Disclaimer: My translations are not official nor endorsed by 2OR, so please just treat it as a ‘fan-based’ translation based on my understanding of his teachings. 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】. I am not an enlightened being like Master Lu, but I will treat his teachings with my utmost respect and do my best to convey and translate it to the best of my (limited) abilities for my friends and people who can’t read Chinese. Please enjoy, and I hope it serves as a good filler until the official English version comes out.
今天师父给大家细讲菩萨界，把菩萨界的境界一句一句解释给你们听，菩萨是进入甚深禅定的修持，就是说菩萨进入高境界的时候，已经完全能够定下来了，已经禅修到一定的境界了，而且是很深的禅定修持，有很高的境界，是超越了初地菩萨的境界。禅定不是一般的修持，禅定是带有智慧的定，禅定是有智慧的。修持就是懂得怎么修，懂得怎么把持。
Today, Master will explain about the Bodhisattva realm in detail, and explain each line that originates from the Bodhisattva realm to you. Bodhisattvas could enter into an extremely deep state of concentrative meditation. In other words, when they enter into an exceptionally high level of spirituality, there are completely and entirely concentrated. It is a level of spirituality that surpasses the level of spirituality found in Bodhisattvas of the First Ground. Dhyana concentration isn’t a typical cultivation practice. Dhyana concentration is concentration with wisdom. The cultivational practice is about knowing how to cultivate and how to practise.
必须以佛法的闻思修慧为基础，必须学佛的最高境界，要以最高的佛法来对照自己的修为。闻思修慧，就是用自己的闻思来修自己的慧根，以佛法最基本的道理作为基础来修心。广集利益众生的福德资粮，已经到了菩萨界了，为什么还要广积利益众生的资粮呢？就是你已经是菩萨了，你可以不下去救度众生，但是到了高境界菩萨界，菩萨不是在他的意境中，不只管自己是菩萨，而是要下去救度众生，就像我们准备自己身上的东西一样，这个叫广集利益众生的资粮。
One must use the Buddha-Dharma’s wisdom of ‘Encounter-Contemplation-Cultivation’ as the foundation; one must learn Buddha’s highest level of spirituality, and use the highest level of the Buddha-Dharma to reflect upon one’s cultivation. The wisdom of ‘Encounter-Contemplation-Cultivation’ is to use one’s encounter and contemplation to cultivate one’s base of wisdom. It’s to use the Buddha-Dharma’s most basic principles as the foundation of cultivating the mind. If one accumulates all the resources of blessings and virtues and is prepared to benefit sentient beings far and wide, then one’s mind has already reached the same level as a Bodhisattva. Why should one still undertake this course of action? It’s because you’re already a Bodhisattva, you can choose not to descend, save and spiritually awaken sentient beings. But because your mind has already reached a very high level of spirituality of a Bodhisattva, the identity of a Bodhisattva is no longer what they think about, nor concerned of. All they care about is to save sentient beings. Just like how before we go on a rescue mission, we prepare all the equipment and tools to do so, thus we ‘accumulate all the resources of blessings and virtues to prepare ourselves for benefitting sentient beings far and wide’.
师父从佛菩萨界下来救度众生，师父必须要做好思想准备，我到人间来该如何如何修为，到人间来要能堪忍受，能为难事，悲心愍念众生。师父到人间来吃了多少苦，使我从小就体会到人生的无常。到人间来必须准备好思想，准备好资粮，资粮就是资源，就是一种能量。犹如人间所用的粮食。广集利益众生的福德，就是要把菩萨的礼物带给众生，是什么礼物？ 就是福德，把福德带给众生。师父带下来的是让每一个人的身体好了，家庭和睦了，生重病的回复健康了等等，这就是广集众生的福德。
When Master descended from the realms of the Buddha-Bodhisattvas to save and spiritually awaken sentient beings, Master must be mentally prepared. He must prepare how he will cultivate when he arrives in the human realm, how he must forbear, how he can overcome difficult situations, and have mercy and pity towards sentient beings. After Master has arrived in the human realm, he has experienced an uncountable number of hardships that have led him to experience the impermanence of life at a tender age. Once we’re in the human realm, we must be mentally prepared and have all the resources prepared; in other words, we must possess energy. To accumulate all the resources of blessings and virtues to prepare ourselves for benefitting sentient beings far and wide is to take the Bodhisattvas’ presents and gift it to sentient beings. What kind of present is it? It’s the blessings and virtues that we give to sentient beings. What Master brings are things that can help everybody enjoy good health, bring harmony to families, and the potential to help people with critical illness recover back to normal etc. That is how we collect the blessings and virtues of sentient beings far and wide.
作为菩萨下来就必须带有佛菩萨的福德，来利益众生，把福德的能量带给众生，才能直入正规的证境而无障碍。因为你做好思想准备了，因为你是菩萨，你非但自修不会落入六道轮回，而且你想到的是众生的利益，你的境界是走向佛的境界，所以你已经准备好了资粮，准备好了利益众生的福德资粮，到人间来救度众生。高境界菩萨已经是有这种意念，完全是下来救度众生的，所以境界才能提高。
As a Bodhisattva who descended, one must carry with them the blessings and virtues of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to benefit sentient beings. Only by giving away this energy of blessings and virtues to sentient beings would one enter directly into a Buddha’s state of mindfulness, thus there are no hindrances. It’s because you’re mentally prepared because you’re a Bodhisattva, not only did you practise self-cultivation so you won’t be entrapped in samsara, you also thought of how to benefit sentient beings. You prepared your resources of blessings and virtues ready to help sentient beings and decided to come down to the human realm to save and spiritually awaken them. So your level of spirituality moves towards the realm of a Buddha, as your thoughts are completely selfless and only concerned of descending to save sentient beings. That’s why your level of spirituality could rise.
如果想到要帮助下面（六道）的众生，想的越多越慈悲，能量就越高， 果位也越高，就可以直接进入禅修的证境，而无障碍。证境就是意境。当一个人的境界高的时候，是不会有障碍的。比如：夫妻一个人念经，一个人不念经，念经的人境界就高，善做好事，做功德，而这个不念经的人，就会制造许多障碍来阻止他人做善事，做功德。当菩萨的境界到了这个证修的境界时，就可以直接破除障碍，进入证修的境界。障碍是怎样破除的呢？
The more you think about helping sentient beings in samsara, and the more merciful and compassionate you become, the greater the energy that you possess and the greater your fruition becomes. Then you can directly enter into Buddha’s state of mindfulness in Dhyana cultivation with no hindrances. The Buddha’s state of mindfulness is a kind of mental domain. When a person has a high level of spirituality, they have no hindrances. For example, there’s a couple. One of them recites sutras while the other one doesn’t. The level of spirituality of a person who recites sutras is high and likes performing benevolent and meritorious deeds. While for the other who doesn’t recite sutras, he/she will create a lot of obstacles to hinder other people from performing benevolent and meritorious deeds. When a Bodhisattva’s level of spirituality has reached Buddha’s state of mindfulness, then they can directly eliminate all obstructions. How do obstructions get eliminated?
如果你站在一幢小房子上面，前面的房子比你高，你就看不见前面的任何东西了，这个就叫障碍，看不见就是障碍。当你爬上一座很高的山顶上的时候，你的前面没有障碍了，就是说你的境界升到很高的位置的时候，你的前面全部都是平坦的，所有的障碍都没有了。如果什么都放下了，什么烦恼都没有了，你的境界自然就提高了，障碍也就没有了。破除障碍，站得越高，障碍就越少，境界就越高，人生活的障碍就会越来越少，什么都想开了，看穿了，哦，人原来这么渺小。
If you stood on top of a small house and the building in front of you is taller, then you wouldn’t be able to see anything past the building. It’s an obstruction; if you can’t see beyond something, it means you’re obstructed. After you have climbed to the top of a mountain, then there is no obstruction blocking your view, the view in front of you is flat. If you let go of everything, and you have no afflictions, then your level of spirituality will naturally increase, and your obstructions disappear. To eliminate obstructions is to stand from a taller viewpoint so that obstructions are reduced. The higher one’s level of spirituality, the fewer the obstructions that one encounters in their daily lives. If one is open-minded and can see everything clearly, then one will realise how insignificant we are.
你们从飞机上看地面上的房子，汽车等像不像蟑螂，蚂蚁呀，房子像不像火柴盒子，人多么的渺小呀，因为你在高空才能看到人有多么的渺小，如果自己在家里还以为自己的家很大，很了不起，可是从高空看就像一个火柴盒一样大小，有什么了不起的，要这样想，这样看，明白了吗？
When you’re sitting in the plane and looking down at the ground from the sky, don’t the cars look like cockroaches and ants? While houses look like matchboxes? And look at how tiny people are. It’s because you’re up in the sky, that’s why you see that everything is tiny. If you sat inside your house, you would feel that the house is very big and act proudly. But when you’re looking at your house from the sky, it’s as small as a matchbox, what’s there to be proud of? You must possess this kind of thoughts and views, you understand?
