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A Brief History Of The First Six Buddhist Patriarchs In China |
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The
Fifth Patriarch Great
Master Hongren "Vast Patience" From
West to East, each of the Patriarchs had his own special points, his own
secret practices, and his own background. Now, we'll discuss in general the
experiences of the Great Master, the Fifth Patriarch. The Fifth Patriarch
lived on Double Peak Mountain in Huangmei County, Hubei Province. His family
name was Zhou. His parents, devoted Buddhists who felt that worldly life with
its afflictions, fighting, and avarice was meaningless, sent their son to the
monastery at the age of seven to leave home with the Fourth Patriarch, Great
Master Daoxin. Dhyana Master Daoxin
knew at once that the boy had great potential, so he undertook to train him
seriously. Instead of spoiling him with good food, nice clothing, and a fine
place to live, he made the boy do chores every day. As a child, Great Master
Hongren cleaned the monastery, cooked, heated the water, steeped the tea, and
so forth. He did every kind of work there was to do, so he got a taste of
each and every task. During the day he
diligently did manual labor, bearing the weariness, bearing grievances. When
the other Shramaneras (novices) wanted to fight with him, he would not
retaliate. He remained intensely involved in applying real effort to his
cultivation. When people criticized him, he accepted it gladly, eagerly
changing his faults and renewing himself. Starting from age seven, he
cultivated like this day in and day out. During the day he did all kinds of
chores to protect the Way-place, and then at night he sat in meditation,
investigating Chan. During the night the Master sat there working hard at
developing his skill in meditation. It's not that as soon as evening came he
rushed off to rest, and then in the morning couldn't crawl out of the sack.
He wasn't like that! He practiced at night. He cultivated every kind of
practice: reciting Sutras and mantras, bowing to the Buddhas, bowing in
repentance, and studying the teachings, never letting a moment go by in vain.
He sustained the thought of birth and death as a painful reminder. Although
he spoke very little, he worked very diligently and never fought or argued
with people. His name, Hongren, means "Vast Patience," because he
was always patient and able to yield. When he was thirteen, the Fourth
Patriarch observed that he was mature enough and allowed him to receive the
complete precepts and become a Bhikshu. The Fifth Patriarch was eight feet
tall and had an extraordinary appearance. His eyes were full of spirit, and
he was extremely circumspect in his speech and manner. It was obvious that he
was mindful of his practice in every moment. Seeing that he would become a
worthy teacher of people, the Fourth Patriarch transmitted the robe and bowl
to Great Master Hongren, making him the Fifth Patriarch in China. That
transmission, which came down from Shakyamuni Buddha, generation by
generation, is a mind-to-mind transmission of the mind seal passed straight
to a person's mind. It is the Dharma-door of seeing the nature and realizing
Buddhahood. The Fifth Patriarch
held the precepts very purely and cultivated with great diligence on East
Mountain in Hubei Province. During that time thieves often entered a nearby
city to steal gold, silver, and valuables. Once, when he saw a horde of
bandits besieging that city in Hubei, he was unable to be patient any longer.
And so the Great Master "Vast Patience" went down the mountain
toward the city, intending to rescue its inhabitants. When the bandits saw
him, they were terrified, dropped their weapons and armor and retreated as
fast as they could. Why? It was because although Great Master Hongren had
actually come alone down the mountain, or perhaps with just a few others,
what the thieves saw accompanying the Patriarch was a retinue of
golden-armored heavenly soldiers and generals armed with jeweled weapons,
manifesting awesome virtue and brightness. The alarmed thieves ran away and
the siege was broken without the use of a single sword, gun, or arrow. How was the Great
Master able to accomplish that? It was very simple! I'll tell you how. The
Fifth Patriarch cultivated and recited the Shurangama Mantra. The Shurangama
Sutra says that if you constantly recite the Shurangama Mantra,
eighty-four thousand Vajra Store Bodhisattvas will protect you from all
danger. On the one hand, the thieves were frightened off by the Vajra Store
Bodhisattvas, and on the other, they were subdued by awesome virtue of the
Great Master himself. To be able to
intimidate a horde of bandits without using a single weapon, one must have
genuine skill in cultivation. Based on many responses of this sort, Bhikshus
from all quarters were drawn to the Fifth Patriarch's place to study the
Dharma. Often there were more than a thousand people studying under him. The Emperor Taizong
of the Tang dynasty had tried without success to invite the Fourth Patriarch
to the palace to accept offerings. As it was with the teacher, so it was with
the disciple, and so Great Master Hongren also received many invitations from
Emperor Taizong. But, like his teacher, he refused them all and did not go to
the palace to receive the emperor's offerings. Not tempted by wealth
and honor, Unchanging in poor
