学佛必须明白因果

昌臻法师

因果问题，属于佛教的基础理论，也是佛法的核心。不明白因果，就不可能真正懂得佛法。所以，弄清因果问题，是学佛的一个重要前提。下面分四个问题谈：

一、因果规律和它的重要性

因果，又叫业、因、果、报。业：梵文译音，意为造作、活动。指一切身心活动，包括身、口、意“三业”。包括善业、恶业、无记业（不受果报的）。这个看不见、摸不着的业，却有很大的力量。可以说，我们人生是受着业力支配的。业就是因。因，就是原因，也叫业因。果，是结果。报，是报应，是回报。缘，就是条件。因缘结合，才产生果报。佛经偈语早已说得明白：“假使百千劫，所作业不亡（亡失，消失），因缘会遇时，果报还自受。”

我们凡做一件事，说一句话，甚至起一个念头，都是在种因，在造业。根据所种的善因或恶因，即造的善业或恶业的不同，都会受到不同的果报。概括说，善有善报，恶有恶报。具体地说，有什么样的善因，就什么样的福报；有么样的恶因，就什么样的苦报，这都是有一定的。这是客观的规律，称为因果规律。

业因果报与生死轮回是密切相关的。我们人生，生了要死，死了要生，生生死死，死死生生，就是由因到果，由果到因，相续不断，形成轮回不停的现象。我们的生命，生从哪里来？死往哪里去？都是受业力支配的。业力好像是种子、信息，它储存在第八识里面。第八识又叫“含藏识”，它是储藏信息的，好象是“精神磁带”，它把一个人前世做的善、恶业带到现世来；又把今生所造的善、恶业带到后世去，就这样轮回不息。我们的身体叫报身，接受果报的主体就是第八识。《八识规矩颂》说，第八识是：“去后来先作主公”。父母生我之前，是它来投胎，所以是“来先”。人死后，脉搏、呼吸都是停止了，第八识还没离开，要到全身冷透时才说明它离开了。所以是“去后”。“作主公”，说明它支配一切，大脑皮质也是属于它支配的工具。它一旦离开人体后，大脑皮质虽然完好，也不起作用了。美国医生穆迪著的《死后见闻》一书（1989年黑龙江教育出版社出版），记录150名死后复生的病员的自述，大部份人说，自己站在躯壳旁边，看见亲人在啼哭；他们讲话，亲人听不见，去拉亲人的手，别人也没有感觉。这证明佛教说的第八识能离开躯壳成为中阴身去投生的观点是可信的。

死了以后往哪里走？这是由业力支配。什么业力？就是善、恶的业力。所以，十善十恶是六道轮回形成的业因，六道轮回是十善十恶应受的果报。

什么是善？利人是善。利人，其实是人已两利，也可以说，利人就是利己。

什么是恶？害人是恶。害人是人己俱害，害人终害己，以害人开始必然以害己告终。

佛经说，善恶分成十种，每种又分为上、中、下三等，叫十善十恶。十恶就是：一杀生；二偷盗；三邪淫（属于身三业）；四妄语；五两舌；六恶口；七绮语（属于口四业）；八贪；九嗔；十痴；（属于意三业）。反过来说，便是十善：一不杀生而放生、护生；二不偷盗而布施；三不邪淫而修梵行（清净行）；四不妄语而说诚实语；五不两舌而说调解语；六不恶口而说柔和语；七不绮语而说直质（正直、朴实）语；八不贪而修不净观；九不嗔而修慈悲观；十不痴而修因缘观。

这十善十恶分成三品，就是三个等级。佛经说：作了上品十善的人生天道；中品十善的人生人道；下品十善的人生阿修罗道（属于天龙八部之一，有福报，有神通；但凶恶好斗）。犯上品十恶人的人堕地狱道；犯中品十恶的人堕饿鬼道；犯下品十恶的人堕畜生道。这是佛陀以慧眼观察六道轮回的现象，亲口开示的。我们绝对要深信不疑。因果规律是客观存在的，不是佛陀制造出来约束众生，而是佛发现并揭示出来教育我们的。佛菩萨也要受因果规律的制约。所以佛经说：“菩萨畏因，众生畏果。”近代高僧印光大师说：“诸佛成正觉、众生堕三途，皆不出因果之外。”虚云大师说：“因果二字，是一切圣凡世间出世间都逃不了的。”因果分为染净两类：诸佛菩萨修因证果，修的清净因，修的菩萨行，发的菩提心，所以证到的是清净的果；而我们众生造的是污染因，结的是污染果。星云大师说：“因果比电脑还准确。因为电脑会发生故障，因果是丝毫没有差错的。所以真正懂得因果规律的人，就知道没有冤假错案。憨山大师当年受了冤案，别人要帮他说人情通关系，他说，用不着，这是偿报呀！因果好像带在你身上的“窃听器” ，甚至比“窃听器”还厉害，“窃听器”对说出来的，它才能记录下来。这个“窃听器”哪怕你起心动念，它都能准确地记录下来。

二、因果贯通三世

《涅槃经》说：“善恶之报，如影随形；三世因果，循环不失。”（不会中断，失误。）可是，有些人认为：人生一切都是偶然，没有什么前因后果 。有人看见好人受恶报，恶人受善报，便怀疑因果。有人说：死了死了，死了便了。如果一死便了，人生就没有价值；学佛修行，就无意义；而一贯作恶的人，就太便宜了。归根到底都是由于不懂因果贯通三世的道理。佛经说得好：

欲知前世因 今生受者是（果报）

欲知来世果 今生作者是（业因）

这说明我们今生所受的善恶果报，都是自己前世所种的业因。比如今生病苦多，那肯定是过去生中杀业太重。而今生所作所为，又该来世去受果报。

种下业因，必受果报，但有早迟的不同。大体上，有三种情况：

1。现报：今生做善事，今生享福报；今生做恶事，今生受恶报。

例如，四川日报登载一件事情，万县市一个公司的副经理，平时爱帮别人的忙，几次跳下水救人。一天，他坐出租车办事返家，经过一条路，平时常堵车，今天却很顺利的通过了。到了江边，听说有小孩？进水里了，他立即停车，跳入水中，抓起这个女孩，原来到竟是他的亲生女儿。觉得脚下还有人，抓起一看，是他的侄女，他把这两个女孩子都救上岸来，自己昏倒了。女孩的妈妈、婆婆闻讯赶来，看见小孩还活着，想感谢救命恩人，回头一看，才是他们的亲人。报纸这样评说：“无巧不成书。”佛教的观点来看，不是巧合，而是受业力的支配。因为他平时多种善因，所以就遇善缘（缘，指条件、机遇等）；善因与善缘结合，便产生善报。

另外一个例子，新民晚报登载的：江苏某县一个中年妇女，同一个男子走到江边，听见有人喊“救命！”男子准备去救人。而这个妇女竟说：“少管闲事，我们走路要紧，过一会他会自己浮起来。”旁边一人生气地说：“这女人的心肠太坏了！”后来那位男子还是去把人救了起来，是一个十三岁的初中女生，骑自行车掉入水中，因落水时间过长，已经死了。这女生是谁？原来是那位妇女的亲生女儿。围观的人都说：“这真是现眼现报！”这是恶业的支配，平时种的恶因，必然招来恶报。

2。生报：今生作善、作恶，来生享福、受苦。

父母积阴德，子孙享福报，也属于这类。用同仁堂的例子来说明。同仁堂有二百多年的历史。它的祖先信佛，求功名不成便想做济世活人的事，就开中药店，很认真做药品。一种中成药，需要高温后的黄金做原料。他把家中妇女的金首饰集中起来用。亲友笑他：“像你这样做生意，本钱都要蚀光。你就在广告上写出，用有黄金就行了，买主又看不见。”他却说：“我们每做一件事情都在种因，种了善因，不会得恶报。”仍坚持用了黄金。果然，这种药品疗效很好，生意兴隆。他家两百多年来，又发财又发人。解放后，公私合营，最后一任老板叫乐松生，把全部生产资料无保留的交给国家，被任命为北京市副市长。同仁堂总号主要负责人仍然是他的亲属。他还把秘方全部捐出来。家人劝他要留一点作后路，他不同意，说：“政府的力量大，可以救济成千上万的人，这就是种善因，自然会得好报。”结果，政府给他分红，经济上也有很好的收益。说明这个资本家懂得因果报应。

3。后报：现在作善作恶，到第二，第三世，甚至百千劫后才能受报。

例如，唐代悟达国师，四川人，年轻时出家。一次，在长安一个寺庙挂单，当时一位僧人害病，身体很臭，许多人都感到厌恶，他却去护理。那位僧人病愈，分手时对他说：“你以后有什么灾难，可以到四川彭县一个山上来找我。”后来，他当了国师，外国进贡沉香木椅，皇帝都不敢用，供养给悟达国师。他便产生自满，放松修持，马上就遭到恶报，生了一个人面疮，很痛苦。于是，他去彭县找那个僧人。僧人说：你几百年前在汉朝曾种下一个恶因，现在才受报。原来，他是西汉时代的一个大官，叫袁盎。他的一个同事叫晁错。当时皇帝要削减诸侯的力量，晁错建议，削减诸侯兵权，致使诸侯联合起来围攻中央政府，皇帝吓坏了。袁盎乘机进言，就说不是皇帝的意思，而是晁错的主意，把晁错杀了。晁的冤魂一直想报复。可是，袁死后下一世出家，十世都是高僧，晁无机会报复，直到袁当了国师，坐上沉香木椅而骄傲时，他的修行一退转，护法神便离开了。这样，晁错才找到了报复机会。这时，悟达国师找到了彭县这位高僧，把他的冤业解了才得救。后来，悟达国师留下一个著作《三昧水忏》，序言上，他把用三昧水治好人面疮的事叙述出来。这说明，几百年前种的因，缘法（条件）成熟了，必然受报。

