Chapter 91 practice

Hongyi insisted on becoming a monk back then, but regretted it after he became a monk, because he found that Buddhism was not a pure land, so he wanted to return to the vulgar.Ma Yifu and others persuaded: "I didn't approve of you becoming a monk at first, but now that you have taken this step, don't look back." Only then did Hongyi give up the idea of ​​returning to the vulgar world, and eventually became a generation of eminent monks. After Hongyi was shaved, he was introduced by others and hung in Xilingyin Temple.The abbot was very polite to him and arranged for him to live in Yunxiang Pavilion.A few days later, Hongyi met Master Huiming in the living room, and he shouted to Hongyi: "Since you are here to receive precepts, why don't you enter the precept hall? Although you are a scholar when you are at home, can a scholar be so casual? That is when you are at home. He is an emperor, and I see it the same way!" Therefore, Hongyi received a monk's ordinance in Lingyin Temple for 30 days, and because of reading "Baohua Biography of Precepts" and "Lingfeng Pini's Essence Collection", it was confirmed by reality. Later, with compassion, he began to pay attention to the study of precepts, and he vowed to learn the precepts.

After Lingyin was ordained, Hongyi went to Jiaxing Buddhist Association, prepared to read Buddhist classics, and began to study Vinaya.After the news of his hanging in Xijingyan Temple spread, many people came to ask for calligraphy. It was extremely difficult for him, because he had already become a monk, so he should abandon the vulgar pages.Fan Gunong comforted him and said: "There are many skillful ways to benefit life in Buddhism, so why can't calligraphy become a convenient way to promote Buddhism? If you can write in Buddhist language, people will be happy when they see it, and it will be a pure cause. Isn't this just a way to promote Buddhism?" Hongyi was relieved after hearing this, and he immediately asked someone to buy a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and first wrote a couplet for Jingyan Temple: "Buddha is the heart and the Buddha. Great way and great people." From then on, he received people with books and spread the Dharma with words.

Ma Yifu came to Jiaxing to give lectures on "Mahayana Awakening of Faith" at the invitation of the Buddhist Association. Hongyi would listen to the lecture every time and benefited a lot.In Jiaxing, Hongyi had many contacts with Fan Gunong, and he was the second person who had a major influence on Master Hongyi after Ma Yifu.He also admired Hong Yi very much, calling him the layman he admired most. In 1922, Master Hongyi placed an order at Qingfu Temple in Wenzhou.Jishan respected Hongyi very much, and in order to take care of Hongyi who would not eat after noon, he changed the lunch time of the whole temple to ten o'clock in the morning.Hongyi was very moved. One day, he went to the abbot's room to talk with Jishan, let Jishan sit on it, and asked Jishan to be his teacher.Ji Shan was very frightened: "This old monk has little virtue, how dare he be a teacher of the benevolent?" He backed down repeatedly and refused to sit down.The next day, Hongyi asked someone to persuade him, Jishan was determined not to be worshiped, but Hongyi insisted on respecting Jishan as a teacher, and he would be a disciple for life.

Master Hongyi once suffered from dysentery in Qingfu Temple, and he did not heal for many days. He said to the abbot, Master Jishan: "For minor illnesses, seek medical treatment, and for serious illnesses, follow death. Now that my disciple is suffering from serious illnesses, let him die. I just hope that Master will wait for my death. At that time, lock the door of the room, ask several masters to help recite the Buddha's name, and after six hours of breathlessness, wrap up in the quilt where you are lying, and send it to the heart of the river to form a relationship with the water clan." After hearing this, the old man of Jishan burst into tears.

Master Hongyi was not allowed to use public bowls and chopsticks due to his precepts. When he returned to Hangzhou, he borrowed a pair of bowls and chopsticks from Qingfu Temple to use with him.After arriving, he immediately entrusted layman Lin Zanhua to bring the bowls and chopsticks back to Qingfu Temple. After the publication of the "Wenchao" compiled by Master Yinguang, the great virtue of the Pure Land School, Hongyi responded to the editor's request and wrote a eulogy for the book, and the two formed a dharma bond.Afterwards, the two began to exchange letters.Hong year after year begged Master Yinguang to list it as a gate wall, but Master Yinguang refused. At the end of 1924, Hongyi finally got his wish, and Master Yinguang agreed to be his teacher. In 1925, Hongyi went to Mount Putuo and formally became a teacher.

