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「你就是你所想的；所吃的，所喝的。」
––達瑪瓦拉尊者開示聖城
達瑪瓦拉尊者再次於一九九六年一月十六日蒞臨聖城。去年暑假他亦曾參加上人之荼毘。一百零八歲的柬埔寨老比丘
今年初遠赴英國，亞洲。返回美國後，他並未先回自己住持的廟，而是從機場搭乘巴士，直趨萬佛聖城。他老人家的來訪，帶給聖城四眾意外的驚喜。
一月十六日下午，達瑪瓦拉法師首先對培德中學男生部學生開示指出：
外面的世界很不好，你們都選擇了很正確的道路，都知道要來這裡尋求內心的平安。這條道路可以帶領你們找尋生命
中的平安。你們在這裡又可以學習去除欲望，去除欲望就可以得到快樂。這個世界上沒有任何一個地方比萬佛城更好，也沒有任何一個地方更適合你們。青少年是人
生的開始，你們要開始偉大的事業。打坐很重要，你們有兩種眼：「內眼」和「外眼」，用「內眼」來觀心。
有一位學生問老比丘：「什麼是生命？」
老比丘簡潔地答覆道：「生命就是光明，死亡就是黑暗。」
達瑪瓦拉法師當天晚上在萬佛殿，對一群興奮而充滿敬意的四眾弟子，做了整整兩個小時的開示。此次的主題是「靜
坐」；但他同時也答覆了一些問題，並敘述他過去在森林靜坐的生活。
達瑪瓦若尊者用英文開示。他的開示簡明而直接，那是他畢生修行的成果。在結束第一部分的開示後，大眾一起靜坐
一會兒。尊者不斷地強調，並祈望聽眾能記住「你就是你所想的，所吃的，所喝的。」他要大家記得這三項事，並且專心一致於此。「你靜坐的主題就是在這三項事
當中。當你能專注在這幾句話，當你能從中學習並銘記於心，你就會找到相當的真理。」
尊者提到靜坐就如同生命的核心。靜慮，觀照你的心，是最重要的。「心能創造，也能傷害我們的生命，所以要全神
貫注在你的心上。」每天固定的靜慮，絕對能給你帶來好處。「你如果每天都能善用時間來靜坐，那麼遲早你會發現你變得很快樂。」萬事萬物都是由心所造的。
「假如你所想的跟聖者一樣，你就是一個聖人；假如你所想的跟罪人一樣，你就是一個罪人。」在短短的靜坐後，達瑪瓦拉就鼓勵大家發問。當被問到他出家多久
時，他回答：「七十幾年了，都是住在森林及寺院中。」他老人家能操各種不同語言：法文、英文、泰文、印度話、越南話、柬埔寨話和巴利文。有人問他天魔是否
找過他麻煩，他回答：
沒有，一點都沒有。你是天神，你也是魔，沒有一個眾生比你好，或甚至與你平等。假如你能認得自己，你在這世上
就是最為大的。或者你對自己並不很了解，想想看，我們是不朽的。所謂的死是一件事，不相關的事，當然，我們這個身體會死，但是你應該知道這個身體不是你，
是這個死屍被焚化，被埋葬，不是你，你永遠不死。
當問他出家修行遇到最危險的遭遇是什麼時，他就說了一個故事。當年他和一些同伴一起在森林修行時，他早晚精進
靜坐，有一次在晚間打坐時，他看到了一個女人，但他完全不為所動，這個女人很快就消失了。事後他才知道這個女人早先淹死在河裡，現在已變成了一個厲鬼，但
是她沒有給他什麼麻煩。尊者也提到他被老虎跟過幾次的事。可是動物對人所發出來的電波是友善的或是具有敵意的，相當敏感；老虎感覺出他是朋友，也就離他而
去。最後，以巴利文念誦佛陀在世所用的祝福詞，來祝福大眾。身為一位有經驗的修行者，尊者豐富的智慧及趣事，為大眾提供了修行的方針及啟示。
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“You are what you think; you
are what you eat and drink.”
—Venerable Bhante Dharmawara at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
The Venerable Bhante Dharmawara
visited the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas again on January 16, 1996,
during the three-week winter Chan meditation session at the City. His
most recent previous visit took place last summer, during the cremation
ceremonies for the Venerable Master. The 108-year old Cambodian monk
had travelled in England and Asia at the beginning of the year. When he
returned to America, he came straight to the City by bus, without even
returning to his own temple. His visit was a pleasant surprise to the
residents of the City.
On the afternoon of January 16,
Bhante Dharmawara addressed the students of Developing Virtue Boys’
High School:
The outside world is very bad. You
have all chosen the right path to walk upon. You have come to this
place in search of inner peace. While you live here, you will learn to
get rid of your desires, and then you will find happiness… No place in
the world is better or more suitable for you than the City of Ten
Thousand Buddhas. You are young; you are just beginning your careers in
life. Meditation is very important. We have two kinds of eyes: inner
eyes and outer eyes. Use the inner eye to contemplate the mind.
“What is life?” asked a student.
Bhante Dharmawara answered simply,
“Life is light. Death is darkness.”
That evening, Bhante Dharmawara
spoke to a rapt and respectful four-fold assembly for a full two hours
at the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. His main topic was meditation, but
he also answered a number of questions and told stories of his life as
a meditating monk in the forest.
Bhante Dharmawara spoke in
English, with a simplicity and directness that stems from a lifetime of
cultivation. After the first part of his talk the assembly sat in
meditation for a while. The key point Bhante Dharmawara emphasized
repeatedly and hoped his listeners would keep in mind was: “You are
what you think; you are what you eat and drink.” He asked people to try
to remember these three items and concentrate on them: “The subject of
your meditation is here, within these words. When you can concentrate
your attention on these words, when you can learn them and keep them in
mind, you will find a corresponding amount of truth.”
Bhante Dharmawara described
meditation as the kernel of life. Meditation, watching the mind, is the
most important thing: “The mind can make or mar your life, so
concentrate your whole attention on your mind.” Daily meditation will
bring definite benefit: “If you spend your time well in meditation,
every day, sooner or later you will discover that you have become very
happy.” Everything comes from the mind: “If you think like a saint, you
are a saint; if you think like a sinner, you are a sinner."
After a short period of sitting
Bhante Dharmawara encouraged the assembly to ask questions. When asked
how long he had been a monk, he answered, “Over 70 years, both in the
forest and the temple.” He speaks a variety of languages: French,
English, Thai, Hindi, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Pali. Has he ever had
problems with heavenly demons?
No problems, none at all. You are
the deva; you are also the demon. No being is higher than you, or even
equal to you. If you know yourself, you are the greatest being on this
earth. Perhaps you don’t know yourself well... Think it over: we are
immortal. What we call death is something else. This body dies, of
course, but you should know the body is not you. The dead body is
cremated or buried, but it’s not you. You never die.
Asked what was the most dangerous
situation he had encountered as a monk, Bhante Dharmawara told a story
of when he was cultivating in the forest with some companions, devoting
himself to meditation day and night. Once he saw the figure of a woman
appear during his evening meditation, but remained totally unmoved. The
woman quickly disappeared. Later he learned the woman had drowned in
the river and become a very ferocious spirit; but he had no troubles
with her. Bhante Dharmawara also mentioned how he had been followed by
tigers many times. But as animals are very sensitive to friendly and
hostile vibrations, the tigers could sense he was a friend and left him
alone. To conclude the evening, Bhante Dharmawara blessed the assembly,
reciting a Pali blessing used by the Buddha. As a seasoned cultivator
he abounded in wisdom and anecdotes which provided guidance and
inspiration for the whole assembly.
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