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.
今天跟大家讲，一个已经学佛成熟的人，他必定要掌握一个“理”，这个“理”就叫道理，这个“理”不在嘴巴里，不在你的行动里，而是在一个诚实人的心里。当一个人拥有道理的时候，这个人就懂得忍耐了。一个懂得忍耐的人，他没有什么事情做不成;如果一个人还不能够忍耐，说明他对佛法还没有理解，就叫法理难懂，也就是说佛法不能融到他的心里去。所以，菩萨讲“六度”，特别强调两点，一个是布施，一个是忍辱。当一个人拥有布施的心，他就拥有忍辱的心。如果一个人能够忍耐、忍辱，他的这颗心一定会获得一个圆融，所以修心成败的关键在于忍耐、忍辱。一个人的忍耐是有限度的，我们经常会听到人家讲：“我的忍耐是有限度的。”师父现在把这个忍耐归于三类讲给大家听。
A person who is practising Buddhism and has matured must grasp on a sense of justification. This ‘justification’ isn’t something that one uses to explain themselves or put into action, but it’s something that resides in an honest person’s mind. When a person feels that they are justified mentally, then they’re willing to be patient. A person who is patient will never be unsuccessful with what they want to achieve. If a person is still impatient, it means that they still haven’t grasped a true understanding of the Buddha-Dharma. In other words, the Buddha-Dharma can’t blend with their mind. That’s why when the Bodhisattvas expounded about the ‘six paramitas’, they especially emphasised two points. One is the act of giving, and the other is the act of forbearance. When a person is willing to give, then they would possess a mind of forbearance. If a person could remain patient and forbearing, then their mind will gain completeness. That’s why the key to the success of cultivating the mind lies with forbearance. A person’s patience is limited. We regularly hear others say, “My patience is limited.” Master shall now categorise forbearance as three different kinds.
第一类，在人间有人为的加害，人家有意来伤害你，知道他在伤害你，知道他在加害你，你要学会忍耐。然后要懂得，不管对你什么样的侮辱，你的心要清净，因为你知道这些都会雨过天晴，你只要忍耐一下，这个事情就过去了。所以，心清净，你的心中就会有佛宝，有佛宝的人，他修佛才能成功。因为能够忍耐的人，就等于拥有佛的宝贝，这个宝贝能够让自己成功，成为最大的一种福报。
The first kind of forbearance is forbearing intentional harm when somebody intentionally harms you. They know that they’re hurting you and you also know, and you forbear with it. No matter how much humiliation they’ve caused you, your mind is still peaceful. That’s because you know that the sky will eventually clear after stormy weather. All you have to do is be patient for a moment or period, and it will pass. That’s why when your mind is peaceful, your mind will gain a Buddha-treasure that will help you succeed in the cultivation of Buddhism. Those who could forbear is equivalent to somebody who possesses a Buddha-treasure, and this treasure could help them be successful. So it’s a kind of worldly blessing.
第二个忍耐是自然的变化。比方说，这个人怕热，一热他会马上烦躁不安。如果一个人的情绪随着天气变化马上转变，这个人也是属于不能忍耐的。比方说聚会开始时还很开心，突然之间天气暗了……那么饥饿、口渴、自然灾害，他不能忍耐了，这也会对他造成很大的伤害。
The second kind of forbearance is forbearing with natural changes. For example, somebody is afraid of the heat. When it gets too hot, they become irritable. If a person’s mood changes according to the weather, then it means that person can’t forbear or lacks patience. For example, if a person was very happy at the start of a party, but then the sky starts to darken, or if they experience hunger or thirst or natural disasters and then can’t forbear with it, then it will cause them great harm.