When Master Hongyi was in Shanghai, his old friend Mu Ou first visited the Taiping Temple where he placed the order. Mu told Hongyi that he felt that Buddhism is a religion that leads people to escape from the world and evade their social responsibilities. When the people are striving to become stronger, what is the benefit of Buddhism in the world?Master Hongyi replied: "Buddhism is not separated from the world. The original purpose of Buddhism is to understand the true face of the universe and life, to teach people to seek truth and wisdom, so as to cut off ignorance and troubles in life. It is not necessary to be away from dust when practicing Buddhism. People who become monks and lay people can also use Buddhism to guide their lives and benefit the world. As far as Mahayana Buddhism is concerned, its bodhisattva spirit fully embodies the compassion of the world to benefit others. Anyone who is interested in practicing Buddhism needs to Make a great bodhi mind and make four great vows, the so-called "the boundless vow to save all living beings, the endless vow to cut off the endless troubles, the boundless vow to learn the dharma, the supreme vow to achieve the Buddha's way", so as to encourage self-improvement, in the infinite world, with this grand wish, Never retreat, as long as it is beneficial to the world, it can be incorporated into Buddhism, how can Buddhism be a passive and secluded religion?"

Master Hongyi went to Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province to pay homage to the Bodhisattva Zhuozang. On the way, he met the warlords of Jiangsu and Zhejiang and stayed in Ningbo. After learning about it, Xia Gaizun, who taught at Chunhui Middle School in his hometown, welcomed him to Baima Lake in Shangyu for a temporary stay.Jiang Danshu's "Biography of Lawyer Hongyi" records: "Shi Beggar taught at Chunhui Middle School and lived by the lake. Seeing his burden, the grass is sparse and scattered. If you want to change it, you can't; If you want to change it from white to gray, you can't do it. Let's say: Although the color is not white, it is harmless to cleanliness. It can still last for a few years. After talking about it, I went to the lake to wash the cold water. Xia Jun felt sorry for it. , but there is nothing to do. For Zhang’s vegetarian food, he used wild rice, but discarded it; he used tofu, but also discarded it. According to his intention, only white water is allowed to boil vegetables, and salt is not used for oil ears. Xia Jun has a deep desire, but there is nothing to do Yes. Being a guest is still the same, and you can imagine the hardships you usually suffer."

After master Hongyi arrived in Shaoxing, his students Li Hongliang, Cai Yuyin and Sun Xuanqing came to welcome him and put him in the dormitory of the school where Li taught.Li Hongliang went to deliver food, but the master told him that the vegetarian food was too good for monks, so Li had to reduce the four colors of each meal to two, but the master still felt that it was too refined. Master Hongyi and Master Hongsan once made a vow to revise the "Huayan Shuchao", and they plan to complete it in 20 years.Hongyi was worried that he would not be able to complete it in his lifetime, so he specifically asked Cai Yuyin to continue his career in the future.But because it took too much time and energy, they didn't continue in the end, and Hongyi always regretted it. Ten years later, he heard that Layman Huang Youxi had such a wish, and he wrote a letter to encourage him.

Master Hongyi wrote many Buddhist classics. In August 1924, Hongyi's "Bhikkhu Precepts and Signs" was finalized, edited by Master Yinhong, and 1,000 copies were photocopied at the sole expense of Shanghai Mu Ouchu. In 1926, Hong Yi wrote "The Ten Chapters of the Huayan Sutra to the First Chapter of the Chapter", which is a masterpiece of modern scripture writing. In May 1930, the master went to Baima Lake, where Xia Mianzun and Liu Zhiping raised funds for him to build the "Wanqing Mountain House", and enshrined "Xing Shi Chao".When he lived in Wanshouyan, Xiamen, he spent more than two months collecting information and compiling the "Grand View of the Holy Virtue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva"... In October 1938, Master Chang welcomed Master Hongyi who was trapped in Zhangzhou back to Quanzhou, and passed by Anhai , One month after the Dharma was promoted, the Dharma fate was won, and the "Anhai Fa Audio Record" came out.

