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若人欲了知，三世一切佛；
應觀法界性，如來唯心造。
「若人欲了知，三世一切人；應觀法界性，如來唯心造。」你笑我念錯了？是不是？「若人欲了知」：若，是假設。人，就是一切的人。欲了知，欲了知個什麼呢？欲了知──「人」怎麼樣做人。
「三世一切人」：說「我聽說是『三世一切佛』，師父怎麼念成了『三世一切人』呢？」人就是佛嘛！人，你叫他是「佛」，也可以的；佛，你叫他是「人」，也可以的。為什麼呢？人，可以成佛；佛，是人成的。所以你若說是「佛」呢？沒有人懂。「什麼叫『佛』啊？」沒有人真正知道。你若說是「人」呢，人人都知道是有個「人」。那麼知道有個「人」，就好辦啦！也容易了。
這個「人」是誰呢？就是「佛」。說那我是不是佛呢？你也是佛；他是不是佛呢？他也是佛；我是不是佛呢？我也是佛，卻是還沒有成的佛。成了之後，那是一個真佛，現在是個假佛。假佛也可以做真佛，真佛又可以做假佛。所以為什麼說一個「若」字呢？這個若，就是一個假設之辭，你不要那麼固執，把它看得那麼認真。所以說，假設你這個人，要明白、要了知「三世一切佛」。三世一切佛，都是人成的。
「應觀法界性」：你應該看看這個法界性。不是說那個法界的性，法界有什麼性啊？法界若有了性，那還叫法界嗎？這說的是法界的眾生性，眾生啊！各人有各性，你有你的性，我有我的性。說這個性，你不知道。你的脾氣就比我大一點，我的脾氣就比你深一點。你說是不是？不一樣的。
這法界的眾生，各有各性。豬有豬性，馬有馬性。豬，牠就姓豬；馬，就姓馬；牛，就姓牛。各有各「姓」，那是姓名的姓。這是性格的性，男人有男人的性，女人就有女人性，各有其性。那麼有的歡喜吃甜的，這是有個甜性；有的歡喜吃酸的，就有個酸性；有的歡喜吃辣的，就有一個辣性。啊！有的歡喜吃苦的，那麼我們大家就有一個苦性在這兒，你說是不是呀？我們行苦行。一行苦行，這個修行也是苦行；到了過堂吃飯的時候，也是苦行。行那苦行呢，大家就都不要落到人後邊，要跑到前面去，那麼過堂那個苦行，誰都要跑到前面去，你看是不是？
你研究研究，各有各性。樹也有樹的性，花有花的性，草有草的性，各有其性，所以說「法界性」。不是說法界有性，是法界的眾生性。你們現在明白了沒有？以前你們都以為是法界性，現在是那法界之中的眾生性，所以才說「應觀法界性」。
「如來唯心造」：本來說「若人欲了知，三世一切佛；應觀法界性，一切唯心造。」我因為前面講「三世一切人」，現在最後一句，就給它改成「如來唯心造」。佛，就是由你心造成的。你心若是修佛法，就成佛道；你心歡喜菩薩，就行菩薩道，成菩薩。乃至於你心願意墮地獄，你就往地獄那兒跑，將來就墮地獄了。
待續 |
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Verse:
The Tathagatas are made from the mind alone.
If anyone wishes to understand
All Buddhas of the three periods of time,
He should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm;
Commentary:
“If anyone wishes to understand / All people of the three periods of time, / He should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm; /The Tathagatas are made from the mind alone.” Are you laughing because I read it wrong?
If anyone wishes to understand. Suppose there are people who wish to understand how people become people.
All people of the three periods of time. “Shouldn't it be ‘all Buddhas of the three periods of time’? Why did you say ‘all people of the three periods of time’?” you ask. People are Buddhas. If you call a person a Buddha, that's okay; and if you call the Buddha a person, that's okay, too. Why is this? Because a person can become a Buddha. A Buddha is just a person who has realized Buddhahood. If you talk about Buddhas, no one really understands.“What's a Buddha?” they ask. Everyone knows what a person is. So we'll talk about people, and it will become easier to understand.
Who are the people we're discussing? The Buddhas.
“Am I a Buddha?” you ask.
You are.
“Are other people Buddhas?”
Yes, they are too. You are a Buddha, but an unrealized Buddha. After your realization, you will become a true Buddha. Now you are a false Buddha. False Buddhas can become true Buddhas, and true Buddhas can become false Buddhas. If anyone wishes to understand / All Buddhas of the three periods of time. The verse starts with the word“if“ to indicate that this is only a hypothetical situation; don’t be attached and think that it’s real. The Buddhas of the three periods of time are just people who have realized Buddhahood.
He should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm. How can the Dharma Realm have a nature? If it had a nature, how could it be called the Dharma Realm? Actually, this refers to the nature of the living beings in the Dharma Realm. Every living being of the Dharma Realm has its own nature. You have your nature, and I have my nature.“I don’t know what you mean by‘nature’,” you say. Well, your temper is bigger than mine; and mine is deeper than yours. Thus, our natures are different.
Each living being in the Dharma Realm has its own nature. Pigs have the nature of pigs; horses have the nature of horses. Men have the nature of men, and women have the nature of women. Each has his or her own nature. Those who like to eat sweet things have a sweet nature; those who like to eat sour things have a sour nature; those who like hot, spicy things have a hot nature. Those who like to eat bitter things have a bitter nature, like all of us here. [Note: In Chinese, the same character means both ‘bitter’ and ‘ascetic’]. We cultivate ascetic practices. Cultivation is ascetic practice; even going to the dining hall to eat is an ascetic practice. When it comes to ascetic practices, none of you should fall behind. You should race toward the front. In the “ascetic practice” of eating, all of you race toward the front, don’t you?
If you look into it, you’ll find that everything has its own nature. Trees have the nature of trees; flowers have the nature of flowers; grass has the nature of grass. Each thing has its own nature. So “the nature of the Dharma Realm” refers to the nature of each living being in the Dharma Realm. Do you understand? Previously you thought that the Dharma Realm had a nature, but now you know this is referring to the nature of living beings in the Dharma Realm.
The Tathagatas are made from the mind alone. The original verse from the Avatamsaka Sutra said: If anyone wishes to understand / All Buddhas of the three periods of time, / He should contemplate the nature of the Dharma Realm; / Everything is made from the mind alone. I changed the second line to say, All people of the three periods of time, and I also changed the last line to The Tathagatas are made from the mind alone. Buddhas are created from the mind. If your mind cultivates the Buddhadharma, you will become a Buddha. If your mind likes the Bodhisattvas, you can practice the Bodhisattva Way and become a Bodhisattva. If your mind wants to fall into the hells, you are bound to fall.
To be continued |
