四大本空无有我，一身自重不干人

宽运法师

我们都知道，修行人首要的条件就是要看得开、放得下，也就是要先破除我执──要看清楚这个‘我’到底是什么？依佛法来说，其实我们的身体不过是四大（地、水、火、风四种元素）假合，如果我们对这个假合的身体不能看破的话，修行就很难成就，更惶论了生脱死。

历代的祖师大德们，都是透过坚持不断的苦修，直至修到我空、人空、法空，最后才能获得真正的解脱。可见，‘我空’是第一步，但是如何才能做到‘我空’？确实是绝不容易。以下为大家说一个苦修多年的高僧的故事。这个故事发生在梁武帝的时代：

在一个严寒的冬天，天空下着鹅毛大的雪片，梁武帝兴致勃勃的邀请志公禅师同赴郊外，欣赏雪景，瞩目远望，山河大地被白雪铺盖成一片银白色世界，煞是好看，忽然看见东南面的高山上，没有积雪，而且还看见微微的暖气往上升腾；梁武帝觉得很奇怪，就问国师志公禅师：‘为什么那边山上不积雪？’由于志公禅师是一位有名的神僧，一切皆能未卜先知，于是就回答道：‘那边山上有位大修行人，在上面住着，因为人杰地灵，所以雪都不会下到这个地方。’梁武帝听了，不禁龙心大悦，高兴地说道：‘既有如此的大修行人，也是寡人的洪福，我一定要请他下山，到皇宫供养，以求福德。’志公说：‘这位大修行人，道德很高，定力也很好，可惜我执未破，生死还不能了。’梁武帝不信，一定要上山，恭迎此大修行人下山住在宫中，执弟子礼，拜他为师，供养丰裕。

这位大修行人法名为呼海禅师，自迎请入宫以后，静住多时，每一入定就是很多天，确实是‘严整威仪，肃恭斋法’，不愧为人天师表。一天梁武帝对志公说：‘师父！你说禅师我执未破，四大不空，将来生死不能了，照寡人看来，恐怕国师看错了人吧？’志公知道梁武帝对他的话生了疑心，便回答说道：‘陛下不信的话，我们可以试一试他，自然便见分晓。万岁可与贫僧同食一席盛筵佳肴，另外再做几样下劣的小菜，送给呼海独吃，如果他真的是我执已破的人，对饮食不起丝毫善恶观念，就不会有人我的分别；假使我执未破，这样被轻慢、鄙视的悬殊不平的对待，一定会怒形于色。’

梁武帝听了觉得也有道理，就依照志公的话去做，还故意在对面席上欢呼畅饮的轻慢他。这时呼海不禁心头火起，几次想发作，回想自己在深山苦修了几十年，今天为了一点饮食生起气来，实在不好看，因此还是勉强压抑着，不敢表现出来。散席后，呼海一句话都没有说。梁武帝看起来呼海已经很‘无我’了，所以对志公说：‘国师说他我执未破，我们今天如此侮慢他，他都没有改变颜色，可见国师量人不定，神算不准了！’梁武帝甚至还以为志公嫉妒呼海；志公知道了梁武帝的疑惑，因而答道：‘你那里知道他的心思呢？其实他已经含恨在心，只是未形之于色，如果再来一次，他定必无明火起三千丈，像炸弹似的爆发起来！’

几天后，他们又故意与呼海开了一场大玩笑，梁武帝召集群臣，与呼海和志公欢宴宫中，席间，梁武帝命宫女们将上等彩缎，每人赏赐一匹。众宫女将彩缎捧出来分送各人，在座大小群臣及志公每人都分到一匹。呼海一向是深山的苦修穷和尚，看到这种上等的彩缎，早已心花怒放，眼见每人都分到一匹，而最后分到自己的时候，想伸手去接，宫女们不但不给他，反而讥讽他无福消受；这下可把呼海气坏了，心想：皇上欺我不算，连宫女都看不起我、欺侮我，真是‘士可忍，孰不可忍’！气得七孔生烟。呼海是上了年纪的人，真是一气不留命，突然从座上倒下来，一命呜呼去了！神魂堕落恶道，因为一念贪爱彩缎，投生鹊身，身有‘呼海’二字。

这时梁武帝眼见呼海气死，深为后悔，责怪志公不应该设计气弄呼海，令他气愤而死。志公说：‘死了还是小事，可惜已经堕入畜道，投生鹊身了。’梁武帝不信：‘如此大修行人，怎会堕落恶道？’不过志公的确是神异屡验屡应，故又不能不信，因此很担忧地说：‘呼海是我们请下山来的，我不杀伯仁，伯仁却因我而死，请国师你救一救他吧！’志公说：‘赶快派人西去三十里，某一树上有一鸟窠，窠中有小鸟三只，其中一只花斑点的，上有呼海二字，把它捉回来，我就有办法救他了。’梁武帝急忙派二人火速依言行事，果然按地点把小鸟捉回来。志公接过小鸟，来到呼海尸边用力将小鸟拍死，识神回入本体，渐渐活过来了，此时呼海也知道自己已转过一次世了，而且知道是志公把他救回，免堕恶道，所以非常感激再生之恩，五体投地向志公顶礼，并请为开示。

志公毫不客气地对他开示道：‘你少听经教，我执未破，生死未了，将来是很危险的，今回为了一点小事，就如此生气，瞋愤遭堕，我不救你，你已作禽兽，你看可惜不可惜呢？现在我有两句话，望你放下一切，早脱生死，不负己灵：四大本空无有我，一身自重不干人。’呼海从此打开我执，看破四大，努力修行，终于了生脱死。

这就是‘四大皆空’的真正意义！我们作为佛弟子、作为修行人，又怎能不以此为鉴，警剔自励，打破我执，放开心怀，好好地用功修行？

Arrogance, lack of faith, lack of any interest, outward distraction, inward tension, and discouragement are the six stains.

-- Vasubandhu

Human Beings Experience Three Forms of Suffering

by Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche

You may know something about these sufferings. Human beings experience many obvious sufferings which are called ‘suffering of suffering’. What does that mean? I’m happy but suddenly my parents die and then my business is in trouble and I find out my health is poor. One suffering is piled upon another; one suffering comes after another. This is what is meant by ‘suffering of suffering’.

What is the suffering of change? We are living happily as if in heaven. Then suddenly there is a tsunami, such as what happens in Japan or the Philippines. I asked some people whether there had been any tsunami activity recently in Singapore. Many said no but the future is hard to predict. They live at the seaside and tsunamis are unpredictable. I asked if there had been any political conflict. They said no, but again it’s hard to see into the future. Food here is imported and people here are immigrants. It’s difficult to ascertain what the future holds. People here are friendly now but given this mundane world, it’s hard to know if they can maintain harmony in future. Maybe now we’re having good relations with our loved ones, but it’s hard to tell what may transpire in the future. Changes may happen suddenly. This is the suffering of change. We suffer when we try to hold onto things that are constantly changing.

There is also the all-pervasive suffering of conditioning. We may not recognise it as suffering but in fact, it is. Today we live happily. Happiness is made possible by many people’s hard work. The buildings here in Singapore are so high that they amaze me. When I saw the surrounding areas of the Singapore River yesterday I had a strong feeling that Singaporeans are smart and brave and they have very advanced science and technology. In an underdeveloped area, such achievements would be hard to imagine. However, behind every high-rise and skyscraper are the painstaking effort and suffering of many people. This is the all-pervasive suffering of conditioning.

So please do not think life is full of happiness. Why is my book called Living Through Sufferings? I hesitated about calling it that because many people believe life is happy and happiness is life. This has been repeated so many times by so many people. It may sound good but in fact, people from every walk of life have their own sufferings, such as high-ranking officials, wealthy people, students, teachers, ordinary officials, beggars, etc. So we know in fact that life is full of sufferings.

SUFFERINGS OF BIRTH, OLD AGE, SICKNESS AND DEATH

In this mundane world, we experience sufferings associated with birth, old age, sickness and death. When a person is born he suffers greatly. Why do we say that? If we are truly happy to come into this world, why do all babies cry when they are just born? No baby is ever born laughing. It’s never happened. This tells us that birth is suffering. After we’re born, we inevitably age. Many people who worry about ageing end up using cosmetics and health care products. However, none of these can keep you young forever. As time goes by, your face will become more wrinkled and your hair greyer.

I feel the Singaporeans are pretty optimistic. This morning, I saw a 70-year-old man working in a hotel. I asked him how many more years he planned to work. He said he felt good and that he planned to work for some more years and was confident he could. I said this was great. In Tibet, when people approach 60, they say they are old. Actually, how we feel about ourselves is important. Some of my former classmates are in their fifties and are already thinking about retiring, stopping work altogether. I don’t think this is good for them.

Nevertheless, it is true that ageing is an inevitable process. Many people go to Korea to have facelifts and other cosmetic surgeries but after a few years, the wrinkles come back. Cosmetic surgeries cannot help; somehow their ads are aimed at making money. We should face the fact that getting old is a law of nature; none of the famous beauties in history could do anything about it. We often say no flower can bloom forever and good times do not last forever. Neither beautiful flowers nor good times last for very long. Everything in this world is as transient as the fleeting clouds and keeps changing constantly. When we think about this we can understand the teaching the Buddha taught us a long time ago.

