What is the main content of the book Altar Sutra of Buddhism?

The main ideas in the Tanjing are embodied in the theory of Buddha nature, the theory of enlightenment and Buddhahood, and the religious destiny of "ordinary people are Buddhas". Huineng.

At the heart of Zen thought is his doctrine of Buddha-nature. Buddha nature in Buddhism.

In philosophy, it refers to the ontology of the universe, which can also be called "as-a-nature", "awareness-as-a", "truth-as-being", and so on. "Buddha-nature" also means the cause of Buddhahood and the seed. Ontology.

Huineng believes that the "heart" is the "essence", there is no "essence" outside the heart, and everything in the real world depends on the "heart". He believes that "all appearances are illusory", and only Buddha nature is true and eternal, and further pointed out that Buddha nature is what everyone originally has, and it is "always quiet and quiet", just like "the sun and the moon are bright", and "only for the clouds to cover" can cause a situation of "light at the top and darkness at the bottom", so he believes that only by removing delusions, removing clouds and mist, knowing one's own mind, and seeing one's true nature, can one become a Buddha by seeing nature. Therefore, he asked people to exert their own initiative and seek Buddhahood in their own hearts.

Epiphany or gradual enlightenment is the fundamental point of disagreement between the Southern Sect represented by Huineng and the Northern Sect represented by Shenxiu, and the controversy between the two is reflected in the two verses (poems sung by the Buddhists) made by Shenxiu and Huineng. Shenxiu's verse is: "The body is a Bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror."

Taiwan, always wipe diligently, do not make dust. "That is, only by attaining enlightenment can we become a Buddha. Huineng's verse is: "Bodhi has no tree.

Nor is Spiegel a platform. There was nothing in the first place, where to stir up dust. ”

He believes that "all dharmas are inseparable from their own nature, everything in the world is in the nature of man, the human heart is the essence of all things, and human nature is originally Buddha nature." As long as people can comprehend this, they will not be affected by worldly distractions at all, and they will not need to recite sutras and practice to become a Buddha. Huineng opposes the method of zazen, believing that the purpose of meditation is to turn external objects into illusions of the mind through the method of "calming one's thoughts" and "thinking in silence".

On the surface, the practice of meditation has been abolished, but in essence, the scope of meditation has been expanded. But Huineng is not completely negative about gradual cultivation. He believes that there is no gradual distinction in Buddhism, and only enlightenment can become a Buddha all the way, but people are obtuse and obsessed, and there are confusions, "confusion is gradual persuasion, and enlightenment is enlightenment", that is, for foolish people, they still have to first persuade through gradual persuasion, in order to finally achieve enlightenment.

Huineng's Zen Buddhism argues theoretically and methodically: "Buddha" is not on the other side of the distant shore, but in your "heart". Just by a sudden change in understanding, you will have an "epiphany" and become a Buddha.

After becoming a Buddha, everything is still the same, "no human realm is taken away", but you have become a "liberated" "free person". In this way, the difference between a Buddha and sentient beings is only "the difference between one thought"; The distance between the world of real suffering and the peaceful Buddha land on the other side is only a piece of paper. For the oppressor, "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot", and "you can become a Buddha without a butcher's knife".

Because after becoming a Buddha, "no different from the people of the old times", as long as they are not confused by the realms, they can still do whatever they want. For the oppressed, there is no need to "seek from outside" in order to change the status quo, but in a moment's thought, the afflictions will become bodhi (the state of enlightenment), and the world of suffering will become a "pure Buddha land", which is "in chains and chains."'He became a "free man".

The idea of Buddha nature is the basic idea of Huineng, and it is also the theoretical core of the "Altar Sutra". The so-called Buddha nature, also translated as the nature of the Buddha, the nature of the Buddha, the nature of enlightenment, etc., originally referred to the nature of the Buddha, and later developed into the cause of the enlightenment of all beings, the possibility of all beings becoming Buddhas, which is the most general understanding of Buddha nature in the Chinese Buddhist circles. In the Sutra of the Altar, Huineng sometimes refers to Buddha-nature as nature, mind, mind-nature, nature, self-nature, dharma-nature, truthfulness, etc., all of which have the same meaning, all referring to Buddha-nature.

First of all, he believes that everyone has Buddha nature and can become a Buddha. Huineng inherited and carried forward Zhu Daosheng's theory of Buddha nature that everyone can become a Buddha, and clearly advocated the idea that "everyone has Buddha nature and can become a Buddha".

This thought was clearly expressed when he first saw the Five Patriarchs Hongren: "Although there are north and south in people, there is no north and south in Buddha nature, and the body is different from that of a monk, what is the difference between Buddha nature?" This extraordinary remark emphasizes that everyone has Buddha nature, and all beings are equal before becoming a Buddha. Since then, Huineng has repeatedly emphasized this idea in his teachings, and there are many expositions expressing this idea in a "Altar Sutra".

The content of the "Altar Sutra" is divided into two parts: one is to narrate the deeds of Hui Neng's Dharma inheritance; The first is to record his words and teachings for enlightening his disciples. The latter part reflects the ideas of Zen Buddhism, and its main ideas are in the two aspects of "seeing the mind directly" and "enlightenment to become a Buddha".

The idea that Zen Buddhism attributes everything to the nature of the mind is in line with the traditional Chinese Confucian culture, so Zen Buddhism has been spread for a long time, and the Cheng, Zhu, Lu, and Wang families in the Song and Ming dynasties have also drawn nourishment from Zen thought and enriched their own theories.