People who offer flowers often become more beautiful. People who offer fruit often will understand karma and uncover wisdom. People who offer oil often will develop bright eyes. Do you know why we must offer flowers? It’s because flowers represent the seed of karma – you reap what you sow. When you see the flowers bloom, it reminds you what kind of karmic seeds you should sow, and that you mustn’t commit bad deeds. If you sow good seeds, you will see the reward in the form of flowers. In fact, the flowers you offer to Bodhisattvas are not for them; they’re for you. When you offer fruit, it reminds you of sowing good seeds. Good seed sows good results.
经常献花的人会长得漂亮,经常供奉水果的人会懂因果开智慧,经常献油的人眼睛会亮。知道为什么要献花?因为花代表因,种什么因就会结什么果。当你看到花开的时候,就是让你知道应该种什么因,不能做坏事。种下好的因才会看到好的果(花)。供养给菩萨的花并不是给菩萨的其实是给自己的。当你供水果时,就是提醒你要种善因,种善因才能结善果。
Now I will explain “delusions of views and thought”. Delusions of views are misapprehensions acquired and developed as a result of wrong views. There are five such views: the view of a self (satkayadrsti); extreme views (antagrahadrsti); fallacious views (mithyadrsti); the attachment to wrong views; (drstiparamarsa) and clinging to faulty disciplinary codes or modes of conduct (silavrataparamarsa). Delusions of thought refer to the misapprehensions associated with mental activity, such as the five afflictions – greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance and doubt.
今天给大家讲解“见思惑”。“见思惑”就是见解和思想上的迷惑。见思惑中的见惑是知见上的迷惑错误,如:我见、边见、邪见、见取见、戒取见等五不正见;思惑是思想上的迷惑错误,如贪瞋痴慢疑等五烦恼。
The view of “self” is to put “I” above everything else, such as: “I believe so and so”, or “I think so and so.” This is also what I encounter the most when answering callers’ questions during my phone-in radio program. When they call in, they talk about themselves non-stop: “I’m this”, “I’m that”, “I’m like this and that”, “This is what I think”, “This is what I saw”, and so on. These are examples of personality view. We must understand that the “self” that exists in this world is a false-self – not the true-self. If we cling to this “self”, we will become pathetic, and entrapped in the concept of “I”, and unable to be liberated from it. It is all because of the concept of “I” that people suffer. Do you know why it’s difficult for animals to be reborn as human? Do you know why they are constantly trapped in the animal realm throughout cycles of rebirth? It is because of the attachment to the notion of “self”.
我见就是把自己放在前面,我认为怎样,我以为怎样,什么事都把我字放在前面,这也是我在解答听众问题时碰到最多的事,一开口一连串的我,我怎样怎样,我如何如何……我认为的事情,我见到的事情等等就是我见。要明白人世间这个“我”是假我,不是真我。如果执著于自身的我就会很可怜,就会堕入这个“我”字,永远不会超脱。所有痛苦的人都是因为有个我。大家知道为什么动物不容易投人身,总在畜生道轮回,就是因为执著于本身这个我(执著于我相)。
That’s why we must discard the concept of “self”. Only without the “self” can we truly meld into a state beyond this reality and not become upset. Emotions such as “I’m angry”, “I feel sad”, “I’m unhappy”, “I hate” and the like can all be attributed to the concept of “I”. Therefore, if you can abandon it, you will no longer harbour these negative emotions. If a person can live their life constantly and consistently in happiness, it’s likened to living in heaven. But when a person lives their life constantly and consistently in hatred and sadness, that’s akin to living in hell. Being upset is even harmful to one’s body, and is known to shorten one’s lifespan. If a person is narrow-minded and unable to tolerate, you could say they are at risk of dying from being upset. I always ask each disciple to be tolerant of one another, and to care for one another. Let me tell you this: regardless of what others say, they must be correct. They are not at fault. You are the person who’s at fault, because it’s you who is still clinging to the concept of “I”.
所以大家要把这个我放开,没有我才能把自己真正融化在超现实当中,你才不会生气。因为我生气,我难过,我不开心,我恨等等都是这个“我”在作怪。如果能把这个“我”字放弃就不会生气难过。如果一个人天天高高兴兴地活在世界上,就是活在天上,活在天堂。如果一个人天天生气很难过,就是活在地狱。难过就会伤身体,缩短寿命,如果气量小容不下事情可能会被气死。我要求你们每个徒弟要相互包容,相互爱护。我告诉你们,不管别人讲出什么话人家都是对的,人家没有错,错的是你自己,因为你有个我。
Extreme views are about the state of being suspicious towards the people or things you see around you.
边见,就是对周围的人或见到的事生疑惑。
Fallacious views refer to taking what you see and what you think as correct, when in fact they are wrong. This is either called fallacious views or subjective views.
邪见,就是自己看见的,自己认为是正确的,而事实上是不正确的见解,这就是邪见。即自我见解。
The attachment to wrong views is about what you see and what you have. What you see is not necessarily correct, and neither is what you have.
见取见,你见到的东西和你得到的东西。你见到的东西不一定是对的,你得到的东西也不一定是对的。
Clinging to faulty disciplinary codes or modes of conduct refer to holding onto something you believe to be the cause of a phenomenon. In fact, it is never the real cause. For example, it was clear that somebody didn’t do something, but you insist that this person did it. That is also a fallacious view. You are deluded by what you see and what you think, because you take whatever you see as real. But nothing in this world is real. If you believe that your body is real, then when you die, does it still exist? You might say parents are real, but when they pass away, do they still exist?