In March 1927, the authorities proposed to destroy the Buddha.At that time, Master Hongyi, who was closed to Changjiguang Temple in Wushan, Hangzhou, invited local political leaders to the temple, and showed everyone a short slip, one for each person.During the banquet, the mage spoke softly and subtly, and then sat silently for a long time, and everyone read the brief, full of embarrassment.When the meeting was over, no one mentioned the theory of extermination of Buddha.Among those who came to talk, the one who had the strongest attitude before was a student of the mage, and he was already panicked and sweating profusely when he came out of the monastery.What is said in this short brief is unknown to the world. On the 17th, in order to eliminate Buddhism, Hongyi wrote to Cai Yuanpei, Jing Ziyuan, Ma Yichu, Zhu Shaoqing and other celebrities in the educational circles, proposing suggestions for sorting out Buddhism.

On Xia Yuzun's 45th birthday, two old friends, Master Hongyi and Jing Hengyi, were invited to his little plum blossom house to catch up on the old days.Jing Hengyi thought of the past when the three of them worked together in the past, and was filled with emotion. Hongyi couldn't help but burst into tears. He wrote the verses of the "King of Kings Prajna Sutra" to comfort his friends. The verses said: Master Hongyi went to Jinxian Temple in Cixi to visit Master Yihuan. After fasting every day, Hongyi would recite several volumes of "Psychic Virtue's Actions and Vows". In addition, listening to him recite scriptures in Tianjin dialect felt more enlightening than reciting in person, so he often stood for half a day without feeling tired. Two days before Master Hongyi completed the compilation of "Grand View of the Holy Virtue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" in Xiamen, a stranger Lu Shihou, a worshiper of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, came to pay homage to the master and presented him with a painting made by cutting his finger and dripping blood. A holy statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.Hong Yi thought it was a romantic relationship, and found it inconceivable.Master Hongyi immediately asked Layman Lu to draw another picture of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Jiuhua vertical traces, and he wrote 10 praises for it. In the 1930s, Pan Tianshou once expressed to Master Hongyi the idea of ​​escaping into Buddhism. The master said: "Don't think that Buddhism is pure, and you will have troubles if you can't hold it in." Only then did Pan give up the idea of ​​becoming a monk, and eventually became a generation of Chinese painting masters. . One time, when Master Hongyi was still ill, Anxin Toutuo, the abbot of Baiyi Temple in Ningbo, invited him to go to Xi'an to give lectures and raise funds to help the victims.Toutuo knelt down and begged, but the master couldn't refuse, so he had to agree and write down the will before leaving.After hearing the news, Liu Zhiping rushed to Ningbo Wharf to dissuade him, and he carried the mage off the ship from the third floor.On the shore, the teacher and the student couldn't help crying. In April 1929, Master Hongyi returned to Wenzhou from Xiamen, passing through Gushan, Fuzhou, and found the engraved editions of the Huayan Sutra and Huayan Shulun Usury Essentials in the early Qing Dynasty.The master advocated printing twenty-five volumes, and asked Uchiyama Wanzao to distribute them to the libraries of famous temples and universities in Japan.After learning about this, two Japanese monasteries that were not included in the list even entrusted someone to ask for donations from Uchiyama Wanzao. After knowing about it, Hongyi donated three more. Master Hongyi once promised to write movable type models for Shanghai Kaiming Bookstore. Because the movable type models used in the market at that time were often uneven, and the ranks were uneven after printing, the master had made a vow to write a set of copper type models for Kaiming Bookstore in his spare time. Used to engrave Buddhist scriptures. In May 1930, he started to write the characters by hand, but gave up after half a month. Firstly, he was unwell, and secondly, he thought that some characters were not suitable for monks to write. The vicious and filthy words hurt the eyes and hurt the heart, so I really don't want to write. Seven people including Liu Zhiping, Xia Yuzun, Jing Hengyi, Mu Ouchu, Zhou Chengde, Zhu Sudian and Feng Zikai initiated the fundraising to build three bungalows for Master Hongyi in Baima Lake, Shangyu. The master named it "Late Sunny Mountain House".However, due to the inconvenience of everything in the mountain house, the mage gave up the idea of ​​long-term retreat here. In November 1932, the 53-year-old master Hongyi went to southern Fujian