Biography of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng

When the Sixth Patriarch was born, two monks came to the house to present his name. Huineng lost his father when he was three years old, and his family was poor and out of school. He made a living by selling firewood. One day, he sent firewood to Zhang's house and became enlightened after hearing the Diamond Sutra. He then left his mother and went to the temple to pray for Buddha and hone his mind through heavy work. The life of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng is not only a story full of adventures and pursuits, but also a journey of wisdom that interprets human nature and Buddha nature. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng was a Lingnan woodcutter who made a living by chopping firewood. He could not read a single Chinese character and could not even write his own name. When I was selling firewood at the age of 22, I overheard an old man reciting the Diamond Sutra. I felt like I was shocked by an electric shock. I instantly became enlightened. I immediately left everything behind and went north to study Buddhism. I worked as a fireman under the sect of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, chopping firewood and pounding rice all day long. Eight months later, because of an unintentional verse, "There is nothing in the first place, how can it cause dust?", The Fifth Patriarch was shocked to become a Bodhisattva. Secretly passed on the mantle and mantle in the middle of the night, and designated him as the Sixth Patriarch of Zen? As a result, he was killed. He fled across the world that night, ran thousands of miles, fell into the mouth of a tiger several times, and finally escaped into the mountains. In 676 AD, after hiding incognito for 15 years, Huineng achieved enlightenment and returned to lecture at Faxing Temple in Guangzhou, which immediately shocked the country. For more than 20 years after that, Huineng preached Dharma in Baolin Temple, and his followers ranged from the Queen Wu Zetian to common people, traffickers and pawns. It has been 149 years since Patriarch Bodhidharma traveled to the north, and Zen Buddhism has been passed down for six generations. It finally took root and flourished in the hands of Huineng. But the hunt that lasted for more than 30 years did not end. One night more than 30 years after the Sixth Patriarch inherited the mantle, an assassin with a sharp knife finally entered Huineng's Zen room... Open this book and learn about Zen Buddhism.