A mysterious encounter

One day while wandering around, Hui Szu came across a tomb. He folded his hands together and murmured to the person buried in the tomb, “I’m sorry, I have to spend a night here; please forgive me for any inconvenience I may cause to you.” Hui Szu sat down with his bag. When he leaned back against the tombstone for a rest, it suddenly gave way! The tombstone stopped moving and a tunnel appeared with light shining from inside. Stunned, Hui Szu decided to take a look inside. “Maybe I can stay inside for the night since it’s getting cold outside,” he muttered.

Hui Szu walked into the tomb and found that the light came from a shining pearl. Underneath the pearl was a note that read, “This is a little present I want to give to anyone who comes into the cave. Please prostrate yourself before the Buddha’s statue 100 times before taking it.”

Hui Szu smiled and accordingly started doing the prostrations. When he had prostrated himself 40 times, he noticed the bricks on the ground where his head had repeatedly touched were starting to loosen up. When he dug up the bricks and the soil, there was a wooden door underneath. He opened the door and saw another long tunnel, so he walked down the tunnel and came upon a storage room with books on one side and jars on the other side. There was another note on a wall which read, “My friend, if you are reading this, it shows that you are indeed an honest person, because you didn’t take the pearl and walk away. Study all the books here. The jars contain enough food and honey to sustain you for three years.”

The owner of this tomb was actually a member of a royal family. He preferred Buddhism to politics, so he ordered this fake tomb built to store all his valuable Buddhist books. Whoever found them could study them and do good for humanity with the knowledge acquired.

Hui Szu was touched when he finished reading the note. “I am a monk but my master has left me to myself. Now I have come upon this fake tomb and found so many wonderful Buddhist sutras. It seems that heaven is very kind to me!” Hui Szu vowed to complete all the sutras, hoping to gain some wisdom of the Buddha.

Three years passed and he finished reading all the sutras. He felt he had a better understanding of Buddhism. However, he felt he needed to study more, so he went to a mountain and built himself a wooden hut. He then spent all his days reading the Lotus Sutra. Before he started for the day, he would respectfully prostrate himself three times before the sutra and then read it. The sutra seemed easier than before, since he had read so many other sutras in the tomb. However, the Lotus Sutra still contained many passages that were very hard to understand, which made him quite frustrated.

When Hui Szu woke up, he knew that another bodhisattva had come to help him and had placed hope in him. He prostrated himself on the ground and vowed to give his life for the promotion of Buddhism.

One mind, three perceptions

Shortly after that dream, Hui Szu ran into his master, Hui Wen, on the street. Both of them were thrilled to see each other again. Hui Szu told his master about his studies in the tomb and the dreams he recently had. Hui Wen nodded and said to him, “It was blessed for you to experience all these extraordinary events! It shows that you have been chosen to bring Buddhism to the world, and you will have to work harder with your self-cultivation. Come, let’s find a place to do more studies.” And so they built themselves a hut on a mountain.

According to Hui Wen, if we can realize that all things and phenomena (False Essence) in the universe are empty and ever changing (True Essence), and if we can observe all matters through the aspect of the Middle Way (nothing is true because everything changes, and nothing is false because everything does exist temporarily), then we are able to observe the true essence of everything. Furthermore, we will become fearless toward life and death and able to courageously face all challenges, since we are no longer restrained by the mundane values of the world.

Hui Wen also stressed the importance of the mind. When our minds are crystal clear in observing the essence of everything through the Three Perceptions, we can always walk on the Buddhist path without getting lost. As Nagarjuna said in the Madhyamaka-sastra:

All phenomena created by conditions,
Are nothing but void in their essence;
Everything visible exists in name only,
This is the meaning of the Middle Way.

Hui Wen also taught Hui Szu how to meditate and then told him, “I have taught you everything, and there is nothing more I can teach you. How far you can attain enlightenment depends on your wisdom and how hard you work. I’m leaving the mountain now, so I wish you all the best.” Hui Szu never saw his master again.

One evening, Hui Szu felt tired after a long meditation, and he leaned against the wall for a rest. But before his back touched the wall, he suddenly felt a joyful feeling emerging from within. All his questions about Nagarjuna’s ideology and how it fit well with the messages from the Lotus Sutra suddenly became clear to him. Hui Szu completely comprehended the Buddha’s teachings: Be unattached to either “have” or “have not” since everything we “have” cannot be maintained permanently, and the state of “have not” can be altered due to the interdependent arising of conditions. It was time for Hui Szu to leave the hut and promote the new ideas he had about Buddhism: “The core of Mahayana Buddhism is based on putting what we have learned from the sutras into practice. Helping all people in need is more important than self-cultivation.”

