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不大不小，非去非來；
微塵世界，交映蓮臺。
今天講十法界的第一個佛法界。這佛法界，我們到紅木城那兒去，講過這個「佛」。我在那兒對大家就講，英文叫Buddha, Buddha, Buddha! 我因為很愚癡的，耳朵也很聾的，就聽成一個「不大」。本來是 Budha，我說「不大」。這個「大」是什麼？是佛。那麼有一個教授就很歡喜這個講法。所以講完了，他對著我合起掌來就叫「不大」。這個「不大」，就是沒有貢高心。佛就沒有貢高心、沒有我慢心。英文也有一個貢高的樣子，就叫「Ｉ，Ｉ，Ｉ」，佛沒有「Ｉ」。這「Ｉ」的中文就是「我」。我！我！我！我！我！什麼都是我，左右前後、上下四方都是我，這個我，啊！太多了。因為「我的」太多，就大了；佛呢，因為沒有我，所以就不大了。你聽這個講法怎麼樣呢？那麼小不小呢？也不小。若不大，可是他會小，那也不是佛了！因此又不小。所以第一句就說「不大不小」。
「非去非來」：也不是去了，也沒有來；就是「來而未來，去而未去」。為什麼說非去非來呢？因為佛的法身是盡虛空、遍法界，無在無不在的。你若說他去，去個什麼地方？你若說他來，又來到一個什麼地方？根本他的法身是周遍的，所以說非去非來。那麼是不是就在我們這個世界呢？不是。不是單單就在我們這一個世界。這個法界，是所有微塵微塵那麼多的世界；無量無量、無邊無邊那麼多的世界，都是佛的法身。所以說「微塵世界」：像微塵世界那麼多。
「交映蓮臺」：交映，就是這個法界佛光，照著那個法界的佛。那個法界佛的光，又照著這個法界。佛在蓮臺上坐著，互相放光動地，耳朵也放光，眼睛也放光，鼻子也放光；舌頭也放光，牙齒上又放光，不但這麼多的六根門頭在那兒放光動地，每一個毛孔上，都是放光動地的。每一個毛孔，又現出來微塵世界；無量無邊那麼多的諸佛，就在那一個毛孔上所現出來的。那麼每一個佛都是這樣子地放光，無量無邊的；但是和電燈一樣，你那個光也不衝突我這個光，我這個光也不衝突你那個光。不是說：「啊！你放那麼多光，我的光沒有地方了，這是不行的。」那光與光不衝突，光與光都是和的，這叫「和光」。所以，我們佛教就是和光的，這光與光不相衝突，我們人與人也不要相衝突，所以這叫交映蓮臺。這個交映，就是你的光照著我，我的光又照著你，光光相照，孔孔相通，和大梵天王那個網羅幢一樣的，帝網重重，無盡無盡，這就叫交映蓮臺。第一個佛的法界，是這樣子的。
待續 |
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Verse:
Neither great nor small,
Neither gone nor come,
In worlds as many as motes of dust,
They shine upon each other from their lotus thrones.
Commentary:
The first Dharma Realm is that of Buddhas. I once gave a lecture in Redwood City (California) in which I explained the word “Buddha.” Because I'm quite dull and a bit deaf, when I first heard the word “Buddha” in English, I heard it as buda, which means “not big” in Chinese. What is “not big”? The Buddha. One professor liked my explanation so much that when I finished my lecture, he put his palms together and said to me, “Buda.”
“Not big” means not arrogant. The Buddha is not arrogant or haughty. An arrogant person is someone who is always saying, “I! I! I!” The Buddha doesn’t have an “I,” an ego. “Me, me, me”-everything is “me.” Everything to the right, left, in front, back, above, below, and throughout the four directions is “me.” There are too many “me's,” and so the self becomes big. The Buddha, being selfless, is “not big.” Then is he little? No. If he were little, he wouldn’t be a Buddha. He is neither great nor small.
Neither gone nor come. The Buddha has “come and yet not come, gone and yet not gone.” Since the Buddha's Dharma-body fills all of space and pervades the Dharma Realm, it is neither absent nor present. You may speak of the Buddha as going, but to where does he go? You might say he comes, but from where does he come? Nor does his Dharma-body merely pervade our world; the Dharma Realm includes as many worlds as there are motes of dust-limitlessly, boundlessly many worlds-all of which are the Buddha's Dharma-body.
In worlds as many as motes of dust / They shine upon each other from their lotus thrones. The Buddha in this Dharma Realm shines his light upon the Buddha of another Dharma Realm, and the light of the Buddha in that Dharma Realm illumines this Dharma Realm. Sitting on lotus thrones, the Buddhas simultaneously move the earth and emit light from their ears, eyes, noses, tongues, and teeth. Not only do their six organs put forth light and move the earth, their every pore emits light and moves the earth. And in every pore, worlds as numerous as motes of dust appear, each containing incalculable numbers of Buddhas who emit light in the same way.
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Yet all these lights, like those of many lamps, do not contend. One lamp doesn't say to another,“You can't give off so much light, because my light has nowhere to go.” The lights don't clash with one another; they fuse together. In Buddhism, we unite our lights. Just as lights do not conflict with one another, so too should people not clash. We should allow our lights to shine on one another like the lights interpenetrating at the interstices of the infinitely-layered circular net canopy of the Great Brahma Heaven King. That's the Dharma Realm of Buddhas.
To be continued |
