From the ideological origin, the innovation of Huineng Zen Buddhism to traditional Buddhism is actually the product of the confluence of traditional Buddhism and Laozi and Zhuangzi. As far as traditional Buddhism is concerned, there is a tendency to attach importance to the role of mind and nature, which is particularly obvious in the two Buddhist scriptures of Lengyan Sutra and Qi Xin Lun. The Shurangama Sutra held by early Zen teachers was only one product. In the name of "all Buddhist hearts", all Buddhism is summed up as a kind of "mind learning", with "heart" as the highest noumenon, the world is made by heart, and the object of understanding is not outside but inside, following the practical route of seeking liberation from heart. "Up and down the three worlds, I say it's all my heart." "Bodhisattva Mahasa observes the Three Realms, but he is bent on doing it." (Note: entering the cangue sutra. This idea was absorbed by Huineng Zen Buddhism and developed into "subjective mind theory", which emphasized the role of subjective mind, just as nature belongs to everyone's original mind, and "seeing nature clearly" is Buddha.

Another classic that has a great influence on Zen thought is On Faith, which mainly shows as follows:

1. Belief theory attributes the highest noumenon and ultimate origin of all phenomena in the world to "the difference of one thought", and all pure Buddhism is in the "difference of one thought", which is complete and satisfactory to all beings, so it is also called "the heart of all beings". Accordingly, the belief in Buddhism is the belief in "self-mind"; All Buddhist practices have become the only spiritual practice. By the time of Zen Buddhism, it developed to get rid of external worship, while Bodhi sought it from the heart.

Second, the belief theory advocates the purity and purity of the mind. As long as you don't have a heart, you are in line with the truth and achieve enlightenment. The theory of nature says: "If you can observe the intimate thoughts, you can follow the truth as the door." God adopted this statement, thinking that to achieve "straightness", it is necessary to start from "no brain". From this, there is a saying that "wisdom and intelligence are one, equality and double cultivation". From "no thoughts", we can achieve "unity of mind and mind, equality and double cultivation", and the final conclusion is "straightforwardness"

Third, the theory of nature puts forward that "if you walk, if you live, if you lie down, you should stop at the view and do everything." In other words, the most important thing of Zen is to implement it in daily life, which is also reflected in Vimalakīrti Jing, and Zen has absorbed this idea. The Tanjing said: "There is another charming hollow meditation, which is completely mindless and calls itself great. This generation cannot talk to Jaken. " Therefore, Zen advocates that Zen is a calm and normal daily life, and "a normal mind is a Buddha".

As far as Chinese Buddhism theory is concerned, Daosheng's "all beings have Buddha nature" and "realizing Buddha" have the greatest influence on Zen. Shen Tao thought: "All sentient beings are Buddhas and Nirvana." (Note: Quoted from General History of China Philosophy, Volume II, 27 1 page. Everyone has Buddha nature, and the heart, Buddha and all beings are the same reality. Zen has developed to "the heart is the Buddha", but all living beings can't know their own hearts and don't know their own hearts. If they "see their true nature", they are Buddhas. Daosheng also put forward the theory that "Buddha has no pure land", saying that the nature of Buddha is not external and different from the phenomenon world. Shen Tao said: "The enlightenment of Mahayana is not close to life and death, but far preferable. In matters of life and death, it is actually enlightenment. " (Note: See A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy by Feng Youlan, p. 29 1. He also said, "You didn't arrive when you were talking to each other. You can't really arrive until you arrive or not. This shore is life and death, and the other shore is nirvana. " (Note: See A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy by Feng Youlan, p. 29 1. In other words, the so-called pure land is not in another world, but in this phenomenal world. If the life theory of "Buddha has no pure land" is to bring the Buddha back to the real world from the other side of the world, then his "Nirvana Buddha Nature Theory" is to turn the Buddha outside the heart into the Buddha inside the heart. Zen took a fancy to this and absorbed and reformed it. The Tanjing said: "People have north and south, but Buddha has no north and south. The monk's body is not the same as it is yet. What is the difference between Buddha's nature? " "Bodhi only looks at the heart, why ask the outside world? When it comes to practicing according to this, the West is only in sight. " So as to truly turn the Buddha outside the heart into the Buddha inside the heart.

