菩提种子林钰堂一九八九年九月初一至初三日，在美国佛罗里达州迈阿密市，应“迈阿密佛学社”之请，我以英语演讲〈净土五经会通〉。先师陈健民老居士曾发愿讲此题目四十八次，略答阿弥陀佛因地四十八弘愿渡生之大恩。一九八七年十一月陈师示寂之前已讲四十五次。我继承师志续讲三次。此次即为满愿之第四十八。初四日中午佛友曾宪炜、博瑞斯及罗效平送我去飞机场。候机之时仍不断讨论佛法。 博瑞斯问：“由空性出发，如何与大悲连系？” 我以此中精要回答如下： 空性可以“无我”与“缘起”来了解。无我则证入法界同体，同体则大悲油然而生。缘起则明白众生皆为种种条件所限制；彼之处境也可能就是我的处境。因此同病相怜，同舟共济；大悲便在此中。法界时空横亘无穷，万法缘起交织波涟。吾人着相而未能彻查因缘，岂可但凭一己所见来品评他人。衡长论短之心一停，远离颠倒妄想，立即回复天真。 缘起难明而迁变不休，虽小波也可渲染成巨浪。因此时时刻刻虽小恶也不敢犯，以免增添他苦。并且时时刻刻存心要做利他的事，以便增进大家的安乐。 不评论他人，时时刻刻保有天真、利他的存心，这就是菩提种子。只要能把这种子保养下去，便会成就菩提心。 九月四日清晨我体会这菩提种子的道理；再入睡即深入定境。见自身转成童子身，与一群儿童联手成圈，在一室内唱歌同乐。并见一小册，末页画一乳牛。接着室内有交响乐，我挥手作指挥状。此乃回复童真，领到法乳，及获得大众共鸣之相，所以我相信这个心得会对大家有帮助，赶忙写出来供养大众。 一九八九年九月六日清晨 The Seed of BodhiYutang LinFrom 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] |
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