一切世間眾導師
法雲大雨不可測
消竭無窮諸苦海
此離垢塵入法門
「一切世間眾導師」：就是所有世間一切佛。眾導師就是佛。「法雲大雨不可測」：他普遍行大法雲，雨大法雨，這種境界不是凡夫所能明白的，所可測量而知的。
「消竭無窮諸苦海」：這個法雲、大雨能消除眾生的煩惱，能消除眾生的貪瞋癡，無窮無盡這麼多的煩惱都可以消除。諸苦海，這個諸苦就是所有的一切苦，無量無邊這麼多的苦，所以叫海。「此離垢塵入法門」：這種解脫門是離垢主海神，他所明了的法門。
一切眾生煩惱覆
流轉諸趣受眾苦
為其開示如來境
普水宮神入此門
「一切眾生煩惱覆」：眾生本來都有智慧，本來和佛是無二無別的，可是就因為有煩惱遮蓋著智慧，所以這光明也不現出來，就好像雲把太陽遮上了似的，所以被煩惱所蓋覆著。「流轉諸趣受眾苦」：被煩惱所覆，於是乎就流轉諸趣，在六道輪迴裡頭流來流去；忽然兒天，忽然兒地，忽然兒餓鬼，忽然兒畜生，在這個諸趣裡頭這麼輪轉不停。受眾苦，受到一切的眾苦。「為其開示如來境」：佛為了開示一切眾生能得到如來的境界，就是成佛、開悟。「普水宮神入此門」：這是那個普水宮主海神，他明白這種的解脫門。
佛於難思劫海中
修行諸行無有盡
永截眾生癡惑網
寶月於此能明入
佛見眾生常恐怖
流轉生死大海中
示彼如來無上道
龍髻悟解生欣悅
「佛於難思劫海中」：佛在往昔很長時間的劫海中；這個劫海有多長呢？人的心都想不到那麼長的劫海裡邊。「修行諸行無有盡」：他修行一切的行門；難捨的能捨；難行的能行；難忍的他能忍；難讓的他能讓。總而言之，最不容易做到的這種法門，最不容易修的，他都把它修下來。無有盡，沒有窮盡那麼多不容易修的法門，他都修了，所以他能「永截眾生癡惑網」：他能把眾生這個愚癡的網，給截斷了。不但一時截斷，永遠都能把這個愚癡的網給截斷，把這個網給破了。「寶月於此能明入」：這個寶月主海神，他對這種的境界都明白而悟入。
（錄音帶換面時，上人讓弟子講解下列偈頌之第一句。）
你講一講這個「佛見眾生常恐怖」。是誰怕誰？誰不怕誰？為什麼叫你們兩位把它講一講？因為這一句很容易就講錯了題目，說佛見眾生常恐怖，這可以這麼講：佛就怕眾生；佛一見眾生就害怕了，佛最怕的就是眾生。這叫不懂道理的講法。人講就會講成，佛見眾生常恐怖，常常害怕。這個不是這樣講。這佛看見眾生，眾生自己常常生出一種恐怖來。恐怖什麼呢？恐怖這個生死的問題不了。不是說恐怖這個法門難修；因為眾生他還不知道什麼是法？什麼是門？他在這就是生了死，死了生，不求出離，不想出去這個三界。所以說「流轉生死大海中」：最可怕、最恐怖的是什麼呢？就是流轉這個生死大海中。在這個生死大海裡邊，生了又死，死了又生，生了又死，死了又生。
我們人活幾十年，死了也就和那個蜉蝣一樣。那個蜉蝣朝生而暮死，早間生出來了，晚間就死了。我們覺得這幾十年，在天上來看也就好像那個蜉蝣，一早就生了，晚間就死了一樣的。我們人間五十年，才是四王天一晝夜，你這麼樣比較起來，是不是早間出來晚間就死了呢？要是就這個忉利天來講，我們人間一百年，是忉利天一晝夜。我們活了幾十年又死了，要按天上來看，連一晝夜還不夠就死了，就和那個蜉蝣一樣。我們人看蜉蝣，早晨它生出來，晚間就死了。天人看我們人也是這樣子，早晨生出來了，晚間就死了，在我們人間覺得幾十年了。你看那蜉蝣在這一天的過程中，它也覺得非常地長，這世間有幾百年那麼長。因為它那個年月日，好像我們一秒中，或者它已經過一年了，那麼它這一天已經活了也有一百多歲，幾十歲了。所以眾生在這生死的大海裡邊，生了死死了生，這很恐怖的。也可以說是佛替眾生來恐怖；佛常常替眾生來恐怖這個生死的沒了，所以「示彼如來無上道」：指示佛的這個無上道。
「龍髻悟解生欣悅」：這是這個龍髻主海神，他明白這種的境界，心裡生出一種的歡喜－－歡欣而喜悅。
（弟子：第四位主海神的名字在長行中，與在偈中不同。）
一樣的意思，沒有什麼大的分別。在這個地方不需要太用功夫；太用功夫在這個地方不會開悟的。神的名字都是假的，你著在這個名上了，你找來找去，很多麻煩的。這個果寧也可以叫恆靜，也可以叫Steve。這都是三二一，一二三。他恆住波浪；他這個後邊是說什麼？他有宮殿；他就在那波浪裡頭也都可以有宮殿的。在你人看來是個波浪，在他看來就是一個宮殿。眾生凡夫這個眼睛看的和這個神看的不同的，不一樣的。一樣的事情，好像這個拜凳；這個拜凳裡頭就藏著十方法界，那麼凡夫看就是拜凳。
※ ※ ※
南無常住十方佛，
南無常住十方法，
南無常住十方僧。
南無大方廣佛華嚴經，
南無華嚴海會佛菩薩。
我還記得，在我初到美國沒多久的時候，遇到蘇聯和美國在古巴那個地方就發生戰爭。當時我就想：我初到這個國家，對所有的人類，這個國家的人民，也沒有什麼幫助。如果這個國家在古巴和蘇聯一旦戰爭發生了，就會有很多人的生命、財產都犧牲了。所以當時我因為也不懂英文，也不懂到外邊去，只可以在佛堂裡邊發一個願，五個禮拜不吃東西，那麼祈禱這個戰爭消滅了。也不管那是不是我的誠心感應了，當時古巴的戰爭沒有發生。甘迺迪總統當時很強硬，對這赫魯曉夫，那赫魯曉夫就赫得軟了，真小（曉）了，就把這個火箭也都拿回去了，沒有戰爭了。
待續
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Sutra:
Unfathomable is the great rain from the Dharma clouds
Of the multitudes of Guiding Masters in all worlds.
It extinguishes the inexhaustible sea of all sufferings.
Free from Defilement enters this Dharma door.
Commentary:
Unfathomable is the great rain from the Dharma clouds /Of the multitudes of Guiding Masters in all worlds. “Multitudes of Guiding Masters” means the Buddhas. They send out great Dharma Clouds everywhere which pour down great Dharma rain. This kind of state cannot be understood, guessed at, reckoned, or known by ordinary beings.