for the third time. He went to Xiamen to register for Wanshouyan, and formed a relationship with Master Xingchang. Since then, Master Hongyi has settled in southern Fujian. Master Hongyi once gave a lecture titled "The Last of Life", which was about practicing in the Pure Land. The various detailed rules and points related to the practice of the Pure Land that need to be paid attention to, and it is recommended that many urban and rural areas initiate the establishment of death-care organizations.At Shimiaoshi Temple, a monk named Liaoshi was lying in bed with a serious illness. After reading the master’s speech, he was filled with grief and joy.Kneeling for a long time every day, singing loudly, being brave and diligent, surpassing ordinary people. Master Hongyi once gave a lecture on "Experimental Discussion on Correction" for lay people in Miaoshi Temple.On the night of the lecture, Master Hongyi dreamed that he was a young man, walking with a Confucian teacher, and suddenly heard someone behind him recite the five verses of "Awakening of Heart and Action" in the "Avatamsaka Sutra", with clear words and strong syllables. But more than 10 long-bearded old men sat around the mat, one of them played the strings and the other sang gatha.The mage joined in, and when he took off his shoes to take his seat, he woke up from his dream.Master Hongyi realized that this dream was a harbinger of his promotion of law in southern Fujian, so he decided to give lectures on law. In February 1934, Master Hongyi was invited to give lectures at Minnan Buddhist College and assisted the college in rectifying the style of study.Once, a few young monks passed on pornographic books in private. When the master learned about it, he did not reprimand him severely. Instead, he blamed himself for failing to fulfill his duties as a teacher. , I was so sad that I burst into tears.Several student monks were deeply ashamed, and immediately expressed that they would definitely correct their mistakes in the future. Wherever Master Hongyi went, he always asked the other party to treat him as an ordinary monk.After he arrived at Nanputuo Temple, the temple invited him to live in the Tusita Courtyard with a beautiful environment and comfortable conditions, but he refused to stay.After repeated persuasion, although he reluctantly agreed to move in, he made a special statement that the treatment should be the same as that of other monks, and there must be no special treatment at all.The peach tree in the courtyard bears mature fruits, and the temple once sent him some better peaches.But the mage refused to accept it at all, and insisted that all the fruits should be distributed uniformly by the permanent residents, and he must not make exceptions. Master Hongyi accidentally found a "Yi Meng Man Yan", after reading it, he realized that it was a self-report of his life's ascetic visits and Dharma propagation experience at the request of his disciples a few years before his death. Can't help being very pleasantly surprised, read it repeatedly, forgetting to eat and sleep.When reading, he was moved to tears dozens of times. In March 1935, Hongyi went to Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou to give a lecture on "A Dream". In April 1935, Hong Yi led the teaching of Guan Guan and Guang Qia, and despite the dissuasion of all the Buddhist couples, he insisted on crossing the sea to Hui'an to promote the Dharma.He thanked him with tears, and sailed out to sea from the south gate of Quanzhou.That night, the sea was very windy and the waves were high, and the sailboat sailed in the waves, bumping very badly.The master could not sleep all night, and silently recited the Buddha's name to Dadan.The next morning, they arrived in Chongwu smoothly, and then changed to a small boat, braved the wind and waves, braved the rain, and arrived at Jingfeng Temple before noon. Master Hongyi once had the idea of ​​worshiping Wujingfeng Temple in Hui'an for the rest of his life, but every important Buddhist festival here, the temple would set up a stage to sing operas, with gongs, drums and firecrackers blaring, just like a folk temple fair.After the master arrived, he asked Chuanguan to tell the temple owner that it was not suitable to perform in the temple, and asked him to move to the village at the foot of the mountain.The temple owner felt unhappy after hearing this, and just moved the stage to more than 10 meters outside the temple gate to perfunctory.The mage couldn't bear it anymore and went to persuade the temple master himself.Unexpectedly, in the early morning of the next day, the master of the temple issued an order to expel the guests, and accused Master Hongyi face-to-face, saying that since he came, the firecrackers were not allowed to be released, and the plays were not allowed to