The Bodhi series of essays written by Lin Qingxuan has ten volumes, with a total sales volume of more than 500 editions, breaking the publishing record, and was named "the most influential book in Taiwanese society in the past 40 years" by China Times. . I have excerpted some of the famous quotes below, which are worth reading carefully.
“We must walk softly and live attentively; we must breathe gently and care softly; we must think deeply and be compassionate; we must cherish a blade of grass and tread on the ground fearlessly. Pain! These are the profound meaning of cultivation!" (See the article "Pushing on the Ground for Fear of Pain")
"It can be seen that many people, whether adults or children, in cities or villages, are ignorant because of their ignorance. The neglect of adults has caused the suffering of countless sentient beings and their own bad karma. The adult's habits have become deep and self-grasping is difficult to change. There is nothing we can do about it. However, how should we inspire children's compassion so that they will not suffer from ignorance? And what about degeneration? Judging from the current situation, due to the loss of compassion, our children in the countryside have lost their simplicity and become more vulgar; the children in the city have lost their sympathy and become more cunning. In the vast world, our society will become more sophisticated. Where are you going?" (See the article "Happy Sadness")
"Where do pure and kind thoughts come from? There are many Buddhist disciples who come from the wisdom and compassion of the heart. Often vow to say: "I want to work for Buddhism." A master once said that this concept is not broad enough. The disciples of the Buddha should vow to work for all sentient beings and exchange their merits for the suffering of all sentient beings. Even when you exhale, imagine that the good roots and merits you have are floating in the wind to all living beings. When you inhale, imagine that the sufferings of all sentient beings are flowing into me. In this way, over time, you will enter a state of pure goodness. "(See the article "Pure Goodness")
"We neither have the wisdom to be completely awakened, but we are not completely blind to dreams. Most of us are on the edge of dreaming and waking. It is between half dreaming and half waking, in this life here and now. We are not all living in the muddy and dirty land. At certain moments, our hearts will fly to the realm of clear skies, beautiful sunshine, rainbows and morning glow. Occasionally we will There will also be moments when the grass is as soft as the moon, as bright as the stars, and when you look at life with a clear attitude." (See the article "Between Half Dreaming and Half Awakening")
"Farewell to the makeup artist. On the way home, I walked on the dark earth and came to a profound realization: All appearances in this world are not independent and must have their own profound inner meaning. So, the best way to change the appearance is to Don’t work on the appearance, you must reform from the inside. “Of course, it is impossible to achieve the expected results if you only work on the surface. (See the article "The Makeup of Life")
"The same is true in real life. We often feel uneasy because of someone else's look, joke, or action, and even forget about food and drink. I can't sleep well; in fact, these looks, jokes, and actions are meaningless most of the time. The reason why our hearts are disturbed is just because we care. If both parties care, it will lead to a situation of "encountering each other on a narrow road". "(See the article "My Heart Is Like the Autumn Moon")
"It can be seen that it is so difficult to be truly silent, unmoved by sorrow and joy, and not affected by the flow of words from the outside world, just like how we are affected by the outside world. Casting a net in the sky will inevitably lead to empty-handed returns, only to feel that the world is in vain, to sigh that people's hearts are no longer ancient, and that the world is cold and cold. Zen masters and the classics they left behind tell us that the original nature is like clear water, like pure water. The mirror is like the moon. How often have we seen the sea retaliate when being scolded, the mirror be happy when being praised, and the moon is changed when being praised? If the sea could be moved by people, it would not be so vast; if the mirror could be stimulated by people, it would not be so vast. It would not be so clean; if the moon could follow people, it would not be so gentle and shine everywhere.
"A flick of the sleeves, the breeze shines brightly; a smile up to the sky, a happy life; a pair of cloth shoes, the mountains and rivers are at ease; I have a bright pearl that can shine through thousands of mountains and rivers... These are the realms of Zen masters. Although we cannot reach it, our hearts yearn for it. If we can leave more of ourselves in our lives and don't be inextricably affected by others, At the moment when awareness is clear, you may also be able to see the flower of prajna bloom.
