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佛教原始的真義，簡明言之曰：「佛陀教育。」，亦即「釋迦牟尼教育」。分釋之，佛是究竟自覺、覺他、覺行圓滿的無上智慧者；教就是佛以其證得無上正等正覺的經歷，用以教化一切眾生，使所有眾生恢復他們與佛平等無異的本具智慧德性的整體教育。有很多的人都以為佛教只是一種宗教，這是狹窄的觀念，殊不知佛教是包含了宗教和世出世間一切學問的完善教育。因此一個認真修行佛教的人，如果不能超出宗教的範圍，他絕對得不到佛教真正博大的利益。
佛教起源於印度，發揚光大於中國，創始人是釋迦牟尼佛，所以前面說過，佛教也可稱之為「釋迦牟尼教育」。釋迦牟尼佛於公元前五四三年四月八日生於北印度，當時為中國周昭王二十六年甲寅。其父親為淨飯王，母後是摩耶夫人，太子名悉達多，後來娶耶輸陀羅為妃。太子常以智慧觀察世間，關注世人一切悲欲苦樂及生老病死的問題，為求解脫故，於是捨盡榮華，出家苦修佛道，公元前五一三年十二月八日，於菩提樹下證悟成佛，號釋迦牟尼。釋迦牟尼是印度梵文，譯成中文是能仁寂默的意思。稍後太子妃及其兒子也都出家了。佛陀成道後，講法四十九年，度化眾生無量無邊，於公元前四六四年入滅，世壽七十九歲，時為中國周穆王五十三年壬申。
佛教正式傳入中國，是在後漢永平十年，即公元六十七年。那時漢明帝派遣使節到印度，禮聘了竺法蘭及摩騰兩位法師到中國宣揚佛法。雖然在周朝時代，佛教已非正式地陸陸續續傳入中國，可是不太引人注意。直至這兩位法師用白馬把佛經、佛像等一齊運到中國，漢帝對法師待以國賓之禮，並頒下聖旨，設立佛寺，專門從事梵經中譯及廣大弘揚佛教。在當時的佛寺，就是皇帝直接管轄的佛教教育部，它比宰相所管的普通教育部－禮部的地位更崇高。漢朝首都洛陽的白馬寺，就是中國最早建立的第一間佛教寺院，是為了紀念那匹白馬，由印度把佛經像等背負到中國來的功勞，而以之取名。
釋迦牟尼佛的教法與孔夫子的儒教，都是以孝親尊師為教育基礎，二者的教育內容亦多近似。簡略地舉幾個例子來說明，比方佛教的孝養父母、敬奉師長，與儒家的孝悌尊師就完全相同；此外佛教的明心見性與儒家的明明德；佛教的五戒－戒殺、盜、淫、妄、酒，與儒家的五常－仁、義、禮、智、信；佛教的六度－布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧，與儒家的格物、致知、誠意、正心、修身、齊家、治國、平天下等等，雙方面的理論及修持，在我看來都很接近。況且佛教的時空範圍更是豎窮三際、橫遍十方，比之儒教只限於現世及一世界，都深廣得多了。是故佛教在中國得到朝野的接受，上自君臣學者，下至平民百姓，都十分重視，熱誠推廣。因此佛教不但迅速地在中國發揚光大，而且普及到日本、朝鮮、緬甸、泰國、印尼、星、馬一帶，近代歐美各國，也對佛教漸漸重視起來。
自古以來，中國佛教興盛的朝代，如漢、唐、宋、明，以至清初，都是國泰民豐，都能長治久安。近代末法時期，佛教已改變成多種不同的形態，這是我們要認真辨別清楚的。今天的佛教，大概有以下幾類，其一是保存正統的佛教，即是原本釋迦牟尼佛圓滿究竟的教育；其次是約在二百年前開始變質的宗教式的佛教，這種佛教設立寺廟，以從事替人拜懺祈福、超度亡魂，以金錢財利為主，而不講經說法；再其次是假佛教，這是一些邪師外道掛起佛教的招牌，卻去做出種種與佛教不相幹的邪道，甚至自欺欺人，斷人慧命。釋尊住世時，早已預示：「末法時期，邪師說法，多如恆河沙數。」這正好反映了現代佛教正邪混亂的現象，所以造成有些原本佛教盛行的國家受到衝擊，至使其佛教漸趨式微。
當代大德高僧宣化上人，因此曾作獅子吼。他以慈悲為懷，護持正法為任，大聲疾呼：「末法時期亦可復興正法，只要佛教同修捨邪持正，不斷精進，正統佛教必能永久發揚光大。」宣化上人近數十年來，率先躬行，把正統佛教，從中國弘揚到歐美以及世界各地。在美國成立嚴守正教戒律的萬佛聖城，及其分布於各州以至加拿大的道場，培訓了無數出家、在家年青一代的正教佛弟子，使續佛慧命大業後繼有人；又建立了佛、儒教與現代教育並重的大、中、小學，造就很多品學兼優的人才，為恢復世界道德倫理，推行真正和平而努力；更創立了譯經中心，把正統的大、小乘佛經翻譯成英、法、西班牙等多國文字，使佛教廣大弘揚，世界眾生皆能受益。宣化上人在末法時期復興佛教的殊勝功德，是值得我們敬仰讚歎及借鏡效法的。
佛教同修們，大家清醒起來，分別是非正邪，奉行本師釋迦牟尼佛的正教，效法古今大德的金玉良言，躬行實踐，努力精進，把偉大淵博的正統佛教，充滿全世界。如此人倫道德必能恢復；世界和平必能實現。 |
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The original meaning of "Buddhism" is, in short, "the teachings of the Buddha," i.e. "the teachings of Shakyamuni." "Buddha" means one who is completely self-enlightened, enlightens others, and has the unsurpassed wisdom of perfect enlightenment and conduct. His "teachings" are the truths he realized in his Unsurpassed Proper and Equal Enlightenment, which he used to teach all living beings to return to their inherent wisdom and virtue. Many people think Buddhism is just a religion, but that is too narrow a conception. Actually Buddhism not only includes religion, but is a complete teaching containing all worldly and transcendental knowledge. Thus if a serious Buddhist cultivator cannot go beyond the scope of religion, he will never obtain the truly great and vast benefits of Buddhism.
