What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

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Son of Buddha
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What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by Son of Buddha »

During the reign of the Emperor Wu of Liang, the Buddhadharma flourished. Whenever there was a wedding reception dharma masters were invited to recite sutras. On children's birthdays, dharma masters were invited to recite sutras. In short, no matter what the occasion, dharma masters were invited to recite sutras and give their blessing. They would give a short speech about the auspiciousness of the event what a lucky occasion it was. At that time there was a wealthy man who was celebrating the marriage of his son. He invited Chan Master Zhi Gong to recite sutras and give the blessing. When Chan Master Zhi Gong arrived and looked around, he said:

How strange! How bizarre!
The grandson marries the grandmother.
The daughter eats the mother's flesh.
The drum the son beats is stretched
with the father's skin.
Pigs and sheep are on the seat.
The six close kin cook in the brazier.
People gather to celebrate.
I see all this as a form of suffering.

Why was the grandson marrying his grandmother? It was because when the grandson was two years old, his grandmother died. As she was dying, she grabbed her grandson's hand and said, "I'm at the point where I can let go of everyone else, but I can't forget about my grandson. Who will take care of him in the future?" And she died clutching her grandson's hand. After her death she went before King Yama and he said, "Oh, you love your grandson so much? Fine. Go back and be your grandson's wife." So she was reborn as a woman and when she came of age, her grandson chose her as his wife. How did Chan Master Zhi Gong know this? Because he had the ability to know
others' thoughts and the ability to perceive past lives, he had the Buddha eye.

When he looked in front of the house he said, "The daughter eats the mother's flesh," because he saw a little girl chewing on a chunk of pork. Her mother had died and been reborn as a pig. The pig had been slaughtered and cooked, and she was actually eating the flesh of her own mother!

When he inspected the musicians in the band by the entrance way, he said, "The drum the son beats is stretched with the father's skin." The drummer was hitting a drum stretched with deer-hide. His father had died and been reborn as a deer. The deer had been slaughtered and its hide tanned and the drummer was actually beating his own father!

Then Chan Master Zhi Gong noticed that "Pigs and sheep are on the seat." He saw pigs and sheep sitting like guests on the kang, the high brick beds in the house. They were people now, but in their former lives they had been pigs and sheep. In their former lives they themselves had been eaten, so now they were reborn as people who in turn ate pigs and sheep to even up the debt.

When the Chan master took a look at the cooking pots, he exclaimed, "Six close kin cook in the brazier." The six kinds of close kin refer to relatives on the father's side and the mother's side, kin of the brother and sisters, and so forth. They had been close relatives of these people but now had been reborn as pigs and sheep, had been slaughtered, and were being cooked in the brazier. Chan Master Zhi Gong summarized, "People gather to celebrate." Everyone who came was saying, "Congratulations!" and "Best wishes!" But the master notes, "I see all this as a form of suffering." What I see is actually suffering.

:stirthepot: yummy
DGA
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by DGA »

I see a few different directions to go with this. What's your reading, Son of Buddha? What do you take away from this story? What do you want others to take from it?
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LastLegend
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by LastLegend »

That we eat each other in Samsara when we need to love each other. ;)
It’s eye blinking.
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Ayu
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by Ayu »

LastLegend wrote:That we eat each other in Samsara when we need to love each other. ;)
Exept the vegans.
Jesse
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by Jesse »

The spider eats the fly. Happiness usually comes at the price of others suffering. That's life.
Image
Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Jikan wrote:What do you take away from this story? What do you want others to take from it?
Don't buy into your own narrative.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
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randomseb
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Re: What Chan Master Zhi Gong saw!!!

Post by randomseb »

Master's knowledge of these things creates suffering in Master, but if he would not be discriminating in this way he would not suffer so. Those present had no knowledge of these things and were therefore not discriminating, and therefore weren't suffering. Poor Master Zhi Gong!

:buddha2:
Disclaimer: If I have posted about something, then I obviously have no idea what I am talking about!
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