It extinguishes the inexhaustible sea of all sufferings. The Dharma clouds’ great rain can eradicate the afflictions of living beings—their greed, anger, and stupidity. It can rid them of inexhaustible and unending amounts of afflicitons. In “the sea of all sufferings ,” “all sufferings” refers to every type of suffering whatsoever. The sufferings are limitless and boundless, and so constitute an ocean. Free from Defilement enters this Dharma door. This kind of liberation door is the one understood by the Ocean-Ruling Spirit named Free from Defilement.
Sutra:
Living beings are covered over by afflictions.
They flow and turn in the destinies undergoing all sufferings.
For them he discloses the state of the Thus Come Ones.
The spirit Palace of Universal Waters enters this door.
Living beings are covered over by afflictions. Basically, living beings all have wisdom, and they fundamentally do not differ from the Buddhas. However, because afflictions cover up their wisdom, that light does not shine forth. Just as when clouds block the sun, beings are shrouded by afflictions. They flow and turn in the destinies, undergoing all sufferings. Being coverd by afflictions, they wander in the six paths of rebirth, suddenly in the heavens, suddenly on earth, suddenly hungry ghosts, and suddenly animals. They revolve non-stop in all destinies, undergoing all the multitudes of sufferings. For them he discloses the state of the Thus Come Ones. For the sake of living beings, the Buddha discloses the state of the Thus Come Ones, hoping beings will attain it, that is, become enlightened and achieve Buddhahood. The Spirit Palace of Universal Waters enters this door. The Ocean-Ruling Spirit named Palace of Universal Waters enters this door. The Ocean-Ruling Spirit named Palace of Universal Waters understands this kind of door to liberation.
Sutra:
The Buddha, during seas of inconceivably many kalpas,
Cultivated all the inexhaustibly many practices,
Severing the net of beings’ stupidity forever.
This is what Jeweled Moon can understand and enter.
The Buddha sees living beings always alarmed and afraid,
Flowing and turning in the great sea of birth and death.
He shows them the Thus Come One’s unsurpassed Way.
Dragon Cowl awakens, understands, and rejoices.
Commentary:
The Buddha, during seas of inconceivably many kalpas, cultivated all the inexhaustibly many practices. The Buddha, in the past, cultivated all doors of practice for such a very long time that it is termed “seas of inconceivably many kalpas.” How long are seas of kalpas or eons? The duration of time involved is so lengthy that it is beyond the mind’s ability to imagine. He renounced what was hard to renounce, practiced what was hard to practice, endured the unendurable, and yielded what was hard to yield. In general, the Dharma doors that were hardest to cultivate were the very ones he cultivated. And those hard-to-practice Dharma doors were inexhaustibly many. That resulted in his severing the net of beings’ stupidity forever. He could slash through the net of living beings’ stupidity—not only once, but conclusively. He breaks that net. This is what Jeweled Moon can understand and enter. The Ocean-Ruling Spirit named Jeweled Moon can understand this state, awaken to and enter it.