be performed.The mage had to leave. In the winter of that year, the master came to Hui'an for the second time. He accidentally contracted a serious illness. Internal and external diseases were complicated by internal and external high fever. The ulcers and the soles of the feet were full of pus and blood, and the ulceration of the forearm reached five or six out of ten, and soon extended to the upper arm, which was unstoppable.According to him, the disease was caused by being infected by dirty air while living in a dark room when he was preaching scriptures in the countryside. Afterwards, the master returned to Cao'an Temple in Quanzhou to recuperate for six months. During his illness, he made another will and handed it over to Master Chuanguan for execution.Chuan Guan recalled: "When the teacher was seriously ill, he once gave a will to Guan Yun: 'Before your death, please help recite the Buddha's name outside the cloth tent, but you don't have to recite it often. After your death, don't move your body and lock the door for eight hours. After eight hours, you must not wash your body or wash your face. That is to say, wrap the quilt with the clothes you are wearing, roll it up and send it to the mountain depression behind the building. If there is tiger food for three days, it will be good, otherwise, you will be on the spot after three days Incinerate. Inform him after incineration, and you must not notify him early. Before and after the death of Yu Zhi, everything is very simple, and you must follow it, otherwise you will be a rebellious son.'” Master Hongyi was invited by Master Junxu, the abbot of Qingdao Zhanshan Temple, to give lectures in Qingdao.When passing through Shanghai, a layman once asked the master which ship he would transfer to, and was going to inform Zhanshan Temple so that he could meet him.After the mage learned about it, he didn't want to trouble others, so he took another ship instead.But Zhanshan Temple still inquired about their itinerary and sent someone to meet them.The group of people had a lot of luggage. The Huotou monk of Zhanshan Temple asked Master Mengshen: "Which one is Honglao's clothes list?" "Mengshen" pointed to the old mat bag and the small bamboo basket, and said with a smile: "That is , and the rest are all other people’s.” The weather was getting hotter and hotter. One day, the monk Huotou saw Hong took a bamboo basket to the sun and opened it to dry. Moccasin yellow shoes, a pair of straw sandals that have been patched and patched—the ones I usually wear on my feet seem to be a little newer than this pair;——I can’t help but think of an eminent monk who has worn shoes for thirty years in ancient times, and now he can attract people. Compare it with his old man." One day, he took the opportunity to take a look in Hongyi's "squatter room" again: "Ah! The things inside are so simple, the table, bookcase, and bed are all prepared for the permanent residence. There is a small copper square ink cartridge, a bald-headed pen, a few ordered scriptures and a few manuscripts in the closet, a gray sheet on the bed, pillows made from folded clothes, and two pairs of shoes standing on the opposite wall ——yellow sandals, straw sandals—there is nothing else; in the room there is only cleanliness, silence, a smooth floor, and bright window panes—he always tidies it up with his own hands—which makes one feel an indescribable cleanliness and tranquility. Quiet." In Zhanshan Temple, Hongyi refused to live in the five rooms specially prepared for them in the east of the Buddhist scripture building in the temple, but lived in the master's dormitory.On the first day when he arrived at the temple, the temple prepared four dishes and sent them to his hut, but he didn't move a chopstick.The temple had no choice but to take it down and send it again, but it still didn't move; the third time I sent two dishes, but still didn't eat them; finally, the temple had to send a bowl of ordinary dishes eaten by the monks. Eat this, if not, please take it back.The visitor replied yes, he just had dinner. Before leaving Zhanshan Temple, the monks in the temple asked Hong Yi for a lecture, and he said: "I have gone this time, I am afraid I will never be able to come again, and now I will tell you the most sincere words that can save life and death—" Speaking of which, he He remained silent, and everyone focused on what he said next. He was silent for a long time, and suddenly said loudly: "It's just one sentence: Nan-wu-a-mi-tuo-fo." After walking out of the mountain gate, Hongyi turned around and said to everyone : "I'm sorry to disturb you today, and I have nothing to offer. I have two words for everyone, as a farewell message: take this opportunity, it is best to recite the Buddha's name!" He walked up to Master Junxu and said, "Old