The great monk¹ Huineng lived from 638 to 713 AD. His family was so poor that he never had the chance to go to school to learn to read or write. He had very deep natural wisdom， though， and as soon as he found out about Buddhism，he made up his mind to become a monk. He worked very hard and soon achieved enlightenment. His Teacher， the Fifth Patriarch， or Master， of the Chan school，passed to him the robe and bowl which the First Patriarch， Bodhidharma， had brought from India. Huineng became the Sixth Patriarch of the Chan school， which the Japanese call Zen.

高僧慧能生于公元638年，逝于713年，他的家里很穷，没钱送他上学。他不会看书也不会写字。但是他天生有很高的智慧。听闻佛法后，他决定出家。他很好学，很快就开悟了。他的师父，或者说老师，就是禅宗五祖。五祖传给慧能他的衣钵，这些是都是达摩祖师从印度带来的。于是慧能成了禅宗六祖，禅宗在日本称为"Zen".

When he achieved enlightenment， he realized the trouble people cause themselves by killing² animals for food. He told people to stop eating themselves into disaster， but nobody listened.

当他开悟后，便认识到人们的烦恼是由于他们杀生造成的。他劝告人们停止杀生以避免灾祸，但是没人听。

Huineng felt sorry for the hunters who kill wild animals， so he took off his robes and let his hair grow so he didn't look like a monk anymore. He joined a group of hunters who spent months and months hunting in the wilds and the mountains.

慧能很同情那些杀死野生动物的猎人们，所以他脱掉袈裟，留起长头发，这样他看起来就不像个和尚。他加入了一队猎人，这些猎人总是整月整月地在山里打猎。

Huineng wouldn't shoot or trap， so the hunters told him to watch the nets. That was just what he wanted. When he saw a deer or rabbit tangled³ in the nets， if the hunters were not around， he freed the animals. If the hunters were there， Huineng cried and begged them to release the animals. 慧能既不会射箭，也不会设陷阱，所以猎 人们让他看着网。那正是他想要的。当他看到一只鹿或者兔子被网缠住的时候，如果猎人们不在附近，他就把动物放走。如果猎人们在场，慧能就哭着求他们把动物放走。

He stayed with the hunters for sixteen years. In this way he not only saved many animals， but reformed the hunters as well. They realized the cruelty of their occupation， and found other ways to make a living.

他和猎人们一起呆了十六年，用这种方式，他不仅救了很多生命，还感化了那些猎人。他们认识到了打猎的残酷，于是另谋生路。

Then Huineng set up his own temple. He was so kind and so wise that people came from miles around to learn from him， and to become Buddhists⁴. His disciples⁵ passed his Chan， or Zen， teaching to Korea and Japan， and now it has spread to Europe and America， too.

慧能建立起了他的寺庙。他既善良又富有智慧，于是八方的人们都来向他学习，并且皈依了佛教。他的弟子们把禅学传到了韩国和日本，现在还传到了欧洲和美洲。