前期經文提示:時天王佛般涅槃後，正法住世二十中劫。全身舍利起七寶塔，高六十由旬，縱廣四十由旬。諸天人民，悉以雜華，末香燒香塗香，衣服瓔珞，幢旛寶蓋，伎樂歌頌，禮拜供養七寶妙塔。
「無量眾生」：這又有無量眾生「得阿羅漢果。」這個天王佛在生的時候，沒有入涅槃，有無量眾生得阿羅漢果。他入涅槃之後，還有無量眾生也得羅漢果。這「無量眾生」證了辟支佛果。「不可思議」那麼多的「眾生」，「發菩提心至不退轉」：也都到這不退轉的果位上。
佛告諸比丘，未來世中，若有善男子善女人，聞妙法華經，提婆達多品，淨心信敬，不生疑惑者，不墮地獄餓鬼畜生，生十方佛前。所生之處，常聞此經。若生人天中，受勝妙樂。若在佛前，蓮華化生
釋迦牟尼「佛」又告訴「諸比丘」，說「未來世中」：就是在釋迦牟尼佛的時候，說是將來沒有到來那個時候，也就是你我現在的時候。「若有善男子善女人」：若有，就是假使這個修五戒十善的男人，或者受五戒十善的這個女人。「聞妙法華經」：能夠聽到這個《妙法蓮華經》，〈提婆達多品〉這一品。這提婆達多──這個天熱的這一位人的這一品。「淨心信敬」，怎麼叫淨心呢？淨心就是心裏沒有染污法。
什麼叫沒有染污法呢？就是在善惡的事上沒有分別──也不思善，也不思惡了──這就叫一個淨心。你要在這個善惡上──這個是善，那個是惡；這個是好，那個是壞；這個是是，那個是非；這個是白，那個是黑──你要生出那麼多的分別心來，那就不是淨心了。
淨心，就是你能於善、惡、黑、白、是、非，都不分別了。說是那不成為一個死悟了嗎？就是叫你成一個死悟。你要能在活悟上，再能像死悟似的，那就是得到這個淨心的妙處了。可惜你無論如何做不到。為什麼說善惡不分別呢？這提婆達多就是一個最壞的一個人。可是你要知道，這提婆達多，的確是一個大菩薩。他要在反面上來度人；在相反的這方向來度人，所以這叫一個淨心。
什麼叫信呢？就是你信生生世世所遇著反對你的人，或者給你苦頭吃的人，都是幫助你成佛的。這就好像在大冶洪爐裏來鍊一樣。鍊得你習氣毛病一點都沒有了，像棉花那麼柔軟，這就叫一個真信，也叫深信。你知道給你麻煩的人都是幫忙你修行的人；你要沒有麻煩，怎麼會顯出來你有忍力呢？或者給你苦頭吃的人，這都是幫助你成佛的。就因為有一些個麻煩，所以證明你不動心，無動於衷，心裡頭像沒有那麼回事似的。
你看彌勒菩薩作的那一首偈頌──前幾天講的那首──它並沒有一個忍字。沒有說：「我就是忍辱波羅蜜。」就是根本沒有這回事。所以不需要說出忍字來。這是一個信。
你要相信反對你的都是幫助你成佛的，這是個信。敬也有它的意思。你所遭所遇的這個怨，老給你很多麻煩，很多煩惱的人，你應該怎麼樣想呢？應該想：「這真是幫助我的善知識。」這真是善知識；要不是真善知識，他為什麼要現一個最惡的人呢？所以你遇到這一種給你煩惱，給你麻煩的人，你都應該當善知識來看，這就叫敬。
待續 |
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Sutra text from last issue: After the Parinirvana of the Buddha King of Gods, the Proper Dharma will dwell in the world for twenty middle-sized eons. A stupa sixty yojanas high and forty yojanas wide, made of the seven jewels will be built to hold the sharira of his complete body. All the gods and humans shall make offerings to and worship the wonderful stupa of seven jewels, using various flowers, powdered incense, burning incense, paste incense, clothing, beads, banners, jeweled canopies, instrumental and vocal music.
Commentary:
Limitless living beings shall attain the fruit of Arhatship. While the Buddha named King of Gods is in the world, limitless living beings will attain the fruit of Arhatship, and after he has entered Nirvana, limitless living beings will also attain the fruit of Arhatship. Limitless living beings will awaken to and be certified as having attained Pratyekabuddhahood. An inconceivable number of living beings will bring forth the resolve for Bodhi and reach the position of irreversibility.
Sutra:
The Buddha told the Bhikshus, “In the future if a good man or good woman hears the Devadatta Chapter of The Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra and with a pure mind believes and reveres it, having no doubts, he will not fall into the hells, into the realm of hungry ghosts, or into the animal realm. He will be born in the presence of the Buddhas of the ten directions, always hearing this Sutra wherever he may be born. Should he be reborn among humans and gods, he will receive supreme and subtle bliss. If born in the presence of a Buddha, he will be born by transformation from a lotus flower.”
Commentary:
The Buddha Shakyamuni told the Bhikshus, “In the future if a good man or good woman hears the Devadatta Chapter of The Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra and with a pure mind believes and reveres it, having no doubts, he will not fall into the hells. The future here refers to the future from the time of the Buddha, which is just the present for us. A good man or good woman is one who cultivates the Five Precepts and the Ten Good Deeds. A pure mind is a mind without defilement. Being without defilement means that one doesn’t make discriminations about things being good or evil. One does not think in terms of good or evil. One has transcended such dualistic concepts. If you constantly discriminate, thinking, “This is good and that is evil; this is right, that is wrong; this is rotten, that is wholesome; this is black and that is white,” then with so many discriminations going on, you can’t be said to have gained purity of mind. If you can refrain from making discriminations in terms of good, bad, right and wrong, and so on, then you have a pure mind.
“But isn’t that like a dead enlightenment?” you ask.
That’s just what it’s supposed to be like! If, in your living enlightenment you can be as if dead, then you will have obtained the subtle point of having pure faith. The sad point is, you can’t do it. Why shouldn’t you discriminate between good and evil? Well, Devadatta was a very rotten person indeed. But, you should understand that Devadatta was really a great Bodhisattva. He just chose to save people in reverse. This is what a pure mind means.
What does it mean to have faith? It means you must have faith that in every lifetime, those people who oppose you or give you a hard time are all helping you to become a Buddha. You are as if being smelted in a big furnace. You are smelted and refined until you are free of all habits and faults. You become as soft and yielding as cotton. To be like that is to have true, deep faith. You should know that those people who make trouble for you are really helping you to realize Buddhahood. If you didn’t have any problems, how could you perfect the power of patience? Only in the presence of problems can you prove that your mind no longer moves, that you aren’t affected at all by what happens.
Look at Maitreya Bodhisattva’s verse about patience! I lectured it the other day. You will note that the word “patience” doesn’t occur in that verse even once. He doesn’t say, “I am perfecting patience.” He has gone beyond the concept of patience altogether, and so he doesn’t even have to bring it up as such.
To believe in this context means that those who oppose you are helping you to become a Buddha. “Reveres” also has meaning here. Those people you encounter who hate you, trouble you, and subject you to great trials, you should think of them, “They are truly my good advisors. They are helping me. If they were not my good advisors, why would they bother to manifest such an entirely evil appearance?” When you meet people who give you a hard time, you must think of them as your good advisors. If you can really regard them as your good advisors, you will certainly revere them.
to be continued
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