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.
我们学佛人不能一会儿对佛法五体投地、泪如泉涌,刚刚开始接触佛法、开始弘法的时候,突然觉得菩萨怎么这么好啊,哭着诉说“我终于找到了法宝”,可是当自己心理上出现一点点障碍的时候,马上就开始诽谤佛法,马上就开始懈怠,甚至退转。这就好比一个人的性格一样,今天开心,明天不开心,明天不好了,后天又神经兮兮地笑起来了,让别人捉摸不透,像一棵墙头草一样两边倒。所以,学佛人不能一会儿开心得不得了,觉得这个世界很美丽,是为你所造,一会儿难过伤心得不得了,觉得这个世界简直没救了。
Buddhists shouldn’t, at one point, act fervently towards the Buddha-Dharma and then at another point, be sceptical towards it. For example, in the beginning, when somebody had recently encountered Buddhism and started to propagate, they suddenly feel how great the Bodhisattvas are and cry out and say, “I’ve finally found a treasure.” But then when they start to develop some obstacles within their mind, that start to slander the Buddha-Dharma, or slack in their cultivation or even abandoning it. That could be compared to mood swings, in one day, you’re happy, then the next day, you’re sad, then the next day, you’re giggling again. It makes you unpredictable, and you are like the tall grass that sways in whatever the direction the wind blows. That’s why Buddhists shouldn’t be very happy one day and feel that the world is beautiful, but then in another day, you become extremely sad and feel that the world can’t be saved.
很多人就是活在这两面当中,一会儿拿自己的梦境来激励和鼓励自己,一会儿又要跟自己的心做一个决裂,而且拼命地去批判自己过去做过的事情,认为自己真是一个该死的人,后悔当初。不管碰到大事、小事,天天只知道求,心中只想着:“我要是买个大房子,我就开心了;我孩子能够考上名牌大学,我就开心了;我所有的一切都能够如愿,我死了也无所谓……”人就是在这种欲望当中生啊,死啊,不停地让灵魂进进出出,让自己的心遭受很多的难过、抱怨、忧愁、怀疑,心生动摇,心不安宁,而不知道怎么样让自己的心变成佛心。
Many people live their lives in this polarising state. Sometimes, they have a good dream and view it as an encouragement. Then suddenly, they feel like tormenting themselves by constantly criticising themselves internally. No matter what happens, major or minor, they only think about what they want to pursue. “I’ll be happy if I buy a big house.” “I’ll be happy if my child could attend a prestigious university.” “If my wish comes true, it doesn’t matter if I die.” Humans are constantly living and dying within these kinds of desires. They let themselves experience sadness, anger, depression, doubts, unrest, yet they don’t know how to change their mind into a Buddha-mind.
有的学佛人刚念了一点经文,还以为自己很了不得,觉得自己开悟了,以为自己是佛主降生,菩萨再临,觉得自己已经成为宇宙的主宰了。你不要说没有这种人,这种人到处都有,你给他一点机会,他就忘乎所以,把别人不当一回事,而且还要掺杂着人间的名利,实际上他的心已经不能守戒,他已经开始幻听、幻视了。什么叫“幻听”啊?就是听到的都是空的、虚的,不真实的。什么叫“幻视”呢?就是眼睛看见的东西都是不真实的,这个世界,他以为是真的。大家都在贪财,你也贪财,最后贪的人全部都倒霉,那么你也跟着倒霉。所有的人都在买股票,你也去花大量的钱买股票,最近股票大跌,人家还有一点底子,而你一下子一分钱都没有了,那么就跳楼了。
Some Buddhists recently started reciting sutras and feel that they are incredible and could feel themselves becoming enlightened. They think that they are the Buddha or Bodhisattva reborn, and feel that they could control the universe. Don’t say that there aren’t these kinds of people, these kinds of people are everywhere. When you give them a chance, they get swallowed up by their pride and look down others. They would also adulterate their thoughts with various worldly desires for fame and wealth. In reality, their mind has already neglected the precepts. They have already started to experience auditory and visual hallucinations. What are auditory and visual hallucinations? It’s when one hears or sees something imaginary and think that it’s real, but in reality, it’s not real. You see everybody pursuing wealth, and so you do the same. In the end, all of them met an unfortunate end, and you also follow. Everybody around you is buying shares, so you also do the same using a lot of your money. In the end, the share price tanked. Others still had plenty of money left, but you have none left, so you go and commit suicide.