First danger

The next morning, Hui Szu gave a lecture to the monks in the temple, explaining his new concepts of altruism and the importance of practice in daily life. The monks were stunned to hear these new principles. To Pu Chao, Hui Szu’s thought was at variance with his own philosophy of self-cultivation. Pu Chao sent a disciple to tell Hui Szu about his disagreement and to hint that Hui Szu and his disciples should leave. Hui Szu simply nodded, since he knew these people weren’t ready to accept his new ideas. Thus, he and his disciples went to other places to preach. Gradually, more people came to learn about his concepts. That stirred up anger in the monks at Kai Yuan Temple, because more people going to listen to Hui Szu meant fewer people coming to their temple. They decided to resolve the problem once and for all.

One morning Hui Szu’s disciples were busy preparing breakfast. When it was ready, they invited Hui Szu to eat first. But when he had taken a few bites, he suddenly yelled that he had an unbearable pain in his stomach. The shocked monks immediately rushed Hui Szu to a doctor. The doctor discovered that Hui Szu had been poisoned. He ordered his apprentice to collect some herbs and to boil them for a tea. He also performed acupuncture, which helped relieve Hui Szu’s pain. When the medicinal tea was ready, Hui Szu drank it and was soon feeling better.

Hui Szu’s disciples were relieved to see their master resting comfortably, but they were also upset to see their master suffer because of his beliefs. Hui Cheng, a senior disciple, asked the others if they had seen anyone touching the food. One disciple recalled that he had seen a monk from Kai Yuan Temple running away from the kitchen when everyone else had gone to get water from a well. They were very angry and planned to go to the temple, but Hui Cheng said, “It’s no use! Do you think they’ll admit it? Maybe we should go somewhere else.” A fierce debate on the issue ensued. They finally decided to leave since the Kai Yuan monks would certainly act again if they discovered that Hui Szu was still alive. When they reported their conclusion to Hui Szu, he agreed since he did not want to create trouble for the local congregation.

Second danger

Liu Huai-pao was pleased to see them and asked them to stay at his residence. A devoted Buddhist, Governor Liu asked Hui Szu to give him a lecture on Buddhism almost every evening. Seeing the governor’s sincerity, Hui Szu kindly gave a series of lectures on the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra. Liu was deeply impressed with Hui Szu’s eloquence and profound perception of Buddhism.

A few weeks later, the governor asked Hui Szu to give an open lecture in a local temple so that more people could share his joy. Hui Szu happily agreed because he felt it was his duty to preach the Buddha’s teachings to the public. The open sermons were well received by the public. People jammed the temple every day to listen to his new concepts of altruism, which they had never heard before.

After carefully pondering Hui Szu’s words, Liu decided not to join the conspiracy to overthrow his own king. Pao hated Hui Szu for ruining his plans, and so he came up with another dirty trick.

One evening, Pao warmly invited Governor Liu and Hui Szu to a banquet at his residence. Pao kept urging them both to enjoy the good food, although he himself seldom touched it. A few moments later, Hui Szu and Liu both felt pain in their stomachs. When they looked at Pao, they noticed a wicked smile emerging on his face, and they realized that they had been poisoned. At this crucial moment, one of Liu’s generals rushed in with his soldiers and arrested Pao. Pao’s indecent plan had been discovered by one of his soldiers. Recognizing the compassion of Governor Liu and Hui Szu, the soldier wrote a secret letter to Liu, informing him of the whole plot. Liu didn’t receive the letter in time, but his wife opened it and was shocked at its contents. She immediately told one of Liu’s loyal generals to dash to Pao’s residence with soldiers to stop him from committing the crime. Liu and Hui Szu were rushed to a doctor, who immediately gave each of them an antidote for the poison. The next day, both seemed to feel better, though they were weak. They could finally open their eyes and talk two days later.

Mount Ta Su

A siege

In 557, Hui Szu was invited to give lectures in Fa Yu Temple in Nantingchou. At about this time, Emperor Kao Yang ordered all Taoist priests to abandon their religion and join the Buddhist congregation and all Taoist temples to be converted to Buddhist temples. He even killed four Taoist priests who had voiced their protests. The decree enraged all the Taoist priests in the country. When the emperor led his army off on a military expedition, the priests rose up and attacked all the Buddhist temples in the kingdom.

A gang of Taoist priests surrounded Fa Yu Temple and forbade anyone from going out. Anyone trying to escape would be stoned to death. Hui Szu and some of his disciples were trapped in the temple. No one could help the monks because there weren’t enough soldiers around.

