The Dharma of the Tang Dynasty said: I was foolish in my previous life, and the Bodhisattva cleansed his heart and opened his wisdom.

The Dharma of the Tang Dynasty said: I was foolish in my previous life, and the Bodhisattva cleansed his heart and opened his wisdom.

During the Tang Dynasty, there was a Master Fayun, who was the son of Zhao, Yanmen, Shanxi (now Dai County, Xinzhou, Shanxi). He is kind and kind, and he is calm in his heart for the damage and praise of others. On the surface, he seems to have a high level of practice. However, he had no wisdom in his previous life, and was very slow and ignorant when he studied, and had no memory at all. When he was twelve years old, his parents sent him to Huayan Temple in Mount Wutai to worship Master Jingjue as his teacher.

At that time, Master Fayun should have been a little novice monk. He was not afraid of hard work at all when he was picking firewood and fetching water in the temple. However, from the age of twelve to the age of thirty-six, I have been a monk for more than twenty years, and I still can’t recite the basics in Buddhism at all. Because he was very stupid, everyone called him Niu Yun, which means he was indeed extremely stupid.

One day, Master Fayun hated himself for why he was so stupid, and what's the use of living in the world for so long? It was snowing heavily at that time, so he went to Wutai barefoot to recite the name of Manjushri Bodhisattva with all his heart, hoping that the Great Sage Manjushri could open his mind and gain wisdom. This shows that Master Fayun’s faith in Buddhism is actually very good.

He was barefoot along the way, worshiping while reciting the name of Manjushri Bodhisattva. It was snowing heavily at this time, but he didn't know the cold at all, nor did he know the taste of eating, nor did he know the body inside or outside, and he forgot both inside and outside. The only thing was to worship and recite, pray for the blessing of Manjushri Bodhisattva. When he met someone, he asked: Where does Manjushri Bodhisattva live?

This way, worship Manjushri Bodhisattva. But I have already seen all over Li Wu Peaks (the five peaks of Wutai Mountain) and I still haven’t seen them at all.

After being hungry for the week, he went to the temple to have dinner. Although he did not see Manjushri Bodhisattva, his willingness and courage have increased.

As if you are confused and drunk, Master Fayun arrived at Dongtai again and saw an old man cooking fire, he asked: Great Master, where does Manjushri Bodhisattva live? The old man who was roasting the fire said: What did you ask him for? Master Fayun replied: I was very ignorant and dull when I was born, and I prayed that Manjushri Bodhisattva could enlighten me.

Unexpectedly, the old man replied: That weak and crappy man, you don’t need to see him. Manjushri Bodhisattva is a thin, old, decaying, incompetent and stupid person. You should not see him.

After hearing this, Master Fayun thought that this person was crazy, so he went to Beitai again. When Master Fayun arrived in Beitai, he saw the old man who was cooking in Dongtai sitting in the snow again in Beitai. Most people must be so cold when sitting in the snow, so at this time he felt that this old man must not be an ordinary person, it is indeed very rare, and must be the real Manjushri Bodhisattva. So he went to the old man to bow to the front of him. Because he was cold and hungry, and had walked many roads, he fell to the ground and could not get up at this time and vomited blood clots from his mouth.

The old man said to Master Fayun: You have been a master in your past life, but you are greedy for other people's benefits and are stingy with Buddhism and do not teach others the Dharma. With such causes and conditions, you will fall into the cow and become a cow, ignorant and ignorant, to repay other people's past debts. (Because I was greedy for others in the past, I had to pay off my debts. ) But after all, you were a monk because of your magic power, so you can obtain a human body in this life and become a monk to practice. However, because I still have the remaining karma of stinginess in this life, I am very stupid and have no memory.

At this time, the old man took out an iron ruyi hook and directly dug out Master Fayun's heart from his chest, letting Master Fayun see that his heart was like a cow's heart.

The old man washed Master Fayun's heart in the courtyard, put it back again, and then shouted loudly: Get up! Call Master Fayun to get up. So Master Fayun suddenly woke up, without any pain or illness on his body, and was sweating profusely all over his body. I went to look for the old man just now, but I could never see him again.

At this time, Master Fayun saw that the auspicious clouds suddenly rose up, and the breeze blew his clothes. Looking up at the sky, the round light is like a mirror. The original old man sat on the lotus, shining with light, and suddenly disappeared.

From then on, Master Fayun could remember all the sutras and treatises he had held in his past lives, just like regaining what he had lost. After that, he practiced very diligently throughout his life, as if he had saved his head.

One night, Master Fayun surrounded the King Yu Pagoda. At the middle of the night, he saw a white light like water connecting the Jiu Peak from North Platform. A Tian Pavilion appeared in the middle, emitting all kinds of beautiful treasures, which were very brilliant. The plaque of the Tian Pavilion said: Shanzhu. Such a holy realm appeared in the sky. It was the spring of the 23rd year of Kaiyuan, and Master Fayun passed away.

This case comes from "Qingliang Mountain Chronicles", which is the mountain abbreviation of Mount Wutai. Master Yin Guang has specially rebuilt the ambitions of the four famous mountains. Although Master Fayun was a great master in his previous life, he was very ignorant after his reincarnation. Everyone called him Niu Yun, but he became like this. If it was not for the good roots of the previous life, and if you could meet the blessings of Manjushri Bodhisattva in this life, it would be completely over.

Excerpted from: Master Renchan's "The Biography of the Nine People with Yuanguan and Others"