前期提示：
佛於往昔修諸行。無量諸度悉圓滿。大慈哀愍利眾生。此遍遊神之解脫。
佛修一切行門，先要從什麼地方修起來呢？先要從這個忍辱上修。所以說：
忍是無價寶，人人使不好；
若能會用它，萬事都能了。
「忍是無價寶」，「忍」就是無價寶；「人人使不好」，人人不會使用；「若能會用它」，你若能把這個「忍」字會用了；「萬事都能了」，萬事都能沒有了，都能放下了。為什麼你萬事、萬物、萬緣都放不下？就因為你不明白這個忍。所以各位要注意啊！
學佛的人，要學忍。不要像我似的，叫人要忍一忍，自己不能忍。這就是口頭禪，沒有用的。你們雖然是我的弟子，不要學我這個法門，要學著能忍。為什麼呢？有狀元徒弟，沒有狀元師父。徒弟將來成佛，這個師父或者還做鬼，還在餓鬼道受苦呢！所以你不要跟著師父學，要學你自己所應該學的。
「無量諸度悉圓滿」：度，度什麼呢？波羅蜜。諸度就是無量無邊的那麼多波羅蜜。波羅蜜是梵語，英文叫 other side（彼岸)。
Other side（彼岸）是從這邊過去的，不是從那邊，本來就在那邊。要從生死的此岸，渡通煩惱的中流，達到涅槃的彼岸。
這個諸度就是六度，又有十度。那麼你看那一度好，你就修那一度，不要一度不度。一度不度，那絕對到不了彼岸。你一定要修一度。先修一度，一度度了，其他的諸度也都圓滿了。和頭先那個法門是一樣的，你一樣修圓滿了，樣樣都會圓滿，它都相通著的，都是相因相循，互相通達。你借著他的力量，他借著你的力量。這個諸度也互相互借的，互相你借我這個度一點力量，我也借你這個度一點力量。這個力量圓滿了，這個度也就圓滿。無量諸度悉圓滿，就是無量無邊很多的波羅蜜都修圓滿了。
「大慈哀愍利眾生」：佛用大慈悲心給眾生樂，所以說哀愍。哀愍也就是個悲，悲能拔苦。那麼哀愍一切眾生，對一切眾生又給他樂，又拔他的苦，令眾生離苦得樂，這就叫利益眾生。「此遍遊神之解脫」：這是那一位遍遊主方神，他得到的解脫門。
第一個主空神解脫門
復次。淨光普照主空神。得普知諸趣一切眾生心解脫門。
「復次」：是再說一次。再說一次，我請你們各位不要睡覺了！應該把覺睡醒了，聽一聽這個主空神的解脫門這一種境界。「淨光普照主空神」：這一位主空神的名字叫淨光。淨光，他清淨的光明，也就是由這個般若智慧所現出來的這種清淨光明，這個光明不是一個小光明，而是一個大光明。為什麼說它是個大光明呢？它普照嘛！若小光明就不會普照了，因為這是大放光明。大放清淨光明的是誰呢？就是這主空神，也就是這個舜若多神。《楞嚴經》上不是說：「舜若多性可銷亡，爍迦羅心無動轉」嗎？舜若多是個空神，這個空神也可以沒有了。可是我這個堅固心––爍迦羅，這堅固心不能動轉，我深信這個楞嚴的大定，不會動轉，我這堅固心不動。這個主空神，就叫這麼一個名字––淨光普照。
「得普知諸趣一切眾生心解脫門」：他得到什麼呢？他得到普知諸趣一切眾生心解脫門。他能普遍知道一切諸趣。諸趣，就是四惡趣裡邊的諸趣，地獄、餓鬼、畜生、阿修羅。那麼人道、天道也包括在這諸趣裡邊。這位主空神得到能知諸趣一切眾生的心。一切眾生，心打什麼妄想，他都知道。你生一個貪心，哦！好，好，我給你一點東西。想要貪一個銅板，我給你兩個。你想貪one cent（一分錢），我給你 two cents（兩分錢），給你加倍。你要貪 two cents（兩分錢），我就給你four cents（四分錢）。這個主空神就是「欲令入佛智，先以欲勾牽」，你想什麼，歡喜什麼，他就給你什麼。「啊！我想要那一部佛學辭典。」哦！就有人給送來了，幫著你翻譯你不認識的字。哦！看看老師，求這個 dictionary (字典)來指示指示。那麼，將來還會有電腦的 dictionary（字典），你一查那個字，那個解釋就出來了。不用像現在那麼費力，要先找目錄，找了很多，才找得著。
那麼將來（當時是一九七三年），就是很方便。不過越方便越麻煩，方便的多，麻煩也不少。你不會按那個鈕，根本就找不著，你要會按那個鈕。有利就有害，有成就有敗，有是就有非，有好就有壞，好多少壞就有多少。無善不顯惡，無逆不顯孝，無陰不顯陽，無老不顯少，無生不顯死。你若不生就是不死。不要說多了，說多了，你們都忘了。
那麼，講到什麼呢？講到能知眾生的心解脫門，就是你想要什麼，他就給你什麼。給你什麼，你就歡喜了。一歡喜，就到這個法門裡邊來了。這個主空神叫淨光普照主空神，他入的解脫門，你覺得這個解脫門怎麼樣？你若歡喜，也可以隨著來，跟著走。
第二個主空神解脫門
普遊深廣主空神。得普入法界解脫門。
「普遊深廣主空神」：這一位主空神，是歡喜旅行的，各處去普遊。深廣，就是這世界沒有一個地方他不到了。不單是世界，甚至於龍宮他也去看一看，看看龍王是不是在那兒睡覺呢？是不是應該下雨，他不下雨，在那兒等著旁人下雨？這叫「龍多四靠，不是旱就是澇。」所以這個普遊深廣主空神，他等著龍王睡覺，他就會把龍王招呼醒了，說：「老同參，你應該去下雨了，你應該去翻譯經典了，不要再睡覺了！看看龍宮這個經怎麼樣？」這位主空神，怎麼說他到龍宮去呢？這我不是沒有憑據說的。你看看，下邊那一句就說了嘛！
「得普入法界解脫門」：龍宮不在法界裡邊嗎？龍宮是在法界外邊嗎？所以我說這話合理的，不是說叫老龍王去下雨，是辦不到的事情。這位主空神得這個普入法界的解脫門。你若想不需要買飛機票，就去旅行，不需要買船票也去holiday（渡假），不需要買火車票和 bus（巴士）票，也去 vacation（渡假），都可以的，你只要也入這個解脫門就好了，可以辦得到的。
待續 |
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From last issue：
The Buddha in the past cultivated all conducts．
And totally perfected limitlessly many Paramitas．
With great kindness and pity he benefits living beings．
This is the liberation of the Spint Traveling Everywhere.
The Buddha cultivated every door of practice; where did he have to start? One needs to begin by cultivating patience, hence the saying:
Patience is a priceless jewel,
Which people are unable to use.
If you are able to employ it,
All the myriad matters can be concluded.
Patience is a treasure beyond price, but people don't know how to put it to use. If, however, you can employ patience, then the myriad matters can be concluded. The ten thousand things will all be gone--you will be able to put them all down. Why aren't you able to put down the myriad matters, the myriad things, and the myriad conditions? Because you don't understand patience. Therefore, all of you should pay attention.
