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爾時。法界普音菩薩摩訶薩。承佛威力。普觀一切道場眾會海已。即說頌言。
「爾時」：當爾之時。這個「法界普音菩薩」這位大菩薩仰承著佛的大威神力，普遍觀察一切道場眾海會之後，他又用這個偈頌來說前邊沒有說完的道理。
佛威神力遍十方。廣大示現無分別。
大菩提行波羅蜜。昔所滿足皆令現。
這是法界普音菩薩說的偈頌。在以後這十個偈頌，也都是這位菩薩說的。這兒就和前邊的文不同了，前文是十個神、或者菩薩、或者夜叉、羅剎、乾闥婆王，十個每一個說一個偈頌；這兒這十一個偈頌都是這一位菩薩說的。
前邊這一個偈頌，這是概說；後邊這十個是分別地來說這十度。這十度是修行佛道的人，必須要實實在在地去修行，去躬行實踐。「躬行」就是自己去做去，「實踐」就是實實在在地去實行，不是馬馬虎虎地。這個度有十度、有六度。六度就是布施、持戒、忍辱、精進、禪定、智慧，又叫般若。後邊的四度就是方便、願、力、智，那麼合起來這叫十度。
「佛威神力遍十方」：佛這種大威德、大神通、大力量，是盡虛空遍法界，遍滿十方的。
「廣大示現」：佛是最廣大，示現到每一個地方去。「無分別」：他是平等示現，沒有高下的分別，平等平等的。
「大菩提行波羅蜜」：他修這種大菩提行：也就發這個大的覺悟心，修這個大的波羅蜜，難行能行，難忍能忍，一切到彼岸的這個法門，他都去勇猛精進修行。
「昔所滿足皆令見」：佛在以前所修的這種法門--十度萬行這種法門，現在都叫法會的大眾能親自看見。
昔於眾生起大悲。修行布施波羅蜜。
以是其身最殊妙。能令見者生歡喜。
「昔於眾生起大悲」：第一個是布施度。「昔於眾生起大悲」，佛在往昔修行這個布施，為什麼要布施呢？這所謂「捨錢如割肉」，眾生有六種的「蔽」，蔽，就是遮蔽著，也是弊病。
遮蔽著自己這個菩提路，有六種弊病。第一就是慳吝：慳吝就是捨不得，拿著一分錢Cent，他也攢著、攢著，把這個銅錢攢成水了，他也捨不得用它，就是慳吝的很厲害。慳吝到什麼程度呢？無論什麼事情，他都算得清清楚楚的。這個慳吝的人，給人送禮他也算計，怎麼樣能省錢，又做了人情。有一個人，他有一個朋友做生日，他就得送禮。哎，無論買什麼都要用錢。那麼想一個方法不用錢的，什麼呢？他就用一張紙，在這個紙上畫一塊生日的餅，Birthday
cake，就拿去送給他朋友。說：我也沒有什麼好禮物送給你，我送給你一個生日的餅。」這個朋友也是慳吝的不得了，也是很孤寒的，一看他送一個畫餅，他更有辦法，說：「好，那等你什麼時候生日，我也送給你一個餅。我送一個餅給你，我連紙不要，我就送給你這麼大一個餅，就這麼大的，我這麼一比就可以了」，就這麼有兩個手一比，「我送給你這麼大一個生日餅，那麼這就可以了，現在我先送給你」。這是說慳吝，就是捨不得。這個人就這樣子。你看，給人送生日禮，就畫一個餅。另外那個人更簡單，連紙都不要，就用手這麼一比，說：「我送給你這麼大一個生日餅」，但是說了就算了，不是真送的，就這麼一比就得了。一個還畫到紙上，另一個只比在虛空裡頭。這個慳吝是一個蔽。
還有犯戒蔽。受戒了之後，不好好地保持這個金剛寶戒，常常犯戒：常常打妄語、常常殺生、常常偷盜、常常邪淫、常常飲酒，什麼他都犯，這叫犯戒的蔽。本來受了戒要不打妄語，他又打個妄語，不打妄語不打妄語，他又打個妄語；不殺生不殺生，他又把蚊子打死一個；不偷盜不偷盜，他又覺得人家那個東西非常好，他又拿來做為他自己的。這是第二種弊病。
第三弊病是什麼呢？就是瞋恚蔽。瞋恚就是無論遇著什麼事情都要發脾氣。這個脾氣也不知從什麼地方來的，自己也不明白，但是它就來了。拿著這個脾氣他就拼命那麼吃，吃這個脾氣，吃這種無名火，他比吃包子、吃油餅、吃餃子、比吃這個牛排、豬排都覺得好，就願意吃這個無名火。那麼這是瞋恚蔽。
第四就是懈怠蔽。懈怠就是懶惰，覺得做什麼都沒有意思，就是懶惰，什麼都不做就覺得很舒服，這懶惰蔽。
第五就是散亂蔽。一懶惰就沒有智慧了，就散亂了。
第六就是惡慧蔽。你看他，善的智慧沒有，他惡的智慧就有。好像現在在美國這個機車黨，這個機車黨這班人，你說愚癡嗎？唉！他們都很聰明的。做的事情、想的都很周到的，但是這叫惡的智慧，這不是善的智慧。所以這個第六種弊病就是惡的智慧。
有這六種蔽就不能行布施了，他就想：「為什麼我要布施給你，你怎麼不布施給我？」好像有些出家修道的人，尤其不想布施給人，都想人家布施給自己，一天到晚打居士的主意，這個居士有多少錢，那個居士能布施多少錢？就打這個妄想。你說可憐不可憐？！
佛因為對眾生起一種大悲心，悲能拔苦，怎麼樣拔苦呢？眾生有苦，你就布施給他，所以佛行布施波羅蜜。因為生出一種願意把眾生的苦拔去，給眾生樂，所以佛行布施。
「修行布施波羅蜜」，修行這兩個字，就是要一點一點地去修去行，不是一布施就很多很多的；而是少少的，循序漸進。循序就是依照這次序，一點一點去做去，叫循序漸進。修行的時候，無論多少都要修行，不是說少了不修行，修行多的；或者多的不修行，修行少的，不是的。多少都一起修行，修行這個布施波羅蜜。
有三種布施：財施、法施，無畏施。
「財施」：有內財、又有外財。內財就是頭目腦髓：這個頭也可以布施、眼睛也可以布施、腦也可以布施、骨髓也可以布施。外，他布施的就是國城妻子。最大是國家了，可以把國家布施給人；「城」，城池也是很大的財產，把這整個的城池也可以布施給人。「妻」就是自己的太太，太太這是很不容易捨的，但是也能捨，也能布施給其他人。「子」就是自己的兒子，如果有人需要，也可以布施給人。
「法施」：法就是佛法，講經說法，這叫法的布施。常常給人家講經說法，這叫以法來供養。所謂「諸供養中，法供養最」，以法來供養人這是最好的。講經說法，以法布施，法施又勝過財施。
「無畏施」：就是令人不生一種恐懼心、沒有恐懼心，常常覺得很平安。「波羅蜜」：就是到彼岸了，到彼岸了也就是把事情做成功了、做完了，這叫到彼岸。
「以是其身最殊妙」：因為佛修行這個布施波羅蜜，所以他的身體就有三十二相、又有八十種好，就因為他盡修布施。不是像我們這個愚癡的人，就以為布施給人，這要把自己的錢布施給人，這太吃虧了，那麼就不布施了，不是這樣子。佛自己有什麼就捨什麼，有什麼就布施什麼，把自己的身心性命都可以布施給眾生。你看，這是多大的喜捨心，慈悲喜捨這種的四無量心。「以是其身最殊妙」，所以他的身體才有那麼好。
