信佛学佛念佛成佛

明学长老

现在信徒来皈依三宝的也很多，皈依三宝就是皈依过了之后作为一个正式的佛教徒了。没有皈依之前，甚至你在家里吃素念佛，到庙里烧香拜佛，叫善男信女。皈依过之后，正式进入佛门了，作为一个佛教徒，成为三宝弟子。皈依佛宝、皈依法宝、皈依僧宝，皈依三宝，皈依过后成为了一个佛教徒。

佛教有佛法僧三宝，佛就是释迦牟尼佛，阿弥陀佛等等，法就是佛讲的经，僧就是出家人出了家是僧宝。佛法僧三宝。皈依过之后要根据佛教规矩去做，做好一个佛教徒，根据五戒十善去做，道德就高尚了。

那么你说我们为什么要信佛呢，将来要成佛的，信佛的目的将来要成佛的。信佛学佛，念佛成佛，那么怎么样念佛成佛呢?人人都有佛性的，不管男女老少，大家都有佛性，不管你信不信都有。那么你要是信佛了呢，学哪个法门，要把它能够修成功。不是说，说说而已就成佛了。

佛说的八万四千法门都可以了生死，你看看你修哪个法门了。修净土法门三根普被，利钝全收，人人都可以修。男女老少大家都可以修，没文化的人也好修。三岁小孩子什么都不懂，教他念南无阿弥陀佛他会念;八十岁九十岁老人没文化的一个大字不识念什么经他不会念，教他念南无阿弥陀佛他会念;有文化的人可以看看佛教经书佛教教理佛教的规矩，没有文化的就念一句阿弥陀佛就可以。

灵岩山是净土道场，就老实念佛，念南无阿弥陀佛。净土宗，只要念佛，念佛求生西方，主要在一个“念”字。

当然呢，佛教经书念《佛说阿弥陀经》《无量寿经》乃至《地藏经》都可以念的。那么问题是主要是要根据《阿弥陀经》念佛求生西方，在于一个“念”字，人家问你干什么?求生西方极乐世界，这是净土宗根本最大的一个宗旨，念佛宗旨。关键问题是要念佛求生西方，这个是一个关键。

念佛干啥，念佛不是当钱用的。要求生西方，要发愿，到临命终时还是要念佛，关键还是临终时要念佛，念佛求生西方，到了西方极乐世界，不再六道轮回。六道轮回就是在三善道三恶道里，不在三恶道，三善道了。天人阿修罗，三善道。地狱饿鬼畜生，三恶道。在六道轮回里打转。念佛求生西方就脱离了六道轮回了，离开这个生死苦海，到西方极乐世界里去了，生死就了脱了，念佛修成佛。

When I consider these sufferings which we all endure, I think to myself, 'If only I could gain enlightenment! Let it not be tomorrow, but let it come to me today!' Swiftly, ever so swiftly, may I gain awakening, and, having done so, dispel all beings' pain, leading them all to perfect bliss, I pray!

-- Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol

Buddha: The Great Physician

by Norman Fischer

It is said that just as the Buddha was close to approaching awakening, his nemesis Mara appeared, desperately determined to stop him. Mara’s attack centred on the Buddha’s body, first with sensual temptations, next with threats of harm.

This lurid archetypical scene — the Buddha serenely sitting, Mara’s minions hurling arrows and flames — is the very image of the human drama. Our bodies are under attack. Flesh is vulnerable. And yet, if we are determined, wise, and strong, we can avoid defeat. Like the Buddha, we can not only endure; we can heal and transcend. We can become enlightened beings.

The Buddha is often called the Great Healer. He is the ultimate physician, providing medicine to cure the human disease. His four noble truths follow the classical medical model of diagnosis, treatment, and cure. In their classical formulation they are: 1. The truth of suffering (diagnosis); 2. The truth of origination (cause); 3. The truth of stopping (cure); 4. The truth of the path (treatment).

The diagnosis is drastic: “All conditioned existence has the nature of suffering.” That is, we human beings are inherently ill, even when we think we are not. What we think of as health isn’t really that, for beneath our apparent health, illness lurks.

Illness is the basic human condition. The cause of this condition is desire, which includes not only sensual desire but even the very desire to remain healthy and to stay alive. As long as we cling and grasp we will suffer, because nothing can be held onto. Everything changes, slipping away moment by moment.

Since we can never eliminate desire, our condition seems hopeless. Yet the Buddha asserted that our disease can be cured. That is, though desire can’t be got rid of, it can be clarified and transmuted. Healing is possible. The fourth truth, the path, outlines the course of treatment — a thoroughgoing way of living and understanding that will bring us to full health and wholeness, if only we practice it with diligence.

This straightforward program sounds good to us empowered modern people conditioned by generations of scientific know-how and progress.  We believe that health is good and illness is bad and can be eliminated. With enough effort and energy, and with good doctors and psychotherapists, we can, like the Buddha, overcome suffering. We can defeat Mara.

But notice that in the gentle stories of the Buddha’s life, as told in the Pali suttas, Mara is never entirely defeated. He appears throughout the Buddha’s lifetime, constantly trying to foil the great sage. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, in one traditional tale Mara becomes discouraged, and the Buddha tells him, “Mara, don’t quit! I need you. Without you I can’t be Buddha.” Buddha and Mara depend on one another.

What is health? What is illness? In the modern medical model, health is the default, the norm. When I get my blood test, I want to hear that all my indicators are in the “normal” range, which means I am healthy. Illness is, by this definition, abnormal.

But as the first noble truth implies, there is no ultimate physical health. The human body can’t be perfectly free of impediment. There is always something more or less wrong. Even a child has bumps and afflictions, and throughout our lives illness and health are constantly jockeying for dominance. What we call health is simply a brief period of homoeostasis. Even a person who seems to have preserved this homoeostasis for a lifetime will undergo ageing, in which physical vitality gradually decreases until it breaks down entirely and death occurs. Health is an illusion.

“Health” and “healing” literally mean “wholeness.” Wholeness implies inclusion of everything — of well-being as well as illness, the good along with the bad — into a larger sphere. In spiritual cultures, notions of healing and health always evoke a category larger than physical and psychological well-being, though physical and psychological well-being are included in it.

People may imagine that after his awakening the Buddha lived a healthy, happy, trouble-free life. But the Buddha’s life after his awakening was not trouble-free. There were moments of frustration with fractious members of his community. There was the sorrow of trying and failing to stop impending wars. There were physical problems too. Later in his life the Buddha complained of bellyaches, backaches, and general weariness.

So, the Buddha was not always healthy and happy in the conventional sense. But this did not obviate the strength and thoroughness of his awakening. For even in the midst of problems, the Buddha remained ultimately healed. He didn’t expect to transcend the limitations of his body and mind. In wisely accepting and fully understanding the vulnerability of his physical existence, he was whole. His fundamental and unshakeable well-being went beyond the condition of his body and mind.

This more profound sense of health is implied in the four noble truths. Notice their traditional order: suffering, cause, cure, path. This is counter intuitive. The natural order ought to be suffering, cause, path, cure. This is what we expect from the doctor — that once she figures out what we’ve got and prescribes medication, which we carefully take, we will be cured. But the end point of the Buddha’s analysis isn’t the cure, stopping. It’s the treatment, the path.

So, curing is not the goal; it’s an aspiration, a hope, a faith. The path goes on and on; it has no endpoint. The Buddha’s biography bears this out: he doesn’t stop treading the path after he awakens. He doesn’t just enjoy himself and go on to other things. Instead he continues to practice the Way for and with others for the rest of his life. He doesn’t defeat Mara. Their dance goes on. If there is a cure, this is it: delight in the ongoing dance.