"(See the article "My Heart is Like the Autumn Moon")
"I often call the time when entering the imaginary castle 'cooling time'. Only with the cooling time can an ordinary person have extraordinary life wisdom. Only then can you be an ordinary and extraordinary person. "Only in this way can one be a wise man. (See the article "The Castle of Imagination")
" Living in this era, why is it so hard to find "pure joy"? The eyes want to be clear, but they can't find green mountains and green waters; the ears want to be clear, but they can't find peace and harmony; the nose wants to be clear, but they can't find clean air; the tongue wants to be clear, but they can't find the velvet and wormwood shoots; the body wants to be clear If you want joy, you can't find a cool and pure land; if you want pure joy, you can't find a wise and clear mind. If you want to enjoy pure pleasure, the only way is to stay in your own little world and cleanse your soul, because the more material world we have, the less pure pleasure we have. "(See the article "Qing Huan")
"This is how a personality realm is established. It is wallowing and refining in sentient beings, and finally maintaining enlightenment forever and observing the world. Only then will you know what it is. Suddenly I looked back.
"Only a clear mind can experience true beauty.
"Only constant awareness can make the beauty experienced more profound, vast and majestic
Hun.
"Only those with supreme enlightenment can move towards the great beauty, supreme beauty, and
perfection of life." (See the article "Towards the Great Beauty of Life")
"In my hands, the lotus has withered, but it is not corrupted. This makes me extremely happy, and also makes me know that in this world, as long as there is a heart, there are always some things that can be immortal. The burning The lotus petals turned into smoke do not decay and disappear, but float to an unknown distance." (See the article "The Immortality of Lotus Petals")
"I often think that the vast sea of ??Buddhist scriptures is actually a world away. It talks about all kinds of dirt and various methods of polishing the soul. It has only one purpose, which is to restore the clear and illuminated function of the human heart, polishing it into a mirror, so that the truth of life and the universe can be clearly understood. " This is the true meaning of Buddhist scriptures. (See the article "Buddha Drum")
"Because I firmly believe that when a writer writes, every line he draws has the intervention of his personality." (See the article "Soft Heart")
"This also makes me think that the word 'Zen' is actually not a name. As long as any sentient being retains creativity in the mind and constantly transcends, improves, and transforms, he is on the road to Zen. There may be differences, but the ultimate goal is the same. Therefore, in my heart, I pay tribute to those who have dedicated their lives to improving human civilization, art, and soul, and Eisenstein is one of them." (See "Montage of the Heart". 1 article)
“I like to drive or walk on country roads at dusk. At this time, I can slow down and savor some changes in time and space. Whether it is time or space, dusk is a A sobering node. In terms of time, dusk heralds the disappearance of a day, and the day disappears in the darkness, giving us a sense of sadness that we are forced by time and unable to control ourselves; in terms of space, dusk seems to make our space Suddenly shrinking, our field of vision can no longer be freely expanded. It feels like the long shot in a movie suddenly jumps to a close-up. The vast world we don't care about during the day becomes the focus of the clip at dusk - we will see The orange-red sunset, the rising mist of the mountains, the colorful clouds, the dark green mountain lines, and the erratic tree shadows all seem to be frozen in place." (See the article "When the Moon Girl Comes Out at Dusk").
"Buddhist scriptures tell us: 'Born with emotions', which means that people are reborn in this world because of emotions. Therefore, everyone living in this world will inevitably have many emotional entanglements. Affection makes us ups and downs in the river of love, makes us intoxicated and confused in the river of love. If we cannot maintain a clear distance in love, we will become greedy, hateful, or ignorant under the pressure of love and love. , or live a life of pain, depravity, or ignorance." (See the article "When the Moon Girl Comes Out at Dusk").
“There were three kinds of orchids that my father liked most during his lifetime, one was the New Year’s Orchid, the other was the Suxin Orchid, and the other was the Sheep’s Horn Orchid.
He planted many precious orchids, why did he only love these three kinds of orchids? I remember one time he said to me: "There are many orchids that are very bright and beautiful, but after looking at them for a long time, they become tacky; some orchids are rare because they are rare, but in fact they have no characteristics; such as Baosui, Suxin, and Yangjiao, although they are simple in color, they are It is an ordinary orchid, but it is simple and a little festive. It is the most kind of orchids. '
"My father seemed to mean that simplicity, joy, and kindness are the most valuable qualities in life. These qualities are also the characteristics that he often shows in his life.
" My love for orchids was planted at that time. " (See the article "New Year Orchid").