「能令見者生歡喜」：令所有見佛的人，都生一種大歡喜心。這都是因為在因地修行布施、和人結緣，所以人人看見佛都歡喜、都恭敬，對佛都那麼愛戀不捨。
待續
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At that time, the Bodhisattva
Mahasattva named Sound Pervading the Dharma Realm received
the Buddha’s awesome might, contemplated the sea of all the
multitudes in the Way-place, and spoke the following verses.
At that time, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva named Sound
Pervading the Dharma Realm received the Buddha’s awesome
spiritual might, contemplated the sea of all the multitudes
in the Way-place, and spoke the following verses to further
explain the principles mentioned earlier.
The Buddha’s awesome
spiritual power pervades the ten directions.
Vast and
great, he manifests without discrimination.
Great Bodhi
practices and paramitas
Perfected in the past are seen by
all.
This verse is spoken by the Bodhisattva named Sound
Pervading the Dharma Realm. In fact, the next ten verses are
all spoken by him. This differs from the earlier sets of
verses, which were spoken by ten spirits, Bodhisattvas,
yaksha kings, rakshasa kings, gandharva kings, and so on,
each one speaking one verse. Here, these eleven verses are
all spoken by the same Bodhisattva. The first verse is a
general summary, and the following ten verses individually
describe the Ten Paramitas.
People who cultivate the Buddhist path must put the Ten
Paramitas into true practice. They must personally and
sincerely practice them and not have a sloppy attitude.
There are the Six Paramitas and the Ten Paramitas.
The
Six Paramitas are:
1. giving
2. holding precepts
3. patience
4. vigor
5. Chan samadhi
6. Prajna wisdom
The last four paramitas
are:
7. expedient means
8.
vows
9. power
10. knowledge
That makes Ten Paramitas in all.
The Buddha’s awesome spiritual power pervades the ten
directions. The Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue, great
spiritual powers, and tremendous strength fill all of space
to the ends of the Dharma Realm.
The Buddha is vast and great. He manifests everywhere
without discrimination. He appears impartially without
discriminating.
He cultivated great Bodhi practices, made a great resolve
to seek enlightenment, and cultivated great paramitas.
Practicing what was difficult to practice and enduring what
was hard to endure, he vigorously cultivated all the Dharma
doors for arriving at the Other Shore. These Dharma
doors of the Ten Paramitas and myriad practices that the
Buddha perfected in the past are now personally seen by all
in the Dharma assembly.
Giving rise to great
compassion for living beings,
He cultivated the paramita
of giving.
