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【與佛友間的互動】
自1992年始，父親曾在金輪寺教導在家人打坐，偶會上台講述其學佛心得與佛友分享。每年金輪寺舉辦敬老節，法師們總會邀請父親參加，而父親也當仁不讓的與老人家分享他的健康資訊、快樂秘訣與念佛心得。
他最常說的一席話是：「世界上任何東西都是假的、都不是你的，只有快樂是真的、是你能擁有的。心情愉快也是一天 ，不快樂也是過一天，為何不快快樂樂的活著過日子呢？當煩惱來時，不妨念阿彌陀佛或是觀世音菩薩聖號，如此不愉快的事就會慢慢消失。想要老年生活過得愉快，就必須隨緣安分度時光，多做運動、少煩惱、多笑笑；有空時多念佛，還要面帶笑容的念佛。如此，就能安享晚年！」
父親不論是與出家人或在家人相處，都能以誠相待，所以贏得不少的友誼；他們若有事請教或找他商量時，父親也會盡其所能，為他們解說或出策略，絕不倚老賣老。
閱人無數的他，在學佛之後，更能清楚的分辨他人心中真正的想法；對於錯綜複雜的人情真假，他能如鏡在手，一目了然。但他都以慈悲心去對待周遭的人，不忍傷害任何人。他經常以同理心去安慰失意的人，以悲憫心去寬恕心術不正的人。但是剛正不阿的基本個性仍是不變，當他發現某人做人處事有嚴重的缺失時，自認無法影響他們，使其止惡修善時，他就採取遠離的方式。
他經常告誡我們：「做人要常存善念，不可私心太重！要有正義感，若是連基本的做人處世道理都學不好的話，想學佛法，就如緣木求魚，難啊！」
父親對於年長的佛友，或是佛友的父母親，總是倍加關懷，定期與他們電話聯絡，詢問他們的生活狀況，善巧方便的開導安慰他們，鼓勵他們多念佛、多做運動，少為俗事操心。他認為關懷年長者的最好方法，就是定期的探望他們，或與他們聯絡聊聊天。並說：「能夠讓老年人體悟人生無常，放下俗事，專心念佛，安度晚年，即是行菩薩道！」
【專修念佛法門的經過與目標】
自1992年底，父親決心專修念佛法門；父親在博覽有關書籍之後，自訂學習念佛法門的階段與目標。父親認為學佛者不能隨俗人知見，必須求得學佛之利器。
所以首先必須要持戒。因為不論修什麼法門，戒是基礎。
其次，必須讀誦經典。他認為剛開始無須了解內容，只要專心讀誦經文，一直誦下去，並以金剛誦不傷氣為佳，但必以攝心為要，而攝心先攝耳。誦經時，要每一字每一句，都要清清楚楚的流入自己的耳根為第一步，他認為誦經是為了清淨一心，就是修空。
西元1994年，父親發願讀誦三千部的《佛說無量壽經》(當代彙集版)，於西元1996年底念滿三千部。當他念滿三千部之後，他即著手研究經典的內容，進一步了解事理圓融境界。他常以虛雲老和尚的開示，做為他念佛的最終依歸：
「念佛要口念心悟，以智觀照聲音，不緩不急，如水慢流，口念耳聽，不打妄想，念念流入般若性海。則一聲佛號，有無量功德，只此一聲佛號，就能度無量眾生。這就是一心不亂，念佛三眛。」
西元1994年，父親與金輪寺幾位在家居士成立念佛會，並親自請示與徵求師父 宣公上人的意見。當上人聽完父親敘述成立念佛會的宗旨與目標之後，十分高興的說：「很好！將來我走時，你們可以為我助念！」說來也真巧，此念佛會成立後，為第一位念佛的，就是師父宣公上人（上人於西元1995年農曆五月初十於洛城入滅）。
念佛會每月在佛寺舉行一至兩次，法師經常邀請父親上台講解念佛法門，或他自己的念佛心得；父親都會慎重其事的在家先研讀經文多遍，並參考高僧大德的文章做為佐證，絕不敢參雜自己的見解，以免錯因果，且誤導他人。西元1997年 父親在「金輪寺」為念佛會的佛友講解《觀無量壽經》，為時約一年；父親深恐誤導眾生，每天以虔誠的心，端坐念佛，然後依照《觀無量壽經》上的經文，如實觀想。
後來父親與我閒聊時無意中道出：每當他晨起散步時，他都會觀想佛菩薩，有時佛菩薩的影像就會如佛經所說，呈現在天空中。但他告誡我說：「觀想念佛不是一件容易的事，必須要有打坐的基礎，若是定力不夠是會出差錯的！」但是他仍堅持為佛友講解《觀無量壽經》，他認為：「如此才能夠讓他們明確知曉西方極樂世界的殊勝，進而嚮往之，藉此產生堅固的願力，與難以動搖的信心！」
西元1999年至西元2002年，父親專研《佛說阿彌陀經》，並將其心得與佛友們分享。此時期父親最常講述的念佛法門是「持名念佛」，而最常推薦的念佛方式是「十念法」及「十念計數法」。除此之外，他將淨土宗列位祖師大德的修行方法重點節錄下來，不厭其煩的告訴佛友，藉此激勵佛友們精進修行。
待續
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Interaction with fellow Buddhist practitioners
Since the beginning of 1992, my father [Elder Layman Wei] taught the laity sitting meditation at the Gold Wheel Monastery. Occasionally, he would go up on the stage to share with his fellow practitioners what he had learned from studying Buddhism. Each year Gold Wheel Monastery celebrated Honoring Elders Day and the Dharma Masters would invariably invite my father to participate. My father would dutifully share with the elders information on maintaining health, the secret of his happiness, and his insights from reciting the Buddha’s name.
My father’s most common quote, “Everything in the world is illusory; it doesn’t belong to you. Only happiness is real; it is something you can possess. Time passes by whether or not we are joyful, so why not live happily? When we are afflicted, we might as well recite the holy name of Amitabha Buddha or that of Guanyin Bodhisattva. In this way, unpleasant matters will gradually fade away. If we wish to live happily in our old age, we have to accord with conditions and be content, exercise regularly, worry less and smile more. Whenever we have some free time we can recite the Buddha’s name with a smile on our face. In this way, we will be able to enjoy our autumn years peacefully.”
