Three Generations of Buddha

"Three Generations of Buddha" tells the story of the Fifth Patriarch's practice and redemption across three generations. The story begins in the second year of Zhiping in the Northern Song Dynasty (1065). Zen Master Shijie of the Wuzu Temple - an eminent monk of the Yunmen Sect with forty descendants all over the world - due to a thought, formed a mortal bond with the adopted baby girl Honglian. After being enlightened by his junior brother, Zen Master Mingwu, Master Jie wrote a verse and passed away, and Mingwu passed away immediately. He vowed to follow his senior brother in reincarnation and help him return to the right path. Forty-nine years later, Shi Jie was reincarnated as Su Shi. In this life, Su Shi was the most talented scholar in the world. His poems were spread all over the world. He was also the official with the most bumpy official career. He was displaced throughout his life, from Huangzhou to Huizhou and then to Danzhou. However, the root of spiritual practice in his heart has never been broken. He always wears monk's clothes under his court clothes, carries a statue of Amitabha with him, discusses Taoism and Zen with Zen Master Foyin (the reincarnation of Mingwu), and maintains broad-mindedness and transparency in the ups and downs of the world. In the first year of Jingguo's reign (1101), Su Shi died of illness in Changzhou. On his deathbed, he left behind the four words "If you try hard, you will fail", which means that he will spend his whole life in Zen enlightenment. Five hundred years later, during the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Su Shi was reincarnated as Yuan Hongdao. Yuan Hongdao is one of the "Three Yuans of the Public Security Bureau". He advocates "expressing one's own spirit without sticking to conventions". His articles are free and natural. When people read them, they always think of Su Dongpo hundreds of years ago. After practicing Zen for many years, he devoted himself to the Pure Land and wrote "Western Comprehensive Theory", which was included in "Ten Essentials of the Pure Land" and became a classic handed down from generation to generation. At the age of forty-three, he died without any illness and passed away sitting cross-legged. His younger brother Yuan Zhongdao traveled to the Western Pure Land while entering samadhi and met Yuan Hongdao who was born in the western border area. Only then did he know the truth about the cause and effect of these three lives.