Thus his body is most sublime and wondrous,
Inspiring delight in all who behold him.
The first verse discusses the paramita of giving. The
Buddha cultivated the perfection of giving in the past. Why
should we cultivate giving? It’s said that “giving money is
like cutting off a piece of flesh.” There are six kinds of
faults that block the path of Bodhi for living beings.
The first is stinginess, the inability to give. When a
stingy person earns a penny, he would rather clutch it so
tightly that it melts than spend it. How far does his
stinginess go? He reckons his accounts very clearly. When he
gives a present, he does his best to save money. Everything
costs money, so on his friend’s birthday, he decides to draw
a picture of a birthday cake. Then he takes it to his
friend, saying, “I don’t have anything good to give as a
present, so I’m giving you this cake.” The friend, not to be
outdone in stinginess, says, “Fine, when your birthday comes
around, I won’t even bother to draw a cake on paper; I’ll
simply give you an invisible cake and show you how big it is
with my hands.” That’s how stingy people behave. One guy is
so miserly that he gives his friend a picture of a cake; his
friend returns the gesture by simply pointing to an
invisible cake in the air and talking about it. The first
person draws a cake on paper; the second one draws a cake in
the air. Stinginess is the first fault.
Another fault is that of violating precepts. After taking
the precepts, some people fail to carefully uphold the Vajra
jeweled precepts. They often transgress them by telling
lies, killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, and
taking intoxicants. When they received the precepts, they
promised not to lie. Yet later on, they lie. They say, “I
won’t kill, I won’t kill,” and then they swat a mosquito,
killing it. They say, “I won’t steal, I won’t steal,” but
then they take a fancy to someone else’s belongings and take
them for themselves. Violating precepts is the second fault.
The third fault is anger. People with this fault blow up at
the least provocation. Their tempers seem to appear out of
nowhere. They themselves don’t even understand how they get
angry. They feed on anger and the fire of ignorance,
consuming these things gluttonously, as if they tasted
better than steamed buns, dumplings, pork chops, and steak.
The fourth fault is laziness. Lazy people are bored with
everything. They feel most comfortable when they’re doing
nothing at all.
The fifth fault is scatteredness. If one is lazy, one will
lack wisdom and be scattered.
After scatteredness comes the fault of evil wisdom. Instead
of wholesome wisdom, they have unwholesome wisdom. In
America right now, there are
Biker Gangs. Would you
say they were stupid? They are highly intelligent, yet their
wisdom is evil. The sixth fault is evil wisdom.
With these six faults, one cannot practice giving. One
thinks, “Why should I give you anything? Why don’t you give
to me?” This is like some left-home people. They don’t want
to give to others, yet hope that others will make offerings
to them. All day long they calculate how much money each
layperson can give. Their thoughts run: “How rich is this
layman? How much can that layman give?” How pathetic!
Giving rise to great compassion for living beings, / He
cultivated the paramita of giving. The Buddha has tremendous
compassion for living beings. Compassion can alleviate
suffering. How? When living beings are suffering, you can
practice charity. Thus, the Buddha practiced the paramita of
giving. Wishing to relieve living beings’ suffering and make
them happy, he gave to them.
Cultivation is a gradual process. You advance one small
step at a time. No matter how small a deed is, if it is part
of cultivation, you have to do it. You can’t skip the small
deeds and do only the big ones, or skip the big deeds and do
just the small ones. In cultivation, you have to practice
all deeds, large and small.
There are three types of giving: the giving of wealth, the
giving of Dharma, and the giving of fearlessness. As to the
giving of wealth, there is inner wealth and outer wealth.
Inner wealth includes one’s head, eyes, brain, and
marrow—all of these can be given. Outer wealth includes one’s
country, city, wife, and children. One can give large
things, such as one’s entire country or city. It’s not easy
to give away one’s wife, but one is willing to yield her to
others. And if anyone wishes to have one’s children, one can
give them away as well.
The giving of Dharma takes place when one lectures the
Sutras and speaks the Dharma. Of all offerings, the gift of
Dharma is supreme. It is a wonderful thing to bestow the
gift of Dharma upon someone. The gift of Dharma is more
valuable than material gifts.
The giving of fearlessness refers to consoling those who
are scared and making them feel safe.
The Sanskrit word
paramita means “arriving at the other shore,” that is,
finishing the task at hand.
Thus his body is most sublime and wondrous. Due to the
Buddha’s cultivation of the paramita of giving, his body is
adorned with the thirty-two marks and eighty subsidiary
characteristics. The Buddha practiced giving to the
ultimate. He was not like ordinary people, who consider it
foolhardy to give their money away to others. The Buddha
gave away whatever he had. He was able to give his very
body, mind, and life to living beings. What great kindness,
compassion, joy, and renunciation—the Four Limitless Mental
Qualities—he had! That’s why the Buddha had such a superb
physical appearance.
Inspiring delight in all who behold him. Everyone was
overjoyed to see the Buddha. Since the Buddha cultivated
affinities with living beings in the past, everyone was
delighted to see the Buddha and adored the Buddha without
wanting to leave him.
To be continued
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