In the tenth year of Jin Yonghe (AD 354), Huiyuan was twenty-one years old. At that time, he was still interested in Confucianism, and the political turmoil in the Eastern Jin Dynasty gave him the idea of avoiding the world and had a long-term desire to live in seclusion. He intends to cross the river to learn from Fan who lives in seclusion (now Nanchang, Jiangxi). Fan refused to be an official because he was good at Confucian classics, and his name was more important than that of the whole country. However, at this time, the internal contradictions of Zhao Shi's ruling group intensified. After the Shi Hu Massacre, they killed each other and the Eastern Jin Dynasty went north for years. The Central Plains fell into chaos again, and the road to the south was blocked, which made Huiyuan unable to go south as expected. At that time, Li Si, the great disciple of Sakyamuni, was promoting Buddhism in Hengshan Mountain in Taihang Mountain. Hearing this, Hui Yuan came to Hengshan with his younger brother, Wisdom, and asked the master for help. After going up the mountain, he listened to Daoan's Prajna Sutra and suddenly realized. He sighed and said, "It's useless to have nine streams of Confucianism and Taoism!" (Biography of Hui Yuan) So he resolutely joined his younger brother and started a life of becoming a monk.
Among Daoan's disciples, Hui Yuan is "resolute and unconventional, and always wants to take Gangwei and Dafa as his own responsibility". He is poor, has no money and often lacks clothes, but he always perseveres, studies hard day and night, and thinks carefully. Seeing that he is smart and diligent, he has a deep understanding of Buddhism, and he often praises him: "It is a long way to make the Tao flow to the east!" The hope of Buddhism spreading widely in China is pinned on Hui Yuan. Hui Yuan only studied under Daoan for three years. Because of his hard work and excellent academic performance, he began to explain the Prajna Sutra at the age of 24. The "reality" advocated by Prajna paramita, the so-called transcendental ontology, is often difficult for the audience to understand. On one occasion, an audience questioned the realistic meaning of Daoan's On Buddha, and Hui Yuan used Zhuangzi's meaning as an analogy to explain the reality, which made the audience understand it quickly. From then on, Daoan only allowed Hui Yuan not to waste vulgar books, and he could quote books other than Buddhist scriptures to illustrate Buddhism. [Edit this paragraph] Cleverly retorted that Hengjin was in mourning for Xingning for three years (AD 365), Murong invaded Henan, and Hui Yuan took refuge in Xiangyang, Hubei. At that time, Daoheng, a famous monk, preached the meaning of Prajna's "no heart" in Jingzhou, which had a great influence. The meaning of "no mind" advocates eliminating the interference of all foreign objects on the mind and does not deny the existence of all foreign objects. In the eyes of other prajnaparamita, this is a concession to materialism, which leads to the rise of Buddhism and attacks on it. Hui Yuan was ordered by Daoan to visit Zhu Fatai who was sick. Zhu Fatai then ordered a disciple to argue with Dao Heng. After Hui is gone, the road is hard to attack. According to "Biography of Monks" Volume 5 "Biography of Zhu Fatai":
Hui Yuan took his seat, and after several attacks, he was accused. Constantly aware of the difference between righteousness and Tao, look micro-motion. Chen Wei detained the case and no one answered. Far away, he said, "What is a grapefruit intruder?" Everyone sitting there laughed. There is nothing interesting in my heart. Let's rest here.
"Easy, fast" means "easy to connect". "Pomelo" is a part of the loom. The rafter is the shuttle, and the grapefruit is the shuttle, which means to think repeatedly. "Heart without" means that mind and body are "too empty to know", so Hui Yuan retorted that since "heart without" can be "quick and easy", why bother to think about it! Hui Yuan ingeniously quoted the Book of Changes to refute Dao Heng, leaving him speechless for a while. [Edit this paragraph] In the third year of Emperor Xiaojin of Buju Lushan (AD 378), Pi Fu of the former Qin Dynasty besieged Xiangyang, and Zhu Xu, the secretariat of Liangzhou, refused to let Daoan go through the customs (later sent to Chang 'an by Pi Fu). Daoan dismissed his disciples and went to preach everywhere. Before he left, Daoan exhorted his disciples one by one, but Hui Yuan was silent. Hui Yuan knelt in front of the teacher and asked, "Are you afraid of others if you don't train alone?" Daoan said, "If you are a man, how can you worry about each other again?" So, Hui Yuan and his party said goodbye to Daoan and went south to Jingzhou. After that, Hui Yuan never saw his teacher again.
