Chapter 203: Is it the wind, the flag, or the heart?

Two strange figures came to the temple today. They looked young, but they were able to silence the fellow monks in the temple with their eloquence of Buddhist principles.

Even the great monk Nagarjuna had to entertain them personally.

But these two people insisted on persuading their master to do some stupid modern Buddha thing. But how is this possible? There is still the master and his mistress!

The two men spoke in a tempting way, saying that becoming a Buddha would bring immeasurable merits and would save all living beings. However, to the little monk Nanbei, what they said did not sound like the truth.

The monk Nagarjuna was also quite moved when he heard this.

Wu Nanbei scratched his not-so-bright little head, and following his master's helpless look and request for help, he hurried to find his master's wife.

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This matter has to start from the beginning of cause and effect:
The monk Nagarjuna also looked distressed.

Early in the morning, two young monks came to ask for advice. They said that they had been arguing over Buddhist verses in their hearts, so they traveled west to find a Buddhist monk to judge their dispute.

The two men were debating with each other. The monks in the two Zen temples heard their debate from afar and could not help but come out and join in the debate.

However, they would often be convinced by their arguments in just a few words, and would follow Yuanyin and Puxin wholeheartedly, listening carefully to their debates.

The oldest ones are ordinary monks who are over a hundred years old and have just heard the true Buddhist teachings; the youngest ones are young novice monks who have just been ordained, only five or six years old and are ignorant.

There are also birds, antelopes, tigers, leopards, fish and other spirits of heaven and earth living together peacefully, with compassionate expressions on their faces, quietly listening to the Dharma.

The monks thought it was magical, so they led the two men into the Thousand Buddha Hall and asked the senior monk Nagarjuna and Li Dangxin to debate with them.

When the monk Nagarjuna saw the two of them, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Puxin was wearing a moon-white monk's robe and holding a rosary. He looked to be about sixteen years old, with eyes like morning stars and a face as handsome as jade. His appearance was extremely handsome.

He looked indifferent, but his eyes were filled with a gentleness and compassion that showed love for all living beings. His temperament was extraordinary and otherworldly, as if he had descended from the sky, not like a mortal.

Yuan Yin was dressed in a light golden monk's robe and wore Buddhist beads around his neck. He looked to be about eighteen years old, with bright eyes and a kind face. He looked like an ordinary monk on the street. You would forget him as soon as you saw him and he would not leave a deep impression on you.

He looks gentle, but there is a hint of great compassion in his eyes that bears the suffering of all living beings. His temperament is simple, honest and heavy like a mountain, making people feel that they can feel safe and trust him.

These are two extremely talented people!

Almost all the monks came to this conclusion almost immediately after seeing Bodhicitta and Yuanyin.

However, when he saw that Puxin and Yuanyin were just ordinary people without any cultivation, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and his face regained its confidence.

The senior monk Nagarjuna asked:

"I wonder why you two are here?"

Puxin put his hands together, chanted "Amitabha" in a low voice, and then his expression became calm and his tone was calm:

"I and my senior brother have each had a stanza in our minds, but we are at odds with each other and it is difficult for us to convince each other. Therefore, we hope to find a great and virtuous monk to make a judgment. However, we have traveled thousands of miles and met many saints from the three religions on the way, but we have not yet been able to make a judgment."

Yuan Yin also put his hands together, with a gentle expression and a mellow voice, and bowed to the samaneras, bhikkhus, monks, and Li Dangxin and the senior monk Longshu of Liangchan Temple, saying:
"Therefore, I hope the two great monks will judge for us!"

Hearing this, Longshu Shangseng and Li Dangxin looked at each other and became interested.

"What are you arguing about? Tell me and I will judge for you!"

Puxin raised his eyes slightly, looked at the monk Longshu calmly, without saying a word, and then his gaze fell on Yuanyin beside him again, which was considered as a look to Yuanyin.