修心学佛要忍耐，这是第三个忍耐。刚刚学佛的人不一定马上就能够法喜，在功夫还没有得力之前，因为我们在得到法喜之前，修行是很苦的。也就是说，当一个人刚刚开始修的时候，他根本不能忍耐，因为他觉得对他来说修心学佛是很苦的。举个简单例子，小和尚刚刚到庙里去的时候，他会抱怨“为什么要那么早起床啊？为什么要扫地、劈柴？为什么要去挑水？”如果他想得到佛法，这一切对他来讲都需要忍耐。
One must be patient when they’re cultivating their mind and practising Buddhism, that’s the third kind of forbearance. Those who have recently started to practise Buddhism may not experience Dharma-joy immediately, and their efforts not yet bear fruit. That’s because cultivation is hard. When a person has recently started cultivating, they lack forbearance because they feel that it’s hard and bitter. To illustrate this with an example, when a monk has just arrived at a monastery, they would have resentments. “Why do I have to wake up so early in the morning? Why must I sweep the floor and chop wood?” If they want to gain the Buddha-Dharma, then they will forbear with it all.
因为修行很苦，只有上轨道，才会慢慢地觉得这个不是苦，而是甜。举个简单例子，你们现在坐在这里，你们不会感觉很苦，为什么呢？你们坐在这里，心很安静，脑子很安静，然后呢，自己慢慢地懂得道理，学很多道理，但同时不知道外面有什么变化，这样时间长了没有外境烦恼就是一种甜和法喜。所以，当一个人刚开始学佛的时候，他是很痛苦的，他坐在这里可以说“我今天很不开心，我很难过，我本来应该出去玩的，我为什么要坐在这里？我本来有很多时间可以吃喝玩乐，我为什么要学佛？”这样的学佛人是没有法喜的。所以，在第三种忍耐就是修心修佛法要忍耐当中，不管我今天学佛之后是否找得到路，我自己要得到法喜。
Because cultivation is very hard and bitter, it’s only when one gets on the right track would they gradually feel that it’s no longer bitter but sweet. To illustrate this with an example, when you are sitting in one of Master’s lectures, you don’t feel that it’s hard. Why is that? That’s because when you’re sitting there and listening, your mind and brain are at peace. You are gradually learning a lot of things, and at the same time, you are oblivious to any changes in the external environment. When you are not affected by external afflictions for a long period, you feel a kind of sweetness and Dharma bliss. That’s when somebody has recently started to learn Buddhism; they feel that it’s very hard. They could be thinking of things like, “I’m really unhappy. Originally I could go out and have fun, why do I have to be here? Originally I have a lot of time to indulge in good food and the joys of life, why do I have to learn Buddhism?” These kinds of Buddhists would not have any Dharma bliss. That’s why the third kind of forbearance is the forbearance required to cultivate one’s mind and practise Buddhism. Regardless of whether one finds their own path after practising Buddhism, they must gain Dharma bliss for themselves.
举个简单例子，今天你们想到堪培拉去，但是找不到路，绕来绕去花了一天时间，但是一旦发现了大路，你一直开，没有阻碍，一直把车开到底，那么你就非常法喜了。其实学佛也是这样，我们人在这个世界当中整天地变来变去，学学这个觉得蛮好，学学那个觉得蛮好，学了一段时间又不好好学了。一会儿阻碍来了，因为学佛人当中有学得不好的讲你了，你又不开心了；一会儿又觉得学佛怎么要念那么多的经文，又没劲了，然后就像找不到路一样。所以，找到路要好好学，如果你能够经受住这三类忍耐，你才能慢慢地脱离苦海。一个人如果对别人对他的伤害、侮辱，他能够忍耐；自然的变化、天气、饥饿、口渴、自然灾害等，他能够忍耐；学佛修心他也能忍耐，这个人慢慢地会得到无生法忍，就是我不会轻易地生出那些不忍耐的东西。
To illustrate it with an example, today, you want to go to Canberra, but you don’t know the way to get there. You kept driving round and round and wasted a lot of time. But when you have found the main road to get there, you would keep driving along with it. There are no more obstacles, and you keep driving forward, and you’re happy about it. Practising Buddhism is the same. We constantly change, sometimes we learn this very well, sometimes we learn that very well, then after learning for a period, we start to procrastinate. One moment obstacles come, and you’re unhappy when you were talked about behind your back. Then in one moment, you become tired after reciting a lot of sutras, and then you feel lost. That’s why when you have found your path; you must properly learn. If you could utilise these three kinds of forbearance, then you would gradually be able to liberate yourself from the sea of suffering. If a person could forbear with other people’s harm and humiliation towards them and could forbear with the natural changes around them like the weather, hunger, thirst, natural disasters, and could also forbear with their cultivation and practise of Buddhism, then they would gradually develop the ‘non-birth forbearance of Dharma’. It means that they don’t develop a feeling of needing to forbear.
一个人学佛能否成功有赖于自己的善根和福德。如果你今天能够学习佛法，你一定有善根；你今天愿意学习佛法，你一定有福德。佛法里有一句话叫“福德因缘具足”，就是说，如果你是一个有福气的人、有道德的人，你才会懂得佛法，因为你这个人有因缘，你才会具足学佛的根基。举个简单例子，有福的人很有钱，但是他不念经，这种人有很多；有道德的人，他不学佛，这种人也有很多，但是因缘没有具足，所以他学不到佛法，他这辈子拼命地消耗，然后做一点善事，慢慢地善报报掉了，他没有因缘可以学到佛法。所以说，如果你有善根，又有福德，你必定得到加持，能够学习佛法。
Whether a person is successful in their practice of Buddhism depends on their wholesome roots and worldly blessings. If you can learn and practise the Buddha-Dharma, then it means that you certainly have wholesome roots. If you are willing to learn and practise the Buddha-Dharma, then it means that you certainly have worldly blessings. In the Buddha-Dharma, there’s a phrase called ‘Sufficient with worldly blessings and karmic affinities’. In other words, if you are a blessed individual, and you are morally upright, then you will understand the Buddha-Dharma. It’s because you have the karmic affinities, that’s why you possess the foundation of learning and practising Buddhism. To illustrate this, many blessed individuals are very wealthy, but they don’t recite sutras. Also, many morally upright individuals don’t learn Buddhism. That’s because they don’t possess the right karmic affinities, that’s why they can’t encounter the Buddha-Dharma, or if they do, they don’t want to learn. So they would be expending their life. They would occasionally do a few good deeds, and then gradually use up their wholesome karmic rewards. They don’t have the karmic affinity to learn the Buddha-Dharma. That’s why if you have wholesome roots and worldly blessings, then you will definitely receive blessings to be able to learn and practise the Buddha-Dharma.
佛门之中没有取舍，学佛的人没有什么说“我得到了，我舍去了”，因为学佛人懂得，我们生没有带来，死也没有失去，这就叫生不带来、死不带去，我们没有索取，也没有失去，我们什么都没有。菩萨经常点化我们、帮助我们，菩萨的经文经常在教导我们，是我们自己没有去接受菩萨对我们的教导。菩萨跟我们讲，心胸要宽广，心要慈悲，做人要圆融，做事情要懂得分寸。这些菩萨都跟我们讲过，然而我们人为什么会做错事情呢？就是没有把菩萨的话记在心中。所以，不管学什么法门，首先你要有法喜，就是我听到了这个法门之后，我心中特别欢喜，这样的话，你已经拥有了自我修学的一个基础。就像我们愿意读书一样，我们一定要对它先有兴趣，我们才会去学，才能学好。
In Buddhism, there is no saying of gain or loss. That’s because Buddhists understand that they hadn’t brought anything with them when they were born, so they won’t lose anything when they die. You can’t take anything with you in death. So there is no gain and no loss. We have nothing. The Bodhisattvas frequently reveal things for us and help us. Their sutras frequently provide guidance for us. It is us who’s unwilling to accept their guidance. The Bodhisattvas expound that we must be magnanimous, compassionate, mellow and have a sense of propriety. These are what the Bodhisattvas said to us, but why do we still make mistakes? That’s because we don’t put their words to heart.
师父告诉大家，我们现在所学的心灵法门是观世音菩萨的法门，让我们转换的是我们的心。因为我们的心已经被物欲所染，被五欲六尘所染，因为我们的心已经由年轻时候、孩童时代纯洁的心、善良的心变成了一个贪心、恨心、愚痴心，变成嫉妒心和无穷无尽的贪爱之心。实际上，菩萨就是叫我们要用最大的耐心来改变自己已经拥有的被外尘所染的那些不好的心。如果一个人想改自己身上的毛病，没有耐心，他是不会成就的。想一想，一个人要成功，如果没有耐心，他能不能成功？耐心实际上就是你的禅定的心，用佛法讲，耐心就是禅定。因为你有了这个定力，你才会有这个耐心。为什么有些人碰到事情马上就上蹿下跳、哭哭闹闹呢？而有些人碰到事情很稳重，因为他已经拥有了禅定的心。禅定的心是怎么来的呢？禅定的心靠的是你学习菩萨的境界而成，一个人有了境界才会禅定。
Master tells you, Guan Yin Citta is Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s Dharma door. What it teaches us is how to transform one’s mind. It’s because our mind has been corrupted by material desires and worldly defilements. It because our pure-hearted and kind-hearted mind from our youth has changed into a mind of greed, hatred, foolishness, jealously and insatiable desires. In reality, the Bodhisattvas tell us to use our greatest patience to change our corrupted mind. If a person lacks the patience to reform themselves, then they will never succeed. Think about it, if a person wants to be successful but they lack patience, would they succeed? Patience is, in fact, a concentrative state of mind. In the Buddha-Dharma’s terms, patience is zen-concentration. Because you have the power of concentration, that’s why you have patience. Why do some people panic when they encounter something unfavourable while some people could still remain steady? That’s because some people have a mind of zen-concentration while some don’t. Where does it come from? Those who have it comes from their determination to practise the spirituality level of the Bodhisattvas/ When one’s level of spirituality is high, then they would possess zen-concentration.
举个简单例子，如果一个人不去跟别人贪，他一定会想：“贪来的都不是我的，如果我贪，我可能会付出更多，所以我不贪，该我的就是我的，不该我的就不是我的。”这就是一种境界。有了这种境界的人，他不会跟别人去争，他不会跟别人去抢。所以，他的心里就算缺少什么人间的东西，他还是很快乐，因为他减少的是世俗的快乐。想一想，喝酒、抽烟、玩耍全部都是世俗的快乐，因为这些快乐不能给你带来一种长期幸福感。一个人很难过的时候去喝酒，是不是借酒消愁愁更愁？一个人跟人家一起喝酒吃饭的时候讲很多的话，当时非常的畅快、淋漓尽致，但是事后会因为喝酒说过的话语给自己造成很多的麻烦，让自己后悔。大家想一想，酒桌上说错的话有多少？酒桌上别人答应你的事情，等酒醒之后人家忘记了，最后你又会给自己带来无限的压力和伤痛。
To illustrate this with an example, if a person isn’t greedy, then they would think, “What I embezzle is destined not to be mine. If I take it, it might cost me dearly, so I won’t. What’s destined to be mine will be mine eventually. What’s not destined to be mine will never be mine.” That’s a kind of spirituality. If somebody thinks that way, they won’t compete with others. So even if they lack something materially, they would still be very happy mentally and spiritually because they minimise their worldly joys. Think about it, drinking, smoking, playing about are all worldly joys. These kinds of joys will never give you a long-term sense of happiness. When a person is very depressed, they would go and have a few drinks. It might relieve their sorry for a short while, but then they will worry even more afterwards. When a person drinks and dines with others, they say what they want, and they feel free. But afterwards, when they’re sober, they might regret what they said while they’re still drunk and it might have created a lot of problems for them afterwards. Think about it, how many times do people say the wrong things when they’re drunk? When somebody has promised you something whether you were all drinking, they may forget about it when they've woken up. In the end, it only gives you more stress and harm.