People who are learning to be like the Buddha must study patience. Don't be like me, telling others to be patient but unable to be patient myself. That is simply intellectual Zen, of no use whatsoever. Even though you are my disciples, don't learn that "Dharma-door." Rather, you should learn to be patient. Why? The reason is that there are top-ranking disciples, but there is no top-ranking teacher. You disciples will become Buddhas in the future, but your teacher will perhaps go back to being a ghost, returning to suffer in the path of hungry ghosts! So you should not imitate your teacher, but should learn what you ought to learn instead.
And totally perfected limitlessly many Paramitas. The Chinese text says "crossings," which is a literal translation of the word Paramita. All the crossings referred to means the limitless and boundlessly many Paramitas. Paramita is a Sanskrit word, in which param means "the other side." [Note: ita means "gone to."] That indicates one goes from this side to the other side, not that one was on the other side to begin with. One must go from this side, which is birth and death, cross over the flow of afflictions in between, and reach the other side, which is Nirvana.
"All the Paramitas" refers to the Six Paramitas, and there are also Ten Paramitas. Whichever Paramita you think is good is the Paramita that you should cultivate. Don't let it be the case that you don't even make one crossing over. If you don't even make one crossing, you definitely won't reach the other shore. You absolutely have to cultivate a crossing. Start by practicing one crossing, and when you have crossed over that one, all the other crossings will be perfected too. It's the same as the previous Dharma-door: when you have cultivated one aspect to perfection, then all aspects will be perfected. They are interconnected, with mutual causes, mutual reinforcements, and interpenetrations. Each takes strength from the other. All the crossings reciprocate and reinforce each other. One crossing avails itself of some strength from another crossing, and the other crossing borrows a little power from the first one. When the power is perfected, the crossing is perfected as well. Here all the limitlessly many crossings are totally perfected, meaning that limitless and boundlessly many Paramitas are all brought to perfection.
With great kindness and pity he benefits living beings. The Buddha uses an attitude of great kindness and compassion to bestow happiness upon living beings, and so is said to pity and care about them. Pity is actually compassion, which can pull out suffering. He has pity on every living being and gives happiness to every being. He further pulls out beings' sufferings, enabling them to escape from suffering and attain bliss--which is also known as benefitting living beings. This is the liberation of the Spirit
Beginning of Emptiness-Ruling Spirit No. 1's Liberation Door
Furthermore, the Emptiness-Ruling Spirit named Pure Light Shining Everywhere obtained the liberation door of knowing the minds of all living beings in all the destinies everywhere.