Another famous viewpoint of Daosheng is the theory of "enlightenment into Buddha", whose theoretical basis is: Buddhism is the same as "nothing", and it can also be said that it is the same as the heart of the universe. Because "nothing" is beyond the image, "nothing" itself is not a thing, and it is impossible to gradually repair it. In Zhao Lun Shu, Huida made a concise exposition of Daosheng's theory of enlightenment into Buddha. He said: "First, Master Zhu Daosheng had an epiphany: Mr. Zhu said that understanding is inseparable, and the understanding language is extremely vivid, and the two feelings are inseparable. The sudden release of reason is an epiphany. " Zen developed this idea and formed its own viewpoint of "pointing directly at people's hearts and regarding nature as Buddha". Therefore, Hu Shi said: "The epiphany theory of public health can be said to be the cornerstone of Zen in China."

Of course, if any foreign culture wants to take root and grow in the soil of foreign culture, it must be integrated with foreign culture. As China Buddhism, Zen Buddhism is actually the product of the combination of traditional Buddhism and Taoism, especially Zhuangzi Thought, which is obviously reflected in Zen Buddhism.

First of all, in Zhuangzi's thought, if we want to realize Tao and achieve the integration with Tao, we must exclude the sensory perception of the outside world, which can't be obtained by logical speculation. Only "we can't see God" (the master of health preservation), that is, we can grasp it through spiritual activities. The most important aspects of this kind of spiritual activity are "spiritual fasting" and "sitting and forgetting", emphasizing intuitive experience, thus achieving the integration with "Tao" This is actually a mystical view of "body and Tao". Zen simplifies and straightens this view of body and Tao, thinking that Zen realizes Tao not through speculative rational understanding, but through individual intuitive experience, thus achieving "pointing directly at people's hearts and treating nature as Buddha."

Secondly, Zhuangzi believes that if we want to liberate our hearts from the binary world, we must transform our separate hearts of right and wrong, showing a kind of "unintentional" unity with Tao. If explained by the two truths of Mahayana Buddhism, unintentional inaction is an advanced victory, which is beyond the logical and rational scope of right and wrong; However, having a good mind is a low-level secular thing that must be controlled by logic and reason. The former is related to the wisdom of life and death and the ultimate way of liberation, so it must transcend the binary opposition between right and wrong, but it is by no means the secular significance of denying right and wrong. Zhuangzi, on the other hand, said that "there is no difference between men and women, and there is no difference between saints" (carefree travel), and at the same time, "don't make mistakes to get along with the secular" (the world chapter) was low-level. So is Zen after Huineng. Prajna knowledge alone transforms knowledge at a high level and transcends logic or rationality, but it does not deny the role and significance of knowledge at a low level. So there is no reason to violate logic or reason.

Third, Taoist thought pursues transcendence and the liberation of individual body and mind. "Inaction" and "unintentional" mean conforming to nature, which has social and ethical significance. In Zen thought, this is manifested in the pursuit of a calm and normal ordinary secular life, which goes with fate, "a normal heart is a Buddha." In daily life, it is integrated with nature, and the boundary between individual and ontology disappears.

Fourthly, Taoism emphasizes that "Tao" is unspeakable, and "Tao can be Tao, not surprising". This is manifested in the metaphysics of Wei and Jin Dynasties as "words are not full of meaning" and "forgetting words with pride", and words become an obstacle to understanding ontology. Zen emphasizes "not writing" in order to break the limitations of writing and language, because writing can't let individuals grasp the real subject.

