自釋其執 林鈺堂 簡繁轉換 - 繁體
「諸惡莫做，眾善奉行，自淨其意，是諸佛教。」這是大家，做為佛教徒，都熟悉的佛法基本教示。它教導說，雖然在根本上是空性無我，並不表示我們就無所事事，還是要在行善與杜惡上努力。至於「自淨其意」，則是指出，善惡的標準並非某種有限的規範，而是從本來清淨、無有執著中，自然發生的整體圓融之行止；這是此偈的重心樞紐，也是佛法超越世間及其他宗教的層次。 要達到「自淨其意」的究竟，先要能自己看穿，自己所有的想法，其根本只是一種執著，並且這些想法都與真實不但不能完全符合，還形成了與真實隔閡的障礙。只有完全捨棄之，纔有可能回復本來無執的清明，而融入整體之無限開廣與包容。 能有這樣的見解，然後就要靠自己願意放捨所有的執著，纔能真正達到「自淨其意」的究竟；所以，我在此提出「自釋其執」以提醒大家，什麼是達到「自淨其意」的究竟之必要途徑。 處在世間的種種條件限制之下，個人是很難做到放捨所有的執著。可是，若沒有達到「自淨其意」的究竟，則不但不能了悟佛法所指出的究竟解脫，也不能引導其他有情步向解脫。所以，願意放捨所有的執著的決心，不可能是為了個人，因為個人的考慮是無解的纏縛。只有一心一意期望所有眾生的究竟覺醒，這樣的菩提心，能讓修行者放捨一切。 希望以上的說明，能幫助修行者認清菩提心與「自釋其執」的相關及重要，而知道覺道修途中所當努力的關鍵。
二○一九年六月九日 Letting Grasping Loose
Yutang Lin
″Not to do any harm to others, endeavor to carry out all good deeds, purify one′s own intentions, these are the teachings of all Buddhas. ″ This is a fundamental teaching familiar to all of us as Buddhists. It teaches that, even though all matters are basically selfless and blank in nature, it does not mean that consequently we will just do nothing—instead, we still need to endeavor to perform good deeds and avoid all harmful activities. As to ″purify one′s own intentions″, it indicates that, the standard of being good or harmful does not lie in some conditional and limited norms, but stems naturally from original purity which is free from any and all grasping, and are actions or inactions that is harmonious to the limitless totality of all-in-oneness; this is the key and pivoting point of this Gatha, and it relates to the sphere where Dharma transcends worldly realms and other religions. To reach the ultimate sphere of ″purifying one′s own intentions″, first of all, one needs to be able to see clearly through that, all one′s views and thoughts are at its root just a kind of grasping, and that all these ideas are, not only incapable of being an exact match of reality, but also form a hindrance blocking comprehension of reality. Only after these have been thoroughly renounced completely can the clarity of mind in original purity, free from any and all grasping, resurface in merging into boundless openness and encompassing of the totality of all phenomena. Capable of such comprehension, and then it depends on one′s willingness to renounce all grasping, so as to genuinely attain the ultimate sphere of ″purifying one′s own intentions″; therefore, I point out ″letting grasping loose″ here to remind all as to what is the necessary route to take in order to attain the ultimate sphere of ″purifying one′s own intentions″. Under the limitations of all sorts of worldly conditions it is extremely difficult for one to undertake the actual steps of renouncing all grasping. However, without attaining the ultimate sphere of ″purifying one′s own intentions″, one will, not only fail to comprehend the ultimate emancipation as pointed out in Dharma teachings, but also become incapable of guiding other sentient beings to advance toward emancipation. Hence, the determination in willingness to renounce all grasping cannot be due to personal considerations because personal considerations is a mess of entanglements that leads nowhere. Only single-minded devotion to the aspiration for the ultimate enlightenment of all sentient beings, such Bodhicitta, can render a Dharma practitioner to actually renounce everything. May the exposition above help Dharma practitioners to comprehend clearly the relation between and importance of Bodhicitta and ″letting grasping loose″, and thereby understand the key point to apply their efforts to during their quest for full enlightenment.
Written in Chinese and translated into English on June 9, 2019
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