Before, Hui Yuan had an appointment with her classmate Hui Yong, and they were going to preach in Jieyu, Luofu Mountain, Guangdong Province. Hui Yuan was retained by Daoan, and Huiyong walked first. After passing through Xunyang County, Hui Yong was left by Fan Tao, a resident of the county seat, and lived in the fasting palace built for him by Fan Tao in the north of Lushan Mountain. After crossing the river, Hui Yuan first lived in Shangming Temple, and then planned to go to Luofu Mountain. When he arrived in Xunyang, he saw that Lufeng was quiet enough to rest in peace, so he stayed in Longquan Jingshe for the time being. Hui Yong and Hui Yuan are old friends, so they asked Hui Yuan to live in Lushan Mountain. He consulted with Huan Yi, the secretariat of Jiangzhou, and said, "Yuanyi needs a thoroughfare. Now it is a vast territory, and more people will follow it. Because I am poor, I live in a narrow place, and I can't get along well. What should I do? " Huan Yi built a house for Hui Yuan on the east side of the mountain. This is the famous Torin Temple, which later became the center of Southern Buddhism. This temple is located in a scenic area, which is more charming under the careful arrangement of Hui Yuan. As the Biography of the Monk said: "In the distance, he built exquisite houses and beautiful caves, but lost the peak of incense burner and the valley of waterfalls. It is still a stone barrier, that is, a pine planting structure, a clear spring walking around, and white clouds filled the room. There is no Zen forest in the temple. The trees in the forest are smoky and the stone path is moss. Everything is clear, and sorrow is greater than heart death. " As early as in Taoan, Hui Yuan heard that there were Buddha shadows in the western regions from the shamans in the western regions. After arriving at Lushan Mountain, Padolo, a Buddhist monk, and a legalist monk who had been in Lushan Mountain inquired about the Buddha's shadow they had witnessed in detail, and on this basis, they made portraits and carved them on stones. At the same time, he ordered his disciple Dao Bing to go as far as Jiangdong, and asked Xie Lingyun, a famous poet in Chen County, to write an inscription to fill the stone. According to legend, Tao Kan, an official of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (successively the secretariat of Jingzhou, Guangzhou, General Zheng and Jiangzhou), once presented the statue of King Ashoka of Guangzhou to Han Xi Temple in Wuchang. After Hui Yuan founded Tolin Temple, he moved the statue to Lushan Mountain. He lived here for more than thirty years until his death. [Edit this paragraph] When he settled in Lushan Mountain in Hui Yuan, Buddhism had already had a great influence in the south of the Yangtze River. However, Buddhism was unhealthy and declined. In particular, some upper-class monks, following the trend of incitement, cater to the times, talk nonsense, seek personal gain and rush to the door of power. Some even communicated with the supreme feudal rulers, stole power and threw themselves into turmoil. Hui Yuan was very worried when he saw this scene. In "Shaman Book on Bamboo Slips with Huan Taiwei", he pointedly pointed out: "The Buddha mausoleum is late, and the filth is mixed for a long time. Every thought is filled with indignation. " After living in seclusion in Lushan Mountain, he did not enter the capital or serve as a prince, practiced and adhered to Buddhism, strived for honor and set an example with his noble virtue, actively advocated the translation of Buddhist scriptures, preached Buddhist precepts, and tried to integrate Confucianism, Taoism and metaphysics with Buddhism, which made great contributions to the wide spread of Buddhism in China and achieved its due position.