(B) Buddhist innovation

Buddhism spread eastward, from Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties. From the very beginning, Buddhism agreed with the prevailing view of Huang Lao in the Han Dynasty, and there was a saying that Lao Zi had changed his mind. In Wei and Jin Dynasties, Buddhism and metaphysics merged. Buddhism in this period paid more attention to the complicated interpretation of chapters and sentences and the study of scholasticism. In the Tang Dynasty, Huineng liberated Buddhism from complicated chapters and sentences by advocating pure land and epiphany from the heart, and the pursuit of the other side of the world became the emphasis on secular life, and the Buddha outside the heart became the Buddha inside the heart, which showed the popularization and popularization of Zen and established the true Buddhism in China. Sometimes, when we say Buddhism in China, we actually mean Zen. Therefore, the establishment of Zen Buddhism is an innovation or revolution in the history of Buddhism in China. The leading idea of this revolution is the theory of "enlightenment into Buddha".

To sum up, Huineng's "enlightenment" theory has the following points:

First, all living beings have Buddha nature. The theory of Buddha nature is the theoretical basis of Huineng's "epiphany" He attributed Buddha's nature to human's mind, and advocated that Buddha's nature is mind. Everyone has a true Buddha nature, knowing his own heart and seeing his own nature can make him a Buddha. "Self-persistence, Buddha is sentient beings; Self-knowledge, all beings are Buddhas. " Enlightenment and metaphysics, that is, awareness and ignorance of Buddha's nature, are the only differences between Buddha and all beings.

Second, "Buddha's nature is always pure." It is believed that the Buddha's nature is always pure and there is no dust pollution; In other words, Buddha's nature is unpolluted, with distinctive religious and moral colors. Therefore, it is believed that Buddha can not become a Buddha by gradual practice, but only by knowing his true nature.

Third, truth is enough as nature, and it contains everything. "Prajna II" said: "The vast heart is like emptiness and no edge." The self-expression of good knowledge contains various laws, all of which are in human nature. "The Buddha nature here has the significance of all phenomena.

Fourth, "pure land" lies in self, and there is no need to seek it out. The altar sutra says: "Orientals are innocent, while Westerners are impure." Charming people who want to live in the East and the West are different from each other. Pure heart, not far from the west; If you have an unclean heart, it is difficult to recite Buddha. "Emphasize' purifying the heart', advocate' seeking the heart' from the heart, and oppose seeking from the outside, thus turning the Buddha outside the heart into the Buddha inside the heart.

Huineng's Buddhist innovation is of great significance. First of all, he overthrew the authority of the Buddha and broke the external idol worship. Before that, the Buddha had a sacred position and people worshipped him. Hui Neng told people that when they choose the path of becoming a Buddha, as long as they have firm subjective beliefs and believe in their own hearts, they can become a Buddha, thus elevating people to the status of Buddha, or lowering Buddha to the status of human beings. Linji Yi Xuan said: "Every Buddha kills Buddha, and every ancestor kills ancestors"; Danxia natural Zen master burned wooden Buddha to keep warm. This actually broke the original inequality of Buddhism and reflected the desire for equality of lower monks and ordinary people.

Secondly, it shook the sacred position of Buddhist classics. The spread of Buddhism to the east, the voluminous translation of classics in past dynasties and the obscure writing have limited people to the tedious textual research of chapters and sentences, which has limited the development of Buddhism. The Zen Buddhism founded by Huineng emphasizes "heart and mind, not words" and opposes learning from traditional classics, thus liberating people from tedious classics. The altar sutra says, "Heart turns to Dharma China, and heart turns to Dharma China." Any classic is not sacred, and it can become my tool.

Third, oppose repeated penance and advocate "a normal mind is a Buddha". After Huineng, Zen abandoned complicated religious rituals, opposed penance, and advocated seeking liberation in a calm and normal secular life. The altar sutra says, "If you want to practice, you can get it at home, not in a temple. Cleaning at home is the west. " All these make Zen a simple and civilian religion, and make Zen a human and secular one.

Therefore, "from the perspective of Buddhism and the development of Buddhism, the rise of Zen is also a denial of the complex philosophy of Buddhism." (Note: Feng Youlan's History of China Philosophy, new edition, Volume IV, page 259. The Zen Buddhism founded by Huineng is actually a revolution in the history of Buddhism. It emphasizes the role of the subject "human", respects the individual and plays the role of emancipating the mind. This greatly promoted the development of Buddhism and had a far-reaching impact on China's thought.