My father got along well with people, whether monastic or laity, and treated them sincerely. He thus had many friends. If they had some matters to consult him on, he would do his best to analyze the problems or offer some solution. Yet he would never flaunt his seniority and experience.
Having much experience with people, after studying Buddhism, my father could distinguish people’s actual feelings and thoughts. He was able to perceive the genuineness or disingenuousness amidst the intricacies of human relationships, as clearly as if he were holding a mirror in his hand. Yet, he treated everyone around him with compassion and could not bear to hurt anyone. With sympathy, he comforted the dejected ones, and with compassion, he forgave those harboring unwholesome motives. His fundamental character was upright and never obsequious, and this never changed. Whenever he found out that someone had a serious flaw in handling matters, and he considered himself to be unable to influence that person to “cut off all evil and cultivate all good,” he would choose to stay away from that person.
He often advised us, “As a human being, we must constantly cherish kind thoughts and never be too selfish! We must have a sense of fairness and justice. If we fail to master the basic principles of social conduct, then to wish to learn the Buddhadharma is like climbing a tree to catch a fish—it is fruitless!”
My father deeply cared about the elderly fellow practitioners and their parents. He regularly contacted them by telephone to inquire about their life, skillfully advise and comfort them, encourage them to recite the Buddha’s name, exercise more regularly and worry less about worldly affairs. He believed that the best way to care for the elderly was to visit them regularly or contact them and talk to them. He further said, “To help elders realize that life is impermanent, and to encourage them to relinquish worldly concerns and wholeheartedly recite the Buddha’s name so that they can pass their autumn years peacefully, is to walk the Bodhisattva path!”
The process and goal in the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha
Since the end of 1992, my father decided to focus on the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha. After he extensively read some relevant books, he set milestones and goals for learning and practicing mindfulness of the Buddha. He believed that those studying Buddhism must not conform to secular views; instead, they must acquire an efficient method for studying Buddhism.