后两种果报，凡夫虽然看不见，但应知道，有因必有果。从今生所受的，可推知前因；从现在所作的，可以预测后果。必须相信：“善恶到头终有报，只争来早与来迟。”

为什么恶人会有善报？这是由于他过去生中培植的善根深厚，现在善缘又先成熟，因此先享福报；如果他今生不作恶事，福报就更好。至于他今生所种的恶因，也不会自行消失，因缘成熟时，必受应得的果报。

为什么善人会受恶报？这是由于他过去生中所造的罪业深重，现在恶缘先成熟，所以先受恶报。这好似果园里种了几批水果，第一批品种虽然不好，但先成熟，当然先结果，先受报；第二批虽是良种，但后成熟，还没有结果，自然以后才受报。如果他今生不行善，恶报会更重；另一方面，他今生所种的善因，也没有白种，将来必受相应的福报。故先见恶报。

三、转变全由心念

因果既是有一定规律，可以认识的；但又不是刻板的。这和算命、看相的“铁板数”不同，那个是庸俗的“宿命论”，认为一切都是“命中注定”的，不能改。从佛法因果观来看，我们现在时时刻刻在受果报，时时刻刻又在种业因。因缘既可以改变，果报怎么不能改变批！因缘变了，果报一定会变。

佛法是从根本上揭示命相的原理和由来，但并不主张看相算命。因为这是舍本逐末，徒劳无益的事。一个人的相和命，算也是这样，不算也是这样。只有从根本上改变现在的因缘，才能转变未来的果报。明代袁了凡，由一位叫孔先生的给他算命，算的很准，他哪一年考上秀才、举人，哪一年当知县，哪一年该死，等等。后来遇上云谷禅师，给他讲了：改变命运，全由心念，必须多做善事。从此孔先生算的完全不灵了。算他只能当知县，结果调到中央机关工作；算他只能活53岁，结果活到74岁；算他没有儿子，结果生两个儿子，并都成材。他总结一生改造命运的经历，写成《了凡四训》。佛教界的大德高度评价此书，说明了命运是可以转变的。

转变的关键是什么？就是自己的心念，因为“一切唯心造。”心能造业，也能转业，即“转变由心”之理。唐代禅宗六祖惠能大师说：“一切福田，离不开自己的心。能从自己的心田去寻找，是没有得不到感通的。”所以，相随心转，境随心转，命自己立。儒家说：“祸福无不自己求之者。”也说明这个道理。

四、学佛人应这样看待因果

1。必须深信因果，才能树立正知正见。

因果是佛法的核心，不信因果，不可能真正懂得佛法，更不可能得到佛法的利益。虚云大师说：“因果二字，把佛所说的法概括无余了。”当代高僧定因法师在《普门品讲义》一书中说：“世尊说法四十九年，总括一句话，不外‘因果报应’四字而已。所以修学佛法的人，要深信佛说善恶因果规律，知见才算正确；否则，若不深信佛说善恶因果律，那就叫做邪知邪见了。”可见，不信因果规律就是邪知邪见，就是愚痴。《观无量寿经》把“深信因果”列为修净业的正因。虚云法师提出：办道（即学佛、修行）的首要条件即“深信因果”。我们只有在深信因果的基础上，才能自觉地止恶行善。这样，既能转变并消除过去的恶业，又能培植现在和未来的福德。

2。必须按因果规律办事，不能错因果。

佛经说：“菩萨畏因，众生畏果。”菩萨深明因果，知道既种恶因，必受恶报。因而从言行上，甚至在起心动念处，严防种错了因，就避免受恶报。而凡夫不畏因果，平时纵贪嗔痴，犯杀盗淫，大胆妄为，什么坏事都敢做。直到恶报现前，才恐惧后悔，已毫无用处。我们学佛的人，应学菩萨修行，一方面净化身心，检点言行，处处止恶防非，不再种恶因；一方面时时为众生设想，多做利人的事，广种善因。这是一条我们应当遵循的利己利人，对自己、对家庭、对社会都有益的光明大道。要想了生死、出轮回、生净土、成佛道，也必须从这里做起。

总起来说，因果规律是佛法的核心，不懂因果，就不懂佛法；不信因果规律，就得不到佛法得利益。大家都应认识因果，深信因果，按因果规律办事。现在多种善因，现在将来必定消除业障，增长福报。现在种念佛的因，将来必获往生的果。

In Buddhist practice — and for that matter in any and all activities — the key element is motivation. Suffering saturates life, and the eventual elimination of the suffering of all beings is the main motivation. Such motivation and the activities that flow from it are called bodhicitta, the “heart of awakening.” Bodhicitta includes loving-kindness and compassion.

-- Dza Kilung Rinpoche

Always Mindful of Being Contented

by Venerable Yen Pei

Most of us are not contented with the things we have, but always think that we lack this and that. We wish to get hold of this and that as our own possessions, thinking that the more we have, the merrier we are. In the Buddhist texts, this mentality is described as "the insatiable mind that craves for more of everything".

A Buddhist should always be mindful of being contented. As long as one has clothes to wear, any material would suffice. As long as one has three meals to eat, even plain rice and coarse tea can make one's stomach full. There is no need to seek sumptuous food or rare delicacies. As long as one can walk and cover the distance, there is no need for vehicular transport.

Contentment is important, whether in conducting oneself in society or in one's spiritual practice. A contented person will not let poverty hinder his spiritual practice, but will become even nobler in character. Therefore, it is said that contentment is the greatest wealth. A wealthy person who lacks contentment is poor indeed. Those who renounce the worldly life live with contentment and few desires. Even though they live in simplicity and frugality, they do not regard it as suffering. This is indeed praiseworthy and exemplary.

Money and property is easily lost and can give rise to disasters, thus making people sorrowful and fearful day and night. From the Buddhist standpoint, wealth does not depend on whether you possess money and treasures, but whether you possess meritorious virtues. Therefore, a Buddhist should seek the Dharmic treasures of faith, discipline, generous giving and wisdom. These treasures will never get dissipated. It is gaining such Dharmic treasures that one truly acquires great wealth which brings ultimate happiness.

Through its pure light a sunlike awareness illuminates ignorance; this supreme awareness transforms every experience into sublime bliss, the way alchemy changes base metal into gold. 

-- Mahasiddha Saraha

谈皈依

堪布卡塔仁波切

无始以来，我们一直处於六道轮回中。如果我们生於舒适环境并具备健全心理，这是由於前世累积功德；如果我们遭受痛苦，这是由於前世累积恶业。无论是何种情况，我们都尚未达到最后究竟及绝对本体，原因是我们缺乏正确的皈依基础。

　　

一般人，尤其是现代西方人，初闻诸佛菩萨名号而陷入自我疑惑时，他们可能感觉有一条大鸿沟隔开他们与已开悟众生，以为平凡众生是不可能开悟的。事实上，开悟者曾经像我们一样――受情绪所支配，他们能够达成开悟，是因为修道之初皈依三宝――佛、法、僧。

　　

所有佛教的宗派都有皈依，由一位心灵上师在正式仪式中授与的。本质上，皈依是尊敬和信赖佛、法、僧的一种表达――佛陀即净化和圆满，佛法是引导开悟的教义，以及尊贵的僧伽、菩萨们。佛法透过僧伽(菩萨们)得以继续弘扬。

　　

皈依佛，是承认自己的潜能可以体验开悟的境界；皈依法，是承认由於自己倚赖拙劣方法来处置自己的困惑，迄今仍困在期望和恐惧的循环中；皈依僧，是承认信赖法侣(上师)之指导、鼓舞、开示的重要，原因是：若和保持原始纯净之佛陀教示的相续传承失去联络，这个人在修道过程中就无法进步。

　　

皈依的三宝中，唯有“佛”被认定是究竟的皈依，我们可用病人寻求治疗法的例子来了解，即使是生病，他或她仍可能痊愈，皈依“法”就像吃药，皈依“僧”就像遵照医师的指示。一旦他被治愈，就不再需要任何药物或医学院疗。同样的，一个人若成佛了，就不再需要皈依“法”及“僧”了。

　　

不论我们是在最初皈依仪式下、或每天修持时间开始来皈依的，在大乘传承中，我们持著一份大愿心皈依，以期奋斗到底直到开悟，且要奉献己力以助所有众生无一例外均达究竟开悟，这是菩萨无条件的悲愿。皈依时，如果发心革除恶习，并且产生为众生著想的积极态度，那么不论我们的习气多重，这悲愿终将领导我们到达开悟的境界。

　　

依照金刚乘(密宗)，皈依对象有六个，除了佛、法、僧外，行者尚得皈依三根本：上师、本尊、勇父空行及护法。上师是加持的根本，三宝的化身，尤其是佛陀的化身。本尊是诸佛的示现，以不同的形相具体地显现佛性，以便行者能按照自己的根器去修持，而行者修持其身、口、意与本尊之身、口、意契合时，便显示本具的佛性。因此，本尊是成就的根本。而勇父、空行母和护法是觉悟的众生，他们藉四种佛行实践以去除业障，这四种佛行是息、增、怀、诛，因此。他们被称为佛行的根本，以使佛法得以传扬延续。

