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（錄音帶被切）……我什麼都不怕，所以人反對我，我更不怕。為什麼呢？根本我就不知道什麼叫自己。你們反對我，我也是這麼樣子；你們依教奉行，我也是這麼樣子；這個是你們自己的事情，不是我的事情。為什麼呢？永嘉大師又說這麼幾句話，說的很好，說：
「從他謗，任他非」：你謗非我，也沒有關係，OK。你說我什麼不對，也是OK。
「把火燒天徒自疲」：好像你用火來燒天，你舉著火燒不著天的；天燒不著，你自己拿這火辛苦了，疲倦了。
「我聞恰似飲甘露」：有人譭謗我，我好像喝甘露水那麼甜。
「銷融頓入不思議」：你要真能這個樣子，那個忍辱波羅蜜，你就會嘗到味道了。
我們金山寺的兩位發菩薩心的人，在兩個禮拜以前說不能繼續向前去拜了。為什麼呢？
因為天下著雨很多，路上有五尺多深水，於是乎他們就休息了兩天，打電話來告訴，他們第二天再繼續去拜去。那麼第二次他們又打電話來，兩個禮拜沒有雨下；沒有雨下，那麼拜到三百二十五個 miles（哩）。我們各位要深深地想一想，他們兩位能發這樣懇切至誠的心，不怕風不怕雨，不怕雪，那麼繼續地三步一拜，來行人所不能行的這種的行門。在西方他們兩位修行這種法門，是第一個。
各位想一想：我們應該修一個什麼法門，不是說爭第一，是用一個什麼法門能把佛教發揚光大，令人人對佛教都有一個認識。他們兩位現在在路上那麼三步一拜，拜得有特別感應 。天下雨，他們停止了，天也就停止下雨了，這是不可思議的境界。
那個果逾他每一拜就念「南無《大方廣佛華嚴經》，華嚴海會佛菩薩」，所以現在他的智慧也有一點基礎了，講出話來都不是隨隨便便，儘嘻嘻哈哈開玩笑，不正經的樣子。他現在一舉一動、一言一行，都很合佛的戒律、佛的戒法、佛的戒體，都很合乎規矩了。
我們在金山寺的人，每一個人都應該迴光返照。他那麼樣修行，我們這樣不修行，這樣散亂，這樣一天到晚儘打妄想，怎麼能對得住這兩位發菩薩心的人？我們大家都是同參道友師兄弟，他在美國金山寺這兒受戒，就能發這樣的心，我們要特別地想一想。這個修道不是開玩笑的。
他們兩個人三步一拜之後，這個果逸（編按：比丘尼恆隱）也要發心跟著他們後邊三步一拜。人家三步一拜，妳也去三步一拜，幸虧我不准她去；要去，那一定他們兩個也不會成功了。為什麼呢？他一邊拜一邊打妄想，「啊！怎麼樣幫助這個比丘尼？」這個比丘尼在後邊拜，比丘在前邊，要互相打妄想了。這個妄想就是要互相幫助；這一互相幫助啊，這個誠心就差一點了。所以我沒有OK；這一點我不批准。
那麼以後又有一個果回（編按：即現在的比丘恆來師），也要發心去隨著他們三步一拜。這個雖然也是不錯的，但是兩個人拜，到時候比較容易弄吃的東西：住的地方也可以馬馬虎虎坐到那個篷帳裡邊。兩個人可以，要三個人呢，就不夠地方了，就是坐著也不夠地方了。甚至於人多了裡邊也不通氣，沒有一個透風的地方了，把人都會憋壞了，所以我對於果回要去隨著他們拜，我也不同意。
因為他們兩個人拜，也是這麼大的功德，要是三個人拜，這個世界人也不會說，「哦！他們又多了一個」，信心又多一點，不會的。這就是一個影響力，影響大家，令大家發菩提心，所以他們兩個人有這種影響力已經夠了，不需要再三個。
我們金山寺在西方是佛教一個發源地，「八仙過海，各顯神通」，每一個人看看你自己 發什麼心。你要是發心說我願意吃飯，那就發心學吃飯的三昧。你不要以為吃飯是很容易的，吃飯也不容易的。譬如你會吃的，吃的也不多也不少，對身體就很會保持健康；你不會吃的，好像我認識那個止一（音），他也是一天吃一餐，是這麼大的碗，我們這兒我想都沒有那麼大的碗。這麼大的碗他可以吃三大碗，他這三大碗我相信要是拿來我吃，大約最低限度也夠吃十天，十天都吃不完的：十天都吃不完，那一碗甚至就夠我吃十天。他真是像鬼似的。怎麼樣呢？
