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1975年8月23日星期六下午
我們這都是研究佛法的人，在前生也研究佛法，發願要弘揚佛法，今生不知不覺地又走到這條路上來了。因為在前生發的願，要弘揚佛法，尤其要到那個沒有佛法的地方，令佛法發揚光大。這都是過去發的願，現在滿我們的願，未來成就我們的願。所以你不要問你是什麼人生到美國的？什麼人，不論哪一個國家的人都是人，不需要問。懂了沒有？你還不知道？那真是作夢了。
無論哪一個國家的人，都應該對每一個人都好。誰對我不好，也忘了它；我要對所有的人都好，不要記得不好的事情。我們只找人的好處，不找人的不好處；人人都這樣，世界都不戰爭了。為什麼世界戰爭？就因為每一個人都要找人的壞處，看人的壞處，所以這個世界就一天比一天麻煩了。
1975年 8月23日星期六晚
弟子：我差不多三、四歲的時候摔了交，那時候感覺好像離這個地方很遠，到了一個很光明的地方，黃色的光明，在這個時候覺得Everything is Okay。最近幾個禮拜，一切都很好，我覺得好像回到家了。請問我小時候的那個境界跟現在的情形有沒有關係？
上人：這當然有關係，就叫你不要忘了。就像那個琉璃似的，可以看透，從這邊看到那邊，叫你把什麼都看透了。
弟子：我從小就有很多很奇怪的病，這是為什麼？
上人：不論有什麼病，你也沒有死，現在就應該修行了。
弟子：好，我會修行。
弟子：師父，弟子有一個問題？就是人的智慧現了，就好像大學畢業這樣子。弟子的問題就是，釋迦牟尼佛就修了三個大劫，這麼長的時間才成佛，這個時間表是不是固定的？或是人，一生如果盡他所有的力量來修行，消滅他的業障，會不會更快地見到他的本來面目，就是證得佛的智慧？還是一定要等到萬德具備？這是弟子的問題，也是一個比喻，就是需要那個修行的時間，才可以開智慧，開悟？
上人：你有沒有聽過高峰妙禪師那個公案？
弟子：高峰妙禪師，就是那個生人面瘡的？
上人：不是。是那個在西天目倒掛蓮花那兒坐著，睡著掉下去，有一個菩薩又把他托上去。
弟子：聽過了。
上人：聽過了。你知道那個果佑講的，不知道他講的是不是和我講的一樣？但是那個大意是會一樣的。那個就是答覆你這種問題。你不記得嗎？
弟子：嗯！要想一想。
上人：這個韋陀菩薩說，「你這麼貢高我慢，我八萬大劫都不護你法了。」為什麼要這麼說呢？有沒有這麼說？
（弟子：喔！說的那個。以後高峰妙禪師就懺悔，韋陀菩薩就……。）
他又掉下去了，韋陀菩薩又把他托上來。他又問：「你說八萬大劫不護我的法，為什麼你現在又來救我呢？」韋陀菩薩怎麼說的？
（弟子：韋陀菩薩說，「這麼貢高我慢心的人，是有很多很多；可是如果你要是誠心地懺悔，一念的懺悔，就再護你的法。」）
不是「如果」，是「因為」。「如果」，那一種語氣，那是還沒有懺悔；「因為」，這是個決定詞，因為你懺悔了。「如果」你懺悔，那是還沒有懺悔，是不是啊？（弟子：是的。）因為你懺悔了，所以超過八萬大劫了，已經超過了。他沒有那麼說嗎？（弟子：喔！大概說了，弟子忘記了。）那麼這個問題你現在懂了沒有？
弟子：弟子明白了。
（以上故事由本會英文版書中錄出，中譯後略加修飾而成。）
待續 |
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Saturday, August 23, 1975 (afternoon)
Now we are all investigating the Buddhadharma, and we did so in former lives. In former lives we made vows to propagate the Buddhadharma, and in this life, quite unconsciously, we have gone down that road again. This is because we vowed to spread the Dharma in past lives. Here in this country where there is no Buddhadharma, because of past vows, we have come to help the Buddhadharma grow and prosper. In past lives we made such vows, in the present we are carrying them out, and in the future they will be fulfilled. So don't ask what nationality you were in a past life or how you have been reborn in America. No matter what nationality you were in your last life, you were a person. So you don't need to ask. Do you understand? You still don't know? Then you're really dreaming.