　　

皈依的六个对象中，上师是最重要的。佛陀在世时，曾预言於未来末法时代，佛陀将化身为上师形相示现给需要他的指引保护的众生，因而，如果我们视上师为佛陀，便可体验到同沾佛陀化身的法露。

　　

“上师”通常是指已开悟的师父，他已完成广泛的训练，已达到心灵体悟的高层次，且依照一套有根本、完整的传承来传法。西藏的上师能以大智慧、大悲心无犹豫无差别地对待众生，通常被冠称“仁波切”，意指“至高至尊”。

　　

一般人不一定明白师徒关系的本质，因此，来了解为什么上师是必要的？了解弟子对师父的职责为何？是很重要的。纵使我们有与生俱来的聪慧且能接触佛法，但是缺少上师的引导，我们仍然很难在修道上有所突破。这未开悟之心智尚被无始以来累积的习气冲动指使着，若无上师超凡的洞察力和引导，是很难克服的。上师的宽大与悲心，给我们一个机会、改变观察有情世界的习惯性方式。在上师完全无私中，我们找到一面观察真我的镜子，如果我们了解这情况，学习如何对治，那么我们的修持就更有效益了。

　　

因为师徒关系的特质，以虔诚态度来对待上师是极重要的。传统上，经过一段相互考验时期，师徒关系形成，并在修道的阶段一直持续著。修持方法中的智慧与熟练，上师能够洞悉这位弟子的需要与能力，然后教了正确的静坐修持。当弟子有了进展时，上师便给予各种金刚乘修持的灌顶，经由这些直接传承的加持，使观想者能成功地修持。密乘修持是相当深奥、精妙，如果正确地修行，便能即身成就，若是修持不正确——由於错误的动机、了解或行为，就会导致更大的困惑和苦难，因此，众生想直接修持达到开悟，那么一位上师的个别指导是绝对必要的。

Child, if grasping obscures your view, don’t be timid about cutting it away.

-- Mahasiddha Padampa Sangye

The Nature of Self

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Good morning, my dear friends, my dear Sangha. Today is the 21st of July, 1998, and we are in the Upper Hamlet. I would like to tell you the story of Blanche. Her Vietnamese name is To, which means "white," and today we call her Blanche. Blanche was a little blind girl who lived with her father and her mother in a little house, at the foot of a mountain where there was a large forest. Her father was a very loving father, and he had made her a flute from bamboo. Blanche played the flute very well. She was a very talented young girl, and she had discovered how to play the flute by herself. Before she was blind, she did not play every day, but after she became blind she would go to the forest and play every afternoon.

Blanche was blind because of a chemical that was sprayed on the mountains and the forests in Vietnam, during the war. Guerrillas hid themselves in the jungle and on the mountains, and the pilots could not see them; therefore they flew aeroplanes over the mountains and the jungle to spray the forest with Agent Orange. After a week all the leaves would fall, and the trees become bare, then the movement of troops could be seen from an aeroplane, in order to bomb and kill the enemies. And one day when Blanche was playing her flute in the forest, an aeroplane came and sprayed the chemical, and it fell on her, and that is how she became blind.

One day she heard that her father died as a soldier in a battle. She could not believe it. How could a person die? She didn’t know what death was, except that one day she had seen a little bird dead, close to her house, and no matter what she had done the little bird could not be revived. She was not going to see her father again, because her father was like the dead bird. So she lived only with her mother. When she heard that her father had died, she was very sad; and that was why she played the flute every day, in order to relieve her sorrow. She was crying, and telling everyone, every tree, every cloud, every insect in the forest of her pain and her suffering, and that is how she got relief. Playing flute was her everyday practice to gain more peace, more calm and so on. No one could help her, except the flute. Her mother had to cut wood, and transport it to the nearby market to sell, so that she could buy the things she needed. Blanche used to accompany her to the market, pulling the wooden cart, so that her mother wouldn’t have to push too hard. After she became blind, she was still able to help her, and she went with her mother to the market to sell wood. Her mother always bought something in the market for her to eat before they went home, a cake wrapped in banana leaves, or something like that.

One day when Blanche was playing the flute in the forest, she heard someone approaching. She stopped playing, and asked, "Who’s there?" There was no answer, and she asked again, "Who’s there? What is your name?" There was still no answer, but she knew that there was someone very close to her. Finally, she heard someone walking close to her, and then someone began to speak in a very funny way — it seemed that someone did not know how to speak. "My…my…my name is…Peter." It was a little boy about eleven or twelve. His Vietnamese name is Thach Lang; translated into English, that is "Stone Boy," and that is why I use the name Peter, because Peter or Pierre also means "stone boy."

"Where did you come from? How old are you?" She kept asking him that question. When she had heard a few words from Peter she knew already that this was a young person, a boy. Although she could not see, her way of listening was wonderful and she could already visualise the young man. He was very silent. He tried to say something, but it seemed as though he did not know how to speak the human language. Finally he could say that his name was Peter and that he came from the top of a mountain very far away. That is all the information she got. She said, "Come over here," with a lot of authority. So Peter came, and Blanche used her ten fingers in order to explore his face. She smiled. "I was right, you are twelve years old, and your face is in the shape of a mango." In fact, his face was in the shape of a mango. They became friends very quickly. Amazingly, during one hour of sitting and chatting together, he learned a lot of words, and they began to speak to each other. He began to tell her what was around them, the kinds of trees, and the colours of the trees, the colours of the leaves, the colours of the trunks. At that time the trees were beginning to grow new leaves.

Blanche invited Peter to her home, and they were given dinner by her mother. This was the first time that Blanche had had a guest in her house, and this boy was a wonderful boy. He did not say much, and it was very difficult to get information about where he had come from, who his father and mother were. Blanche’s mother was very careful because she did not want to touch the seed of suffering in anyone — maybe the father of the boy had already died in battle, maybe his mother was sick — so she was very careful not to ask too many questions. Blanche also learned the way of her mother, and she stopped asking questions. But they continued to talk, and after dinner, they went out and played near the brook, and she asked him to tell her what he saw around him. Because of that exercise, he continued to learn how to say things.

Peter stayed many days in that home and became a real brother to Blanche. They were very happy as friends, and he learned to call the mother of Blanche "Mommy." So the two children helped Blanche’s mother to put the logs on the cart, and they helped her to pull and to push the cart to the market. During the trip, Peter continued to describe to Blanche everything that he saw around. At one time she said, "Peter, you are my eyes. With you around, I am no longer blind. It is wonderful to have you with me. Don’t leave me, because as long as you are close to me, I don’t have the impression that I’m a blind girl any more. " She was very happy.

But something awful happened during that day. There was fighting breaking out in the market, there was bombing, there was shooting, there was burning of the houses, and the two children lost their mother. She was going to a shop to buy some kerosene for the lamp, but because of the fighting she got lost. And they did not know whether she died or whether she was kidnapped by someone. After waiting and waiting until the sun was about to set, they decided to go home and take refuge in their home. They cried a lot, especially Blanche, and on day Peter proposed that they set out on a journey to find the mother who had been lost. Both of them believed very strongly that if they could find the mother, then everything would be fine again. Remember, that is what they believed: if we are able to find our mother again, then everything will be alright again — there will be no war, there will no fighting, there will be no chemical poisons, and everything will be fine again. That was their strong belief. Blanche believed that when her mother gave her birth, that she also gave birth to the mountains and rivers around her, and the birds, the fish, the streams, and everything. She believed her mother to be someone who could create her and create the cosmos around her, and that if something was wrong, it was because they had lost their mother. If they were able to find their mother again, then everything will be fine again. So the purpose of the two children was to find Mother. I think all of us believe the same thing, we are still trying to find our mother.

(Bell)

I know something about Peter. That day, sitting on the top of the mountain, he heard the sound of the flute. Someone was playing the flute down there, at the foot of the mountain, and the sound of the flute was wonderful. The music spoke a lot to him, and suddenly he was born. Alone, he tried to find his way down from the top of the mountain to see who was playing the flute, and finally he discovered Blanche, sitting at the foot of a tree and playing. That afternoon they met each other and became friends, became something like brother and sister to each other. Blanche had the talent of playing the flute, and Peter had the talent of singing. We don’t know how he learned to sing like that, so that every time he sang he was able to make the sky and the earth quiet. He could even make the fighting quiet. He just sat down very quietly with solidity and freedom and raised his voice to sing. A storm could be dissipated by his singing. While he was singing, many birds would come from many directions and circle around, over his head. That happened always, every time Peter started singing.

