At noon, I suddenly thought of Wang Yangming and the story of his enlightenment at Longchang.
I don't know much about Wang Yangming, but the legendary nature of the phrase "Longchang Enlightenment" is quite strong and somewhat pretentious, so I searched for some video materials on Bilibili. The story of Longchang Enlightenment tells how Wang Yangming was harmed by treacherous officials while serving in the court, and he pretended to drown to escape with his life. After that, he attained enlightenment at Longchang (a Taoist temple in Guizhou) and ultimately became a sage.
In this era dominated by short videos, most video materials are rather superficial, conveying second-hand knowledge akin to secondhand smoke, with low information density and a lack of insight. I thought I should read "The Record of Instruction" myself and study the philosophy of the mind. Although it's just a fleeting glimpse, I still have a notion that Yangming's enlightenment at Longchang is quite similar to the sudden enlightenment in Zen Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism advocates sudden enlightenment and enjoys that kind of "stick-and-shout" revelation, which seems somewhat extreme to me. When disciples seek the way from their masters, the masters either act as riddlers or strike down the disciples. The most outrageous Zen story I've seen is about a disciple who sought the way from his master, and the master directly swung a knife and cut off his arm, leading the disciple to attain enlightenment on the spot and become a Buddha.
Upon seeing such stories, you must have the same thought as I do: What the hell is this? Is this even possible?
There are many criticisms of Zen Buddhism, and the story above illustrates just one aspect. Did that disciple truly attain enlightenment, or was he merely frightened into submission by the master's blade? We can no longer know. Many masters in today's society claim to have attained sudden enlightenment and achieved the way, gaining social status through it, but you cannot prove the authenticity of their enlightenment; after all, it is sudden enlightenment, and you cannot practice it.
In my view, sudden enlightenment is not necessarily false; it simply does not occur out of thin air but is a qualitative change brought about by quantitative accumulation.
The enlightenment at Longchang and the "stick-and-shout" enlightenment of Zen Buddhism share a commonality: both occur in a moment of extreme inner calm after experiencing great calamities and hardships, leading to enlightenment. I am very interested in these processes of enlightenment. I also enjoy the stories of these sages and envy them for having found their own paths. With a heart free of distractions, only the original mind remains; perhaps this is the state of nirvana, which the Buddha realized under the Bodhi tree. A peaceful heart, a fulfilled spirit, neither joy nor sorrow— I can only feel this when I am extremely focused (actually, the time of the wise is also like this; I believe this is also the reason for the "fire entering the devil" in Tibetan Buddhism). At that time, my heart is full, without hatred or resentment, grateful and appreciative of everything, with a clear mind, not impulsive, and organized. But such moments are rare; due to ADHD, I quickly return to chaos.
The Buddha said that sentient beings are like mirrors covered in dust, while Buddhas are sentient beings who have polished their mirrors. I believe that everyone possesses a kind of Buddha nature, which belongs to their own enlightenment. This enlightenment does not necessarily need to be expressed through Buddhist philosophy; it can also be through Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, Wang Yangming's philosophy of the mind, Laozi and Zhuangzi's Daoism, Stoicism, or Marxism. The key lies in how to practice it. The fundamental sorrow of ordinary people may lie in their inability to achieve unity of knowledge and action: thinking a lot but doing little; doing a lot but not following their original mind.