This way, it means reciting the Buddha's name to the rebirth of Maitreya, or it is still plagued by karma. || Old Monk Xuyun

In the spring of the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), the lay Buddhist Gongdelin, Fujian Province, initiated the Buddhist Seventh Seventh Day. On the third day, the old monk Xuyun went to Gongdelin to express condolences to the public from Yongquan Temple in Gushan. Just then, the Buddha's seven-day chant was silent. When the public heard that the old monk Xuyun had arrived, most of them left their seats to greet him, and kowtowed him to pay tribute. At that time, the old monk Yun shouted:

“You have been studying Buddhism for many years, and today you have been so serious about the seven Buddhist temples, and you have put in the Dharma banner for you! In the Buddhist teachings, whether it is Zen or purity, the key lies in the use of the six senses. Abscess and drowsiness are the causes of loss of thoughts. Do you remember? The Amitabha Sutra says that if one day, two days, three days, or even seven days are unrest, then Amitabha Buddha and all the saints will be in front of him and lead him to rebirth. Now, can you all be focused on being unconfused? If you are calm and unwilling, how can you hear the arrival of the old monk? If you are unsteady and recite Amitabha Buddha until you come, you will not know him either! Is it a Buddha or a demon? You don't know you yet. Is it certain or chaos? I can't figure it out either. The future is dangerous, it's so pitiful! Pitiful! ”

The public taught him a lesson, but they didn't know what was good. After the seven Buddhist temples were quiet, the old monk Xuyun entered the temple with everyone to worship the Buddha and gave them a lecture:

“When you are doing Buddhist seven, the key is to have one mind, if your mind is different. If you look around and listen, this way of reciting the Buddha's name means reciting Maitreya's rebirth, or you will be plagued by karma! Buddhism and worldly laws are the same. Worldly laws are not allowed without mind, let alone Buddhism! People who recite the Buddha's name should recite it continuously from beginning to end, word by word, word by word, word by word, and word by word. The Buddha also recites it like this, and the devil also recites it like this, until the wind cannot blow in and the rain cannot wet, so that there will be a successful day!

“Why? Buddha is enlightenment. Since you can realize it, you will naturally know to concentrate on your thoughts. ； Demons are annoyed. They are annoyed to harm the wisdom life of sentient beings. Knowing that they are annoyed to harm the wisdom life, they will of course focus more on subdueing them. Therefore, when you can be aware of it, you are seeing the Buddha, and if you are killed, you are obsessed with the devil. Now in the seven Buddhist temples, if you sit in your original position and continue to recite, you will be considered to have seen the Buddha.

“How many of you kowtow to pick me up? What do you think you received? Since you can't tell the benefits, isn't it waste of time and nothing to gain? Wouldn’t I be here to injure you to have a big heart and disturb your pure karma? This is why you put me next to the Demon Route, which is a pity!

“The secular people always don’t know how to respect the Three Jewels, which is really pitiful! Some of them use roasted pigs, chickens, and fish to offer to Guanyin Bodhisattva. Since they have violated the precept of killing, they are disrespectful. Once, when I was in Shanghai, I met Mei Lanfang acting in Shanghai. A lay Buddhist was holding a seat and spent hundreds of yuan to invite me to watch the show. I told him: 'A disciple of the Eight Precepts should not watch the show, let alone the monk who became a monk! If you invite me to the show, it’s like burning pigs to offer sacrifices to the Bodhisattva! ’The man kowtowed and repented and said, "I spent a few hundred yuan to get the teachings today and know the principles of respecting monks!" ’Buddhism is supreme, and the key is to use your heart. ”

With a word of "take care", I bid farewell. At this time, everyone did not dare to stand up and say goodbye, and the old monk Xuyun did not look back.

After the teachings of Mr. Xuyun, the remaining four-day Buddhist seven skills were indeed done in all the remaining four days. Among them, there was a lay Buddhist Chen Dalian, from Jian'ou. He was a member of the Fujian Provincial Assembly. During the sixth day of the Buddhist Seventh Period, he saw the golden color on the ground. He was very happy. After the seventh year of the world, he specially went up Gushan and asked the old monk Xuyun to give a lecture. The old monk Mengxu said: This is a manifestation of the mind reaching the pure state. Be sure to avoid greed. You must recite the Buddha's name with all your heart, work hard and make progress, and you will naturally get home. There can be no other wishes. You should know that there is no law that cannot be perfect. If he can speak directly, it is all an opportunity to understand the truth.

——Reprinted from Chanlin.com "The Complete Works of Monk Xuyun"

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