During the battle when the children lost their mother, it was awful — they heard the cry of children and adults dying or being wounded, they heard the sounds of the houses burning, they heard the shouting, the fighting — and suddenly Peter sat up. It is very dangerous to sit up or stand up during a bombing because the bombs could kill you. The safest way is to lie down flat every time there is shooting or bombing going on. All the children in Vietnam knew that: every time there was fighting and shooting you had to get flat. Blanche was very used to that, and she pulled Peter down and got him to lie very still. But at one point Peter would not obey her any more, because it was very oppressive — the war, the fighting, the crying, the shouting — that is why he sat up and began to sing. And as his voice rose like that, suddenly there was a transformation in the air, and the storm of the battle seemed to die, and a lot of birds came and circled around their heads, and finally the fighting died down and the soldiers left. The people in the village began to come out and help the people who were wounded in the fighting and bombing. Now, Blanche was able to sit up, and both children began to inquire about their mother, only to find that she was not there. They spent many hours looking and asking neighbours, but no one saw her, and so they went home. A number of days later they decided to go on a long, long trip to look for their mother. Don’t think this is someone else’s story, because this is my story, and it is your story also. All of us are trying to find our real mother, our common mother.

Blanche and Peter went through many dangers. This story is very long, and this morning I am only telling you some of it. Both children got arrested because the police suspected them of being "liaison children," children who could bring information to the guerrillas. So they were both arrested, and Blanche was put into a school for blind children. After some months in prison, Peter was sent to a school of young army officers, a school for boys whose fathers had already died in battle. Peter was brought to that school, and he had to follow the military discipline, like all the other boys. You know, Blanche and Peter were both artists, and so they suffered very much from that kind of discipline, and they were separated.

One day Peter talked to his friends in the school, and he described the suffering that the children in the country were experiencing. They came together and decided to ask their teachers and the administration of the school, instead of teaching fighting, to teach the children the way to love each other, the way to bring peace and harmony into the school and into society. They dared to come to the teachers and the members of the school administration and to ask them not to teach them how to kill, how to fire guns any more, but teach them something that is more helpful. Because of that action, they were arrested, they were not allowed to be students in the school any more, and Peter was locked into the prison with other prisoners, although he was only twelve or thirteen years old.

In prison, Peter met a very strange monk. That monk was in prison too, because he was trying to do something for peace. His name is funny — his name is "the Coconut Monk." I personally have met the Coconut Monk. When he was a young man he went to France and studied engineering, but when he went back to Vietnam, he did not like being an engineer anymore. He wanted to become a monk, and he practised a lot of sitting meditation. He liked to sit where the atmosphere was calm and fresh, so he climbed up in a coconut tree and built a platform up there, and he sat in meditation up there. That is why people called him the Coconut Monk. I think the son of the American writer John Steinbeck also went to Vietnam, and he had the chance to spend a few months living with the Coconut Monk.

I knew the Coconut Monk. He was doing something that people considered crazy, but he was a real, good monk. He tried to stop the war in his own way. He went to collect pieces of bombs and bullets, and he melted them to make a mindfulness bell. Every night he would invite the bell to sound, and he would chant the name of the Buddha and Avalokitesvara. He told the pieces of metal that he collected, "You have been playing the game of war. Now I would like to help you practice. I am going to transform you into a bell of mindfulness, so that you become enlightened and become a bodhisattva trying to enlighten the people in this country who are sleepy, with brothers fighting and killing each other in a very stupid way." He asked friends to come every night, and he invited the bell to sound, as everyone was breathing in and out and transforming themselves into peaceful people, and not fighters anymore.

One day he went to the Presidential Palace, and he wanted to have an interview with the President of South Vietnam. With him, he had a wooden house, with a cat and mouse living inside together. I don’t know how he educated the cat and the mouse, but they co-existed. He gave the mouse things to eat, and the cat things to eat, and neither ate each other. (Laughter.) He wanted to make a declaration: "You see, even the mouse and the cat can co-exist, so why cannot we co-exist with each other as human beings? If I can make the cat and the mouse live together, how is that we human beings cannot live together in peace? Why do we have to fight each other like that? But they still considered him to be a mentally ill person, and they did not allow him to come in and meet the President. He appeared to be a disturbed person, but in fact, he had a lot of wisdom. His name, again, was the Coconut Monk. Nguyen Thanh Minh was his "identity name," but people knew him as the Coconut Monk. So Peter saw him and quickly became friends with him in prison.

You know that Peter was a kind of Coconut Monk, too. He did not like the war, he wanted to end the war and bring peace to his people. His purpose was to find his mother so that everything would be all right again. Because he was collaborating with prisoners in asking for the end of the war, he continued to get into trouble. At that time, not only was the Coconut Monk in prison; there were also other monks in prison. Peter was transferred to another prison where he met three hundred monks, who were in prison because they refused to be drafted into the army. When Peter came he suggested that they start a fast, to say that you cannot lock people up because they do not like the fighting. Many, many people joined the monks in a fast, and everywhere that Peter went he created a movement like that, so that he was described by the administration of the prison as a troublemaker. Finally, they could bear it any more, and they wanted to push Peter to the frontier, to North Vietnam, because he was in the south. There was a little bridge connecting one side of the river to the other, in the Demilitarised Zone, and the name of the river was the Ben Hai. They could not handle Peter, a twelve-year-old boy, so they wanted to expel him to North Vietnam.

In North Vietnam, many people welcomed him and asked him about the situation in the south. He told people very honestly about the situation in the south, but they wanted to make him into an instrument of propaganda, telling only evil things about the south, and saying good things about the north. But he refused. Everywhere he went he always told the truth: that no one wanted the war, that everyone wanted peace. So the government of North Vietnam did not like him either, and he was exiled to a mountainous area where he had to cut trees and carry bamboo sticks, and he was always watched by a soldier.

One day he was working hard on a mountain, cutting bamboo trees, when he suddenly missed Blanche too much. He saw that the soldier, his guard, was there, and he sat down and began to sing. As he started to sing, all the birds in the area came and circled around him. The soldier was very surprised to see that, and Peter just walked away. He got out of the mountains and tried to find a way down to the south, to meet Blanche.

Blanche had been living for more than six months in the school for the blind children. That night, Blanche could not sleep. She did not know why she could not sleep. The moon was very bright outside. She could not see the moonlight, yet she knew that the moon was there and that outside everything was very alive. In the dark, she found her flute, and she went out to sit in nature, and she began to play the flute. The sound of the flute guided Peter so that he could find her, and they met each other again. When Peter recognised Blanche playing the flute, he came close to her, he took her in his arms, and he proposed that they get away from the school for the blind and go back to the mountain where they could find their thatched house again.

It was midnight, but with Peter beside Blanche, there was no danger. The children found their way out of the city, and they began to walk to the highlands, where they went in the direction of the mountain they had originally come from. When they arrived many days later at the thatched house, they did not see Mother. She was still lost and had not been able to find her way home to the children. So Peter decided to invite Blanche to go to the top of the mountain where he originated. Blanche had never asked him who his mother and father were, and Peter himself did not know how he was born, or who his parents were. Because Blanche was blind, climbing the mountain took a long time. With Peter’s help, Blanche took step after step, in order to climb the mountain, and finally, they arrived at the top about 8:00 p.m., when it had already begun to get dark. Of course, Blanche did not see anything. Peter remembered that on top of the mountain there was a very beautiful rock, and in the rock, there was a hollow that was as big as a grapefruit. Every night the dew would come and collect in that hollow, and Peter remembered that every time he drank the dew from that hollow he had gotten a lot of energy and happiness. He believed that if he could give that water to Blanche to drink, and if he could use some of it to wash her eyes, that she would recover her eyesight again. He had that conviction. That is why he had invited Blanche to come with him to the very top of the mountain.

When they arrived, it was about eight o’clock in the evening, and they were both very tired. Peter helped Blanche to lie down to sleep. They had a conversation before they slept, and he said that at midnight, when the dew began to fill up the hollow in the rock, he would wake her up so she could drink the water, and so he could use the water to wash her eyes, so that her sight could be restored. Blanche followed his advice and lay down. Peter used his overcoat as a blanket and put it on Blanche so that she could sleep. At midnight he woke her up, and helped her to climb up a few meters more, so she could reach the highest point of the mountain, the beautiful rock.

Imagine…it was a full moon night, the full moon night of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. You know, that was the night that the Buddha was born: the full moon night of the fourth night of the lunar calendar. It was exactly that night. So when they arrived at the top of the mountain, Peter used his hands to make a cup for the water, so Blanche could drink. Blanche felt that the atmosphere was very still, very sacred. Suddenly she felt that it was safer for her to kneel down in order to receive the wonderful water, so she knelt down and put her hands in the form of a lotus. By that time, Peter had taken water in his palms, and he gave it to her to drink. She knelt there in a very respectful way and drank, little by little, that dew, that wonderful water, given to her by Peter. And as she continued to drink, she felt a new source of energy born in her. She felt very refreshed, very joyful. Finally, Peter used that water to wash her eyes three times, very carefully. After that, he helped her to go back to the flat rock and asked her to lie down and continue her sleep. He said, "Go to sleep, my sister. I will also go to sleep with you. I will not be far from you. I will stay here and lie down and sleep also, very soon."

Blanche had a very deep and restoring sleep that night. In the morning, when she woke up, she was very surprised to have a very strange feeling. Suddenly she brought her hands to her eyes, because the light was so strong. She did not know that she had recovered her eyesight. She was so surprised when she woke up and had to bring both her hands up to hide her eyes from the light. Very slowly she began to peer through her fingers…and she saw the blue sky for the first time, after so long. And she knew that she had recovered her sight because of the wondrous dew that Peter had used to wash her eyes. She slowly sat up and looked around. It was wonderful. It was the top of the mountain. All around her were the clouds and the dew and the mist covering everything, and she had the impression that she was on an island, completely separated from the world of suffering, war and destruction. It was like heaven. She was like a completely new person, and she was so glad. She was completely healed, she was a new being, and she was so happy. And then she began to think of Peter, and she began to call his name: "Peter! Peter!" and her voice echoed back to her. She heard no response from Peter, and she began to panic. Peter was no longer there.