No matter what nationality people are, they should be good towards everyone. They should think, "If someone is bad to me, I will forgive them. I will treat everyone well. I will forget the evil done to me. I will look for the good points in others and not for their faults." If everyone were like that, there would be no war in the world. Why are there wars? It's because everyone looks for the faults in others, and no one looks for the good points. So, day by day, there is more and more trouble in the world.
Saturday, August 23, 1975 (evening)
Disciple: When I was three or four years old, I suffered a fall. At that time, I had a feeling of going far away to a place that was filled with golden-yellow light. It felt steady and mellow, and everything was okay. The way everything has been going for the last few weeks for me, as I've said before at the monastery, I felt like I was coming home. Now, I was wondering what this experience I had when I was really little amounts to in relationship to my present experience.
Venerable Master: Of course there is a relationship. It's telling you not to forget. It's like crystal, through which you can see from one side to the other. It's telling you to see through things.
Disciple: Ever since I was little, I have had a lot of strange sicknesses.
Venerable Master: No matter what sickness you've had, you haven't died, and so now you ought to cultivate.
Disciple: Okay, I will cultivate.
Venerable Master: Does anyone have anything to say?
Disciple: The Master has likened the experience of enlightenment to earning a college degree. Shakyamuni Buddha had to cultivate for three great eons before he became a Buddha. Is the "schedule" for enlightenment fixed in any way or could one, through diligent cultivation, exhaust one's karmic obstacles in a single lifetime and manifest one's original face, that is, obtain the Buddha's wisdom very quickly?
Venerable Master: Have you heard the story of Dhyana Master Gao Fengmiao?
Disciple: Dhyana Master Gao Fengmiao? Was he the one with the human-faced sore?
Venerable Master: No. He's the one who went to sit in meditation on top of a mountain which looked like an inverted lotus. When he fell asleep, he fell over the edge, and Weitou Bodhisattva caught him in mid-air.
Disciple: Yes, I've heard the story.
Venerable Master: You heard it told by Guo You, but I don't know if his is the same version as mine. Probably they're about the same. You can find the answer there. Do you remember how the story goes?
Disciple: I have to think about it.
Venerable Master: Weitou Bodhisattva said, "You are so arrogant, I won't protect your Dharma for eighty thousand great eons." Why did he say that? Isn't that what he said?
Disciple: Yeah. And later Dhyana Master Gao Fengmiao repented, and Weitou Bodhisattva...
Venerable Master: He fell over the cliff again, and Weitou Bodhisattva caught him in the air again. Then he asked, "You said you wouldn't protect my Dharma for eighty thousand great eons Why then have you come to save me?" And what did Weitou Bodhisattva say?
Disciple: Weitou Bodhisattva said, "There are tons of arrogant people. But if you have a single thought of sincere repentance, I will come to protect your Dharma again."
Venerable Master: It's not "if," it's "because." "If indicates a possible event, whereas "because" states that it definitely occurred. So it should be, "because you repented." "If you repent" means you haven't repented yet. Right?
Disciple: Yes.
Venerable Master: "Because you repented, you surpassed eighty thousand great eons." Isn't that what he said?
Disciple: Probably. I don't remember.
Venerable Master: Do you understand the answer to your question now?
Disciple: Yes.
[This is the synopsis of the story given in the book—compiled from what the Master and the translator said and filling in a bit.]
To be continued |
