林鈺堂
現實生活難免私利與恩怨的糾纏與計較，因此而煩惱不斷，心中迷惘，猶如密雲覆蓋，一切失去清新，只是輪轉拖磨。放眼一切有情同此遭遇，將短暫生命任生存競鬥來折磨凌虐，而且若無佛法之救渡，將永無離此苦楚之期，因而放下營私，獻身於修習捨我利他，以和柔忍受、無諍包容來服務。此種心志遠離私見之偏狹與私利之覆蓋，廣大及於一切有情而無時空之限制，自然清新明淨，堪稱「清明大心」。
菩提大心無限，自然清明。若無佛法清明之教導與學佛者清醒之時刻，則無以體會此種菩提大心，更難以立此大志。因此可說︰「大心清明，清明大心」。修行者在生活中常值之考驗，在根本上都是大心與私慮的衝突。修行上成長之關鍵則在於能否看穿及堅持，唯有依循「清明大心，大心清明」來步步踏實菩提道上，才能自渡及濟他。一滲入私慮，則只有陷入迷惑而自誤，更談不上為他人解困了。
至於提醒此種清明的方法，無過於多多深入觀察無常。人生如朝露、浮萍，轉瞬即面臨疾病、老死，又無有任何安寧之保障。年歲愈大，愈難逃避「此生是為甚麼？有何意義？」的自問。此刻若能體會菩提大心之意義，尚待何時才遵循而實踐於生活中？人生安寧的根本是自他心中的清明；若不循清明的路來走，而留滯於私心為主的迷途中，到了過於昏暗而墮落時，已是後悔不及了。
中國人祭祖掃墓的節日，即號「清明」。其中的深義應是藉無常的事實來喚醒世世代代的後人，清明才是人生的根本，不要迷失啊！而要常保清明，則唯有獻身於修習及弘揚永除私心無明的佛法！
願有緣見聞此篇者，常以「大心清明，清明大心」來警惕自己，當循清明的路，而以菩提大心為生命的指針。
一九九八年三月廿四日
養和齋 於加州
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Clear and Bright Great Mind Seal
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Clear and Bright Great Mind Seal
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yutang Lin"
To: "Dharma Friends"
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2007 11:05 AM
Subject: FW: Clear and Bright Great Mind second_大心清明二
Disciple Wang Hao improved his seal on Clear Bright Great Mind and send it
to me. He also stated that when he reread my article this time, he sensed
more its significance, and the revision and refinement on the seal was done
accordingly.
弟子王浩改善他大心清明的印文並傳來給我。他還指出當他這回重讀拙文，他更能體會到其意義，並且將印文修正符合依其意境。
I also sensed that the present seal is indeed an improvement.
我也有感覺到目前這個印文的確有改善。
Detong, post this seal instead of the previous one.
茶桶，換上這個印文以取代之前的。
This email is Bcc to all on my list.
此電郵以密件傳給我名單中所有的人。
Attain Enlightenment Soon!
祝早成佛！
Yutang
鈺堂
-----Original Message-----
From: Hao Wang
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 7:54 PM
To: Yutang Lin
Subject: RE: Clear and Bright Great Mind second
Thanks!
They are attached.
Wang Hao
頂禮 上師金剛蓮華佛！
師佛：
從前讀到《大心清明》時，即被其感動而想有機會刻一方這樣的印。昨天呈上印譜並在網站上重溫《大心清明》，比以往更真切地感到文中的莊重深沉蘊涵。修佛時日不算短，但是私心總是千變萬化地如影隨形，很是慚愧。弟子依文中的意境修整印文。現掃描呈上。
願我及眾生早日徹見清明大心！
弟子王浩 頂禮謝恩
二○○七年四月七日
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yutang Lin"
To: "Dharma Friends"
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 2:27 PM
Subject: FW: Clear and Bright Great Mind_ 大心清明
Years ago I wrote articles on Clear and Bright Great Mind in Chinese and
English on Qing Ming Festival.
多年前我寫了一篇中文及英文的文章：大心清明。
Today is Qing Ming which literally means Clear Bright, and disciple Wang Hao
carved Da Xin Qing Ming seal as an offering to me and attached my original
works.
今天是清明，其字義是清且明，而弟子王浩刻了一個〈大心清明〉印供養我並附呈我的原作。
I share this with all on my list.
我與我名單中的人分享此。
Detong, post the seal and link it to the articles.
茶桶上傳這個印文並連結到此文章。
-----Original Message-----
From: Hao Wang
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 10:06 PM
To: Yutang Lin
Subject: Clear and Bright Great Mind
Dearest Guru Buddha:
摯愛的師佛：
It's attached.
附呈〈之文如下〉：
頂禮 金剛蓮華林上師！
上師：
昨天是清明節。晚上，弟子畫稿刻“大心清明”印。今天上午完成並掃描成檔。弟子願以此供養師佛，願一切眾生早日從私我的糾纏中解脫出來，回復本淨的清明大心！
弟子王浩 頂禮謝恩
二○○七年四月六日
Regards!
法安！
Wang Hao
王浩
The Great Mind of Bodhi
Written in Chinese by Dr. Yutang Lin
Translated by Stanley Lam
Edited by Dr. Yutang Lin
I. Clear and Bright Great Mind
Self-serving entanglements and considerations arising from personal favor or malice are difficult to avoid in life. People are thus constantly lost under the thick clouds of sorrows, without clarity of mind but engulfed in endless cycles of sufferings. Actually all sentient beings are suffering from this very same problem, and their transient existence is besieged by all kinds of struggles and competitions. Sentient beings would never get out of such sufferings without the salvation of the Buddha Dharma. With this in mind, one therefore abandons one's self-centered considerations, and instead devotes oneself to the practice of benefiting others even at the expense of one's own interests, and serving others with tender patience and tranquil tolerance. This right view and aspiration is far from the biases of individual views, free from the shadow of personal interests, and extends to all sentient beings without the limitation of space and time. Therefore, it is naturally fresh, bright and clear; it deserves to be called the "clear and bright Great Mind."
