Xuanjue, known as "a night's sleep" in the history of Zen, sang in "Yongjia Zhengdao Song": "Walking in rivers and seas, involving mountains and rivers, seeking teachers to visit the Tao is meditation. Since I know Caoxi Road, I know that life and death have nothing to do. " After this is called Huineng, life and death and nirvana, birth and accession to the WTO have been integrated. Xuanjue's statement accords with historical reality.
In terms of practice methods, most Buddhist circles in China before Zen Buddhism still advocated seclusion and seclusion. They advocate seclusion, hiding in the valley, disappearing from the world, and putting an end to communication, thinking that this will be conducive to practice. Until Huineng, this situation has not changed much. Even the first few Zen founders thought it was noble to live in a cave and practice with great concentration. For example, Zen Buddhism is famous for its "wall view", and Hui Ke, the second ancestor, is also famous for paying attention to meditation in the history of Buddhism. The Buddhism of the third ancestor is characterized by "empty mountain meditation and meditation" (Teacher Lengga, Volume 1), and the Taoist books of the fourth ancestor are based on mountains, advocating "meditation behind closed doors" and earnestly warning disciples to. Why don't you study in cities? Hongren said: The building materials come from the valley and are unknown to the world. In order to stay away from people and not be hurt by knives and axes, it grows into a big thing, and then it can be used as a pillar. So I know I live in the valley of God, away from the noise, nourishing the mountains and talking about the valley. There is nothing at present, and my heart is calm. Since then, the trees have blossomed and the Zen forest has borne fruit. ("Lenga Ji Zi" Volume I) This statement is similar to Zhuangzi's statement that "things are useless but used too much". Both of them are far away from the world and will not be killed by knives and axes, so they will eventually become great substances and great pillars. It is said that it is in this spirit that Hongren has lived in a secluded temple and a spacious place since he became a monk. His arms are really pure, so he kept silent and became a field of dissatisfied women. He melted his heart into the sky, and his service was supported by his application. " (ditto) Hong Ren also said in "Tips for Cultivating Mind": "But if you can wear rags, eat coarse food, know how to guard your heart and play the fool, you will save the most energy and make a contribution."
In short, several generations of Zen founders before Huineng tended to attach importance to forests and neglect valleys and stay away from the world. The characteristics of their practice methods are to stay alone in the lonely peak, live under a tree, die in silence and meditate. Zen is the most colorful Buddhist sect in China, and its style remains the same, so it is even more conceivable that other Buddhist sects advocate following the world. It can be seen that both Indian Buddhism and China Buddhism before Sui and Tang Dynasties have a strong nativism in practice methods and ultimate goals.
After Huineng, the Zen style has changed, from relying on Dongshan Mountain to advocating knowing first, then living in the mountain, and then developing into "human Buddhism" born at the top of the lonely peak. This is just as Xuanzang said:
It is not easy for my husband to explore the mystery with wonderful skills. ..... It may not be clear-headed, telling that things are in a maze, but it is impossible to avoid noise and be quiet. The conditions are dark and long forests, steep mountains, birds and animals singing and swallowing, pine and cypress bamboo shoots, towering water and rocks and bleak wind branches. ..... Don't make noise! So I know that it is still embarrassing to see confusion, and it is a delay to touch the road. So you should know first, and then live in the mountains. If you live in the mountains, you will know, but when you see the mountains, you will forget the way. ..... forgetting the Tao is blind. Therefore, people who forget the mountain are also lonely on earth; Those who forget the Tao when they see the mountain are noisy in the mountain. I will be able to live in a world without me. ("Nine Friends")
Xuanjue's theory of "knowing before living in the mountains" reflects to some extent the attitude of the Buddhist community at that time towards the relationship between seclusion and practice after China's entry into WTO, that is, the key to practice is not to close the door to the world, but to be enlightened and know, not to know, but to be enlightened in the mountains, and the world is silent. Therefore, it is not necessary to be far away from the world to learn Buddhism, but to be able to "disturb me in front of the door." There are clouds in the lane, and there is no warning. "("Hong Guangming Ji "Volume 24) is a first-rate kung fu and the best practice.
The descendants of Zen basically take the route of Huineng. For example, God will point out more than once: "If there is a Buddha in the world, there is no Buddha in the world." "Don't move your mind, don't go to the other side, don't give up life and death, don't prove it." ("quotations from Heze God") Dazhu Huihai repeatedly emphasized "seeking liberation without leaving the world"; On the other hand, Master Huang Boli hopes that the world and birth, sentient beings and Buddha will be "integrated" and further integrated with the world.
