前期提示：般若十種利益其中的第七種。
我再給你們說一個公案。古來有師兄弟兩個人，發心打同參，在一起修行。修行呢，都是很吃得苦的，一天也都吃一餐。有一次走到北方了，離五臺山沒有多遠，那個地方就下起雪來了，他們就在一個破茅篷裏住著。這茅篷裏什麼都沒有，空的，也沒有吃的，也沒有柴，也沒有米，也沒有水。這一下雪，下了三天，他們就在這兒餓了三天，打坐。這師兄弟兩個，師弟就打了妄想，打什麼妄想呢？說：「我不吃三天飯，那可以的，我師兄本來很有錢的，他這三天不吃飯，真太可憐了。唉！若有人給送一點供養來，最好了。這麼冷的天頭，最好送一點麵來。」
他這麼一打妄想，這個土地公––土地公公就是管這個地方的神––就受不了了，啊！一看！這兩個真正修行人在那兒餓了三天，我這個土地公，如果再不想法子護法，這我有罪過了。於是乎，他就跑到後山，給兩夫婦托夢去了，他就告訴這兩夫婦，說：「你們前邊那個破茅篷裏邊，現在有二個真修行人，他們餓了三、四天都沒有吃東西，你快煮一點麵，給他們兩個送去吃一吃。」這兩夫婦都五、六十歲了，很信神的，尤其一天晚間做了好幾次這個夢，這知道一定是靈了，一定是真的。於是乎就煮了麵，有兩個人所以他煮了很多，拿到前邊就給這兩個真正修行人吃去了。
拿來，他們在那兒正打坐，這個師弟一看麵來了，就高興了，就哈哈地笑起來了，哈哈大笑！他這一笑，這師兄就知道了，說：「喔！你盡打妄想，你打來的這個麵，現在你吃了。我從今天開始，我不和你在一起打同參了，你這個沒有出息的人，你這麼樣子，太沒有意思了！我要和你分開了。」於是乎本來他們兩個人坐一個蒲團，那個蒲團就是打坐用的那個東西，他說現在我們把它割開，一人一半，你走你的，我走我的，我們再不能在一起，你盡打妄想，盡攀緣心。所以以後，兩師兄弟不在一起修行了，自己走自己的。
你看古來的人啊，三天不吃飯，人家送來的麵，都認為是不合理的，不合修行的宗旨。現在的人，啊！那你若給我送麵來，我真是有修行、有感應了，我想吃什麼就有什麼。所以修道啊，你打一個攀緣心，生一個妄想，你以為是有了好吃的東西，但是對修道上，就發生大障礙囉！你口裏好吃，你那個自性裏啊，就不會光明了。因為什麼？你盡打妄想，盡有攀緣心存在。
這是他言論不能動，也就因為有定力。你若有定力，什麼事情也不應該有一種妄想，一種攀緣。你有攀緣，好像餓了八輩子沒有吃過東西，好像那個鴿子似的，啊！你看，一拿出吃的東西，牠命都不要了。你把牠嘴給捏住，啊！牠蹦、蹦、蹦，跑不了；你鬆了牠，牠還不跑，就因為這兒有東西吃。我們修道的人，切記不要學這鴿子這麼樣子，這鴿子就因為有貪心，沒有定力，所以現在做了鴿子。
待續 |
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From last issue : The seventh of the Ten Advantages of the Perfection of Prajna.
I’ll tell you another true story. Once long ago there were two Dharma brothers who resolved to cultivate together. They cultivated asceticism, eating only one meal a day. Once they went north to a place not far from Five Peaks Mountain. Snow fell around the poor hut they were living in. The hut was totally empty. They found nothing to eat inside. There was no firewood, no rice, no water. It snowed for three days straight and they bore their hunger for three day as they sat in meditation. The younger Dharma brother then had a false thought. What was it? He reasoned with himself: “It's all right for me to go without food for three days, but my elder Dharma brother came from such a wealthy family, it's a shame for him to have to go hungry for three days. Ah! If only someone would bring us a little offering, how good that would be! In this cold weather, it would be nice if someone brought us some noodles.”
Now, that false thought of his was more than the earth god could take. The earth god refers to the local earth spirit in that area. Ah! He looked into it, and finding that those three genuine cultivators had gone hungry for three days, he thought,“If I don't find some way to protect the Dharma, then I will surely be committing an offense!”
And so he raced behind the mountain and appeared in the dreams of a husband and wife, telling them, “In that poor hut located up front of you are a couple of cultivators who haven't eatern for three or four days. You should quickly cook up some noodles and deliver them to those two.” The couple, both in the fifies or sixites, had a lot of faith in spirits. Especially since they'd had the same dream several times in the same night. They knew it must be true. And so they cooked plenty of noodles for both of them and carried them off to give them to the two true cultivators.
The two of them were sitting in meditation when the noodles arrived. As soon as the younger Dharma brother saw them , he was delighted and burst out laughing, “Ho! Ho!” As soon as he laughed, his elder Dharma brother realized what had happened and said, “Huh! All you do is have false thinking! Well you false-thought these noodles here, now you eat them! From today onwards, I refuse to practice the Way with you. You are a complete coward! What you've done is really terrible! I'm leaving you.”
Originally the two of shared a sitting mat. Now he insisted that they cut it in half.“You go your way and I'll go mine. We can't be together any more. All you do is have false thinking and take advantage of opportunities.” And so after that the two did not cultivate together any more. Each went his own way.
See what the virtuous ones of old were like? Having been without food for three days, he still thought that it was unprincipled when someone brought an offering of noodles. He felt it went against the ethics of cultivation. But people of today…Whoo! If someone offers them noodles they think,“I am truly a cultivator! I've had a response! Whatever I happen to think about eating just appears before me!” And so, in cultivating the Way, if you have a thought of taking advantage of opportunities, if you strike up a false thought, you may think that the food that comes in response tastes good, but it will create huge obstacles in your cultivation of the Way. You'll have good things to eat in your mouth, but your self-nature won't be able to emit light.Why not? Because you keep having false thinking, dreaming up ways of how to take advantage of situations.
But this cultivator would not compromise his principles because he had samadhi-power. If you have samadhi-power, then no matter what happens you should not have any false thinking nor should you take advantage of the situation. If you take advantage of the situation, you act as if you hadn't eaten for eight lifetimes. You act just like the pigeons. Watch them, as soon as there is something to eat, they'd give their lives for it. You can pinch their beaks and they will flap around, but they won't leave; let them go and they still won't leave because of the things to eat. We who cultivate the Way should not be like the pigeons. The pigeons act that way because of their greed; they don't have any samadhi-power. That's why they have to be pigeons now.
To be continued
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