大家過堂 -- 他因為在叢林裡也要過堂，他在我拉林鎮那兒自己住，那就隨便吃這麼三大碗，願意吃一個鐘頭也可以，兩個鐘頭也可以，慢慢吃。你們到臺灣，那是十分鐘的時間，普通叢林裡不是十分鐘，三十分鐘他吃不飽的 -- 所以他每逢過堂首先要坐到行堂那個人旁邊。行堂的那個飯桶在什麼地方，他就一定坐在飯桶旁邊。因為他吃要快吃，人家沒吃完一口他吃了一碗，再添；人家沒吃完一口，他又吃完了一碗，再添。這麼樣這個人吃得這麼多，你說怎樣啊？瘦得皮包骨，一點肉也沒有，就這樣子。那麼你說這是會吃不會吃？這可以說不會吃。你會吃呢，吃的不多不少，不會太過，也不會不及。那麼這學「吃飯三昧」。
或者你學睡，願意修睡覺三昧也可以。說睡覺三昧那我懂了，一定是白天也睡，晚間也睡，睡得不知道醒，總在這個睡的定裡頭。不是的。你要會這個睡覺三昧，睡不睡都沒有關係了；睡也可以，不睡也可以，沒有問題的。
穿衣服三昧，什麼叫穿衣服三昧？不是說我儘穿好的，穿得多，這是穿沒穿衣服不知道，甚至於早晨起來也不穿衣服，就這麼來這兒做早課來了。到佛堂，大家都看你沒穿衣服，你自己還不知道呢！你要能有得這種境界，那就不錯了，可惜不容易得。你要故意的，說我今天故意去表現我是一個得到不穿衣服三昧的人，我不穿衣服去做早課。那又錯了。要你穿沒穿衣服不知道，那才算呢；你要故意說我不穿衣服來顯我的神通，那也不對了。
所以你們各人修各人的三昧。他們是叩頭三昧，你或者念經三昧、持咒三昧，或者是禮拜三昧，隨自己選擇，可不要去學鬥爭三昧， 學剛強三昧，學壓迫人的三昧，不要學那個。
我們修道人要講德行，講道德。道德就是利益其他的人，我自己有沒有利益，那不管，我就要利益其他人。對我自己有什麼害處，我都要接受；對其他人有害處的事情，我一定要幫助其他人，叫其他人沒有害處，所以就是利益人，不是害人。這個最重要的就是修道德：道德，「道」是在外邊，「德」是在裡邊。你栽培你外邊的道就是修行，修一切的道；你外邊有了道了，裡邊你覺得很快樂，這有所得於心了，這就有德了。「有德人人親，有道人人尊」；你有德行，人人都覺得你非常好。你就罵人，甚至於打人，你要是有德行，他都覺得很歡喜；你要是沒有德行呢，你就向人叩頭，他還要踢你兩腳。所以這個道德是最要緊的。
你們每一個人要把「道德」兩個字，掛在自己的眉毛梢上，一睜眼睛就看見道德兩個字了。「啊！道德在這兒。」在西方的人，根本就不注重道德兩個字，所以可以說是把根本忘了。這根本就是道德，你沒有道德是不能成就道業，不能成佛的。佛叫萬德莊嚴，萬德圓融了；萬德都成就了，所以才能成佛。
道德兩個字就是正氣：道德兩個字也就譬喻日月；道德兩個字也就等於天地：所以道德兩個字，人人都不可忽略的。這個道德也就是道場，也就是要有修行；你有修行就有道德，沒有修行就沒有道德。
所以我們修道的人要是不注重道德兩個字，那你沒有法子修行。道德就是要捨己為人，把自己忘了他，而幫助其他人。時時刻刻都沒有自私心，時時刻刻不存自利的心；沒有自私自利的心，也就是有道德的心。所以修道的人，一舉一動都要注重道德，你有力量的時候盡量幫助其他的人。你護持道場，這就是幫助其他人；你保護道場，令道場沒有一切的麻煩，這都是修道德的一個地方。
所以你們各位，對道德這兩個字，應該盡上自己的能力去往圓滿了做，這才能有所成就。不要儘為自己，總忘不了自己；行菩薩道的人一定要把自己忘了他，要自覺雖然重要，覺他比自覺更重要。這一點我們學佛法的人都應該要知道，時時刻刻不要忘了利益眾生。
待續 |
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[A break in the tape] I'm not afraid of anything, so I'm even less afraid of people opposing me. Why? Because I don't have any sense of self. Whether you oppose me or follow my instructions, I'm just this way. What you do is your business, not mine. Why? It was aptly stated by Great Master Yongjia, who said the following:
Let others slander me;
I bear their condemnation.
