time, I remembered the whole thing. By the third time through, I would never forget it. Seeing that I could memorize anything after reading it twice, my teacher praised me, saying, "From the looks of you, I would never have thought you were so intelligent. You really are a lot like Yan Hui. Even though you don't look smart, you have a marvelous memory." I became proud, thinking, "How could I compare to Yan Hui? Anyways, I don't want to be like Yan Hui. He was so intelligent that he ended up dying young. If I'm like him, won't I die young too?" I gave myself an arrogant nickname: "Like-a-Fool." Basically, there's no difference between a long life and a short life. If you're afraid your life will be short, then you are attached to the mark of a life span. If you would like to have a long life, you're even more attached to the mark of a life span. That's why I don't want to be short-lived like Yan Hui, and I don't want to be long-lived like Peng Zu [the Methusaleh of China].
I was quite mischievous in school. When we had to match couplets, probably twenty-five of the thirty-some students in our class asked me to write matches for them. I imitated their handwriting and helped them write couplets. I remember once the teacher gave the first line: "The goose flies through the air." I wrote a match for my classmate: "The deer roams in the hills." When the teacher saw it, he looked at my classmate and asked, "Did you write this?" "Yes," said my classmate. The teacher said, "I never would have thought you could come up with such a good match." It was pretty funny.
Once I knew the secret to studying, I read the Standards for Students. The first few lines give the major themes:

These standards for students are guidelines
Handed down to us by the sages.
First be filial and fraternal,
Next be careful and honest.
Cherish all living beings,
And draw near to good-hearted people.
Whatever energy you have left
Should be devoted to study.

These are rules for students and disciples, as well as for sons, daughters, and brothers and sisters. These rules are teachings left by sages. The sages teach us first of all to be filial to our parents and respectful to our brothers and elders. Secondly, we should accord with worldly conventions and be cautious in our speech and behavior. We should speak seriously and in earnest. We should regard all beings with universal kindness. Then, if we have any spare time, we should learn more literary Prajna. The next lines are even more clear:

When father and mother are calling,
Answer them right away.
When they give you instructions,
Obey without hesitation.

When your parents instruct you,
Respectfully do as you're told.
When your parents scold you,
You should compliantly accept it.

In the winter make sure they are warm.
In the summer make sure they are cool.
Each morning cheerfully greet them.
At night wish your parents a pleasant rest.

Before going out, tell your parents.
Let them know when you return.
Dwell in a fixed place
And finish what you begin.

When I read this book, I thought it was wonderful, for it sets forth clearly the principles of how to be a good person. I would memorize my lessons as I walked. Keeping my eyes on the road, I recited the text from memory both with my mouth and in my mind. If it was a new lesson, I would recite it over and over. If it was an old lesson, I would review it once or twice every day. That way, once I finished a lesson, I would never forget it. That's on the road.
I also memorized on the pillow. When I went to bed, I reviewed my lessons. After reviewing them, I would ask myself: "The sages handed down these teachings as standards for those of later generations to follow. Can I follow these standards? Can I emulate the sages?" That's how I grasped the intent of the teachings. I would say: "Okay, I'm going to apply this sentence in my life. I'm really going to do it." No matter what I studied, I would ask myself if I would act or speak that way. I would treat the text as if I were speaking it myself, and then I'd be able to remember it. I would take every passage and use it as a standard to measure my own life and behavior.
I had three places for studying: on the pillow, on the road, and on the toilet. I studied the fastest in the toilet. Even though you're only in the toilet for a short time, it's a great place to study. You can remember what you couldn't remember before. Why? You have samadhi. If you single-mindedly concentrate on your studies and have no other thoughts, you'll be able to remember everything. That way the time you spend there won't go by in vain.
Once you understand the three "on's," you should also know:

When you're pursuing your studies,
On three places focus attention:
Your mind, your eyes, and your mouth.
It's essential to have faith and understanding.

You look at the book with your eyes, think about it with your mind, and read it with your mouth. They are three, yet one; one, and yet three. The mind, eyes, and mouth work together.
Once I discovered this method, studying no longer presented any difficulty. Many children are very smart, but once they leave their books, they forget their studies. I, however, became one with my books, so I studied and memorized them very quickly. Those were my experiences with studying. I did not find the Four Books and Five Classics difficult to study either. After reading through them once, I was able to remember them.

The person who benefitted me the most was my last teacher, Jintang Guo, also known as Ru Fen ("Like Fen"). He was a xiu cai (a graduate of the first degree) from Shandong province. He probably wanted to model himself after Ziyi Guo of the Tang dynasty, who was also known as Yangwang Fen. That's why he called himself "Like Fen." This teacher was very learned, although his calligraphy was not that good. Seeing that I was a fast learner, he would explain for me whatever text I happened to be studying. Once I understood his explanation, the text was even easier to study. For example, there's the "Report on the Letter to Ren Shaoqing," which has about 2,300 characters and is one of the longest classical texts. My teacher had memorized it in one night. He told me how quickly he had mastered this text, as if challenging me to see how fast I could learn it. That was after lunch, when we had a one hour nap period. During that hour, I read the essay twice and memorized it. When I recited it to my teacher the next day, he was shocked, "You... I studied it for one night, but you mastered it in an hour!" Although the essay was difficult, I was very concentrated. You see? Instead of taking a nap, I studied the essay.