Furthermore indicates there is something more to be said, and while that is being talked about, please don't fall asleep! You should wake up and listen to this kind of state, which is the door to liberation of the Emptiness-Ruling Spirit named Pure Light Shining Everywhere. "Pure Light" in this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit's name refers to the type of pure radiance which emanates from Prajna wisdom. This is not a faint light; it is light of great radiance. Why do we maintain that the light is great? The reason is its "Shining Everywhere." Light of small intensity would not shine universally. Who sends forth this great pure light?
It is this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit, this Shunyata-devata. Doesn't the Shurangama Sutra say: "Should even the Shunyata nature entirely melt away, this vajra resolve will never wane"? "Shunyata" refers to the spirit of emptiness, so one could say: "Should even the spirit of Emptiness entirely melt away, this vajra resolve of mine will never wane. I believe in this great Shurangama samadhi and cannot be shaken. My firm resolve does not waver." The name of this particular Emptiness-Ruling Spirit is "Pure Light Shining Everywhere."
She obtained the liberation door of knowing the minds of all living beings in all the destinies everywhere. What did she attain? She achieved the door to liberation of universally being able to know the minds of all living beings in all the paths of rebirth. That includes the four evil destinies of hell-beings, hungry ghosts, animals, and asuras, as well as the path of humans and the path of gods. This Emptiness-Ruling Spirit achieved the ability to know all thoughts in the minds of all the living beings in all those destinies. She knows all the false thoughts which living beings strike up in their minds. If you have a thought of greed, she decides, "Okay, I'll give you a little something. You're greedy for one cent, so I'll give you two cents. I'll double the amount. If you want two cents, I'll give you four cents."
This Emptiness-Ruling Spirit operates under the premise that, in order to encourage beings to enter the Buddha's wisdom, first you need to bait the hook with something they like. Whatever you think you would like to have, that's what she will give you. If you think, "I'd like to have a certain Buddhist dictionary," then someone sends you one to help you translate. If you don't recognize a word, you can consult the teacher, that is, look up the definition in the dictionary.
In the future [Note: This was in 1973] there will be computerized dictionaries. As soon as you search for a word, the explanation will appear. You won't have to go to all the trouble of looking the word up in the index first, the way you do now, and searching a lot before you find it. In the future, it will be very convenient. However, the more convenient it becomes, the more trouble it will be. As the convenience increases, the trouble will also not be slight. If you can't push the buttons, you won't find anything at all. You'll have to be able to push the buttons. For every benefit, there is harm. Any success brings failure. Whenever there is right, there is wrong. Every improvement entails decline. There will be decline in direct proportion to the improvement. There is no goodness without evil, no rebellion without filiality, no yin without yang, no old age without youth, no birth without death. If you had not been born, you would not die. Let's not say too much about this. If I tell you too much, you'll forget it.
So, where were we? We had been discussing the liberation door of being able to know the minds of living beings, and how if you think about having something, this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit will give it to you and make you happy. Then once you are happy, you will come inside this Dharma-door. The Emptiness-Ruling Spirit named Pure Light Shining Everywhere entered this door to liberation. How do you feel about this liberation door? If you like it, you can come along too.
Beginning of Emptiness-Ruling Spirit No. 2's Liberation Door
The Emptiness-Ruling Spirit named Universally Roaming Deeply and Widely obtained the liberation door of universally entering the Dharma Realm.
The next Emptiness-Ruling Spirit is named Universally Roaming Deeply and Widely. This Emptiness-Ruling Spirit likes to travel, to roam about everywhere deeply and widely, indicating there is no place in the Dharma Realm which she fails to visit. Her travels are not just confined to the world, but she even goes sight-seeing to the Dragons' Palace, to see if the dragons are asleep. Could it be that when they should be making rain, instead of doing so they are waiting for someone else to make it rain? As the saying goes: "When there are many dragons, each expects the others to do the work, the result being either droughts or floods." Therefore, when the Dragon King falls asleep, this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit calls out to awaken the Dragon King saying, "Old fellow cultivator, you should make it rain. You should be translating Sutras. Don't keep sleeping! Take a look at what this Sutra in the Dragons' Palace is like." How can I claim this Emptiness-Ruling Spirit goes to the Dragons' Palace? I don't say this without support. Just look at what the next phrase says: she obtained the liberation door of universally entering the Dharma Realm. Isn't the Dragons' palace within the Dharma Realm? Is the Dragons' Palace outside the Dharma Realm? Hence what I say is reasonable, and it's not out of the question for her to tell the Elder Dragon King to make it rain. This Emptiness-Ruling Spirit obtained the liberation door of universal entry to the Dharma Realm. If you would like to travel without having to purchase a plane ticket, to go on a holiday without needing to pay for passage on a boat, to take a vacation which does not require buying a ticket for a train or bus, that is all possible. All you have to do is enter this door to liberation, and you can do it.
To be continued |