The great mind of Bodhi (Enlightenment) is limitless, and naturally clear and bright. However, there would be no means to experience the great mind of Bodhi and to develop such aspiration without the clear and bright teachings of the Dharma and the sober moments of the practitioners. Therefore, we could say, "Great Mind is clear and bright; clear and bright state yields Great Mind." Most tests that practitioners face in life are basically conflicts between the Great Mind and personal considerations. The key to one's spiritual growth lies in one's ability to see through and persevere in this awareness: One can save oneself and others only by following the idea of "Clear and bright state yields Great Mind; Great Mind is clear and bright" to proceed, step by step, firmly on the path of Bodhi. As soon as personal considerations slip in, one would be trapped within confusions and would fall a victim oneself, not to mention to relieve others from predicaments.
The best way to remind oneself of such a clear and bright state is to frequently observe impermanence in depth. Life is as transient as morning dews or floating duckweed. Illness, senility or death would confront us in no time, and yet there is absolutely no guarantee of safety and tranquillity. The older one gets, the harder it is to evade from asking oneself questions like: "What is the purpose of this life? Has it any meaning?" If, at this instant, one could understand the significance of the Great Mind of Bodhi, why wait any longer to put it into practice in one's daily life? Fundamentally, safety and tranquillity root in the clear and bright state of mind of oneself and others. If one does not follow the clear and bright path but remains stagnant in the lost path led by selfish considerations, it is only a matter of time when one would be overwhelmed by too much confusion and sink into lowly darkness, then it would be too late to regret.
The annual Chinese festival for worshipping ancestors and cleaning their graves is called "Qing Ming" (Clear Bright). The underlying meaning of this name should be to remind generations of descendants through the facts of impermanence that the clear and bright state of mind is indeed the foundation of human existence, and that one should not go astray from it! Besides, in order to maintain constantly this clear and bright state, one needs to devote one's life to practicing and propagating the Dharma, which teaches to eradicate selfishness and ignorance forever!
May all who come across this article often goad themselves by the motto: "Great Mind is clear and bright; clear and bright state yields Great Mind" to follow the clear and bright path, and adopt the Great Mind of Bodhi as their guiding principle in life.
II. Fearless Great Mind
Every step in life leads one toward the unknown and unplanned. Even though death is understood to be inevitable, one would not know in advance how one will experience it. Social structures and cultural upbringing make ordinary people live with certain expectations. However, the ever-changing world makes us awake in time to the fact that all sorts of expectations are unwarranted. What follows are unease, attachment, and calculations; one would try by all means to obtain a sense of security out of that which is not securable. If one cannot cope with the evolution of reality, one could even get lost in the pursuit of sensual pleasures, fame or wealth, or even become insane, depressed, or commit suicide.
How should we seek stability when confronting the fact that all is impermanent and beyond grasping? How can we prevent this life from degenerating into an extemporaneous show which is meaningless and inconsequential? Self-deception cannot last long; suicide is only an evasion. Therefore, neither constitutes a path to liberation. First of all, we should firmly recognize that reality is impermanent and cannot be grasped or pre-arranged, so as to become able to abandon all biased and narrow-minded self-serving endeavors. Once all personal interests are given up, only then would one be able to devote fearlessly one's lifetime to Dharma practices and services, and thereby give meaning to this human existence and yield tranquillity, joy and maturity of mind. Dharma practices and services could yield such results because their fundamental principles are entirely about broadening one's perspective, helping one to face reality, increasing one's capacity for tolerance, and benefiting all sentient beings. One is to broaden one's perspective so that it is not limited to any time, place, kind, or side. One is to face reality so that it is not distorted or evaded but observed in details of its conditional interdependence and of the dictation of causation. One is to increase one's capacity for tolerance so that it is not limited to any race, species, generation, or region. One is to benefit all sentient beings so that loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity would spread equally to all beings of the four kinds of births and of the six realms of transmigration.
If one can realize that private interests cannot really be maintained, and hence switches one's devotion to Dharma practices and services, and perseveres with the great mind of Bodhi, then, although life still fluctuates as ever and remains impermanent, such a practitioner would always stay calm and fearless. The great mind of Bodhi originally transcends self-attachment, which is the root of the cycles of life and death. Therefore, it is fearless, and might be called the "Fearless Great Mind." Once a practitioner generates the great mind of Bodhi, constantly maintains and cultivates it, and lives his or her life accordingly, then he or she will gradually experience the peace and fearlessness that is inherent to it. Hence, it might be said that "Great Mind yields fearlessness."
May all those who come across this article adopt the motto: "Great Mind is fearless; Great Mind yields fearlessness." May they thereby generate the great mind of Bodhi, cultivate it, and put it into practice. Consequently, may they enjoy and spread such fearless tranquillity in this world of much suffering.
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Epilogue
"Clear and Bright Great Mind" was written yesterday, and "Fearless Great Mind" today. Both were works of inspiration and fluently accomplished from start to finish within a very short while. May all beings cultivate Bodhi in the light of "Great Mind is clear and bright; clear and bright state yields Great Mind. Great Mind is fearless; Great Mind yields fearlessness."
A Study for the Cultivation of Harmony
California
March 25, 1998
Translated in Hong Kong
June 21, 1998
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