(While the tape was being changed, the Venerable Master had disciples explain the first line of the next stanza of verse.)
Explain the line: The Buddha sees living beings always alarmed and afraid. Who is afraid of whom, and who is not afraid of whom? [Two disciples explain.] Why did I tell the two of you to explain this? That’s because it’s very easy to misinterpret this line. It says: “The Buddha sees living beings always alarmed and afraid,” and one might get the mistaken idea, “Oh, the Buddha is afraid of living beings. As soon as he sees them, he’s scared. The Buddha fears living beings more than anything.” If you miss the point, you might explain it that way, because on the surface it seems to be saying that when the Buddha sees living beings, he is always alarmed and afraid. But that’s not the meaning. It means that the Buddha observes how living beings themselves are always becoming fearful and scared. What are they afraid of? They are afraid because the problem of birth and death has not been solved. It’s not [as one disciple had explained] that they’re afraid of how hard it is to cultivate the doors of the Dharma, because living beings don’t yet know what the Dharma is or what doors are. They are undergoing repeated deaths and rebirths, and not even trying to get out. They have no intention of exiting from the Three Realms.
Therefore, the next line says they are flowing and turning in the great sea of birth and death. What is the most terrifying aspect of this? It’s that flowing and turning in the great sea of birth and death. Within the immense ocean of death and rebirth, they are born and then die, die and then are reborn, over and over again. Human beings’ living for a number of decades and then dying is really like the mayflies’ being born in the morning and dying by the evening. The few decades of our lives seem, to the gods, like the brief life spans of mayflies that are born at daybreak and die at dusk. Fifty years in the human realm are just a day and a night in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. Comparatively speaking, isn’t that like being born at dawn and dying by nightfall? From the perspective of the Trayastrimsha Heaven, a hundred years among humans equals one day and one night in that heaven, the “Heaven of the Thirty-three.” The few brief decades of our lives do not even amount to a day and a night in the eyes of those gods. We die before that, like mayflies. The gods look upon people the way people look upon mayflies, as being born in the AM and dying by the PM. We experience the several decades as being a long time, but the mayfly also feels the time it passes through in that one day is quite lengthy, like hundreds of years. Perhaps for it one second is like a year of time for us, and so it lives to be over a hundred “years” of age, or at least many decades.
Consequently, repeatedly dying and being reborn in the great ocean of birth and death is extremely terrifying for living beings. On the other hand, you could say the Buddha is afraid for living beings, that he constantly stands in for living beings and is fearful for their sakes, since they have not ended birth and death. Hence, he shows them the Thus Come One’s unsurpassed Way. He points out the unsurpassed Path to Buddhahood.
Dragon Cowl awakens, understands, and rejoices. The Ocean-Ruling Spirit named Dragon Cowl understands this kind of state and is delighted in mind, filled with joy.
Disciple: There is a discrepancy between the name given Ocean-Ruling Spirit number four in the prose and in the verses.
Venerable Master: It amounts to the same thing. There is not much difference between the two. There’s no need to expend too much effort at this point—you won’t get enlightened from doing so. The Spirits’ names are all false. If you try to find out their names, it will be a lot of trouble. Kuo Ning can also be called “Heng Ching” and “Steve.” The three are one and the one is three. The Spirit called “Ever-Dwelling in Waves” is later called “Palace of Universal Waters,” isn’t that right? He can have a palace in the water. People see it as a wave, but he sees it as a palace. The eyes of ordinary people see things differently from the way Spirits view them, the very same things. For example, this bowing bench contains the Dharma Realms of the ten directions, but we ordinary beings just see it as a bowing bench.
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Venerable Master: Homage to the eternally dwelling Buddhas of the ten directions. Homage to the eternally dwelling Dharma of the ten directions. Homage to the eternally dwelling Sangha of the ten directions. Homage to the Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra. Homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the sea-vast Flower Adornment Assembly.
I remember that, not long after I came to America, there was a confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States over Cuba which was about to lead to war. At that time I had the thought, “I have just arrived in this country, and have not been of any help to its citizens. If war were to start in Cuba between this country and the Soviet Union, it would result in a great loss of human life and property.” Since at the time I didn’t understand English and was also not able to go out, all I could do was to make a vow in the Buddha hall to not eat for five weeks, praying that there would be no war. Regardless of whether or not it was a response to my sincerity, war in fact did not break out in Cuba. At the time, President Kennedy was very adamant with Khrushchev, and scared Khrushchev into backing down. Khrushchev was sufficiently frightened to withdraw the missiles, and there was no war.
To be continued
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