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前期提示：持戒波羅蜜有十種的利益。
第三是忍辱波羅蜜。這個忍，很不容易做到的，所以「忍」字上邊是一把
刀，不單是一把刀，而且還是一個刀的刃；這個刀的刃底下加一個「心」字。你這忍啊！就好像這個心裡扎上一把刀似的，這把刀刺到你心裡了，你說痛不痛啊？心
裡扎上一把刀，這是不容易忍的，是最痛苦！那麼不容易忍，你若再能忍，那就是把這個忍的關打破了。所以忍辱波羅蜜，你要是能忍這個辱，就是波羅蜜。波羅蜜
是什麼？就是過關了，就是過去這個關了。什麼叫關呢？好像那個山海關，有山有海，那兒有個關，又有個門，這個門一關你就過不去了。那麼你現在能忍辱，這就
過關了，過關也就叫波羅蜜。波羅蜜叫到彼岸，就是由這個生死的此岸，經過煩惱的中流，達到涅槃的彼岸。
所以這個忍，我有一首偈頌，說得雖然不太好，但是也不太壞。那麼你要是
把它記住，對你是很有好處的。什麼呢？
忍是無價寶，人人使不好；
若能會使它，事事都能好。
我說：「忍是無價寶」，這個忍就是一個沒有價值的寶。沒有價值？說：那
很便宜嘛！沒有價值，這個不是很便宜，這根本就說不出來它值多少錢了。你不知道它值多少錢，所以叫無價寶，沒有價錢。你說one
million（一百萬）也不行，two million（二百萬）又不行，百千萬億million 還是不行，這叫無價寶，沒有一定的價錢。
「人人使不好」，可是雖然是無價寶，人人就使不好它。沒有事情來的時
候，這個說：我也能忍，我可以修忍辱行；那個說：我也可以修忍辱行，忍嘛！什麼事情忍耐一點，就過去了，就沒有了。等事情一來了，這叫當面關，啊！說是我
能忍辱，偏偏就來一個事情叫你忍不了了。譬如，你發心說我修忍辱行，那一個人來了，到這兒也不知為什麼？啪！就打你一個嘴巴，把牙就給打出血來，然後又踢
你一腳。你這個時候，你說能忍不能忍？這就像那個心裡扎上一把刀那麼樣子，你若能沒有事，那你過關了；你若忍不了了，還得要練習，還得要學。這個忍辱，是
很不容易的一種事，所以才說人人使不好。人人使不好，就人人都不會用這個忍。「若能會使它」，假設你能會使這個忍字，「事事都能好」，無論什麼事情都會好
的。就因為你一個不忍，所以把事情就弄得糟糕 imasu，日本話說糟糕 imasu 就是不能忍了。我以前講彌勒菩薩的那個偈頌，也是很不錯的。
老僧穿衲襖，淡飯腹中飽；
補破好遮寒，萬事隨緣了。
有人罵老拙，老拙自說好；
有人打老拙，老拙自睡倒。
唾在我面上，憑它自乾了；
我也省力氣，你也無煩惱。
這樣波羅蜜，便是妙中寶；
若知這消息，何愁道不了。
他說：「老僧穿衲襖」，老僧，就是很老的一個僧人，很老的一個比丘；穿
衲襖，穿得破破的。「淡飯腹中飽」，淡飯，那個飯沒有味道，一點滋味也都沒有；腹中飽，但是他吃飽了。「補破好遮寒」，我補著這個破衣服，我這個破衣服補
好了它，就可以遮寒啦！「萬事隨緣了」，無論什麼事情，隨緣隨分就了了，沒有問題，這個萬事隨緣了，也就是everything’s okay!
（一切都好！）。但是有的時候，這個 everything's okay
是不容易做到的；隨緣，說是了，但是有的時候不能了。彌勒菩薩，他就隨緣了了。
待續
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From last issue: The Paramita
of Morality has ten advantages.