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, Buddhism in China showed a trend of integration of Zen and pure land, and the belief in pure land was born with a strong color. Therefore, with the popularity of pure land belief, and some people in Buddhism misinterpreted the Buddha's concern for the world, it played the role of pure land belief. By the end of the Qing dynasty, Buddhism had a tendency to stay away from the secular. Buddhists at that time either lived in seclusion or lived on Buddhism. Buddhism not only does not care about life, but also intervenes in society. It is isolated from the world. Buddhism originates from Buddhism, and society originates from society. Buddhism has become a doctrine of "death without regret" to a considerable extent. This situation aroused strong dissatisfaction from some people of insight in Buddhism at that time, and the voice of reforming Buddhism gradually rose: or, "In today's era of scientific prosperity, Buddhism cannot survive in today's China without changing its way." (Quoted from page 103 of Master Taixu's Memorial Collection) Or: "In the old society, Buddhist monks were like a system. Unless they gradually became agriculture and forestry industries, it would be difficult to survive." (Quoted from Taixu's "Building a Pure Land on Earth") or: "It is not enough to conform to the trend of the times and is also suitable for the time. It is not a big rectification." (Quoted from Tide Sound Library, Volume 2 1, page 7) This situation finally led to a major change in Buddhism in modern China.
two
There are two main points in the reform of modern Buddhism: one is to emphasize WTO entry, and the other is to pay attention to life.
Those who emphasize China's entry into WTO advocate the integration of birth law and secular law, and oppose becoming a monk and becoming an out-of-touch person. Master Taixu said: The so-called bodhisattva, though superman, is by no means far from the secular world and out of touch with human fireworks. "Being born in the world is inseparable from the world ... If you talk about Mahayana Buddhism from the world, you will stick to it, or you will still not take the outside world." ("French side: the historical view of Buddhism on earth") "All worldly laws are Buddhism, but Buddhism is not Buddhism. If you know this very well, you can read any classic. " (Quoted from Hu Pu 'an's Out of Reach of exorcist) He earnestly warned scholars and believers that Buddhism is not for seclusion and leisure, nor for teaching people not to do things, but for thanking the country and society, so everyone should do a proper career. For example, in a free society, you can engage in agriculture and industry, medicine, education, art and so on. In peacetime, you can be a policeman, a lawyer, an official, a member of parliament, a businessman, etc. Take these as reasons for becoming a Buddha. In the article "Reviving China to Cultivate Today's Bodhisattva", he also called on all practitioners who want to cultivate Bodhisattva to participate in the work of various social departments: monks can participate in culture, education, charity and other work; Those who stay in China can serve the political, military, industrial, financial and labor sectors and benefit the country, society and people.
In a word, it is a major feature of modern "human Buddhism" to advocate not only being born, but also joining the WTO, practicing realistic Buddhism without violating real life, emphasizing taking things as they are, being kind and giving, and taking "altruism" and "helping the world" as the basis of learning Buddhism. This idea of "Buddhism on earth" was later recognized by the whole Buddhist community in China. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the slogan put forward by the Buddhist community in Chinese mainland is: "solemn land, happy family". Realizing the four modernizations and building the motherland is one of the important tasks of Buddhists; The Buddhist circles in Taiwan Province Province also vigorously advocated "secular Buddhism", making secularized and secularized "secular Buddhism" the mainstream of modern Buddhism in China.
Another important feature of modern Buddhism is to gradually change the "Buddha-oriented" emphasized by traditional Buddhism into "people-oriented". Master Compassion, who advocates modern human Buddhism, said in the Outline of Buddhism: "When talking about Buddhism now, we should observe where the national psychological characteristics are and how the human psychology in the world is. Only by seeing these two clearly can we show the popular living Buddha. At present, people all over the world are paying attention to the problem of life ... On this basis, Buddhism should be developed and built, leading people to a bright Buddhist road, from developed life to Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism, passing away, denying life. Not suitable. " Taixu also clearly pointed out in the article "The Movement of Saving Monks" that modern thought is people-oriented, which is different from ancient times, either based on God or based on the way of saints.
Most people think that Buddhism is lifeless, but Xu thinks this is a misunderstanding. Mahayana Buddhism, in its original meaning, is a "developed life", a "full life of a developed life" and a "true outlook on life". Taixu is very opposed to turning Buddhism into a mysterious tool and advocates that Buddhism should be designed to guide the real life of the world. Anyone who studies Buddhism, if he doesn't understand life and real life, even if he has read various theories, is tantamount to "selling a gift and returning pearls." Based on this idea, Taixu thinks that learning Buddhism should start from being a man.
