Belief in God and tracing back to Jesus are the common beliefs and attitudes of the vast majority of Western people, but there are always some people who are different from each other.
As a pure American, but also a pure Buddhist monk, the two identities are mixed together, which makes people cry out, and he is Gen Hengshi.
Gen-la Heng Shi is not only a very orthodox monk, but also a Buddhist practitioner with a personal insight into spreading the Dharma.
The Buddhist songs he sang on the guitar once became popular classics on the Internet, which was of great help to the spread of Buddhism, and he also released his own *** in 2008
"Paramita: American Buddhist Folk Songs."
In fact, as early as the beginning, Hengshi did not intend to use this method to promote Buddhism, but when his ** learned that he had a little knowledge of the guitar long before he converted to Buddhism.
So I encouraged him:"As a Buddhist, it is not important to propagate the Dharma, what is important is what kind of ** you want to play with this tool, only by always maintaining concentration, is the duty of a Buddhist."
Since then, Heng Shi has started to use his guitar to do his part to promote Buddhism, and Gen Heng Shi often uses the Internet to teach Buddhism, using trendy methods to change the stereotype of Buddhism.
It can be said that this kind of publicity method is very novel, and it will also make many people who don't know about it very interested, and the reason why Master Hengshi has been able to get to this point today has to start from his university.
In 1949, Master Heng Shi was born, Heng Shi's father was a lawyer, and his mother was a housewife, and the family conditions can be said to be very good.
And his parents are still loyal believers, but Hengshi bluntly said that he had a great understanding of Chinese characters when he was very young.
Although he couldn't read the Chinese characters, he was still fascinated by them, and at the age of 13 he often went to the library to borrow books on Asian religions in both Chinese and English.
Inadvertently, Hengshi saw itLao Tzu's Tao Te ChingAnd as I know more and more Chinese characters, when I read the Tao Te Ching again, a new feeling arises.
This led to a strong interest in Chinese again, and he chose the Department of Chinese in college, and later pursued a master's degree in Oriental Languages at the University of California.
However, when he was 20 years old, his father died, and the death of his father was also very painful for Hengshi, and he found that he could not get rid of this pain.
This feeling made Hengshi very confused, he didn't know how to go in the future, and he remembered his college roommate when he was an undergraduate, who liked Buddhism and often meditated cross-legged.
So he also began to learn from the roommate, began to meditate, let his mind empty, and gradually, Hengshi found that he didn't seem to be so painful.
Hengshi relied on this method to alleviate his pain, but after all, it was a symptom rather than a cure, and he still felt very confused and didn't know where his future was.
Coincidentally, at this time, the roommate in the undergraduate period called Hengshi**"Are you going to come to me, I have a delicious meal here."
Thinking that his roommate was now a monk in Jinshan Temple, and that there was also a monk in Jinshan Temple, the Venerable Master Xuanhua, Hengshi embarked on the road to Jinshan Temple under the drive of his subconscious.
Jinshan Temple is located in a poor area, and there are often ** incidents, so on the way to Jinshan Temple, Hengshi is very nervous, afraid that he will encounter that kind of thing.
But when he really stood at the gate of Jinshan Temple, he found that his nervous mood disappeared in an instant, and when he heard the sound of knocking wooden fish in the temple, Hengshi felt very down-to-earth.
And the troubles that plagued him were completely disappeared at this moment, and unlike his own meditation, this atmosphere made him very comfortable and did not feel uneasy because of the end of the meditation.
Under the leadership of his roommates, Hengshi finished the whole temple, and the purity of the temple and the impact of the bronze bell hit Hengshi's heart again and again.
After eating the fast, the roommate introduced his **, the Venerable Master Xuanhua, to Hengshi, and Hengshi also informed the Venerable Master Xuanhua of his inner troubles.
Hengshi, who is deeply confused, wants an answer very much"People will eventually leave, and so do you and me, so do you don't have to cling to the past and put yourself in a painful ......”
That day, Hengshi chatted with the Venerable Master Xuanhua for a long time, and when he walked out of the temple, Hengshi found that his troubles were gone, and some of them just wanted to become a monk.
In 1976, Venerable Master Xuanhua founded the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the town of Dharma in Yoga, California, USA, and served as the abbot of the temple.