and lowly circumstances, Not submissive to
power and coercion. That
kind of resolute, heroic spirit is beyond the understanding of ordinary
people who covet fame and riches and who immerse themselves in wealth, sex,
fame, food, and sleep, and yet it is just that which makes Buddhism
outstanding. In the fifth year of
the Xianxiang reign of the Tang dynasty (674 A.D.), the Fifth Patriarch said
to his disciples, "Build me a stupa. I am going to leave." Later he
asked, "Is the stupa ready?" His disciples replied that it was. He
then sat upright and passed away without sickness. But before the Fifth
Patriarch entered Nirvana, he made a public announcement: "Ten people
have received my Dharma transmission. These ten will become Dharma Hosts in
ten different areas where they will establish Bodhimandas to preserve and
spread the teaching among living beings." The Fifth Patriarch had
already advised the Sixth Patriarch, Great Master Huineng, "Since the
robe is a source of contention, it should stop with you. Do not transmit
it." He said, "Everyone will want to fight over the robe, since it
is the token of transmission. And so you should not pass it on. Turmoil and tumultuous
times are at hand." His ten Dharma heirs
were: Dharma Masters Shenxiu, Zhi-xian, Huizang, Xuanyao, Laoan, Faru, Zhide,
Yifang , as well as Great Master Huineng and also Recordkeeper Liu. These ten
people who received the Fifth Patriarch's Dharma-pulse were advised to go
each to a different place to teach and transform living beings. Shortly after
announcing this, the Master entered Nirvana. Above has been a general
description of events surrounding the Fifth Patriarch. Each of the ten who
received the Fifth Patriarch's Dharma-transmission had his own strong points.
Some were foremost in wisdom, some foremost in good character, foremost in
virtue in the Way, foremost in patience, foremost in joyful giving, or
foremost in compassion. Or perhaps they excelled in teaching others or in
their cultivation. They were qualified to be good models for people, to be
teachers of gods and humans, to be places of reliance for the multitudes, and
to be Good and Wise Advisors for living beings. None of them boasted
of his own merit or tried to put on a special style. As Yenyuan said, "I
would hope not to boast of my own goodness." None of them discussed his
own special points; no one talked about his qualifications. They never
praised themselves saying things like, "When I was young, I was like
this and like that; in my prime, my level of scholarship was such-and-such.
In my old age, I could do this and do that." Nor would they brag about
how many disciples they had or how many people believed in them. In general,
they weren't like Mao Zedong, turning themselves into legends, claiming
extraordinary destiny. True sages and virtuous ones are not arrogant like
that. They were men of
outstanding virtue, who emphasized virtuous conduct and did not desire fame
or expend their energy in superficial ways that were only cheating themselves
and cheating others. These ten individuals were not arrogant, did not
contend, were not greedy, did not seek, did not pursue self-benefit and did
not lie. To attempt to describe the behavior and style of each of these ten
teaching hosts would take a long time; this has just been a summary. Now as we study the Patriarchs of the
past, we ought to reflect upon ourselves. We should each choose a Patriarch
to learn from and to serve as our model in cultivation. If we reflect in this
way when we listen to the Sutra lectures, then the lectures will help us to
cultivate our bodies and minds and to end birth and death. If we listen to
the Sutras, but the Sutras remain Sutras and we remain ourselves, separating
ourselves from the Sutras, separating ourselves from the Patriarchs, then we
won't gain any benefit at all. When we see worthy
ones, we
should strive to be like them. When we see unworthy
ones, we
should reflect upon ourselves. We should strive to
be like the Patriarch we most admire. Then we won't have wasted our time. For example, we heard
earlier that after the Fifth Patriarch left home at age seven, he never
argued or fought with the other novice monks. He worked hard every day, putting
up with the fatigue and blame. He really understood what leaving home was all
about. He knew the way to end birth and death. If you fight, argue, and scold
people all day long after you leave home, then basically you're the same as
before you left home. We should all take note of this. The City of Ten
Thousand Buddhas is under the auspices of the Dharma Realm Buddhist
Association. There is nothing which does not flow
forth from the
Dharma Realm, And nothing which does not return to the Dharma Realm. The people at the
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas are all ordinary, common people. Although the
City is a sages' ground, a place where Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Patriarchs
are created, no one is a Buddha, a Bodhisattva, or a Patriarch when he or she
first comes here. Nothing is perfect right now. If everything were perfect,
then we would have already become Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Patriarchs, and
would not be ordinary people. We are ordinary
people who are trying to change our bad habits little by little. Therefore,
we will inevitably make mistakes in our work and not do a perfect job.