Buddhism originated in India, and flourished in China. Its founder was Shakyamuni Buddha, so Buddhism can also be called "the teachings of Shakyamuni." Shakyamuni Buddha was born in India on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month in 543 B.C., or the twenty-sixth year of Emperor Jau of the Chou Dynasty. His father was Pure Rice King and his mother was Queen Lady Maya. He was the crown prince, named Siddhartha, and he later took Yasodhara as his wife. The prince frequently used his wisdom to observe the world, and concerned himself with the sorrows, desires, sufferings, and happiness of mankind, and with the problem of birth, sickness, old age and death. In quest of liberation, he gave up all honor and wealth and left home-life to rigorously cultivate the Path of the Buddha. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in 513 B.C., he attained Buddhahood under the Bodhi Tree and became Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni is a Sanskrit name which means "humane" and "still and silent." Soon afterwards, his wife and son also left the home-life. After his enlightenment, the Buddha spoke the Dharma for forty-nine years, teaching countless living beings. He entered Nirvana in 464 B.C. at the age of seventy-nine.
Buddhism officially came to China in 67 A.D., the tenth year of Yung Ping in the late Han Dynasty. At that time Emperor Ming sent a delegation to India to invite the two Dharma Masters Gobharana and Kasyapa-Matanga to propagate Buddhism in China. Although Buddhism had already entered China unofficially during the Chou Dynasty, it had not attracted much attention. But when the two Dharma Masters transported Buddhist Sutras and images to China on a white horse, the Emperor of Han treated them as national guests and decreed that a monastery be built especially for translating the Sanskrit Sutras into Chinese and propagating the Dharma. That monastery was also the Department of Buddhist Education directly supervised by the Emperor, and was much higher than the ordinary Departments of Education and Propriety overseen by the prime minister. Located in the Han capital of Loyang, White Horse Monastery was the first Buddhist temple built in China, named after the white horse that carried the Sutras and Buddha images from India to China.
The teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and Confucius are both based on filiality and respect for teachers, and are quite similar. Some examples: 1) In Buddhism, "to support parents in filiality and serve teachers and elders with respect" is equivalent to "filiality, brotherhood, and respect for teachers" in Confucianism. 2) "To know the mind and see the nature" in Buddhism; "to illustrate the illustrious virtue" in Confucianism. 3) The Five Buddhist Precepts: no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no intoxicants; the Five Confucian Virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge and faith. 4) Six Paramitas in Buddhism: giving, morality, patience, vigor, concentration and wisdom; in Confucianism: "to study the nature of things, to extend knowledge to the utmost, to make the will sincere, to rectify the mind, to cultivate oneself, to regulate the family, to govern the country, to bring peace to the world." The two are similar in theory and practice. However, in Buddhism the conception of time and space, covering the three periods and ten directions, is much wider than in Confucianism, which only considers this present life and this one world. Thus in China, from the emperors, officials and scholars down to the common people, Buddhism has been regarded seriously and propagated fervently. Not only did Buddhism bloom rapidly in China, its influence also spread to Japan, Korea, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Recently, Buddhism has also been receiving attention in Europe and America.
During the Han, Tang, Sung, Ming and the beginning of the Chin Dynasties, Buddhism flourished in China, and the country was generally prosperous and peaceful for long periods of time. More recently in Dharma-Ending Age, many varieties of Buddhism have developed and we have to recognize them clearly. Today's Buddhism can be divided into these types: The first is Orthodox Buddhism—the original, perfect, and ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha. About two hundred years ago, a Religious Buddhism began evolving in the temples. It concentrated on performing ceremonies for people to repent, seek blessings, and liberate souls. Making money was the goal, and the Sutras and Dharma were not expounded. Then there is Phony Buddhism, in which heretical teachers who claim to be Buddhist perpetrate various deviant activities. Cheating themselves and others, they destroy people's wisdom. When the Buddha was in the world, he predicted, "In the Dharma-Ending Age, there will be deviant teachers speaking Dharma as many as the Ganges' sands" This reflects the current situation of Buddhism in which the proper and deviant are intermingled. As a result, the countries where Buddhism originally thrived are now on the decline.
Because of this, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, a virtuous and noble monk of this era, has made the Lion's Roar. Out of compassion, wishing to uphold the Proper Dharma, he proclaims, "Even in the Dharma-Ending Age, we can revive the Proper Dharma. If all Buddhists can renounce the deviant, uphold the proper, and advance vigorously, Orthodox Buddhism will enjoy eternal glory." In recent decades, Venerable Master Hua has set an example himself, by bringing Orthodox Buddhism from China to Europe, America, and other parts of the world. In the United States and Canada, he established the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and other monasteries where the orthodox teaching and precepts are upheld, and many left-home and lay disciples of the young generation are being trained in the important work of propagating the Buddha's wisdom into the future. He also set up an elementary school, a high school and a university which combine Buddhism, Confucianism and modern education to nurture academically and morally outstanding students. Seeking to revive morality and promote real peace in the world, he also created a Translation Institute for translating the Mahayana and Theravada Sutras into English, French, Spanish, and other languages, thus circulating Buddhism so all living beings can benefit. In the Dharma-Ending Age, the supreme merit and virtue of the Venerable Master's revival of the Proper Dharma deserve our admiration and study.
Fellow cultivators, wake up and recognize right from wrong, proper from deviant. Follow the proper teaching of our Original Teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha. Learn from the wise sayings of the Virtuous Ones, actively practice them, so that the noble and vast Orthodox Buddhism will spread throughout the world. Then morality will be restored, and peace will reign in the world. |
