菩提種子

簡繁轉換 - 繁體

林鈺堂


一九八九年九月初一至初三日，在美國佛羅里達州邁阿密市，應「邁阿密佛學社」之請，我以英語演講〈淨土五經會通〉。先師陳健民老居士曾發願講此題目四十八次，略答阿彌陀佛因地四十八弘願渡生之大恩。一九八七年十一月陳師示寂之前，已講四十五次。我繼承師志，續講三次。此次即為滿願之第四十八。初四日中午，佛友曾憲煒、博瑞斯及羅效平送我去飛機場；候機之時仍不斷討論佛法。

博瑞斯問：「由『空性』出發，如何與大悲連繫？」

我以此中精要回答如下：

空性可以「無我」與「緣起」來了解。無我，則證入法界同體；同體，則大悲油然而生。緣起，則明白眾生皆為種種條件所限制；彼之處境，也可能就是我的處境。因此「同病相憐，同舟共濟」 ，大悲便在此中。法界時空橫亙無窮，萬法緣起交織波漣。吾人著相而未能徹查因緣，豈可但憑一己所見，來品評他人？衡長論短之心一停，遠離顛倒妄想，立即回復天真。

緣起難明而遷變不休，雖小波也可渲染成巨浪。因此，時時刻刻雖小惡也不敢犯，以免增添他苦。並且時時刻刻存心要做利他的事，以便增進大家的安樂。

不評論他人，時時刻刻保有天真、利他的存心，這就是「菩提種子」。只要能把這種子保養下去，便會成就「菩提心」。

九月四日清晨，我體會這「菩提種子」的道理；再入睡，即深入定境。見自身轉成童子身，與一群兒童聯手成圈，在一室內唱歌同樂；並見一小冊，末頁畫一乳牛。接著室內有交響樂，我揮手作指揮狀。此乃回復童真，領到法乳，及獲得大眾共鳴之相；所以我相信這個心得會對大家有幫助，趕忙寫出來供養大眾。
                                                                    

                                                                                           一九八九年九月六日清晨

The Seed of Bodhi

Yutang Lin


From September 1st through September 3rd, 1989, upon the invitation of the Mahayana Buddhist Association of Miami, I gave a three talk lecture series in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. on "The Buddhist Practice of Chanting Amitabha." My late guru, Yogi C. M. Chen, vowed to give forty-eight lecture series on The Pureland School. Before he entered Nirvana in November of 1987, he had given forty-five such lecture series. I have carried on his wish and given the three remaining lectures, thereby, completing Yogi Chen's vow. At noon on the fourth of September, Buddhist friends David Tseng, Boris Dopta and Sophie Palmer gave me a ride to the airport and while waiting to board my flight, we continued to discuss Dharma.

Boris asked, "How does one connect Sunyata with Great Compassion?"

I gave a succinct answer as follows:

Sunyata may be understood as No Self or Conditional Origination. No Self leads to the realization that the whole Dharmadhatu is inseparably one, hence the Great Compassion naturally arises from this oneness of all things. Conditional Origination points out that we sentient beings are bounded by conditions, hence others' situations might well be ours. Thus it follows that we should care for and help each other as would those in a boat that is lost at sea. The Great Compassion is essentially this kind of spirit.

The Dharmadhatu is boundless in space and time; the conditional originations of all Dharmas are intertwined and mutually effective like waves. We are limited by our attachments to our sensory experiences and hence unable to understand in detail the complex causes and conditions in particular situations. How then could we judge others based on our limited knowledge? As soon as we stop judging others, we are free from the veil of delusive conceptualization and we instantly return to our original state of pure innocence.

Causes and conditions are constantly changing and are difficult to understand, hence small events may lead to movements of great proportions. Thus, we should be continuously mindful of not committing even the slightest negative action which might add to the suffering of others. Furthermore, we should continuously maintain a helpful attitude and be ready to serve others in order to increase their happiness and well-being.

Not judging others, and constantly maintaining an innocent and altruistic attitude--this is the seed of Bodhi. One who plants and nurses this seed will eventually obtain the Bodhicitta.

Early in the morning of the fourth of September I came to grasp the idea of the seed of Bodhi, then, as I fell into sleep again, I went into a deep meditative state in a dream: My body became that of a small child, inside a large room, together with a group of small boys and girls. We held hands to form a circle and sang happily. I was shown a small booklet with a picture of a milk cow on the inside of its backcover. Then symphonic music arose, and I waved my right hand as if conducting the symphony.

These are signs indicating: returning to a happy and childlike innocence, obtaining the milk of Dharma, and gaining favorable and harmonious responses from many people. I believe that this idea of the seed of Bodhi will be beneficial to the public, therefore, I immediately wrote this article to share it with everyone. Written in the early morning of September the sixth, 1989

[Home][Back to list][The Seed of Bodhi]