Those who try to burn the sky only exhaust themselves.
When I hear it, it's just like drinking sweet dew
Having accepted it, suddenly one enters the inconceivable.
If you slander me, it doesn't matter. If you criticize me, it's also okay. If you raise a torch in an attempt to burn the sky, you will only wear yourself out since the sky is beyond your reach. When others slander or insult me, their words are like sweet dew. "Having accepted it, suddenly one enters the inconceivable." If a person can really have this kind of attitude, he will have tasted the true flavor of the Way.
The two people at Gold Mountain Monastery who have made Bodhisattva resolves announced two weeks earlier that they could not continue their bowing pilgrimage. The reason was that there was over five feet of water on the roads from the heavy rains. They rested for two days and then telephoned and said that they would resume bowing the next day. During the two weeks between then and their second phone call, there was no rain and they managed to bow 325 miles. All of us should give this some deep reflection. The two of them have made such a sincere resolve and have continued to bow every three steps, undeterred by wind, rain, or snow, carrying out a practice that most people cannot do. In the West, they are the first two to practice this kind of Dharma door.
We should all think about what Dharma door we want to cultivate. Our goal is not to be number one. Rather, we want to think about what Dharma door we can use to propagate Buddhism and make it prosper, so that everyone will know what Buddhism is. Right now, the two of them are making a full prostration every three steps. Their bowing has evoked a special response, such that the rain stopped. This is an inconceivable state.
Every time Guo Yu goes down for a bow, he recites, "Homage to the Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra and the Ocean-wide Flower Adornment Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas." As a result, he now has some foundation for his wisdom. When he talks, he doesn't laugh or joke around or behave too casually. Every word he says and every move he makes accords with the Buddha's precepts—the precept Dharma and the precept substance. He is quite in accord with the rules.
All of us at Gold Mountain Monastery should reflect upon ourselves. How can we fail to cultivate when he cultivates so vigorously? Being so scattered and having so many false thoughts, how can we face these two who have made the Bodhisattva resolve? We are their Dharma brothers and fellow cultivators. They received precepts at Gold Mountain Monastery in the United States and subsequently made such a resolve. We should really ponder this well. Cultivation of the Way is not a game or a joke.
After those two monks began their "three steps, one bow" pilgrimage, Guo Yi [Bhikshuni Heng Yin] also wanted to make a resolve to follow in their footsteps, literally. It's a good thing I didn't let her go. Otherwise, the two monks would surely have failed in their pilgrimage. Why is this? They would be bowing on the one hand and false-thinking about how to help this Bhikshuni on the other. If there were a Bhikshuni bowing behind the Bhikshus, they would have false thoughts about helping each other, which would detract from the sincerity of their resolve. That's why I didn't okay this. I didn't give my permission for this.
Later, another monk, Guo Hui [Bhikshu Heng Lai Shi], wanted to go bow with the two. Although this wish is not bad, it's easier to take care of the matters of food and shelter when there are only two people. There is just enough room for two in the tent. There is not enough room for three people, even if they sit up, and the tent would be very stuffy and suffocating. Therefore, I didn't allow Guo Hui to join them.
If two people bow, they have a certain amount of merit. If three people bow, the world will not say, "Oh, look, there's one more!" and have more faith as a result. Such a bowing pilgrimage influences people to bring forth the Bodhi resolve. Two people are sufficient to make this influence felt; there is no need for a third person.
Gold Mountain Monastery is a fountainhead of Buddhism in the West. There's a saying: "When the eight immortals cross the sea, they each display their supernatural powers." Each person can make his own resolve. If you make a resolve to eat, you can study the eating samadhi. Don't think that eating is such a simple matter. It is not easy at all. For instance, people who know how to eat will not eat too little or too much; they know how to stay healthy. An example of someone who doesn't know how to eat is a monk named Zhi Yi, who eats only one meal a day, but has a huge bowl which he fills three times in that one meal. His bowl is bigger than any of ours. What he eats in one meal—three bowlfuls—I could eat for ten days and still not finish. In fact, I could probably live on one bowlful for ten days. He truly resembles a hungry ghost. Why?