戒取见,明明非因即因。不是这个因但你认为是,明明不是这个人做的,你非要认为是他做的,这也是一种邪见。见到的东西和思维的想象被迷惑,眼睛看见的东西以为是真的。世上没有什么东西是真的。如果你认为身体是真的,死了还有吗?父母是真的,过世了还有吗?
Delusions of thought are misapprehensions associated with mental activity, which is also a major obstruction for human beings.
思惑,就是思想上的迷惑,也是人的一大障碍。
Now I will talk about how delusions of views and thought are related to our everyday lives. If you’re suspicious of other people in your everyday life, then you have delusions of views and thought. These are also the delusions that we are most susceptible to. What you see and what you think are all sources of delusion.
现给大家讲讲“见思惑”与生活的联系。如果在生活中怀疑人家,你就是见思惑。这也是我们最易生的迷惑,你见到的东西,你想象要得的东西都是让你迷惑的。
Why do we so often say that is it easiest to cultivate ourselves in the Human Realm? It is because when a person enjoys their blessings, they will not be motivated to be diligent in their cultivation. Good and fortunate times tend to make people slack. Only when people suffer will they think about cultivation.
为什么说在人间最易修行?因为在天上享福,时间过得很快,天上一天地下一年(所以天上的人都是万岁万万岁)享福的时候修行就学不进,太好的日子是不能让人精进修心的。所以很多人在吃苦的时候才会想到应该修行。
When a person does not cherish their life while they’re alive, how are they any different to a dead person? Life is most precious, but if you fail to make use of your life to achieve something, that’s a great pity – you’ve failed to cherish it. Never store negative things inside your mind. Storing bad, filthy things in your mind is to expect bad things in return. If you store benevolent things in your mind, you will gain benevolent things in return.
如果一个人活着的时候不知道珍惜自己的生命,就是一个死人。生命最可贵,但是你没有利用你的生命来做事情,就是太可惜,而不是可贵了。千万不要往脑子里装不好的东西,如果你脑子里装的都是好的善良的东西,得出的果报也是好的善良的。如果你脑子里装的都是坏的、肮脏的东西,得出的果报也是不好的。
When cultivating the mind, you must understand the importance of advancing with the times. Time is the best role-model, so you must advance with it. The progression of time will not change for anything.
修心要多想,心里要明白与时俱进,时间就是你们最好的榜样,要和时间一起进步,时间不会因为任何事情的发生而改变它的运行。
One’s level of cultivation is defined by the unselfish part that emanates from one’s heart. If a person is only interested in themself, and how they can become better as a result of their cultivation, then the effect of their cultivation – and the associated merit and virtue – will not match up to what is required by Mahayana Buddhism.
修为是从心里修出来的不是自私的东西。如果一个人为自己,只想把自己修得好一点,我想你修行的效果和功德只是小乘佛法。
You must learn to make expressions such as “Excuse me”, “I’m sorry” and so on to show humility, politeness and courtesy. These expressions are a way to measure and evaluate your level of cultivation, as they reflect your intrinsic qualities. Using these expressions will make you neither lose face nor lower your qualities. In fact, you have heard them often since your childhood, but how many of you actually use them habitually? How many times have you said them? It’s because of your concept of “self” that you cling to the concept, thinking to yourself: “I can’t lose face”. People make mistakes, and that’s ok – what matters the most is to recognise them and be able to reform oneself.
要学会说“对不起”、“不好意思”等等这些谦虚、礼貌、道歉的话,这是衡量你们修行的尺度,可以体现出你们的品质,而这些话不会丢掉你们的面子和降低你们的素质,这些礼貌话你们从小就经常听,可是你们做到了多少?用了多少?是因为有个“我”字在,我执啊,我丢不起这个脸,我没面子啊……谁都有做错事情的时候,错了没关系,知错能改是最重要的。
Now I will teach you how to eliminate your karmic obstacles. Why is it that merit and virtue eliminate karmic obstacles? It’s because of the Eighth Consciousness (alayavijnana), also known as the “storehouse consciousness”, which is the place where all wholesome and unwholesome karmic seeds are stored. For every sentient being, their every intention, thought, word or action creates a karmic seed. Before ripening, this seed is stored in the eighth consciousness. Where there are merits and virtues, they can enter this consciousness and eliminate all unwholesome karmic obstacles.
现在给大家讲孽障怎样消除,为什么功德可以消除孽障?在人的八识田中有一个阿赖耶识,即第八识,也叫“藏识”,因是一切善恶种子储藏的所在。一切众生,每一个起心动念,或语言行为,都会造成一个业种,这种子在未受报前都藏在阿赖耶识中,当有功德时,这功德才能进入这个意识,消除不善的孽障。
The eight types of consciousnesses are: the visual consciousness, the auditory consciousness, the olfactory consciousness, the gustatory consciousness, the tactile consciousness, the mental consciousness, the manas-consciousness (klistamanas) and the alaya-consciousness (alayavijnana).
八识:眼识、耳识、鼻识、舌识、身识、意识、末那识和阿赖耶识。