Yuan Yin opened his hands wide, then clasped them together again, chanted "Amitabha" in a low voice, and looked up to see a flag fluttering in the wind not far away. He pointed at the flag and spoke softly:
"Master, may I ask, is it the wind that is moving, or the flag?" Bodhisattva's face remained indifferent. The other monks also moved silently, all looking at the monk Nagarjuna with a little expectation, wanting to see what the other party would answer.

This issue had been debated before by Puxin and Yuanyin outside Liangchan Temple, and the debate between them was very beneficial for them.

Now that we have arrived at the Thousand Buddha Hall, I wonder what shocking words this great monk Nagarjuna will say?
"Pfft!"

The monks, who had never heard the two debaters debate before and had no roots in the Dharma, could not help but burst out laughing when they heard it.

Is it the wind that is moving? Or is it the flag?

What kind of problem is this?
I saw a reckless monk stepped forward quickly, perhaps because he wanted to show off in front of the abbot and the heads of the temple, he acted very confidently and answered directly: "How difficult is this? It's naturally the wind!"

Yuan Yin closed his eyes and asked again: "Master, is it the wind or the flag that is moving at this moment?"

The wind was still blowing, the flags were still moving, and the monk frowned slightly. He had already given the answer, so why was he still asking? Did he not hear it clearly before?
"I repeat, it's the wind that's moving!"

Yuanyin opened his eyes again and looked at the monk with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Liangchan Temple and Lantuo Mountain in the Western Regions are both sacred Buddhist sites. Is this the only answer that the monks under you can give?

Although the monks who had heard the two people debate before did not say anything, at this moment they all had the same thoughts, simply because they had heard the wonderful Dharma and the true words, which were simply unbearable to listen to in comparison.

If the disappointment in Yuanyin's eyes was only a fleeting flash, it was normal that the monk without roots did not see it.

But at this moment, the eyes of hundreds of monks were the same, and the thousands of traces of disappointment added together, which was like a surging tide hitting him.

The monk immediately panicked and couldn't help but look at Yuan Yin and asked, "Am I wrong?!"

At this time, after closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, the monk Nagarjuna slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to have the answer in his mind and looked at Bodhicitta and Yuanyin in front of him with interest.

"Tell me, is it the wind that's moving, or the flag?"

He looked at his disciples, the abbots, and Li Dangxin, and asked as if testing them.

Long before he was invited to debate, the monks under him had already informed him of the whole story, and naturally they also knew about the debate the two had had on this issue.

Yuan Yin argued at the beginning: "It is not the wind that moves, nor the flag that moves, but the heart of the benevolent that moves."

At first, Bodhisatta answered, "When I see the wind moving, when I see the flag moving, my mind will naturally move."

The two continued to debate, and finally came to the conclusion:

The wind blows the flag, but it is inseparable from the wind, the flag, and the heart.

If the wind is away, the flag will not move; if the flag is away, the wind will not move; if the mind is away, one will not know what movement is.

If the wind and the flag are separated, how can the heart move? If the wind and the heart are separated, who says the flag is moving? If the flag and the heart are separated, to whom will the wind blow?
Everything starts from the mind. If the mind does not arise, nothing arises. If the mind does not move, nothing moves. That is why it is said that the mind moves.

Those who see the appearance of objects look at their static and dynamic aspects. The flag is not static, so we say it is moving. This is also a popular representational theory.

Those who study the function of the flag study why it moves. They find that it is because of the wind. If there is no wind, it will not move. Therefore, they say that the wind is moving. This is also a theory of tracing the cause.

Finally, Bodhisattva and Yuanyin sighed together, "It is the wind that moves, it is the flag that moves, it is the benevolent heart that moves."

At that time, all the monks who were listening to Puxin and Yuanyin debating and preaching the Dharma were impressed by their words, and then each of them gained some understanding.

Even the monk Nagarjuna felt his eyes brightened after listening to the monks' retelling of the debate.

(End of this chapter)