這個忍，要怎麼樣子呢？要沒有忍，要不忍，要無忍；要不忍為甚麼又叫人忍？沒有忍為甚麼又說忍？無忍，怎麼佛又說一個忍辱波羅蜜？要知道，沒有忍是真忍；無忍也是真忍；不忍，還是真忍。這話怎麼樣說呢？法師說法就是這樣不講道理。怎麼說都可以。怎麼叫沒有忍呢？就是你忍了，還像沒有忍的那種感覺。你不要以為「啊！我忍了，這次我忍了。」那就是著住了。忍了還像沒有忍似的，有忍也像沒有忍似的；「有若無，實若虛」。譬如人家罵你，你說：「我忍了，他罵我。」你心裡還有個罵呢！你若沒有忍，根本就不知道他罵我，沒有這麼回事，那根本就沒有忍了，這叫沒有忍。你若有一個忍，那就有所執著了。說這個我不相信，這個你不相信你就信那個囉！說，不是我不相信這個，釋迦牟尼佛他還記得他修忍辱仙人的時候，被歌利王割截身體，他也沒有放下啊！他也是有執著啊！要是沒有執著，他怎樣又記得？他記得就是不記得，你明白就是不明白。
在昨天講這個忍辱，大概的意思已經講了。這個「忍」，有的時候一次容易忍，兩次容易忍，到第三次就忍不了了，這一忍不了，就把以前能忍的這種功德也就都失去了，所以才說「星星之火能燒功德之林。」
柔和善順而不猝暴，心亦不驚。又復於法無所行，而觀諸法如實相。亦不行，不分別。是名菩薩摩訶薩行處。
「柔和善順」：柔就是柔軟；和就是不爭；善是不惡；順就是隨順。修忍辱行，行菩薩道的大菩薩必須要柔和善順。
「而不猝暴」：猝就是突然間、倉促；倉促就是突然間把這個事情就做了，很冒失的，做得很不合理的，所以叫倉促。暴就是暴躁，性情暴躁，行菩薩道的菩薩不應該暴燥。
「心亦不驚」：他心裡面對於一切事情也不驚恐。為什麼呢？就因為有定力。
「又復於法無所行」：菩薩摩訶薩在一切法上，他無所行；不是無所行，他沒有執著修行的念頭，沒有執著的念，所以叫無所行。他行而未行，行所無事；做了，也好像沒有這麼一回事似的。為什麼呢？就因為他真能放得下。
「而觀諸法如實相」：菩薩觀一切諸法都是空的。一般的人，你若對他說諸法都是空的，他就不修行了；諸法都是空的，修什麼？修也是空，不修也是空，這何必又修呢？外道的知見就是這樣講。菩薩觀諸法空，他知道是空，而「如實相」，完全都是合真如這個實相的妙理。
「亦不行，不分別」：他也不作，不作什麼呢？不作那個不分別的見。外道是諸法空，他也就不分別，不修行了，這是外道的不分別見；它是空的，你分別它幹什麼呢？他就修行「不分別」這種邪見；菩薩不修這種邪見。
「是名菩薩摩訶薩行處」：前邊所講的這是菩薩摩訶薩的身安樂行，身所行的地方。
待續
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"How should I be?" you may ask. You should be without patience.
"If I should be without patience, then why are you telling people to be patient?" you may wonder. "If I shouldn't have any patience, then why are you even bringing the subject up? If there's not supposed to be any patience, then why did the Buddha talk about the Paramita of Patience?"
Being without patience is true patience. Not having any patience is real patience. No patience is genuine patience.
You may ask, "How do you explain that? When the Dharma Master speaks the Dharma, it's not reasonable. He says whatever he wants."
What's meant by 'being without patience' ? It means you are patient, but you don't feel like you are being patient. You don't think, "Oh, I'm being patient. I was patient that time." That's an attachment. You should be patient as if you weren't being patient. Having patience should be 'as if not having any' : Although the patience is actual, it's as if it were unreal.
For instance, suppose someone scolds you, and you think, "I'll be patient with his scolding." In your mind there's still a "scolding." If you are 'as if without patience,' then you basically don't even know that you are being scolded; it's as if it weren't happening. Then there's no patience involved. That is what's meant by no patience. If you have the concept of "patience," then you have an attachment.
"I don't believe it," you say.
Well, if you don't believe it, then believe what you want.
"It's not that I don't believe it, but Shakyamuni Buddha still remembered that when he was practicing as a Patient Immortal, King Kali cut off his limbs. He hadn't put it down. He was still attached. If he wasn't attached, then why did he remember it?"
His remembering was not remembering, and your understanding is not understanding. That is the general meaning of patience. Sometimes it's easy to be patient once or even twice, but by the third time, one loses patience. As soon as one loses patience, one loses all the merit and virtue acquired from being patient before. That's why it's said:
One spark of fire
Burns up a forest of merit and virtue.
Sutra:
...is gentle and compliant, not impetuous or volatile. His mind is not frightened. If, moreover, he does not practice in regard to any dharma, but contemplates the marks of all dharmas as they really are, not, however, practicing nondiscrimination, that is called the Bodhisattva Mahasattva's range of practice.
Commentary:
Furthermore, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva "is gentle and compliant." Gentle means yielding and not contending. Compliant means good-tempered and agreeable. The great Bodhisattva who practices patience and cultivates the Bodhisattva Way must be gentle and compliant, and "not impetuous or volatile." Being impetuous means being overhasty and doing things all in a rush, very abruptly. Things done that way end up being not at all in accord with principle. Being volatile means having an explosive temper. A Bodhisattva who cultivates the Bodhisattva Way should not have a volatile temper.
His mind is not frightened. His mind doesn't become alarmed or terrified concerning anything. Why not? Because he has the power of samadhi.
If, moreover, he does not practice in regard to any dharma... A Bodhisattva Mahasattva is without any "doing" in regard to all dharmas, but that doesn't mean he doesn't act. Rather, he has no thought of attachment to cultivation. He doesn't have that kind of attached thinking. He does practice, but it's as if no such thing were going on. Why is that? It's because he can really put everything down.
...but contemplates the marks of all dharmas as they really are.
A Bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as empty. If you were to tell most people that all dharmas are empty, they wouldn't cultivate. They would think, "All dharmas are empty, and so what is there to cultivate? Cultivation is empty, too. If I don't cultivate, that's also empty, and so why do I have to cultivate?" That's the outlook and understanding of those externalise ways, and the sort of thing they say. A Bodhisattva, however, contemplates all dharmas as empty. He knows that they are empty and enters the reality of all dharmas, being in accord with the wonderful principle of reality.
Not, however, practicing nondiscrimination—he does not form views of nondiscrimination, either. Externalises say that all dharmas are empty, and so they don't discriminate and don't cultivate. That's the externalises' view of nondiscrimination. "Everything is empty," they say, "and so why are you discriminating?" They cultivate this kind of deviant view of nondiscrimination, but a Bodhisattva does not cultivate this kind of deviant view.
That is called the Bodhisattva Mahasattva's range of practice. What was just described is the Bodhisattva Mahasattva's happily-dwelling conduct of the body, the range of practice of the body.
To be continued |
