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云何念佛重恩。謂我釋迦如來最初發心。為我等故。行菩薩道。經無量劫。備受諸苦。我造業時。佛則哀憐。方便教化。而我愚癡。不知信受。我墮地獄。佛複悲痛。欲代我苦。而我業重。不能救拔。我生人道。佛以方便。令種善根。世世生生。隨逐於我。心無暫捨。佛初出世。我尚沉淪。今得人身。佛已滅度。何罪而生末法。何福而預出家。何障而不見金身。何幸而躬逢舍利。如是思惟。向使不種善根。何以得聞佛法。不聞佛法。焉知常受佛恩。此恩此德。丘山難喻。自非發廣大心。行菩薩道。建立佛法。救度眾生。縱使粉骨碎身。豈能酬答。是為發菩提心第一因緣也。
「云何念佛重思」：這第一種的因緣，前邊那個提綱就是說「念佛重恩」。怎麼叫念佛重恩呢？下邊就說明白了，說「謂」：謂就是說，所說的。說什麼呢？「我釋迦如來」：我本師釋迦牟尼佛，
「最初發心」：最初為什麼他發菩提心？最初發心的原因為什麼？「為我等故」：佛為什麼發菩提心呢？就因為想要救度我們現在的眾生，他才發的菩提心，他才「行菩薩道」。行菩薩道就是利人，生生世世都是利他。「經無量劫」：經過有無量無邊那麼長的時間，數不過來那麼多大劫。「備受諸苦」：釋迦牟尼佛三大阿僧祇劫修福修慧，在這個期間，什麼苦都受遍了。「我造業時」：我們眾生造業的時候。
「佛則哀憐」：佛就可憐我們，所以佛願意以身來代表眾生受苦，佛願意把眾生的苦都做為他自己的苦。所以我們造的業，佛生一種憐愍的心來原諒我們。「方便教化」：用種種的方便權巧、譬喻說明而教化我們，令我們改惡向善，改過自新，發菩提心。「而我愚癡」：可是佛這樣慈悲對我們，我們是很愚癡、很蠢的，不明白佛對我們的這種恩德，所以「不知信受」：不曉得接受佛這個教化。
「我墮地獄」：我在當初墮地獄的時候。「佛復悲痛」：那麼佛看見眾生墮地獄，就像他自己墮地獄一樣那麼痛苦，一樣那麼難過。「欲代我苦」：所以佛願意下地獄來替我們受苦。「而我業重」：而我們因為業障太重了。「不能救拔」：佛也沒有這個力量來救拔。
「我生人道」：佛想盡方法把我們從地獄救出來了，又生到人道來了。「佛以方便」：佛又用種種的方便權巧法門，「令種善根」：叫我們來種一切的善根。「世世生生，隨逐於我」：在《華嚴經》上，你看那個菩薩為了教化一個眾生，眾生到地獄去，他就跟著下地獄；眾生到畜生那兒，他就跟著去做畜生；眾生轉餓鬼，他也去做餓鬼，影響他發菩提心，影響他修行；眾生做人道，他就跟著這個眾生去做人去。那麼這樣子啊，就陪著眾生來受苦。隨逐於我，就是跟著我，不捨我。「心無暫捨」：他心裏連一時一刻都不捨棄我們。
「佛初出世」：釋迦牟尼佛剛剛出世的時候。「我尚沉淪」：我尚且在那個沉淪裹頭。這個「尚」就是尚且，說那時候我還在那個沉淪裏頭，就是在地獄，在餓鬼，在畜生裏頭沉淪。「今得人身，佛已滅度」：我現在仗佛的這個威德已經做人了，可是佛已經入涅槃了。
「何罪而生末法」：我們一定是很大的罪，才生到末法時代；要不是罪大，我們應該見佛聞法啊！「何福而預出家」：可是我們現在出家了。這個<勸發菩提心文>，是為著出家人說的。我們大約也是有福，雖然有罪，但是也有福，因為有福的關係，所以現在我們就出家了。「何障而不見金身」：那麼我們現在是有什麼業障障著我們，不能見到佛金色之身呢？「何幸而躬逢舍利」：我們又很幸運的，在這個末法時代還能見到佛的舍利。
「如是思惟」：像前邊所說這幾句話這樣想一想。「向使不種善根」：「向」就是往昔、過去；假設我在以前沒有種過善根的話。「何以得聞佛法」：我若沒有善根，我一定不會得聞佛法的。「不聞佛法」：我若不聞佛法。「焉知常受佛恩」：我若不懂得佛法，佛對我有多大的恩，我也不知道。
「此恩此德」：佛對我們這種的深恩大德。「丘山難喻」：就是那個高山也比喻不了那麼高，那個大海也沒有那麼深。「自非發廣大心」：因為佛對我們這樣的大恩大德，我們如果不發一個廣大的心。「行菩薩道，建立佛法」：我們有力量就建立佛法。「救度眾生」：要來救度眾生。「縱使粉骨碎身，豈能酬答」：我們如果不弘揚佛法，不建立佛法，不把佛教支持起來，我們就是粉身碎骨也報不完這個佛恩的。「是為發菩提心第一因緣也」：這十種因緣的第一種，我們就要念佛重恩，要發菩提心。
待續
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Text:
What is mindfulness of the Buddha's
deep kindness? After our Thus Come One Shakyamuni first
resolved his mind, he walked the Bodhisattva Path for our
sakes and passed through infinitely many eons, enduring all
manner of suffering. When I create bad karma, the Buddha
pities me and expediently teaches and transforms me. I,
however, remain ignorant and do not know how to accept his
teaching with faith. When I fall into hell, the Buddha is
again saddened and pained and wishes to undergo suffering on
my behalf. But my karma is heavy, and I cannot be saved.
