Legends of Huangmei Zen Patriarchs (Huangmei County): Daoxin, the fourth patriarch of Zen Buddhism, and Hongren, the fifth patriarch, were both active in Huangmei for a long time, and their stories are widely circulated here. Sengcan was born in 510 AD in Chenliu, Bianzhou (now Kaifeng City, Henan Province), or Xuzhou. When he was in his forties, he had sores all over his body. At Guangfu Temple in Henan, he paid a visit to the Second Patriarch Huike and said, "I am suffering from rheumatism. I beg you to confess my sins for me." Huike said, "Tell me your sins and I will confess them for you." Sengcan thought for a moment and said, "I really can't tell you where my sins are." Huike said, "I have confessed my sins for you. You'd better convert to Buddhism and live as a monk." Sengcan said, "I have met you today and I know that I am a monk, but I still don't know what Buddhism is." Huike said, "The mind is the Buddha, the mind is the Dharma, the Dharma and the Buddha are originally the same, and the treasure of the monk is the same." Sengcan was enlightened and said to Huike, "Today I know that the sinfulness of people is not inside, outside, or in the middle, but in their hearts, and the same is true for Buddhism." Huike heard this and respected him very much. He immediately shaved his hair and said, "This is my treasure!" and named him Sengcan. From then on, Sengcan's sores gradually healed. Two years later, Huike said to Sengcan, "In the past, Bodhidharma came from Zhuqian to the East and gave me the Dharma Eye and the robe of faith. I am now passing them on to you. You must protect them well and do not let them be cut off." After Huike handed the robe and the Dharma to Sengcan, he said to Sengcan, "After you receive the robe and the Dharma, you should stay in the mountains and not preach because the country is in trouble." Sengcan said, "Since you have predicted it, I hope you will explain it clearly." Huike said, "It is not me who can predict it, but the words in Bodhidharma's "Prajnaparamita Suspension" that say 'Although the mind is auspicious, the outside is calamity'. This verse is about to come true. Our school calculated the years, and this disaster happened to you. You should carefully consider the teachings of the predecessors and never suffer from this disaster. "Sure enough, a few years later, Emperor Wu Yuwen Yong destroyed Buddhism. Sengcan followed his teacher's instructions and moved south alone to Wangong Mountain in Shuzhou (now Tianzhu Mountain Scenic Area in Anhui Province), traveling between Sikong Mountain (now Yuexi County in Anhui Province) and Wangong Mountain. He lived in an irregular way, hiding his name and name, and preached in the mountains and wilds for more than 10 years, and no one knew about it. It was not until the tenth year of Kaihuang (590) of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty that he officially settled in Shan Gu Temple, publicly preached the scriptures and taught the four groups of people. During his seclusion in Tianzhu Mountain, he often worked on the wall under this cliff, so this cliff was called "Dharma Cliff". Look, there are two big characters "jie fu" engraved on this stone. This is the place where the fourth ancestor Dao Xin asked the third ancestor Sengcan to "untie" him. In the 12th year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty (592), the 13-year-old novice monk Daoxin came to Shan Gu Temple to pay homage to the Third Patriarch Sengcan, who was meditating in the cave at that time. Daoxin said, "Please ask the great monk to untie me." The Third Patriarch asked him, "Who tied you up?" Daoxin replied, "No one tied me up." The Third Patriarch said, "I have already untied you." Daoxin was enlightened after hearing this. From then on, he served the Third Patriarch for nine years. In 601, the Third Patriarch passed on the robe and Dharma to Daoxin, who became the Fourth Patriarch of Chinese Zen. Chinese Buddhism Zen was introduced by the Indian monk Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma lived in Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain and was called the founder. Shen Guang sought a teacher in front of Bodhidharma's cave and cut off his arm and stood in the snow. Bodhidharma passed on the robe and Dharma to him and named him Huike, who became the Second Patriarch of Zen. Sengcan and Daoxin were the Third and Fourth Patriarchs of Zen, and the Fourth Patriarch's temple was in Huangmei. The Fifth Patriarch of Zen, Hongren, lived in Dongshan, Huangmei, and many people gathered to teach him, which was known as the "Dongshan Dharma Gate" in history. Huineng came from Guangdong, and secretly received Hongren's robe and Dharma and returned to the south. He became the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism and created the "sudden enlightenment" style. Since then, Zen Buddhism has flourished in the world, spread all over the country, and even overseas. We can see from the history of the development of Zen Buddhism that Sengcan inherited the past and ushered in the future, and was entrusted with the task in times of crisis, and made great contributions to the inheritance of Zen Buddhism. He also innovated the Zen rule of "passing on the Dharma from heart to heart, not establishing words", and finally wrote "Inscription of Faith" with his life experience, laying the theoretical foundation of Chinese Zen Buddhism. Sengcan opened mountains and built temples here, passed on the robe and Dharma, and wrote "Inscription of Faith". Therefore, the status and influence of Sanzu Temple are also very significant. In our southwest Anhui area, Tianzhu Mountain, Sikong Mountain, and Huangmei East Mountain constitute the "Golden Triangle" area of Zen Buddhism. Sanzu Temple is the most influential Zen holy place, which has been granted by emperors of all dynasties and is a pilgrimage site for believers at home and abroad. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)