"My mother is one of the countless ordinary people in the world, but she is also one of the countless great mothers in the world. She is so traditional, Only with strong tenacity and endurance can one survive the difficult rural life without any resentment. The life goals of their generation were very simple, just taking care of their husbands and taking care of their children, and they almost never thought about their own existence. In my memory, my mother’s sorrows were all caused by us, and her happiness was also caused by us. And rise. "(See the article "Flying into the Manghua").
"Any tree will work hard to grow; any person will not fall for no reason.
"Every person has the warmth of a human; every tree has the grace of a tree." (See the article "Bodhi at Dusk").
“In my youth, I once knelt down to smell the fragrance of the soil, and cried because of the fragrance; I once argued passionately about the direction the nation should take, and was worried and sleepless because of that direction; I once spent my life They write generous and tragic poems with their passion and ambition, because the poems light up the torch and pass it on to each other. Once upon a time, everything is already yesterday, and yesterday is the withered green tree in the west wind." (See the article "Bodhi at Dusk").
“In life, as the years go by and we feel ourselves growing up (actually a kind of aging), we will find that we have different friends at each stage, but the friendship will not be lost. , but the gatherings and separations follow the flow of fate, often to the point where we are shocked when we look back. What is sad is that those friends who are particularly close are often far away, but the casual acquaintances are right in front of us. Therefore, life often surprises us. Falling into a lonely situation in life, "everyone who meets you must leave" and "see each other at the door" really makes people feel the value of friends. When friends are not around, you feel that the only person you can talk to is your hand. The pine nuts in the forest, or only the pine nuts falling in the forest" (see the article "Huaijun and Huaizhu")
"If my thoughts are willing to give an image, I would like my thoughts to be like a swan, a swan! Its ancient name is swan, which is an auspicious bird. It is the kind of big bird with six-foot-long wings spread in "The Sparrow Knows the Ambition of the Hongshu". It grows in the cold north and can follow a certain trajectory to cross the border. The mountains and rivers reach the warm land in the south. It is good at flying and swimming; it has a gentle temperament and an elegant attitude; it is good at being gregarious and can watch each other; it has distinct colors, either white or black; it can be at ease with the environment, Don’t be too persistent... The swan has many good qualities. Its endurance, perseverance and temperament are all admirable. In the ballet "Swan Lake", the swan, who is unswerving in his feelings until death, has made countless people... It’s so moving.” (See the article “The Swan of Thought”).
“Happiness in life often comes from seemingly meaningless things, such as the memory of love and close friends, such as someone suddenly giving us a cup of tea, such as walking on the path. Suddenly I heard a piece of favorite music coming from the ice cream shop, for example, I read a touching poem in a book, for example, I heard an old woman on the mulberry tree say a word full of revelation, for example, I accidentally saw a flower of soy sauce. The blooming of flowers... Generally speaking, happiness in life comes from the sudden opening of one's heart, just like the sudden appearance of sunlight in the dark clouds or the emergence of a rainbow in the sky. These seemingly ordinary things are the sight of Joan in a grass. Building Yuyu is because there is a palace of affection in the heart." (See the article "Every House Has a Bright Moon and a Cool Breeze").
“Human poverty does not come from the hardship of life, but from losing human dignity in a poor life; human wealth does not come from the accumulation of wealth, but from not losing human dignity in a wealthy life. There is affection.
Human wealth is actually a manifestation of certain noble qualities in the human soul. " (See the article "Every House Has a Bright Moon and a Breeze").
"I think it is not good to look at those who need care with sympathy, compassion, or even pain and contempt. Only with gratitude and Bodhi, which makes us peaceful and soft, can we truly rejoice. (See the article "Four Sui").
“I have always had a mysterious yearning for creativity when it comes to music, and I can accept almost all of it, such as Italian opera, Greek ukulele, Indian sitar, and Chinese Nanhu, European panpipes, even rural operas, and African drum music are all moving. The same is true of rock music, pop songs, country songs, and black spiritual songs." (See the article "Harp and French Horn") .
In the book, there are still many Buddhist Zen concepts worth understanding; there are too many good words worth savoring; and there are many insights worth remembering. From it, your soul can be cleansed, your heart can be nourished, your psychology can be balanced, your dreams can be awakened, your horizons can be expanded, and your wisdom can be increased. After reading these Bodhi series of essays, it is like receiving a bath in Buddhism, completing a life practice, and turning confusion into enlightenment.