When we become old we experience suffering. When we are dying we experience even worse suffering. Many people are afraid of death, especially those who hold no religious beliefs and dare not mention the word ‘death’. In fact, death is not so scary. We should make preparations for our death. People leave this world in different ways. Some leave without any preparation while others are fully prepared. Some die young, some die old. Death may come in many different ways. Therefore, we should be aware of these sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death.

In Singapore, most people have medical insurance. The government may provide all kinds of assistance. You live in high standard society, however, there are still many people who are afraid of becoming sick because they cannot afford medical treatment. Such problems exist in almost every country in the world. When you become sick, you feel that being healthy is the greatest happiness. Neither wealth nor social position compares to physical and mental health. Health is the greatest happiness. So when you are healthy you should really enjoy it. Otherwise, when you are seriously ill or when you’re dying you’ll regret that you didn’t cherish your health. These are examples of the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death. You should think seriously about them.

SUFFERING OF LOSING ONE'S LOVED ONES AND MEETING HATED ENEMIES

There’s also the suffering of losing loved ones. Your loved ones are not always with you. Your parents, family or friends may leave you. There is also the suffering of meeting hated enemies. You do not desire a certain person’s company but very often have to be with him.

Nowadays people have poor interpersonal relationships. I hope students can develop good interpersonal relationships in university. If one can’t get along well with the people around him, no matter what academic degrees he achieves, no matter where he is, poor relationships could compromise his ability to do anything. You could be in an unsatisfying love relationship, under pressure from your job or from other aspects of life, but they do not last forever. However, poor relationships with parents, family members or friends will stay with you and bring suffering.

In many colleges and universities in China, poor interpersonal relationships have led to horrible crimes. Many years ago in a university in Beijing, a student named Zhu Ling was poisoned and ended up in a vegetative state. This case, as we all know, gave rise again to a lot of discussions last year. Again, in 2004, a poor student from Yunnan province named Ma Jiajue killed his four roommates for no apparent reason. Today’s students may easily become unhappy and this can strain their relationships.

I’m not clear about what it is like here. A couple of days ago I heard that education here emphasises morality and humanity in every aspect of life. This is very good. Among these personal qualities, keeping a healthy relationship is more important. For many people, knowledge is important, but morality is even more important than knowledge. Without morality, it is impossible to associate with anyone.

I heard that a fellow Buddhist found associating with others so difficult that he almost had a nervous breakdown. But if he had prepared himself with an open mind, he would not be so helpless. In this world, there are many good and many bad people. When we encounter bad people, we should not feel frustrated or have a nervous breakdown or commit suicide.

In Singapore last year, more than 480 people committed suicide. These days, many young people choose suicide. This is not a wise decision. The suicide rate in the world keeps climbing. Last year, the suicide rate across the globe was about one million. This is tragic. The GDP may rise in some countries, but while the economy is striding forward, our morality, compassion, wisdom and confidence is slipping backwards. We need to solve this spiritual crisis. We may not now encounter an economic crisis, but a spiritual crisis can come at any time.

Many people seem to feel happy, but actually feel unhappy deep in their hearts. But many unhappy things are just like fleeting clouds. We shouldn’t keep them in our minds forever. We should understand that in our life there are many things that we don’t want to accept but must face in any case. This is the suffering of meeting hated enemies.

THE SUFFERING OF NOT GETTING WHAT ONE WANTS

There is also the suffering of not getting what one wants. Having been to many universities, I can imagine the pressures students face with job searching, love, study, family, etc. I asked many teachers yesterday about job opportunities here in Singapore. They said the job market was not so bad and students could find jobs, though maybe not always the most satisfying one. But what is a satisfying job? We cannot expect too much. I don’t know if it’s the case here but in many places, people are somewhat lazy. They expect to be well-paid but don’t want to work hard. They want to rest on Saturdays and Sundays and maybe weekdays as well, while still expecting a lot from their jobs.

In actual fact, we need to put in hard work. Without hard work, you cannot expect to reap rewards. It’s the same with monks. We can’t just eat and sleep every day. Although we have no pressure from family or work, if we sleep all day maybe we won’t starve but that’s not the aim of our lives. Therefore, I believe for most of us, the fear in life should not be that we have too many things to do, but that we have nothing to do. The ants and bees are very hard working. There are stories about them in Buddhist scriptures. They seldom rest from their hard work. That’s why they are highly successful in their lives.

So for each of you here, finding a job should not be aimed at making money. This is not a good life goal. Instead, you should find a job that can make you both physically and mentally healthy. And meanwhile, what you are doing should bring benefit to society, to your country and to all humankind. These elements will make a job meaningful. Maybe this kind of job does not give you good pay, but in terms of the value of life, it is more important.

Many people work only to make money and nothing else. This is what Einstein called ‘the ideal of a pigsty’. If we were to have nothing but money, how depleted our morals would be. Not every problem can be solved with money, be it of a personal or social nature. We see that many rich people fail to pass the test of money. In the interest of money, they come to their death, are imprisoned or commit suicide. This is something that happens everywhere. It’s not unfamiliar to us. So we should be aware of these sufferings in our lives.

THE SUFFERING OF THE FLOURISHING OF THE FIVE AGGREGATES

The last type of suffering is called the suffering of the flourishing of the five aggregates. Under the constraints of the five aggregates, everything in our lives can be the cause of suffering, the fundamental root of suffering or the causal condition of suffering. Nevertheless, some may argue that they enjoy their lives and are not suffering at all. Actually, this point has been well analysed in Buddhist teachings. A famous Abhidharmika named Aryadeva once wrote,

The impermanent is definitely harmed,
What is harmed is not pleasurable.
Therefore, all that is impermanent
Is said to be suffering.

This is an important teaching that tells us all the good things we experience in life are impermanent. There is no never-ending feast in the world. Our families, our lives, our relationships, none of these can provide us with lasting happiness.

Yesterday, I went sightseeing in the city of Singapore. On the one hand, I feel the city is like heaven. What a beautiful and cosmopolitan city! On the other hand, it came to me that all of the people here today would not be alive a hundred years from now and would become others. So the owners of properties will change and we’d better not hold the view that once we own something — for example a building — it belongs to us forever because we never know how many years we have left.

These days there are lots of people whose personal assets may amount to thousands or hundreds of thousands of RMB. However, the ownership of those assets may change from time to time. It is just that the owners may not notice this fact, and this may cause them confusion and anxiety. Indeed, any good situation is impermanent, and when it is about to change, we may experience pain.

This is why in Buddhism we say all phenomena are impermanent and all impermanence brings suffering. This is a very insightful teaching. So please do not think that Buddhism lacks enthusiasm for life or that life is only full of sweetness and happiness. Since youth is full of joy, why is the metaphor of a burning house used in Buddhism to describe life?

THE WISDOM OF BUDDHISM SHOULD NOT BE VULGARISED

The teachings of Buddhism have already elaborated the truth of life and such truths should not be replaced by any external image. I have noticed that there are lots of Buddhist followers in many countries, both from colleges and universities as well as other walks of life. Whenever there is a Dharma event, tens of thousands of people will attend. This is good because religion is a great way to purify human minds. However, many people simply treat Buddhism as a ritual, considering it a money-making tool, a way to keep them safe or as a type of ‘medicine’ to maintain health. Given this, they can barely taste the deep meaning of Buddhism or make the effort to study the vast and profound Buddhist teachings. This is to be regretted.

Some dharma masters and scholars try to appease these peoples’ taste by simplifying or vulgarising Buddhism. As a result, divorced from profundity, many people just see it as a way to make money or to keep fit and stay healthy. For those people with limited and narrow insight, the only reason for taking refuge is to keep themselves and their families safe and sound. Indeed, this is a rather diminished goal.

You will find that Buddhism offers knowledge of aspects from the macroscopic to the microscopic and in particular, the subtle knowledge of the mind. You can find and learn all of these valuable truths in Buddhism. If you doubt this and think I am bragging about Buddhism because I’m a Buddhist, you will find proofs in the Tripitaka, which has a history of more than 2500 years. This has convinced many scientists and scholars these days. Likewise, a great number of people throughout history achieved great wisdom through these teachings. In Eastern cultures, Buddhism offers an amazing fund of wisdom that has been maintained up to this day. This precious treasure of human thought deserves both our study and investigation.

But many people do not study Buddhism in a systematic way. Rather they regard it as a simple ritual to be followed and to bestow upon them what they want. For example, Buddhism can ensure my health and bless me so that I am safe while driving. That’s my purpose for taking refuge. The other day I met someone who had just taken refuge with a guru. He was a college professor. I asked him, “why did you take refuge?” He said he wanted to feel safe while driving since he drove a lot and always worried about traffic accidents. That was his reason for seeking out a guru and taking refuge with him. If this is the motive of a college professor in taking refuge, we may need to think more about it.

PURSUING HAPPINESS: AN ENDLESS STORY

In Buddhism, it is taught that life is full of suffering but this is not just a Buddhist view. In the book Happiness: A History, the author, an American professor, after spending six years studying the evolution of happiness over 2000 years of Western thought and culture, drew a similar conclusion. In the book, he argues that the idea of happiness is actually a human expectation without any solid basis. I completely agree with him. Today, many people pursue what they hope is the ultimate happiness, but when the moment finally comes, they often want more than that. The reason is that desire drives us to pursue happiness and since desire is endless, our pursuit is endless.

