Disclaimer: The translations are not official nor endorsed by 2OR, so please just treat it as a ‘fan-based’ translation. The Buddha-Dharma is profound. No matter how you convey it, it won’t be completely perfect. Because the Buddha-Dharma is an experience, it’s an awakening 【佛法深奥无比，怎么写，都不会是究竟圆满。佛法是一种悟】. Please enjoy, and I hope it serves as a good filler until the official English version comes out.
师父今天继续给大家讲，三千大千世界有多大，六道轮回有多久，佛与魔相差有多远，这些都是你们非常喜欢听的。师父现在告诉你们，佛和魔就在一念之中。你现在是人，你一念“我要好好地做人，我要做佛啊”，你就开始进入太空了，你就进入了三千大千世界宇宙空间，做菩萨都是在上面啊。你一念“我要做好人，我要做菩萨”，你这辈子修成了，不就是一个念头要修菩萨、修佛吗？你不就是脱离了六道轮回吗？所以说，念头很重要。比方说夫妻吵架，刚开始的时候都不会讲离婚的，一个念头“我们离婚吧”，好了，先前吵了100次，从第101次吵架开始说出口了“我们离婚吧”，接下来每次吵架都会说“离婚吧”，吵到第301次的时候，离婚了。念头像一把刀，可以切掉你所有的善缘。你们要相信，这些都是断缘的开始，要好好地听师父讲课。
In this chapter, Master answers a few questions that some of you may have. How big is the trichiliocosm? How long has samsara existed? How far apart are the Buddha and the demon? These are all things you like to hear, so now Master will expound it in this chapter. Firstly, the Buddha and the demon is only a thought apart. You are all human beings. When you develop the thought that you want to be a wholesome person, and you want to become a Buddha, your consciousness is connected to the realm within the trichiliocosm where the Bodhisattvas reside. Then you possess the prerequisite requirement of reaching fruition in your cultivation in the current lifetime. Isn’t it thought that drives action? Then aren’t you going to start liberating yourself from samsara? That’s why one’s thoughts are important. For example, when married couples argue, they won’t talk about divorce in the beginning. But then somewhere in the arguing process, they begin to develop the thought of divorce. Alright, they argued for a hundred times, and then from the one hundred and one time, they then start to explicitly talk about having a divorce. From then onwards, they threaten each other about divorcing whenever they argue. Then on their three hundred and one argument, they then do file for a divorce. That’s why a single thought is like a knife; it can cut through all wholesome karmic affinities. You have to believe that these thoughts are the beginning of the end of your affinities.
佛跟魔有多远呢？你一旦开始学佛了，你是不是佛？不学好，是不是魔？今天到商店里去，看见人家的钱掉了，想着“我是佛，我不要”，如果我是魔，马上就会去拿走。这是不是一个念头？要知道，善恶好坏，赞美毁誉，得到和失去，只在一念间。所以，师父叫你们情愿傻傻的，也不要去乱想。人看菩萨是傻傻的，人看佛也是傻傻的。例如，“地藏王菩萨，你看他这么恶，已经到地狱里去受惩罚了，他已经下油锅了，你为什么还要去救他啊？”佛是傻傻的，因为佛慈悲啊。学佛做人不要太精，人算不如天算，精过头的人一无所有，没人会要他，没人会帮助他，最终他会吃足苦头。
How far apart are the Buddha and the demon? When you are practising Buddhism, aren’t you a Buddha? But if you deviate and not practising it wholesomely, aren’t you a demon? When you go shopping and see somebody’s wallet fell out of their pocket, if you’re a Buddha, you will think about alerting the person. But if you’re a demon, you would think of taking it with you. Isn’t the difference just a single thought? You should know that the difference between wholesomeness and unwholesomeness, good and evil, praise and blame, gain and loss is but a single thought. That’s why Master prefer that you are all foolish than recklessly developing thoughts. People view the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas as foolish beings. For example, “Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, that person was very evil, and so they were sentenced into the Hell Realm to be punished. They are already being throwing into the oil pots, why do you still want to save them?” The Buddhas are foolish because they are compassionate. Buddhists shouldn’t be too meticulous. ‘Man proposes, God disposes’. People who are too meticulous and crafty are unwanted. Nobody wants to help them, and so they will suffer in the end.
