耶稣肋骨十三切项链 林钰堂
今晨六点三十分醒前，于梦中蒙 绿度母赐一白色骨质项链，如图：
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（此处为显示肋骨八节，而使该部份特大，实际上只有约一小指长度，而其上下皆较长大。）并嘱余曰：“这是耶稣肋骨十三切项链，故意刻成刀片向上反切之形，表示不只是切众生，也切耶稣，你带回去”。余仔细观察肋骨部位良久，并数而知道是八节，有些节又刻成数层，故谓“十三切”（大概一共十三，未及计之）。肋骨部位，每一节的两侧都是可以活动的。下面几节的背部刻成像昆虫的脚。
醒后思索其义，方知此乃度母恩赐以佛法圆摄其他主要宗教之道理。其他宗教以上帝为主宰，众生则因罪而受苦。但是上帝之救赎则经由耶稣之受难，可见依旧不离因缘法则。上帝行事仍循因缘，由佛法明示之理观之，则上帝亦“无我”矣！佛法明示之因缘，实已在他教中隐喻，故知因缘即统合众教之根本法则，亦即无我乃唯一之真理。（众生因罪受苦，是度母所谓“切众生”；耶稣乃天子因救赎蒙难，是度母所谓“向上反切，切耶稣”。至于由余阐明此中奥义大旨，弘扬于世间，即度母所谓“你带回去”。）
绿度母如斯大恩之咐嘱，恰于家母九二寿诞赐下，念母恩与念度母恩，圆不可分。谨以此文为慈母贺寿，愿福寿康宁，长久垂顾。
二○○八年四月九日
（在台湾为十日）
养和斋 于加州
附记
在三月二十九日（星期六）下午，我接到沙巴谭文信师兄之电话，他告诉我说：“今晚七时十五分，将与加拿大梁燕成博士在诗巫 董联会礼堂举行宗教对话。此活动是由诗巫卫理神学院主办，而题目为‘基督教与佛教对话’；内容是‘救恩的途径及其终极目的’，是时将各有两百位基督徒及佛教徒出席此项盛会”。而他之前原本是打算叫我请林上师加持他，但却又不好意思因此小事而打扰上师。如今他转请我祝福他。只是这时我已无法代通知上师，因时间上之差异，此时美国已是夜晚了。其实，在电话里头，我了解到谭师兄是希望整个宗教对话过程，不会起冲突及争论，然而，却可以在和谐、圆满的气氛下，达致双方彼此的认同、谅解和尊敬。
于是六时左右，我随顺因缘而修习林上师审订之〈绿度母法门日修简法〉及念诵〈绿度母心咒〉，祈求圣救度母及尊贵的林上师，给他智慧，愿他能顺利圆满地完成此项神圣的任务。隔天他向我道谢，我微笑地回答 : “我没有做什么，这是绿度母和上师的功德加持您”！
没想到在四月十日时，林上师也写出了〈耶稣肋骨十三切项链〉之感应文章，并咐嘱我以此文做为《念度母恩》一书之代序。
──我寻思良久，这一切足征冥冥中确有佛佑呢！
弟子敬行谨记
二○○八年四月十二日
Necklace of Thirteen Cuts of Jesus' Ribs Yutang Lin
This morning right before I woke up at 6:30 in a dream Green Tara bestowed on me a necklace made of white bones. It is in the shape of a man's neck ornament that has two ends of a string held together by an ornament, but the string consisted of polished rectangular bones with rounded edges strung together, and the ornamental part is in the shape of a rib cage and about the length of a small finger. And Tara said to me, "This is the necklace of thirteen cuts of Jesus' ribs. It was intentionally carved in the shape of a blade with its cutting edge turning upward to signify that it is not only to cut sentient beings but also to cut Jesus. You bring it back (to the world)." I carefully examined the necklace for a long while, and counted to know that it had eight sections, and some sections were carved into several layers, so it was called "thirteen cuts" (although I did not count the number of layers, I figured that was the reason for the name). The two sides of each pair of ribs seemed to be movable, and the back sides of the lower sections were carved into shapes of insect legs.
After I woke up I ponder over the significance of such a bestowal, and then I realized that it was Tara's blessed teaching on how to unify all major religions into Buddha Dharma in principle. Other religions recognize God as the ultimate arbitrator, and sentient beings are suffering for their sins. Nevertheless, God's salvation of beings was carried out through Jesus' sacrifice, and thus it clearly indicated that salvation cannot stray away from Causal Laws. When the way of the Lord still abides by Causal Laws, according to the Dharma teachings, the Lord is also "selfless" in the sense that the Lord also lacks absolutely independent existence. That things are causally present had been explicitly taught in Dharma, and indeed it had been hinted at through examples in other religions, thus it is clear that the basic principle to unify all religions is the recognition of Causal Laws as the fundamental truth. In other words, non-self is the single ultimate truth.
(That sentient beings are suffering for their sins is what was referred to by Tara as "cut sentient beings." That Jesus, as son of God, was sacrificed to accomplish God's salvation of beings is what Tara referred to as "a blade with its cutting edge turning upward to cut Jesus." As to my exposition of the inherent significance of this blessed experience and making it well know to the world is what Tara meant by "you bring it back (to the world).")
Green Tara bestowed on me such a great blessing on the day of my mother's 92nd birthday (April 10, 2008 in Taiwan); as a consequence my remembrance of mother's grace becomes truly inseparable from remembering Tara's grace. Hereby I dedicate the merits of this work to the celebration of my mother's longevity, may she enjoy merits and longevity in good health and peace, and bestow on her family her loving care for long.
Written in Chinese and translated on April 9, 2008
(It is April 10, 2008 in Taiwan)
El Cerrito, California
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