北加州萬佛聖城，於五月十九日（週日）舉行一九九六年浴佛節法會，慶祝釋迦牟尼佛聖誕。來自美、加與亞洲的善信，總計將近一千人參加了這項隆重的法會。
萬佛聖城所在的瑜伽市達摩鎮，在浴佛節前連續下雨多日。氣象預報指出，這場雨將持續到五月二十一日，不料浴佛節清晨，滿天陰霾竟然一掃而空，只見旭日東昇妙覺山頭，萬道曙光為天地增添一股祥瑞的正氣。「唵、底沙、底沙、僧伽娑訶......」在浴佛真言中，將近千人分為十二排，井然有序地完成浴佛儀式，一張張喜悅的臉上，煥發著虔誠的心。
恆實師在午齋時分，首先開示指出，一九八九年宣公上人在萬佛聖城的浴佛節盛典，曾作了一首偈頌：「浴佛浴心復清淨，吃飯吃藥去疾病，本來面目無纖塵，行住坐臥皆在定。」法師還勉勵大家浴佛之後要回復清淨，常常在定中。
一○八歲的高棉裔達馬瓦拉老法師，目前住在萬佛聖城，他特別開示說：「今天是所有日子中，最偉大的一日。為什麼偉大呢？因為今天這個日子將釋迦牟尼佛，帶到人世。」老法師又祝福大家說：「願佛陀保佑大家，快樂、成功、富饒、長壽。」女界的恆良師，接著為大家解釋浴佛讚偈的涵義：「我今灌浴諸如來，淨智莊嚴功德聚，五濁眾生令離垢，同證如來淨法身。」法師又說：「浴佛就是清淨自性！一旦清淨自性就不要再以三毒來染污自性，也不要以眾生肉，污染我們的身體。」萬佛聖城方丈恆律師，則向大寮工作人員的辛苦表示感謝。午齋之後有越南文的佛法開示，及現場翻譯成中、粵語的英語錄影帶「生命的吶喊！」，強調殺生的殘酷。
下午，在放生的儀式與三皈五戒之後，圓滿結束了今年的浴佛節法會。 |
|
On Sunday, May 19, 1995, the Festival for Bathing the Buddha was held at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to celebrate the birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha. Around 1,000 Buddhists from the United States, Canada, and Asia came to join the magnificent Dharma gathering.
It had been raining continuously for many days prior to the Bathing the Buddha festival. The weatherman forecasted that the rain would continue until May 21. Unexpectedly, though, the dark clouds were nowhere to be seen on the morning of the Buddha's birthday. We saw the sun rise over Wonderful Enlightenment Mountain, its bright shafts of light bringing a harmonious and proper energy to the world. As the the sounds of the true words for bathing the Buddha--"Nan, di sha, di sha, samgha suo he"--reverberated through the air, nearly a thousand people formed into twelve lines carried out the ritual of bathing the Buddha in orderly fashion. Their faces glowed with joy and sincerity.
Dharma Master Heng Sure gave a talk at the vegetarian noon meal. He recited a verse that the Master had composed for the Bathing the Buddha Festival in 1989:
Bathing the Buddha and bathing our minds, we return to purity.
Taking food and taking medicine, we get rid of illness.
There is not a single speck of dust on the true self.
Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, you are always in samadhi.
Dharma Master Sure said that after bathing the Buddha, everyone should return to purity and constantly remain in samadhi.
The 108-year-old Dharma Master Dharmawara, who is presently residing at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, gave a talk in which he said, "Today is the greatest day of all days. Why is it so great? Because it was today that Shakyamuni Buddha was born, the day that brought Buddha to the world. May Buddha bless all of you with happiness, success, prosperity, and longevity."
Dharma Master Heng Liang explained the Praise for Bathing the Buddha, which goes:
I now bathe all Thus Come Ones,
Who are adorned with pure wisdom,
Who have amassed merit and virtue.
May living beings of the five turbid realms be led from filth,
And together realize the pure Dharma body of the Thus Come One.
She said, "To bathe the Buddha we are bathing our self-nature! Once we're purifying our self-nature is pure, we don't want to pollute it again with greed, hatred, or stupidity. We don't want to pollute our body with the flesh of living beings either."
Dharma Master Heng Lyu, the City's Abbot, expressed his gratitude to the kitchen workers for their hard work. After the meal, there was a Vietnamese lecture. The videotape "Crying Life," which stresses the cruelty of taking life, was played and translated on the spot from English into Mandarin and Cantonese. After a ceremony for Liberating Lives and a transmission of the three refuges and five precepts in the afternoon. |
