Legend has it that Master Hong Ren, the fifth ancestor, wanted to pass on his mantle to future generations, so he asked a group of disciples to write a Buddhist poem. Master Shen Xiu, a great disciple, is very wise. He wrote on the wall: I am a bodhi tree, and my heart is like a mirror; Wipe often, don't make dust! It means to control your heart at all times, to resist the temptation and evil spirits of the outside world through constant practice, and to prevent your heart from getting lost and dusty. Obviously, this is a positive attitude towards joining the WTO and emphasizes the role of practice.

This sentence later spread to the temple kitchen. Master Huineng, a young monk who was working in the kitchen at that time, heard this Buddhist saying and thought that Meixiu was not fully enlightened. He wrote next to this Buddhist prayer: Bodhi has no trees, and it is not a stage in the mirror. There was nothing. Where did the dust come from? It can be seen that Huineng has a mentality of being born. He believes that everything in the world is empty, including his own heart. If the heart is empty, there is no need to resist the temptation outside, and nothing will leave a trace when passing by.

Wu Zu was overjoyed to see this Buddha. He felt that he had found a successor, but he was afraid that his disciples would kill each other. So the five ancestors falsely accused Huineng of Buddha in front of everyone, knowing nothing, and knocked Huineng's head three times. Huineng understood the meaning of Wuzu, so he came to Wuzu's meditation room in the middle of the night, where he inherited the mantle of Wuzu. Later, Huineng went south to preach Dharma and founded the Southern Sect of Zen, known as the Six Ancestors. On the other hand, Shen Xiu founded the Northern Sect of Zen.

What can we learn from the stories of five ancestors and six ancestors? The different mentality of the two disciples determines their different ways of practicing. Shen Xiu's cultivation method focuses on restraining his own heart to resist secular temptation, while Huineng's cultivation method focuses on the pure land of idealism and the pursuit of abstinence. Just like the famous saying that Jigong often said: wine and meat pass through the intestines, and the Buddha pays attention.

As secular mortals, it is difficult for us to look down on fame and fortune and see through the world of mortals like Buddhist masters. But we might as well learn the cultivation methods of two disciples of the fifth ancestor. Learning magic shows is always treading on thin ice, restraining your own desires and resisting the temptation of the outside world. Learning Huineng can empty your heart, be tolerant, just and have no desire.