|
恆實
一九七八年四月一日
「或處一切諸大菩薩眾會道場，或處聲聞及辟支佛眾會道場，或處轉輪聖王，小王眷屬眾會道場，或處剎利及婆羅門，長者，居士眾會道場，乃至或處天龍八部，人非人等眾會道場。」
”華嚴經”
正如加州的春雨潤澤所有的草木苗稼，令其各依根性而蓬勃生長，佛法的法雨也依個個眾生的根器，聞習之不同而成就之。
傍晚，我們將一天禮拜的功德迴向給眾生之後，又回到只有兩個加油站，兩個馬房、六個旅館的聖西門小鎮。我一面給水壺加水，一面凝視著來往的車輛，恆朝則為車子加油和刷洗一番。人們從四面八方來到這個加油站，稍為歇息，充電加油，然後又各奔前程。
恆朝
一九七八年四月一、二日
洛杉磯，金輪寺的教誨
師父上人在洛杉磯教化人的方法，是非常隨緣而不拘形式的。早晨我們坐在他房間的地上，信徒們進進出出的。話題也隨著每個人帶來的問題而不同，從打坐到房地產，甚至政治問題，地震，佛教，小孩等等。我們就從這些片段中得到教訓。
上人：「因地不真，果招迂曲。修道人不能存有一點自我心。」
出家人：「師父！有時我們會遇到非常不講理的人。」
上人：「不要與任何人結惡緣。要用慈、悲、喜、捨去對待每一個人，甚至把命賠上都無所謂。永遠要寬恕別人，而不對人起瞋恨心，妒嫉心，障礙心，否則當這些壞的果報成熟時，會是很苦的。」
有很多的信徒來這裡傾吐他們的鬱悶或困擾。
上人：「我不懂得如何去教化人，所以每天都生出大慚愧心。如果我能懂得如何度人，你們早就都沒有煩惱了。」
我們問師父有關禮拜及打坐時的境界，語氣中流露出了求感應的念頭。上人立刻就糾正我們道：「修行就是要往真的去做。一分真誠就得一分感應 ，十分真誠就得十分感應。這個感應是自自然然生出來的，若有心去求，那就不真了。」
跟著，話題轉到如何辨別是非善惡上去。
上人：「這個世界真是顛倒，你說真話，人人都不相信，而去相信假的。」大家都笑了。
有人問到投資房地產的事情，上人提醒他們不要過分發展。然後話題又回到修行上。
上人：「做所有的事情，我都是腳踏實地的去做，所以從來不會退轉。」
|
|
Heng Sure
April 1,1978
"Perhaps he presided over the Way-place Assemblies of Great Bodhisattvas, or the Way-place Assemblies of the Sound-hearers and Pratyeka Buddhas. Perhaps he presided over the Way-place Assemblies of the Wheel-turning Sage-kings, and lesser kings with their retinues. Or perhaps he presided over the Way-place Assemblies of Kshatriyas, Brahmans, Elders and laypeople, up to and including the Way-place Assemblies of the Gods, dragons, the eight-fold Spiritual Pantheon, humans, non-humans and so forth. "
--Avatamsaka Sutra
Just as the Spring rain in a California valley moistens and brings to life all the many kinds of trees, herbs, grasses, and crops, each according to its roots, so too does the Buddha's Dharma-rain bring to maturity the many kinds of root-natures of living beings, each according to its own capacity to hear and practice.
We transferred the merit of our day's work at sundown and hustled back to the skinny hamlet of San Simeon: two service stations, two horse ranches, six motels. I'm filling the water jugs and watching the headlights glide by. Heng Chau fills the gas tank and washes the road dust from hands and forehead. People from all corners of the world cross paths at the gas pumps. We take a moment to rest, to refuel, to recharge batteries, and move on.
Heng Chau
April 1,2, 1978
Gold Wheel Temple: "L.A. Tune-Up"
The Master's teaching in L.A. is informal and open-ended. We sit on the floor of his room in the morning as people come and go—from meditation to real estate, politics to earthquakes, Buddhism to babies. Our instructions come in bits and pieces.
Master: "If the cause ground is crooked, then the result is confused. Cultivators can't have any self."
Monks: "Shr Fu, we sometimes run into some really tough people."
Master: "Don't cut off conditions with anyone. Be good to people. Use kindness, compassion, joy, and giving, even to the point of your own death. Always forgive people. Don't have hatred, jealousy, or obstruction towards others, or else when your retribution comes, it will be severe."
Many people come in relating their troubles and worries.
Master: "I don't know how to teach and transform people, so every day I'm ashamed and repentant. If I could teach, then you people would have lost your afflictions long ago."
We ask about bowing and meditation states. There's a hint of seeking responses in our eagerness. The Master steers us straight.
Master: "In cultivation, you've got to go towards the true in everything. One part true gets one part response; ten parts true get ten parts response. The response is not something you seek, it comes naturally by itself. Anything that comes from seeking isn't true."
The discussion turns to how to tell true from false.
Master: "In the world, if you're true, people say you're false. If you're false, people say you're true. It's upside-down." (laughter).
Someone asks about investing in real estate. The Abbot cautions against overextending oneself and thing brings the topic back to cultivation.
"In everything I do, I go one firm step ahead at a time, and then I never have to retreat."
|