高境界菩萨是明地，明地就是光明，放光。菩萨的境界很高，他的眼睛很清楚，很明亮，什么都看得清清楚楚，不论你们说什么，他的心里很明亮，都很清楚。在听闻正法，闻在这里是声闻缘觉的闻，闻和听是两个概念，闻是把你所有的智慧都打开了，眼见，耳闻等等，就是把你的七窍全部打开了，你的智慧全部可以放出来，闻是有智慧的，已经能够明白你讲的道理了，才叫闻。师父今天给你们讲法，如果你们听不懂，就叫听。
The Bodhisattva’s high level of spirituality is the bright ground, a source of brightness. A Bodhisattva’s level of spirituality is very high; their eyes can see things very understandably and clearly. No matter what others say, their mind is very clear and understanding. When somebody says that one hears and encounters the right Dharma, one must understand that hearing and encountering are two different concepts. Encounter here means it’s a moment when your wisdom is awakened, and your eyes see, and your ears hear with wisdom, in other words, your seven apertures are completely opened, so your wisdom emanates completely. There is wisdom within an encounter; it means you understand the principles. Hence it’s called an ‘encounter’. When Master speaks to you about the Dharma, if you don’t understand when you listened, then that’s just hearing.
如果明白师父说的法，就叫闻，是两种不同的概念。声闻缘觉菩萨讲的是这个道，闻是基本上明白道理了，才叫闻。思维法义，就是菩萨的思维心想着法界，法界就是我们现在说的人界，我们在人道里，这个法是菩萨特指的这个人间，叫法界，而我们叫世界。什么叫法意？ 意字实际上就是境界。你所有想的东西，所有思维的东西，称为法意。就是说超出这个法界思维的东西，来指导你法界思维的东西。
If you understood the Dharma that Master spoke, that’s called an encounter. It’s two different concepts. What the Bodhisattvas of the Sravaka realm and Pratyekabuddha realm talk about is this, an encounter is basically about understanding the principles, thus encounter. To cogitate about the thought processes of the Dharma, that is what Bodhisattvas do to think about the realm of the Dharma. The realm of the Dharma that Bodhisattva refers to is just a name for what we call the human realm, which is our world. What are the thought processes of the Dharma? The thought processes refer to the mental plane of one’s level of spirituality. The things that you think and cogitate are referred like the thought processes of the Dharma. So what one must do, is to surpass your current Dharma thought process of an object, so that you can control that object.
解悟真理，悟出了自己认为是真理的东西。菩萨要化解的是，你认为是真理，但不一定是真理，菩萨有这个责任来化解和开悟，比如：有些修行的人很执着，你给他们说台长的法门如何如何的好，他认为自己已经修这个法门了，我已经念这个经了，我怎样怎样的，如果他说我这个怎么怎么的好，说明他已经在这个里面了，他认为这个是真确的，是真理，所以他才会执着的去追求。
One must analyse and awaken to the absolute truths and its principles. What the Bodhisattvas want you to analyse and resolve and the principles that you thought were true but is not. Bodhisattvas have a duty to resolve and awaken. For example, some cultivators are very attached, when you tell them how good Master’s Buddhist practice is, they would think they’re already practising it. They’re already reciting sutras, they’re already doing this and that, if they act arrogantly, then it means they’re entrapped inside mentally. They think what they’re doing is correct; they think that it’s the true principles, that’s why they’re attached in their pursuit.
一个人做错误的事情，都是因为自己认为是对的，才敢去做。今天哪怕不开心，对这个人有意见，也是因为自己认为是对的，对不对？他认为这是真理，然而菩萨就是要帮助你化解，帮你来开悟，让你明白自己所做的事情是不是真理，为什么学佛学到后来，会走偏差呢？就是因为以为自己是对的，以为自己学的是真理，就是因为自己认为都是对的，如果真的是对的那是有功德的，如果走偏差了，就会造业。这就是师父给你们讲菩萨的境界是解悟人生，帮助化解，让你开悟。
When a person makes a mistake, it’s because they think that they were right, and that’s why they did it. Even if you’re unhappy today and have an opinion of somebody, that’s also because you think that you’re right, is that correct? You feel that what you know is right, then a Bodhisattva is there to help you analyse it, awaken you then make you understand that what you know is not the absolute truth. Why is it that some people who practised for a long time would start to deviate? It’s because they think that they’re right. They think that they learnt the absolute truth because they think that they’re right. If the action that you performed was truly right, then there’s an accumulation of merit-virtues. If it deviated, you'd create karma. That is what Master is trying to convey to you about the Bodhisattva’s level of spirituality in helping one to analyse and resolve the concerned beliefs and make you become awakened.
为法忘驱，为了弘扬佛法，忘掉自己的身躯，舍己救人。然后依法修行，要依这个佛法来修行，广修福德，菩萨怎么也要广修福德呢？福德不是人间的东西吗？ 为什么到了天上还要修福德呢？这个福德是来自于人间，你在人间修菩萨道，就像我们在人间想学什么层次的学位一样，都是有级别的，在人间你照样可以修菩萨道，问题是你修得到吗？修得好吗？
Act selflessly for the sake of the Dharma. For the sake of propagating the Buddha-Dharma, one must forget about themselves and give it their all to save others. Then one cultivate according to the Buddha-Dharma and cultivate blessings and virtues far and wide. Why do Bodhisattvas still have to cultivate blessings and virtues far and wide? Aren’t blessings and virtues objects that belong to the human realm? Why is it still necessary to cultivate blessings and virtues in heaven? It’s because blessings and virtues come from the human realm when you cultivate the Way of the Bodhisattva in the human realm, it’s like how we wish to study what kind of degree, there are different levels or advancements. You can still cultivate the Way of the Bodhisattva; the problem is whether you could cultivate successfully or not.
如果学修菩萨没修好，说不定下辈子就投人了。因为境界不一样，你要求的境界太高了，万一修不成功掉下来，你连基本的学位都没有了。很多人念阿弥陀佛想去西方极乐世界，念到最后以为自己可以去西方极乐世界了，以为临终一念阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛就会来接应了。如果在临终前魂魄出窍，话都说不出来了，连意念都没有了，直觉都失去了，还能念阿弥陀佛吗？这就是你的业障障碍了你念阿弥陀佛，这种业障就是你过去的障碍，阻碍了你到西方极乐世界去，因为你在人间没有把这些业障全部消除，所以就不能达到等你走的时候，一念阿弥陀佛圣号，佛菩萨就来接应你。
If you didn’t cultivate the Way of the Bodhisattva well, perhaps in your next life, you would still have to reincarnate as a human. It’s because the level of spirituality is different. When you pursue a level of spirituality that is too high, if you didn’t cultivate well enough and failed, then you would lose your basic qualifications too. Many people recite ‘Amitabha Buddha’ as they wish to go to the Western Pure Lands, and after some time, they think that they could to the Western Pure Lands. They think that if just before their death, they recite ‘Amitabha Buddha’, then Amitabha Buddha would come. But if before one’s death, one’s spirit is scattered or one is in a coma and so unable to speak, think and feel, how could one still recite ‘Amitabha Buddha’? That is the manifestation of your negative obstructions obstructing you from reciting ‘Amitabha Buddha’. This kind of negative obstruction stems from one’s previous lifetime and hinders one from going to the Western Pure Lands. The reason is that you haven’t eliminated your negative karma completely. That’s why you aren’t able to achieve the condition where you’re able to recite ‘Amitabha Buddha’ near the hour of death so that Amitabha Buddha come to receive you.
佛菩萨讲的当你临命终时，念阿弥陀佛是有资格（条件）的，你临命终时开开心心，无债无病，那时候你念阿弥陀佛才能上西方极乐世界。如果做了很多坏事，业障深重，心想当我临命终时，只要一念阿弥陀佛，就能往生了，那是不可能的这就没有因果可言了。业障深，债没还清能上得去吗？比如：你在悉尼欠了人家一百万，你逃跑了，但是不论你逃到哪里，都难逃法网。师父现在传授你们的法门就是要你们自己消除业障，还清债务，才能把“家”归（这个家就是佛国），所以《阿弥陀经》中说“不可以少善根福德因缘，得生彼国”。
When Buddha-Bodhisattvas taught about reciting ‘Amitabha Buddha’ near the hour of death, there are requirements involved. One must be in a state of happiness with no debts and no illnesses before one’s natural death. In this condition, when you recite ‘Amitabha Buddha’, then you can ascend to the Western Pure Lands. If you committed many bad deeds and your negative karma is significant, if you thought that you could liberate life and death by reciting ‘Amitabha Buddha’, then that is a delusion. It’s impossible as it violates the principles of cause and effect and karma. How could one ascend with significant karmic obstructions and karmic debts? For example, you incurred a debt of $100,000.00 in Sydney, and you decided to flee. But no matter where you go, you’re still unable to escape from the law. The Buddhist practice that Master imparts to you is to teach you how to eliminate your karmic obstructions and repay karmic debts. Only then could you return ‘home’ (here, home refers to the land of the Buddha). That’s why ‘The Amitabha Sutra’ says, “One mustn’t be insufficient in wholesome roots, blessings, virtues, and causal connections to attain birth in the (Buddha’s) land.”