Hui Yuan has lived in Lushan Mountain for more than 30 years, and has never been out of the mountain or into the valley. Every time he goes out for a walk, he only takes Lushan Mountain and Huxi Lake as the boundary. He is diligent in teaching and spreading Buddhism, which is the most important period of his Buddhist activities. When he arrived at Lushan Mountain, he saw that the Buddhist scriptures in the south were very incomplete, the Zen method was unknown, and the dharma collection was incomplete. He sent disciples Fa Jing, Fa Ling and others to Qingling to learn from the scriptures. These disciples traveled through mountains and rivers and went through hardships, bringing back more than 200 new classics of Deng Fangjiao from the Western Regions and being able to translate them. Hui Yuan has been doing everything possible to exchange information with the famous monks in Lushan Mountain. In the 16th year of Taiyuan (39 1), Emperor Samghadeva, a Buddhist Hinayana master in northwest India, went south to Lushan Mountain, and Hui Yuan asked him to translate "A Da Mo Xin" and "Three Laws". "A Ba Da Mo", referred to as "Bitan", is a comprehensive work of Hinayana Buddhism, and its teachings mainly focus on taking myself as nothing and taking dharma as something (Dharma refers to Buddhist teachings and norms, etc. , here refers to all things and phenomena, including material and spiritual). China's Pythagorean studies began in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Shi strongly sponsored the translation of relevant papers. Hui Yuan inherited his career as a teacher, and he had a series of discussions. Zhu Daosheng, a famous Buddhist scholar who lived with him in Lushan at that time, was also good at Vishnu studies of Bodhisattva. The popularity of Pythagoras is inseparable from Hui Yuan's organization and vigorous advocacy of classic translation.
Kumarajiva, a famous Buddhist translator (whose father was a Tianzhu native and was born in Kuqa, Xinjiang), moved to Chang 'an in the third year of Emperor Hongdi in the late Qin Dynasty (40 1), and Hui Yuan sent him a letter to exchange Buddhist scriptures and sent his disciples to listen and ask questions. Later, when he heard that Roche was going back to China, he immediately wrote a book and briefly asked dozens of things in Buddhist scriptures. Please explain and approve. Roche answered one by one, and the existing chapter 18 is the so-called Mahayana chapter. Hui Yuan also attached great importance to Buddhist precepts. Frodo once translated the Ten Chants of Guanzhong, but he died before he finished it. Later, Hui Yuan learned that Tan Mo's six fingers had brought this Buddhist sutra to China, so he sent his disciple Tan Yong to ask for a book and translated the whole Ten Recitation Method. "Biography of a Monk and Interpretation of Hui Yuan" commented: "A wonderful story is beyond onions, and Guanzhong will win, so those who come here (referring to Jiangnan) are far away." [Editor's paragraph] Hui Yuan, a famous political figure, continued his in-depth study of Buddhist theory in Lushan Mountain, which further combined Buddhism with politics and promoted the development of Buddhism. He advocates the theory of Buddha's nature and believes that the spiritual entity of Buddha is unchangeable and eternal, and people should aim at reaching this realm. Buddhists call Buddhism internal learning and Confucianism and metaphysics external learning. Hui Yuan not only studied Buddhism intensively, but also studied Confucian classics and metaphysics, and he was a master of Confucianism, Buddhism and metaphysics. He believes that Confucianism, Buddhism and metaphysics are basically the same in ruling ideology, so he advocates that "the Tao inside (Buddhism) and outside (Confucianism and metaphysics) can be combined and made clear", in an attempt to give priority to Buddhism, supplemented by Confucianism and metaphysics, and achieve the goal of one school (Buddhism) and a hundred schools (Confucianism and metaphysics) sharing the same path. Hui Yuan also vigorously advocated "Tomi Pure Land Law", so he was revered as the ancestor by the monks of Pure Land Sect (also known as An Baili Sect and Lotus Sect) in later generations. In the first year of Emperor Yuan Xing of Jin 'an (402), 23 celebrities, such as believers, Zhou (all metaphysicians), Lei Cizong (all Confucians) and so on/kloc-0, set up a fast in front of Amitabha statue in Jingshe. Died in the west after death. Under the advocacy of Hui Yuan and others, the "pure land" law began to spread widely in the south. However, according to Tang Yongtong, a well-known Buddhist historian in modern China, the so-called establishment of Bailian religion by Hui Yuan and the 18th High Sage is totally false.
