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Why didn't Zen have seven or eight ancestors?
First, the mantle of Buddhism has only been handed down for six generations, ending in Huineng, so there are only six ancestors, not seven.

Second, without the inheritance of the mantle, there would be no distinction between orthodoxy and collateral. Although there have been several so-called "Seven Ancestors", there will not be a recognized "Seven Ancestors" because it is uncertain whether it is "authentic".

3. Gai's "Zen" originated in India, and its original intention is to sit still and gather together, think carefully and think carefully, so as to achieve the realm of wisdom equivalence. Before the release of Zun, India had the idea of meditation for the purpose of creating heaven; When Buddhism was released, he stayed away from the Zen of both bitterness and joy and began to achieve nirvana in the middle way.

Fourth, bodhidharma, who initiated Zen in China. Although he is the Dharma Dharma Dharma Dharma Dharma Dharma Dharma Dharma Master in the Zen Sutra (Volume II, translated by Sakyamuni in the Eastern Jin Dynasty), what he preaches is based on what the Shurangama Sutra says. In addition, Hui Ke and Monk Can are both called Lengga teachers, Daoxin and Hongren are more influenced by Mahayana belief theory, advocating samadhi, and Huineng, the sixth ancestor, takes the King Kong Prajna Sutra as the authentic text.

At that time, the Shurangama Sutra always focused on explaining sentences, so the name was inevitably fragmented. After the middle Tang Dynasty, the boxing and drinking stick machine method prevailed, and the meaning of Zen expanded. It is Zen if you don't sit still and concentrate, or it can be called Zen if you move firewood and carry water, eat and dress.

Extended data:

Zen spirit

Judging from the connotation, structure and core of Zen ideology, the tone of Zen is based on the theory of mind and nature, and it is a cultural ideal to get rid of troubles and pursue life consciousness and spiritual realm through the practice of mind and nature. The essence of Zen's theory of mind and culture is: nature-immanence-transcendence.

Zen absorbed the concept of "nature" of Taoism in China to interpret the natural state of life and human self-nature. Taoism defines nature as the essence and nature of all things, not artificial, natural, so real. "Monks are natural, and so are all beings." Zen believes that "sex" is the nature of all beings, that is, Buddha nature.

This is to define Buddha nature as a self-sufficient, pure and simple life. Since human nature is natural, that is, internal, it is an essential existence embodied in the human body, which is neither given by external gods, nor obtained beyond experience and contrary to human nature, nor can it be eliminated by various external factors.

Man's inner self is the subject of life and the foundation of becoming a Buddha. Man's realistic perceptual life is the external function and embodiment of self-nature, and man's becoming a Buddha is the discovery of self-nature and the manifestation of spiritual realm born from it. Man's self-nature is intrinsic and transcendent, because the intrinsic nature is pure, complete, simple and enlightened, which is different from man's external performance.

Zen believes that practicing Zen to become a Buddha is to realize one's own nature, one's own nature, one's own nature, one's own way to become a Buddha and achieve transcendence. Zen emphasizes that Buddha is in the heart, nirvana is in the process of life, and ideal is in real life. In this way, Zen shifted the other side of the world to the real world and turned the pursuit of future life into an inner reversal.

Baidu encyclopedia-Zen