Master, After leaving this time, I can’t come back again in this life, let’s all meet in the Western Paradise in the future!” In 1937, Master Hongyi returned to Xiamen from Qingdao. Xiamen was in danger at the time, and Hongyi vowed to live and die with the dangerous city.Everyone persuaded him to take refuge, and he said: "For the sake of protecting the Dharma, I am not afraid of shells." He lived in Nanputuo Temple, and soon because the Kuomintang troops stationed in the temple, there was a lot of people and horses, and he couldn't bear the disturbance, so he moved to Wanshiyan, and then moved to Zhongyan. .No matter where he is, the master will name his living room "Church of Martyrdom" to pledge to protect the law and serve the country. From the first month to the April of 1938, Master Hongyi preached the Dharma in Quanzhou, Hui'an and Gulangyu Island, and became friends with each other through writing.Four days before the fall of Xiamen, the master was invited by Zhangzhou (Longxi) Buddhist circles to go to Zhangzhou to promote the Dharma, which saved him from being trapped in a dangerous city, but he also stayed in Zhangzhou because of this. When Master Hongyi was recuperating in Ruizhuyan, Dongxiang, Zhangzhou, the bamboo stalks diverted from the mountain actually produced young leaves. It was rumored that it was Rui Xiang, the master who came to live, and the local newspaper reported it.After Hongyi learned of this, he immediately asked someone to write a letter to refute the rumors, and left Ruizhuyan for a while. Xu Beihong visited Master Hongyi many times. Once, he found new shoots sprouting from a long-dead tree in the mountain where the master lived. He asked whether it was due to the virtue of the master. It's for watering sake.Another time, Xu saw a fierce beast walking around the mage obediently, without any intention of hurting anyone, and was even more surprised. The mage explained that this beast was captured before, and I rescued it, so it would not hurt me. When Miao Zhai, a young monk in Fulin Temple, was sick and bedridden, Master Hongyi took care of him personally.Hong Yi found that Miao Zhai was afraid of difficulties and retreats in the practice of becoming a monk, and his attitude towards life was quite pessimistic, so he persuaded him to concentrate on reciting Buddha, and gave him a new Dharma name "Lv Hua", because the Lv Zhai said that practicing according to the teachings, Hua Zhe teaches Qi Huayan, if it can be done like this, then the lotus flower in the pure field will be able to gradually flourish.Later, the mage gave him a letter and asked him to open it only after he passed away.One year later, the master passed away. When he opened Miao Zhai, it turned out that the master was worried that he would not be able to persevere in his practice because of his young age.After Miao Zhai read it, she was already in tears. In the summer of that year, at the request of the abbot of Tiansi Temple, Elder Zhuanchen, Master Hongyi went to Quanzhou to examine the life and death of Monk Guangqin.A few years ago, Guangqin decided to practice meditation. He only brought simple clothes and more than 10 catties of rice to Bixiaoyan in Qingyuan Mountain to practice meditation.But this time, Guangqin's samadhi was too long, for several months before and after, he couldn't eat or move, and couldn't feel his breathing.The woodcutter thought that Guangqin had passed away, so he hurriedly reported to Elder Zhuanchen.Zhuan Chen ordered the temple to prepare for the cremation, but for the sake of caution, Hong Yi was asked to go to investigate the life and death. After Master Hongyi arrived, he carefully observed Guangqin's appearance, and knew that he was not passed away, but that he had entered a deep meditation. He praised everyone, "This kind of meditation is rare in ancient times." He snapped his fingers three times lightly, and led everyone to avoid him temporarily.Soon, Guangqin really slowly came out of his samadhi and stepped out of the cave. Rats in Puji Monastery were seriously infested. Mountain rats chewed up clothing and even gnawed and defecated on Buddha statues.Master Hongyi recalled that it was said in an old book that feeding rats with cat food would prevent rats, so he gave it a try and it worked.So he feeds the rats twice a day, and each time he makes a wish to return them, hoping that they will be born in a good place early and even realize Bodhi.For this reason, he also specially wrote an article "Experience Talking about Rat Feeding and Avoiding Rat Suffering". Master Hongyi devotes himself to the Buddha, does not eat after noon, intensively studies the law, promotes Buddhism, and saves all living beings from the sea of ​​suffering. He is regarded as the eleventh generation ancestor of the Law School by Buddhist disciples.