During his stay in Lushan Mountain, Hui Yuan resolutely refused all requests for him to be an official and did not interfere in politics. However, he made extensive friends with important politicians at that time and won the respect of the upper rulers, which greatly facilitated his activities of spreading Buddhism and protected Buddhism at the same time. At that time, Stuart Wang Mi and Wang Mo, the guardian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, both admired him. Andi even sent him books and greetings, and even Yao Xing, the ruler of the late Qin Dynasty in the north, sent him books, food gifts and Buddhist utensils. Huiyuan is closely related to Yin Zhong, the secretariat of Jingzhou, and Yin Zhong visited him in the mountains. Later, Huan Xuan, who tried to seize the kingship, attacked Yin Zhongkan, and the army joined forces with Huiyuan through Lushan Mountain. Hui Yuan said there was no cure, so Huan Xuan had to go into the mountains to see him himself. After that, Huiyuan and Huan Xuan had many letters. During the reign of Emperor Yuan Xing of Jin 'an, Huan Xuan invaded Jiankang, killed Sima Daozi and Sima Yuan Xian, and took control of all state affairs. He wrote a letter to Hui Yuan, asking his opinion about shaman's disrespect for the king, and made an order to kill Shaman Sha Tai. Finally, Fatwa specifically pointed out: "Only the true face of Lushan Mountain, do not search for bamboo slips." Hui Yuan wrote back to Huan Xuan. On the one hand, he admitted that the Buddhist mausoleum was late and the problem was serious. On the other hand, he proposed to respect the wishes of Buddhists and protect devout believers with different methods of believing in Buddhism. With his lofty reputation and sophisticated political skills, he finally made Huan Xuan, who has the power to shake the Lord, listen to his advice.
In the sixth year of Jin 'an Emperor Yi Xi (AD 4 10), when Lu Xun led more than 100,000 peasant troops from Guangzhou to the north and occupied Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), he went into the mountains to visit Huiyuan. Hui Yuan and Lu Wei, Lu Xun's father, read together. After meeting Lu Xun, they treated each other warmly and told stories of their childhood happily. At that time, a monk advised Hui Yuan, "Lu Xun is a national enemy. Being so friendly with him won't arouse the suspicion of the court? " Hui Yuan said disapprovingly, "I have no choice in Buddhism. People of insight know this and there is nothing to be afraid of. " Soon, Lu Xun was defeated by Emperor Wu of Song. When Emperor Wu of Song led the army to Jiangzhou, his men told him that Hui Yuan and Lu Xun had a deep friendship. Emperor Wu of Song said: "People who are far away from the world will have no one else." So I wrote a letter to Hui Yuan to show my respect and also gave Hui Yuan some money and rice. [Edit this paragraph] Hui Yuan, immortal, died in Tuolin Temple in Lushan Mountain in the twelfth year of Jin 'an Emperor Yi (AD 4 16, or 4 17) at the age of 83. His works have been arranged into ten volumes and more than fifty articles. According to the existing categories, there are four works, such as Shaman's Disrespect for the King, Ming Karma, Sanbao and Shaman's Naked Service. There are five prefaces, namely, Preface to Convenient Practice of Zen Sutra in Lushan Mountain, Preface to Great Wisdom of Money, Preface to the Mind of Adamo, Preface to Three Degrees and Preface to Samadhi Poetry. Besides,
Hui Yuan was highly respected and had a great influence on Buddhism. The famous poet Xie Lingyun once wrote an inscription "Farewell to the Master" for him. Daohui, a monk in Southern Qi Dynasty, read Hui Yuan's anthology and was saddened by it. He hated himself for not meeting Hui Yuan in person. In order to realize his long-cherished wish, he and another monk Shunzhi traveled thousands of miles back to Lushan Mountain to pay tribute to Hui Yuan's remains, and stayed there for three years before returning.