要记住，人的一个念头可以把我们带上天堂，也可以把我们踢下地狱，这个念头还可以将我们心中的黑暗转为光明。一个人想不通了，要自杀了，一个念头“菩萨会救我的”，“哗”地一下，他的心进入了光明世界，他就不想死了。你们这些孩子，想不通，难过了，一个念头“到观音堂去拜佛、去念经，菩萨一定会帮助我的”，马上光明就来了，希望就来了。你去检查身体，医生说：“可能会是癌症，体检报告要三个月才能出来。”如果你天天念经，心里就踏实；如果你不念经，心里就会发慌。三个月后报告出来了，没有癌症，可是因为你三个月来担心害怕，你已经骨瘦如柴，真的得癌症了。道理就是这样的。
Take note; a single thought could take a person to heaven or hell. A single thought could also transform the darkness within our mind into the light. A person who can’t think clearly would think of committing suicide. Then when a single thought of the Bodhisattvas saving them develops, they immediately see the light again and don’t want to die. When you children don’t think clearly and get upset, and you have a thought, “I’m going to pray in the Guan YinTemple and recite sutras. The Bodhisattvas will definitely help me,” you immediately see a ray of hope. When you go and have a health check, the doctor might say, “You might have cancer. Your health report will take three months before it comes out.” If you recite sutras daily, you will feel grounded. If you don’t recite sutras, you will be anxious all day. Then when you finally receive your health report three months later, it may have shown that you didn’t have cancer at the time of checking, but because you were fearful every day for the past three months and your immune system was compromised, you really developed cancer. The principle is like so.
“贪瞋痴慢疑”都是人的念头，很多人说：“‘贪瞋痴’我都知道，那么‘慢’是什么？‘疑’是什么？”“慢”是傲慢，“疑”是怀疑。实际上，傲慢和怀疑也是非常害人的。人都有一个毛病，就是喜欢怀疑人家。你有本事不怀疑人家吗？哪个人不怀疑人家啊？这个东西刚刚放在这里的，怎么没有了？怀疑别人，你对我是不是忠心啊？因为怀疑，历史上有多少人被误杀啊？傲慢就是自以为了不起。现在的人自私、贪婪、瞋恨、愚痴，还傲慢，觉得自己了不起，整天还怀疑人家，人的脑子脏不脏啊？
Greed, aversion, delusion, arrogance and doubt are all developed from a person’s thoughts. Many people know that the three poisons greed, aversion and delusion are serious, but arrogance and doubt can also ruin a person severely. Everybody has a shortcoming of liking to doubt others. If you’re capable, could you not develop doubt towards others? Who doesn’t suspect others? For example, you’ve just placed an object on the table, but then it disappeared. You then suspect the honesty and loyalty of others. Because of doubt, how many people were wrongly sentenced to death in the past? Arrogance is when somebody thinks that they are above others. The people nowadays are selfish and filled with greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance and doubts towards others. Aren’t their brains defiled?
因为我们找到了佛性，我们才知道贪瞋痴慢疑都是不好的念头，如果我们不把这些念头去掉，这些念头就会在我们的心中和脑海里回荡。因为贪瞋痴慢疑都是虚空的东西，是看不见的，不信你们拿点“贪”出来给师父看看？拿点“恨”出来给师父看看？这些都是没有表现形式的，都是脑子里想的：“我很恨他，我就是要这个东西，我就是想把这个东西弄坏，谁也得不到。” 很多人自以为是，觉得自己今天是谁谁谁，皮肤多好，长得多好看；很多人怀疑人家也是在内心怀疑的。“贪瞋痴慢疑”这五个毛病全部都是心理行为，所以菩萨界把它们称之为虚空的东西。
Because we’ve discovered our Buddha-nature, we now understand that thoughts of greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance and doubt are bad. And if we don’t eliminate these thoughts, then it will fester within our mind. Greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance and doubt are empty things. It can’t be observed nor quantifiable. If you don’t believe it, then could help show Master a bit of your greed or hatred? They are things that only exist mentally. “I really hate him. I really want that thing. Since he got it, I’m going to destroy it so nobody can have it.” Many people are very opinionated because they think that they are privileged or because they are beautiful. Also, people harbour doubts within their mind. These five things are all forms of mental behaviours. That’s why the Bodhisattvas refer to them as empty things.
红尘之人很容易跟着自己的念头跑。我们这些人都属于红尘之人，今天要这个，明天要那个，今天我可以看见这个女人了，明天我可以跟那个帅哥在一起，后天我可以怎么样，天天跟着红尘跑，生不出孩子的拼命想生，生出了孩子又养不活。前天师父看了两个孩子的图腾，其中有一个昏迷很久没有醒，师父替他求菩萨，他就醒过来了；另外一个孩子还有希望，还能再拖，昨天师父又看了，说“活不了了”，果不其然，这个孩子今天就死了。我们人的一辈子就是跟着念头在跑，我今天有赚钱的念头，我要多赚点钱，我明天要名……天天跟着自己的念头跑，累了一辈子，最后才体会到什么是梦幻泡影。梦幻泡影是什么？就是像做梦一样，像吹泡泡一样的，不能长久。
People of the secular world are very susceptible to being led by their thoughts. We are also regarded as secular people. Today we want this, tomorrow we want that, today I can visit this beautiful young lady, tomorrow I can visit that handsome young man, etc. Every day we are led by our desires. When you can’t give birth, you do whatever you can to give birth. But then when the child was born, they can’t live long. Master once observed the Totems of two children. One of them was in a coma and hadn’t woken up for a long time. Master prayed to Guan Yin Bodhisattva on behalf of that child, and he woke up. Another child had hope, as his life could still be extended, but when Master saw his condition, he told the child’s parents, then he wouldn’t live much longer. A few days later, that child did pass away. We humans are always led by our thoughts every day. They are led by their thought of earning more money or earning more fame; they do this every day for their whole lifetime. Then, in the end, they finally realise that everything is just a dream, and nothing lasts long.
知佛懂理后，才知你我无分别。实际上，我们每个人都是一样的，每个人在人间都是很苦的，有一句话叫“穷不帮穷谁照应”，“相煎何太急”，害人家不就是跟害你自己一样吗？很多人拼命地骂老婆，不就是在骂自己吗？因为过两天老婆就会骂你了。很多女人天天恨男人，过两天男人报复了，你不是在害自己吗？你去害人家干吗？背后害人家的人都有心理病。
After you know about the principles of Buddhism, then you realise there is no difference between any person. In reality, everybody is the same; everybody bears hardship in the Human Realm. There’s a saying called ‘If the poor doesn’t help the poor, who else could they rely on?’. Also, there’s a saying ‘Both born of the same root, why torment each other so cruelly’. When you harm others, isn’t it the same as harming yourself? Many husbands don’t hesitate to scold at their wives, in the end, isn’t it the same as scolding at themselves? That’s because, in a few days time, the wife will find something to scold back at them. Many women also say hateful remarks towards men constantly, then the men will take revenge soon after. So aren’t you just hurting yourself? Why are you hurting others? Those who hurt others behind their backs have a mental problem.
学佛人要懂得你我无分别、不执著、不贪恋，不管是什么事情，我都不执著，有就有，没有就算了；要懂得不嫌弃、不回避，不要碰到困难就回避，不要嫌弃别人。这些在脑子里都是一个念头，你嫌弃别人也是一个念头，你觉得自己看见他，真的不想见他，这也是一个念头啊，如果你把别人看成是和你自己平等的，不就好了吗？众生之痛，乃吾心之痛。这样才是学佛，才能够度人千千万。你看别人都很可爱，你就会度人千千万啊。这就是佛菩萨的智慧。
Buddhists should understand that there is no difference between the self and others and should harbour no attachments and no desires. No matter what happens, don’t be attached. If you have it, you have it. If you don’t, forget about it. You should learn not to dislike and avoid things. When you encounter something difficult, don’t avoid it, and don’t dislike others. All of it in your mind is just a single thought. When you dislike others, it’s because of a single thought. When you really don’t want to see them, it’s also just a single thought. If you see the other person as an equal to you, wouldn’t things be better? The suffering of sentient beings is your suffering. That’s the true way of practising Buddhism; then you would have the focus of spiritually awakening an incalculable amount of sentient beings. You could only do that if you find everybody loveable. That is the wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
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