However, we have come here in the hope of improving ourselves through
cultivation. This resolve to perfect ourselves and emulate the sages is
extremely precious. It's only to be feared that we have faults but refuse to
change them , or that we know what is good but refuse to do it. If we are
selfish and only seek to benefit ourselves, then we are finished. If each of
us makes the resolve to become a Buddha, to practice the Bodhisattva Path,
and to follow Universal Worthy Bodhisattva in making his Ten Great Kings of
Vows, then we will certainly reach our goal. Meanwhile, we should be tolerant
of each other's shortcomings. As it's said, Patience is a priceless jewel Which no one knows
how to use. If you could make use
of it, Everything would turn out fine. As I often say to
you, "Everything is a test." We don't know what offenses, what
causes and effects, what bad things we may have done to others throughout
many lives and many eons in the past, which causes us to now encounter a lot
of trouble and impediments. So now, when we face these troubles, we must
remember: "Everything is a test, to see what I will do." We should
look at ourselves, not look outside to see what someone else will do. Everything is a test To see what you will
do. If you don't
recognize what's before you, You'll have to start anew. Everything is a test To see what you will
do. If you don't
recognize what's before you, You'll have to start
anew. What will you
yourself do in this situation? Everything is a test To see what he will
do. If you understand
others, then you won't blame them anymore. If you don't
recognize what's before you, You'll have to start
anew. These verses tell
us to seek within ourselves. Don't look at you, me, or him. Be like the
Bodhisattvas. A Bodhisattva says: Truly recognize your own faults. Don't discuss the
faults of others. Others' faults are
just my own. To be of the same
substance is called great compassion. Always bring forth
great compassion and pity for all living beings. If living beings don't
listen to you when you try to teach them, think: "I must not have enough
virtue. If I were adorned with the ten thousand virtues, no one would fail to
listen to me." Contemplating in this way, you won't seek outside. You
will truly reflect upon yourself, seek within yourself when things don't go
your way. If you care for others, But they don't
respond to your kindness, Reflect on your own
humaneness. If you try to correct people, But they don't
listen, Reflect on your own
wisdom. If you greet people, But they ignore you, Reflect on whether
your respect is true. Whenever you fail in
your endeavors, Seek the cause within
yourself. If we can be like
that, then we will soon attain to the position of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
how much the more that of sages and worthies. If you care for others, but they don't respond
to your kindness, reflect on your own humaneness. If you care for others, but they keep
their distance and are afraid to approach you, contemplate to see if you are
deficient in kindness. If you try to
correct people, but they don't listen, reflect on your own wisdom. For
example, if my disciples don't listen to me, I have to reflect on whether I
have sufficient virtue to be their teacher. It must be due to my lack of
virtue that my disciples are rebellious and disobedient. If you greet
people, but they ignore you, reflect on whether your respect is true. If
you greet someone, but he doesn't even look at you, ask yourself: Did I greet
him with genuine respect? Whenever you fail
in your endeavors, seek the cause within yourself. If you do not obtain
the result you expect, always seek the reason in yourself. Reflect to see if
you did something wrong. The Fifth Patriarch
transmitted the robe and bowl to the Sixth Patriarch in order to perpetuate
the Dharma transmitted to him by the Fourth Patriarch. And so, when the
Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty invited the Fifth Patriarch to the palace
to receive offerings, the Fifth Patriarch, just like his teacher the Fourth
Patriarch, declined his invitations many times. As a result of this, the
emperor became even more respectful and sent a variety of precious gifts,
including rare medicinal herbs, as an offering to the Great Master. These
expensive gifts from the emperor did not make the Fifth Patriarch arrogant or
attached to his own importance. The Great Master simply distributed them
among the assembly and entered Nirvana shortly thereafter. Starting from
Patriarch Mahakashyapa, there were twenty-eight generations of Patriarchs in
India, culminating with Bo-dhidharma, who became the First Patriarch in China.
Great Master Hongren was the Fifth Patriarch in China. |
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