任何一切都会有偏差,而且人在有了偏差之后,只要脑子里想“我要这样,我要那样”,只要你想到一些跟灵界有关系的事情,比方说,“我不想活了,我想到天上去了”,又比方说,“我为什么这么苦啊?能不能找一个方法让我发财?”所有的这一切只要让灵界听到了,他马上就到你身上来,因为你有求,他们就来“应”你,这个不是菩萨的有求必应,而是你内心的魔开始上身来找你。所以,一个人不能因为觉得自己在世界上做错很多事情,就破碗破摔地继续癫狂、无知、愚昧。真正好的弟子应该超凡入圣,就是把人间的一切烦恼和人间的一切凡心所动的凡人之事全部去掉,要超越它,进入圣贤的思维,实际上就是进入菩萨的思维。所以,真正好的弟子会一步一个脚印地跟着师父好好地学佛修心。
Deviations could happen anywhere, and when a deviation occurs in the mind, and one have thoughts if wanting this and that and those thoughts are related to the spiritual world, the spirits will look for them. For example, thought like, “I don’t want to live anymore, I want to go to heaven,” or “Why is life so difficult, is there a way for me to make money?” If any spiritual beings hear that, then they will occupy your body. That’s because you have a request, so they have come to answer it. That isn’t the same as Bodhisattvas answering prayers. It is your inner demon that’s starting to occupy your mind and body. One shouldn’t think that because they have made a lot of mistakes, they should continue to act recklessly, ignorantly and foolishly. Proper students should transcend the mundane and enter a sage state. In other words, one should abandon all afflictions and things that move one’s mind and transcend it to enter a thought process of a sage. In reality, it’s to enter a Bodhisattva’s thought process. That’s why proper students and disciples should follow Master step by step to properly practise Buddhism and cultivate their mind.
不起妄念的心叫清净心。也就是说,当一个人没有去想得不到的事情,你就有清净心,起心动念都是菩萨心,那你才能公正无私、无障无碍、慈悲众生。师父说,只有这种人才没有贪瞋痴,只有这种人才能坐上莲花。所以,一个能够去除贪瞋痴的人,他就可以进入莲花境界。那么莲花境界是什么呢?就是洁白、无瑕、纯真。想一想,人的心现在纯真吗?骗来骗去,女人不讲真话,男人尽说假话,孩子跟着也说谎话,心里的话不讲,外表的话拼命去讲,内心的痛苦自己承受着,对外不断地制造那些痛苦的根源,让自己的心承受着难过,饱受压力的摧残,这就是人的愚痴和无知。
A mind that doesn’t develop delusional thoughts is pure. In other words, when a person doesn’t think about something that they could never gain, then their mind is pure. All of their thoughts that arise are of a Bodhisattva’s, and they could be fair, selfless and compassionate without any mental obstacles or hindrances. Only this kind of person doesn’t have any greed, hatred or delusion, and be in a state akin to a lotus flower – pure, flawless and innocent. Think about people nowadays, are their minds innocent? Males, females and children constantly like to deceive others. They don’t tell what they truly feel of the truth but say whatever is convenient for them. They have to bear with their inner turmoil whilst externally, while they constantly create sources of suffering for themselves. These kinds of people are foolish and ignorant.
师父要你们懂得“揭谛揭谛,波罗揭谛,波罗僧揭谛,菩提萨婆诃”,这个意思就是说,菩萨啊菩萨,大智慧要到达彼岸。也就是说,我们拥有了菩萨的智慧,我们才能用这种智慧进入菩萨的境界,才能到达彼岸。所以,拥有这个智慧,你才能来去自由,对不对啊?举个简单例子,你开车想快点,你想早点回到家,你想早点到公司去上班,你有你的自由,别人有别人的自由,你想在马路上自由地来来往往,你想不看红灯就开过去,反而越来越慢,而且会撞车,对不对?如果你想来去自由,你是不是应该在自己的心中懂得一个戒律,你才能开车自由?碰到红灯停下来,等到绿灯你再往前开,这个才叫来去自由。真正的自由是守戒之后的自由,而不是你想干什么就干什么,否则你不但没有获得应有的自由,反而会增加麻烦。所以,你必须如理如法地学佛,你才能来去自由啊。
Master wants you to understand about the last texts of the Heart Sutra ‘jie di jie di, bo luo jie di, bo luo seng jie di, pu tis a po he’. The meaning is ‘Oh Bodhisattva, oh Bodhisattva, one who possess great wisdom shall reach the other shore’. In other words, only when we possess the Bodhisattva’s wisdom could we use it to enter into the Bodhisattva’s level of spirituality and reach the other shore. Only when one possesses that wisdom could you be free. To illustrate this using an example, imagine yourself driving back home from work, and you want to get there earlier. You have your freedom, while others have their freedom. If you drive on the road freely while neglecting about other cars or the traffic light signal, then you would reach your destination slower than usual or even get into a car crash. Is that right? If you want to freely come and go, shouldn’t you uphold some disciplinary rules in your mind in order to drive freely? True freedom is the freedom after upholding some disciplinary rules, and not the freedom where you could do whatever you like. Otherwise, not only do you not get the freedom you want, it may also cause additional problems. That’s why you must practise Buddhism while abiding by reason and the laws. That way, you could come and go freely.