Suddenly Blanche looked up and saw the stone. The stone was in the shape of a young boy, and it was exactly the shape of Peter. And she suddenly remembered what Peter told her at the foot of the mountain. Peter had said, "My sister, you asked me how I have learned to sing. I don’t know. But I was on the top of the mountain for many, many years…I don’t know how many years I was on the top of the mountain. I had the opportunity to listen to the wind, the rain, and the birds for I don’t know how many millions of years, and suddenly I knew how to sing."

Peter may be a human being, but he may be something else — something more than a human being. Now Blanche saw Peter as a rock, and she believed that initially he was a rock, sitting on top of the mountain for may millions of years, until suddenly one day he heard the sound of the flute coming from the foot of the mountain. Peter had transformed himself into a little boy and found his way out to see who was playing the flute. At that time, Peter had vowed to become Blanche’s eyes. She remembered one day when she had said to Peter: "Peter, do you know that you are my eyes? With you around, I am no longer a blind person." All these kinds of memories came back to her, and suddenly she began to understand that Peter was her eyes. Peter would never disappear, he would always be there, because now she would always be able to see things again. Peter had not left her. Before that she could not bear it; she had cried, and she had pounded her chest because there was a lot of attachment in her. She had wanted to be blind again so that Peter would appear to her again. But now, she was enlightened. She saw that now Peter was in her, in the form of eyes, and wherever she went, Peter would be with her. With that kind of understanding and enlightenment, the sorrow in her began to disappear, and she picked up her flute and began to play. And you know something? The flute now expressed her insight, and the clouds and the mist and the blue sky and the rock and the mountains and the trees all stopped and listened deeply to the sound of her flute.

(Bell)

If you have eyes capable of seeing things around you, you know that Peter is always alive in you. The Buddha is someone who has wisdom, who has eyes capable of seeing things as they are. Many of us are blind because we are not capable of seeing things. We live in ignorance, we live in the dark, and we don’t know where to go. We don’t know how to rediscover our mothers. That is why we need the Buddha so much. The Buddha appears to us like a brother, and he serves as our eyes. Let us not try to find the Buddha in another person, let us try to find the Buddha within ourselves. We have the capacity of looking deeply in order to see the true nature of things, and if we have eyes capable of seeing things as they are, the Buddha is always with us.

I gave that story to a friend to read, and after reading it he said, "Peter is Jesus Christ." I said, "That is true." Jesus Christ is not an entity that you have to look for outside yourself; Jesus Christ is within you. He is the eyes that we need not be blind any more. Our practise is always to get out of our blindness, to have the kind of eyes that can see things as they are. We know that Peter has not left us at any moment, because he is always in our hearts. If we know how to live mindfully, Peter is always there every moment in our daily lives.

Today the children may like to draw a picture with Blanche, the little girl, and with Peter. And after you have painted or drawn the two children, make another drawing, and this time draw just one person, and in that person you can see both Blanche and Peter at the same time. So, happy practice today. When you hear the bell, you stand up and you bow to the Sangha, and you go out for continued practice.

Dear friends, there is always a better way to practice listening to the bell. When you listen to the bell you may like to allow all your ancestors to listen at the same time. Because all our ancestors are still alive within us, and they are there in every cell of our body. You invite your ancestors to listen to the bell with you, the bell is a voice calling you back to the here and the now, for you to become fully alive again. The sound, first of all, seems to be something outside of you, but if you listen that way, the sound is coming from deep within…the voice of the Buddha inside, calling you back to the safe island of self, and the voice of your ancestors calling you back to life. That is why the sound of the bell is neither outside nor inside, because the reality transcends notions of outside or inside. You can listen deeply, better than when you first began the practice. Allow every cell in your body to open up, so that the sound of the bell can penetrate deep into each cell of your body, or in a different way, you can say that you open every cell up so that the sound can come out of it. Your ancestors, whether blood ancestors or spiritual ancestors, are there, present in every cell of your body, and the sound of the bell might come from there or from outside--it does not matter. But to listen to the calling, and to go back to life, to be awake, to be alive, to be in the present moment, is our practice.

Maybe many of our ancestors did not have the chance to practice listening to the bell, and to become fully alive and present in the here and the now, and now you are doing it for them. And suddenly, just by taking one in-breath, you make all your ancestors fully alive at the same time. This is what we can do. Among us there are those who can do it. They sit there with you, they listen to the same sound of the bell, but they can go very deep, they can go very high. So it depends on your insight, your visualisation, your concentration, whether the effect of the sound of the bell is deep or not deep enough. Every time you walk, you do the same. You are not a separate entity, and you know that you can walk in such a way that all your ancestors can make the same steps with you, at the same time. When you take a step, your mother also takes a step, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather, and all your ancestors, are taking a step, and the Buddha walks with you, taking that very step with you. Peter is always there. Peter is walking with you at every moment, and walking like that is to liberate yourself from the prison of sorrow that you have locked yourself into. Walking like that can be very liberating. If you walk like that you don’t walk just as a separate individual. You walk in such a way that all your ancestors, blood and spiritual, walk with you. You know that you carry within you all generations of ancestors, and more than that, you carry within you all future generations. Even if you are still very young, your children are already there within yourself, and their children are already there within you. So make a step for all of them, liberate them, liberate our ancestors, and liberate the future generations, by just making one step. And if you can make such a step, you can make two, and you can make three. The practice can go very, very deep.

I would like to share with you a poem that I have been using for eight years now, but it is not available in English or in French. Among you there are poets and composers…I hope you can make it into a piece of music to help with your practice.

Thay recites a poem, consisting of two four-line stanzas.)

Eating in the ultimate dimension,

This is for you to practice during lunchtime. Today you have a formal lunch.

Eating in the ultimate dimension — because there are two dimensions to reality. The first dimension is called the historical dimension. In this dimension of reality, you can see the beginning and the ending, the inside and the outside, birth and death, more or less, the coming and the going. It is the dimension of the waves, because looking at each wave you have the impression that there is a beginning to every wave, an ending to every wave, the being and the non-being of the wave. First, we think that there was the non-being of the wave, and suddenly there is the being of the wave. And after that, there is again the non-being of the wave. So in that historical dimension, it seems that all these things exist: being, non-being, beginning, ending, high or low, more or less beautiful, and so on. These kinds of ideas create a lot of suffering and despair and jealousy and anger. So when you are in the historical dimension, please be very careful not to be caught by it.

Then there is another dimension called the ultimate dimension. This ultimate dimension is not separate from the historical dimension. In the case of the wave, it is water, because water cannot be separated from waves; but when you touch water, you don’t see a beginning, an ending, high or low, being or non-being — these notions that we use to speak of waves. The fact is that the wave is a wave, but while living the life of a wave, the wave can very well live the life of water at the same time. So when you live in your historical dimension, you should train yourself touch and to live the ultimate dimension at the same time. That is our practice: be the wave…okay, but you have to be the water. If you are to become stable, free, if you want to have the elements of non-fear and non-discrimination within you, then touching the ultimate dimension is a necessary practice.

A wave can be subject to fear, to jealousy, to discrimination, if she lives very superficially in the historical dimension. She sees that there is a beginning to her life, an end to her life, she sees that she is not the other waves, that she is more or less beautiful than the other waves, that she is struggling with the other waves, and that she suffers quite a lot. But if she bends down and touches the nature of water within her, she sees that she is in the other waves, the other waves are in her, and there is really no beginning and no end, and because of that, she gets out of fear, and discrimination and jealousy. So touching the historical dimension deeply, you touch the ultimate dimension. And when you are able to touch the ultimate dimension, all discrimination and fear vanish, and you get the real peace that you deserve.

When you listen to the bell, you can try to listen to the bell in the ultimate dimension, in order to realise that the bell is always there — it’s not because the sister uses a stick and makes contact that the sound is born. The sound is always there. The nature of the sound is no-birth and no-death, always existing. You also share the same nature. Your true nature is the nature of no birth, no death, no beginning, and no end. Unless you touch your true nature of no-birth, no death, you cannot obtain that kind of insight, the insight of no-birth and no-death that will bring to you the element of non-fear, non-discrimination. If you continue to be the victim of discrimination and fear, then suffering is going to continue for a long time. The greatest relief is to be obtained only when you are capable of touching the ultimate dimension. In touching the ultimate dimension, you don’t have to reach out. A wave doesn’t have to reach out in order to touch water, because she is water. Peter is within you, Peter is not a separate identity. While living every moment of your daily life, learn how to touch Peter in you. The nature of Peter is the nature of no-birth and no-death, no coming and no going, and you share the same nature with Peter.

Eating in the ultimate dimension, I nourish all my ancestors. I keep my ancestors alive because every spoonful that you take is to nourish you, of course, but it is also to keep all your ancestors alive at the same time. By feeding yourself you are feeding all your ancestors, and also your children and their children. Taking one spoonful of food, you know that you are feeding all your ancestors and your children and grandchildren. It is just like walking. All my ancestors walk with me.