The abbot tried to negotiate with the priests to end their siege, but the angry priests turned a deaf ear and hurled abuse at the abbot. Hui Szu also tried to talk to them: “We didn’t talk the emperor into banning Taoism in the state. He did that himself! We’re not the ones you should protest against.” The Taoists replied that they just wanted to attract the government’s attention by driving the monks into a corner.

The attack on the temple got more violent in the following days. Hui Szu and the other monks tried very hard to drive the priests away without hurting them too seriously. A few days later, when the emperor returned from his victory, he ordered his soldiers to capture the rebellious Taoist priests, who simply dispersed. The emperor ordered some priests executed for the uprising, but he didn’t enforce the decree that all Taoist priests be converted to Buddhist monks. The chaos throughout the state gradually died down.

Mount Heng

One day Hui Szu, his disciples, and some monks from Heng Yueh Temple were strolling on Mount Heng. Hui Szu pointed to a spot and said, “There used to a temple there.” The other monks, surprised to hear this, began digging and found a building foundation as well as articles used by monks. After walking to another place, Hui Szu pointed to a spot and said, “I used to meditate here, and an enemy chopped off my head.” The stunned monks indeed discovered a skeleton and a severed skull buried in the soil. Hui Szu’s disciples built a small tower to house the skeleton and the skull and to commemorate the event. All these events were evidence that Hui Szu used to live on Mount Heng during one of his past lives, and that he had attained some supernatural clairvoyance to sense his past. Furthermore, they attested to the reality of reincarnation.

One last trouble

Now Hui Szu’s name had been cleared. Embarrassed for causing so much trouble for Hui Szu, the emperor promoted him as the great Ch’an master of the state. At his request, Hui Szu then gave a lecture on the Lotus Sutra. The emperor was deeply impressed with Hui Szu’s profound knowledge of Buddhism and his idea of practicing the Buddha’s teachings in daily life.

The emperor ordered General Wu to reveal the true reason why Hui Szu had been summoned to the capital and what they had found out. When the whole story came out, the emperor ordered Ouyang executed the following day for his intrigue. Hui Szu implored the emperor to pardon the Taoist abbot. He said that all living beings should be taught to do good deeds--killing or any severe punishment would simply prevent them from doing so. “The Buddha wanted us to have compassion for all people, including our enemies and all those who have committed crimes,” remarked Hui Szu. “Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to release Ouyang Cheng-tse and his disciples.” The emperor was moved by the monk’s compassion and he approved his request. However, he said that there still should be some punishment. The emperor ordered a blacksmith to hammer out 14 metal plates for Ouyang and his 13 disciples. Each plate had a priest’s name on it, and each priest had to wear his plate constantly wherever he went.

The Taoist priests worked as laborers at Heng Yueh Temple every day. One day, Ouyang asked Hui Szu if they could return to their temple; they were willing to hand over some farmland in exchange for their freedom. Hui Szu kindly agreed and asked that the metal plates be destroyed. Without any sense of appreciation, the Taoist priests left, holding grudges in their hearts. Hui Szu could sense their hatred, but he did not utter a word.

Attaining nirvana

Hui Szu wrote many books on the Lotus Sutra and on cultivating meditation and wisdom. It started snowing on Mount Heng and Hui Szu knew his time had come. He gathered all his disciples and told them, “The source of the Way and our intrinsic buddha nature exist within. Do not bother searching for them outside yourselves. Whatever you can acquire through searching elsewhere is nothing but falseness. If any one of you is willing to study the Lotus Sutra, recite the Buddha’s name, carry out repentance constantly, and practice the Buddha’s teachings wholeheartedly, I will personally provide all your daily needs.” Hui Szu told his disciples that he would soon leave this world. He then crossed his legs, folded his hands together, and chanted the Buddha’s name. Slowly the pitch of his voice dropped lower and lower.

No one dared to utter a sound at that moment. Unexpectedly, a disciple, Ling Pien, suddenly burst out crying at what was going to happen. To everyone’s surprise, Hui Szu opened his eyes again and scolded him sternly: “You fool, stop bothering me with your crying! Bodhisattvas have come to take me away. Don’t you understand? I never came to the world, and I will not leave it.” Ling Pien immediately prostrated himself in front of his master and begged him for forgiveness. Hui Szu nodded his head, took a last look at all his disciples standing around him, and closed his eyes. Again, he crossed his legs, folded his hands together, and chanted the Buddha’s name. Slowly his voice became lower and lower and finally stopped. He looked as though he was still alive. A light aroma of sandalwood filled the room. Hui Szu attained nirvana in 577, at the age of 63.