大家都在拼命地修心,如果你不修,想想看,你能到天上去、到人间来,来去自由吗?好像有来,好像有去,就叫如来。懂得这个心,我明白了这个心不能有障碍,我要对别人诚心,我不能害别人,否则我会很难过。我做任何一件事情,我要对得起自己的良心,我不赚你的,我不害你,这才叫心无罣碍啊。你是怎么样让自己的心有罣碍了的呢?因为你的心占了人家的便宜,你想心不占人家的便宜,最好的办法就是心无罣碍。就是说,我从来没有想从你身上得到什么,那么你才能跟别人自由自在地交谈。如果你今天跟这个人交往,你想从他身上得到什么,你一定话也讲不清楚,意识表达不明白,颤颤巍巍地不敢看对方,因为你心里有自己的目的啊。人要学会无罣碍,就是来去自由,《心经》里面讲“无罣碍故”,所以人不能有罣碍啊,来去自由就是让你心无罣碍。
Everybody is putting a lot of effort into cultivating their mind. If you don’t, could you go to heaven and freely come and go? It seems like it came, yet it also seems like it’s gone, it’s called the Thus Come One. You must know your mind; it mustn’t have obstacles. “I must be sincere towards others and not harm them. Otherwise, I would be very upset. I must be able to remain in good conscience when doing anything. I won’t owe you nor harm you.” That’s a mind with no obstacles. How did your mind develop obstacles? It’s because you wanted to take advantage of others. If you never thought nor want to take advantage of others, then you would be able to converse with others freely. If one day, you befriended somebody because you wanted to gain something from them, then you won’t be able to articulate yourself clearly because you would be shy to state your true aim. People must learn to free themselves from mental hindrances. The Heart Sutra states so, to be free is to first possess a mind with no hindrances.
人生是什么?很多现实的人说,人生就是一场梦。但是师父说,他们说错了,人生不是一场梦,人生是游走于梦中和梦醒之间,就是要你在梦中创造一个良好的、善良的、慈悲的心境,当你梦醒的时候,你才能回到你应该回到的家园。寿命又是什么呢?很多人说,寿命无非是江山几度更替。最近有一个1921年出生的老人家走掉了,他就是经历了清朝、民国,一直到中华人民共和国,江山的几度更换老人家都见证了,但是他这个寿命看到的只是人间的争斗和执著。而我们真正的寿命是什么?就是要为众生服务,要学会为众生活着。就像我们伟大的佛陀,为了众生他付出了自己的一生,为了众生他寻找了一个解脱人间苦难的方法,那就是最后他传来人间的一直到现在我们还在受益的佛法。
What is life? Many people may say that it’s like a dream. But Master disagrees with that saying. Life is not a dream, but a place where we wander between dream and awakenment. In the dream, you must create a good, kind-hearted and compassionate environment. When you wake from your dream, that's when you could return to your home. What is the purpose of a lifespan? Many people say that one’s lifespan is to witness the change of eras and dynasties. Recently, a person who was born in the year 1921 passed away. He experienced the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China and up to the present times. He has witnessed many changes to power, but in his lifespan, he has only seen the conflicts and attachments of the Human Realm. While what is the true purpose of our lifespan? It’s to serve other sentient beings and learn to live for them like our great Gautama Buddha. He had devoted his whole life for other sentient beings and help them find a way to liberate from suffering. That is the Buddha-Dharma that he had left with us that we are still benefitting from to this day.
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