The Sixth Patriarch’s name, Hui Neng, has a very deep and profound origin. Before Hui Neng was born, a dignified looking monk went to Sixth Patriarch’s house to inform his father to name his son Hui Neng. His father asked the monk the basis for the name. The monk said the word Hui means “to give”, able to give the sentient beings all kinds of merit. And the word Neng means “capable of doing Buddha’s work.”

Does anyone know the meaning of “muni” in Shakyamuni? It means Neng Ren, the ability to carry deep compassion. Shakyamuni is the achiever in the Shakya tribe who could spread dharma to sentient beings. So “Hui Neng” means spreading dharma to all sentient beings and doing buddha’s work. This is how the Sixth Patriarch – Cultivator Lu – Hui Neng got his name.

Hui Neng’s family name is Lu, just like mine. His father was from the Hebei province. He was a local government official. When he was demoted, he relocated his family to the south of the Five Ridges. He passed away soon after Hui Neng was born. Hui Neng and his mother moved to the Guangdong province and lived in poverty. He was illiterate and had no skill. To make a living, Hui Neng would go in the mountains to chop firewood and sell. In the Platform Sutra, Hui Neng told his past. He was extremely poor and distressed.

I believe distressed people can accomplish great deeds, different from the so called “strawberry generation” in Taiwan. Like strawberries, these people bruise easily under pressure. They easily break into tears or bleed. They would easily develop depression. That’s the strawberry generation. Be like me. What kind of generation am I? I am the iron bone generation. I am brass bodied and iron boned. No matter how you strike me and defame me, I can take the hit and agony. How did I live when I was in seclusion? How did the Sixth Patriarch survive among the hunters? It’s pretty much the same. We both are capable of endure hardships. No matter how people torment me, I can live through it. The Sixth Patriarch had great strengths. He obtained the greatest wisdom and could carry the world on his shoulders.

Even though the Sixth Patriarch could not read much, when he heard the recitation of the Diamond Sutra, he was able to understand it right away. This was due to the root of wisdom from his past life. That is why he was recognized by the Fifth Patriarch as the real heir.

There are many who have practiced Buddhism for a very long time, but still they are not able to obtain the wisdom of prajna. This has to do with their foundation. Somebody who has great wisdom must have inherited the great foundation he built in the past life. So what if you are not endowed with a good faculty of wisdom? Buddha has mentioned a Diligence Buddha. As long one can practice diligently, he can attain the accomplishment of Arhat. The Sixth Patriarch may have been illiterate, but when he focused, he succeeded.

Many people cannot understand the Diamond Sutra. No matter how many times they read it. But keep on reading and reciting. Why can’t they understand the Diamond Sutra? Because Diamond Sutra is the essence of the Great Prajna Sutra. And the essence of the Diamond Sutra is the Heart Sutra, which is the central theme of Buddha’s contemplation, also known as Buddha Heart School.

Hui Neng was delivering firewood to a customer’s home when he heard somebody reciting Diamond Sutra. Immediately, he awakened. The Diamond Sutra is an awakened scripture. I’ve said it before, for an unawakened to explain the Diamond Sutra, he is merely touching the book and translating its terms, not knowing the meaning of the scripture. If you truly understand the sutra and can explain it, please answer me – tell me the principle significance of the words? It’s not “like a trance, a mirage, a bubble, a shadow, also like a drop of dew and a flash of lightning.” It’s not No-Form, No-Mind, No-Nature or No-Self. It’s not Self-Emptiness, Form-Emptiness, Mind-Emptiness, Dharma-Emptiness, or Nature-Emptiness. For this reason, I want you all to contemplate, to meditate on the doctrine of the Diamond Sutra. If you comprehend the sutra, truly know its meaning, come and whisper it to me. I will validate you.

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六祖說：「 善知識.菩提自性.本來清淨.但用此心. 直了成佛。」

Virtuous and knowledgeable friends, Bodhi self-nature, is intrinsically clean and pure. Use this mind, straightaway accomplish Buddhahood.

Bodhi means the perfect wisdom, the perfectly fulfilled buddha nature. It can be called Bodhi self-nature. Intrinsically means the earliest genesis. Before creation, it was clean. The opposite of clean is polluted, clingy, flawed and distressed. Once you attach yourself to something, you put yourself in misery. Once you are polluted, you are definitely flawed. It becomes unclean and impure. Before the beginning, all is clean. All you need to know is before it all began, it was clean and pure. You just need to use this purity to promptly achieve the perfect enlightenment. What it means is to apply this originally clean mind of yours, you are capable to attain the perfect enlightenment.

Here’s a story, told to me by Linda Chung. It’s has great meaning actually. There once was a ferocious dog. He was the leader of the pack. He never lost a fight with any dog. No other dog dared to fight him. One day, the dog king walked by a shedding dog. The shedding dog didn’t even raise its eyebrows, just lying there. Feeling disrespected, the dog king was enraged. He insisted on taking the shedding dog to a duel. In the face of great danger, the shedding dog still acted lackadaisically. This only made the dog king madder, lunging at once to assault his opponent. Putting up a half-hearted fight, the shedding dog shockingly pounded the dog king without much effort. Astonished and frightened, the dog king whimpered, “How can you possibly beat me?” The shedding dog replied, “Before my fur started to shed, people used to call me lion.”

Everyone knows lions are extremely powerful animals. A dog can never be compared to a lion. Lion is the king of animals. Now here’s a question for you. When would a dog and a lion be equal? That’s the question. Think about it. The lion is the most powerful animal. The dog would never measure up. But when would they be equal? If you can figure this out, then you can figure out “intrinsically clean and pure.” You would understand the Seal of Buddha Mind. You would grasp Shakymuni’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. When would they be equal? And why? This is Shakymuni’s awareness. It is not a joke. When a dog comes across a shedding “dog”, which is actually a lion, the dog will lose the fight. The lion wins. No matter how badly the lion sheds, he is still ferocious. But there is a time when both animals are equal. Please meditate on this – Shakymuni’s enlightenment.

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