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宣化上人開示錄(五)
Venerable Master Hua's Talks on Dharma Volume Five　

上宣下化老和尚開示 Lectures by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

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持咒先要正心誠意

Recite Mantras with a Proper and Sincere Mind
心正了，學咒才有感應；不敷衍了事，茍且塞責，這樣才有感應。
If you learn a mantra with a proper mind, you can obtain a response.
There will be a response only if you aren't sloppy or careless.

誦持默念少意言，
示教利喜化大千；
所作諸法悉究竟，
不增不減到涅槃。

 

By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting,
diminish thoughts and words.
Explain the teaching to bring benefit and joy,
transforming the universe.
The enacting of these Dharmas can
 lead to the ultimate goal.
With nothing more and nothing less,
 reach Nirvana.

學咒先要正心誠意，若心不正，學什麼咒都是邪的；心正了，學咒才有感應。心正了還不行，還要誠意。誠意就是念茲在茲，絲毫都不馬虎，不敷衍了事，或茍且塞責，這樣才有感應。

　

When studying mantras, you must first have a proper and sincere mind. If your mind is not proper, then no matter which mantra you learn, it will be deviant. If you learn a mantra with a proper mind, you can obtain a response. Not only should your mind be proper, it should also be sincere, means devoting your full attention to the mantra and not being the least bit casual. There will be a response only if you aren't sloppy or careless.

你不是正心誠意，而存著邪知邪見想去害人，這就是魔法，是魔王所行的法。魔是害人不利人；真正想修法的人，在任何情形下也不會害人的。學咒要存利益眾生的心，不要有想降伏魔鬼的思想，或者和其他人起對待心。在佛教裏，沒有敵人，不向任何人報復，就是任何人對自己有害處，也要忍耐，修忍辱波羅蜜，不生報復之心。這就是佛教高超之處。

　

If you harbor deviant views and wish to harm people, your practice is demonic. Demons want to harm people, while genuine cultivators would never harm anyone under any circumstances. You should want to benefit beings. Don't learn mantras thinking that you'll be able to subdue demons and ghosts or fight people. Buddhism does not regard anyone as an enemy. Don't seek revenge on anyone. No matter who mistreats you, endure it. Be patient, and don't harbor grudges. The nobility of Buddhism lies in that.

　 　

佛教的優點，其他的宗教都沒有這種精神。雖然基督教說「愛敵」，但也只不過是口頭上說說而已，它真能愛敵嗎？它認為佛教是它的敵人，它愛佛教嗎？不會的。它開口就是「魔鬼」，閉口也是「魔鬼」，怎麼還會愛敵呢？佛教最重要的教旨就是：「你是魔鬼，我也絕不傷害你，也要攝受你，而不生一種對待法。」這就是佛教最特別的教義，對任何眾生都存慈悲心，不去傷害他們。

　

That particular quality is not embodied in other religions. Although Christianity avows to "Love thy enemy," many only pay that lip service without being able to actually do it. Some even view Buddhism as an enemy; how could it be said that they love Buddhism? It can't be, not when they refer to Buddhists as devils. The Buddhist attitude should be: "Even if someone is a devil, we won't harm him. We will gather him in and will refrain from attacking him." Buddhism teaches us to treat all beings with compassion and not harm them.

　 　

〈楞嚴咒〉是驚天地、泣鬼神，最有效的靈文，所以我們學會〈楞嚴咒〉，就要時時刻刻存慈悲心，舉心動念都不要去傷害人。旁人就是對自己怎麼不好，也不怪他，也不去傷害他。心量要有三千大千世界那麼大，把所有森羅萬象都包括在裏面，這才是佛教徒的本份。

　

The Shurangama Mantra is a most efficacious mantra; its power can awe heaven and earth and cause the ghosts and spirits to weep. For this reason, after we learn the Shurangama Mantra, we must constantly keep a compassionate frame of mind and make sure that we don't have even the thought of harming others. No matter how badly someone treats you, don't blame or hurt him or her. Your heart should be as vast as the universe, so that it can encompass all the myriad phenomena. That's the right attitude for a Buddhist to have.