In September of the same year, after Hengshi completed his studies and obtained a master's degree, he informed his mother that he planned to become a monk, which was strongly opposed by his mother.
As a ** believer, how could he allow his son to convert to Buddhism and bring his friends around him to persuade Hengshi, but Hengshi has made up his mind.
In the face of his mother's crying, Hengshi resolutely embarked on the road to the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, ordained a monk in the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, studied under the Venerable Master Xuanhua, and received full ordination.
After becoming a monk, Hengshi felt that his life was very open, and there were countless paths waiting for him in front of him, and he began his daily chanting path.
But one day in 1977, Hengshi was reciting the "Huayan Sutra", but suddenly there was a scene in his mind, he came to the front of the Golden Wheel Temple, and then took three steps and one knock, until he walked to the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
After the scene disappeared, Hengshi felt that his current self began to become no longer real, as if he was imprisoned in this body, unable to truly stretch.
Then he found his ** Venerable Master Xuanhua, and the Venerable Master Xuanhua, who learned about this, did not support Hengshi in doing this, because the road from the Golden Wheel Temple to the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas was too far.
And you have to meet a lot of people on the wayThe evil of human nature is destined to be very dangerous and requires a lot of suffering.
But Hengshi still wanted to do it, he felt that it was his own wayI am destined to find my true self on this road, and at the same time, I can also influence these evils on the road.
In the face of Hengshi's repeated requests, the Venerable Master Xuanhua wavered, agreed to Hengshi's request, and in order to ensure Hengshi's safety, he also sent an apprentice with martial arts to accompany Hengshi.
In May 1977, Hengshi came to the gate of Jinlun Temple with the "Yan Hua Sutra" on his back, and then in the surprised eyes of everyone, he took three steps and one knock, and set off towards the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
The mother who learned of this was even more sad, her son put aside his good job and did not do it, he had to become a monk, and even if he became a monk, he would torture himself like this.
Seeing the people around her pointing at Hengshi, her mother felt very ashamed, but Hengshi didn't care about it, she only had piety in her eyes, and she took three steps and one knock.
And also keep the precepts,Don't go into private houses, don't live in hotels, don't bring much belongings with you, and eat once a day, Master Hengshi's actions were pointed at by many.
But there are also well-meaning people who ask him about his intentions to do so, and give him a meal, and Hengshi will write a letter to his ** on the way, telling about his mentality.
And this way,It was 29 months after he left, and when Hengshi embarked on this road, he decided to stop talking for 6 yearsAfter Hengshi walked to the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Hengshi still did not stop.
Every day, he took three steps and knocked around the Holy City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and this state lasted for 6 years, and after 6 years, he finally stopped and began to speak.
When the Venerable Master Xuanhua saw that Hengshi had such a mind, he secretly decided to wait for his death and pass on his position as abbot to Hengshi.
Before the Venerable Master Xuanhua passed away, Hengshi had been allowed to return to school to complete his studies, but Hengshi always felt that his cultivation was not enough.
It was not until after the death of the Venerable Master Xuanhua and the passing of his position as abbot to Hengshi that Hengshi had a sense of epiphany and returned to campus to complete his studies.
In 2003, Venerable Heng Shi received his Ph.D. from the United Theological Graduate School in the United States and has been working to promote Buddhism ever since.
In September 2006, Venerable Heng Shi visited China for the first time with the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, where he conducted a 14-day Dharma exchange.
And on November 6, 2007,A special lecture on "Buddhism to the West: Changes and Challenges" was held in the Qiulin Lecture Hall of Peking University.
Today, Gen-la Heng Shi is still committed to spreading the Dharma and has used a variety of innovative methods to make the Dharma more accessible to the younger community.
Gen-la Heng Shi's approach has also been echoed by many young people, and it can be said that Gen Heng Shi has indeed achieved the ultimate in Buddhism.
Maybe Gen-la Hengshi seems to some people to be a heretic, and even though he is a foreigner, he insists on practicing the Dharma, but like many of the previous sayings"What if I'm a hypocrite for the rest of my life?”
These evaluations are not worth mentioning in the eyes of Gen-la Hengshi, and we may not be able to achieve his level, but his persistence still needs to be learned a lot.