When you are in your sitting position, and enjoying breathing in and breathing out, try breathing for your mother, your father, your grandpa, your grandma, or anyone. This is very pleasant to practice. Pick someone, call his or her name: "Mother, please breathe with me." And that is not a visualisation, that is the truth. When you breathe, your mother in you breathes also. When you were a tiny living being in the womb of your mother, every time your mother breathed in, you breathed in; every time your mother ate, you ate. The same thing happens now, every time you breathe in, your mother breathes in, your ancestors breathe in, and your child who is already there, or who is to manifest later, they are all breathing in with you. That is the way to breathe in order to touch the nature of no-self. People talk a lot about no-self, but they don’t know exactly what it is. Here we are not talking about no-self, we are living the reality of non-self. When you breathe, you breathe for all your ancestors and your children.

Everything you do, you do not for yourself alone, you do for us all. And walking like that, breathing like that, listening like that, you are touching the nature of no-self. And when you touch the nature of no-self, you touch the ultimate dimension. There is no "I," there is no "you," because I am in you, and you are in me. We inter-are. That is not only true with Peter and Blanche, but it is true of everyone else.

Eating in the ultimate dimension, you maintain alive all the generations of ancestors.

You allow, you help coming generations to find a way to go up.

"To go up," means to transcend suffering, to transcend discrimination, to liberate ourselves, our situation and society. We are still caught up with many negative things: discrimination, violence, hatred and so on. So eat in such a way that you can open the way for future generations to transcend all these negative things.

When I sit with you and I eat my meal, I practice that. I chew with these words: I touch deeply the food, I touch deeply the Sangha embracing me, the Sangha in which I take refuge; I allow my ancestors to eat, my children and grandchildren to eat at the same time with me, and I touch the ultimate dimension during the time of eating. Those are the first four lines. The next four lines: eating in the ultimate dimension, you chew in the same way that you breathe, with real rhythm.

You chew and you are aware of what you are chewing. You are aware of the food in your mouth. You chew, and you touch the very nature of the food in your mouth. Eating mindfully is to be aware of what you are eating. If you are mindful, then you can discover the true nature of the food, which is also the nature of interbeing.

Yesterday I talked about the milk we drink every morning. Drinking the milk, you know that it is not only sweet, but that it is also somehow bitter, because of the way we raise the cows, we treat the calves, and so on. We can be aware, when we chew the food, or when we look deeply into the food: we can see the ingredients, the elements that have come together to produce that food. A piece of carrot, a piece of string bean, a piece of tofu, a grain of rice, all these things contain the whole universe, and if you look deeply, you can see the lives of other living beings in it. You can see the compost, you can even see the dry bones of other living beings in the refreshing piece of tofu. A piece of tofu is not only vegetarian. The dry bones of tiny living beings have become compost, and the grain of rice, the piece of tofu, the piece of string bean, contain all of that: the sunshine, the wind, the clouds. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian, all that is inside each piece of food. So if you know that, you will know how to eat in order to keep your compassion alive.

If we know how to produce our food in such a way that we can reduce violence and destruction, and decrease the suffering of living beings, we are keeping alive the compassion inside. The one who grows food, and the one who eats the food, both can help to maintain the compassion within our hearts. We know very well that without that element of compassion within us, we cannot be happy persons. Without compassion, we cannot relate to any living beings, including humans. Eating, walking, doing your daily activities — we should learn how to do these things mindfully, in a way that can help compassion to stay alive in us. This is very important, that is our practice, for eating is also to preserve our compassion, because you don’t want to eat the flesh of your own son.

Yesterday Sister Annabel gave a wonderful talk on the Four Nutriments, in English, and those of you in the Lower Hamlet may like to listen to it. Sister Chan Duc elaborated the teaching I had offered the day before on the Four Nutriments. I only spoke about the first two nutriments, and she continued with the third and the fourth. I was talking one day about the therapist as someone who can cook for us, offering us the kind of food that can keep our bodies and our souls sane and healthy. The therapist should also be an architect, in order to create an environment where we feel safe, where we can live our lives with freedom, with stability, where we can be protected, where we will not be destroyed by sickness, depression, and so on. A therapist should practice like an architect, like a cook, like a teacher, like a monk, like a Buddha, creating space where you feel safe, where you get only the same kind of food, that won’t destroy your body or your consciousness. In our daily lives we consume so many toxins and poisons, we consume a lot of violence and craving and suspicion and despair and destroy ourselves. So the therapist, like a Buddha, should be able to create a Pure Land so that people can come and be protected and be healed, be transformed. The therapist should be at the same time a Sangha builder, a Sangha convener, a summoner of practitioners, so that among us there are those who have a solid and joyful practice to support us, to remind us, and to teach us how to live deeply every moment of our daily lives, to breathe, to walk, to listen to the bell, to enjoy our lunch together. Therefore the therapists, like the physicians, have to come together to operate as a Sangha, because alone they cannot fulfil their task of being an architect, a cook, a Sangha builders, of being a Pure Land. Therefore, all of us have to follow the same principle of creating the Pure Land and building a Sangha.

Eating in the ultimate dimension, I chew as I breathe, with rhythm. You might use this gatha, this poem, in order to chew your food, and keep your awareness alive, and touch the ultimate dimension while eating your lunch

Aware of the suffering, we nourish each other. The main thing is to maintain compassion alive and to help beings going to the other shore.

When we eat, we have to be aware of the suffering also. That does not mean that we have to suffer, because eating can be very joyful, but the background should be always there. To have an opportunity to sit down quietly like that, to have enough time to spend with the Sangha, and to eat this amount of food together in an atmosphere of safety, of friendship and of awareness, is something not many people can afford. That can give rise to a lot of happiness, but you know that happiness is always seen against the background of suffering, in order for happiness to continue. The moment when you exile suffering, happiness will no longer be happiness. It’s as with black and white: white will appear very clearly against a dark background. Happiness is also like that. So, we are with the Sangha, enjoying a meal in mindfulness, the joy of being with the Sangha, the joy of feeling protected and supported by the collective energy of the Sangha; and yet we know that suffering is there in life, in every grain of rice, in every piece of tofu, in every spoonful of milk. That is why we take the vow that, although we have to suffer when we feed each other, we accept that in order for a chance for every living being to go to the other shore, the shore of enlightenment, the shore of safety.

Living beings eat each other, that is a fact. Tigers eat the deer, big fish eat the small fish, and we also consume other living beings. Even if we are vegetarians we can only reduce the eating of living beings to some degree. That is why there is the words ‘Aware of the suffering’ inside, because there is a little bit of suffering in that taste of happiness, enough to keep our awareness alive. Even if I have to become your food, I will practice in order not to let hatred become my nature. I offer myself to you so that you can survive. That is the reality of the world: living beings are eating each other. As practitioners, we cannot entirely escape that situation, but our practice is to keep compassion alive and to relieve as much suffering as we can through our way of daily living

Aware of the suffering we try to feed each other, even with ourselves. The main thing is to keep compassion alive and to help beings to the other shore, the shore of safety, stability and freedom.

I think human beings can be described as having a safer life than other living beings. Although we have no right to hunt each other or kill each other — the law forbids it — if we continue to create war, to exploit each other, to make use of others to get rich, to consume more, and we continue to do these things at the expense of other living beings, it is as though we are eating the flesh of our father or mother, our brothers. We are actually one with all of these beings, whether they live in an over-developed country or an under-developed country. We know that if we learn how to refrain from making war, from creating more social injustice and repression, we can bring much more safety to human beings, and at the same time, we can better protect the lives of other living beings. Now, war and alcohol and drugs and consumption and violence are making us much less safe in our lives as human beings. In fact, human beings can put themselves in a much safer situation than other living beings, but because of our cravings and discrimination, we have made our situation much less safe than it could be. That is why our practice is to be aware, to be mindful, to live each moment of our lives deeply, so that we can keep compassion alive in our hearts, so that our lives and the lives of those around us become safer. When we enjoy more safety, we will be able to provide more safety to other living beings. We can protect the environment, protect the ecosystem so that other living beings can also enjoy safety.

With the awareness of suffering in my heart, we nourish each other. We know that the main thing is to keep compassion alive and to help living beings cross to the other shore, the shore of greater safety, the shore of more freedom." It is so easy to practice in Vietnamese because it is the kind of poem that has only five words in each line.

I use the poem in order to maintain my mindfulness of life. You might like to use that poem in English, or German. You might rewrite it so that it will fit the rhythm of your practice.

I am blooming as a flower, I am fresh as the dew. I chew according to this gatha also. I also use the gatha: This is the Pure Land, the Pure Land is here. This also is a song that is available in Vietnamese, but our friends who do not speak Vietnamese have not had a chance to learn and to practice it. Thay Doji has tried to translate it into French; but because he used the Vietnamese music, it does not sound very natural to the French ear, so I hope that someone will help with new music. Each line has only four words:

Day la tinh do

Tinh do la day

Mim cuoi chanh niem

An tru hom nay.

But la la chin

Phap la may bay

Tang than khap chon

Que huong noi nay.

Tho vao hoa no

Tho ra truc lay

Tam khong rang buoc

Tieu dao thang ngay.

I chew my food with this poem. And the meaning is this:

This is the pure land;

The pure land is right here.

This mindful smile helps me

To establish myself in the present moment.

Look, I see the Buddha as a red leaf,

And the dharma as a cloud.

My Sangha is everywhere,

And my true homeland is just right here.

