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.
我们学佛实际上就是要把自己的气理顺,把好的气理的更好,把不好的气理成好的,那才叫理气。所以,身,心和气完全不变的时候,那才叫菩萨,也就是说你的身体好了,你心里想通了,你的气也整个通了,润顺了,那个时候你才是真的明白这个道理了,就不会生气了,因为这个世界都是假的。今天这个男朋友离我而去,我们两个感情气数已尽,所以我对不起他,他也对不起我,算了,气想顺了,也就想的通了,想得通了之后这个事情就解决了,如果你很恨他,很难过,实际上就是你这个气没有理顺,明白了吗?
The reason we learn Buddhism is to allow our energy to flow smoothly. To make our positive energy become even better and change our negative energy positive, we call this regulation of energy. That’s why if one can make the energy flow of the body and mind unchanging; then they’re Bodhisattvas. In other words, when your body is in good condition, and your mind is clear, then your energy flow overall is clear and smooth. Only when you’re in this state could you truly understand principles and won’t get angry. It’s because this world is fake. For example, your boyfriend broke up with you; you understand that the fate of your relationship is at its end, that’s why you’ve done something unfair to him, and he has done something unfair to you. So you decide to let it go. Then your energy flow will become smooth, and your mind becomes clear. Once your mind is clear, then you can resolve this situation. If you remained angry and upset at him, then it means your energy flow isn’t smooth. Do you understand?
这个不叫开悟,开悟就是我今天丢了钱了,心想“说不定这个钱不丢,也被人家罚款了”,笑一笑,这样你的气就顺了,很多人难过呀,为什么有的人一辈子有财呢?而有的人一辈子为情呢?为什么有的人会为吃呢?就是因为他理不清呀,有句话叫“剪不断,理还乱” 就是说一个人不管做什么事情,如果不去想它,可能就会过去了,你越想越搞不清楚,你想的越多会越难过,越理不清楚,这就是不开悟。想通了,气顺了,这个事情就解决了。
That isn’t awakenment. Awakenment refers to situations like when you have lost money; you would think, “Maybe even if I didn’t lose it that way, maybe it’ll be fined,” chuckle and then take it in a light-hearted fashion. This way, your energy flow will be smooth. Many people get upset and wonder why there are people who have wealth constantly throughout their lifetime, why there are people who constantly live for the sake of relationships or for the sake of eating good food. The reason why you have so many questions is that your reasoning abilities are clouded. There’s a saying that ‘The more you try to settle, the more complicated it becomes’. In other words, no matter what happens and what you encounter, if you ignore it, then the situation will pass. But the more you try to settle it, the more complicated it becomes that would make you more upset. That is the behaviour of un-awakenment. Once your mind is clear, your energy flow will be smooth, and this situation is resolved.
觉受是一层一层升的,就是说你的感觉和你所受到的一种感觉是一层一层升的,升到最后是完全不变的感受,也就是说我们刚刚开始拜观世音菩萨的时候,观世音菩萨照顾了你一下,但过了一阵子念念怎么不灵了,菩萨怎么不关心我了,再念,不是观世音菩萨不帮助我,而是自己的业障太深了,我要继续静心的念,等到一定的时候,自己越来越干净了,你就越来越顺利了,哎呀,观世音菩萨又来帮助我了,不是又来帮助你了,是一直都在帮助你,在你有困难的时候,是观世音菩萨帮助你消除了劫难,只不过是你没有感觉到菩萨的力量存在而已,我举个例子,当你推着车往桥上走的时候,你已经没有力气了,就算是人家在帮你推,你也没有感觉人家在用力帮你,就像观世音菩萨刚刚帮助你的时候,你一样没有感觉,我们在中国不是有三个轮子的车吗?
Feelingly-Realisation occurs and is improved in levels. In other words, your feelingly-realisation and the feelings that you experience increases in levels until finally, your feelings are completely unchanging. For example, when we began praying to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, Guan Yin Bodhisattva showed concern towards you for a moment, but then after a period of recitations, you no longer feel that it’s efficacious and you begin to doubt that the Bodhisattvas are no longer concerned about you. Then as you continue to recite, you would awaken to the fact that perhaps it’s not that Guan Yin Bodhisattva is not helping you, but it’s because your karmic obstructions are too severe. So you then continue to recite with a still mind until after a certain period, you’ve become purer, so you become smoother-sailing. Then you wonder, “Oh, Guan Yin Bodhisattva is helping me again.” It’s not ‘again’, He’s been helping you constantly. When you were suffering hardships, Guan Yin Bodhisattva helped you eliminate a calamity, but it’s just that you didn’t feel that the Bodhisattva’s power existed. Here’s another example, when you have to push your car across the bridge because it broke down, your energy has already been exhausted. Even if somebody had helped you push the car, you could no longer feel that somebody is using their strength to help you. Just like when Guan Yin Bodhisattva just helped you, you had no feeling. In China, don’t we have a three-wheeled car?
当你拉着车上桥感觉很累的时候,突然一个人在后面帮你推,你会感觉轻松了一点,这就是观世音菩萨在帮你,你刚刚感觉到,这就是觉受,谢谢呀!有人帮我推了,推到后来感觉人家没有用力,因为越来越高越累了,人家在帮你推你都没有觉得有力量,这就是你的第二感觉,等到推到最高峰了,实际上就是你修成了,这个时候观世音菩萨随便点化一下,你的车就很轻松的下去了现在明白了吗?这就叫白话佛法。这就是你能够感觉、觉受到菩萨,这是很重要的感觉,而且是一层一层的深入 ,到最后完全都变了,也就是说我对菩萨完全有信心,观世音菩萨一定会救我,已经没有任何的想法可以改变我了,那个时候你就是觉受。
When you’re pulling the car up a slope, then suddenly somebody came and helped you push the car from the back, you would feel that it got slightly easier. This is like Guan Yin Bodhisattva first helping you and you felt it, that is the first level of feelingly-realisation. You become thankful for the person who helped you push the car. Then eventually, you would feel that the helper is not using any energy, that’s because the slope is getting higher and you’re becoming exhausted. When somebody is helping you, you don’t feel that they’re helping you at all, this is your second level of feelingly-realisation. When you finally reach the peak, then it means you cultivation is successful. Then at this moment, according to the circumstances, Guan Yin Bodhisattva gave you slightly more blessing, then the car is easily moved down the slope. Now you understand? That is Buddhism in plain terms. This is when you can feel and feelingly-realise the Bodhisattvas. This is a very important feeling, and it gets deeper at different levels until finally, everything changes. In other words, your faith towards the Bodhisattvas becomes absolute. “I believe that Guan Yin Bodhisattva will save me; there are no other kinds of thoughts that can change me.” At that moment, it means you’ve attained feelingly-realisation.
如果你用完全不变的感觉加上佛教的理论的融入,也就是说当你能够明白菩萨在救你,当你在念经感觉到菩萨给你无限的慈爱,那个时候你再学一点佛教的理论,很多人说了:师父你不是不让我们学佛教的理论吗?那我现在怎么样学佛教理论呢?想想看师父现在是不是在给你们讲佛教的理论?你们要把佛教的理论融会贯通在现实生活中。悟道就是觉悟到自己不会轻易改变,那就是悟道,而你们有时候思维经常在改变,实际上这不叫悟道,真正悟道的话,我就是相信观世音菩萨,我觉得这个人好,我就坚定信念,我觉得这个佛法对我是终身受益,我就永远修下去,这个就叫开悟。
If you integrate your completely unchanging feelings with the theories of Buddhism, then you’ll clearly understand that the Bodhisattvas are currently saving you. When you recite sutras and could feel the Bodhisattva’s limitless merciful love towards you, then you should learn a bit more Buddhist theories at this stage. Many people may ask, “Master, don’t you refrain us from learning about Buddhist theories? Then how do I learn about Buddhist theories?” Think about it, isn’t Master teaching you about Buddhist theories? You must integrate those theories into your daily lives. Awakenment-to-Way is when you have realised to the point where you will not easily change, that is Awakenment-to-Way. When your thoughts regularly fluctuate, you can’t call it an Awakenment-to-Way. True Awakenment-to-Way is when you believe in Guan Yin Bodhisattva; you feel that He is good, so your faith is firm, you feel that the Buddha-Dharma will benefit you for your whole life so you will constantly cultivate it until death. That is awakenment.
师父现在把上次给你们没有讲完的再补充一点,圆绝妙行,就是你把世界上所有的事情,都看成是很圆满的,你就觉悟了,就这几个字菩萨把人生点的透彻呀,什么事情都很圆满了,你就觉悟了。你们家今天被人家偷了,你本来应该难过,应该很悲伤,但是你用圆觉,用圆润的觉悟来感觉它,你就觉得,哦,是我不好,平时太招摇了,让人家来偷,是我没有把门锁好,可能这个人跟我前世有冤结,我化钱消灾,破财免灾,你这么一想,不就是把这个事情圆了吗?圆了你就觉悟了,觉悟了之后,你就不会生气了。
Master will now elaborate on what I missed previously, ‘perfection through wondrous practises’. If you could perceive that everything and all things that occur in this world are perfect, then you are enlightened. The Bodhisattvas have explained thoroughly with these few words – if you perceive everything is perfect, then you are enlightened. For example, if you were robbed today, originally you should be upset and sad, but you possess perfect-realisation, so you use a positive and enlightening thought process to perceive and experience the situation. You would feel, “Oh, it’s my bad. I must be showing off too much that’s why I attracted this incident to occur and I didn’t lock the door properly. Maybe this person has a negative karmic affinity with me in my previous life. I’ll just treat it as paying money to resolve a calamity.” When you think like that, haven’t you made the situation seem normal? Once everything’s fine, then it means you’ve realised, and you won’t get angry.
圆觉妙心是什么?用你美妙的心变成很多美妙的事情,把很多的事情变过来,变过去,来解决这些问题,就是妙法,比如:你的太太不好,有赌博的习惯,你就用方法来让她明白赌博不好,这个就是妙心。观世音菩萨到人间来救度众生,就是经常附在很多人的身上现身说法,所以叫妙心,就是这个心很微妙,一直在不停的转,用千百万种方式来救度你们。八万四千种法门,实际上就是八万四千种烦恼,有一个烦恼就会生出一个法门,因为人的烦恼无数,成千上万,所以才会生出成千上万的妙法,非常微妙的法门,明白了吗?有这种圆觉妙心, 不论你碰到什么事情你会豁然开悟,寂光真境,把光寂在一起,你真正的境界才会渐次显前。
What is ‘enlightenment through the wondrous mind’? It’s to use your wondrous mind to create more wondrous things and change many things to resolve problems, that is wondrous dharma. For example, your wife isn’t good and has a habit of gambling, so you use a method to make her understand that gambling is bad, so you possess a wondrous mind. When Guan Yin Bodhisattva come to the human realm to save and spiritually awaken sentient beings, He will occupy many people’s body to propagate the Dharma by sharing their experiences, that’s why it’s called wondrous mind. The mind is very wonderful; it is constantly altering and thinking of countless ways to spiritually awaken you. The 84,000 Dharma doors imply that there are 84,000 kinds of afflictions, and each affliction gives birth to a Dharma door. Because afflictions are countless and go up to tens of thousands, that’s why it gave birth to an uncountable number of wondrous Dharmas and Dharma doors, you understand? With this enlightening type of wondrous mind, no matter what situation you encounter, you will suddenly awaken to it and experience tranquil-illumination. When you are illuminated, your true level of spirituality will gradually appear.
当一个人安静下来,就像一个手电筒一样,你可以把灯光转调,灯光会散掉,同样这一个光,你可以把手电筒的光转调到一个点,这个就叫寂光,当你把光聚到一个点上的时候,就造成了你的境界显前 当你把光散掉的时候,你照哪里都看不清楚,所以把心聚到一个点上的时候,你真正的境界才会出来。你就跟着观世音菩萨,你才会得到真正的佛的境界,所以寂光就是安静,然后念经这种境界才会常显前,这个境界经常会到你的眼前让你看见,但是不是马上能做得到的,因为当很多人想把自己的心寂静(聚集)在一个点上,就用各种各样的方法,比如,打坐,冥思苦想,脑子里就想守丹田,好了“啪”突然一个东西进来了,你就走火入魔了。所以这个寂光更不容易。记住自己千万不要乱来。当你着魔发狂的时候,台长告诉你们菩萨也救不了你。
When a person is calm, then they are like a flashlight torch. When adjusting the light, the light will scatter. Using the same example, you can adjust the light of the torch to focus on a single point. That is called tranquil-illumination. When you gather all the light to a single point, it will cause your level of spirituality to appear. If the light is scattered, no matter where you shine the light to, you will not see clearly. That’s why when your mind is focused on to a single point, your true level of spirituality will manifest itself. When you follow Guan Yin Bodhisattva, then you’ll truly reach the Buddha’s level of spirituality. That’s why to be in a state of tranquil-illumination is to become calm, then after reciting sutras, this kind of level of spirituality will regularly appear for you to see, but it’s not something that you can manifest yet. It’s because when people try to concentrate their mind into a single point, they may use different methods to facilitate it. Like meditation, where one may think too deeply and puzzle their mind about the problems, and when their attention is divided, they may become vulnerable to the occupation of foreign spirits and then become possessed by their inner demon. That’s why to enter a state of tranquil-illumination is even harder. Please take note that you must never be reckless. When you feel like you’ve become possessed and can’t control yourself, Master tells you that even Bodhisattvas are unable to save you.
人间的欲望到处在飘,今天我要这样,明天我要那样,像天上的乌云一样一块一块的遮住了你眼前的光,就是说当一个人的欲望到处飘散的时候,今天想这个,明天想那个,这种欲望是无止境的,就像散发的臭气一样,从身上不停的散发出来,你不可能求到往生的,也就是说你不可能求到你以后想要到的境界,你求不到这个境界,你就了脱不了生死。如果这个人的境界不好,永远不会到西方极乐世界或四圣道,你是上不去的,因为你没有了脱,要悟出这心渐次境,也就是说你这个心要悟出这个道理,我的心看见这个环境就会变,环境一变,心也跟着变了,这个就不可以了,知道了这个毛病之后,要知道我这个人的心是渐渐的在变,所以就先渐渐的克制自己,不要让它变,明白了吗?要渐修加上证悟就达到佛的境界了。
The desires of the human realm pervade everywhere. Today, you want this; tomorrow, you want that, it’s like the dark clouds that drift in the sky constantly and blocking the light. In other words, when a person’s desire pervades them, and they’re constantly in a state of pursuing something, it means their desires are endless. It’s like the foul stench that continues to emanate from the body. It’s impossible for you to transcend like that; in other words, you will not be able to reach the level of spirituality that you seek. If you can’t reach it, then it means you aren’t able to liberate yourself from life and death. If a person’s level of spirituality is low, they will never be able to go to the Western Pure Lands nor the four sagely realms. You can’t go up because you aren’t free. You must awaken to the principles of the spirituality of the mind. If your mind is easily swayed by the external environment, that is unacceptable. If you know about this shortcoming, you must understand that you must change your mind gradually. That’s why one must gradually take control of themselves and not let themselves change, you understand? One must cultivate gradually, and also, their verified-awakenment must reach the level of spirituality of a Buddha.
师父接下来继续给大家讲,如果一个人贪心太大,他看问题永远都不会干净,你今天看所有的问题,做所有的事情,只要有贪心在里面,你的心一定不干净。很多人参加社会活动就是带有贪心,有的人是做横幅的,有的人是搞旅游的,有的人是搞印刷的,他们到了社会活动里面就是希望搞活动,然后实际上就是想赚社会活动里的钱,所以意念不纯一个人如果有贪心,他永远不会干净的。师父告诉你们悲观的人一定会出现瞋念。因为当一个人很悲观,什么事情都想不通的时候,他的瞋念,恨的念头就会生出来了,比如,这个事情我不能做,那个事情又不能做,唉! 我这个人真是一个废物,我很恨,这么多人都在排挤我,他们就不给我机会,我的恨心就来了。所以要记住,要克制自己,无论如何不能有悲观,这样你的恨念就会少一点。
Following on, Master will continue to explain, if a person’s greed is too great, their intent will never be pure when they try to resolve something. Today, if you encounter a problem or are tasked to do something, if greed exists within you, then your mind is not pure. A lot of people who attend social events are greedy. Some people are tasked to make banners; some are tasked to organise tours; some are tasked to make printing materials. When they attend these social events, their primary intention is to make money. That’s why if a person possesses greed, they will never be pure. Master tells you that pessimistic people will develop into hatred. That’s because the reason why people are pessimistic is because their mind isn’t clear, so that it, in itself, will breed thoughts of resentment and hate. For example, if you weren’t allowed to do something, you might become dejected and think of thoughts like, “I’m useless, I hate you. So many people are rejecting me and they're not giving me a chance.” Then your resentment develops into hatred. That’s why take note that you must control yourself. No matter what happens, you mustn’t be pessimistic. That way, your thoughts of hate are reduced.
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