Let’s return for a moment to the scene of Buddha’s awakening. In response to Mara’s physical attacks, the Buddha is said to have touched the earth. In doing this, the Buddha was not only calling on the Earth Goddess to be his protector. He was also saying, “The earth is my body. My body expresses earth; it’s produced and supported by her. So, as long as earth exists, nothing, even what looks like complete destruction, can threaten my body. Even if pierced and broken by your arrows and flames, even when succumbing to illness and death, my body continues to circulate and flow, returning home to its source and mother, the great earth, which has always embraced it.” With this earth-touching gesture, Mara and his forces were dispelled.

At the end of his life, old, ill, and weary, the Buddha was visited one last time by Mara, who tempted him this time with peace and rest. “Now is the time,” Mara said, “for your final nibbana [Sanskrit: nirvana].”

“You need not worry, Evil One,” the Buddha replied. “Three months from now I will take final nibbana.” And three months later, suffering from a severe bellyache with diarrhoea, the Buddha laid down between two Sala trees. Surrounded by tearful disciples, he breathed his last. Mara finally won, as he always does.

Or does he?

The worldview of the Buddha’s ancient Indian culture was the opposite of ours. We are radical materialists with an impressive record of mastery of the physical world. This makes us life-affirming and optimistic. As best we can, we try to avoid the inconvenient fact that we die. We say, why obsess about it? Death comes later, after a long happy life. There’s no use spoiling things by thinking about it. That would be morbid. Anyway, science will stave off death for a long, long time. The best doctors can cure even the worst diseases, and they are discovering new cures every day. Perhaps we will even be able to eliminate death at some point. Who knows? Scientists are working on it.

The ancient Indian view of life and death couldn’t be further from this. In ancient India, life was not long and happy; it was brief and brutal. The daily struggle to survive was arduous and miserable. Disease, starvation, and crushing poverty were the fate of most people. And, as the ancient Indians saw it, even at the end of this terrible lifetime there was no escape. We leave this life only to wander for a time in hideous post-life realms from which we will be reborn into yet another miserable life. This diabolical process goes on and on and on.

The goal then, according to ancient Indians, is not to prolong life; it’s to end this painful process once and for all. This is nibbana: final peace, complete rest, freedom from the beginningless cycle of birth and death.

The word nibanna means “to blow out,” as in blowing out a flame and entering peaceful darkness. Nibbana isn’t death; it’s the opposite of death. Life and death are restless and painful; nibanna is completion, fulfilment. Though old and infirm, the Buddha did not succumb to illness; he transcended it. In entering nibanna he became whole.

For the Buddha, what we call death is ultimate healing. Though the metaphor is the mirror opposite, the nibanna proposed by the Buddha may not be so different from the Christian conception of heavenly eternal life after death.

To be sure, nibanna isn’t the only goal of early Buddhism. Even in the midst of life’s unpreventable difficulties, suffering can be reduced by following the Buddhist path. Though we can never eliminate illness and harm, we can reduce the self-inflicted suffering we ourselves produce when we take a bad situation and make it worse through our resistance and unwise behaviour.

A lifetime of such exacerbation is normal for most of us. It leads to all sorts of bad effects, from making enemies we don’t need to make, to ruining our physical health with bad habits and too much unnecessary stress. If, on the other hand, we practice meditation, ethical conduct, and the other Buddhist virtues, living mindfully and harmoniously, we will have community, cooperation, peace, and love, which will promote and extend our life.

Such is one view of the path set forth in the Buddhist scriptures. It’s the view emphasised in Western Buddhism and in the Buddhist-inspired mindfulness movement. Buddhism is good for you; it accords with the healthy life we all want.

And yet, in Asia throughout the ages, beginning with the Buddha, who nearly starved himself to death, sages put their lives at risk in pursuit of the Way. Why?

As we’ve said, in Buddhism, as in all spiritual cultures, there is an overlap between what we usually think of as physical and emotional wellness and the greater healing promised by ultimate commitment to the path. The Buddhist teachings, as they are interpreted in the West, accord with current scientific research, which has been influenced by them. But the traditional Buddhist canon is full of miraculous stories of physical and emotional healing effected merely by the Buddha’s presence. Jesus and other saints also had the power to heal the sick, and tent revival preachers still cause the blind to see and the lame to throw off their crutches and walk. Faith heals the body and heart by healing the soul. So yes, whether rational or not, spiritual traditions are concerned with our ordinary well-being.

But even when the body can’t be healed, the soul can be. Putting us “right” with our inmost hearts, regardless of our physical condition, is the larger goal of all religious traditions, including Buddhism. If we cling too tightly to physical and emotional healing as our goal, we won’t be able to find spiritual healing when we need it most. Like the Buddha, we can heal, we can become whole, even when we are ill, even as we let go of our life.

Widening the concept of healing in this way necessarily widens our sense of who and what we think we are. If we are the body, and the thoughts, feelings, and memories associated with it, then we’ll want to preserve the body at all costs, and, thus, ordinary healing will be of utmost importance. But all religions, including Buddhism, teach that we are more than the body and its associated mental and emotional states. In Buddhist terms we are also, perhaps most saliently, buddha or buddhanature — awareness itself, luminous consciousness.

The Buddha affirmed that “this Mind, O monks, is luminous, only it is obscured by adventitious defilement from without.” The path purifies these defilement, enabling the luminous mind to shine forth unobstructed. In the later mind-only schools of Mahayana Buddhism, there is much teaching about the nature of this mind, and there are deep meditation practices to help guide us to it, insofar as this is possible. Clearly, mind is not something inside our brains. It is not a state or a condition. It is inside, outside, and everywhere else. It exists and it doesn’t.

In the light of Mahayana teachings like this, the point of the path is to appreciate that this is what we are — as much as, and even more than, the body and its mental and emotional concomitants. To affect this identity shift will enable us to die as the Buddha did — fully and with perfect healing. This is the goal of the Mahayana path.

In Mahayana Buddhism, recognition of this ultimate form of healing, beyond the body and sense of self, has an altruistic and communal dimension. If my body is the sacred instrument through which I appreciate, as the Buddha did, that I am embraced by and identified with both life and death, then I will understand that my desire to be and have more is a painful projection of my fear and separation, born of the ignorance that has caused beginningless suffering. Feeling life in this way, I can’t continue to be selfish. I’ll be motivated by love for all sentient beings, who are my true self, and I will care for them, protect them, and grieve for their losses and pain. To fully live with such a spirit, regardless of my own condition, is the ultimate form of healing.

In Zen Buddhist lore and discourse, the enlightened sages are ordinary people, masters of “everyday mind.” There is, as the saying goes, “nothing special” about them. The implication is that to be a normal, fully functioning, healthy human being is to be a loving, caring, compassionate person, one who takes care of, without being overly concerned about, one’s self. The fact that in this sense almost all of us are abnormal should not deter us from seeking a path to simple normalcy and everyday health — what the Zen masters understood as awakened life. I think we all need to do this, for our own good and for the good of us all.

Sovereign is vision that transcends all dualistic grasping. Sovereign, meditation free of distraction. Sovereign, action of nonaction. When there is no more fear or hope, The goal is won.

-- Tilopa

空有其名

文｜流星

一、由序

學習法義，越發感覺佛法的精奧，但若僅於教理的鑽研，容易令人迷惘，陷於理論推演，而忽略日常生活中，觸對境界的落實。安立名言，本非一定，唯其所闡之宗旨，須契大聖宣說本懷，無非為令眾生悟佛知見，脫凡轉聖。

世尊示教，不惟契理亦兼契機。在學習中，常因各人根器而有不同的理解，依今時語為『學尚自由』，所接受的佛法全憑個人喜好。若依實詮說，皆是無始來所薰陶之偏向不同而有別。這是因人而異！但佛之聖言，豈是以學習者領受之局限及所表現於外的相貌，而有所移易者也！

世尊一味之旨，皆是引領眾生，逕趣言亡慮絕之境。依名言而起的種種覺受、思想，皆不離意識，所以觀察名言、分別之事，應為吾等盡未來際，不可改變之向。

今依唯識、中觀略探，願由意解法義，而生起深刻信心，由粗淺之尋思，進入深細伺察之體認。期運用時，生出堅毅不動之力行，正把妙握，循循漸進──去妄存實！

二、從心意識擇修行關鍵

在《攝大乘論》文中，雖有意並認「一意識師」與「多心論」者，而無性菩薩於《攝大乘論釋》斥言：心意識，義一文異，乃是邪執；也有深慧大德，特為讚許一意識之先進；或於小乘部派，也有認為體一名別之說。

遑論諸說之不同，但若以八識別體而探討心意識，此三者之展轉互動，即可知道凡夫之不能脫苦，皆由於「識」依止「意」，並將所採集雜染法，儲存於賴耶（心）；又依於所藏而再生起現行。

在《瑜伽師地論》卷六三云：「此中諸識皆名心意識。若就最勝，阿賴耶識名心，何以故？由此識能集聚一切法種子故，於一切時緣執受境，緣不可知一類器境。末那名意，於一切時執我我所及我慢等，思量為性。餘識名識，謂於境界了別為相。」阿賴耶識，側重在其能積集種子故名；第七末那之思量，則指其恆常與四煩惱相應，認賴耶為我，又為六識之等無間滅依根而言。在我們現實的境界上，無容置疑的應將重點擺在第六意識──這顯著的分別心，此乃修行的重要關鍵。

再則，凡夫的心識活動，如《注大乘入楞伽經》卷八言：「以心意識妄習為因，陰界入等色心諸法得增長者，愚夫分別謂善不善」，由於能緣識觸對所緣境，而虛妄分別，成善惡業。故須在根塵相合，意識生起的一刻，予以明決，方才謂如理作意。同卷亦云：「言五識取塵，與六七識共俱，六識造善惡業相展轉差別」，此謂造善惡的差別，必依第六意識，故不論如何探討，應擺定第六的染淨取向。於注經中，亦引《法句經》頌：「諸法心為先，為勝及為顯，若人起淨心，說言及作事樂從三善生，隨逐猶如影。」淨心如是，染心生起亦復如是。

雖意識與染末那關係密切，但若特重第六意識，於法義如理思惟，是脫苦的唯一機會。這反動之因，也是由凡向聖的道路，所以若說它是第七識的革命份子，實為恰當之喻。倘能於接觸一切境界時，觀修名言空無，當下截斷一切虛妄分別，則「修行革命」指日可待。

三、於蘊處界尋解脫巧慧

佛陀依「眾生」對「有為諸行」的迷惑，開示三種法要。對迷心者，示色受想行識，唯演心法不展色蘊；對迷色者，則化以十二處，開色而合心；對迷色心二法，俱開而總成十八界。這是約眾生根之利、中、鈍，而有蘊、處、界的差別！

《大乘百法明門論開宗義記》卷一引言：「而此人、法二無我義，廣如俱舍、唯識等說。此中，人法皆稱無我，即對人法皆我相論。而唯識中，我與法別；我種種相，為有情命者等，法種種相，為蘊處界等」，雖說因眾生對於諸行通塞有異，而開立蘊處界，但此中，也確實指出「法」即蘊處界一切法。若將蘊處界中之色心兩支，廣為開展，應可含修二空之理。而且，若修人空、法空成就，方可謂究竟圓滿；故經云若通達無我法者，才能真名為菩薩。又在《辯中邊論．辯真實品》說明蘊處界等，一一攝屬於三性之中；所以若能於彼蘊處界得悟善巧慧──對治成功，即能通達三性，而契證法空觀矣！

《瑜伽師地論．真實義品》在「有」及「非有」敘述中，安立蘊處界等有為法，乃至涅槃的無為法，皆屬於假說自性。漸漸開示對於假立的名，莫執為真，又於離言說性的依他、圓成不可誹撥；如此遠離二邊，才堪稱無上、中道。依彼所述，所有執著都是於蘊處界等一切法，假立名言之後，而謂為有真實性，由是遠離「離言自性」。故欲成功悟入三性，應了知所知境乃是廣指一切法，於此離言說的諸法，益加施設名言而分別、而堅固執著；可謂為生死流轉之根本障處，修行需留意！

《瑜伽師地論》中，聲聞與菩薩所修：一為修我空觀，唯於自身而解脫；一為修一切法空之觀行。若約「空三摩地」論，聲聞是依遠離有情命者及養育者數取趣等， 即可謂成就；若依〈菩薩地〉：「謂諸菩薩觀一切事，遠離一切言說自性，唯有諸法離言自性，心正安住，是名菩薩空三摩地」。由上得見菩薩與聲聞修行之別異， 亦能推知修大乘法空觀菩薩，仍取決於「能觀察名言為假」也。遠離一切言說自性，能修證法空，此可力證名言與摒除法執之相關性。

且約五蘊分析。識是心王、受想行是心所、色法是所觸境，這是心心所因緣和合的活動相貌。當然，若就佛施設「蘊」看來，較偏自身的契證，但此蘊界處之三科開示，是關聯的。如色法能含攝根、塵，所以五蘊可說為觀察自內身解脫之緣境；即等同十二處、十八界中的色法。因此，若廣演則通於一切色法。

聲聞之急入涅槃，應與其長時對修於蘊身的狹隘相關──縱具悲心，終因此心薄弱，及緣修蘊苦之強勝力，而還是擇取久世的入寂。這二者，如同進海之有深淺、照明之有遠近而形成差異，故雖智取蘊處界為所緣，應明見個中含藏之由。

四、再依唯識觀名言契法空

若就唯識所安立一期真果報主──阿賴耶識而言，根身、器界都由此變現。前已說，第六意識是凡夫把握修行的唯一機柄。日常生活歷緣對境之際，又與名言息息相關，而所謂名言，亦即於一切法上，原無而增益計執者，由此繫屬，而成種種虛妄分別。

在《成唯識論》卷二，提到俱生、分別二種法執。經由學習而來的分別法執，唯第六識有：「一、緣邪教所說蘊處界相，起自心相分別計度執為實法。二、緣邪教所說自性等相，起自心相分別計度執為實法。此二法執麤故易斷，入初地時，觀一切法法空真如，即能除滅」，這二種隨邪師學習，而有的分別法執，因相貌較麤顯之故，為初入聖位所除遣。於聖教中，欲轉凡成聖，應栽培正知見、勤修止觀，須從第六識著眼，此又為一佐證。

以斯之故，平常「言說」之「一切法」，或有分成色心、蘊處界、或五位百法、有為無為法、乃至有非有等等諸多種類。不論依何類分，總之皆是於所知境上，安立名字而加以分別。

如以《瑜伽師地論》卷七二說五事──相、名、分別、正智、真如而論；則可說明心識對一切法生起作用的相貌。舉初開始修行為例：世間覺支是依「分別」為自性、「名、相」為所緣、以「正智、真如」為啟發增上力，慢慢地乃到出世間覺支，方可以「正智」為自性，「真如」為所緣，即得觸證。

又在卷七三：「問：遍計所執自性緣何應知？答：緣於相、名相屬應知。問：依他起自性緣何應知？答：緣遍計所執自性執應知。問：圓成實自性緣何應知？答：緣遍計所執自性，於依他起自性中，畢竟不實應知」，在在都表達由分別、執實為由，於一切法、一切事上起執，以此故，聖人能離妄，凡夫則與煩惱常相助伴。

《攝大乘論釋》卷五：「此中安立名為依他起，義為遍計所執，以依他起由名勢力成所遍計故」；而《辯中邊論》：「謂名攝在遍計所執，相及分別攝在依他，圓成實攝真如、正智」，依二文乍見，世親菩薩似乎時云「名為依他」、時判「名是遍計」；又與《瑜伽師地論》云：相名分別為依他、真如為圓成，不列遍計有別。

實際上，應將關鍵置於「執著心」。試依諸法本性而言，可依《瑜伽》攝「名」為依他；但吾人從晝至夜無時不刻、不須思索地，在根塵識觸對時，即如圓測大師嘗言「名即義性」之意契合，這取著為真實而將「名」說成遍計，形容凡夫境界應更為相稱！

又在《瑜伽師地論》卷八一：「一者所詮相、二者能詮相、三者此二相應相、四者執著相、五者不執著相」：「所詮相者」是前所說的五事。「能詮相者」是依止五事而有的種種語言，也就是遍計所執自性相。第三能詮與所詮更互相應，即遍計所執自性執所依止者。第四「執著相」是指諸愚夫無始時來流轉生死，遍計所執自性執及未現行的隨眠煩惱。第五「不執著相」，則是入見諦之位。依此文所述，也還可視為說明「執著」是為樞要。

也如《攝大乘論》卷三所言：「相應自性義，所分別非餘，字展轉相應，是謂相應義。非離彼能詮，智於所詮轉，非詮不同故，一切不可言」，能分別的「識」與所分別的「名」相應；這是造作生死流轉的因。但是，希求聖道的環節，亦復依此相應自性，故謂名雖假立，然用非無，意即此也。

修唯識觀，除遣遍計執，而悟入圓成實性，證得無分別智後，於修道續斷思惑，能證觀一切法如幻如化，漸臻圓滿後得智。故觀名言假安立的一切法，皆是畢竟空，漸契入實相，可謂契證法空之徑！

五、般若亦先破名言契證

《摩訶般若波羅密經．三假品》中，佛於教化諸菩薩學習般若波羅密時，以名假、受假、法假三方面著手。這名、受、法三者，在印順老法師看來：可以譯為「假」，也可譯「施設」；而鳩摩羅什法師譯「假施設」，乃依重疊語來表達其義。

「名假」是於一切法，假安立的名言；這可通於唯識所說的名言。「受假」的受有含容之意，玄奘大師譯為「取」，這表示由因緣所聚集含合而成的一合相，沒有實在性。「法假」為分析至不可分的，仍攝屬於因緣生法的範疇；印老言相當於現今科學所能分析之最小基本元素，此還是屬可變化而無自性的。依《智論》言：「行者先壞名字波羅聶提到受波羅聶提，次破受波羅聶提到法波羅聶提，破法波羅聶提到諸法實相中，諸法實相即是諸法及名字空般若波羅蜜」，波羅聶提是梵語，中云為「假」。這修次第即修般若正觀，若圓滿則法空觀成，第一步得從「名假」著手！

卷八〈散花品〉，須菩提告訴釋提桓因言：「如佛所說諸法但假名，菩薩摩訶薩當作是知，諸法但假名，應如是學般若波羅蜜！」卷廿四〈隨喜品〉中，須菩提問何等是名？佛答：「此名強作，但假施設…一切和合法皆是假名，以名取諸法，是故為名！」凡夫就是依名，而於所有麤細好醜之色法及非色法上，憶想分別而起執著的。

卷廿四〈善達品〉中，佛開示一切法如幻如化，須菩提問及若是如此，那受苦凡夫在何處住呢？佛還是回答：「眾生但住名相虛妄憶想分別中，是故菩薩行般若波羅蜜，於名相虛妄中拔出眾生」，名是假說，所施設的還是由蘊處界而論及一切法，這和合的一切法，都是假名，有為法但有名相而已。依假立的「名」在這二種──色相、無色相中，起執著心取相，似現種種虛妄分別，此為凡夫之境也。故佛云：「諸法無有根本實事，但有名相！」菩薩護生度生，乃從名相中拔其出苦。既學聖言，豈能於修道過程中，不力著於此呢？

若且置深研此派「法空」之事。般若正觀，也還以「除去假立的名言」為初關！約要而言，亦由觀名假施設而破之；此則見同於唯識名言假立之義。名言安立的一切法皆是畢竟空，於修行中之重要性，灼然可見！

六、結語

中觀與唯識二大學派，於一切法相的緣起，立論推理是有顯著差別。

唯識：一切法以阿賴耶識為依，又分三性詮表諸法，凡夫於如幻如化的依他起相上，依止名而分別執著，無卻認有，頓成遍計，故袪除由名而來的分別，可謂契證的關鍵。

中觀：對一切法，始終皆論因緣有、自性空，凡夫執著心，依於性空緣起的法，強為作名而有流轉之生死事。故於此二學論理雖異，但觀修名言為空，此著眼處應無差別。

在學派的深細理論推演之中，有極明顯的差異！若就表面的名辭，思惟而斷：在求證佛法真義路中，分別心與日常生活所面對的名言境，是極重要的關鍵；亦謂凡聖最大差異，是在根塵識三合之時，所採取的態度。

雙林一味之教，是以煩惱寂滅、超脫生死為期。若依「名言」所起分別心為重點而習修，應能通達諸法，契合聖意的！

今略探教理之指，期藉止觀之行，於日常生活觸對動念之間，回轉舊家三毒風氣，而踏實修行！

We can be inspired by tales of enlightenment, where peace is everywhere and even turmoil is OK. But for most of us, the goal should be to work with our ordinary minds and just try to be a little more peaceful and relaxed in our approach to life. If we can become a little more peaceful, it will help us handle everyday problems better, even if big problems are still difficult.

Even so, it can be helpful to remember that the enlightened mind and the ordinary mind are two sides of the same coin. The mind is like the sea, which can be rough on the surface, with mountainous waves stirred up by ferocious wind, but calm and peaceful at the bottom. Sometimes we can catch sight of this peaceful mind even in times of trouble. These glimpses of peace show us that we may have more inner resources to draw upon than we had realised. With skill and patience, we can learn how to be in touch with our peaceful selves.

-- Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

Devotion

by Tai Situ Rinpoche

Today at the request of Samye Ling, I will be talking about devotion. Devotion seems to be a rather easy term, or convenient, and rather easy to sometimes feel that you have devotion, or that you don’t have devotion. Then one can speculate, ‘why is it like this?’ But the devotion itself, when we really look into it, has many levels, and involves many things and many aspects. So, since we don’t have too much time, I will try to go through different particulars of devotion, and hopefully we will gain an overall understanding and picture of devotion as such.

I really don’t know where the English word ‘Devotion’ comes from. What is ‘De’ supposed to mean, what is ‘vo’ supposed to mean, what is ‘tion’ supposed to mean; so I really don’t know what it is. But I know the equivalent Tibetan words, which the English word ‘devotion’ is used for. So, according to that, of my understanding, which is definitely limited of course, but we will look at what I think the word ‘devotion’ is used to translate particular Tibetan words.

We have ‘Te-pa’, ‘Ngu-gu’ and ‘Te-pa, Ngu-pa and Ku-pa’, and these are what the word devotion is representing. So I will be talking about devotion based on what these terms mean to us. Even ‘Yi-chi’ might go into the same category, for which you might say ‘faith’ I think. Somehow all of that goes into the same area or category.

When we describe this, there are different kinds of devotion. For example; you are devoted to a particular course, or a particular person, or to particular things that you want. So, when we say ‘cause’, this means for others. ‘Person’, means whatever that person is, like the leader of that cause, or some particular person that fulfils your needs or whatever. Also, sometimes this devotion shifts. So, you have devotion to one person, or cause, or something of your own interest, and then after some time you change your mind. So, you are no longer devoted to that person, or that cause, or that personal interest, but for something else. You will have another person to whom you might be devoted, another personal interest, another cause. So, a person who changes a lot, always will change, it’s more likely, and a person who does not change a lot, does not change a lot. You see? So that is somehow the habitual pattern. This way there are many different kinds of devotion, as you see.

However, all the devotion, have one kind of vague, but overall characteristic, namely that you somehow are willing to put time, energy, or whatever towards that. Whether it is a common cause, or something that you really want for yourself, or a person who's common cause you are willing to fulfil. So, you devote and dedicate your time. So, in this way, there are all kinds of ways in which your time and energy are dedicated. So, that is overall, vague, and superficial aspect of devotion.

For example, maybe I am wrong, but nowadays in this world people are very, very devoted to money. And they are willing to do anything - I can’t say anything but there are many people who will do anything, many who might do almost anything, and many who will anyway put a lot, to get money. So, they are devoted to money, but for influence, to be somebody for power.  You see? So, there are others devoted to power. And, so this is another kind of devotion.

Then, we Buddhists, especially Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists are supposed to be totally devoted to Enlightenment. So, you are willing to do anything, to dedicate everything to attain Enlightenment or Buddhahood. So, we are dedicated… supposed to be… devoted to that.

When you look at devotion in this way, then you see the general picture. You are able to devote your time, your energy, your ‘face’ – you know what I mean by ‘face’? The ‘face’ means… hmm… o.k., generally people are supposed to be something, right? So, you don’t mind not being that. So, that is ‘face’, and normally in the world if you are not able to fulfil what you are supposed to represent, then you lose ‘face’… not only you but your parents, your great grandparents who died hundreds of years ago, and even the colour of your skin… you know… the race that you belong to loses ‘face’. But, when we are really devoted, then we don’t mind. Take Milarepa for example; he was from quite a well off family, you know, but for Enlightenment, he lived in a cave, instead of a house, and he just ate… what do you call this real irritating stuff… (Laughing) … nettles, yes… he ate that. And he had nothing, sometimes he didn’t even have clothes, and so he totally disregarded everything that is otherwise important. Because he is dedicated and devoted to his cause, the common cause of all sentient beings, to attain Enlightenment, and the personal cause of attaining the freedom and liberation. Also, to the master to whom he found this example, the Buddha, and the personal human being in whom he found this, his Guru Marpa. So, you can see the outcome of devotion – you are somehow devoted, and so can disregard other things. So, this is very strong and extreme way to look at devotion.

Now, the lighter side; that is when we go into a place, that is something very special, where somebody has done something very special, and we admire and are inspired. In this way, for a couple of minutes or hours, we feel devoted; we feel good, somehow a little bit high, and a sense of security. That is also in the family of devotion. So, it is there and we will say, “It was inspiring day…”, “It was moving situation…” So, that has some flavour of devotion there.

So, as we look at devotion as it is, we see these aspects. If we go a little further into the same subject, then we have to go beyond this, because whatever I have described does not happen on, its own you see? Any kind of devotion happens with many other conditions and circumstances. To be very rough, I should say, devotion happens because of compassion. And true devotion and true compassion are one. You cannot have true devotion and no true compassion, so we can consider them as two wings. If your devotion is deep, then naturally your compassion is deep. If you compassion is deep then naturally your devotion is deep. If either one is shallow then the, other is shallow too. So taking things a little bit deeper like this, we see that compassion is also the crucial thing.

So we get devoted to somebody who becomes an example for us, for the common cause, and personal interest. That then is our devotion. And how that person becomes that is because of their devotion you know? And since it’s for a common cause, it has to be mixed with compassion, right? If it is a personal cause, for me, then I have devotion for some body, for my personal cause. Then it also has to be mixed with compassion. So in this way, the cause and condition for devotion, is the devotion itself and the compassion. So the other side of the most important ingredient or conditions for devotion is compassion. That is one more thing then.

Now, when we look at worldly things, which many people are devoted to, and then the spiritual aspect to which people are devoted – what is the difference between the two?  The difference is the depth of the motivation.

Some people can be very, very devoted to their power or their wealth, even just for the sake of having it.  And some people ant to have power and wealth to abuse others, and that is really no compassion there. But normally that is considered evil. Means, well I don’t want to be rude or anything, but that means a little bit, you know, problem up there. If you have any capability and you want to make others suffer, just because you have the ability to cause suffering, then already something is wrong. Of course it is defilement, of course ignorance and all of that, but it goes a little bit beyond that.  When you wanted to have lots of money and you wanted to have a comfortable life, that is worldly of course, but that is not bad. But, if you want to have it so you can exploit others and make them suffer, that’s quite rare, not too many actually, that’s the good news. That means something is very wrong, not only defilement wrong, crazy… I mean let’s say it… little bit mad. Mentally ill, and it’s the same with power. You wanted to have power, alright? Power to do good for others and to protect yourself so others can’t hurt you. You are master of your own life.  You can help others overcome their undeserved problems.    

You know every problem in the whole universe is undeserved problem. Because every sentient being is Buddha, so they deserved to be Enlightened. They don’t have any reason to be suffering in Samsara. Of course they create the karma, of course, but karma is also unnecessary to be created. So then going back; you really wanted to help others through your power, it is also Samsara, but it is good. Somebody who wants a lot of power to make everybody’s life miserable, that is, also sickness, craziness, and madness. It’s not defilement. It’s more than that. It is so defiled it becomes, you know, mental problem.

Now we put that a little bit aside, the sick ones. The mental problem type of worldly devotion for one’s power and money, and so on, we put in a different category. Then all the others, who are not trying to be Enlightened, who are not trying to be liberator of every single sentient being like Buddha; but just ordinary people who are devoted to wealth, power, face… I think you Westerners too, but we Asians re very much looked at by people, or very worried about the ‘face’. Maybe in the West it is more sophisticated, more hidden ‘face’, but still there, very strong. Anyway, this also involves some kind of compassion there, because your heroes to whom you aspire, they’re your example. So, you devote your time and energy to doing certain things because somebody has done it and they are your example. So, they have done good things. They had power and helped people, they had wealth and they have done lots of good things. That way, some level of compassion is also involved there. So your inspiration involves somehow what has been done for others. So, compassion is there.

But, by definition of Samsara, it is something for just this life, right? You do it and become somebody, and you might be sitting right next to the one who’s, example you followed. So you do it just for one life. Dharma, however is for all life, and for the end of devotion, and the effort of Dharma goes very far, forever actually. Until you become Enlightened and what your Enlightenment will be all about and for whom. So in this way it is very far reaching. The worldly things are very short distance and then after one dies, best thing one could be is have a bronze statue look-a-like, but little bit oversized always, and sometimes people can admire and sometimes people can knock down. So that is how far you can reach; sometimes just statue of the head… oversized head, yes… that is the worldly sort of, if you really are devoted and really make it.  Then you will be like that.

Anyway, both involve the similar things. The depth is different. Real motivation have depth or not, that is the difference. Otherwise they involve the same kind of ingredients, the same kind of material. Now, we see, in this way, roughly what devotion really means in one certain way, and what the devotion is, namely devotion itself and compassion. So that is one level.

To go a little bit further into this, the devotion and compassion are both coming from understanding the relevantness of you and everyone else, including Buddha, from heaven to hell, and you. The relevantness, the connection between everything that is, actually the real heart of the devotion and compassion. If you are relevant to Buddha…, and Buddha is relevant to you, then there is a base for the compassion and devotion. If not, then there is no basis, but there is connection. It is relevant.  When Buddha says, “May I attain Enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings,” that includes all of us, right?  And it includes all sentient beings, not just humans, all beings. So it is relevant. When we say, “May I attain Enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings,” then every single sentient being is relevant. Now, right now, my problem, and my suffering, and my qualities, and my happiness is relevant to everyone else. And their suffering, and their ignorance, and their happiness, and their wisdom is relevant to me. The same thing with every single person. The connection is even there physically. How? Buddha says in the sutra, “Every single sentient being has been our mother, our father, our brother, our sister, and everything else,” – everything… name it. So every sentient being has been everything to everyone of us. Not one time, countless times. So that is our connection. This life, everybody has parents, and friends, and enemies, and some people make one very happy, others make one miserable, and all of that is there regardless of how strong or weak, it is there. So in some way, everyone has been everything to everyone. In that way, it is not just relevant, but it is involved; we’re all involved with everyone… you see? There isn’t one single sentient being in the whole universe that each one of us isn’t involved with. And with everything you can think of… good things… bad things…so, so… everything. So in this way everyone is relevant to everyone, including Buddha.  So we have been Buddha’s brothers, sisters, father, mother, you know, everything. Countless times. Buddha is not excluded you see? In this way we are connected to every single sentient being and they are all connected to us. So in this way, the devotion and compassion develops and derives from that.

Also, just in this life, for example, the compassion and devotion, it is also relevant, because if you see somebody suffering, you will have compassion, if you see the relevantness. What is the relevance? I’m not saying that… ‘Oh my brother or sister is suffering,’ not like that… even not think like that, even just straight forward, you know, I’m just born and will just die, and that’s it, no beginning, no end… fine… absolutely fine… still you look at somebody suffering, and if you are a sensitive, kind, clear minded, considerate, mature person, then it is relevant. Because, if you are that person, and that person is you, how would you feel? If you are that person, and they are you, just come across you and even smile at you… how do you feel? You see? So that relevantness you see in yourself. So you can feel what it’s like to be in another’s shoes, and then you feel compassion.

And devotion is also the same thing. Because you see somebody who has done a lot, who’s Enlightened, like Buddha, then you put yourself in Buddha’s place and feel Buddha’s compassion to all sentient beings, including you. And you feel Buddha’s dedication and devotion and effort for countless lifetimes to attain Enlightenment, so you develop devotion to Buddha. Then you sense and know what it takes, and the admiration, the faith, the trust, the compassion, and the concern comes naturally. Like this, the compassion and devotion is involved with the relevantness of you and everyone else, you to Buddha, to Bodhisattvas, to all sentient beings. This way you’re in the middle and you are involved. That is the devotion and that is compassion.

Now, there are so many different levels and different aspects to it, so of course we have to remember that though we have dealt with quite a few things here, this is nothing as far as actually what it is. There is so much more, so let’s go a bit deeper.

Okay. The true compassion and true devotion of your level, of my level, of somebody else’s level, is the personal level of maturity. Intellectually you can speed things up, you can slow things down, you can magnify things, you can miniaturise things, you can do all kinds of tricks.  But, trick is a trick; it is not real. On what level of compassion, what level of devotion that you have, is according to your true maturity. And what level of compassion and devotion you would like to have, is you inspiration. And what level of compassion and devotion you act out, is your expertise. This way, the true devotion and true compassion that is really within each one of us, is our level of maturity on the way to liberation, or Enlightenment; that’s as far as Lord Buddha’s teachings will say. So this is our real maturity. Maybe that might sometimes be more than it appears, sometimes less than it appears. Sometimes we can act much more advanced than our self, sometimes we are not a very good actor, so we really under act. So there is overacting and under acting, but I wouldn’t say anybody under acts intentionally… very seldom, very seldom… unless sometimes there is vested interests… (laughing). Anyway, anyway, the true compassion and devotion, where we are, is our own level.

Sometimes people come to me and tell me they have lots of compassion but no devotion. Sometimes they say they have lots of devotion and no compassion. And other times they say they have both so much they don’t know how to handle… (lots of giggling)… and it drives them crazy, that’s what they say sometimes. And sometimes they’ll say they don’t have any at all. Well, I mean, all of these could be true, could be untrue, you can never tell. And anyway, where we are, is where we are regardless of if we overplay or underplay. It doesn’t make much difference.

Then another thing is to talk about what would be the practical level of devotion and compassion that we in this life can try to reach. That means… a level of compassion and a level of devotion that is true and correct and that will not be stained that will not be lost easily. That is what we should be looking forward to establishing in this life. We Tibetans say a lot about ‘fear of death’. And fear of death means one single thing… because after we die we don’t know what is our next life, we don’t know. Therefore in this life, while we know what we are, and while we remember things that we know, then we do our best to secure it. That is the definition of ‘fear of death’. It doesn’t mean 24 hours you have to be afraid of dying. You go crazy, quite soon actually, if you think like that. It means, use this life meaningfully and value every moment of living time. This time we know we are human beings, quite clear. Therefore instead of taking for granted, and loosing or wasting the time, we do our best to use the time in this life. So that is actually the ‘fear of death.’

This means in this life we have to secure our future. Okay, how best we can secure our future based on compassion and devotion is this…. In this life, if we recognise the essence of our mind, which is the embodiment of compassion and embodiment of devotion, which is most relevant to all the Buddhas and all the Bodhisattvas, and all the sentient beings; if we are able to recognise this in this life, then we are secure. Why? Because, we recognise our nature of mind one time, that will be forever. There is no such thing that you recognise your nature of mind clearly and you have forgotten. You see?

In this way, it is this kind of effort we should put to develop our compassion towards all sentient beings, to develop our devotion towards all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and the masters of the lineage. This is the ‘nature of mind’, the Buddha essence which is the essence of all of us. Of course, the recognition can mean many things. First intellectually recognising, second you just have a glimpse of experience. All of this is not really true recognition. After going through all of that then you finally come home, you see? You finally confirm your ultimate essence, and have realisation of that, the first step of realisation of that. That is little bit before the first level Bodhisattva, but not too far away. In the neighbourhood of first level Bodhisattva. If we are able to recognise and realise the nature of mind, then that should be the kind of aim that we can and should pursue in this life.

If that happens, then all future lives are always better. Even if that realisation doesn’t happen though, of course we shouldn’t worry too much. Because I totally believe, and this is according to the Dharma…. We did not come here by accident. You are where you are right now is not by accident. It happened because you have all the cause, all the conditions to manifest as you are. And if you have done your best in this life with this manifestation, why should your next life become worse, why? See? So in this way, if you have done your best in this life, which definitely you have done in your past life, then your next life will be slightly better or the same. That way we shouldn’t be obsessed by the fear of death. Although not to waste this life is important, we will not be worse in the next life by accident because we are not here in this life by accident.

So in this way, I don’t think we should be desperate about it, but then 100% security of successful passage to Enlightenment is through attaining the realisation of the nature of mind. But one should never misunderstand that for Buddhahood. Buddhahood is very different from that. Recognising the nature of mind is, I think, I should say, you just joined the kindergarten. Yes, then after that Enlightenment is guaranteed. I mean, every sentient beings Enlightenment is guaranteed in principle, but somehow, if you recognise the nature of mind, you will not fall back into the lower realms unless you intentionally wanted to be born to help sentient beings, then that will happen. But, it will not happen by karma though, because all the negative karma of all previous lives is purified in that moment of you recognising you nature of mind. Because there is no Ultimate karma, and so all the negative karma will be purified in that moment.

From there to the first level of Bodhisattva is quite close anyway, that would be the ideal realisation that we can and should pursue in this life and if not, then we should pray that it will be in the next life. So that is the highest or deepest we can go about compassion and devotion. After that you become embodiment of compassion and embodiment of devotion, so it is not really worth talking, you see?

Now I think we see roughly the definition of devotion and compassion, based on devotion, quite clearly.  I hope this is beneficial for you.

Now I’d like to share with you one example. This is my favourite example of devotion. It is little cynical so watch out! But, really very special for me and this really, truly helped me to truly understand devotion in many ways. It’s a story about a great yogi, Drukpa Kunleg. You know he’s an Enlightened person, a great siddha, but he’s very mischievous. So one day he came to a beautiful temple… and I think temple should be like this you know, very beautiful, lots of gold, lots of wonderful things, nice alter and everything, and Buddha image is sitting there, wonderful one. But he is, with due respect, dressed and appearing quite terrible. He always looked like that, never wished etc. etc. Definitely not wearing a robe and very dirty, and I think you can image the worst. So he came into the shrine very disrespectfully, really disrespectfully, and walked right up to the alter and staring at Buddha, not even bowing. And he stood there for a long time staring at the Buddha. Then he said four sentences.

He said; “Long time ago you and I are the same, you are diligent, therefore you got Enlightened. (T.S. you know, sort of made it) I am lazy therefore I’m still wandering around, therefore, I bow to you.”

Then he behaved himself. Then he respectfully did three prostrations to the Buddha. After long staring. You know, it’s like a very old friend that you have been, you know fooling around, and all of a sudden that old friend made it, and you’re still running around. And one day you come to the palace of the old friend. So how would you behave… something like that.

So that is the truth. Buddha is nothing less and nothing more than one of us, same. But Buddha, because of the compassion is Enlightened 2,500 years before us. We, because obviously, slightly maybe having too much good time, I don’t know, but anyway, staying behind. So the devotion to the Buddha comes from exactly the Buddha’s deed. What Buddha is, and also relevantness of Buddha and us. So Drukpa Kunleg bowed to Buddha because he knows that Buddha’s compassion includes him also. So therefore it is relevant.

So this is a very important example for me, because in our society, our culture, devotion is very natural, just part of the family, part of the culture, part of the society. Very much like, if I’m not mistaken, in your society many things like that are, quite natural, maybe not the devotion, but many other things. You don’t have to put any effort it’s somehow built in. The culture becomes almost embodiment of certain things. So like that, the devotion is built in to our society and very natural. But when I come to the West where devotion and compassion have to be explained, it is difficult, because something you always had quite naturally as part of your life, and then somebody asks you about it, because you never thought about it. So you have to really say a lot and be adequate so many times to be more adequate. So in this way, for me, my understanding of devotion or feeling of devotion was there, but Drukpa Kunleg’s example shows me very clearly how to explain it. So that is one thing.

Then another area there, and this is an ordinary Tibetan saying, just worldly saying. But it also says a lot. For example, compassion and devotion is actually honour, isn’t it. If you are an honourable person, with principle, with clarity, you stick to your word, you stick to your commitment, and if you have that kind of grounding, then naturally good things happen. Even some circumstances very, very bad, you can handle it. We have a saying, maybe you will get shocked, but I will say it anyway. “Instead of being a friend with a dishonourable friend, it is better to be a friend with an honourable enemy.”

So this means, even you have an enemy, you know bad things; enemy supposed to harm you and hurt you. That is what enemy is for…(laughing)… but, an honourable enemy does not do that you see. Honourable enemy, if you are close to them, they will take care of you, because now you are being close, no more enemy, right?

Dishonourable friends will pull you apart. So even though friends are supposed to take care of you, honourableness is the most important thing. I think true devotion and compassion also builds on the honour and dedication with honour, which then give us another aspect of devotion.

So this much is enough for us today. Anyway, if you are a Buddhist, it is extremely precious to have the devotion to Buddha, and to you common cause to be Enlightened for the benefit of all, and to the living lineage which represents the Buddha, all the way up to now, and all the way in the future. And have that pure as possible is extremely important. On top of that, the other side is pure compassion, but if you have pure devotion, if you are totally devoted to attain Enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings, then compassion is just there.

So I think the purpose of any of us trying to learn about this is to attempt to develop that. Not so much develop by putting special effort for compassion or devotion, I really don’t know there is such. But to be more honourable, more sincere, more clear in your mind and devote to Buddha and Enlightenment for what it is. And to be compassionate to all sentient beings for what it is. And you have it because of the relevantness of what you are and what they are, and the connection between you and them, between Buddha and sentient beings.  So in this way it will happen naturally.

Okay, let’s dedicate the merit now.

Because compassion is viewed as the seed of the Conquerors’ excellent harvest, the water that makes it grow, and the fruition [that ensures] it will continue to be enjoyed for a long time, I praise compassion at the beginning.

-- Chandrakirti

出离与轮回

慧净法师

1.佛陀一开始讲经说法，就先说苦，把苦摆在前面，这并不是在吓唬我们，而是要我们认清这世间的事实，唯有认清事实、面对事实，这样才能解决事情、突破它、超越它，最后获得解脱。就好像一只凶猛的狗正在吠你、想咬你，这时如果你背对着它而逃跑，反而会被它咬，如果正面面对着它，它反而就吓跑了。面对这“三界无安，犹如火宅”的众苦、六道轮回的众苦，我们要面对它，面对，就会去寻求脱苦的方法。“人有诚心，佛有感应”，只要我们虔诚的追求，总有一天就会追求到解决的妙方。反之，如果不知苦、不晓得离苦，那就要永远受无穷无尽的苦了。为什么？因为人生最多也只不过数十寒暑，再怎么样的苦乐祸福，也只是这几十年而已，可是这一期的生命结束，并非就一了百了，等待我们的，是无穷尽的六道轮回，那岂不是由这短暂的苦，转而进入更广更大更长的苦？解决这三界六道的苦，其实不在天上，而是在我们人间，所以我们要把握有限的人生，追求永恒的解脱。

2.一个人如果不知有三界六道轮回，不信有三世因果的善恶报应，他就会认为人只不过是活一次，没有第二次；他会认为人只不过是死一次，死了就没有了，没有所谓的轮回；他只晓得有现生这一辈子，因此他一生所追求的就是如何使这一辈子快乐。但是如果确信有三世因果、善恶报应、六道轮回，而且了解人生无常、短暂，并且充满种种苦恼，那时他就会努力在这短暂的人生当中寻求未来永恒的解脱、永远的离苦得乐。

3.因为有过去世，才有今生今世，如果没有过去世，就没有今生今世。如果没有解脱的话，就还会还有未来世，那就无穷无尽。但是，如果给阿弥陀佛救度的话，就无所谓过去、现在、未来，因为往生极乐世界之后，生命都是永恒的，不老、不病、不死，永远没有六道轮回，反而有神通自在，可以乘愿还来六道中，救度生生世世以来自己的父母、兄弟、妻子、儿女、六亲眷属。

4.所谓烦恼业障、六道轮回，是真的还是假的？是假的。就像作梦，梦中的苦乐是真的还是假的？是假的。可是对一个没有醒过来的人而言，就一直在作梦，所谓大梦未醒；那如果醒过来的话，他看梦中的人，就清楚那是颠倒的、虚假的、是莫须有的，所谓“梦中明明有六趣，觉后空空无大千”。我们众生都有病，种种的烦恼、忌妒、筹量、分别、执着，这对一个心性比较平静的人来看，那些都是莫须有的。

5.佛性是本来就有的，不需要企求；而且是普遍都有的，你我他都有，天、人、地狱、饿鬼、畜生都有；而且是永恒的，因为它不会改变，也不会消失，只是因为我们都有贪瞋痴的障碍而无法显现，进而因为业力的牵引，使得佛性不但无法显现，反而一直无穷无尽地轮回六道，或者人天、或者驴胎马腹，或者地狱饿鬼，像运行的车轮一样，没有起头，也没有终点，一直在轮转。这个轮转的众生，如果没有恢复佛性的话，那就会一直轮转下去、一直痛苦下去。

6.学佛就是要脱离轮回、要成佛，这样讲起来，唯有念佛，信受弥陀对我们的悲心救度，才是真正的学佛，否则虽然学佛了，还不算圆满，为什么？因为还未出轮回。

7.我们这个肉体还在这个世间，还没有往生极乐世界，在有生之年难免还存在凡夫的心，贪着眷属，甚至贪着一切，所谓见惑思惑的贪瞋痴，以及微细的尘沙惑与根本无明无法降伏、断除，但是我们要清楚了解，不管如何，我们就是要往生极乐世界！

8.我们之所以有生命，不是因为有这个肉体，而是因为有阿赖耶识。阿赖耶识含藏着过去世以来三业行为的善善恶恶，我们所含藏的其实都是贪、瞋、痴、慢、疑，恶多善少，所以才会在六道里边来来去去头出头没。如果旷劫以来，阿赖耶识所含藏的没有贪瞋痴慢疑的话，那就会升华、超越三界六道轮回了。

9.我们之所以求救，要寻找一个彻底安稳的依靠，是因为我们都有罪业、都会堕落三恶道、都会永在六道轮回，所以必需要依靠一个能够让我们永远安稳不再入六道轮回的胜易妙法。

10.三界凡夫随业力自然升沉六道，自然受苦乐果报，故现今所见的大自然是凡夫共业使然，尚在三界，应当远离。昙鸾祖师说三界是“虚假、污染、颠倒、破坏、轮转、无穷”，“三界是生死凡夫流转之暗宅”，“三界是有漏邪道所生，长寝大梦，莫知悕出”。

11.所谓“世间”，三界都是世间，人的五戒、天的十善，乃至色界、无色界天的禅定，都还在六道轮回里面，这些就凡夫来讲是善业。可是如果跟信受弥陀救度、愿生弥陀净土、念佛往生极乐世界比较的话，那么这些善业也是恶业，不是真正的善业。

12.除非没有善恶报应、六道轮回；如果有的话，以善恶报应、六道轮回的镜子来反照自己，就知道自己几乎没有解脱的希望，而且地狱之火已经燃烧到自己的脚底了，将来一定堕落地狱。

13.修行者最后如果没有解脱生死轮回，或是没有往生极乐世界，只会在六道中轮转，来来去去。过去的无明引起现在的果报，现在的业力又引起未来的轮回，遇到善的因缘就行善积德，遇到修行的因缘就修行，遇到坏的因缘就造业，总之都是在六道中往返来去。

14.娑婆世界五浊恶世的众生，因为他们的业很杂，亦即他们的身口意很杂，千差万别，因此得到的苦乐境界也千差万别。生在人间就有所谓“四苦”、“八苦”，心理上的苦、生理上的苦、环境上的苦；六道当中每一道的苦又各不相同，所以说“苦乐万品”。以恶业来说有十恶，善业就有十善，当中各有轻重，所以感得的果报就有四生、苦乐万品、眷属若干。这是娑婆世界的情形。

15.人生是苦，千百万种苦。婚姻不美满，家庭不和顺，儿女不合心意，是最大的苦，要知道这些都是因缘和合、是讨债的。最根本的苦是轮回，一定要往生，否则，未来之苦将仍无尽。

16.不知道有三界六道轮回、善恶报应的人，他是悠悠忽忽地在过日子；知道的人，就会心有不安。这种不安，有时候是没有办法形容的，越是知道佛法，就越有那股“生死事大，无常迅速”的道心。

17.《法华经》言：“三界无安，犹如火宅，众苦充满，甚可怖畏。”世间之惬意事、乐事，都是相对，非究竟。乐是苦因，一息不存，便是来生，六道四生，随业受报，轮回未出，必堕地狱。若能体会地狱之痛苦，则一刻也不能自安。深悟无常，切求出要。

18.世间一般人都要追求富贵，都要完成高学历，追寻无边的知识，但不管他有多高的学历，多丰富的学问，如果他不相信有善恶报应，不知有三世因果、六道轮回，佛陀则说他是一个愚痴的人；反过来说，一个人即使没有受教育，不认识字，毫无文化，可是他相信有善恶报应、有三世因果、有六道轮回，而且也预先为自己寻找、准备解脱六道轮回的方法，那佛陀就会竖起大拇指，称赞他是一个有智慧的人。

19.人生每过一天就等于更接近地狱一天，再怎么样的功成名就，死了还是要跟阎罗王见面，还是要继续轮回。只在物质上帮助他、救济他，是一种世间善与慈悲爱心。若能进而让他了脱生死轮回，让他不再轮回、不再反覆受同样的苦，甚至能够让他成佛，永离六道轮回，这一种慈悲，岂不就是大慈悲！这种智慧，岂不就是大智慧！所以，从这一点来讲，弘扬净土法门的人，可以说是大慈悲、大智慧。

20.修行的目的就是要了脱生死，生死不了，危险太大；轮回未出，难免堕落。只要没有出离轮回，就难免在未来的生生世世当中堕落三恶道。

21.人人都可念佛，人人都可往生，所以，一切众生如同大海中的水族，而阿弥陀佛的救度如同大网，绝无漏网之鱼。

22.人生的苦，就是众生都具有贪瞋痴，瞋就像火，贪就像海，所以释迦牟尼佛说三界是火宅、六道是苦海，从地狱一直到非想非非想处天，到处都是苦海、都充满了大火，可说娑婆世界是众苦充满。而极乐世界怎么样？《阿弥陀经》说：“彼土何故名为极乐？其国众生，无有众苦，但受诸乐，故名极乐。”

Subhuti, do not think that when one gives rise to the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind one needs to see all objects of mind as nonexistent, cut off from life. Please do not think in that way. One who gives rise to the awakened mind does not deny objects or say that they are nonexistent.

One who gives rise to the awakened mind should know that what is called a self or a person, a living being or a life span, is not so in essence but only in concept. The names of self, person, living being, or life span are names only. Subhuti, you should know that all the things of the world are like this, you should have confidence in their essence without names.

-- The Buddha, Diamond Sutra