The so-called study of Buddhism begins with being a human being, that is, the first step of learning Buddhism lies in perfecting personality, being a good person and being a person with personality. Only by becoming a perfect good person first can we talk about learning Buddhism. If people can't do it well, how can they learn to be a Buddha beyond the mortal world? ! (For details, please refer to "Outline of Learning Buddhism" and "How do I judge all Buddhism". These statements are simple in language, but profound in meaning. They directly rooted the traditional Buddhism, which is far away from the secular and out of reach, in people's real life, changed the image that Buddhism was divorced from life, Buddhism was self-Buddhism, and life was self-life, and made people realize that they should be a perfect and dignified person in real life. He has a famous saying, "Buddha is the only one, and perfection lies in personality;" Man is round and Buddha is round, which is a real reality. "(the realism of man becoming a Buddha) can be said to be a vivid summary of modern people-oriented life Buddhism.
three
Here, people encounter a problem, that is, why did China Buddhism develop in the direction of "human Buddhism" since the Tang and Song Dynasties? Why did it develop into "living Buddhism" in modern times? For this problem, we intend to discuss it from the perspective of ideological and cultural background first.
When it comes to the ideological and cultural background of the development of Buddhism, it is natural to mention Confucianism. Although Confucianism is also profound, it has two basic characteristics: one is to emphasize humanism, and the other is to pay attention to joining the WTO. Confucianism has been no exception since Confucius and Mencius.
From the ideological content, Confucianism attached great importance to people from Confucius. The core of Confucianism is "benevolence" The so-called "benevolence" is the combination of two people from the etymology. Shuowen said: "Benevolence, affinity and obedience to others". Confucius used "benevolence" to discuss the relationship between people. In the Analects of Confucius, there are many sayings about "benevolence", such as "love", or "you can stand up if you want to stand up, if you want to achieve it", or "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", and so on, but in any case, it refers to a relationship between yourself and others. It can be seen that "man" has always been the foothold of Confucianism. There may not be a unified view on the position of Confucianism in China's ideological history, but there is no doubt that Confucius attached importance to and promoted the position of "man".
In Confucianism, Mencius is the "Asian sage" after Confucius. The focus of Mencius' research is the theory of human nature and benevolent governance. The core of the theory of benevolent governance is to advocate that "there is a heart that cannot bear others and a policy that cannot bear others"; The theory of human nature is devoted to the discussion of human nature. Both of them are people-oriented and end-result. Later, Confucianism followed the thought of Confucius and Mencius, and all arguments were people-oriented, which was regarded as "the virtue of heaven and earth", "the heart of heaven and earth" and "the elegance of five elements" (Li Yun); By the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu had deviated from his ideological line and advocated "the feeling between heaven and man". But what I said is still inseparable from people, who are still considered to be the most expensive people in the world.
Confucianism reached another climax in the Song Dynasty. Ru Song changed the old Confucian tradition of saying "Heaven" and thought that "Heaven is also the greatest of the Tao" and that "the universe is my heart and my heart is the universe". The purpose of Neo-Confucianism is to explain the routines of "man", "humanity" and human relations. Neo-Confucianism teaches people how to cultivate their minds, how to "preserve righteousness and destroy human desires" and how to become a saint. Its starting point and ending point are still "people".
In a word, Confucianism is a kind of knowledge about people, a theory about the relationship between people and a people-oriented philosophy of life. This point may be known to the academic circles today.
Another important feature of Confucianism is its emphasis on joining the WTO, which has been very prominent since its founder Confucius. In order to "use the world", Confucius once shouted: "It is useful to me, I can do it in one month, and I can succeed in three years." (The Analects of Confucius Lutz) In order to "help the world", he even personally led his disciples to "complain about Qi and expel Song and resentment" (Historical Records Confucius Family) and "became a lost dog" (ibid.). Although he complained about Guan Zhong's ritual behavior, he highly praised him for "celebrating the public and conquering the world, and the people have been given by him so far". Zi Gong asked: "If you can give to the people and help others, is it kind?" Confucius said, "Anyone who is kind will be holy." ("The Analects of Confucius Yongye") It is beyond words to use the heart of the world to help the world.
Mencius inherited the tradition of Confucius and advocated "managing the world" and "helping the world". He once said to the King of Qi: "If Wang uses it, it will not only be the people of Qi, but also the people of the whole world" (Mencius Gongsun Chou). He claimed to be a "celebrity" and said, "If you want to rule the world, there is no one but me in today's world." (ditto) Mencius' famous saying-"Being poor is the only way to protect yourself, and being successful is the way to help the world" later became the motto and code of conduct of China literati.
After Confucius and Mencius, Confucianism advocated "joining the WTO" and "managing the world". Even a Confucian like Dong Zhongshu has repeatedly claimed that "making friends is not for its benefit, and knowing its way is not its merit", but he still stressed: "The sage is the world, and its benefits are also." After the Song and Ming Dynasties, Neo-Confucianism even promoted the idea of "honesty, faithfulness, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world" to the status of "four books".
The academic focus of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties lies in the meaning of mind, the cultivation of mind and the cultivation of saints. However, what kind of cultivation state can make him a saint? Zhu Yu thinks: "A scholar who lives in a house is not enough to be a scholar. Sitting alone in a room can make a saint. There are no sages who have been ignorant since ancient times, no sages who cannot be changed, and no sages who sit alone behind closed doors. " ("Zhu Zhixue Song Yuan Case") Cheng Cheng also advocated that sages should be the sages in charge, and the sages who joined the WTO should forget right and wrong, thinking that "right and wrong can't be forgotten, there are many reasons, and there is nothing to forget"; He also said: "People are evil and have many things. Although there are many things in the world, they are all personnel. Personnel don't ask people to do it, let alone ask people to do it. " Lu Jiuyuan even explained that "the internal affairs of the universe are the internal affairs of the universe, and the internal affairs of the universe are the internal affairs of the universe" ("The Song and Yuan Dynasties, Xiangshan Studies"). Ye Shi, a representative of Yongjia School in the Southern Song Dynasty, regarded "worrying about the world" as more important than "benevolence". He said: "readers don't know how to follow the rules, although it's useless;" Writing is not a matter of teaching, although it is useless; Although righteousness is high, it is useless to stick to it; Determined not to worry about the world, although benevolence is useless. " ("Ye Shi Ji, Giving Chang").
After the Song Dynasty, Confucian scholars were more disgusted with the demise of the Song Dynasty, and Song Lian in the Ming Dynasty preached that "true Confucianism is in use". Advocating that "life makes up the world, and death makes the world famous" (Fang Xiaoru: "Send the party back to Ninghai"); Huang Wan, Fang Xiaoru and others. Even directly advocated "the study of the world", advocated "helping the world as one's own responsibility", and clearly put forward that "a Confucian way, ... can serve Confucianism without reaching the world" (Fang Xiaoru: Pang Tong). During the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Qing Dynasty, a large number of Confucian thinkers put more emphasis on "managing the world" and clearly put forward the loud slogan "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world". Gu advocated: "A gentleman should learn and help the world." ("Complete Works" Volume 4 Volume 25 "With People" "Where is the way for fools to become saints? As the saying goes: erudite in literature, ashamed of deeds, and even the whole country, learn everything. " (Collected Works Volume III: On Learning from Friends) Closely link "learning for learning's sake" with "the country under heaven" and "Ming Dow" with "salvation"; And think: "It is not enough that the text does not involve political affairs." (The Private Inheritance of Chinese Studies in the National Dynasty); Zhu Shunshui advocates "prosperity through national prosperity and economic difficulties" (Zhu Shunshui Collection, Zhonghua Book Company, 1984, p. 383). ); In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Zhong, Fu Shan and Wang Fuzhi followed the tradition of "using the world for prosperity and being ashamed of useless learning" (calligraphy is the same as Zhu Wuying); Gong Zizhen and Wei Yuan even shouted loudly: Reading is for practical use, and exploring the changes in the world is the most sacred.
Throughout the historical development of Confucianism, from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there has always been a main line running through it, that is, adhering to the world and actively using it. This spirit of China's Confucianism's entry into WTO is now called "sense of hardship" by some scholars. The following passage by Fan Zhongyan in the Song Dynasty best embodies this "sense of hardship". Fan Zhongyan said in Yueyang Tower:
Don't rejoice in things, don't grieve for yourself. If you live high in a temple, you will worry about your people; If you stay away from the Jianghu, you will worry about your husband. It is also worrying to advance, and it is also excellent to retreat. But when will you be happy? Must be better than the worries of the world first, and then better than the joy of the world. "(Fan Zhongyan's" Yueyang Tower ")
This "sense of hardship" of China scholar-officials is vividly and concisely summarized with a pair of couplets, saying: "Reading and listening to the sound of wind and rain, sound and sound are heard; Family affairs and state affairs, everything cares. "
This kind of Confucian humanistic consciousness and the spirit of joining the WTO had a far-reaching impact on various cultural forms in ancient China. "Buddhism on earth" and "Buddhism on life" since the Tang and Song Dynasties were formed in this cultural atmosphere to some extent.
Take Master Taixu, one of the founders of modern life Buddhism as an example. His thoughts are deeply influenced by Confucianism. According to relevant records, Taixu has read all the books of Four Books, Five Classics, Lao, Zhuang, Xun, Mo and even Kang (), Liang (), Yan (Fu) and Zhang (Dayan), and he knows well the traditional culture of China. The characteristic of culture is that one's feelings are the adjusted ethics. "(a conversation with Zhang Erjun) repeatedly pointed out that this Confucian ethics and Buddhist thought not only have no" gap ",but also are in harmony with each other in distance, even in perfect harmony. Therefore, "Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism should be mutually advantageous, but they should not be mutually exclusive." (On the Classification of Sangha System)
In many of Taixu's works, he repeatedly emphasized such a basic idea: Confucius is the most sacred thing of mankind, and Confucianism can be the basis of Buddhism, especially "human Buddhism". Confucianism is the mainstream of China's two thousand years of culture, so he "had to live as a Buddhist" in China. At the same time, this kind of "human Buddhism" based on Confucian ethics is also "the most suitable for all countries", which earnestly warns westerners that the ethics of China culture should be "spread all over the world". It can be seen that Taixu appreciates and respects the Confucian moral learning.
If Zen Buddhism and even modern Buddhism have gradually embarked on the road of joining the WTO, humanizing the world and attaching importance to people, mainly influenced by Confucianism from the ideological level, then people have encountered a perhaps more important problem here, that is, why has this Confucian Buddhism become the representative of China Buddhism and the mainstream of modern Buddhism since the Tang and Song Dynasties?
In the past, when some scholars discussed why Zen prevailed in various sects in China and then developed into a representative of Buddhism, they often attributed it to the collapse of temple economy and the destruction of classics after Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is true that the disintegration of temple economy and the destruction of ancient books are indeed one of the important reasons for the decline of sects that rely on temples and doctrines, and Zen has suffered the least in this respect, but this is by no means the fundamental reason for the prosperity of Zen. The fundamental reason for the prosperity of Zen is that it has won the foundation and essence of Confucianism. In terms of social and historical conditions, it adapted to the small-scale peasant economy and patriarchal clan system in ancient China, which are closely related and unified, because Confucianism was originally rooted in the small-scale peasant economy. In this case, to answer why Zen can overcome other sects and be immune to it, we must first answer why Confucianism can last for thousands of years in ancient China. How can we become the mainstream of China's ancient academic thought? Confucianism is just one of the schools of thought in ancient China, and its representative figures are not necessarily much better than other schools. Their thoughts are not particularly profound and extensive, and their systems are not particularly rigorous. However, they have one of their greatest strengths, that is, they adapt to the current situation and conform to the national conditions. Their thoughts can be adapted to the small-scale peasant economy and patriarchal clan system in ancient China, which is also the fundamental reason for the success of Confucianism. The same is true of human Buddhism advocated by Zen Buddhism since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Although their thoughts were not as extensive and profound as those of Tiantai, Zhixue and Huayan, and they did not have a very strict ideological system, they were accepted by the general public and even the literati, and by the society at that time. One of the fundamental reasons is that Confucian Buddhist thought can meet the social needs at that time, thus laying the foundation for its popularization and dissemination. As for why life Buddhism has become the mainstream of modern Buddhism in China, it is closely related to the revival of modern Neo-Confucianism. In fact, with the gradual China and Confucianism of Buddhism, China Buddhism after the Tang and Song Dynasties has developed into an important part of China's traditional culture. They are in the same social environment, and their survival and development are faced with the same historical conditions and social needs. In a sense, whether they can develop and to what extent depends entirely on whether they can meet the social needs at that time. As Marx said: "The degree of realization of a country's theory depends on the degree of satisfaction with it. (Marx: Introduction (Criticism of Hegel's Philosophy of Right))
Author: Lai Yonghai
(The author of the third issue of Jiangsu Social Sciences in 2000 is a professor of philosophy at Nanjing University)