You won't believe this, but I had a classmate who had studied for fifteen years. I only studied for two and a half years, but I was ahead of him by two books. I studied the Four Books and Five Classics, seven of the eight volumes of ancient literature, and fifteen or sixteen medical texts. By the time I was eighteen there was nothing left for me to study. Few ordinary doctors had studied as many books as I had. I had studied medicine, divination with the Book of Changes, and physiognomy, but I didn't practice any of these; I wasn't an expert at them. I knew how to tell fortunes based on people's date and time of birth, but I didn't do it, because it isn't ultimate. Even though the results are true enough, they are only a detour on the path.

I had studied so many medical texts because my father had wanted me to practice medicine, knowing that doctors made a good living. By the time I finished my studies, I knew how to treat sick people. I had an understanding of all the various diseases, because my teacher was also a doctor, and he asked me to help him take the pulse of his patients. However, I didn't dare to be a doctor. Even though I was very poor, I didn't wish to make money. I detested money. I thought it was filthy and unclean, especially if it was obtained in an improper manner. I thought, if I cure ninety-nine and a half out of one hundred patients, but harm half a life, how could I ever face that person? That's why I didn't become a doctor. These were my experiences in studying. I relate these experiences to illustrate that no matter what we do, we should concentrate on it and not have idle thoughts. You have to concentrate in order to accomplish something. If you don't concentrate, then no matter how intelligent you are, you won't succeed.

In the ancient state of Qi, there was a master chess player named Yi Qiu who had two disciples. One disciple made moves exactly the way his teacher instructed him to, and he also became a master chess player who won every game. The other disciple learned to play chess on the one hand, but indulged in idle thoughts on the other. For example, he thought: "Look! There's a flock of geese flying overhead. With a single arrow, I could shoot down that big goose in the lead." Because he was distracted by such thoughts, his skill in chess deteriorated with each passing day. "With one wrong move, you lose the whole chess game." Studying Buddhism also takes concentration. We shouldn't be like the second disciple of the chess master. When some people bow to the Buddha, they pray, "Buddha, protect me. Let my business prosper so I can get rich quick! Then I'll be able to repay you!" If you pray like that, the Buddha won't pay any attention. Why? You're not bowing to the Buddha, you're bowing to your own selfishness! You bow to the Buddha, hoping to get rich. Bowing to the Buddha isn't gambling, nor is it a chess game. This is a shallow principle, but we can ponder it well. In studying the Buddhadharma, we have to be totally sincere.

When I first began to cultivate, I read the Earth Store Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. In the winter of my fifteenth year, I saw the three rolls of the Earth Store Sutra for the first time. It was in three volumes, I believe. I had never read a Sutra before. I think it was at the Elder Miaolian's place that I first saw the Sutra. He had written it by hand and then printed it. He had been a hanlin scholar and an official in the former Qing dynasty. He had quite a few good roots. He was probably a xiucai and then an official in Hangzhou. When he went to Hangzhou, he wore civilian clothes and went to visit a medium. No one recognized him or knew that he was a local official. He hadn't officially assumed his post yet, because he had come several days early. Since he had nothing better to do, he went to attend this session with the medium. These mediums are part of a cult that is neither Taoist nor Buddhist. Some are real, others are not. As soon as he walked in, the medium announced his arrival and told him to follow orders. He was astonished because the medium called his name--Zhang Hancheng--even though no one knew him there. He knelt there to accept instructions. The instructions were: "You were very filial in your previous life; that's why you have become an official in this life. You should be an honest official. Don't be corrupted by bribes. Do a good job." He broke into a sweat and thought, "This is really strange! The medium has just told me my past."

He went back and went to sleep. He had been an opium smoker, but now he didn't want to smoke anymore. After resting for several days, he got up, collected his pipes and opium, and went to West Lake. Everyone thought he was going to have a smoking spree on West Lake. When he got to the middle of the lake, he threw his pipes and opium into the lake. After he quit smoking opium, he learned Buddhism and eventually left the home-life. He had a pretty good foundation in Confucianism and his calligraphy was also good. As I said before, he was a xiucai and a hanlin scholar.
I obtained a copy of the Sutra he had written, and I took it back to recite. When I recited the Sutra all the way through, I would light a long stick of incense known as "vigorous incense" in northern China. It burned for exactly two hours. I would kneel there and recite the Sutra slowly, and when I finished, the incense would