　 　

我們切記，不要做犯上作亂的事，有這種行為是很危險的。「誦持默念少意言」：就是不要講那麼多話，打那麼多妄想，專一則靈，分歧則蔽。

　

We should never engage in rebellious activities, for that's very dangerous. By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting, diminish thoughts and words. That is, don't talk so much and have so many discursive thoughts. Singleminded concentration is efficacious, while being scattered is useless.

　 　

何謂「專一」？就是不生害人之心。若存害人之心，將來是很危險的，所謂「多行不義必自斃」，害人反害己。「殺人之父，人必殺其父；殺人之兄，人必殺其兄。」這是因果。我們佛教徒要避免惡因，以免將來受惡的果報，所以說「誦持默念少意言」。

　

What's meant by singleminded concentration? Not having malicious thoughts towards others. If you harbor thoughts of malice, you'll later find yourself in danger. It's said, "If you engage in many unrighteous acts, you only bring death upon yourself." In harming others, you are actually harming yourself. "If you kill a person's father, someone will kill your father. If you kill a person's brother, someone will kill your brother." This is the law of cause and effect. We Buddhists should avoid planting evil causes, so that we won't have to suffer an evil retribution in the future. So the first line says, By reciting, upholding, and silent chanting, diminish thoughts and words.

　 　

「示教利喜化大千」：示教利喜，指示眾生佛教，令他們得到利益歡喜。我們在能利益人時，就要趕緊利益人，所謂：

　

Explain the teachings to bring benefit and joy, transforming the universe. The line of mantra this verse is explaining can also be translated as "explaining the teaching" and "benefit and joy." That is, one explains the Buddha's teaching to beings, enabling them to obtain benefit and joy. This means that when we have the chance to help people, we should immediately make use of it. As it's said,

　 　

栽培心上地，涵養性中天。

　

Cultivate the mind ground;
Nurture the sky of the nature.

　 　

能常利益其他人，久而久之，自己便有德行了。如果儘教人利益自己，自己不利益人，儘想找便宜，養成一種依賴性，這是最沒有出息的。看看世界上專找便宜的人，結果都是失敗的。你若不信，可以細細研究，無論哪一個失敗者，都是貪而無饜，各處找便宜，結果都是一敗塗地。你能利益人，令人歡喜，無論到什麼地方，人人都會聞風而化。

　

If you frequently benefit others, you will eventually perfect your own virtuous conduct. You shouldn't be constantly asking others to help you without ever helping them in return, because that way you'll become dependent and won't accomplish anything on your own. You'll become a totally worthless person. In this world, those always on the lookout for advantages end up failing in their endeavors. If you don't believe this, take a closer look: Whenever people fail in something, the failure occurred due to their insatiable greed for advantages. If you can benefit others and make them happy, then you'll be able to exert a wholesome influence on people wherever you go.

　 　

孔子說：「言忠信，行篤敬，雖蠻貊之邦，行矣。」我們說出的話，一定要誠實有信用，不能瞪著眼睛儘打妄語，好像是說真話，其實儘欺騙人。我們的行為一定要很誠實，很篤厚，慈心下氣，恭敬一切，凡事總要存謙恭和藹之心，不要有貢高我慢的思想，覺得人人都不如我，我是老天爺，這是不可以的。

　

Confucius said, "If one's words are trustworthy and one's conduct is sincere and reverent, one can walk at ease even among barbarians." The words you speak must be truthful and honest. You shouldn't tell lies with an innocent face, pretending to be truthful when in fact you're lying through your teeth. Your actions must be sincere and reverent. Be modest, humble, and respectful towards everyone. Do everything with a humble, respectful, and courteous atti-tude. Don't become arrogant and think, "No one is as good as me. I'm the Lord of Heaven."

　 　
     

一九八一年一月廿五日

 　

A talk given on January 25, 1981

　

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