When I am reborn as a human being, the Buddha uses expedient
means to cause me to plant good roots. In life after life,
he follows me and does not forsake me in his thoughts for an
instant.
When the Buddha first appeared in the world, I was still
sinking and drowning in the lower paths. Now that I have a
human body, the Buddha has already passed into still
tranquility.
What are my offenses that have caused me to be born in the
Dharma-ending Age? What are my blessings that have made it
possible for me to leave the home life? What are my
obstacles that have prevented me from seeing his golden
body? What good fortune has made it possible for me to
encounter his sharira?I contemplate in this way: If I did
not plant good roots in the past, how could I have heard the
Buddhadharma? And if I did not hear the Buddhadharma, how
would I know that I am always receiving the Buddha's
kindness?
His kindness and his virtue are higher than the highest
mountains. If I fail to make a vast and great resolve to
cultivate the Bodhisattva Path and to establish the
Buddhadharma in order to save living beings, even to the
point that in making this effort my bones are pulverized and
my body is smashed to pieces, then how can I possibly hope
to repay his kindness? This is the first cause and condition
for resolving the mind upon Bodhi.
Commentary:
The first cause and condition listed earlier was
mindfulness of the Buddha's deep kindness. What is meant by
expedient of the Buddha's deep kindness? It is explained as
follows.
After our Fundamental Teacher, Thus Come One Shakyamuni,
first resolved his mind... Why did the Buddha initially
resolve his mind on Bodhi? He walked the Bodhisattva Path
for our sakes, in order to rescue all of us living beings.
Walking the Bodhisattva Path means benefiting others in life
after life. And so he passed through infinitely and countlessly
many great eons, enduring all manner of
suffering. Shakyamuni Buddha cultivated blessings and wisdom
for three great asamkhyeya eons, and during that time he
underwent every kind of suffering.
When I and other living beings create bad karma, the Buddha
pities me and wishes to undergo suffering on behalf of
living beings. The Buddha is willing to take living beings'
suffering as his own suffering. The Buddha pities us and
forgives us for the karma we have created. He expediently
teaches and transforms me, using various expedient and
skillful means, analogies and explanations. I, however,
remain ignorant and do not know how to accept his teaching
with faith. The Buddha is so compassionate toward us, yet we
are foolish and do not understand the Buddha's kindness. We
do not know how to accept the Buddha's teaching.
When I fall into hell, the Buddha is again saddened and
pained. When the Buddha sees living beings fall into hell,
he feels as miserable as if he himself had fallen into hell.
And he wishes to undergo suffering on my behalf. But my
karma is heavy, and I cannot be saved. My karmic
obstructions are extremely heavy, and the Buddha has no way
to save me.
When the Buddha has done everything he can to rescue me and
I am reborn as a human being, the Buddha uses
various kinds
of expedient means to cause me to plant all manner of
good
roots. In life after life, he follows me and does not
forsake me in his thoughts for an instant. If you read the
Flower Adornment Sutra, you will see how a Bodhisattva, for
the sake of teaching and transforming a single living being,
will follow that being when he goes to hell. If that being
becomes an animal, the Bodhisattva will also become an
animal. If that being becomes a hungry ghost, the
Bodhisattva will also become a hungry ghost so that he can
influence him to make the resolve for Bodhi and cultivate.
When that being enters the human realm, the Bodhisattva
follows him and becomes a human being as well, accompanying
him as he undergoes painful experiences. He constantly
follows him and does not forsake him.
When the Buddha Shakyamuni first appeared in the world, I
was still sinking and drowning in the lower paths—those of
the hells, the hungry ghosts, and the animals. Now that I
have a human body, the Buddha has already passed into still
tranquility. Now I have become a human by virtue of the
Buddha's awesome virtue, but the Buddha has already entered
Nirvana.
What are my offenses that have caused me to be born in the
Dharma-ending Age?We must have great offenses to have been
born in the Dharma-ending Age. Otherwise, we should have
been able to see the Buddha and hear the Dharma! What are my
blessings that have made it possible for me to leave the
home life? Nevertheless, now I have left the home life. This
Essay on the Exhortation to Bring Forth the Bodhi Resolve
was spoken for those who have left home. In spite of our
offenses, we must also have blessings, and it is because of
those blessings that we have now left the home-life. What
are my obstacles that have prevented me from seeing his
golden body? What karmic obstacles obstruct me from seeing
the Buddha's golden body? What good fortune has made it
possible for me to encounter his sharira? We are very lucky
that in this Dharma-ending Age, we can still see the
Buddha's sharira.
I contemplate in this way, making the contemplations
described in the preceding lines of text: if I did not plant
good roots in the past, how could I have heard the Buddhadharma? If I hadn't planted good roots, I certainly
wouldn't be able to hear the Buddhadharma. And if I did not
hear the Buddhadharma, how would I know that I am always
receiving the Buddha's kindness? If I did not understand the Buddhadharma, I would never know how kind the Buddha has
been to me.
His deep kindness and his great
virtue are higher than the
highest mountains. Even the high mountains and the deep
oceans cannot be used to describe how high or deep the
Buddha's kindness goes. In light of the Buddha's great
kindness and great virtue, if I fail to make a vast and
great resolve to cultivate the Bodhisattva Path and to
establish the Buddhadharma with all my strength in order to
save living beings, even to the point that in making this
effort my bones are pulverized and my body is smashed to
pieces, then how can I possibly hope to repay his kindness?
If we fail to propagate, establish, and support the Buddhadharma, then even if we wear ourselves out, we cannot
fully repay the Buddha's kindness. This is the first cause
and condition for resolving the mind upon Bodhi. Among the
ten causes and conditions for bringing forth the Bodhi
resolve, the first is mindfulness of the Buddha's deep
kindness.
To be continued
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