For instance, you may think that a happy family is all you want. You keep pursuing that goal, but once you do have a happy family, you may start to desire something else, like making more money and so on. Different desires will follow one after the other. It is just like trying to catch a rainbow. Each time you get closer, you will find it has moved a little further away. Once you have a house, you may wish for a better one. Once you earn 1 million SGD you want 2 million. Once you have 2 million you may want 3 million. If you possess 3 million SGD, you may want 3 million American dollars. Your expectation keeps getting higher and higher. When you’re about to leave this world, you still may not be able to satisfy your desire and attain happiness. You just keep running after happiness.

So does the happiness we pursue truly exist? We do experience temporary happiness. Schopenhauer described such happiness when he wrote that life is essentially suffering, but there are different levels of happiness that people can pursue. For instance, the creative ideas of modern artists and the contemplations of philosophers are fascinating, but happiness obtained through them is due simply to a temporary state of no-ego.

I see your university is building an art centre. This is very nice. When an artist visits, he may be so deeply enchanted that he temporarily forgets himself. However, under different circumstances with different causes and conditions, his ego will again emerge and bring him suffering. The same can happen with philosophers. When contemplating, philosophers may be completely immersed in their thoughts and forget about their lives, money or anything else and thereby reach a state of no ego. Nevertheless, their ego will emerge sooner or later.

That’s why Schopenhauer paid special attention to the Buddhist Nirvana. If we analyse the state of Nirvana, we will find that the so-called ‘I’ who seeks happiness does not exist and that the nature of all phenomena is emptiness. When we deeply understand the truth of emptiness, we will realise it cannot be refuted or overthrown by any other theory. At such time, we will fully accept the fact that the so-called ‘I’ or self-attachment is baseless and cannot stand up under analysis or investigation. However, we are lost in our illusions and cling to non-existent things as real. The sooner we realise the truth, the sooner we will achieve everlasting liberation and happiness.

Deep in the wild mountains, is a strange marketplace, where you can trade the hassle and noise of everyday life, for eternal Light.

-- Milarepa

思维暇满人生

净慧长老

今天我要讲的题目是《思维暇满人生》。如何来思维我们今生已经得到的人生因缘－这就叫做思维暇满人生。暇，有两个含意。一是指有这个时间；二是指有这个因缘。倘若有了这个时间，又有了这个因缘，那么就可以叫做有暇的人生。如果相反，既没有这个时间，又没有因缘，就叫做无暇的人生。我们拥有了这个时间、因缘来做什么？就是要听闻佛法来修行。

有暇与无暇是相对的，各有十种。唯识宗讲八无暇。密宗讲十无暇。我们根据唯识宗来讲。八无暇，亦是八难，指八种环境。在这八种环境中没有修学法佛，听闻佛法的闲暇，没有可能来修学善业。

第一种无暇是地狱。在地狱的众生经常受苦，根本没有因缘得闻佛法，故称无暇。第二种无暇是饿鬼。饿鬼的痛苦很多，连饮食尚不能满足。饿鬼肚子很大，咽喉很细，时时刻刻渴求饮食，也没有机会得闻佛法。第三种无暇是畜生。因为畜生没有思维能力，没有办法来接受佛法。所以，在地狱、恶鬼、畜生三恶道受苦的众生，它们不得自在，难闻佛名。

第四种无暇是边地。边地，指没有佛法传播的地方。从我们国家来讲，有佛法不到的地方；从整个世界讲，也有佛法不到的地方，这些佛法不到的地方就是边地。所以，我们发愿时，都希望不要生在边地，要生生世世生逢中土，得闻佛名，得遇明师。第五种无暇是长寿天。由于所修的福报，在长寿天里所感的寿命很长，然而，整个生命的过程就是昏昏沉沉，没有智慧，没有觉醒，因此，也就不可能有得闻佛法的机会。第六种无暇就是没有佛出世的地方，也可以说，那是佛不出世的时间。有佛出世，我们才可以听闻佛法，无佛出世，则没有经典的流通，没有法音的传播，我们要想接受佛法也是不可能的。第七种无暇就是诸根不俱。倒如呆傻、愚痴，要让这一类的人来修学佛法，是很难的，而盲聋哑，诸根不全要修学佛法，也要有很大的因难。第八种无暇就是邪见。这种人可能已经避免了上面的七种无暇，或许还很聪明，但他持有邪见，不相信因果轮回，不相信三宝。他有可能天天与佛法接触，却不会有敬信心。这样的人是很多的，这种人也属于无暇，无暇来接受佛法。

八无暇对于我们在座的每个人来讲，都避免了，避开了。我们生而为人，而且是生在有佛出世的世间，经像流通，法音流布，是何等幸事！我们六根俱足，生逢中土，也没有堕于邪见的罗网，所以，我们应为此而感到庆幸，应该生起一种难得的稀有心。

暇满人生，满就是圆满。这个圆满有自圆满和他圆满。自、他圆满各有五种，共是十种圆满。

自圆满：第一种圆满就是生在人中；第二种圆满是生在中国；第三种圆满是诸根具足；第四种圆满是无宿业的颠倒，第五种圆满是俱足正信。五种自圆满的具足，也就是具备了一个人接受佛法的内在因素。

他圆满：第一种圆满是佛出世；第二种圆满是说正法；第三种圆满是教法住世；第四种圆满是助法随转；第五种圆满是对善知识的摄受。五种他圆满，是我们能够接受佛法的外在的五个积极因素。

自、他圆满合起来是十圆满。作为一个学佛的人，要经常地想一想这十种圆满。那么我们今天就以这十种圆满来检查一下，看我们今天学佛的环境是否具备了这十种圆满。应该说，我们这些在座的还有很多不在座的比丘、比丘尼、善男子、善女人，都具备了这十种圆满。既然具备了这十种圆满和八种有暇，那么，我们就得到了一个暇满的人生。我们既然拥有了一个暇满的人生，就不要辜负它，要时时刻刻珍惜这来之不易的暇满人生！

我记得我们在中国佛学院的时候，证果老师就以常教导弟子要经我们得到的这个暇满的人生来很好地修行，很好地学佛。而在平常，我们确实往往不去思考，不去思维，感觉不到现在这种环境的殊胜和来之不易。比如这八有暇，因为我们已经得到了这个人身，便觉得没有什么好稀罕的了。但你若仔细思考，才可体会到人身的得来不易。佛教里有这么句话：失去人生的机会，就如同大地的土一样多，而得到人生的机会呢，就如同僧挑土。僧挑土与大地土是根本无法相比的。我们如果能把这个道理经常加以思考，牢牢地记在心中，那么时时刻刻，我们都会珍惜此生，发起无上的道心。特别是我们年青人，更不懂得这个道理。不懂得这个道理，人就会放逸，就会不晓得抓紧时间。就不能趁此青春年少的大好机缘多学习、多修行，多来充实自己。

今天，我讲《思维暇满人生》这个题目，就是要提醒大家，要强化“人生难得，佛法难闻”这个思想。“人生难得，佛法难闻”这句话人们常常讲，常常说，但说到其中的道理却往往比较抽象。如果用这八种有暇，十种圆满来加以细致的讲解，道理就比较具体，概念也就比较清晰、难忘了。

我给大家讲这个题目的目的，就是要大家经常思维－思维我们这个得之不易的暇满人生，从而发起对我们拥有人身的稀有难得之心，发起我们的勇猛精进心，这才有利于我们的修行。

What's recommended is that if you have a good experience, don't get too excited. And if you have a bad experience, don't mistake it for a serious deviation or a sidetrack that you have to find your way back from. If you have a bad experience, just continue practising as you were. In other words, whatever happens, just keep looking at your mind.

-- Thrangu Rinpoche

The Very Heart of Buddhism

by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

A star, a visual aberration, a flame of a lamp,

An illusion, a drop of dew, or a bubble,

A dream, a flash of lightning, a cloud —

See conditioned things as such!

This verse is showing the reality of I, action, object and all phenomena — hell and enlightenment, samsara and nirvana — the whole thing. It is showing the reality of all phenomena, particularly causative phenomena.

When you encounter problems in daily life, it is very good to think of this verse; it is very good to meditate on this. This verse is not only for use in teachings; it is for use anywhere. It is recited during teachings, but our mind is supposed to be aware of this verse in daily life. That is the point. It’s meant to help us to be aware of emptiness, to meditate on emptiness.

Even though many examples are given in this verse, the point is that the whole thing is a hallucination. What we talk about, what we believe, what we do (our actions of coming, going, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping), what we experience (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects): the whole thing is a hallucination. Everything appears truly existent, real, and we believe it to exist in the way it appears to us. We’re living life in a total hallucination. There’s no real person, no real I; what appears to be real is a hallucination.

So, the illusion person goes to an illusion restaurant and pays illusion money to eat illusion food in that illusion restaurant. It is like that. It’s fascinating. If you’re continuously meditating on your life, it’s really fascinating. It’s really fantastic! You really enjoy your life. This is the best TV. This movie of yourself is the best movie. It’s the best sightseeing. Everything is a total hallucination. There’s no such thing there. There’s only what is merely labelled.

That’s another meditation: the merely labelled I merely labelled goes to the merely labelled restaurant and merely labelled pays merely labelled money to merely labelled eat merely labelled food. That’s another way to meditate. Whatever you’re doing, everything is always merely labelled, so nothing exists from its own side. Everything is empty. But to our hallucinated mind everything appears real: there’s a real I, real everything. At the real market, you do real buying of real food. At the real stupa, you do real circumambulations to do real purifying of real negative karma. There’s no such thing!

In our busy life, we need meditation on emptiness, the very heart of Buddhism. All the teachings of the Prajnaparamita are for wisdom. The Prajnaparamita comes in twelve volumes, in three volumes, then becomes shorter and shorter, down to the Heart of Wisdom, then the Prajnaparamita in a few syllables, and then the Prajnaparamita in one word, AH. That’s it. In Sanskrit AH is a syllable of negation. The Heart Sutra mentions that there is no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no tangible object and many other things. In Sanskrit, instead of no, there is AH. The AH means that there is no truly existent I, no truly existent action, no truly existent object. There is no true existence on the merely labelled phenomena; there is no phenomena that has true existence. So, it means everything is empty, totally empty. But this is not nihilism. This is the Middle Way (or Madhyamaka) view, devoid of nihilism and eternalism.

Hell and enlightenment; samsara and nirvana; forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects; I, action, object: all these are not non-existent, which is nihilism, and not truly existent, which is eternalism. They exist in accordance with the Middle Way view, which means they exist in mere name, merely labelled by the mind. So, what the I or any other phenomenon is is something unbelievably subtle. Take the I, for example. What it is is something most subtle, the most subtle. It’s not non-existent but it’s like it’s non-existent. You can see that this is not nihilism but it’s like nihilism. The word like makes the difference, giving a different meaning. For our mind, when it comes to the realisation, it’s like that. I haven’t realised it, but for the meditators who have realised emptiness, I is like that, like it doesn’t exist. All phenomena are like that.

So, one mindfulness meditation in daily life is to continuously practice awareness of the hallucination, looking at everything, which is a hallucination, as a hallucination, from morning until night. For example, when you’re going on pilgrimage, you can use that time to meditate on emptiness. From when you leave your room to go towards Rajgir (or wherever) until you come back, you can continuously use that time for meditation, looking at that which is a hallucination as a hallucination. You don’t need many words — just that. Practice this awareness with whatever you’re doing: the hallucinated I is hallucinated doing some hallucinated action. This leads to reality, to emptiness. What comes in your heart is that everything is empty. There’s no coming or going, there’s no car, there’s no road, there’s no Rajgir. (I mean, no truly existent ones, which is what appears to you and what you believe.) This is what comes in your heart.

If you go on a one-month pilgrimage in Tibet, you can do this. For the whole of that one month, you can meditate, practising awareness of right view, the essence of Buddhism. Buddhism has three divisions, Hinayana, Mahayana Paramitayana and Mahayana tantra, which can be condensed into the lamrim teachings for the lower, middle and higher capable beings. There are then the three principles of the path: renunciation, bodhicitta and right view, the very heart of Buddhism. So, you can meditate on emptiness; you can integrate the practice in that way, exactly like a retreat. You’re travelling, you’re coming and going and doing many things, but if you’re able to keep your mind in this, it’s the same as doing retreat. It’s a question of keeping your mind in the practice of mindfulness, in meditation. It’s then fascinating, very enjoyable. Whether you are happy or having problems, if you look at things in this way, it’s most fascinating. There’s no real problem. There’s no real problem, in reality.

Since everything is merely labelled, you look at it that way. You look at the I and everything else in your life in that way, from morning until night. Whether you are sitting there in your room doing retreat or doing a pilgrimage or working in the office or having a meeting or cooking or cleaning or taking care of a baby or your parents or working as a doctor or as a nurse, keep your mind in meditation. You might have a very busy, very active life, but you keep your mind in meditation. With one part of your mind you’re doing things, but another part of your mind you always keep in meditation, looking at everything as a hallucination, as it is a hallucination; or looking at everything as merely labelled, as it is merely labelled; or looking at everything as empty, as it is empty. (The other meditation, the third one, is awareness of emptiness, looking at everything as empty. This is very, very good — the best.) Since that’s the way everything is existing, you look at it that way.

This is how to meditate on emptiness, the essence of Buddhism, while you’re living the busiest life. Normally people think, “To meditate, you have to sit on a cushion, cross your legs, not speak and close the eyes.” This is not the only way to meditate.

If you can meditate on emptiness in the ways I’ve just described, whatever you do — eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, working—doesn’t become a cause of samsara. Instead, it becomes a remedy to samsara, enabling you to eliminate ignorance, the root of samsara. So there is no doubt that it becomes a remedy to anger, attachment and all the rest of the delusions. As realisation of emptiness eliminates the root, the ignorance holding things to be truly existent, it stops the arising of all delusions. Loving kindness is the opposite to anger, but only to anger. Here, emptiness covers everything. It stops all the delusions; it is the remedy to all delusions.

So, it is good to try these meditations. This is how we should try to meditate on emptiness in our life. We have to put effort into this; we have to try. Then everything we do — eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, working, dancing — will become a remedy to samsara. Even dancing, if you’re doing it with this awareness, will become a remedy to samsara. Everything will become an antidote to ignorance; everything will destroy the root of suffering, ignorance. It will then become a cause to achieve liberation, nirvana, the sorrowless state. Of course, it is the wisdom realising emptiness that directly ceases the delusions, the gross delusions and also the subtle defilements, while bodhicitta indirectly helps to cease them. By ceasing the subtle defilements, you then achieve full enlightenment.

When you go from your room to the market or to the stupa, practice this awareness continuously. You go to the market, you buy things, you come back: you can do a session in that way. You can do a session sitting or you can do a session walking or doing things. You can do this when you go sightseeing. In your room, before you go sightseeing (here I’m talking about looking at ordinary scenery, not holy places), you think to practice lamrim, such as awareness of emptiness. For you, the sightseeing then becomes a session of meditation. Whether you’re at the ocean or in the mountains, whether you’re going or coming back, you’re continuously in meditation. It’s very, very meaningful. You made your life most meaningful. Since all your sightseeing was an antidote to samsara, it didn’t become the cause of samsara. It became a cause to achieve liberation and, if it was done with bodhicitta, it became a cause to achieve enlightenment.

When you encounter relationship problems and other problems in your life, if you practice renunciation or bodhicitta or emptiness, it is really fascinating. You see that the actual reality is something completely opposite to what you have been believing. It’s fantastic. The other life that people in the world normally lead then seems very childish. What kings or presidents or bankers are involved with and believe is all childish. You see that it’s nonsense.

Activities are endless, like ripples on a stream. They end only when you drop them. Human moods are like the changing highlights and shadows on a sunlit mountain range. All activities are like the games children play, like castles being made of sand. View them with delight and equanimity, like grandparents overseeing their grandchildren, or a shepherd resting on a hill watching over his grazing flock.

-- Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche

觉悟的心包括这几种层次

梦参老和尚

我们雪峰有个老修行。可能我们道友有知道的，就在那个枯木那儿。以前义存祖师时，有一个大树枯了，剩了半截了，他就坐那枯木里头成道了，开悟了。后来，专门修了个大房子，把枯木装起来。那儿有个老修行，在那儿拜千佛、拜万佛、拜华严、拜法华，拜了17年。我去那时候17年。85年我到雪峰，特别去看他。那时，他拜了17年了。我到那儿去了，他就问我，他说的的福建福南话，我不懂，有个小孩给做翻译。他说：“法师啊，怎么样了生死啊？”

他把我问得很莫名其妙。我说：“你在干什么啦？”他说：“我在磕头啊。”我说：“磕头干什么啊？”他说：“消业障。”我说；“消业障干什么啊？”他答不出来。我说：“你天天在了生死，你还问我怎么了生死啊！我还没有像你这样磕头呢！我都没了生死啊。悟到这样，你还问我。你就在了生死啊！

必须懂得啊！为什么要学啊？因为你不懂得教义，你怎么走入错路了，你还不知道！必须得有次第啊！成佛得发菩提心呐！发菩提心才能行菩萨道啊！你心都没发，愿也没发，忏悔也没做，那你修道呢，很容易走入歧途！

先忏悔。在你早上上殿，你一去，就忏悔，心里观想忏悔。完了下了殿，把做的这个功德，布施、供养。给一切诸佛菩萨是供养，给一切众生是布施。发愿、忏悔、回向、这三步，一天到晚，你一定得做，这才能够。做的时候，要把普贤菩萨的十大愿观恒进去。

礼佛怎么礼？有十种礼法。礼，就是身体在磕头，心里在想。心里的想，是“观想”。口里还在唱念。身、口、意。在你正做的时候，转变你的身口意，变成诸佛菩萨的身口意。这样子呢，你的成就呢，快一点。那么，你修行的时候，少走弯路。像我们住佛学院的，我们在鼓山的时候，我们佛学院老和尚传禅的时候，两个经常地辩论、争执。这种争执是不对的。一个人从言语进，一个从观想入。

禅定呢，禅，这个字，意思就是三昧。平常说“观”，就是想，想，就是修观。所观的不同，修的生死观嘛，了生死的观嘛。你观什么？换句话说，你在想什么？这是禅的最简单的开示。禅，一个示，一个单，很简单！简单的开示，就是很简单的启发。

假使说，你没有发菩提心，悟不了。为什么？你连这个娑婆世界的事，厌离心还没有，你能离开娑婆世界吗？我们经常念：“发菩提心”、“发菩提心”，我们大陆上的历代祖师有省庵大师发菩提心文，莲池大师发菩提心文……，发菩提心文很多，很笼统。不笼统应该怎样呢？如果大家学习学习那个西藏的《菩提论道》，或者学习斯里兰卡的《清净道论》，清净道，菩提道。走菩提道，发菩提心的时候，你要入普贤行愿，你必需得发菩提心。菩提心就是觉悟的心。

觉悟的心包括有几种层次。

第一个，必须对娑婆世界厌离，生厌离心。有了厌离心了，对娑婆世界心不贪念、意不颠倒。厌离得越究竟，你成就越大。不管你修哪一法门。生极乐世界，你不厌离娑婆世界，娑婆世界的肉又想吃，男女关系你又想得到，又想开大公司、发大财，……还能去到极乐世界？！那真是作梦了！把这些全放下，得有厌离心！你自己厌离不行啊，还有这么多六亲眷属，还有这么多众生啊。

第二个，大悲心。怜悯众生，行菩萨道，我要度他们。我不能因为这种苦难，我一个人走了，不行。我得把众生都度了，把这些道理给他们都讲清楚，让他们都明白。但是，这个大悲心啊，容易产生爱见大悲：跟我有感情的、跟我说话投得来的、很我有关系的呀……。这个不能有关系户，有关系户是不行的！平等大悲！但是这个大悲心得有智慧。

第三个，是般若心。以智慧指导大悲，以大悲心厌离世间，使众生生厌离心。你给他们作榜样。你也离、让他们也离，离啊离，都离了，完了不离娑婆而生极乐。生了极乐世界，把极乐世界和娑婆世界划开了。实际，你生了极乐世界，也就是娑婆世界。

学《华严经》呢，把这个极乐世界立的，种种光明瑞相，上头20层华藏世界，咱毗卢遮那说的，他这个法身，他所教化的区域，第十三层，叫华藏世界。凡是释迦牟尼佛所说的法的、所有说的世界，所有的无量诸佛，都在十三层华藏世界。

有一次，阿难尊者，他听到了，他就问释迦牟尼佛，因为他对佛什么话都说的，他毫不拘束的。他说：世尊啊，你在因地大概发愿不清净啊，为什么你这世界这么脏、这么坏、苦难这么多？你说的极乐世界、琉璃光世界、不动世界、……，那么多世界为什么都很好？佛没有答复他，文殊师利就答复他了：你说什么？你看到的！我看到的世界就不是这样的。正在文殊师利跟阿难尊者说呢，佛用足点大地。啊！马上这个世界变成了华藏世界！众生的业！

如果这个娑婆世界的苦难，释迦牟尼佛不来发大悲心，咱们怎么离苦呢？都到极乐世界了，谁来度我们呢？你到极乐世界去，马上得请回来！不为安养，回入娑婆世界。你得发这个愿，生得更快一点。你说，我到那儿享受去了，你去不了！那界那么清净、那么好，你去不了！

“啊，我们上海龙华寺很舒服”，我们那个道友维那师傅说：“住这儿比我们住山里舒服多了，我们就在这儿住着好了”，这能行吗？没有这个缘！我们今天讲这个“华”、“严”，还得有这个“因”。

你是什么因，你就结什么果；那你得找好因。发菩提心，就是因，将来成佛，成菩提果。

If you respond with anger when another harms you, does your wrath remove the harm inflicted? Resentment surely serves no purpose in this life and brings adversity in lives to come. 

-- Chandrakirti

The meaning of VESAK lies with the Buddha’s universal message of peace to humankind.

It has become a festival for rejoicing, for spreading goodwill to all, to be grateful towards everyone, and for us to reflect on our spiritual development.

这天世界各地数以万计的佛教徒都会庆祝这个节日。卫塞的意义在于佛陀传达给全人类的和平讯息与离苦之道。

Above from KMSPKS

Buddhists all over the world come together to celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana of Lord Buddha on this day. May we have the aspiration to strive for enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings and may all sentient beings have the right conditions and causes for enlightenment. May all be free from fear, hunger and harm. May all be happy and healthy. May we wish for the world to put aside differences to build a place that is conducive for all living beings. May all rejoice on this auspicious day and have a wonderful Vesak.

TAYATA OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI SHAKYAMUNI YE SOHA

南无本师释迦牟尼佛！

达雅塔   嗡　牟尼牟尼　玛哈牟尼   释迦牟那耶　梭哈!

I now bathe the Tathágata. His pure wisdom and virtue adorn the assembly. I pray that those living beings of this period of the five impurities may quickly witness the pure Dharma body of the Tathágata. May the incense of morality, meditation, wisdom, and the knowledge and experience of liberation constantly perfume every realm of the ten directions. I pray that the smoke of this incense will likewise do the Buddha’s work of salvation without measure or limit. I vow to put a stop to the three hells and the wheel of samsara, completely extinguishing the fires and obtaining the coolness of relief, so that all may manifest the thought of unsurpassed enlightenment, perpetually escaping the river of desires and advancing to the other shore of Nirvana.

-- The Sutra on the Merit of Bathing the Buddha

Reflection on Vesak Day

by Venerable Kwang Sheng

Vesak Day is celebrated annually by Buddhists in memory of Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing into parinirvana. On this meaningful occasion, Buddhist organisations worldwide hold grand celebrations to express gratitude to the Buddha for his compassionate teachings that deliver beings from suffering. At the same time, through acts such as offering flowers and light; chanting sutras; or giving benevolently to the needy, they pray for personal happiness, national stability and international peace.

The Buddha achieved enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago while meditating intensely under a Bodhi tree. Since then, meditation has always been a key practice in Buddhism. In recent decades, rapid developments in our material world have resulted in sharp increases in stress levels, feelings of aggravation and bewilderment. Hence, an ancient yet effective remedy to treat psychological troubles was been pushed to the forefront of the world’s stage – mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness is an act of introspection, of turning one’s attention inwards to observe phenomena as they are. In contrast, most people live their lives with attention fully tuned to the outside world. Hence their minds are constantly shifting with the everchanging external conditions, and continually giving rise to likes or dislikes, greed or aversion. As a result, they can never feel at peace. In order to relax our mind and body, and live harmoniously, we need to cultivate the ability to be mindful, by frequently shining a light introspectively, so as to ensure we remain calm and serene in the midst of our interactions with the phenomenal world.

Through mindfulness meditation, we cultivate an open and steady ability to introspect, guarding our mind and thoughts all the time. We are at ease and understand that with such a clear and steady mind, we can manage all of life’s challenges. This is the aim of mindfulness meditation. In recent years, western medicine, psychology and neuroscience have accumulated vast experimental research to demonstrate that mindfulness meditation can effectively enhance our physical and psychological health, including alleviating physical symptoms of illnesses, reducing negative emotions, cultivating positive psychological traits, boosting emotional balance, improving attention and cognitive functions, and strengthening social skills.

In view of the positive benefits of mindfulness meditation, educators in both the East and West have already incorporated mindfulness meditation training into their school curricula for various grades, hoping it will help students achieve healthier growth and balanced development.

As Vesak Day approaches, I wish all our devotees and readers fulfilment of your wishes and all things auspicious. Live in gratitude and mindfulness. 

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卫塞禅话

广声大和尚

卫塞节是佛教为纪念缅怀释迦牟尼佛诞生、成道、涅槃的节日，在这一年一度的重要节日中，国际佛教团体都会举行隆重盛大的庆祝活动，以此来感念佛陀的教化之德，救度之恩。同时，借助灯花供奉、诵经念佛、慈善布施等祈求如意吉祥、国泰民安、世界和平。

二千五百多年前佛陀在菩提树下通过深入禅定，觉悟成佛，从而修行禅定便成了佛教徒修持佛法的重要法门。近几十年来，由于物质文明的高速发展，致使人们的压力、烦躁、困惑剧增，于是一项古老有效的对治一 切烦恼的修法被推出世界舞台——内观禅修。

内观，就是如实观察事物的实相。一般的人都生活在“外观”的世界中，眼光只向外看，结果心随境转，不断生起贪爱和憎恨，内心由此不再平静。为了使身心自在，生活和谐，就需培养“内观”的能力，时常向内观照自己的身心，清楚自己与外界互动的每一个当下，保持安详。

通过内观禅修的训练，培养出一种开放而稳定的内观能力，时刻照顾好自己的心念，轻松而明白，以这种清醒而稳定的心态，就可以面对人生的起伏，这就是内观禅修的目标。

近年来，西方医学、心理学与神经科学界，已累计丰富的实证研究，显示内观禅修训练能够有效促进人们的身心健康，包括：改善生理疾病症状，减少负面情绪，培养正向心理特质，提升情绪调节能力，促进注意力认知能力，并增强人际关系技能。

鉴于内观禅修的利益，东、西方教育界人士已经开始将内观禅修训练融入各级学校教育，希望藉由内观的训练帮助学生拥有更健康的成长与平衡的发展。

卫塞节即将来临，祝愿护法善信及读者们，成就所愿，诸事吉祥。用感恩心看待生活，用内观心对待生命。

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

-- The Buddha

Impermanence is Buddha Nature

by Norman Fischer

Practitioners have always understood impermanence as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings and practice. All that exists is impermanent; nothing lasts. Therefore nothing can be grasped or held onto. When we don’t fully appreciate this simple but profound truth we suffer, as did the monks who descended into misery and despair at the Buddha’s passing. When we do, we have real peace and understanding, as did the monks who remained fully mindful and calm.

As far as classical Buddhism is concerned, impermanence is the number one inescapable, and essentially painful, fact of life. It is the singular existential problem that the whole edifice of Buddhist practice is meant to address. To understand impermanence at the deepest possible level (we all understand it at superficial levels), and to merge with it fully, is the whole of the Buddhist path. The Buddha’s final words express this: Impermanence is inescapable. Everything vanishes. Therefore there is nothing more important than continuing the path with diligence. All other options either deny or short-shift the problem.

A while ago I had a dream that has stayed with me. In a hazy grotto, my mother-in-law and I, coming from opposite directions, are trying to squeeze through a dim doorway. Both of us are fairly large people and the space is small, so for a moment, we are stuck together in the doorway. Finally, we press through, she to her side (formerly mine), I to mine (formerly hers).

It’s not that surprising to me that I would dream about my mother-in-law. Her situation is often on my mind. My mother-in-law is nearing ninety. She has many health problems. She is usually in pain, can’t walk or sleep at night, and is losing the use of her hands to neuropathy. She lives with her husband of more than sixty years, who has advanced Alzheimer’s disease, can’t speak a coherent sentence, and doesn’t know who or where he is. Despite all this, my mother-in-law affirms life 100 percent, as she always has. She never entertains the idea of death, as far as I know. All she wants and hopes for is a good and pleasant life. Since she doesn’t have this right now (though she hasn’t given up hope for it), she is fairly miserable, as anyone in her situation would be.

I, on the other hand, am fairly healthy, with no expectation of dying anytime soon. Yet from childhood I have been thinking about death, and the fact of death has probably been the main motivator in my life. (Why else would I have devoted myself full time to Buddhist practice from an early age?) Consequently, almost all my talking and writing, and much of my thinking, is in one way or another in reference to death, absence, disappearing.

So this dream intrigues and confuses me. Is my mother-in-law about to pass over from life to death, though temporarily stuck in the crowded doorway? If that’s the logic of the dream, then I must be dead, stuck in that same doorway as I try to pass through to life. Of course, this makes no sense! But then, the longer I contemplate life and death, the less sense they make. Sometimes I wonder whether life and death isn’t merely a conceptual framework we confuse ourselves with. Of course, people do seem to disappear, and, this having been the case generally with others, it seems reasonable to assume that it will be the case for us at some point. But how to understand this? And how to account for the many anomalies that appear when you look closely, such as reported appearances of ghosts and other visitations from the dead, reincarnation, and so on.

It is very telling that some religions refer to death as “eternal life,” and that in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta the Buddha doesn’t die. He enters parinirvana, full extinction, which is something other than death. In Buddhism generally, death isn’t death — it’s a staging area for further life. So there are many respectable and less respectable reasons to wonder about the question of death.

There are a lot of older people in the Buddhist communities in which I practice. Some are in their seventies and eighties, others in their sixties, like me. Because of this, the theme of death and impermanence is always on our minds and seems to come up again and again in the teachings we study. All conditioned things pass away. Nothing remains as it was. The body changes and weakens as it ages. In response to this, and to a lifetime’s experience, the mind changes as well. The way one thinks of, views, and feels about life and the world is different. Even the same thoughts one had in youth or midlife take on a different flavour when held in older age. The other day a friend about my age, who in her youth studied Zen with the great master Song Sa Nim, told me, “He always said, ‘Soon dead!’ I understood the words then as being true — very Zen, and almost funny. Now they seem personal and poignant.”

“All conditioned things have the nature of vanishing,” the Buddha said. What is impermanence after all? When we’re young we know that death is coming, but it will probably come later, so we don’t have to be so concerned with it now. And even if we are concerned with it in youth, as I was, the concern is philosophical. When we are older we know death is coming sooner rather than later, so we take it more personally. But do we really know what we are talking about?

Death may be the ultimate loss, the ultimate impermanence, but even on a lesser, everyday scale, impermanence and the loss it entails still happens more or less “later.” Something is here now in a particular way; later it will not be. I am or have something now; later I will not. But “later” is the safest of all time frames. It can be safely ignored because it’s not now — it’s later, and later never comes. And even if it does, we don’t have to worry about it now. We can worry about it later. For most of us most of the time, impermanence seems irrelevant.

But in truth, impermanence isn’t later; it’s now. The Buddha said, “All conditioned things have the nature of vanishing.” Right now, as they appear before us, they have that nature. It’s not that something vanishes later. Right now, everything is in some way — though we don’t understand in what way — vanishing before our very eyes. Squeezing uncomfortably through the narrow doorway of now, we don’t know whether we are coming or going. Impermanence may be a deeper thought than we at first appreciate.

Impermanence is not only loss; it is also change, and change can be refreshing and renewing. In fact, change is always both good and bad, because change, even when it is refreshing, always entails loss. Nothing new appears unless something old ceases. As they say on New Year’s Eve, “Out with the old, in with the new,” marking both a happy and a sad occasion. As with the scene in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, there’s despair and equanimity at the same time. Impermanence is both.

In one of his most important essays, the great 12th-century Japanese Zen master Dogen writes, “Impermanence is itself Buddha Nature.” This seems quite different from the classical Buddhist notion of impermanence, which emphasises the loss side of the loss/change/renewal equation. For Dogen, impermanence isn’t a problem to be overcome with diligent effort on the path. Impermanence is the path. Practice isn’t the way to cope with or overcome impermanence. It is the way to fully appreciate and live it.

“If you want to understand Buddha Nature,” Dogen writes, “you should intimately observe cause and effect over time. When the time is ripe, Buddha Nature manifests.” In explaining this teaching, Dogen, in his usual inside-out, upside-down way (Dogen is unique among Zen Masters in his intricately detailed literary style, which usually involves very counter conceptual ways of understanding typical concepts), writes that practice isn’t so much a matter of changing or improving the conditions of your inner or outer life, as a way of fully embracing and appreciating those conditions, especially the condition of impermanence and loss. When you practice, “the time becomes ripe.” While this phrase naturally implies a “later” (something unripe ripens in time), Dogen understands it is the opposite way: Time is always ripe. Buddha Nature always manifests in time, because time is always impermanence.

Of course, time is impermanence and impermanence is time! Time is change, development, and loss. Present time is ungraspable. As soon as it occurs, it immediately falls into the past. As soon as I am here, I am gone. If this were not so, how could the me of this moment ever give way to the me of the following moment? Unless the first me disappears, clearing the way, the second me cannot appear. So my being here is thanks to my not being here. If I were not, not here, I couldn’t be here!

In words, this becomes very quickly paradoxical and absurd, but in living, it seems to be exactly the case. Logically it must be so, and once in a while (especially in a long meditation retreat) you can actually, viscerally, feel it. Nothing appears unless it appears in time. And whatever appears in time appears and vanishes at once, just as the Buddha said on his deathbed. Time is existence, impermanence, change, loss, growth, and development—the best and the worst news at once. Dogen calls this strange immense process Buddha Nature. “Buddha Nature is no other than all are, because all are is Buddha Nature,” he writes. The phrase “all are” is telling. Are: existence, being, time, impermanence, and change. All are: existence, being, time, impermanence, and change is never lonely; it is always all-inclusive. We’re all always in this together.

The other day I was talking to an old friend, an experienced Zen practitioner, about her practice. She told me she was beginning to notice that the persistent feeling of dissatisfaction she always felt in relation to others, the world, and the circumstances of her inner and outer life, was probably not about others, the world, or inner and outer circumstances, but instead was about her deepest inmost self. Dissatisfaction, she said, seems in some way to be herself, to be fundamentally ingrained in her. Before realising this, she went on, she’d assumed her dissatisfaction was due in some way to a personal failing on her part — a failing that she had hoped to correct with her Zen practice. But now she could see that it was far worse than that! The dissatisfaction was not about her, and therefore correctable; it was built into her, it was essential to her self!

This seems to be exactly what the Buddha meant when he spoke of the basic shakiness of our sense of subjectivity in the famous doctrine of anatta, or nonself. Though we all need healthy egos to operate normally in the world, the essential grounding of ego is the false notion of permanence, a notion that we unthinkingly subscribe to, even though, deep in our hearts, we know it’s untrue. I am me, I have been me, and I will be me. I can change, and I want to change, but I am always here, always me, and have never known any other experience. But this ignores the reality that “all conditioned things have the nature of vanishing,” and are vanishing constantly, as a condition of their existing in time, whose nature is vanishing.

No wonder we feel, as my friend felt, a constant nagging sense of dissatisfaction and disjunction that we might well interpret as coming from a chronic personal failing (that is, once we’d gotten over the even more faulty belief that others were responsible for it). On the other hand, as Dogen writes, “all are is Buddha Nature.” This means that the self is not, as we imagine, an improvable permanent isolated entity we and we alone are responsible for; instead, it is impermanence itself, which is never alone, never isolated, constantly flowing, and immense. It is Buddha Nature itself.

Dogen writes, “Impermanence itself is Buddha Nature.” And adds, “Permanence is the mind that discriminates the wholesomeness and unwholesomeness of all things.” Permanence!? Impermanence seems to be (as Dogen himself writes elsewhere) an “unshakeable teaching” in buddhadharma. How does “permanence” manage to worm its way into Dogen’s discourse?

I come back to my dream of being stuck in the doorway between life and death with my mother-in-law. Which side is which, and who is going where? Impermanence and permanence may simply be balancing concepts — words, feelings, and thoughts that support one another in helping us grope toward an understanding (and a misunderstanding) of our lives. For Dogen, “permanence” is practice. It is having the wisdom and the commitment to see the difference between what we commit ourselves to pursuing in this human lifetime, and what we commit ourselves to letting go of. The good news in “impermanence is Buddha Nature” is that we can finally let ourselves off the hook. We can let go of the great and endless chore of improving ourselves, of being stellar accomplished people, inwardly or in our external lives. This is no small thing because we are all subject to this kind of brutal inner pressure to be and do more today than we have been and done yesterday — and more than someone else has been and done today and tomorrow.

The bad news in “impermanence is Buddha Nature” is that it’s so big there isn’t much we can do with it. It can’t be enough simply to repeat the phrase to ourselves. And if we are not striving to accomplish the Great Awakening, the Ultimate Improvement, what would we do, and why would we do it? Dogen asserts a way and a motivation. If impermanence is the worm at the heart of the apple of self, making suffering a built-in factor of human life, then permanence is the petal emerging from the sepal of the flower of impermanence. It makes happiness possible. Impermanence is permanent, the ongoing process of living and dying and time. Permanence is nirvana, bliss, cessation, relief — the never-ending, ever changing, and growing field of practice.

In the Buddha’s final scene as told in the sutra, the contrast between the monastics who tore their hair, raised their arms and threw themselves down in their grief, and those who received the Buddha’s passing with equanimity couldn’t be greater. The sutra seems to imply disapproval of the former and approval of the latter. Or perhaps the approval and disapproval are in our reading. For if impermanence is permanence is Buddha Nature, then loss is also happiness, and both sets of monastics are to be approved. Impermanence is not only to be overcome and conquered. It is also to be lived and appreciated, because it reflects the “all are” side of our human nature. The weeping and wailing monastics were expressing not only their attachment; they were also expressing their immersion in this human life, and their love for someone they revered.

I have experienced this more than once at times of great loss. While I may not tear my hair and throw myself down in my grieving, I have experienced extreme sadness and loss, feeling the whole world weeping and dark with the fresh absence of someone I love. At the same time, I have felt some appreciation and equanimity, because loss, searing as it can be, is also beautiful — sad and beautiful. My tears, my sadness, are beautiful because they are the consequence of love, and my grieving makes me love the world and life all the more. Every loss I have ever experienced, every personal and emotional teaching of impermanence that life has been kind enough to offer me, has deepened my ability to love.

The happiness that spiritual practice promises is not endless bliss, endless joy, and soaring transcendence. Who would want that in a world in which there is so much injustice, so much tragedy, so much unhappiness, illness, and death? To feel the scourge of impermanence and loss and to appreciate it at the same time profoundly as the beautiful essence of what it means to be at all — this is the deep truth I hear reverberating in the Buddha’s last words. Everything vanishes. Practice goes on.

Do not follow after the past; do not go forward to meet the future. Instead, just rest the mind naturally in the present awareness. 

-- Gampopa

如是发心名之为邪，如是发心名之为正

大安法师

世有行人，一向修行，不究自心，但知外务。或求利养，或好名闻，或贪现世欲乐，或望未来果报。如是发心，名之为邪。既不求利养名闻，又不贪欲乐果报，唯为生死，为菩提。如是发心，名之为正。——省庵大师《劝发菩提心文》

心愿的差别之相，在我们业力凡夫层面，真的是千差万别。而且凡夫都有一种作伪的劣根性，表现出来的，跟他的真实的状态，往往有偌大的距离，甚至恰好相反。所以这些，没有明眼善知识给我们清晰地点明，我们可能都是懵的，别说对他人的发心相状不了解，有时候我们对自己的发心的相状，都是懵的，自欺欺人。

所以，净业行人发心、发愿的差别之相是很多的，如果不加以一 一的指陈，那就难于选择，难于趣向。所以在这里，为现前大众“略而言之”，概略地去指陈，描述一下。

首先来看邪正一对。首先谈发的邪心。世间有一类修行人，这里不是指不信佛的，是指四众弟子，已经信佛了，已经开始修行了，就叫行人。他也从学佛开始，“一向修行”，或者是发心大就出家了，世缘还未了，他也居家修行了，包括四众弟子。

他修行 “不究自心，但知外务”。如果这两句话用在世间人身上，倒是很正常，本身我们的心都是往五欲六尘里面跑的，六入，产生六识。所以，为什么我们众生活得这么累，他都是往外跑的，很少回光返照。

那修行佛法，佛法是什么？就是心法。心法是什么？就回归到我们的自性本源，妙明真心。所以，无论是止观的方法，参究的方法，念佛的方法，都是要究我们自性的妙明本心的，这才是一个修行人的正路。

就像《楞严经》讲的，要反闻闻自性。原来我们的耳根都是闻外面的声尘，现在要旋转倒闻机，反闻闻自性，不是闻外面的声尘，要反过来闻自己能闻之性。这个能闻之性是什么呢？就是具足圆通常，就是那个坚固的本心，不生不灭的。你用这个不生灭的闻性，去不断地向内闻，断六结，证三空，寂灭现前，才能证到圆通常的佛性。所以，一定要反闻，一定要反念，一定要叩己而参，这就是究自心，己躬下事。

但是这一类人，他不是参究自己的心，他只是还是往外面去走，只知外务，到外面去做一些事务，所谓去干事业去了。那到外面去干那些无论是佛事还是世间的事务，这里面动机就很复杂了。

这里就提出有四种动机。或者他是“求利养”。利养，想得更多的物质上、财物上的回报。所以为什么经忏佛事那么兴隆啊？为什么在商品浪潮当中，很多寺院要搞商业，跟商家、跟政府合起来搞？这都是在求利养。于是一天到晚忙得脚跟不能着地，让他坐禅、诵经、念佛，没有时间。

南方的有些人都把寺院住持直接称为老板，挂这个牌位多少钱？然后就讨价还价。这都属于利养的范围。

“或好名闻”。有一类修行人，他可能对利养、财物不感兴趣，但是他对于知名度感兴趣，希望来点新闻报道，希望自己在镜头面前多亮点相，希望有更多人知道他，好名。

还有一种是贪求现世的五欲快乐。五欲，一般就是财色名食睡，或者叫色声香味触。现世间，他以修行人的面目，尤其有些出家人可能得点供养了，于是一定要穿好衣服，吃好的饮食，住好的房子，手表都得要名牌的，车子也是豪华的。这都属于贪求世间的欲乐。

还有一类修行人，他可能对前面三种的贪欲比较薄一点，但是他求来世得好的果报。今生是一个女人，通过修行，下辈子能不能变成个男人？今生好像没有当过官，通过修行实践，下辈子能不能当个官？今生做人道，能不能下辈子生到天上去？这是贪未来世的人天福报。

这简单举出四种。省庵大师目光很犀利，好像都是讲现代的修行人。

还有一些附法外道，那他们就更明显了。只要不是正法的，他是离不开名闻利养，离不开现世和未来的享乐的，他是离不开欲望的，这一定是邪的。所以，这样的发心，就是邪。一针见血。

相对应的，什么叫正呢？就是修行的动机，不是为了利养、名闻。一旦他求名闻利养，他一定是要频繁交往的，要搞各种关系的，要一天到晚动脑筋，要跟这个合作、那个合作的。但一个修行人真的是不求名闻利养，他就能淡泊下来，他就能宁静下来，淡泊才能明志。

他能不求今世和来世的五欲快乐，他就能少欲知足。一个修行人，还要穿那么好的衣服干嘛呀？还要吃那些营养品干嘛呀？他就能够把欲望降低。

实际上，真正向内心去走，他的欲望一定会低下来，他一定会过简单的生活。而且他在简单的生活当中，他怡然自得，他很快乐，他有法喜，他安贫守道，这叫少欲知足，知足就常乐。他把一切现世的这些福报，都布施给众生，自己过简朴的生活。

他这种修行，他的动机是什么？“唯”，就是唯一，唯独，就是为了了生死。后面会谈到生死轮回之苦，痛念生死无常。

这一生、这一世得到人身，非常难得，闻到净土法门，也难上之难，那一定要抓住今生的机会，今生一定要了办生死轮回的问题，一定要往生西方极乐世界，到极乐世界就为了证得无上菩提。

所以，在他的念头当中，就是唯一的这件事情，唯了生死，唯证菩提。这就叫好心出家，不是出两扇门的家，是出烦恼之家，是出三界之家，这才叫真出家人。

如果一个居士也能够这样做，实际上就像维摩诘居士在《维摩诘经》里面讲的，就已经是阿耨多罗三藐三菩提心了，就已经是真出家了。这样的发心就叫正。

所以，这都是一面法镜了，法性的镜子，我们要照一照，我的发心是邪的发心，还是正的发心。如果原来比较邪的话，马上要把它正过来，修行就是为了了生死，为了成佛道，没有第二桩事情。

Enlightenment is like a moon reflected on water. The moon doesn't get wet, nor the water broken.