The third Paramita is Patience. It is definitely
not easy to be patient. That’s why the Chinese character for patience (
忍 ) has a knife in it. Actually, it’s not just a knife, but the blade
of a knife ( 刃 ), and below the knife blade is a heart ( 心 ). Being
patient is like having a knife stuck in your heart. Would you say it’s
painful or not to have a knife piercing your heart? It’s very hard to
bear; it really hurts! Yet, if you can bear what is difficult to bear,
you can make it through the gate of patience. If you can be patient
under insult, then that’s Paramita. What does Paramita mean? It means
“getting through it,” “passing through the gate.” What is the gate? For
example, there is a town [in China] called Shanhaiguan (Mountain and
Sea Pass) located by the mountains and the sea. There is a frontier
pass there and also a gate. Once the gate is closed, you cannot go
through it. If you can be patient under insult, then you pass through
the gate, and that’s called Paramita. Paramita means “gone to the other
shore.” You go from the shore of birth and death through the flow of
afflictions to the other shore, which is Nirvana.
I have written a verse about patience. Although it
is not too good, it isn’t too bad, either. If you can remember it, it
will be of great benefit to you. How does it go?
Patience is a priceless gem
which few know how to mine.
But if you can master it,
everything works out fine!
I say: Patience is a priceless gem. Patience is a
treasure without a price. “Without a price? Then it must be really
cheap!” you say. “Priceless” doesn’t mean it’s worthless. It means you
can’t put a price on it. You don’t know how much money it’s worth, so
it’s called a priceless gem. It’s invaluable. If you say one million,
two million, or even a hundred thousand billion, it’s still not enough.
It’s called a priceless gem, for it has no fixed price.
Which few know how to mine. Even though it’s a
priceless gem, no one knows how to use it. When nothing is happening,
one person says, “I can be patient. I can cultivate the practice of
patience under insult.” Another one says, “I can cultivate patience
under insult, too. Just be patient! No matter what comes up, just bear
with it, and it will pass.” When something happens, then the test
comes. Oh! You say you can be patient, but something will happen that
you cannot put up with. For example, you may vow that you will
cultivate patience under insult, and strangely enough, someone will
show up and, without your knowing why, slug you a good one, knock a few
of your teeth out, and then kick you around. When that happens, can you
bear it with patience? It will feel as if a knife is being stuck in
your heart, but if you can act as though nothing were going on, then
you can make it through the gate. If you can’t take it, then you have
to keep on practicing and learning. Patience is not easy. So the verse
says, “which few know how to mine.” No one knows how to use patience.
But if you can master it, if you know how to apply patience, everything
works out fine! No matter what it is, it will turn out well. It’s just
because you can’t be patient with things that everything gets messed up
imasu. In Japanese they say “messed up imasu,” which means one cannot
be patient. Maitreya Bodhisattva’s verse, which I have explained
before, is also very good:
This old monk wears tattered clothes
and fills his belly with tasteless food,
Mends his clothes to keep away the cold
and lets all things take their course.
If someone scolds the old fool,
the old fool just says, “Fine.”
If someone hits the old fool,
he just lies down to sleep.
Spit in his face, he just lets it dry.
“That way I save my strength
and give you no affliction.”
This kind of Paramita
is the jewel in the wonderful.
Knowing this news,
how can you worry about not attaining the Way?
This old monk wears tattered clothes and fills his
belly with tasteless food. The old monk is an old Bhikshu. He wears
ragged clothes. “Tasteless food” is food that doesn’t have any flavor.
It doesn’t taste like much, but he’s full. Mends his clothes to keep
away the cold. “I mend my tattered clothes. After I patch them up,
they’ll keep out the cold!” And lets all things take their course. No
matter what it is, he just goes along with the conditions. Nothing
presents any problem. This is just “everything’s okay.” Sometimes it’s
not easy to practice the attitude that “everything’s okay.” We say
we’ll let all things take their course, but sometimes things just don’t
seem to work out for us. For Maitreya Bodhisattva, things always work
out.
To be continued
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