Breathing in, I see the chrysanthemum blooming;

Breathing out, I see the bamboo bending.

My mind is totally free,

And I enjoy it day after day.

During that time of breathing, you keep the Pure Land alive, in the here and the now. Yesterday I said that it’s up to you to choose either hell or the Pure Land because both hell and the Pure Land are there in every cell of your body. If you allow hell to manifest, it will manifest. All of us have experienced how hot hell is, but if you want to choose the Pure Land, you can do that. Just make use of your breathing, your walking, in order to make the Pure Land manifest. With these methods of walking, of breathing, of eating, you keep the Pure Land alive. You don’t have to die in order to enter the Kingdom of God; in fact, you have to be very alive to do so. With full awareness, when you become fully alive, you only need to make one step, and there you are — in the Kingdom of God.

So I repeat this gatha:

This is the Pure Land

The Pure Land is here.

This mindful smile helps me

To establish myself in the present moment.

Look! I see the Buddha as a red leaf;

Look! I see the Dharma as a cloud.

My Sangha is everywhere…

Everything I see, I identify as elements of my Sangha — the blue sky, the clouds, the leaves, the trees, the birds, the pebbles, the path where I practice walking meditation — everything belongs to my Sangha. I don’t have to go back to my hometown in order to find my Sangha. My Sangha is everywhere. Everything around me supports my being awake. Every sound, every sight supports and maintains me in the Pure Land. My lack of mindfulness alone can bring me out of the Pure Land, but everything else around me is supporting me in order to nourish me in the Pure Land.

My Sangha is everywhere,

And my true home is right here in the here and the now.

Breathing in, I see the chrysanthemum blooming,

Breathing out I see the bamboo bending

My mind is fully free,

And I enjoy it day after day, month after month.

Please make use of that gatha, rewrite it in German, in Italian, in English, in French. We offer it to our friends as a gatha of practice for our walking meditation, our sitting meditation, and our mindful lunch.

There was a nuclear scientist who lived in England, named David Bohm. He used the terms "the explicate order" and "the implicate order." His insight is similar to the insight of the historical dimension and the ultimate dimension. He said that in the explicate order, you see things outside of each other. A table is outside of a flower, and you are outside of me. But the other dimension of reality can be called implicate order, that is, if you look deeply, you see that the flower is on the table and that the table is in the flower. One electron can be everywhere at the same time, and one electron is made of every electron, and so on. It is very much the insight of interbeing, and in the implicate order, everything contains everything else. Just as I said yesterday, looking deeply into a flower you can see a cloud, you can see the sunshine, you can see the earth, you can see the compost, you can see everything in the cosmos within it. So, we know that looking deeply helps us to see the ultimate dimension, the implicate order, and we get rid of notions like inside and outside, this or that; we get rid of pairs of opposites.

In Buddhist language, we have the term nirvana. It is another term to describe the ultimate dimension of reality. Nirvana means first of all extinction. You may ask, extinction of what? It is first of all the extinction of ideas, such as birth and death, inside and outside, being and non-being. These ideas are responsible for our fear, our illusion, our suffering, our discrimination. Inside my right hand, there is the wisdom of non-discrimination. My right hand never discriminates against my left hand. The insight of interbeing is there in my right hand, in both hands. That is why they can be together all the time, they can be in harmony with each other all the time. Nirvana is first of all the extinction of ideas, of pairs of opposites. It also means the extinction of the kind of suffering that can be created by these ideas. Because of these ideas, we have created a lot of fear and suffering, so when we are able to remove the ideas, then we can remove the suffering caused by these ideas. Death for instance — death is an idea. And birth is also an idea.

When you look deeply into a sheet of paper, and also into yourself, you will be able to touch your nature of no-birth and no-death. To be born, according to our idea, is to become something from nothing. From no one, you suddenly become someone. That is our idea of birth. But if we practice looking deeply, we see that that is a wrong idea, because nothing can become something from nothing. A sheet of paper, before it came into existence, had been something else. You can see a sheet of paper in a tree, you can see a sheet of paper in a cloud, because touching this sheet of paper with your mindfulness, you can see a cloud inside. You don’t have to be a poet in order to see that: you know that if there were no cloud there would no rain, and no tree could grow. If the tree could not grow, you could not have the sheet of paper, because this sheet of paper is made from a kind of paste made of trees. So it is sure that the cloud is in the sheet of paper, and if you try to remove the cloud, the sheet of paper will collapse. There would be no paper at all if there were no cloud. That is interbeing — the cloud is inside the paper.

You can see that the sheet of paper was not born from nothing, it was born from something. It was born from the cloud, and from the sunshine because the sunshine also helped the tree to grow. It was born from the logger, who cut down the tree, and it was also born from many other elements. So, before the sheet of paper was born, it had already been something. The day of its birth is only a day of continuation. You can see the previous lives of the sheet of paper. That is why it is better to celebrate our birthdays by singing "Happy Continuation Day." Really the moment of your birth is only a moment of continuation. Before you were born of your mother, you had been there in her for many months. That was not exactly the day of your birth. You may be tempted to think that the real day of your birth was the day of your conception, but if you ask the same questions, you will find out that even before that day you had already been there somewhere. Maybe half in your father, or before your father was born, you had been there in your grandfather, in your grandmother. It is a very interesting trip to go and search for your identity, your origin. In the Zen circles, they sometimes give as a subject of meditation a question such as, "Tell me what your face looked like before your grandmother was born?" That is an invitation for you to go and find out your true nature. If you do well, you will touch the nature of no-birth and no-death. You will know that you have never been born. You have gone through a series of transformations, of renewals, but the idea of being born is just an idea. If you have never been born, how can you die? The idea of dying is that from something you suddenly become nothing, from someone, you suddenly become no one.

When we burn this sheet of paper, you may think that it will die and become nothing, but that is not true. After it is burned, the sheet of paper becomes clouds again, becomes smoke, becomes ash, and becomes the heat that penetrates your body and the cosmos. It would be very interesting if you could follow the journey of the sheet of paper. You could go to the cloud and observe what the cloud is doing, and what the sheet of paper is doing. You could go after the heat produced by the burning of the sheet of paper, and see how far it can go, and what it will produce in the future. You could follow the amount of ash, to see what kind of flower it will become in a few months. It would be a very interesting discovery. The true nature of the sheet of paper is no-birth and no-death, and you also share the same kind of nature. Your true nature is no-birth and no-death, and that nature we call nirvana. The Buddha said that you can touch nirvana, even with your body. You can touch your true nature of no-birth and no-death, even with your body. It is like the wave — the wave can touch her nature, namely water, but she is water. What is the subject of touching and what is the object of touching, when the wave touches water? She is already water, why does she have to touch it? Nirvana is our true nature, Peter is our true nature, and we don’t have to look for him or for her. Our true nature is no-birth and no-death. With the practice of deep listening, of deep touching, of deep looking, we will be able to touch our true nature, and we will be able to free ourselves from notions, from ideas, from fear, from discrimination, and that is the way we can get the greatest relief with the practice.

Yesterday there was a question on life and death: from where have we come, and after dying, what are we going to be? The most important topic of meditation is life and death. They always say so; the matter of life and death is the greatest subject of meditation. The business of life and death is a big business, which means it is the object of your meditation. When meditating on the object of life and death, you will be able to touch the ultimate dimension, the nature of no-life and no-death, and you will touch nirvana, even with your body.

So there is a continuation. You might come to a practice centre to learn the practice in order to get some relief, to undergo some transformation and healing. You might suffer less because of the practice of sitting and walking and breathing, total relaxation, touching the earth...yes! But the greatest relief can only be obtained if you are able to touch nirvana, to touch the ultimate dimension, and that is not something outside of our capacity. When we look at the wave, we know that the wave can lead her life as a wave, but if she knows how to live her life as water, the quality of her life will be much greater. She will not suffer a lot, like the other waves who don’t know that they are, at the same time, water.

Oh son, watch the illusory spectacle! All birth and death is projected by delusion, not existing in reality. I am beyond coming and going.

-- Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro

说僧尼是非过恶犯无量重罪

慧律法师

时常会听到有些出家僧尼、在家居士或者社会人士，喜欢评论出家人的对错是非，不守规矩不持戒律等等，其实出家比丘、比丘尼都不可以说僧过恶，何况在家人呢？因为说僧过恶，就是谈论是非，造作口业，恶口妄语，同时也是毁谤三宝，毁谤三宝者，罪过比破杀、盗、淫、妄、酒五戒的罪还要重！什么叫毁谤三宝、说僧过恶呢？我们信佛的人，切记不要犯这种的罪过——就是专门说三宝的过错，说佛教不好，说佛法不好，说僧人不好。

佛陀在世的时候，就不允许任何人造口业、毁谤出家僧众，若说僧尼过恶，其人即违犯无量重罪。这是佛说的，佛是真语者、实语者、不妄语者，难道你还不信吗？

如是比丘虽非法器，而剃除须发披服袈裟，进止威仪同诸圣贤；因见彼故，无量有情种种善根，皆得生长。又能开示无量有情善趣生天，涅槃正路。所以依佛出家者，若持戒、若破戒，下至无戒，我尚不许转轮圣王诸大臣等，说出家僧尼的过恶。