When he was living in the town of Lalin, he would eat for one or two hours, taking his time. However, in the large monasteries, only thirty minutes are allotted for a meal. (In Taiwan it is only ten minutes.) He couldn't eat his fill in thirty minutes, so he would always make sure to sit next to the food server. Wherever the food server was, that's where he'd sit. He had to eat fast. In the time it took people to finish one mouthful; he would be done with his first bowl and getting seconds. By the time others had eaten a second mouthful; he would be finishing his second bowl and starting his third. Although he ate like a glutton, he was virtually skin and bones, with no flesh at all. Would you say he knew how to eat or not? It could be said that he didn't know how to eat. If you know how to eat, you would not overeat, nor would you undereat. You would not go to either extreme. That's part of learning the samadhi of eating.
You could also study the sleeping samadhi. "Oh, I know what that is," someone says. "It must mean that you sleep both day and night, being totally oblivious to the waking world and always being in a deep, sleep-like samadhi." That's not it. If you attain the sleep samadhi, then it doesn't really matter whether you sleep or not. It's fine to sleep, and it's also okay not to sleep. There's no problem.
What is the samadhi of wearing clothes? It doesn't mean wearing fine garments and wearing lots of clothes. It means that you aren't even aware of whether or not you wear clothes. You might get up and come to morning recitation without even remembering to get dressed. When you come to the Buddha Hall, everyone will notice that you haven't put on any clothes before it dawns on you. If you can attain that state of mind, that's not bad. Unfortunately, it's not an easy state to attain. If you intentionally attend morning recitation in the nude to show that you have attained the samadhi of wearing clothes, you're making a mistake. It counts only if you yourself are unaware of whether or not you are dressed. It would be wrong to purposefully go nude to show off your spiritual attainment.
Therefore, each person cultivates his or her own samadhi. The two monks are practicing the bowing samadhi. You could perhaps study Sutra recitation samadhi, the mantra recitation samadhi, or the samadhi of making obeisance. The choice is yours. However, you should at all costs avoid learning the samadhi of fighting, the samadhi of being obstinate, and the samadhi of oppressing others.
Cultivators should value virtue in the Way, which takes the form of benefiting others. Put aside the concern for helping yourself, and devote yourself to helping others. Be willing to take harm upon yourself in order to protect others from harm. In other words, if you want to benefit others and not harm them, it is essential to cultivate virtue in the Way. The Way is external, whereas virtue is internal. Externally, you nurture the Way by cultivating various paths.
Once you have the Way on the outside, a sense of great happiness wells up within. You have attained virtue in your mind.
When you have virtue, everyone admires you.
When you have the Way, everyone respects you.
Once you have virtuous conduct, everyone thinks well of you. If you have virtue, then people are delighted when you scold or even hit them. If you lack virtue, then even if you make obeisance to people, they will want to kick you. Virtue wins everyone's respect. Therefore, it is of the foremost importance.
All of you should hang the words "virtue in the Way" on the tips of your eyebrows, so that you see them as soon as you open your eyes. Westerners have no concern for virtue or the Way. It could be said that they have forgotten what is most fundamental. The most fundamental thing is virtue in the Way. Without virtue, one can neither accomplish the Way nor realize Buddhahood. Buddhas are adorned with the myriad virtues. Having perfected and realized the myriad virtues, they were able to become Buddhas.
Virtue in the Way represents righteous energy. It can be compared to the sun and moon. It is equivalent to heaven and earth. Therefore, no one can afford to overlook virtue in the Way.
Virtue in the Way also serves as the Way-place. Virtue in the Way requires cultivation. If you cultivate, you can have virtue. Without cultivation, there is no virtue.
Therefore, if cultivators fail to consider virtue, they will not be able to cultivate. Virtue in the Way consists of renouncing oneself for the sake of others—forgetting about oneself in order to help others without a single thought of selfishness and without ever thinking of one's own benefit. A mind devoid of selfish and self-benefiting thoughts is a virtuous mind. Thus, in everything they do, cultivators should pay attention to virtue. Do everything within your capacity to help others. Supporting the Way-place is a way of helping others. You are cultivating the Way when you protect the Way-place from troubles.
Therefore, each of you should use your utmost ability to perfect your virtue. Then, you will have some accomplishment. Don't be so preoccupied with yourself that you cannot forget about yourself. To practice the Bodhisattva Path, you must forget yourself. While it is important to enlighten yourself, it is even more important to enlighten others. As students of the Buddhadharma, we ought to realize this and never forget about helping others.
To be continued
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