Accordingly, we must first uphold the precepts. No matter which method we use to practice, precepts are the foundation.
Secondly, we must recite the sutras. In his opinion, in the beginning, one does not need to understand the content of the sutra; instead, one only has to concentrate on reciting the sutra texts wholeheartedly and persistently. The best way to recite is the
vajra [silent] recitation method, as it will not drain our energy. The most essential point is to gather in all our attention. In order to do that, we must first focus on our hearing. When we are reciting the sutra, it is of utmost importance that each word and each sentence be heard clearly and distinctly. My father believed that reciting sutras was to purify and focus one’s mind, that is, to cultivate emptiness.
In 1994, my father made a vow to recite
The Buddha Speaks the Infinite Life Sutra 3,000 times. By the end of 1996, he completed 3,000 recitations of this sutra. Subsequently, he began to study the content of the sutra, and further comprehended the state in which noumena and phenomena are in perfect harmony. He often quoted the teaching of the Venerable Master Empty Cloud as his reference in his practice of mindfulness of the Buddha:
“We should recite the Buddha’s name with our mouth and be mindful of it. Using wisdom, we contemplate the sound, which is neither too slow nor too fast, just like the gentle flow of water. We recite with our mouth and listen with our ears, without having false thinking. Each and every recitation flows into the prajna wisdom of our own nature which is likened to the ocean. In this way, even one recitation of the Buddha’s name could generate immeasurable merit and virtue. Simply with this one recitation, we could rescue numberless living beings. This is called having one mind unconfused: the Samadhi of Mindfulness of the Buddha.”
In 1994, my father and a few laypeople at the Gold Wheel Monastery established a Buddha recitation society. They further consulted the Venerable Master Hua personally regarding this matter. After listening to my father’s explanation on the purpose and goal for establishing the Buddha recitation society, the Venerable Master said joyfully, “Very good! In the future when I’m passing away, you all could support me in reciting the Buddha’s name!” Coincidentally, after the establishment of this Buddha recitation society, the first person whom the members supported in reciting the Buddha’s name in the last moments of his life was the Venerable Master, who entered stillness in Los Angeles on the tenth day of the fifth lunar month in 1995.
The Buddha recitation society held a recitation ceremony in the monastery once or twice a month. The Dharma Masters often invited my father to go up on stage to explain the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, or share what he had learned from his own practice. My father would investigate the sutra texts carefully at home in advance and would refer to articles written by eminent monks and greatly virtuous ones to verify his understanding of the sutra. He never dared to add his own views for he wanted to avoid making mistakes in the moral law of cause and effect and thus mislead others. In 1997, my father lectured on the
Sutra of the Contemplation of Infinite Life to the fellow practitioners of the Buddha recitation society at the Gold Wheel Monastery for approximately a year. Fearing that he would mislead other living beings, everyday, with utmost sincerity, my father would sit upright and recite the Buddha’s name. He would then contemplate faithfully according to the
Sutra on the Contemplation of Infinite Life.
Afterwards, during a conversation, my father unintentionally divulged that whenever he went for a walk in the early morning, he would contemplate the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Sometimes the image of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas would manifest in the sky, precisely as described in the
Contemplation Sutra. He cautioned me, “To be mindful of the Buddha using the contemplation method is not an easy matter; one must have a foundation in sitting meditation. Without sufficient concentration power something can go wrong!” Yet, he still insisted on explaining the
Sutra on the Contemplation of Infinite Life to his fellow practitioners. He believed that in this way, they would clearly comprehend the remarkable wonders of the Land of Ultimate Bliss and further aspire to rebirth in that land. Through this they would develop a firm vow and unwavering faith!
From 1999 to 2002, my father concentrated on studying
The Buddha Speaks of Amitabha Sutra and shared what he had learned with his fellow practitioners. During this period of time, my father mostly explained the Buddha recitation method in the practice of mindfulness of the Buddha, and mostly recommended the “method of ten recitations” and the “ten recitations counting method”. In addition, he studied the essentials of the ways the patriarchs of the Pure Land tradition cultivated themselves, which he very patiently shared with his fellow practitioners in order to inspire them to practice vigorously.
To be continued
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