如是破戒恶行比丘，一切白衣皆应守护，恭敬供养；佛陀终不允许在家居士，轻视、呵斥、辱骂出家人。

僧尼虽破禁戒，行诸恶行，而为一切天、龙、八部、人、非人等，作善知识，示导无量功德伏藏。就是说这个法师现僧相，就等于是佛相，是三宝相。他代表了正法，他就算没有修行，就算破了禁戒，行种种的恶行，一切的天、龙、人、非人等都必须要恭敬礼拜、供养。因为他就是善知识，能够示导无量功德伏藏。这个伏藏就是埋藏在地中的一个宝物，比喻众生本具的佛性。譬如说贫女不知道自己家里有伏藏，等到有智慧的人告诉她，你家里本来就有很多的金银财宝，你把它挖掘出来，你不就变成很富有的人吗？这个贫女子听有智慧的人的开导，就把它挖出来变成富家女了。

记住！外道永远没有办法超越三界，无量亿劫绝对没有办法离苦得乐。为什么？知见错误！没有依佛的知见修行，永远在三界里面打转。最差、最差的比丘，他现了僧相，了解无常、缘起，乃至于大乘佛教，念佛、参禅、拜忏、打水陆，都种下无量的善根，种下未来得度的因缘。所以说最差的比丘、比丘尼，现僧相的沙弥、沙弥尼（除非他知见错误）都比世间的人，包括一切的外道都强得太多。就是造业下地狱了，经过一劫或多劫，他依然能够转生人道，听闻佛法，然后经过修行，就可以得到解脱。因为他在今生种下了无量无边的善根因缘。

这句话意思就是说，瞻博迦华是一种很香的花，就算枯萎了、烂坏了，也绝对比其他的花香。世尊曾说颂曰：

瞻博迦华虽委悴，而尚胜彼诸余华。

破戒恶行诸比丘，犹胜一切外道众。

出家僧人是三宝之一，堪称是宝，既然是宝，他即使不完整，但他仍然是宝。譬如珠宝玉器，即使坏了，你能说它就不是宝了吗？黄金坏了、碎了难道就不是黄金了吗？又如瓦砾，即使再完整的瓦砾，它也称不上是黄金珠宝，只能是一块完整的瓦砾而已！破戒恶行的诸比丘，也依然是宝，绝对不是瓦砾！他的功德胜行也绝对胜过一切的外道。外道没有缘起法，外道没有空慧的思想，他怎么解脱呢？！我在这里说些，不是提倡比丘作恶犯戒，也不是包藏僧人的罪行，而是旨在提醒出家僧侣、在家菩萨要警防口业，不要因为别人错误了，自己也去错误，别人破戒了，自己也去破戒。须知自己生死自己了，自己吃饭自己饱！他要造业他得果报，你要毁谤僧人，你就要下地狱！破戒作恶那是他的事，谤僧受报那就是你的事。在家信众说比丘过恶，犯大重罪，必受恶报；身为出家僧众，说比丘过恶，也是同样犯大重罪。因此，佛陀为了避免缁素造口业，特别教戒僧众，不得向未受具戒者说比丘过恶。

如人恶心出佛身血、毁坏塔坏寺等，其罪虽是极为深重，但是尚不及说僧众过恶的无间重罪。所以《戒经》说：“宁可毁塔坏寺，不说他比丘粗恶罪。”古人也说：“宁动千江水，不动道人心。”《萨婆多毗尼毗婆沙》卷六也说：“为大护佛法故，如向白衣（在家信众）说比丘罪恶，则前人于佛法中无信敬心；宁破塔坏像（此罪极重），也不向未受戒人说比丘过恶；若说过恶，则破法身。”说僧尼是非、过恶的人，其罪超过毁坏“佛塔”和“佛像”的重罪！为什么这样呢？因“世间如无僧人，便无佛法”，有话说：“佛法弘扬本在僧”嘛，所以讲僧人的过失会使信众远离三宝。

毁谤三宝、说僧过恶者，死堕阿鼻地狱，受大苦报，无解脱之期。《谤佛经》云：佛陀告诉不畏行菩萨说：“……尔时彼长者子，说彼比丘毁破净戒，彼（长者子）恶业报，九十千年堕大地狱；於五百世，虽生人中，受黄门身，生夷人中，生邪见家；於六百世，生盲无舌……。

外道俗人是没有资格举发、谈论僧人的过恶。佛告尊者优波离言：我终不许外道、俗人举苾刍（比丘）罪，举就是举发。我绝对不允许外道、世俗人举比丘的罪。世俗人没有智慧，只是凭藉自己的观念，所以他怎么够资格来举比丘的够资格来举比丘的罪呢？他看的只是外相，没有看到真正的内涵。

我们凡夫的见解，有的时候会错误的，圣人的境界，不是我们凡夫所能知道的。所谓初地的菩萨，就不知二地菩萨的境界；十地菩萨，就不知道等觉菩萨的境界；初果阿罗汉，也就不知道二果阿罗汉的境界。许多僧人看上去疯疯颠颠，但实际上是外浊内清，是菩萨示现，是教化众生的。说到这里，我想起两个典型的例子：在中国梁武帝时，有一位志公禅师，他天天要吃两只鸽子。厨子想这鸽子一定很好吃，他就偷了一只鸽子的翅膀吃。志公禅师吃完了这两只鸽子，就说：“你为什么偷我的鸽子吃？”他说：“没有啊！”“没有？你看一看！”志公禅师把口一张，从口里吐出两只鸽子，一只就飞了，另外一只没有翅膀。“如果你没有吃，这只翅膀怎么会没有呢？”一样吃鸽子，志公禅师可以把切碎煮熟的鸽子吃到肚子里头，又可以变成活的吐出来；而这个厨子就没有这种本事，吃了就是吃了。志公禅师这种境界就是吃而未吃。

又有济公禅师，那时候他在杭州西湖灵隐寺。这和尚怎么样呢？一天到晚吃狗肉，喝烧酒。每天都喝得醉得不得了，人一看就知是个醉和尚。实际上他醉了，可是他却到处去教化众生。有一次造佛像，这佛像要铺金，他告诉方丈和尚：“这佛像我来铺，你不要叫其他人去铺金。”方丈和尚说好。可是等著他也不铺，後来当家和尚就说：“你要铺这佛像的金，这么久了，你也不铺。”他说：“好，我就来铺。”这天晚间他又喝醉了酒，等到他看人都睡觉了，就跑到那佛像前，从口里就吐金，往佛像铺。

正在吐着，像各部份都铺得差不多，只有头顶上还有个地方没有铺时，当家和尚听见他在里边，口里往佛像吐痰的声音，就进来了，说：“你怎么这个样子，你口里黏痰怎么往佛像吐呢？”他就说：“我不吐了。”就走了。走了，第二天一看，佛像的金都铺好了，就剩头上还有一点没有铺好，所以又找另外铺金的匠人来铺，但是所铺的金，就没有他吐的金子那么好，所以罗汉的境界不可思议的。

有些禅师是酒肉穿肠过，用世俗人的眼光来看，就是说这些禅师是不称职的和尚，也是破戒的比丘。岂不知道他们是菩萨转世，他是示现给众生看的，他可以吃进去死的，吐出来活的，有谁知道他吃肉也是在度终生呢？有些僧人也可能是菩萨，也许是罗汉示现，但凭我们的凡夫肉眼，岂能分辨识破他的本来面目呢？所以不可妄加评论，随意毁谤。在此也提醒大家，如果自己不是罗汉，不是菩萨，千万不要向他们学习，因为我们是业障凡夫，他们是应机施教，应何因缘得度，而现何身。他们喝酒吃肉都是在度众生，而我们喝酒吃肉，就是造业，所以不能拿我们来和他们比，万万不能！

佛陀尚不许诸苾刍僧不依于法，率而呵举破戒苾刍，何况驱摈？

……率就是轻率的样子，草草率率，毫无根据。举就是纠正。驱就是逼迫或者是排除，摈叫做排斥。

佛也绝对不允许这些比丘僧团不如法，草草率率就纠正某某人比丘、某某法师，何况弃摒他？！

要举比丘的罪要如法，要有见闻疑，还要如法的求证，还要必须在比丘的僧伽里面。你看要举比丘的罪要多么繁琐的手续。约束在时空的架构上，一定必须在比丘僧团内，其他人不够资格的。

修学佛法，就是要修正自己的行为，修正自己的欲心、妄心、贪心和燥心，看不贯别人那就证明你的修养不够，一切众生皆有佛性，不管他如何不好，一但佛性显现，就会彻底觉悟。在还没有得到真正智慧的时候，不要生出一种毁谤三宝的心，不要说僧过恶。他明明就是有过，也不要讲他，为什么？你知道他有过，你自己往好的做，这就对了。不要好像照像机，尽给人家照像，自己是个什么样子，也没有照一照。不要拿一面镜子老在别人身上照来照去，应该学习和发扬别人的优点，不要看别人的缺点，印光大师说：“只看好样子，不看坏样子；只管自家，不管人家……看一切人都是菩萨，唯我一人实是凡夫”。

在家学佛，当修戒、定、慧三学，熄灭贪、嗔、痴三毒，守护身、口、意三业。不可对僧尼三宝妄加毁谤，要静坐细思自己过！说僧过恶，犯大重罪，望有缘同修、护法檀越反省三思！阿弥陀佛！

I want to underscore this point: we find greed difficult to control not because it is natural, but because it has been generated by long, unchecked habituation. This is important to recognise because even though old habits may be tough to break, all habits can be broken.

--17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje