit from it."
After speaking, she said to her child: "You can ask for water and plants at will, but you have to think about the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha."
When the Queen Rabbit’s son heard what his mother said, he knelt down and said to his mother: "As you said, offering to the Supreme Dafa, I am willing to dedicate myself to this."
After speaking, the son of Queen Rabbit fell into the fire. Queen Rabbit also jumped into the fire. At this time, the world moved greatly. Even the world of color and the heavens, it rained petals, and praised them with the flowers in the sky.
After the meat is cooked, the mountain tree god said to the fairy: "The rabbit queen mother and son have thrown themselves into the fire to support you. Now the meat is cooked. You can eat it."
The immortal heard the words of the tree god and couldn't say anything in sorrow. He put the chanting book on the leaves, and said the verse: "I would rather destroy my own body than I would bear to hurt and eat other lives. The Sutras of Compassion that the Buddhas say all say this. The Buddhist scriptures also say that if a person eat meat, it means that the person's compassion is not yet complete, he will be lost in reincarnation of life and death, and he will not be able to become a Buddha. "
After saying this, the immortal swears: "May I never think of killing every time in my future life, never eat meat, enter the compassion of white light, and even enact the commandment of not eating meat after becoming a Buddha."
After speaking, the immortal gave his life by throwing himself into the fire pit with the rabbits. At this time, the sky and the earth shook. The gods made the tree light. The golden light shines on the land of a thousand countries. When the people of that country see this light, they all have the heart to learn Buddhism.
Buddha Shakyamuni told the listener: "You should know that the white rabbit queen at that time was me now; the son of the rabbit queen at that time was my son Rahula in this life; the immortal at that time was Maitreya Bodhisattva now; the five hundred groups of rabbits at that time are now five hundred bhikkhus such as Mahākāśyapa; at that time, the two hundred and fifty mountain tree gods are now two hundred and fifty bhikkhus such as Śāriputra and Maudgalyayana; at that time, the thousand kings are now the thousands of Bodhisattvas, that is, from my birth to the Rudita, the disciples who received the Dharma.
The Buddha told the listener: "Bodhisattva seeks the Dharma diligently and does not care about life. Being able to throw himself into the fire pit to support the Dharma has surpassed the sin of nine trillion kalpas of life and death." The listener asked the Buddha to become a monk and later became an Arahant.
The immortals at that time were reincarnated in the Brahma and even became Buddhas. Carnivores commit serious crimes, so they often drink hot copper after reincarnation.