前期提示：飛動不沈。自然超越。此名外分。
純想即飛。必生天上。若飛心中。兼福兼慧。及與淨願。自然心開。見十方佛。一切淨土。隨願往生。
「純想」：純想就是沒有情，單單有這一個想。這個情是屬陰的，這個想就屬陽的。什麼叫純想呢？就是專一了，就是一個想，沒有旁的念頭，也就是一種真誠。我們人這個想，好像吃東西、飲酒、吸菸，一切一切都是由這個想，想要做這個事情，才有這個事情；想不做這個事情，就沒有這個事情。我想要吃好東西，就去買一點好東西來吃；想要穿一件好衣服，就買一件好衣服來穿；我想要飲酒，就去買一瓶白蘭地來飲一飲，或者中國那個竹葉青啊，又什麼茅台啊，那個酒真好飲，最好的那高粱酒。我這一講，歡喜飲酒的人哪，也就會流口水了，「啊！真不錯的！」心裏就動彈了。歡喜抽菸的人，總想：「啊！這個菸是不錯，什麼牌子的菸是好？」就想，總想要用這個東西。
後來遇著一個善知識，就叫他戒菸，叫他不吃肉，叫他不飲酒。這個人也很聽話的，也不抽菸，也不飲酒，也不吃肉了。可是怎麼樣啊？因為總有個想，想著要抽菸，要喝酒，要吃肉的；於是乎在夢中，作夢的時候，又抽菸，又喝酒，又吃肉。為什麼呢？也就因為有這個想。在醒的時候，不去做了；作夢的時候，就大口酒，大口肉，又抽香菸，什麼都有了。一醒的時候，還是個夢，又後悔了：「唉！我已經戒了菸，戒了酒，戒了肉了，現在怎麼又吃這個東西呢？又用這個東西呢？」你說這就由想來造成的。所以方才我說：病中難作主在夢中的時候更作不得主；這都是的的確確的，這真是老老實實的道理。
「純想即飛」：你要是想到極點了，就會飛了，飛到什麼地方去啊？就是飛到天上去了，「必生天上」：等你命終的時候，就生天了。「若飛心中，兼福兼慧」：假設你的想，總在心裏頭，你不想生天，你就想自己求一點智慧，求一點福報，就是心心念念總想福和慧。佛是福慧兩足，所以叫兩足尊，那麼你就想我也要修福，又要修慧。「修福不修慧，象身掛瓔珞」，那個大笨象身上戴著一串瓔珞珠；雖然牠戴瓔珞珠，這是好了，牠有福了，但是牠沒有智慧。「修慧不修福，羅漢應供薄」，你單單求智慧，不修福報。怎麼樣啊？就學習經典、打坐，你也不做功德，你不肯布施。你若想修福怎麼樣呢？就在三寶面前要種福，每逢佛誕、菩薩誕辰，或者是你自己的誕辰，或者是有什麼特殊的情形，或者初一、十五，都應該做功德。我們佛教徒每逢聖誕日的時候，我們都應該盡我們自己的能力來做功德。做功德，就是行布施。你在三寶面前來做功德，然後你才能有福；你若不做功德呢，就沒有福。
如果你單單想要求慧、開智慧，不修福、不求福，「羅漢應供薄」，你等證阿羅漢果的時候，也沒有人供養你。為什麼呢？以前你不供養人家嘛！你不供養人，所以你成佛的時候，也沒有人供養你。所以現在你想要有人供養你，你也就要先供養人。這就好像你種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆，一個樣的道理。這是講在心裏想修福。若兼福兼慧，這都可以有了。
待續 |
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sutra text from last issue: With flight and ascension, one will not sink, but will naturally become transcendent.
Sutra:
“Endowed solely with thought, they will fly and can certainly be reborn in the heavens above. If they fly from the heart, and if they have blessings and wisdom, as well as pure vows, then their hearts will spontaneously open and they will see the Buddhas of the ten directions and all their pure lands and they will be reborn in whichever one they wish.
Commentary:
“Endowed solely with thought” means that the person has no emotion, no yin, but has only reason, which belongs to yang. “Solely” means it is present to the exclusion of any other mental process. There is only thought, nothing else. It is a kind of true sincerity.
People's thoughts are such that they govern what happens. For instance, eating, drinking, and smoking all come about based on thought. First one thinks about it and then one does it. Conversely, if one decides not to do something, that thing won't be done. “If I want to eat something good, I go buy some good things to eat. If I want something nice to wear, I go buy it.” The same is true for drinking. If one is thirsty, one goes out and gets some brandy, whiskey, rum, or beer. Just mentioning it is enough to make some people's mouths water. People who like to smoke are always mulling over the best brands of cigarettes. They've always got their mind on these things. Then they meet a good and wise advisor who tells them to stop smoking, stop eating meat, and stop drinking. Obediently they stop, but since their minds habitually run to these things, they start having dreams about smoking cigarettes, drinking liquor, and eating meat. They don't actually do these things in their waking hours, but because the thought remains, they dream of indulging in them at night. When they awaken they regret their conduct in the dream.“I've already stopped doing that. Why would I resort to it in a dream?” they admonish themselves. As I've told you before, it's difficult to remain in control of yourself when you're sick and even more difficult to do so in a dream.
Endowed solely with thought, they will fly and can certainly be reborn in the heavens above. If they fly from the heart, and if they have blessings and wisdom, as well as pure vows, then their hearts will spontaneously open. However, if one's thought is of the heart and one does not wish to be reborn in the heavens, but instead keeps blessings and wisdom in mind at all times, then, even better than to be born in the heavens, one may have made pure vows to be reborn in a Buddhaland. The Buddha is known as the Doubly Complete One; that is, he is complete in both blessings and wisdom. Aware of this, one wants to cultivate blessings and wisdom oneself.
But to cultivate blessings and not wisdom, one will be like an elephant
wearing a necklace.
And to cultivate wisdom and not blessings one will become an Arhat with
scant offerings.
The necklace is handsome and valuable, but it's all the elephant has; it doesn't have any thought-power, any wisdom. If you seek wisdom in your cultivation by studying the Sutras and sitting in meditation, but fail to plant any blessings and are unable to practice giving, then you'll end up smart but hungry. To plant blessings means one should do meritorious and virtuous deeds, especially on the Buddhist holidays-the birthdays and anniversaries of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas-or on your own birthday, or on the first and the fifteenth of the lunar month. If you practice giving and create merit before the Triple Jewel, then you willl amass blessings. If you do not do meritorious and virtuous deeds, then you won't have any blessings. If you concentrate on wisdom and don't develop blessings, then no one will make offerings to you when you become an Arhat. That's because on the cause ground you did not make offerings in your turn. So if you want people to make offerings to you when the time comes, you should make offerings to them now. It's as simple as the principle of
Planting melons, you get melons.
Planting beans, you get beans.
To be continued |