-- Dogen

Dukkha for Knowledge and Vision

by Ayya Khema

The "twelve-point-dependent-origination" (paticcasamuppada) starts with ignorance (avijja) and goes through kamma formations (sankhara), rebirth consciousness, mind and matter, sense contacts, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and ends with death. Getting born means dying. During that sequence, there is one point of escape -- from feeling to craving.

While this is called the mundane (lokiya) dependent-origination, the Buddha also taught a supermundane, transcendental (lokuttara) series of cause and effect. That one starts with unsatisfactoriness (dukkha). Dukkha needs to be seen for what it really is, namely the best starting point for our spiritual journey. Unless we know and see dukkha, we would have little reason to practice. If we haven't acknowledged the overall existence of dukkha, we wouldn't be interested in getting out of its clutches.

The transcendental-dependent-origination starts out with the awareness and inner knowledge of the inescapable suffering in the human realm. When we reflect upon this, we will no longer try to find a way out through human endeavour, nor through becoming more informed or knowledgeable, or richer, or owning more or having more friends. Seeing dukkha as an inescapable condition, bound up with existence, we no longer feel oppressed by it. It's inescapable that there is thunder and lightning, so we don't try to reject the weather. There have to be thunder, lightning and rain, so we can grow food.

Dukkha is equally inescapable. Without it, the human condition would not exist. There wouldn't be rebirth, decay and death. Having seen it like that, one loses one's resistance to it. The moment one is no longer repelled by dukkha, suffering is greatly diminished. It's our resistance which creates the craving to get rid of it, which makes it so much worse.

Having understood dukkha in this way, one may be fortunate enough to make contact with the true Dhamma, the Buddha's teaching. This is due to one's own good kamma. There are innumerable people who never get in touch with Dhamma. They might even be born in a place where the Dhamma is being preached, but they will have no opportunity to hear it. There are many more people who will not be searching for the Dhamma, because they're still searching for the escape route in the human endeavour, looking in the wrong direction. Having come to the conclusion that the world will not provide real happiness, then one also has to have the good kamma to be able to listen to true Dhamma. If these conditions arise, then faith results.

Faith has to be based on trust and confidence. If these are lacking, the path will not open. One becomes trusting like a child holding the hand of a grown-up when crossing the street. The child believes that the grown-up will be watching out for traffic so that no accident will happen. The small child doesn't have the capacity to gauge when it's safe to cross, but it trusts someone with greater experience.

We are like children compared to the Buddha. If we can have a child-like innocence, then it will be possible for us to give ourselves unstintingly to the teaching and the practice, holding onto the hand of the true Dhamma that will guide us. Life and practice will be simplified when the judging and weighing of choice is removed. No longer: "I should do it another way, or go somewhere else, or find out how it is done by others." These are possibilities, but they are not conducive to good practice or to getting out of dukkha. Trust in the Dhamma helps to keep the mind steady. One has to find out for oneself if this is the correct escape route, but if we don't try, we won't know.

If dukkha is still regarded as a calamity, we will not have enough space in the mind to have trust. The mind will be full of grief, pain, lamentation, forgetting that all of us are experiencing our kamma resultants and nothing else. This is part of being a human being, subject to one's own kamma.

Resistance to dukkha saps our energy and the mind cannot stretch to its full capacity. If dukkha is seen as the necessary ingredient to spur one on to leave samsara behind, then one's positive attitude will point in the right direction. Dukkha is not a tragedy, but rather a basic ingredient for insight. This must not only be a thinking process but felt with one's heart. It's too easy to think like that and not to do anything about it. But when our heart is truly touched, trust and confidence in the Dhamma arise as the way out of all suffering.

The Dhamma is totally opposed to worldly thinking, where suffering is considered to be a great misfortune. In the Dhamma suffering is seen as the first step to transcend the human condition. The understanding of dukkha has to be firm, in order to arouse trust in that part of the teaching which one hasn't experienced oneself yet. If one has already tried many other escape routes and none of them actually worked, then one will find it easier to become that trusting, child-like person, walking along this difficult path without turning right or left, knowing that the teaching is true, and letting it be one's guide. Such faith brings joy, without which the path is a heavy burden and will not flourish. Joy is a necessary and essential ingredient of the spiritual life.

Joy is not to be mistaken for pleasure, exhilaration or exuberance. Joy is a feeling of ease and gladness, knowing one has found that which transcends all suffering. People sometimes have the mistaken idea that to be holy or pious means having a sad face and walking around in a mournful way. Yet the Buddha is said never to have cried and is usually depicted with a half-smile on his face. Holiness does not stand for sadness, it means wholeness. Without joy, there is no wholeness. This inner joy carries with it the certainty that the path is blameless, the practice is fruitful and the conduct is appropriate.

We need to sit down for meditation with a joyous feeling and the whole experience of meditation will culminate in happiness. This brings us tranquillity, as we no longer look around for outside satisfaction. We know only to look into ourselves. There's nowhere to go and nothing to do, it's all happening within. Such tranquillity is helpful to concentrated meditation and creates the feeling of being in the right spot at the right time. It creates ease of mind, which facilitates meditation and is conducive to eliminating sceptical doubt (vicikicha).

Sceptical doubt is the harbinger of restlessness, joy begets calm. We need not worry about our own or the world's future, it's just a matter of time until we fathom absolute reality. When the path, the practice and effort mesh together, results are bound to come. It is essential to have complete confidence in everything the Buddha said. We can't pick out the ideas we want to believe because they happen to be in accordance with what we like anyway and discard others. There are no choices to be made, it's all or nothing.

Tranquillity helps concentration to arise. Dukkha itself can lead us to proper concentration if we handle it properly. But we mustn't reject it, thinking that it is a quirk of fate that has brought all this grief to us, or think that other people are causing it. If we use dukkha to push us onto the path, then proper concentration can result.

Right concentration makes it possible for the mind to stretch. The mind that is limited, obstructed and defiled cannot grasp the profundity of the teaching. It may get an inkling that there is something extraordinary available, but it cannot go into the depth of it. Only the concentrated mind can extend its limitations. When it does that, it may experience the knowledge-and-vision-of-things-as-they-really-are.

The Buddha often used this phrase "the-knowledge-and-vision-of-things-as-they-really-are" (yatha-bhuta-ñana-dassana). This is distinct from the way we think they are or might be, or as we'd like them to be, hopefully, comfortable and pleasant. But rather birth, decay, disease and death, not getting what one wants, or getting what one doesn't want, a constant perception of what we dislike, because it fails to support our ego-belief. In knowing and seeing things as they really are, we will lose that distaste.

We will come to see that within this realm of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and corelessness (anicca, dukkha, anatta), there is nothing that can be grasped and found to be solid and satisfying. No person, no possession, no thought, no feeling. Nothing can be clung to and found to be steady and supportive.

This is right view, beyond our ordinary everyday perception. It results from right concentration and comes from dealing with dukkha in a positive, welcoming way. When we try to escape from dukkha by either forgetting about it, running away from it, blaming someone else, becoming depressed by it or feeling sorry for ourselves, we are creating more dukkha. All these methods are based on self-delusion. The knowledge-and-vision-of-things-as-they-really-are is the first step on the noble path, everything else has been the preliminary work.

Sometimes our understanding may feel like one of those mystery pictures that children play with. Now you see it, now you don't. When any aspect of Dhamma is clearly visible to us, we must keep on resurrecting that vision. If it is correct, dukkha has no sting, it just is. Decay, disease and death do not appear fearful. There is nothing to fear, because everything falls apart continually. This body disintegrates and the mind changes every moment.

Without knowledge and vision of reality, the practice is difficult. After having this clear perception, the practice is the only possible thing to do. Everything else is only a side issue and a distraction. From the knowledge-and-vision arises disenchantment with what the world has to offer. All the glitter that seems to be gold turns out to be fool's gold, which cannot satisfy. It gives us pleasure for one moment and displeasure the next and has to be searched for again and again. The world of the senses has fooled us so often that we're still enmeshed in it and still experiencing dukkha, unless the true vision arises.

There's a poster available in Australia which reads: "Life, be in it." Wouldn't it be better if it said, "Life, be out of it?" Life and existence are bound up with the constant renewal of our sense contacts, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling and thinking. Only when we have clear perception, will disenchantment set in and then the most wonderful sense contact will no longer entice us to react. It just exists but doesn't touch our heart. Mara, the tempter, has lost his grip and has been shown the door. He's waiting at the doorstep to slip in again, at the first possible opportunity, but he isn't so comfortably ensconced inside anymore.

This brings a great deal of security and satisfaction to the heart. One won't be swayed to leave this path of practice. When Marais still calling, there's no peace in the heart. One can't be at ease and satisfied, because there's always something new to tempt us. With knowledge-and-vision-of-things-as-they-really-are and subsequent disenchantment, we realise that the Buddha's path leads us to tranquillity, peace and the end of dukkha.

Dukkha is really our staunchest friend, our most faithful supporter. We'll never find another friend or helpmate like it, if it is seen in the right way, without resistance or rejection. When we use dukkha as our incentive for practice, gratitude and appreciation for it will arise. This takes the sting out of our pain and transforms it into our most valuable experience.